Tag: Hovak Najarian
The Baptism of the Neophytes, Fresco (1426-27), Masaccio, (1401-1428)
Commentary by Hovak Najarian
Related post B Easter 6, Art for May 13, 2012
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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© 2012 Hovak Najarian
B Easter 5, Art for May 6, 2012
UNKNOWN ICON PAINTER, Russian
(2nd half of 18th century in Palekh)
Related art commentary by Hovak Najarian.
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The Baptism of the Eunuch of the Ethiopian Queen by Philip, Egg Tempera, (ca. AD 1751-1800), Artist Unknown
Commentary by Hovak Najarian
Related post “B Easter 5, Art for May 6, 2012
Duration of time is a factor in many of the arts. In motion pictures and in the theater there is a passage of time as the audience is engaged from beginning to end. A period of time occurs also as the plot of a novel unfolds or as we listen to music. A painting differs from the above arts in that time is not an inherent part of how we experience it; we may choose to examine a painting at length but it is possible to see it in its entirety in a single moment.
When an artist wants to depict events that have taken place in time, they do so usually with a series. Each work depicts a particular event and stands on its own but taken collectively they encompass a period of time; as in Albrecht Durer’s Small Passion. A sequence, in which two or more events are shown in a single painting, however, is less common in the art of the Western World and is found more often in murals and relief sculpture. Michelangelo used a narrative sequence in several panels in the ceiling frescos of the Sistine Chapel; most notably, The Fall and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden. This device also was used by an unknown Russian artist in the icon, The Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch by Philip. Unlike the subject of a still-life or landscape (unless there is intentional symbolic content), the above paintings illustrate an event or story and it is necessary for a viewer to have prior knowledge of what is being depicted in order to understand the relationship of the images.
In the “Baptism of the Eunuch,” a carriage in which a high-ranking Ethiopian eunuch and Philip are seated is shown in the upper right side. Before Philip met him, the eunuch had been to Jerusalem to pray and had been reading the book of Isaiah but did not understand a particular passage. When Philip came to him and explained it, the eunuch expressed a desire to be baptized. They traveled together and when they reached a body of water, the baptism took place. In the sequence of events, the conversation between the two men and the carriage ride preceded the baptism but in this painting it is part of the background narrative and is included as a secondary subject. The baptism is the primary point of focus. The scene of the baptism is placed prominently in the foreground and Philip’s size dwarfs the eunuch. The artist may have been following the tradition of depicting a person’s size in accordance with their importance but it is also possible that the painter was somewhat unskilled and simply doing the best he could. In comparison to Philip, the eunuch is almost childlike in size and anatomically awkward. His light skin suggests the artist was not familiar with Ethiopians.
After the split in the Russian Orthodox Church during the seventeenth century, some icon painters became less traditional and by the eighteenth century European realism was a definite influence. “Baptism of the Eunuch,” is not in the style of Russian icons that developed out of Byzantine art. Yet, neither is there an indication the painter was aware of works by major European artists of the Renaissance, Baroque, or Rococo periods. The work has a folk art quality that lacks sophistication when compared to artists such as Rembrandt who also painted this subject. Regardless of this, there is a sense of sincerity and dedication in this artist’s work. Icons were not painted for personal glory but, instead, to enhance worship in a church or a private home.
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© 2012 Hovak Najarian
The Good Shepherd, Fresco, (ca. AD 225), Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome, Italy
Commentary by Hovak Najarian
Related post “B Easter 4, April 29,2012
From the time of the early church until today, images and symbols have become part of Christianity but in the first several hundred years there were very few. The fish and the lamb were early symbols and the Good Shepherd was among those that followed. In depicting aspects of their faith, image makers (now called artists) often used established symbols from non-Christian sources when they were appropriate and had meaning in a Christian context.
