THE INTERNATIONAL GOTHIC STYLE

Transcription

1 12/17/2010 CASTLETROY COLLEGE THE INTERNATIONAL GOTHIC STYLE A detailed history including two key works of art. Mr.Shortt

2 Contents International Gothic Art... 3 An international style... 3 Characteristics of the style... 3 Development... 4 Royal portraits... 5 Wilton Diptych... 5 Technique:... 6 Description of the image:... 6 Analysis of the image:... 7 Meaning:... 7 Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry... 7 Calendar... 9 Artists... 9 What the calendar represents:... 9 Commentary on September... 11

3 International Gothic Art An international style The style of European painting prevalent during the last half of the 14th century and the early years of the 15th is frequently called International Gothic. Certain characteristics of the style were common throughout Europe. In particular, figures were elegant and graceful, yet at the same time there was an artificiality and stylisation about such figures. As the style developed a taste grew for realism in detail, general setting, and composition. The degree to which this phase of Gothic painting became international is because much of the most important work was executed under court patronage. As most European royal families were closely linked by marriage ties they learned of each other s preference for this style and promoted it across Europe. Put simply it became fashionable among royalty throughout Europe. In this period, artists and portable works such as illuminated manuscripts traveled widely around the continent, spreading the style among the royalty and higher nobility. This considerably reduced the variation in national styles among works produced for the courtly elites. Local variations, however, persisted to an extent; seldom can the art of Paris, for example, be mistaken for that of Lombardy. It was initially a style of courtly sophistication, but somewhat more robust versions spread to art commissioned by the emerging mercantile classes and the smaller nobility. In Northern Europe "Late Gothic" continuations of the style, especially in its decorative elements, could still be found until the early 16th century. No alternative style emerged to replace it before Renaissance Classicism. Characteristics of the style In painting and sculpture, the style is sometimes known as the Beautiful style" or "Soft style". Stylistic features are a dignified elegance, which replaces monumentality, along with rich decorative colouring, elongated figures and flowing lines. It also makes a more practised use of perspective, modelling, and setting. Figures begin to be given more space in their settings, and interest is taken in realistically depicted plants and animals. In some works, above all the famous calendar scenes of the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, the beginnings of real landscape painting are seen. Decoration became increasingly ornate as the style developed in Northern Europe, whereas in Italy the increased sophistication of figure painting was absorbed into Early Renaissance painting.

4 There was often especially a strong emphasis on faces and facial expression. Figures, while graceful, sometimes have markedly heavy heads and expressive faces. Great care must have been taken to render them reasonably three-dimensional. In this respect the works have much in common with earlier Italian painting. An interest in the settings of paintings was shared by many artists who produced often extremely impressive landscape and architectural settings. The subject matter of his painting often includes detailed studies of birds, animals, and flowers. Development The Annunciation (1333) by the Sienese Simone Martini, an important precursor of the style. Simone Martini (c ) was an Italian painter born in Siena. He was a major figure in the development of early Italian painting and greatly influenced the development of the International Gothic style. Simone's style contrasted with the sobriety and monumentality of Florentine art, and is noted for its soft, stylized, decorative features, sinuosity of line, and unsurpassed courtly elegance. Much of the development of the style occurred in Italy, and it probably spread north of the Alps to influence France partly through the colony of Italian artists attached to the Papal Court at Avignon, and the works displayed from the residence there in the 1330s and 1340s of Simone Martini, an important Sienese painter who led to the development of the style. As the style developed in Northern Europe, Italian artists were in turn influenced by it.

5 Royal portraits A number of central works of International Gothic work are votive portraits of monarchs with a sacred figure - in some cases being received into Heaven by them. An example is a miniature of Jean, Duc de Berry, and some of his relatives, being welcomed by Saint Peter in the Grandes Heures du Duc de Berry. A donor portrait or votive portrait is a portrait in a larger painting or other work showing the person who commissioned and paid for the image, or a member of his, or her, family. A donor portrait usually refers to the portrait or portraits of donors alone. A "votive portrait" may often refer to a whole work of art, including say a Madonna, in which the donor is included, especially if the donor is very prominent. From this period come the earliest surviving panel portraits of monarchs, and royal manuscripts show a greatly increased number of realistic portraits of the monarch who commissioned them. The Wilton Diptych King Richard II The Wilton Diptych, painted in England by a of England kneels. (left side of the diptych) French or English artist. (right side) Wilton Diptych

