Rembrandt and the “Fire of an Idea.”

Go on a journey of Rembrandt van Rijn’s 17th century Amsterdam and the vulnerable emotions and sumptuous brushstrokes that defined the Dutch Golden Age of painting.

YouTube Press Release: “Considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age. Rembrandt’s success in his early years was as a portrait painter to the rich denizens of Amsterdam at a time when the city was being transformed from a small nondescript port into the economic capital of the world. His historical and religious paintings also gave him wide acclaim. Despite being known as a portrait painter Rembrandt used his talent to push the boundaries of painting. This direction made him unpopular in the later years of his career as he shifted from being the talk of the town to becoming adrift in the Amsterdam art scene and criticised by his peers.”

Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembrandt

Play Video: The Power of Art Rembrandt van Rijn

Hans Holbein the Younger: The Father of English Painting

Wikipedia Article:  “Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497^[1] – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century.^[2] He also produced religious art, satire, and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history of book design. He is called “the Younger” to distinguish him from his father, Hans Holbein the Elder, an accomplished painter of the Late Gothic school.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Holbein_the_Younger

Play Videos of Tim Marlow, Art History and broadcaster discussing Hans Holbien:

Video PBS Conversation on Book: ‘Caravaggio: a Life Sacred and Profane’

“Michelangelo Caravaggio was one of the great painters in the history of Western art. He also remains one of the most mysterious and elusive of artistic geniuses. A new biography by Andrew Graham-Dixon, “Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane,” wrestles with the man, his times and his work.” -from Press Release at YouTube

National Geographic: Leonardo’s Universe

Click link to below to watch video: “National Geographic: Leonardo’s Universe”

“Bulent Atalay, himself a scientist and artist, offers a comprehensive look at Leonardo Da Vinci, his work, and the many ways in which this enigmatic genius has influenced our world.”

Mona Lisa: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About The World’s Most Famous Enigmatic Smile

Facts About the Artist’s Subject:

Names (discovered in 2005) Lisa del Giocondo, Lisa Gherardini, Lisa di Antonio Maria (or Antonmaria) Gherardini and Mona Lisa.

Born on 15 June 1479, Via Maggio, Florence, Italy | Died on 15 July 1542 or ca. 1551 at Convent of Saint Orsola, Florence, Italy. Possibly born on a farm with aristocratic heritage. Family poor, but respectable name. Oldest of seven children.

Spouse was Francesco del Giocondo, a cloth and silk merchant who commissioned the painting who became a local official. Lisa married as a 15 year old the much older man, becoming his third wife. Lisa’s dowry was 170 florins (which was returned upon her husband’s death) and the San Silvestro farm. Her children were Piero del Giocondo, Suor Beatrice (Camilla del Giocondo), Andrea del Giocondo, Giocondo del Giocondo, Suor Ludovica (Marietta del Giocondo), Raised: Bartolomeo del Giocondo. He was imprisoned in 1512 when it was thought that he possibly shared business or political friends with the Medici which was in exile. He was released when the Medici returned to Florence. 

About the commission: It is thought that the portrait was commissioned when thier daughter Andrea was born and new home was purchased. Francesco’s family were patrons of the arts and had commissioned works by other artists. Leonardo was not paid for the portrait, and it remained in his possession until he worked for the King of France, having traveled with it via his mule.

How did scholars come to know the subject’s identity?

“In 2005, an expert at the University Library of Heidelberg discovered a margin note in the library’s collection that established with certainty the traditional view that the sitter was Lisa. The note, written by Agostino Vespucci in 1503, states that Leonardo was working on a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo^“

Who has owned the Mona Lisa?

“The Mona Lisa has been in custody of France since the 16th century, when it was acquired by King Francis I; however, after the French Revolution it came into the possession of the people.” To read more click here: “wikipedia article”

Podcasts

Fame and the Mona Lisa: “The Theft That Made The ‘Mona Lisa’ A Masterpiece,” NPR Podcast

On Sunday morning almost 100 years ago in the summer of 1911, Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa” was lifted from the Louvre by three thieves. Picasso was arrested, JP Morgan was suspect.  The painting became a sensation in the news, with conspiracy theories abounding. For two years the painting was stored in a trunk in a boarding house, before one of the thieves tried to sell it to an art dealer in Florence, Italy.  Click to Play