Because the image of Christ as a shepherd is such an established part of church art today, one could easily regard it as being an image that is unique to Christianity. Its origin, however, goes back to prototypes found in Archaic Greek sculpture. A calf, goat, or ram on the shoulders of a man is found in works that were created several hundred years before the coming of Christ; Roman copies are known also. The subject of the Greek “Ram Bearer” is of an animal that is being carried to the place where it will be sacrificed. This pre-Christian image was adapted and used by Christians, not as a sheep or a goat being carried to the place of sacrifice, but rather to depict Christ as the Good Shepherd; the loving guardian and protector.
The painter of the Good Shepherd in the Catacomb of Priscilla was familiar undoubtedly with Roman copies of Greek sculpture and also familiar with paintings of pastoral scenes in Roman homes. The facial characteristics of Christ in this fresco are similar to figures seen in wall paintings of that time. He is beardless, without a halo, and not dressed in long white robes as he is depicted in later works. In Christian art, halos had not come into use as a symbol at the time this was painted.
It is thought that depictions of Christ were slow in developing because image makers were not sure how to portray him. Christ’s characteristics tended to differ according to social context. The Eastern Church portrayed Christ with a beard but in the Western Church often he was clean shaven until as late as the twelfth century. During the Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance periods the image of Christ continued to evolve and even today there is debate regarding his true appearance. The image of Christ in the Catacomb of Priscilla reflects the time period in which it was created.
The image itself, however, was not created simply out of someone’s imagination. It had its roots in many centuries before the advent of Christ.
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© 2012 Hovak Najarian
Christ’s Appearance to the Apostles, Tempera, 1308-1311, Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255- 1319)
Commentary by Hovak Najarian
Related post “Easter 3, April 22,2012′
Until the nineteenth century, Italy was made up of independent city states and often there were rivalries among them. Neighbors such as Siena and Florence competed constantly with each other; they fought wars, had disputes over territory, and were rivals even in the arts. During the late thirteenth to the early fourteenth century, Florence was developing rapidly in the arts as Giotto and Cimabue worked there. During this same period, Duccio di Buoninsegna, better known as simply Duccio, was the principal painter in Siena. It was through his work and influence that Siena became Florence’s major rival in culture and art.
The art of Siena during Duccio’s youth was influenced strongly by Byzantine iconography. Duccio, himself, was trained in the Byzantine style but as time progressed, he brought more life to figures than is found in the icons of Eastern Churches. Duccio’s most renowned work is a large altarpiece known as the Maesta (Majesty), designed for the Cathedral of Siena. In the early eighteenth century this altarpiece was dismantled and the parts separated but in its original form it was an assemblage of panels. The very large front panel of the Maesta is a single scene showing a Madonna and Child in large scale surrounded by smaller sized saints and angels. On the back side are a large number of individual paintings depicting scenes from the New Testament. Among them is, Christ’s Appearance to the Apostles.
In Christ’s Appearance to the Apostles we see Jesus as he stands before the eleven remaining disciples after his resurrection. He is pictured as though he has just stepped before them and is speaking with his arms outstretched. The disciples, in turn, are all facing Jesus with a hand raised in a gesture that suggests they are startled and in awe. On the table are broiled fish; a piece of which was given to Jesus when he asked if they had anything to eat. Duccio’s composition is arranged simply but his attempt to create an illusion of space is awkward. Its shallow pictorial depth, the use of gold leaf, and Jesus’ robe are all manifestations of Byzantine art but the individualized faces and fullness of the robes of the disciples are departures from it as Duccio depicted Jesus and the apostles as real people; not as beings existing as though in another realm.
By observing the appearance of things as we see them, Renaissance artists learned to create an illusion of space by devices such as linear and atmospheric perspective, size differences, color and value changes, and in the location of figures or objects in a picture plane.
In Duccio’s painting, all parallel lines of the architecture and table would not meet at a point if they were extended as they would in linear perspective. The disciples with halos on the far side of the table are seen from waist up and we can’t be sure if they are standing or sitting on a bench; the disparity in size tends to negate space rather than to create an illusion of it. The perspective of the table also is awkward and the plates seem to be defying gravity. Yet, despite the inaccuracies of perspective, Duccio achieves a strong sense of unity through the repetition of shapes and colors. Above all, the emotional content of the subject is ever-present and overrides any technical distractions.
