Northern European Art in the 16th Century
Northern European Art in the 16th Century Hieronymus Bosch 1450-1516 Not his real name, born Van Aken -Fake first name taken from his hometown Very devout, affiliated w/ a confraternity of laity associated w/ Mary “Never in his life painted anything unnatural, except in terms of Hell or Purgatory… endeavored to find for his fantastic pictures the rarest objects, but they were always true to nature”
Hieronymus Bosch, Adoration of the Magi, Triptych (altarpiece), closed: Mass of St. Gregory, ca. 1510, Madrid, Pardo Vision that St. Gregory had of Christ during the mass of a man of sorrow -St. Gregory kneeling by the altar ---Painted w/ limited colours – black and white -The Body of Christ is painted across the opening of the triptych ---Like how the host is divided into two pieces, as is Christ -Smaller person/boy in black w/ a read hat kneeing closer to the foreground
Bosch, Adoration of the Magi, Triptych, open; Male Donor w/ St. Peter and Female Donor w/ St. Agnes
Scenes are connected through panels
A bell shaped in contrast to previous square triptychs Much more colourful than it is closed o Red robes, black and white robes, green grass, etc. Patrons with name saints: St. Peter on the left panel, St. Agnes on the right panel In the centre, a nativity scene Cracking roof over the heads of Mary and Christ Inside of it is totally dark w/ a sinister figure just inside the door (half naked man w/ thorns – anti-Christ?) Usually a serene, hopeful subject but it is more sinister The Magi represent three different ages and nationalities (Asian, European, African) St. Joseph is also present, but sent away (left panel, sitting in a town by a fire – he is unimportant and set aside) Top of the background there is a city/buildings in the distance It is signed The African Magi is giving Christ an unusual gift – orb w/ a golden top This is all interpreted as – Christ coming doesn’t bring us hope b/c of the anti-Christ, forces of evil are constantly present and never defeated
+ Workshop of the Master of Flemalle, Merode Altarpiece, (Triptych of the Annunciation) Rectangular shape vs. Bosche’s flourished frame at the top
Bosch, Triptych of St. Anthony, closed: Arrest of Christ and Way to Calvary, ca. 1505-10, Lisbon, National Museum
-Limited colours (yellows and greys) Arrest of Christ and Christ carrying the cross -Shows him not being understood as the savior -Suffering and condemming
Bosch, Triptych of St. Anthony, open
More colours (blues, reds) Town on fire in the distance (Sonoma and Gomorra? Life of St. Anthony? He was known to fight demons for 20 yrs) Fantastic creatures (demons) -Some flying, some on the ground, some in the water This is a narrative however it is not chronological Left panel: the exhaustion of St. Anthony – the end after being isolated in the wild but supported by his friends -He is surrounded by a desolate landscape filled w/ sinister creatures (below the bridge he’s walking on there are demons, a hatching egg near him w/ a bird on top) In the centre, there is a building in ruin Inside of it in shadows, you see the saint kneeling and praying in front of an altar with a crucifix Just outside of it, there is a priest administering a mass around a table w/ a female figure also administering -Monks w/ almost no body ---A black mass? Magic and evil beliefs On the right panel, there are temptations (naked women), the saint is looking towards the viewer to avoid them Moral: we should not be tempted and continue our journey in the faith +the city in background could be Sodom and Gomorra or does it represent St. Anthony’s life? Schongauer, Engraving, Demons Tormenting St. Anthony St. Anthony is not exhausted, more serene -in contrast, he is impervious and can withstand all the evil forces around him
Bosch, Haywain Triptych, closed: The Peddler, ca. 1500-1505, Madrid, Prado The subject is the representation of every man Life is represented here w/ all its difficulties -The figure has a stick to defend himself from a dog -The bridge he is walking towards is very small and cracked -Criminals are being hanged on trees in the background ---Life is full of difficulties, we must ignore the wickedness around us