Current News: Article and Video

2 Mona Lisa’s, “Mona Lisa: Leonardo’s Earlier Version” NPR article and video

“The Zurich-based Mona Lisa Foundation said today that it has evidence that a painting that first came to light in the late 1800s is an early “Mona Lisa” also done by Leonard Da Vinci… Known as the “Isleworth Mona Lisa,” the painting is a “portrait of a young woman with an enigmatic smile” much like the famous work of art in The Louvre, as The Associated Press writes. The foundation, which was created for the specific purpose of researching the history of the “early Mona Lisa,” says it believes the painting was created 11 or 12 years before the more famous likeness. Its existence first became known when it “turned up in the [Isleworth] home of an English nobleman in the late 1800s,” the AP says.” – NPR

Poll:

What do you think about the 2 painting theory?

Leonardo Not Da Vinci!

‘Da Vinci’s Ghost’ Lives On In The Vitruvian Man

Listen to NPR podcast interview of author Toby Lester. Learn about the famous Vitruvian man, “a man drawn in a circle, in a square.” A blue print of the proportions of the human body. Learn Classicism’s waning influence on the artist, about Leonardo as a young man, and lack of formal eduction. Click here to Play Podcast.

 

Tracking Renaissance Artists in LA

Artists listed in bold are mentioned in “Gardner’s Art Through the Ages.” Continually tracking this, so please come by every few weeks for updates. On rare occasions some works by the top Renaissance masters will travel on loan to a major museum in LA. There is a chance that works by these artists may not be on view due to being on loan, sold, or for conservation issues. In some instances there may be more than one work on view.

