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Christ Taking Leave of His Mother, 1505, Woodcut, Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

During the Renaissance, the German artist Albrecht Durer was the most acclaimed printmaker of Northern Europe and his well deserved reputation can be seen in two notable series of woodcuts. Both of them include the theme of Christ saying farewell to his mother before leaving for the events awaiting him during the Passion. The first series called Life of the Virgin was started in 1501 but not completed until after he returned from an extended visit to Italy. A second series called The Small Passion was started after his return to Germany.

In his woodcuts, Durer deals with a wide range of emotional moments; sometimes there are elements of joy, as in Christ Entry into Jerusalem, yet often there are sorrowful events such as the Crucifixion. Durer used Biblical accounts usually for the subject of his woodcuts but many activities in the life of Christ, as well as in his family and disciples, were not recorded in the scriptures. When direct accounts are not available, artists, novelists, and dramatists often turn to their imagination or go to other sources as they try to depict how events might have occurred.

During the thirteenth and early fourteenth century there was much devotional material written but the exact authorship was not always known. Many works that were at one time attributed incorrectly to St. Bonaventura now are called generally, Pseudo-Bonaventura. Durer’s source for Christ Taking Leave of His Mother is from one of the most popular of these works; “Meditations on the Life of Christ.” The thought of Christ’s farewell is emotionally heart wrenching, especially in view of the fate awaiting him in the days that were to come. This subject received much attention from artists in Northern Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and numerous variations of this theme were painted.

In Christ Taking Leave of His Mother (from the Life of the Virgin), Durer lays out the composition in three divisions. Mary is on the left side seated on the edge of a covered porch; her dress is crumpled, her face shows sorrow, and her hands are clasped below her chin. Two women, also with sorrowful expressions, are standing behind her and are part of this group. Christ, near center and a few feet away to the right of them, raises his hand to bless his mother. Two strong vertical elements, the post of the porch and a dead tree suggesting gloom, serve to frame him and at the same time they tend to visually separate him from his mother and the two women. As our attention moves to the right beyond the figure of Jesus we see a third division; open space and a road that will lead Christ to the world beyond. On the road at mid-distance are the disciples waiting for Jesus to join them. In the background, looming over this sorrowful farewell – and possibly intending to suggest the presence and weight of the physical world – is a huge fortress-like cluster of buildings that is based probably on buildings in Nuremberg during Durer’s time.

This woodcut is not quite nine by twelve inches in size; about the size of a standard sheet of notebook paper. Yet Durer filled it with an incredible amount of detail. He presents the primary action in the foreground and then takes us back convincingly into an illusion of very deep space. Durer was a master of black and white values and he skillfully created “gray” tones; even though there are no actual gray tones in this print. The entire surface of the woodblock is of a “yes-no” nature. That is, the surface of the block is either all cut away (to give the white areas) or left uncut (for the dark lines). The various degrees of gray values are achieved by how near or apart the cuts are made to each other.

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B Trinity Sunday (Pentecost 1), Art for June 3, 2012

Rendered by E. Boyd (artist), c. 1936
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Retabla of the Trinity
watercolor, colored pencil, and graphite on paper
overall: 36.1 x 28.2 cm (14 3/16 x 11 1/8 in.) Original IAD Object: 40 1/2″ x 22″
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Retabla of the Trinity, ca. 1936, Watercolor Copy of an Altarpiece, E. (Elizabeth) Boyd, 1903-1974

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

When some forms of creative work became valued more than others the concept of art was established and a hierarchy of categories came into being. Painting and sculpture now are called “high arts” and often the crafts and decorative arts are relegated collectively to the category “minor arts.” Today, other creative works are acknowledged only rarely by the art establishment. Folk, naïve, outsider, and visionary are terms used to describe various art forms that are seldom displayed in galleries or museums except for an occasional special exhibition. These works are made typically by people who have had no formal training in art and lack technical sophistication. It is an art that often fulfills personal needs and at times is the result of emotions related to religious beliefs.

During The Great Depression of the 1930s, millions of Americans were out of work but opportunities for jobs in public works projects were made available under the Work Progress Administration (WPA). Among these workers were artists who were employed to paint murals in Post Offices, transportation stations and public buildings. Artists, writers, and photographers also were employed to document our American cultural heritage. [Dorothea Lange’s well known and stirring photographic images now give us a sense of the hardships of migrant workers during the Great Depression.]