6 The Wilton Diptych (c ), tempera on wood, each section 57 cm 29.2 cm. National Gallery, London. The Wilton Diptych (c ) is a small portable diptych of two hinged panels, painted on both sides. ( A diptych is any object with two flat plates attached at a hinge.) It is an extremely rare survival of a late Medieval religious panel painting from England. The diptych was painted for King Richard II of England who is depicted kneeling before the Virgin and Child in what is known as a votive portrait. The painting is an outstanding example of the International Gothic style, and the nationality of the unknown artist is probably French or English. It belongs to the National Gallery, London. Technique: The Wilton Diptych is painted on two panels of Baltic oak, set in frames of the same material and joined by two hinges so that it may be closed to protect the inner painting. The painting is in tempera, the ground paint being mixed with egg white and laid in thin glazes. The background and many details are inlaid with gold leaf and in places the panel has been tooled (designs engraved into the surface) beneath the gilding to enhance the decorative quality. Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent fast drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium (usually a thick material such as egg yolk). Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. In the panel with the Virgin and Christ Child, the garments are universally blue, the pigment coming from the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. This stone was imported at great expense from the east. Richard's robe uses vermilion, another expensive pigment. Some colours have faded over time. Description of the image: Though the figures of the two inner scenes face each other, and interact by gaze and gesture, they are set in different backgrounds. The human figures are on bare rocky ground, with a forest behind, and a gold leaf "sky" decorated with a pattern made by a metal punch. The heavenly figures stand in a flowery meadow, behind which is a gold background patterned by a different punch. In the left inner panel the kneeling King Richard II is presented by the Saints John the Baptist, Edward the Confessor and Edmund the Martyr, each holding their attribute. In art, an attribute is an object that identifies a figure; most commonly referring to objects held by saints e.g. St Peter holds a key.

7 In the right hand panel the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child in her arms is surrounded by eleven angels, against a golden background and field of delicately coloured flowers. Analysis of the image: Richard's outer robe is of cloth of gold and red vermilion, the fabric decorated with his personal device of the white harts and sprigs of rosemary, the emblem of his dead wife Anne of Bohemia..Every aspect of how he is dressed is rich in symbolism. As Richard kneels, the Christ Child reaches towards him in benediction (blessing) and also reaches towards the pennant held by an angel, and significantly placed between them. This pennant is the symbol of Richard's kingship and of the Kingdom of England as a whole. It bears the Cross of St. George, the symbol of England, and surmounting the staff is an orb on which is a tiny map of England, or Ireland. The probable way to interpret this is that the pennant has just been presented by Richard. Although thematically linked, the composition of the two pictures is quite different in feeling. The scene of Richard and his patrons is very sedate, but full of rich contrasts in colour and texture. The scene of the Virgin and Child is full of energetic movement created by the angels who encircle the mother and child. The predominant brilliant blue gives a precious quality, symbolising the heavenly nature of this apparition. The flowery ground also symbolises the gardens of Paradise. The strong tonal contrast of the angel s wings throws the figures into relief against the background. Meaning: The painting is indicative of both Richard's belief in his divine right to rule and his genuine Christian devotion. It also importantly symbolises (in the form of the Pennant), Richard II giving his kingdom into the hands of the Holy Virgin, thereby continuing a long tradition by which England was known as "Our Lady's Dowry" and was thought to be specially under her protection. Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

8 Page from the calendar of the Très Riches Heures showing Jean, Duc de Berry's household exchanging New Year gifts. The Duke is seated at the right, in blue. The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry or simply the Très Riches Heures (The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry) is a richly decorated medieval Book of Hours commissioned by John, Duke of Berry, around A Book of Hours is a book containing prayers to be said by the lay faithful at each of the canonical hours of the day- hence the name - which often included other, supplementary, texts. Calendars, prayers, psalms and masses for certain holy days were commonly included. It is probably the most important illuminated manuscript of the 15th century (known as "the king of illuminated manuscripts"). The Très Riches Heures consists of 416 pages, including 131 with large miniatures and many more with border decorations or historiated initials, that are among the high points of International Gothic painting in spite of their small size. There are 300 decorated capital letters. The book was worked on, over a period of nearly a century, in three main campaigns, led by the Limbourg brothers, Barthélemy van Eyck, and Jean Colombe. The book is now in the Musée Condé, Chantilly, France. The Limbourg brothers used very fine brushes, and expensive paints to make the paintings