Aertsen, Pieter
Alberti, Leon Baptista
Albertinelli, Mariotto
Aldegrever, Heinrich | Location: Getty Center
Altdorfer, Albrecht | Location: Getty Center
Amadeo, Giovanni Antonio
Andrea, Zoan
Angelico, Fra | Location:  Getty Center
Anselmi, Michelangelo
Antico
Araldi, Alessandro
Aretino, Spinello
Attavanti, Attavante Degli
Bacchiacca, Francesco | Location: Getty Center (Mannerist painting)
Baldovinetti, Alessio
Bambaia
Barbet, Jean
Barendsz., Dirck
Barthel Bruyn the Elder
Bartolomeo, Veneto | Location: Getty Center
Basaiti, Marco
Bassano, Jacopo
Bastiani, Lazzaro | Location: Getty Center
Beccaruzzi, Francesco
Beck, Leonhard
Beham, Barthel
Beham, Hans Sebald | Location: Getty Center
Bellano, Bartolomeo
Bellegambe, Jean
Bellini, Gentile
Bellini, Giovanni | Location: Getty Center
Bembo, Bonifacio
Benaglio, Francesco
Bening, Simon
Benson, Ambrosius
Bergognone
Bermejo, Bartolome
Bernat, Martin
Berruguete, Pedro
Bertram, Master
Beuckelaer, Joachim | Location: Getty Center
Binck, Jacob
Blondeel, Lancelot
Boccaccino, Boccaccio
Boccaccino, Camillo
Boccati, Giovanni
Bol, Hans
Boltraffio, Giovanni Antonio
Bon, Bartolomeo
Bonfigli, Benedetto
Bonsignori, Francesco
Bordone, Paris
Bosch, Hieronymus
Botticelli, Sandro
Botticini, Francesco
Bouts, Aelbrecht
Bramante, Donato
Bramantino
Bregno, Andrea
Bregno, Antonio
Bronzino, Agnolo | Location: Getty Center
Brunelleschi, Filippo
Brusasorci
Bugiardini, Giuliano
Buonarroti, Michelangelo
Butinone, Bernardino Jacopi
Calvaert, Denys
Campagna, Girolama | Location: Getty Center
Campagnola, Domenico | Location: Getty Center
Campi, Giulio Girolamo Campagna | Location: Getty Center
Campin, Robert | Location: Getty Center
Caporali, Bartolommeo
Capriolo, Domenico
Caraglio, Gian Jacopo
Cariani, Giovanni
Carnevale, Fra
Caroto, Giovanni Francesco
Carpaccio, Vittore
Cazzaniga, Tommaso
Christus, Petrus
Civitale, Matteo
Claeissens I, Pieter
Cock, Hieronymus
Congnet, Gillis
Coornhert, Dirck Volkertszoon
Costa, Lorenzo
Cozzarelli, Giacomo
Cozzarelli, Guidoccio
Crivelli, Carlo
Crivelli, Vittorio
da Besozzo, Michelino
da Brescia, Moretto
da Carpi, Girolamo
da Conegliano, Giambattista Cima
da Fabriano, Antonio
da Fiesole, Mino
da Firenze, Biagio d’Antonio
da Forli, Melozzo
da Lodi, Giovanni Agostino
da Maiano, Benedetto
da Messina, Antonello
da Modena, Giovanni
da Nola, Giovanni
da Panicale, Masolino
da Pavia, Belbello
da Rho, Pietro
da Rimini, Giovanni Francesco
da Rovezzano, Benedetto
da Sangallo, Francesco
da Sangallo, Giuliano
da Sesto, Cesare
da Settignano, Desiderio
da Tolmezzo, Domenico
da Udine, Giovanni Martini
da Urbino, Clemente
da Verona, Liberale
da Verona, Michele
da Vinci, Leonardo
Daddi, Bernardo
dal Ponte, Giovanni
Dalmata, Giovanni
Dalmau, Luis
Daret, Jacques
Daucher, Adolf
David, Gerard
de Backer, Jacob
de Bles, Henry Met
de Bry, Theodor
de Campana, Pedro
de Cock, Jan Wellens
de Coter, Colijn
de Flandes, Juan
de Gheyn, Jacques
de Lyon, Corneille
de Predis, Ambrogio
de Rossi, Properzia
de Saliba, Antonello
de San Leocadio, Pablo
de Siloe, Gil
de Vries, Hans Vredeman
de’Barbari, Jacopo
degli Erri, Agnolo
del Brescianino, Andrea
del Castagno, Andrea
del Cherico, Francesco Antonio
del Cossa, Francesco
Del Fiore, Jacobello
del Garbo, Raffaellino
del Sarto, Andrea
del Sellaio, Jacopo
del Verrocchio, Andrea
della Francesca, Piero
della Quercia, Jacopo
della Robbia, Andrea
della Robbia, Giovanni
della Robbia, Luca
Dell’Acquila, Silvestro
Dell’Arca, Niccolo
de’Roberti, Ercole
di Alessandro da Sanseverino  , Lorenzo
di Banco, Maso
di Banco, Nanni
di Bartolo, Andrea
di Bartolo, Domenico
di Bartolo, Nanni
di Bartolomeo, Michelozzo
di Benvenuto, Girolamo
di Bicci, Neri
di Bondone, Giotto
di Braccesco, Carlo
di Catena, Vincenzo
di Cosimo, Piero
di Credi, Lorenzo
di Duccio, Agostino
di Francesco, Giovanni
di Giorgio Martini, Francesco
di Giovanni d’Ambrogio, Pietro
di Giovanni, Apollonio
di Giovanni, Bartolomeo
di Giovanni, Benvenuto
di Giovanni, Bertoldo
di Giovanni, Gherardo
di Giovanni, Matteo
di Liberatore, Niccolo
di Lorenzo, Fiorenzo
di Maestro Antonio d’Ancona, Nicola
di Matteo Lambertini, Michele
di Michelino, Domenico
di Niccolo Lamberti, Piero
di Paolo, Giovanni
di Pietro, Nicolo
di Pietro, Sano
di Valdambrino, Francesco
di Zevio, Stefano
Diana, Benedetto
Dieric Bouts the Elder
Dieric Bouts the Younger
Donatello
Dossi, Battista
Dossi, Dosso
Durer, Albrecht
Duvet, Jean
Erhardt, Michel
Estense, Baldassare
Eworth, Hans
Ferrarese, Ortolano
Ferrari, Defendente
Ferrari, Gaudenzio
Filarete
Fiorentino, Niccolo
Floris, Cornelis
Floris, Frans
Foppa, Vincenzo
Foschi, Pierfrancesco
Fouquet, Jean
Francia, Francesco
Franciabigio
Francken I, Frans
Frans Pourbus the Elder
Froment, Nicolas
Gaddi, Agnolo
Gaddi, Taddeo
Gagini, Domenico
Galle, Philip
Gallego, Fernando
Garofalo
Gassel, Lucas
Gerhaert, Nicolaus
Ghiberti, Lorenzo
Ghirlandaio, Benedetto
Ghirlandaio, Domenico
Ghirlandaio, Ridolfo
Giambono, Michele
Giampietrino
Giorgione
Goncalves, Nuno
Gozzoli, Benozzo
Graf, Urs
Granacci, Francesco
Grasser, Erasmus
Grien, Hans Baldung
Grunewald, Matthias
Hans Burgkmair the Elder
Hans Holbein the Elder
Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Leu the Elder
