Painting

Titian’s Pastoral Concert

Titian, Pastoral Concert, c. 1508-1510, oil on canvas

The great painting in the Louvre entitled the Pastoral Concert (also the Pastoral Symphony and the Fête champêtre) is mysterious both in meaning and in authorship, but it has been one of the more influential paintings in the museum, particularly on nineteenth-century painters who came to Paris to see it. It has been attributed to the greatest of Venetian painters, Titian, as well as to one of his teachers in Venice, Giorgione (it was first attributed to Giorgione in 1671). Scholars have gone back and forth over the years in their opinions about which artist painted the scene, but recently the tide has favored Titian as the hand responsible for the work at a rather early point in his career (Titian would continue to paint for over sixty years after the Pastoral Concert was completed). The canvas itself was not cleaned for many years, and so in photographs it will come across as having a yellowish tint. However, when the painting was completed in the early sixteenth century, the colors most likely were much more vibrant and distinct.

No one knows for sure exactly what is portrayed in the mysterious subject matter, but it appears to be a depiction of allegory. The main figures are two men who are seated on the grass against a vast countryside setting. Titian was really only interested in landscapes like this early in his career, and in later paintings he reduced the amount of visible landscape, or got rid of it altogether. In the setting here, the man on the left is dressed in the red clothing worn by nobles of the period and seems to be playing a lute, and the man on the right wears a simpler brown costume more typical of peasantry. Off in the distance, we see another man entering the picture; a shepherd arrives from the right along with his herd.

The men are turned toward each other as they engage in conversation and seem oblivious to the other conspicuous figures in the scene – two plump, nude women. While the one on the left is in the process of pouring water from a glass pitcher into a well, the one of the right has just paused her activity of playing a flute while sitting right in front of the men. The fact that the females are not noticed, and are rather comfortable in their lack of clothing, suggests that they are no ordinary women but instead supernatural persons. The use of these kinds of figures – whether they be specific deities or general personifications of ideas or places – originated in the classical world and was commonplace in ancient Roman art. Here, the immortal females seem to be present yet invisible in the presence of the men at the particular moment being portrayed.

The bodies of the females may be considered overly plump by modern-day conceptions of ideal body form, but they would have been considered ideal for Titian’s time. Titian may have copied them from actual models, or perhaps from classical statues, and he seems to have emphasized their curvy bodies by using curvy forms in the billowing trees and hills in the landscape. He also painted the females so that the viewer not only sees one from the front, but also from the back. The viewer therefore gets a glimpse of the nude female form from different perspectives, rather than just from the front. This was a new contribution to painting by Titian, as he was the first painter to depict a nude figure from her backside in such a prominent manner.

Taken the figures and setting as a whole, what might the scene depict? Because there is no written evidence which provides a basis for its content, and because the painting seems to have been an original idea and did not directly copy another painting, the overall meaning is not entirely clear. However, one interpretation given to the female figures is that they are muses, the divine figures who inspire mortals, and the instruments that are being played allude to poetry. The music that is by the figures creates a type of harmony in this setting that echoes the larger harmony found in the universe, thereby linking the activiteis in this scene to the cosmos. This interpretation, however, is complicated by the arrival of the shepherd off in the distance, which interrupts the harmony of the music. It may be the case that the shepherd symbolizes the person of lesser learning or class, who is unable to appreciate the sophistication of the music enjoyed by the two main figures. Thus, according to this view, the Pastoral Concert provides not only a glimpse into a peaceful, utopian activity incorporating a classical understanding, but also perhaps a lesson on the means by which one may arrive at this world – through scholarship and understanding, something which the uneducated man does not possess.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks

High Renaissance, Painting

Leonardo da Vinci, Virgin of the Rocks, c. 1483, oil on wood

In April of 1483, the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception commissioned Leonardo to paint the Virgin of the Rocks as part of an altarpiece for its chapel in the church of San Francesco Grande in Milan. The painting was done on a wooden panel which was meant to be placed within a larger sculpted altarpiece for the chapel. Oil paints were used for the pigments. At this time in the late fifteenth century, oil was still a new medium which had only recently been adopted by Italian painters. It had been used with much success for decades by painters in northern Europe, such as Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden, who were able to capture detail on a microscopic level and convey a sense of realism that was unattainable using other types of pigment. Now that oil paints had arrived in Italy, Leonardo was able to use them to great advantage to create the Virgin of the Rocks, one of the great early masterpieces using this media in the Italian peninsula.

