Art History Exam 2 Study Guide 

Penitent Magdalene was painted when?

Link to artwork flashcards: 

https://quizlet.com/_4nadsf 

Quotes: 

Bellori on Caravaggio, 1672  

In reference to Caravaggio’s ‘Penitent Magdalene’, c. 1594, oil on  canvas  

“…[Caravaggio] recognized no other master than the model,  without selecting from the best forms of nature- and what is  incredible, it seems that he imitated art without art”

“…he made no attempt to improve on the creations of nature. He  painted a girl drying her hair, seated on a little chair with her  hands in her lap. He portrayed her in a room, adding a small  ointment jar, jewels and gems on the floor, pretending that she is  the Magdalene.”

“Moreover, he claimed that he imitated his models so closely that  he never made a single brushstroke that he called his own, but  said rather that it was nature’s. Repudiating all other rules, he  considered the highest achievement not to be bound to art…The  moment the model was taken from him, his hand and his mind  became empty.”

Who is Caravaggio?

Michelangelo on Flemish/Dutch art:  

Dutch paintings are painting without art, just copying, no  convention, criticizes lack of subject hierarchy

Terms to Know: 

Protestant Reformation: 16th century movement for religious  reform- initiated by Martin Luther and John Calvin arguing against  people paying indulgences (to be forgiven for their sins) to the  Catholic Church, preaching that one is saved by grace and that  salvation is not earned by good deeds but is received only as a  free gift of God’s grace through faith in Jesus, this challenged the  Pope in saying that the Bible is the only source of divinity rather  than the Pope himself

What is la font de saint yenne?

Counter Reformation: following the devastating loss of  congregants’ due to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic  Church launched a major artistic response to win converts back,  the art depicted the common man as saints or other important  religious figures to personalize religion Don't forget about the age old question of econ 203 umass

2nd Commandment: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any  graven image”

Martin Luther: started the Protestant Reformation- argument

against clerical abuses, especially the selling of indulgences  (Church-granted time off of your stay in Purgatory)

Icon: a special kind of work of art (painting), object that has a  special/closer connection to the people that are represented

idol/idolatry: worship of an art/object rather than what it  represents (when you pray to a thing or an idol like a painting or  statue of a God)

easel painting: painting executed on a portable support  typically at a 20 degree angle, as opposed to a fresco wall  painting

on commission vs. on speculation foreshortening:  commission is paid by someone very important and made  specifically for the buyer, speculation is hoping that someone in  the public will like their work and buy it in the market

chiaroscuro: technique used to create a 3D appearance where  lighter surface appears closer and darker surface appears further  away, Italian term which describes the dramatic effect of  contrasting areas of light and dark

decorum: principle of art that says an artwork must not show too much emotion of violent action, but should contain a variety of  gestures and colors

emulation: means to respect someone before you and almost  leads you to copy something that they did, honoring and  competing with the master act of a very confident artist

Ovid’s Metamorphoses: epic poem written by the Roman poet  Ovid which tells us the only things that are eternal are things of  art, four stages of mankind: gold, silver, bronze, iron. It is a  collection of mythical tales based on the theme of ‘change’. Don't forget about the age old question of the ability to perform moderate to vigorous levels of activity and respond to physical demands is known as

relic/reliquary: object in church that was owned by someone  holy, hold a sacred status and cannot be treated like other

historical artifacts

iconoclasm: ideological destruction of art in churches by  Protestants, this spread through Northern Europe- Netherlands  experiences tons of this… the destruction was due to the belief  that the images would encourage idolatry

Dutch Republic: artwork was not made for commission but  made for the public and unsure if anyone would purchase it,  middle class is the biggest part of the population and market for  the art in the Dutch Republic. No longer made specific people the  focal point because they had to aim for generally broader public,  subject no longer the most important thing in art but had to make lots of paintings and not spend time on one painting per year like  before. Being an artist here doesn’t require you to have  connections within a Church because there isn’t one, paintings  smaller and less intricate than paintings made on commission. We also discuss several other topics like psyc100 umd

Niche: specific sub-genre that people associate with you Italian vs. Dutch paintings:  

Italian: metaphor of painting as window, painter is inventor  and intellectual who can create something that could never exist  in the world, clear hierarchy (body most important), world of  painting is inventive and determined by viewer’s position If you want to learn more check out debbie coleman miami university

Dutch: metaphor of painting as mirror; painter is craftsman,  captures things that already exist; no subject hierarchy, world  has priority (exists before we paint it)

Conventions: a way in which something is usually done, has  preexisting priority rules that artists follow (ex. landscapes: low  horizon, sky main subject, silhouette across horizon)