Hey, Jean
Hilliard, Nicholas
Hirschvogel, Augustin
Hoefnagel, Joris
Holbein, Ambrosius
Hopfer, Daniel
Horenbout, Gerard
Huber, Wolf
Huguet, Jaume
Isenbrant, Adriaen
Jacobsz, Dirck
Jacometto
Jean Cousin the Elder
Jonghelinck, Jacques
Jorg Breu the Elder
Ketel, Cornelis
Key, Adriaen Thomas
Koellin, Peter
Koerbecke, Johann
Konrad of Soest
Kraft, Adam
Kunst, Pieter Cornelisz.
Laib, Conrad
Laurana, Francesco
Licinio, Bernardino
Lieferinxe, Josse
Lippi, Filippino
Lippi, Fra Filippo
Lochner, Stephan
Lombard, Lambert
Lombardo, Antonio
Lombardo, Pietro
Lombardo, Tullio
Longhi, Barbara
Lotto, Lorenzo
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Younger
Luini, Bernardino
Mabuse
Machiavelli, Zanobi
Mainardi, Sebastiano
Mandyn, Jan
Mansueti, Giovanni
Mantegazza, Antonio
Mantegazza, Cristoforo
Mantegna, Andrea
Manuel, Niklaus
Marconi, Rocco
Marescotti, Antonio
Marmion, Simon
Marmitta, Francesco
Martorell, Bernardo
Marziale, Marco
Masaccio
Massys, Quentin
Master of 1419
Master of Female Half-Lengths
Master of Frankfurt
Master of Heiligenkreuz
Master of Hoogstraeten
Master of Janosret
Master of Pratovecchio
Master of the Acts of Mercy
Master of the Aix-en-Chapel Altarpiece
Master of the Avignon School
Master of the Castello Nativity
Master of the Coburg Roundels
Master of the Duke of Bedford
Master of the Griselda Legend
Master of the Holy Family
Master of the Housebook
Master of the Joseph Legend
Master of the Karlsruhe Passion
Master of the Khanenko Adoration
Master of the Life of the Virgin
Master of the Manna
Master of the Marble Madonnas
Master of the Mascoli Altar
Master of the Middle-Rhine
Master of the Osservanza
Master of the Pfullendorf Altar
Master of the Playing Cards
Master of the Polling Panels
Master of the Prado’s Adoration of the Magi
Master of the Retablo of the Reyes Catolicos
Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altarpiece
Master of the Saint Catherine Legend
Master of the Saint Lucy Legend
Master of the Saint Ursula Legend
Master of the Tegernsee Passion
Master of the Tibertine Sibyl
Master of the View of Sainte Gudule
Mazzolino, Ludovico
Mazzoni, Guido
Meister, Kartner
Meit, Conrad
Melone, Altobello
Memling, Hans
Montagna, Bartolomeo
Montorsoli, Giovanni Angelo
Mostaert, Gillis
Mostaert, Jan
Multscher, Hans
Neroccio
Neufchatel, Nicolas
Niclaus of Haguenau
Pacher, Michael
Paludanus, Guilielmus
Pannonio, Michele
Patinir, Joachim
Pencz, Georg
Penni, Giovan Francesco
Perugino, Pietro
Peruzzi, Baldassare
Pesellino
Peter Strub the Younger
Peter Vischer the Elder
Peter Vischer the Younger
Piazza, Callisto
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Pieter Bruegel the Younger | Location:
Pinturicchio
Pisanello
Pleydenwurff, Hans
Polack, Jan
Pollaiolo, Antonio
Pollaiolo, Piero
Pourbus, Pieter
Previtali, Andrea
Provost, Jan
Puligo, Domenico
Pulzone, Scipione
Quarton, Enguerrand
Raimondi, Marcantonio
Raphael
Ratgeb, Jorg
Reichlich, Marx
Riccio, Il
Riemenschneider, Tilman
Rizzo, Antonio
Romanino, Girolamo
Romano, Antoniazzo
Romano, Gian Cristoforo
Romano, Paolo
Rosselli, Cosimo
Rossellino, Antonio
Rossellino, Bernardo
Rustici, Giovanni Francesco
Sadeler I, Jan
Sanchez, Pedro
Sansovino, Andrea
Santi, Giovanni
Sassetta
Savery, Roelandt
Schaffner, Martin
Schaufelein, Hans Leonhard
Scheggia, Lo
Schongauer, Martin
Second Gouda Woodcutter
Signorelli, Luca
Sint-Jans, Geertgen Tot
Sittow, Michel
Sodoma, Il
Solari, Cristoforo
Solario, Andrea
Sperandio, Savelli
Spinelli, Parri
Squarcione, Francesco
Stoss, Veit
Strigel, Bernhard
Strozzi, Zanobi
Teerlinc, Levina
Titian “The Renaissance master Titian was a painter’s painter — a pure painter, not also a sculptor or an architect or scientist, like Michelangelo or Leonardo. He created his ravishing images — often sexual, sometimes tragic — by pushing paint over a canvas, sometimes very large canvases, at a time when painting on canvas was still pretty new.” –NPR Radio, by Lloyd Schwartz  | Locations: Getty Center
Tintoretto
Torrigiano, Pietro
Tura, Cosme
Uccello, Paolo
Ulrich Apt the Elder
van Aelst, Pieter Coecke
van Amstel, Jan
van Cleve, Joos
van Coninxloo, Gillis
van Coxcie, Michiel
van den Broeck, Crispin
Van Der Borcht, Pieter
van der Goes, Hugo
van Der Heyden, Pieter
van der Meulen, Steven
van der Schardt, Johan Gregor
van der Stockt, Vrancke
van der Straet, Jan
van der Weyden, Rogier
van Eyck, Hubert
van Eyck, Jan
van Heemskerck, Maerten
van Hemessen, Caterina
van Leyden, Lucas
van Meckenem, Israhel
van Oostsanen, Jacob Cornelisz
van Orley, Bernaert
van Ouwater, Albert
van Reymerswaele, Marinus
van Scorel, Jan
van Valckenborch, Frederik
van Valckenborch, Gillis
van Valckenborch, Lucas
van Valckenborch, Marten
van Wassenhove, Joos
Vecchietta
Vecchio, Palma
Veit Hirschvogel the Elder
Vellert, Dirk
Veneto, Bartolomeo
Veneziano, Agostino
Veneziano, Domenico
Vermeyen, Jan
Veronese, Bonifacio
Viti, Timoteo
Vivarini, Alvise
Vivarini, Antonio
Vivarini, Bartolomeo
von Calcar, Johan Stephen
von Egeri, Karl
von Kulmbach, Hans Suss
von Landshut, Mair
von Olmutz, Wenzel
Vrelant, Willem
Wertinger, Hans
Witz, Conrad
Wolgemut, Michael
Zenale, Bernardino
Zoppo, Marco
zu Schwaz, Hans Maler
Zundt, Mathias