For the painting’s composition, Leonardo placed several figures in a basic pyramidal arrangement. The placement of figures in this way reflected the typical approach taken by other Renaissance artists working in the pictorial arts, such as Lorenzo Ghiberti in his competition panel for the bronze doors of the Florence baptistery, and Masaccio in the Holy Trinity fresco in the side chapel of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. Here, the patrons had requested that Leonardo include the Virgin Mary, the Christ Child, and at least one angel, but in order to give better balance to the scene Leonardo included the figure of John the Baptist as well.

The identification of the child figures may be confusing to the modern viewer in part because they are not accompanied by obvious iconographic clues revealing their identifies. The figure on the left is St. John, and the figure seated on the right is Christ. Adding to this confusion is the fact that not only is the Christ Child not seated in the Virgin’s lap, but she is not even touching her son. Instead, her hand is on the back of St. John, who knees in adoration toward his cousin. Christ, in turn, blesses St. John.

The gestures and glances among the figures results in a more dynamic portrayal of the Virgin and Child that seen in earlier Renaissance paintings. Whereas a painting such as Masaccio’s Holy Trinity showed figures which related to one another to a limited degree, Leonardo has created a scene in which all the figures interact through gestures and glances to create a more unified whole. The angel on the right glances out at the viewer while pointing at St. John, whose gaze toward Christ provides a main focal point of the painting. The Virgin also gazes down at her son, and the placement of her left hand reinforces the emphasis on Christ. The connection between the Virgin and St. John is then made by the placement of her right hand. Thus, although the pyramidal composition is something that had been employed by Renaissance artists for decades, the way Leonardo made all the figures interact in a naturally-engaging way is different.

In addition to the dynamism of the figural group, the Virgin of the Rocks is also noteworthy for its rocky, almost mysterious setting in which the figures are placed. It is not the type of heavenly space symbolized by the golden background of older altarpieces, such as those by Cimabue, Giotto, or Duccio. Nor is it an idealistic landscape that can be found in Fra Filippo Lippi’s painting of the Virgin and Child. Instead, it is dark, misty, and cavernous. On the left side in the distance, the forms become less distinct as they get lost in a haze of foggy atmosphere, which illustrates the implementation of aerial perspective. The very smooth transition between colors and between light and dark that Leonardo used in this painting is called sfumato, which means “smoky”. Not only is it visible in the landscape, but also in the figures, who are cast in light which smoothly turns into areas of dark shade. It is similar to the traditional chiaroscuro technique used by earlier Italian painters, but it is more refined and elevated to convey a higher level of visual realism.

This painting is one of Leonardo’s early masterpieces, and it shows his reliance on traditional Italian Renaissance pictorial devices but also his movement beyond this tradition. If you want to see this painting today, you can do so by visiting the Louvre in Paris, France. Alternatively, you can see another version of this same painting in the National Gallery, London, which was likely a copy made by Leonardo in the mid-1490s.

Michelangelo’s Painting of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling

High Renaissance, Painting

Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel Ceiling, 1508-1512, fresco

The Sistine Chapel is one of the most famous painted interior spaces in the world, and virtually all of this fame comes from the breathtaking painting of its ceiling from about 1508-1512. The chapel was built in 1479 under the direction of Pope Sixtus IV, who gave it his name (“Sistine” derives from “Sixtus”). The location of the building is very close to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Belvedere Courtyard in the Vatican. One of the functions of the space was to serve as the gathering place for cardinals of the Catholic Church to gather in order to elect a new pope. Even today, it is used for this purpose, including in the recent election of Pope Francis in March 2013.

Sistine Chapel as it appeared before Michelangelo's ceiling fresco — Sistine Chapel as it appeared before Michelangelo’s ceiling fresco

Originally, the Sistine Chapel’s vaulted ceiling was painted blue and covered with golden stars. The walls were adorned with frescoes by different artists, such as Pietro Perugino, who painted Christ delivering the keys to St. Peter there in 1482.

In 1508, Pope Julius II (reigned 1503-1513) hired Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the chapel, rather than leaving it appear as it had. Before this time, Michelangelo had gained fame through his work as a sculptor, working on such great works as the Pieta and David. He was not, however, highly esteemed for his work with the brush. According to Vasari, the reason why Julius gave such a lofty task to Michelangelo was because of the instigation of two artistic rivals of his, the painter Raphael and the architect Bramante. Vasari says that the two hoped that Michelangelo would fall flat, since he was less accustomed to painting than he was to sculpting, or alternatively he would grow so aggravated with the Julius that he would want to depart from Rome altogether.