9 The calendar section of the Tres Riches Heures, painted sometime between 1412 and 1416, is arguably the most beautiful part of the manuscript; it is certainly the best known, being one of the great art treasures of France. In terms of historical and cultural importance, it is certainly equal to more famous works such as the Mona Lisa, marking the pinnacle of the art of manuscript illumination. Calendar A generalized calendar (not specific to any year) of church feasts and saints' days, often illuminated, is a usual part of a book of hours, but the illustrations of the months in the Très Riches Heures are exceptional and innovative in their scope, and the best known element of the decoration of the manuscript. Most of them show one of the duke's castles in the background, and are filled with details of the delights and labors of the months, from the Duke's court to his peasants, a counterpart to the prayers of the hours. Each illustration is surmounted with its appropriate hemisphere showing a solar chariot, the signs and degrees of the zodiac, and numbering the days of the month and the martyrological letters for the ecclesiastic lunar calendar Artists The main campaign of illumination was sometime between 1412 and 1416 by the Limbourg brothers. The text, border decorations, and gilding were most likely executed by assistants or specialists who remain mostly unknown. The Limbourg brothers left the book unfinished and unbound at their, and the Duke's, death in The work passed to the Duke's cousin, the royal art lover and amateur painter René d'anjou, who had an unidentified artist, the so-called Master of the Shadows, work on the book in the 1440s. Forty years later Charles I, Duc de Savoie commissioned an artist to finish the paintings between 1485 and What the calendar represents: JANUARY The month of giving New Years' gifts (a custom which seems to have died out now). Jean de Berry himself can be see on the right, wearing the brilliant blue robe. FEBRUARY Winter in a peasant village. The inhabitants of a farm are shown warming themselves by the fire, while in the background daily life - cutting wood, taking cattle to the market - goes on as normal. MARCH The year's first farm work, sowing and ploughing and suchlike. The chateau in the background is that of Lusignan, one of the Duc's favourites. APRIL The arrival of spring, hope and new life - the grass is green and a newly betrothed couple are exchanging rings in the foreground, accompanied by friends and family. The chateau is another one of the Duc's, that of Dourdan.

10 MAY The May jaunt, a pageant celebrating the "joli mois de Mai" in which one had to wear green garments known as livree de mai. The riders are young noblemen and women, with princes and princesses being visible. In the background is a chateau thought to be the Palais de la Cite in Paris. JUNE Harvest time - the peasants are moving the meadow in unison, with the Hotel de Nesle, the Duc's Parisian residence, in the background. JULY More of the harvest; the sheep are being shorn and the hay is being reaped. The chateau behind them is that which formerly stood on the Clain at Poitiers. AUGUST The month of hawking; the nobles, carrying falcons, are going hunting while in the background peasants are harvesting and swimming in the river. Behind them is the Chateau d'etampes. SEPTEMBER Probably the most famous of the calendar images. The grapes are being harvested by the peasants and carried into the beautifully detailed Chateau de Saumur. OCTOBER Tilling and sowing are being carried out by the peasants, in the shadow of the Louvre - Charles V's royal palace in Paris. NOVEMBER This is the only calendar image executed by Colombe; the Limbourgs painted only the zodiacal tympanum above it. The picture shows the autumn acorn harvest, with a peasant knocking down throwing sticks to knock down the acorns on which his pigs are feeding. DECEMBER In the forest of Vincennes, fabled for its game, a wild-boar hunt has caught a boar which is being torn apart by the boarhounds. In the background is the Chateau de Vincennes, long a residence of French royalty.

11 Commentary on September September: This miniature was almost certainly painted in two phases: first, the upper section with the sky and château was painted in the middle of the fifteenth century; then the lower scene of grape-picking was completed by another artist from a sketch left by his predecessor. In general, artists started with the background, then painted in the characters before finishing with their faces. In the foreground, it is grape-picking time. The woman in a white and red apron looks pregnant. Other young peasants are picking the purple bunches, while one of them is tasting the grapes. A further character holding a basket is walking towards a mule which is carrying two panniers. The grapes are being loaded either into the mules panniers or into the vats on the cart pulled by two oxen.

12 In the background stands the Château de Saumur with its chimneys and weathervanes decorated with golden fleurs-de-lys.. The presence of this château can be explained by the important role played by Yolande in the early years of the reign of Charles VII and by how much the king enjoyed staying there. On the left, behind the enceinte, stands a clock-tower, the chimneys of the kitchens and a gate leading to a drawbridge. A horse is coming out and a woman with a basket on her head is on her way in. In front of the château, between the vines and the moat can be seen a tilting ground surrounded by palisades, where tournaments were held. The architectural design of the château draws the gaze up towards the dreamily poetic volutes. The towers conceal their protective nature beneath festive trappings, redolent of fabulous adventures in the forests of Arthurian legends and suggestive of the presence of God in His creation. As François Cali put it: These extravagant towers are a dream landscape with constellations of canopies, pinnacles, gables and arrows, with their crockets fluttering against the light. In the middle of the grape pickers, a character is showing his behind. This intentionally grotesque touch contrasts with the extraordinary elegance of the château. Jean Colombe s peasants lack the dignity they have in the other miniatures