Note:
When the medium of a painting is given as “Tempera,” as in Duccio’s Christ’s Appearance to the Apostles, the binder is usually egg yolk and the medium may be sometimes stated as, “egg tempera.” Egg yolk mixed with finely ground pigments holds the particles together and binds it to the surface of the painting as well. Later during the Renaissance, linseed oil was used as the preferred binder; thus we have the term, “oil painting.”
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© 2012 Hovak Najarian
Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem, woodcut (1508-1510), Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)
Commentary by Hovak Najarian
Related post ‘Palm Sunday, April 1,2012’
When Albrecht Durer was a young boy in Nuremberg,Germany his skills were apparent and his father, a goldsmith, took him into his workshop for training. As a youth, Durer continued his training by apprenticing with a master engraver and then followed by traveling to other European countries. His first visit to Italy was in the mid 1490s but nine years later he returned in order to immerse himself in creative work. In Italy, a rebirth had been underway throughout the fifteenth century and during an extended stay in Venice (from 1505-1507) he made a thorough study of not only art but also the intellectual ideas that led to the Renaissance. In his life, Durer enjoyed a well deserved reputation as a painter but it was through the unrivaled quality of his woodcuts and metal engravings that his reputation as a Northern Renaissance artist spread throughout Europe.
Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem is from a series of woodcuts known as the Small Passion (the prints are quite small in scale). Durer started the thirty-seven prints not long after his return to Germany from Italy; he completed them in 1510 and then published them as a book in 1511. The dates of some of the plates (wood blocks) indicate Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem was the first of this series. In his original concept, the Passion was to be the only subject of the prints but after completing them, he decided to add six more prints beginning with Adam and Eve. This changed the emphasis from the Passion to mankind’s woes and our salvation through Christ.
In Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem, Jesus is the central figure and is the focus of attention as He rides toward the gate of the city. The crowd that surrounds him is in a subordinate role; they are the supporting cast to the drama. As Christ is approaching the gate, an old man is placing a cloak on the ground before him. Another man is holding a palm frond. In ancient Rome, a frond symbolized victory and in Christian art it came to be associated with martyrs and a triumph over death. The palm tree in the background symbolizes the promise of immortality (because its fronds are always green).
Halos in Christian art are intended to suggest radiant light around the heads of saints and heavenly beings, but they have not always been depicted in the familiar circular form. Sometimes God the Father is given a triangular halo signifying the trinity. A living person, such as a donor, may be shown with a square halo to indicate they are not one of the saints. Christ is the only one given a cruciform halo in reference to his death on the cross. In “Christ’s Entry,” Durer does not use a circular halo but instead shows Christ’s head surrounded by an intense light with rays extending out beyond the glow.
Note:
Making prints from a raised surface (relief print) is a very ancient graphic process in which an image is drawn on a flat block of wood and then everything but the image itself is carved to be slightly below the surface. When ink is rolled across a prepared block the carved areas, being below the surface, receive no ink; these areas will remain white on the print. When a piece of paper is placed over the block and it is run through a press or pressed by hand, the ink is pulled from the surface of the block, transferring a reversed image onto the paper.
Many prints can be made from a prepared plate. Often an artist plans for a limited edition and destroys the plate after a series has been printed. Copyright laws were not in place during Durer’s time and many copies of his woodcuts were made. Some of his plates still exist.
Albrecht Durer signed his plates with a stylized letter “A” and a “D” in the lower space of the “A.” In “Christ’s Entry,” it is likely you noticed the “D” is reversed. In most instances, Durer reversed his initials on the plate itself in order that it could be read correctly after the print was pulled. It may have been one of his assistants who did the carving in Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem.