Bosch, Haywain Triptych, Open Theme of the Last Judgment Adam and Eve at the bottom of the left panel at the moment of their sin Right panel is hell and damnation The central panel is a hay wagon heading towards hell -Around them are the major sins (gluttony, lust, envy, etc.) -On the top of the wagon is a praying angel, looking up to Christ (for salvation) -Christ as the savior and man of sorrow is up high in the clouds ---Separate from everything that is happening, everyone is indifferent to his presence -----The people led their lives by greed, etc., critique to society and the Christian doctrine (in the period before the counter reformation) -------Laymen aren’t the only sinners – also nuns and monk
Bosch, Garden of Earthy Delights, closed, ca. 1505-15, oil on wood, Madrid, Prado Inscription on top: “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” Psalm 33.9 Minimal colour (grey, black, white) Surreal representation of the cosmos on the third day of creation (Genesis) -Globe, in the centre, there are trees, landscapes emerging The black/grey background as the void
Bosch, Garden of Earthy Delights, Open, 2.20x0.97 m. – Original patron: Count Hendrick III of Nassau Right panel is hell Left and centre is heaven, inhabited by fantastical hybrid animals and fountains Adam and Eve on the left In the centre, almost overly populated and filled w/ many creatures -Manifestation of the power of women? Highly disputable interpretation -The fountain could be interpreted as alchemy (neither are really convincing) The centre is sexually charged – naked people of both genders Right panel – a human that is tree like, his body open w/ creatures inside it This triptych was originally displayed in a house, not a church -Used the format of an altarpiece, which was always displayed in a church to make a work of art to be used in a secular context ---Just for its own beauty and strangeness
Jan Gossaert, Malvagna Triptych, ca. 1512, Palermo, Galleria Nazional Born is a small town in the Netherlands Known for being the first artist who travelled south to Italy (1509) -Arrived in Rome and met with Pope Julius II -1509 – excavations of antiquity, Michelangelo and Raphael were working in the Vatican One of the first works produced after his return to the Netherlands Very standard triptych -Female saints in the right and left panels -Gothic renaissance elements
Gossart and Gerard David, Adoration of the Kings, ca. 151015, London, National Gallery 2010 there was a major exhibition at the MET about collaborations between artists of the same caliber (not student/teacher) It was x-rayed, showing it was done by two different artists Madonna and Child is done by David + Gossart, St. Luke Drawing of the Madonna and Child 1515, Prague Same subject (Mary and Child) but in a totally different style Mary is in the setting, not an apparition -Different physical features
Gossart, St. Luke Drawing the Virgin Mary, 1520, Vienna Italianized style St. Luke at a pulpit drawing w/ an angel over his shoulder, marry in an apparition surrounded by baby angels in a cloud while holing baby Jesus In the background, there is a statue of Moses holding the 10 commandments + Dirk Jacobsz Vellert, St. Luke painting the Virgin, 1526, engraving, NY, MET Gossarts legacy
Gossart, Neptune and Aphrodite, 1516, Berlin, Gemaldegalerie Derives from Durer’s prints The bodies have been magnified (curvier) Placed in a fine architectural background which is an ancient Roman monument (Basilica Aemilia) Gossart made studies of ancient architecture and paced his subjects w/in them
Gossart, Danae, 1527, Munch, Alte Pinakothek Jupiter transforming himself into gold to get into the room to have sex w/ her The background comes from the Temple of Vesta -Where the Vestal Virgins tended the fire
Quentin Massys, Money-Changer and his Wife, ca. 1514, Paris, Louvre Inscription around the original frame: Leviticus, 19.36: “You shall have honest balances and honest weights” -Comment on the male figure The man is very concentrated on his work The wife was praying w/ a prayer book but got distracted by her husbands work There is a convex mirror in which we see a man w/ a red turban who is reading and praying -The subject could be about the devotion and meditation we should use when we pray ---Don’t get distracted like the woman
Pieter Bruegel, Return of the Hunters, 1565, Vienna December and January Everything covered in snow Hunters returning w/ their dogs in the foreground left, to the right in the mid-ground, people are skating, snowy mountains in the background and clear skies
Pieter Bruegel, The Harvesters, 1565, NY, MET August and September Workers in a field taking a break on a hot summer day under a tree
