Section 1. 25 points possible. Answer this question:
1. How did Giorgio Vasari fundamentally change how artists and their work where perceived in Western Europe during the Renaissance? How did he see them? What impact did this have on how artists saw themselves in relation to society?
Section 2. 25 points each.
1. What is stained glass? Consider our discussion of it in class, including the video we watched. How is it made?
2. Who are the bourgeoisie? What are their values? How did their patronage in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance impact how artists worked? How does all of this relate to the concept of humanism?
3. What is photography? How did early photography impact the practice of painting?
Art History
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliations
Art History
Section 1
- How did Giorgio Vasari fundamentally change how artists and their work were perceived in Western Europe during the Renaissance? How did he see them? What impact did this have on how artists saw themselves in relation to society?
Numerous artistic discoveries that occurred in Western Europe during the Renaissance era were influenced by Giorgio Vasari. Vasari changed how artists and their works were perceived. He also impacted how artists positioned themselves and their works in society. Vasari supported the belief that artists should use their artistic talents to imitate and perfect nature. He also believed that whether art progresses or not can be evaluated based on whether it is able to imitate and perfect nature (Zucker & Harris, 2022). Vasari viewed or saw artists as men and women who were born with great talent and whose deeds and actions were inspired by nature that is created by God rather than their individual skills. His beliefs fundamentally influenced artists to think and believe that their artistic abilities were divinely inspired. The artists began to feel that their works should reflect nature and people should not view their artistic works as those done by mere craftsmen but instead perceive that their talents have clearly originated from God.
The works and opinions of Giorgio Vasari had a great impact on how artists saw themselves in relation to society during the Renaissance era. Precisely, the artists developed a general desire to explore nature and the historical events that were happening in society at that time. According to Vasari, artists needed to train in order to acquire new design skills that formed a good foundation for artistic success in the future. Influenced by this notion, painters, architects, and sculptors in Western Europe demonstrated an increased desire to gain new knowledge and artistic methods to improve their design skills. This was reflected in their artistic works. For example, one of the works created by Donatello in 1446-60 during the early Renaissance depicts King David as an adolescent and portrays the biblical story of how young King David killed Goliath thereby liberating his people from poverty. It evidently presents the artist’s role in communicating issues that were of great relevance to the society. ‘Mona Lisa’ by Leonardo Da Vinci and ‘Creation of Adam’ by Michelangelo are some of the artistic works during the High Renaissance that focused on nature and exotic events that were of great relevance to the society.
Section 2
- What is stained glass? Consider our discussion of it in class, including the video we watched. How is it made?
Stained glass is among the techniques applied by artists during the Renaissance, especially during the 16th Century to design creative portraits. The process of making stained glass involves a lot of skills and workmanship. It requires a lot of expertise. The conservators who specialize in glass or glass painters use a lot of fuel to heat the kiln. Most of them are held together by metal, usually lead, at the base. Metallic bars are used to hold the pieces of glass together.
In stained glass, the color of the glass is not really abstained but is created using minerals that color the glass. For example, in silver-stained glass, silver salts are applied on the surface of the glass. Geared to high temperatures to allow the silver to migrate into the glass. Nanoparticles of metal are used to create stains of varying intensities. The stains are complemented with much finer works (Smarthistory, 2017, video). Paint is usually fused to the surface of the glass with heat. The overall product is the impact of different chemicals. The colors remain true and vibrant. Colors do not shift as they occur in painting. Stained glass can be repaired when broken.
- Who are the bourgeoisie? What are their values? How did their patronage in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance impact how artists worked? How does all of this relate to the concept of humanism?
The bourgeoisie is a term associated with a social class during modern industrialization. The Marxist philosophy refers to the bourgeoisie as capitalists who owned means of production during industrialization. The bourgeoisie primarily values property, economic materialism, and capital preservation. They always fought to uphold the economic interests of the ruling class to ensure that they maintain supremacy in society. When articulated, the bourgeoisie values tend to obscure some realities that try to defy perceived general susceptibilities
The bourgeoisie patronage in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance affected how artists worked. Patronage had a key influence on the works of historical artists. During the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, patrons served as primary forces behind the created arts. Serving as patrons, the bourgeoisie did not only pay for the images produced but also dictated the subject matter, cost, materials, as well as size of the created arts. They ensure that artists created arts that communicated their interests, values, and social status (Kilroy-Ewbank & Graham, 2020). All this relates to the concept of humanism. Hunt (2021) defines humanism as the aspect of teaching citizens good morals to enable them to lead a virtuous life. During the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, artists who opposed the bourgeoisie values utilized humanism to create artistic works and visual frameworks to influence communities to engage in virtuous life and strive to cause positive impacts on society. A good example of an early renaissance masterpiece that portrays the concept of humanism is the “Double Portrait: Giovanni Arnolfini & His Wife” by Jan van Eyck. Modern artists are still influenced by humanism to create images to educate people on how to live peacefully with each other.
- What is photography? How did early photography impact the practice of painting?
Painting and photography are artistic practices that are believed to have an impact on each other. Photography is an art that entails capturing and processing images using a camera. The history of photography dates back to 1826 when photographs were taken for the first time. With advancements in technology, modern artists utilize improved devices to create quality photographs of people, animals, and places.
Early photography had an impact on painting practice. Photography was widely used to reproduce art objects. Through photography, art was made accessible to the public. This did not only change people’s perceptions about the objects around them but also transformed how people appreciated beauty. Influenced by changed perceptions, artists began to create paintings to replicate photographic images. The paintings were portable just like photographs. Before the emergence of photography, painting primarily focused on fixed subjects. However, through the influence of photography, painters can use their painting skills to produce arts with momentary effects (Smarthistory, 2017, video).
References
Donatello, David, C. 1446-60, Bronze, 5’2”
Hunt, J. (2021). Humanism in renaissance Italy. in Smarthistory. https://smarthistory.org/humanism-renaissance-italy/.
Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, C. 1503-06, Oil on panel, 30¼” x 21”
Jan van Eyck, Double Portrait: Giovanni Arnolfini & His Wife, 1434, Oil on panel, 33” x 22½”
Kilroy-Ewbank, L. & Graham, H. (2020). Why commission artwork during the renaissance? In Smarthistory. https://smarthistory.org/renaissance-patrons/.
Michelangelo, Creation of Adam, Sistine Chapel ceiling, 1511-12, fresco, 9’2” x 18’8”
Smarthistory. (2017, video). The conservator’s eye: a stained-glass Adoration of the Magi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlComrRc19Y.
Zucker, S. & Harris, B. (2022). Linear perspective: Brunelleschi’s experiment. In Smarthistory. https://smarthistory.org/linear-perspective-brunelleschis-experiment/.