Videos: Great Illusions Began in Florence!

 

Power of Perspective, Elevating Art of the Renaissance to a Science!

CLICK HERE TO PLAY VIDEO: Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion 1/7

Brunelleschi

Innovations shown in the Video:

Discovered the system of linear perspective, elevating art to a science

Major Achievements shown in the Video:

Built the Dome of The Cathedral of Florence

CLICK HERE TO PLAY VIDEO: Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion 2/7

Massacio

Innovation shown in the Video:

First to apply Brunelleschi’s system of perspective to painting, elevating art to a science

Major Achievements shown in the Video:

The Holy Trinity

Use of perspective and geometry is extraordinary, utilizes geometric instruments to map out images

CLICK HERE TO PLAY VIDEO: Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion 3/7

Donato Bramante

Innovation shown in the video:

A extraordinary use of architectonic aesthetics to create an illusion of expanse, playing off of shallow reliefs already embedded in the architectural apse thereby mastering the “power of perspective.” Introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and High Renaissance architecture to Rome, creating the basic plans for St. Peter’s Basilica.

Major Achievement shown in the video:

The Church of Santa Maria

Factoid: The Church has the mural of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY VIDEO: Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion 4/7

Innovation shown in the video:

A “monumental” use of architectonic illusion. Added 2 stories to building using amazing calculations.