Katherina Van Hemessen, Self-Portrait, 1548, Basel, Kunstmuseum Inscription: “I Caterina Van Hemessen painted myself in 1548. Her age 20” Trained by her father but became an independent artist Most of her portraits had a meticulous inscription She is looking at us (meaning into a mirror while she was painting it)
Hieronymus Bosch, Adoration of the Magi, Triptych (altarpiece), closed: Mass of St. Gregory, ca. 1510, Madrid, Pardo Vision that St. Gregory had of Christ during the mass of a man of sorrow -St. Gregory kneeling by the altar ---Painted w/ limited colours – black and white -The Body of Christ is painted across the opening of the triptych ---Like how the host is divided into two pieces, as is Christ -Smaller person/boy in black w/ a read hat kneeing closer to the foreground
Bosch, Adoration of the Magi, Triptych, open; Male Donor w/ St. Peter and Female Donor w/ St. Agnes
Scenes are connected through panels
A bell shaped in contrast to previous square triptychs Much more colourful than it is closed o Red robes, black and white robes, green grass, etc. Patrons with name saints: St. Peter on the left panel, St. Agnes on the right panel In the centre, a nativity scene Cracking roof over the heads of Mary and Christ Inside of it is totally dark w/ a sinister figure just inside the door (half naked man w/ thorns – anti-Christ?) Usually a serene, hopeful subject but it is more sinister The Magi represent three different ages and nationalities (Asian, European, African) St. Joseph is also present, but sent away (left panel, sitting in a town by a fire – he is unimportant and set aside) Top of the background there is a city/buildings in the distance It is signed The African Magi is giving Christ an unusual gift – orb w/ a golden top This is all interpreted as – Christ coming doesn’t bring us hope b/c of the anti-Christ, forces of evil are constantly present and never defeated
+ Workshop of the Master of Flemalle, Merode Altarpiece, (Triptych of the Annunciation) Rectangular shape vs. Bosche’s flourished frame at the top
Bosch, Triptych of St. Anthony, closed: Arrest of Christ and Way to Calvary, ca. 1505-10, Lisbon, National Museum
-Limited colours (yellows and greys) Arrest of Christ and Christ carrying the cross -Shows him not being understood as the savior -Suffering and condemming
Bosch, Triptych of St. Anthony, open
More colours (blues, reds) Town on fire in the distance (Sonoma and Gomorra? Life of St. Anthony? He was known to fight demons for 20 yrs) Fantastic creatures (demons) -Some flying, some on the ground, some in the water This is a narrative however it is not chronological Left panel: the exhaustion of St. Anthony – the end after being isolated in the wild but supported by his friends -He is surrounded by a desolate landscape filled w/ sinister creatures (below the bridge he’s walking on there are demons, a hatching egg near him w/ a bird on top) In the centre, there is a building in ruin Inside of it in shadows, you see the saint kneeling and praying in front of an altar with a crucifix Just outside of it, there is a priest administering a mass around a table w/ a female figure also administering -Monks w/ almost no body ---A black mass? Magic and evil beliefs On the right panel, there are temptations (naked women), the saint is looking towards the viewer to avoid them Moral: we should not be tempted and continue our journey in the faith +the city in background could be Sodom and Gomorra or does it represent St. Anthony’s life? Schongauer, Engraving, Demons Tormenting St. Anthony St. Anthony is not exhausted, more serene -in contrast, he is impervious and can withstand all the evil forces around him
Bosch, Haywain Triptych, closed: The Peddler, ca. 1500-1505, Madrid, Prado The subject is the representation of every man Life is represented here w/ all its difficulties -The figure has a stick to defend himself from a dog -The bridge he is walking towards is very small and cracked -Criminals are being hanged on trees in the background ---Life is full of difficulties, we must ignore the wickedness around us
Bosch, Haywain Triptych, Open Theme of the Last Judgment Adam and Eve at the bottom of the left panel at the moment of their sin Right panel is hell and damnation The central panel is a hay wagon heading towards hell -Around them are the major sins (gluttony, lust, envy, etc.) -On the top of the wagon is a praying angel, looking up to Christ (for salvation) -Christ as the savior and man of sorrow is up high in the clouds ---Separate from everything that is happening, everyone is indifferent to his presence -----The people led their lives by greed, etc., critique to society and the Christian doctrine (in the period before the counter reformation) -------Laymen aren’t the only sinners – also nuns and monk