One of the artists working for the Federal Arts Project during this era was Elizabeth Boyd. She was enamored by the Southwest after a childhood visit and following the study of art in Paris as a young adult she returned to seek work in New Mexico. The coming of the Depression led her to a government sponsored project that documented a form of folk art called, retablos which were found in churches throughout New Mexico. Retablo is the Spanish term for a shelf behind the altar on which objects are placed; hence, small paintings displayed on it are known as “retablos.” In the Episcopal Church the term for this shelf (on altars placed against a wall) is retable and sometimes candles or flowers are placed there.

When churches were established by Franciscan monks in the American Southwest, materials were in short supply. There was a shortage of art supplies as well and the images that were created tended to be small and personal. Wood was used for painting surfaces and pigments were derived locally from whatever natural sources were available. In subject matter, they represented usually Christ, the Virgin Mary, or one of the many saints. Boyd travelled to churches in remote villages and often her work was in adverse conditions as she drew the retablos and then remained as true as possible to the originals when she painted them with watercolors. With the aid of two assistants, woodblock prints were made of her work and published as New Mexico’s contribution to the Index of American Design.

The Retabla of the Trinity differs from familiar depictions of the Father, Son, and dove representing the Holy Spirit. Instead, the Trinty image rendered by Boyd is of Byzantine origin and is based on an account in Genesis (18:2) that told of three men coming to Abraham. Early portrayals included Abraham as well but later only the three men were pictured. The depiction of the Trinity in this form was carried over into European art but after an edict by the pope in the eighteenth century it was no longer used. It remained in use, however, in the American Southwest and in other parts of the Americas that were settled by Spain.

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B Pentecost, Art for May 27,2012

BASTIANI, Lazzaro
(b. ca. 1430, Venezia, d. ca. 1512, Venezia)
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Pentecost
1484-90
Tapestry in wool, silk and silver thread
Santa Maria della Salute, Venice
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Pentecost, 1484-1490, Tapestry, Lazzaro Bastiani, ca. A.D. 1430-1512

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

The importance attributed to artists by scholars can be determined usually by how many of their works are projected onto a screen in an art history class. Lazzaro Bastiani’s work is seldom shown or discussed and often he is left out entirely from textbooks. A reason for this is that his contemporaries were the major artists of his time; the fame of Renaissance artists such as Botticelli, Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Durer continue to overshadow Bastiani to this day. Bastiani did not work for the Medici in Florence or the pope in Rome; even in Venice where he lived, the artists of the Bellini family were more widely known. Yet, like a good journeyman, he was employed steadily and produced respectable work.

Before the early Renaissance, there was no separation of the arts but in the fifteenth century, painting came to be regarded as being of a higher order. Craft workers were erroneously thought to be occupied only with repetitious handwork whereas the arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture were recognized as having intellectual content. Although the weaving process was associated with the crafts, tapestries in effect were akin to painting and were admired. Artists such as Bastiani, were commissioned to make cartoons (full scale preparatory designs) that were reproduced in woven form. The creator of a cartoon, however, did not participate in the weaving process; a tapestry was made usually by a guild or a family of weavers

In Bastiani’s Pentecost, the fine wool, silk and silver threads make up a richness of texture that differs from the surface of an oil painting. The materials are different yet, in style, the Pentecost is in keeping with fifteenth century Venetian painting. Because contacts through trade had been going on with the Near East for many centuries, the rebirth of classicism during the Renaissance was not as strong in Venice as it was in Florence and Rome. The influence of Greek sculpture in works such as The Birth of Venus by Florentine artist Sandro Botticelli gives his painting a neat, uncluttered effect. Bastiani on the other hand, seems to be determined to fill all spaces with ornate details. In the tapestry, symbols of rebirth, resurrection, immortality, and purity are found in the form of such fauna as a hare, peacock, and stag; in flowers we are reminded of the transient nature of life and eternal life is symbolized by a palm tree. Unlike the setting described in the Book of Acts (2:1-21), Bastiani does not place the apostles in a room but instead he presents the scene as if it were an outdoor stage with Mary enthroned in the center. He places the apostles in two groups but does not place a tongue of fire resting above them individually as described by Luke. Bastiani gives us simply an overall reddish glow above their heads.