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© 2012 Hovak Najarian
Let us help you meet an artist and his work
Note: These comments are prepared and shared with you so that you can meet Dieric Bouts (artist) and his subject The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek, a detail of his altarpiece triptych in Sint-Pieterskerk, Leuven The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek is part of an altarpiece by Dieric Bouts (c.1415 -1475). Although Bouts, The Elder (his sons also were painters) was Dutch, his career and artistic reputation was established in Flanders (now Belgium) where he lived and worked. His triptych (trip-tik) for St. Peter’s Church in Leuven is regarded to be one of his finest paintings. A triptych (from the Greek: tri – meaning “three,” plus ptyche – the word for “fold”) is a three-paneled altarpiece found notably in churches from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance. Early triptychs were relief carvings in wood or ivory but egg tempera became the favored medium of painters during the thirteenth and fourteenth century. Egg tempera offered a wide range of colors but by the fifteenth century it, too, was being replaced as oils became the medium of choice. Oil paints offered ease of application and with it a greater range of effects could be achieved. Dieric Bouts worked in oils on wood panels. In a triptych, the outer panels are usually half the size of the middle panel and are attached with hinges so they can be folded like shutters. A typical triptych has a familiar Biblical scene in the large center panel while the side panels provide a supporting cast of figures or related stories. The side panels may also include the donor(s) as part of a tableau. When the outer panels are folded their reverse sides become the front of the triptych and they also are carved or painted usually in keeping with the overall theme.
Click the image to view the entire Triptych
In the center panel, Bouts’ principal subject in the triptych at Leuven is the Last Supper. The two outer panels – each containing two paintings one above the other – are Biblical scenes from Old Testament events in which the provision of bread was interpreted as prefiguring the Last Supper.
The left hand panel: The upper painting of the left panel depicts the Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek when Melchizedek offers bread and wine to Abraham as he returns from battle. Below that painting is the Feast of the Passover in which unleavened bread will be eaten.
The center panel: Christ is the focus of attention with his face just above the exact center of the triptych. He and his disciples are seated at a table and are about to break bread and participate in the communion. The architectural setting is gothic in style.
The right hand panel: The upper painting of the right panel is The Gathering of Manna. Manna is described as a bread-like tasting substance provided by the Lord. The painting below it is Elijah in the Desert. Bread is given to Elijah by an angel.
In Bouts’ triptych, the four Old Testament stories in which bread plays a role are intended to communicate visually the message of a connection between the stories and the Last Supper. Additional Notes:
As is found often in Gothic and Renaissance painting, the clothing and architectural styles in the Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek are not in keeping with the time period being depicted. The men are dressed in the manner of Europeans of the fifteenth century, and the architecture in the distance is not of Biblical times but rather typical of the time in which Bouts lived. It even includes a gothic church.
Developments in the art of Europe varied from place to place and often it is difficult to give a name to designate a style. Historians may refer to the style of fifteenth century Northern Europe as “Late Gothic” whereas the art of Italy during that same time period may be referred to as “Early Renaissance.”
A painting consists of pigment, a surface, and a medium. Pigments are derived from many sources, ranging from earth colors to organic material. A surface may be anything as long as it is compatible, or can be coated to make it compatible, with the type of paints that are being used. The medium is a binder that mixes with the pigments to hold the fine particles together and to bond it to the surface that is being used. Egg yolk is the medium in egg tempera; linseed or other oils are used in oil paints.
______________ © 2012 Hovak Najarian
The Feast Of The Annunciation, March 25 (celebrated March 26, 2012)
Separated, misidentified and now united by scholarship.
Annunciation, oil on panel (1570-71), Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)
by Hovak NajarianDuring the High Renaissance of the late fifteenth century, men such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo had what seemed to be unlimited skills. The term Renaissance man is used even today to designate a person with knowledge and impressive skills in several disciplines. Although Giorgio Vasari was born in the early sixteenth century and missed being a part of the High Renaissance he was a person with a wide range of interests and skills. In that respect he was very much like the generation before him. Today, however, he is remembered primarily for his architecture and the biographies he wrote about Italian artists; his paintings have lost favor.