Bosch, Garden of Earthy Delights, closed, ca. 1505-15, oil on wood, Madrid, Prado Inscription on top: “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” Psalm 33.9 Minimal colour (grey, black, white) Surreal representation of the cosmos on the third day of creation (Genesis) -Globe, in the centre, there are trees, landscapes emerging The black/grey background as the void
Bosch, Garden of Earthy Delights, Open, 2.20x0.97 m. – Original patron: Count Hendrick III of Nassau Right panel is hell Left and centre is heaven, inhabited by fantastical hybrid animals and fountains Adam and Eve on the left In the centre, almost overly populated and filled w/ many creatures -Manifestation of the power of women? Highly disputable interpretation -The fountain could be interpreted as alchemy (neither are really convincing) The centre is sexually charged – naked people of both genders Right panel – a human that is tree like, his body open w/ creatures inside it This triptych was originally displayed in a house, not a church -Used the format of an altarpiece, which was always displayed in a church to make a work of art to be used in a secular context ---Just for its own beauty and strangeness
Jan Gossaert, Malvagna Triptych, ca. 1512, Palermo, Galleria Nazional Born is a small town in the Netherlands Known for being the first artist who travelled south to Italy (1509) -Arrived in Rome and met with Pope Julius II -1509 – excavations of antiquity, Michelangelo and Raphael were working in the Vatican One of the first works produced after his return to the Netherlands Very standard triptych -Female saints in the right and left panels -Gothic renaissance elements
Gossart and Gerard David, Adoration of the Kings, ca. 151015, London, National Gallery 2010 there was a major exhibition at the MET about collaborations between artists of the same caliber (not student/teacher) It was x-rayed, showing it was done by two different artists Madonna and Child is done by David + Gossart, St. Luke Drawing of the Madonna and Child 1515, Prague Same subject (Mary and Child) but in a totally different style Mary is in the setting, not an apparition -Different physical features
Gossart, St. Luke Drawing the Virgin Mary, 1520, Vienna Italianized style St. Luke at a pulpit drawing w/ an angel over his shoulder, marry in an apparition surrounded by baby angels in a cloud while holing baby Jesus In the background, there is a statue of Moses holding the 10 commandments + Dirk Jacobsz Vellert, St. Luke painting the Virgin, 1526, engraving, NY, MET Gossarts legacy
Gossart, Neptune and Aphrodite, 1516, Berlin, Gemaldegalerie Derives from Durer’s prints The bodies have been magnified (curvier) Placed in a fine architectural background which is an ancient Roman monument (Basilica Aemilia) Gossart made studies of ancient architecture and paced his subjects w/in them
Gossart, Danae, 1527, Munch, Alte Pinakothek Jupiter transforming himself into gold to get into the room to have sex w/ her The background comes from the Temple of Vesta -Where the Vestal Virgins tended the fire
Quentin Massys, Money-Changer and his Wife, ca. 1514, Paris, Louvre Inscription around the original frame: Leviticus, 19.36: “You shall have honest balances and honest weights” -Comment on the male figure The man is very concentrated on his work The wife was praying w/ a prayer book but got distracted by her husbands work There is a convex mirror in which we see a man w/ a red turban who is reading and praying -The subject could be about the devotion and meditation we should use when we pray ---Don’t get distracted like the woman
Pieter Bruegel, Return of the Hunters, 1565, Vienna December and January Everything covered in snow Hunters returning w/ their dogs in the foreground left, to the right in the mid-ground, people are skating, snowy mountains in the background and clear skies
Pieter Bruegel, The Harvesters, 1565, NY, MET August and September Workers in a field taking a break on a hot summer day under a tree
Katherina Van Hemessen, Self-Portrait, 1548, Basel, Kunstmuseum Inscription: “I Caterina Van Hemessen painted myself in 1548. Her age 20” Trained by her father but became an independent artist Most of her portraits had a meticulous inscription She is looking at us (meaning into a mirror while she was painting it)