The placement of Mary on a throne (an image derived from Byzantine sources) in the center of the tapestry has made her the focus of attention. She is noted in the Book of Acts (1:14) as being in the upper room prior to Pentecost and she was there apparently during the event but Luke does not single her out as being a central figure. Instead, Bastiani’s placement of Mary seems to be a result of the extraordinary growth in the veneration of Mary that started in the early thirteenth century and continued through the Renaissance.

Like information on Bastiani himself, the original setting for the Pentecost tapestry is obscure. At the present time it is on the altar of Santa Maria della Salute (Basilica of St. Mary of Health) but the church had not been built at the time the tapestry was woven.

Note:

When preparing to weave a tapestry, strong parallel threads are stretched close to each other and tied onto a loom. These are the warp threads through which the weft – the threads that cross over and under them – are passed. If warp and weft are equal in size, color, and texture the fabric will be uniform throughout. When making a tapestry, however, a wide range of colors are used for the weft as the weavers follow an image that was designed by a painter. The result is like a painting except instead of pigments being placed on a woven piece of cloth (a canvas), the pigments are in the threads themselves and are an integral part of the fabric.

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B Easter 7, Art for May 20,2012

MASOLINO da Panicale
(b. 1383, Panicale, d. 1447, Firenze)
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Pope Gregory the Great (?) and St Matthias
1428-29
Tempera and oil on poplar transferred to fibreboard, 126 x 59 cm
National Gallery, London
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Click to open Wikipedia article of St. Matthias.

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Pope Gregory the Great (?) and St. Mathias, 1428-29, Tempera and Oil on Wood, Masolino (Masolino da Panicale), A.D. 1383-1447

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

In the Book of Acts (1:23-26) we have an account of the disciples selecting Mathias by lot to replace Judas but no further information is provided in the New Testament. As often occurs, when facts are not available, the imagination and stories fill the void. Like the popular movie genre of the 1950s in which story lines were built around hypothetical events in the lives of Biblical figures, the accounts of Mathias’ life are not based on direct knowledge. Little is actually known about him.

According to tradition, the Apostle Mathias travelled extensively throughout the Near East, Africa, and Asia Minor. Sometimes he travelled with other apostles. He preached at various times in Judea, Jerusalem, Colchis, Syria, Ethiopia, and Macedonia. He was martyred by several means and buried in several places. He was speared to death in Southern Asia. He was stoned and then beheaded in Jerusalem – also, in Jerusalem, he died of old age and was buried there; He was crucified and buried in Colchis (modern day Georgia); In Syria he was burned to death. He died in Sebastoplis (modern day Sudan) and was buried there as well. There is yet another burial place. Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, took what she believed were the remains of Mathias to Germany and they are now interred at the abbey of St. Mathias, Trier.

In music, a leitmotif – a recurring theme – is associated with a particular person or idea. Sometimes an instrument is used to identify a character, such as an oboe to represent the duck in Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. In similar manner, identifying themes are used in art. A figure of a bearded man in a painting could represent almost any apostle but with an appropriate prop it could be interpreted as a specific person. Just as we associate a man in a white coat and stethoscope as a doctor or a man with a collar worn backwards as a priest, apostles in paintings were identified by objects associated with their lives. Sometimes Mathias is shown with a spear because one tradition has it he was killed with a lance in Asia Minor. He also is represented with a book or scroll to indicate he was an interpreter of judgments and prophecies. The object most often pictured with Mathias, however, is an axe or some version of it such as a battle axe, halberd or hatchet. The axe is associated with the tradition that he was martyred by being beheaded.

In art, a painter is not required to adhere to time. Just as people and events of different places and time periods, even hundreds of years apart, can exist simultaneously in our minds; in a painting they may exist also in a time realm that is separate from reality. Thus you will see a triptych with the donors standing in the wings looking across the ages and observing a scene of the nativity. Or, as we see in Masolino’s painting, a first century man, Mathias, conversing with a sixth century pope (believed to be Gregory the Great). It may be assumed they are meeting in heaven. It is not clear why Masolino brought these two men together. Perhaps it was because Mathias carried the gospel to non-believers, and Pope Gregory re-energized the missionary work of the Church. The pope made it a priority to evangelize the non-Christians among the Anglo-Saxons in England.