The art between the High Renaissance and the Baroque period – starting near the end of the sixteenth century – is not clearly defined; for lack of a better term, historians have called it “Mannerism.” Artists of this period painted in a variety of styles; some of it expanding on or “in the manner” of Renaissance ideas and others tending toward an anti-classicism. Often there would be exaggerated perspective, dramatic lighting, and an absence of the statuesque poses that were part of Renaissance painting. Vasari’s Annunciation was painted during the latter part of the Mannerist period and like the work of Raphael, his figures are classical both in the carefully delineated contours and in their faces. Yet, Mary’s pose and that of the angel Gabriel are in keeping with the theatrical presentation found in Mannerist painting.
In Vasari’s preparatory ink and wash study we can see he modified his original idea when he made his painting. In the study, Mary is at a reading table (at the bottom center of the drawing) with her finger on a book and there is surprise on her face as though this is the moment when she looked up and realized she had a visitor. In the painting, the book has been shifted out of the way to a stand on the far left side (Mary’s right side) and her extended left hand is now simply making a graceful gesture. Her face is slightly downward and her eyes are downcast to indicate she is within herself in this serene moment. In both the study and the painting, her right hand is on her heart. Gabriel is hovering nearby with arms folded. In his hand he is holding a lily, the symbol of purity.
Symbols were used widely in the art of ancient cultures and many of them were carried over into Christianity. Halos (or a comparable glow) and wings were incorporated into Christian art as early as the third century. The Bible does not say angels had wings but artists added them; now they are standard identifying features. Unlike the large gold-leafed halos of the fourteenth century, Vasari’s Mary is given a delicate transparent circle. She is dressed in the colors blue and red; both are muted in tone. Blue represents heavenly grace and red symbolizes the Holy Spirit. In paintings, Mary often is dressed in blue. Gabriel is clothed in yellow and white; yellow represents light and white represents purity, innocence, and virginity.
In Christian art, figures in a painting often exist in a different reality where the source of illumination is not sunlight or artificial light but rather a light that emanates from a holy figure such as Christ. In Vasari’s Annunciation, the light source is the dove representing the Holy Spirit.
Vasari worked consistently for wealthy patrons and a painting such as the Annunciation was not made for working class people. Like much of the art of the High Renaissance and the Mannerist period, it was painted to be “fine art” for a sophisticated audience.
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© 2012 Hovak Najarian
The mural and the fresco
Editor’s Note: Hovak Najarian, Art History Professor Emeritus from College of the Desert, will begin to help us understand the art that informs our faith and understand the faith that informs our art. In our lectionary on Sunday we read from Numbers 21:4-9. Michelangelo’s fresco the Brazen Serpent, from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, opens up this scene from the Exodus. Enjoy the art, enjoy this background to the art. Keep learning.
Become more familiar with often encountered terms:
Mural: A mural is a large work of art that is usually created directly on a large architectural surface. The murals on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel often are referred to as “ceiling frescos” because the fresco process was used to paint them. In the same manner, critics often refer to an oil painting simply by its medium, “oil,” but all paintings are not oils and all murals are not frescos The terms mural and fresco are not synonymous. Mural identifies a work’s category (the type of work that it is) and fresco refers to its medium (the material that is used to make it).
Fresco: In the fresco process, an artist paints directly on wet plaster with water based pigments. Before painting begins, a plasterer covers an area of a wall (or ceiling) according to an estimate of how much the artist believes can be painted before the plaster sets. While the plaster is still moist, the pigment is absorbed into its surface and when it is set the pigment becomes an integral part of it. The pigment is not on the wall or ceiling, it is within its surface.
If a plastered area has set before it can be painted it is no longer capable of absorbing pigment and must be chipped off. A fresh area of plaster is spread on the wall before work continues. The removal of plaster is done along a contour of a figure in order that a seam is not apparent. This procedure is repeated until the mural is completed. It is a time consuming and messy process and is seldom used now unless a particular effect is desired. Michelangelo worked on the ceiling frescos of the Sistine Chapel from 1508 to 1512 AD.
Sistine Chapel: This chapel is named “Sistine” because it was Pope Sixtus who had it restored in the latter part of the fifteenth century.
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© 2012 Hovak Najarian
Hear what the Spirit is saying 