Rather than falling on his face, however, Michelangelo rose to the task to create one of the masterpieces of Western art. The ceiling program, which was probably formulated with the help of a theologian from the Vatican, is centered around several scenes from the Old Testament beginning with the Creation of the World and ending at the story of Noah and the Flood. The paintings are oriented so that to view them right-side-up, the viewer must be facing the altar on the far side of the altar wall. The sequence begins with Creation, above the altar, and progresses toward the entrance-side of the chapel on the other side of the room.

Michelangelo began painting in 1508 and he continued until 1512. He started out by painting the Noah fresco (entrance side of chapel), but once he completed this scene he removed the scaffolding and took in what he had completed. Realizing that the figures were too small to serve their purpose on the ceiling, he decided to adopt larger figures in his subsequent frescoed scenes. Thus, as the paintings moved toward the altar side of the chapel, the figures are larger as well as more expressive of movement. Two of the most important scenes on the ceiling are his frescoes of the Creation of Adam and the Fall of Adam and Eve/Expulsion from the Garden.

In order to frame the central Old Testament scenes, Michelangelo painted a fictive architectural molding and supporting statues down the length of the chapel. These were painted in grisaille (greyish/monochromatic coloring), which gave them the appearance of concrete fixtures.

Beneath the fictive architecture are more key sets of figures painted as part of the ceiling program. These figures are located in the triangles above the arched windows, the the larger seated figures between the triangles. The first group include Old Testament people such as David, Josiah, and Jesse – all of whom were believed to be part of Christ’s human ancestry. They complemented the portraits of the popes that were painted further down on the walls, since the popes served as the Vicar of Christ. Thus, connections to Christ – both before and after – are embodied in these paintings which begin on the ceiling and continue to the walls.

The figures between the triangles include two different types of figures – Old Testament prophets and pagan sibyls. Humanists of the Renaissance would have been familiar with the role of sibyls in the ancient world, who foretold the coming of a savior. For Christians of the sixteenth century, this pagan prophesy was interpreted as being fulfilled in the arrival of Christ on earth. Both prophets from the Old Testament and classical culture therefore prophesied the same coming Messiah and are depicted here. One of these sibyls, the Libyan Sibyl, is particularly notable for her sculpturesque form. She sits on a garment placed atop a seat and twists her body to close the book. Her weight is placed on her toes and she looks over her shoulder to below her, toward the direction of the altar in the chapel. Michelangelo has made the sibyl respond to the environment in which she was placed.

It has been said that when Michelangelo painted, he was essentially painting sculpture on his surfaces. This is clearly the case in the Sistine Chapel ceiling, where he painted monumental figures that embody both strength and beauty.

Bellini’s San Zaccaria Altarpiece

High Renaissance, Painting

Bellini San Zaccaria Altarpiece — Giovanni Bellini, San Zaccaria Altarpiece, 1505, oil on wood

Giovanni Bellini was one of the greatest Venetian painters of the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries, and he made a name for himself primarily through the production of religious devotional images and altarpieces. He painted a vast number of images of the Virgin and Child, of which over sixty survive to this day. Perhaps his most famous painting is the San Zaccaria Altarpiece, located above a side altar in the Church of San Zaccaria in Venice.

Example of an earlier sacra conversazione painting - Domenico Veneziano, St. Lucy Altarpiece, c. 1445 — Example of an earlier sacra conversazione painting – Domenico Veneziano, St. Lucy Altarpiece, c. 1445

The painting may be the most important example of a sacra conversazione scene in Italian Renaissance painting. The sacra conversazione, or “sacred conversation”, was a type of picture showing the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child among various saints from different periods of time. Sometimes these saints seem to communicate with each other, and sometimes with us, the viewers. Other artists, such as Domenico Veneziano, had depicted the sacra conversazione before, but Bellini treated his painting with a particularly high level of delicacy, vibrant colors, realistic forms, and illusionistic architectural space. In the San Zaccaria Altarpiece, the mood is one of quiet and restrained contemplation as all the figures are demure as they stand beside the Virgin and Child as the angel performs a serenade with a violin at their feet.

The scene type often shows an anachronistic gathering of figures who did not live at the same point in history. For example, in Bellini’s painting here, we see St. Peter (first century) on the left, dressed in his typical blue and orange robes, holding onto the keys with his left hand and the book in the right. Next to him is St. Catherine of Alexandria (fourth century), who is identified as a martyr by the palm branch she holds. We can tell this is St. Catherine because of the broken wooden wheel which appears by her side. According to the traditional story of Catherine, an attempt to kill her on the wheel was prevented when the wheel broke at her touch. She was later beheaded. On the right, St. Jerome (fifth century) is depicted reading a book, and next to him is St. Lucy (fourth century), known for having her eyes gouged out (presumably as a punishment for her Christianity).