In its original form, the painting of Pope Gregory and St. Mathias (now at the National Gallery in London) was part of a polyptych, a multi-paneled painting. The painter, Masaccio, was called to Rome to work on this altarpiece for the church of Santa Maria Maggiore but completed only one panel before he died. The remaining panels, including The Pope and St. Mathias, were painted by Masolino. This polyptych is no longer in its original form. It has been disassembled and the panels are exhibited separately.
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B Easter 6, Art for May 13, 2012

MASACCIO
(b. 1401, San Giovanni Valdarno, d. 1428, Roma)
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The Baptism of the Neophytes
(Frescoes from the life of St Peter)
1426-27
Fresco, 255 x 162 cm
Cappella Brancacci, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence
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The Baptism of the Neophytes, Fresco (1426-27), Masaccio, (1401-1428)

Commentary by Hovak Najarian

From a technical point of view, sculptors in ancient times met success more easily than painters. When Praxiteles carved stone, physical energy was expended but he was not faced with the challenge of creating an illusion of depth on a flat surface. His block of marble was a three dimensional physical reality existing in real space; it was only necessary to carve away the areas he didn’t want. Painters, on the other hand, worked usually on flat surfaces and if an effect of depth was desired, they would have to organize visual elements to create an illusion. Progress in that direction was seen in Roman wall paintings but medieval artists had other concerns and did not seem interested in pictorial space.

During the fourteenth century, as painters studied the work of the past, they gained insights into how effects of space could be achieved. Renaissance artists were the beneficiaries of several centuries of contributions; each leading to a resolution of a particular problem. By the time Masaccio was a young man in the early fifteenth century, scientific perspective had been demonstrated and other illusion-creating devices had been established. He understood them well and utilized them with greater success than any artist before his time. Although we are always aware of a painting’s surface, Masaccio treated it as a window; as though the surface were not there. He had the insights and requisite skills to create an illusion of depth through linear and atmospheric perspective and through gradations of colors and values. Along with depth, he used value changes to suggest light sources within the space he created.

In The Baptism of the Neophytes, Masaccio modeled Peter’s robe and defined the muscles of the neophytes (new converts to Christianity) through the use of light and shadow effects. Peter is closest to the picture plane and behind him are two figures believed to be sponsors; we interpret them as being behind Peter because they are blocked partially from our view. From experience we know objects that are farther away appear smaller in size; therefore, because of size differences and being higher in the picture plane, we interpret Masaccio’s neophytes as being farther from us. Masaccio also is aware that when objects are far away, textural details are not discernable and we are not able to determine color. Atmosphere causes values to become lighter; thus, the hills in the far distance are progressively lighter in tone. Before Masaccio’s time, painters had limited success in creating a sense of depth. Masaccio created pictorial space and made it all seem natural; unless we analyze how he did it we are not consciously aware of the illusionistic devices he used.

In the lower half of this fresco, Peter is baptizing a man by pouring water over him as he kneels in a stream. After we look at the baptism, our focus shifts to the waiting neophytes and we see their facial expressions and body language. Our eyes then progress from the left side to the right and we are guided back to the central foreground figure being baptized. In addition to a convincing depiction of a Biblical event, The Baptism of the Neophytes is a very balanced composition and the continuity of images keeps us engaged.

The Baptism of the Neophytes is among other frescos painted for the Brancacci Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, Italy. Masaccio worked with Masolino when painting began but then when Masolino left, the frescos became Masaccio’s responsibility. Masaccio went to Rome before the paintings in the Chapel were completed and died there at the age of twenty-seven. Artists who came after him were indebted greatly for what he taught them through his paintings. It is said the Brancacci Chapel is the birthplace of the Renaissance.

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B Easter 5, Art for May 6, 2012

UNKNOWN ICON PAINTER, Russian
(2nd half of 18th century in Palekh)

The Baptism of the Eunuch of the Ethiopean Queen by Philip
1751-1800
Egg tempera on wood, with gilt frame, 39 x 36 cm
Ikonen-Museum, Recklinghausen
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