Major Achievement shown in the video:

“Sant’Ignazio’s Ceiling in Rome is an amazing demonstration of illusionism on a monumental scale (1600s).”

CLICK HERE TO PLAY VIDEO: Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion 5/7

“Palazzo Spada’s Corridor in Rome demonstrates the use of forced perspective. Special effects reveal how Borromini used an optical trick to create the illusion of depth.”

No 6/7 available

CLICK HERE TO PLAY VIDEO: Empire of the Eye: The Magic of Illusion 7/7

Teatro Olimpico – Andrea Palladio

‘The set design by Vincenzo Scamozzi for Palladio’s covered theater draws us in. This segment shows how perspective is used to create space that isn’t really there.”

Art Making: Fresco Painting

Affresco/Fresco A process of mixing pigments dissolved with water on fresh plaster. This technique was widely used from the late 1200 to 1650.

Arriccio  The preliminary rough layering of plaster mixture over masonry. The textured plaster meant to hold more plaster layers.

Cartone/Cartoon Popular in the 1400s, a technique of creating smaller drawings or set of drawings comprising a large scale image on paper or fabric to be transferred to the plaster surface for painting. Lines made by a stylus were incised on the plaster.

Giornata  Over the arriccio layer, patches of smooth layers of plaster that were added daily. Joinings reveal the order the painting was created. In Massacio‘s The Holy Trinity, you can see the daily patches and it seems as though the artist labored about 28 days.

Intonaco– Lime and sand make up the final plaster layer, extra smooth for painting on it, being worked in sections.

Mezzo fresco– Semi-dry plaster painting, widely used in the 1500s. Pigments saturate the plaster less than the “”True Fresco” method.

Secco/Dry– Painting on dry plaster using pigments combined with a binder of egg yolk, usually final layers. This method leads to deterioration.

Sinopia– “Originally a red ochre named after Sinope, a town on the Black Sea that was well known for its red pigments. In fresco technique the term is used for the final preparatory drawing on the arriccio, which was normally executed in red ochre.”

Spolvero– “Outlines were pricked in this early method of transferring drawings around 1450. After the day’s patch of intonaco was laid, the corresponding drawing was placed over it and ‘dusted’ with a cloth sack filled with charcoal powder, which passed through the tiny punctured holes to mark the design on the wall.”

– excerpts from My Studios

– Images about from Giotto’s “Arena Chapel” 1305

 

Video: Giotto’s Frescoes in “The Arena Chapel,” Dante’s Inspiration

“Giotto dio Bondone (1266-1323), The Lamentation, c. 1305″ at the Arena Chapel, also known as, Scrovegni Chapel” in Padua, Veneto,  Italy.

About: Church built on the site of an ancient Roman arena. Project was commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni wanted to buy his way out of hell as his father Reginaldo degli Scrovegni made the family fortune through banking. Charging excessive interest on financial loans was considered a “usury” a sin that could result in the “exclusion from the Christian sacraments.” Enrico Scrovegni who was concerned with the salvation of his soul.

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Located in the apse of the Church is Enrico’s tomb. There is the “Last Judgement” where he presents an architect’s model of the chapel to the Virgin Mary. The Last Judgement may have been the inspiration for Dante’s Seventh Ring of Hell. The next post we will have video lecture that discusses this in detail. 

Critique: Dramatic expressions. Believable anatomy indicated through fabric. Modeling, foreshortened figures with volume (not flat), overlapping shapes, action poses (mostly angels). Real since of physicality, earth like – less supernatural. Natural realism based on the artist observing his surroundings and not copying prototypes. Possible influence could have been popular passion plays. Another influence was the new humanism inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, whose Church he worked on before the Arena Chapel ,as an apprentice to his master Cimabue.

Giotto may have been the architect. The interiors are covered with panels of fresco murals (water based pigments on plaster), and possibly tempura’s (egg with water based paints), and encaustics (wax fusing). Panels cycles show the Life of the Virgin, Vices and Virtues, and The Life of Christ. He also depicts “God” dispatching in angel, Gabriel. The Last Judgment may have inspired Dante’s Inferno.

Giotto, Dante and the Arena Chapel | Professor Kenney Mencher | 43 Minutes