The composition Bellini used for the painting draws upon the Renaissance tradition of pyramidal groupings of figures. Here, the most important figures are the Virgin and Christ Child, who form the apex of the pyramid. Elevated upon a throne, they are located further back in the picture plane than are the other figures. This intelligible use of pictorial space is made possible through the keen implementation of one-point linear perspective, the configuration of which is visually understood by following the orthogonal lines of the floor tiles to their vanishing point near the foot of the Virgin.

Another important aspect in the formulation of the space occupied by the figures is the architecture, which is placed in front of an open landscape that is only slightly visible to the left and right. By following the molding of the wall behind the group, we can understand it to form a rounded curve topped with a semidome or conch, similar to that of an apse of a church. Thus, Bellini seems to have placed the Virgin and Child within sacred painted architecture in much the same way that a church altar would be placed in the actual architecture of a building (including here at the Church of San Zaccaria). Furthermore, we can see that on the left and right the arches which support the vaulting appear to project forward toward the picture plane. When viewed within the actual arch in the church which frames the painting, the painted architecture seems to be an extension of the physical space of the church.

For Bellini, the painted, fictive architecture complements the high degree of realism and saturated colors to create a serene scene which is ripe for contemplation. Visitors to the church would be able to approach the side altar and experience the vivid depiction of all these holy figures through a type of “window” in the wall.

Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam

High Renaissance, Painting

michelangelo-creation-of-adam — Michelangelo, Creation of Adam, from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Rome, 1508-1512, fresco

The most famous section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling is Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. This scene is located next to the Creation of Eve, which is the panel at the center of the room, and the Congregation of the Waters, which is closer to the altar.

The Creation of Adam differs from typical Creation scenes painted up until that time. Here, two figures dominate the scene: God on the right, and Adam on the left. God is shown inside a floating nebulous form made up of drapery and other figures. The form is supported on angels who fly without wings, but whose flight is made clear by the drapery which whips out from underneath them. God is depicted as an elderly, yet muscular, man with grey hair and a long beard which react to the forward movement of flight. This is a far cry from imperial images of God that had otherwise been created in the West dating back to the time of late antiquity. Rather than wearing royal garments and depicted as an all-powerful ruler, he wears only a light tunic which leaves much of his arms and legs exposed. One might say this is a much more intimate portrait of God because he is shown in a state that is not untouchable and remote from Man, but one which is accessible to him.

Unlike the figure of God, who is outstretched and aloft, Adam is depicted as a lounging figure who rather lackadaisically responds to God’s imminent touch. This touch will not only give life to Adam, but will give life to all mankind. It is, therefore, the birth of the human race. Adam’s body forms a concave shape which echoes the form of God’s body, which is in a convex posture inside the nebulous, floating form. This correspondence of one form to the other seems to underscore the larger idea of Man corresponding to God; that is, it seems to reflect the idea that Man has been created in the image and likeness of God – an idea with which Michelangelo had to have been familiar.

One of the questions that has been raised about this scene is the identity of the figures next to God. Given her privileged placement under the arm of God, the female figure is presumably an important one. Traditionally, she has been thought to be Eve, the future wife of Adam, who waits to the side until she is created out of Adam’s rib. More recently, however, a theory has been floated that this is actually the Virgin Mary, who takes this place of honor next to God and the child next to her, who would therefore be the Christ Child. This view is supported by the placement of God’s fingers on the child – the same fingers that the priest would use to raise the Eucharist during the Mass. Since Catholic theology holds that the Eucharist is the Body of Christ, this theological understanding would be embodied in this painting. If this latter interpretation is correct, the Creation of Adam would be intrinsically linked to the future coming of Christ, who comes to reconcile man after the sin of Adam.

In all, the painting shows several hallmarks of Michelangelo’s painting style: the lounging position of both Adam and God, the use of bodies which are both muscular and twisting, and the painting of figures who come across as works of sculpture. It is good to remember that Michelangelo was, after all, a sculptor. Painting was not his primary area.

The Creation of Adam is one of the great jewels of Western art, though it and the rest of the Sistine Chapel ceiling suffered the ill effects of centuries of smoke that had caused the ceiling to darken considerably. It was not until 1977 that the cleaning of the ceiling was begun. The result of the cleaning was astonishing after its completion in 1989; what was once dark and drab became vivid. The change from pre-cleaning to post-cleaning was so great that some initially refused to believe that this is the way Michelangelo actually painted. Today, we have a much better understanding of Michelangelo’s palette and the world he painted, beautifully captured across the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Titian’s Pastoral Concert

Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks

Michelangelo’s Painting of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling

Bellini’s San Zaccaria Altarpiece

Further Reading

Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam

Further Reading