Peter Russell - The History of Art in 50 Paintings

The History of Art

in 50 Paintings

Contents

Delphi Classics 2017

Version 1

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The History of Art

in 50 Paintings

By Delphi Classics, 2017

The History of Art in 50 Paintings

First published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by Delphi Classics.

Delphi Classics, 2017.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.

ISBN: 9781786565082

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Delphi Publishing Ltd

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Art is long, life is short, goes the old adage, and arranging a limited number of paintings to represent the numerous developments and styles of Western art is by all standards a Herculean task. However, it is the aim of this digital edition to present to the general reader a comprehensive account of fifty of the most celebrated and influential paintings of art history. From the earliest beginnings of the Italian Renaissance to the abstract modernism of the twentieth century, this is an intriguing journey exploring the many shifts and innovations of the art world. Each of the fifty paintings is introduced with a concise explanation of its author, its genesis and interesting contextual information connected to the artwork. Following the paintings introduction, a full-size reproduction plate will follow, along with several detail plates and other illustrations associated with the painting and featured artist.

So, settle back and relax, as we summon before your eReader screen the History of Art in 50 Paintings

Around 1305 Giotto (1266-1337), a Florentine painter of the late Middle Ages, regarded by many as the father of European painting and the first of the great Italian masters, produced his most influential work, the painted decoration of the interior of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. Enrico degli Scrovegni commissioned the chapel to serve as a family worship and burial space, even though his parish church was nearby; its construction caused some concern among the clerics at the Eremitani church next door. The chapel is externally a very plain building of pink brick, constructed next to an older palace that Scrovegni was restoring for himself. The palace, now gone, and the chapel were on the site of a Roman arena, for which reason it is commonly known as the Arena Chapel. It has been suggested that Enrico commissioned the chapel as penitence for his sin of usury, which at the time was considered unjust. Dante himself accused Enricos father of the occupation and condemned him in his Divine Comedy .

The theme of the decoration is Salvation and there is an emphasis on the Virgin Mary, as the chapel is dedicated to the Annunciation and to the Virgin of Charity. As is common in similar projects in medieval Italy, the west wall is dominated by the Last Judgement . The cycle is divided into 37 scenes, arranged around the lateral walls in three tiers, starting in the upper register with the story of Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Virgin, and continuing with the story of Mary. The Life of Jesus occupies two registers. The Last Judgment fills the entire pictorial space of the counter-faade.

Much of the blue in the fresco has been worn away by time, because Scrovegni ordered that the expensive pigment ultramarine blue should be painted on top of the already dry fresco (secco fresco) to preserve its brilliance. For this reason it has disintegrated faster than the other colours that have been fastened within the plaster of the fresco. An example of this decay can clearly be seen on the robe of Christ as he sits on the donkey.

The six scenes concerning the story of Joachim and Anne, located in the top tier on the right wall, narrate how Joachim was expelled from the temple due to his childlessness, explaining how the angel appeared to Anne with news she would bear a child. The third image tells how Joachim made a sacrificial offering that was pleasing to God. Next, an angel appears to him in a dream, announcing the arrival of a daughter named Mary. The series concludes with an illustration of how Joachim returns to Jerusalem, meeting Anne at the Golden Gate, where Mary is conceived by the embrace of Anne and her ageing husband.

Of particular note in the cycle, the Annunciation to St. Anne reveals Giottos blossoming development in the depiction of space. The three-dimensional rendering of the room provides depth for the image, achieving a sense of reality in the depiction of the scene. The interior and furnishings of the room are delicately portrayed, while the folds in the maids dress also evince a realistic style of representation.

Giottos style draws on the solid and classical sculpture of Arnolfo di Cambio. Unlike the work of the contemporary leading artists Cimabue and Duccio, Giottos figures are neither stylised nor elongated and they do not follow the Byzantine models so dominant in art that time. They are solidly three-dimensional, featuring faces and gestures based on close observation, and they are clothed in real-life garments that hang naturally and have form and weight, not swirling formalised drapery. Giotto was also renowned for his pioneering steps in foreshortening and representing characters facing inwards, with their backs towards the observer, thus creating the illusion of space.