Dutch Brazil: artistic representations of Brazilian people by  Dutch artists, impossible to be accurate because of the Dutch  period eye

absolute monarchy: a ruler who governs alone and is not  restrained by laws, a constitution, or custom… one person holds  all governmental power and doesn’t have to consult anyone else If you want to learn more check out a huge shopping strip with multiple anchor (or national) stores is referred to as a

Ancien Régime: political and social system under an absolute  monarch in France before the many French Revolutions

divine right of kings: Role of King has been given by God,  hereditary, no one has the right to question or overthrow him, the King has absolute power

Three Estates Rococo  

1. clergy

2. Nobility

3. People (97%)

…people pay taxes and still have no rights, King is outside and  higher than socio economic system, no social climbing (you are  born into a social class and cannot move to another)

Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture: (1648) school for  most prestigious artists, set up rules on how a good artist should  be trained, monopoly on patriarchy of the King, Boucher is a  member- at this point the old rules have shifted, monopoly on the  live nude model- only at academy that this is allowed, this makes  them take for granted the history of paintings and makes them  believe that they are supposed to be male bodies only If you want to learn more check out utd tb test

Académie: live nude male model paintings only available from  the academy

Salons: first public exhibitions of high art from the Academy,  socially inclusive art show, leads to art critics and art reviews,  creates public discourse  

Neoclassical: reviving ancient classical and renaissance roman

artistic styles through the academy  

French Revolution (1789): people weren’t happy with the  monarchy, French state is bankrupt because of the rich rulers,  then the King puts heavy taxes on the third estate leading to a  huge amount of unrest. The King eventually has to get rid of  absolute monarchy because people hate it

Estates-General: parliament representation of 3 estates, but  it wasn’t fair in these meetings for everyone, Reps of third estate find that the doors are locked and blocked off by soldiers  and think they are being kicked out of the government  

Saint-Domingue: French colony

Haitian Revolution: people who bought out or escaped, not  against France as a state just slave owners

abolitionist prints: freedom characterized by gift given  benevolence

Revolution of 1848: the socialist revolution

Realism: complete opposite of the platonic ideal; the attempt to  represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality- paints  what you actually see with no embellishment of nature or illusion,  doesn’t hide brush strokes to enhance feeling of 2D

avant-garde: art made with subjects not yet accepted by the  mainstream public, ahead of the time

Salon des Refusés (1863): gallery where "bad" artwork was  placed that did not make it into the actual salon; people visited to  make fun of and laugh at the art failures; many avant-garde  artists made it here

Titian, Venus d’Urbino: (1538)- promiscuous venus painting  used by Manet to satirize and expose what is actually going on.

Soothe, comfortable, seduction…she is looking at us casually and  just happened to be here and caught me here, she is looking at  me but her head slightly tilted downward, two white maids  casually in the background  

Venus pudica: modest naked woman who draws attention to  intimate parts of the body while subtly covering them and  remaining modest  

camera obscura: dark room camera, the natural optical  phenomenon that occurs when an image of a scene at the other  side of a screen is projected through a small hole in that screen as reversed and inverted image on a surface opposite to the

opening. (pinhole camera is a portable camera obscura)

daguerreotype: first commercially successful photographic  process… metal made light sensitive with silver iodine, expose  image to light and develop until it is done, very long exposure  development, single image only- no copies are possible, takes  human subjectivity out, objective, portraiture was almost not  considered art since there is no creativity

Daguerre: French photographer, inventor and creator of  Daguerrotype, became known as the father of photography.  

carte de visite: “the first pocket photographs”- patented by  Disderi, printing a photo over and over again, singular image in  negative onto paper repeatedly, exposing the negative multiple  times and is cheaper than a daguerreotype

Nadar: French photographer known for taking aerial photos of  Paris and for his caricatures. Daumier mocks the new declaration  that photography could be equal to “high art” below:

Anthropometry: refers to the measurement of the human  individual- early tool of physical anthropology- has been used for  identification, for the purposes of understanding human physical  variation. Developed by Klein who employed female models as  “living paintbrushes” for the paintings:

Paris Commune: radical socialist/revolutionary government that  ruled Paris from March-May in 1871. Following the defeat of  Emperor Napolean III and shaped modern France. Said to be the  first example of working people (and students) taking their power.

Louise Sautin, female communard in prison, known as  “petroleuses”:

Haussmanization (1850s-70s): demolition of medieval  neighborhoods that were deemed overcrowded and unhealthy by  the officials at the time. Included the construction of wide  avenues, new parks and squares, the annexation of the suburbs  surrounding Paris, and the construction of new sewers/fountains,  etc. (early form of gentrification) (wasn’t all good because they  forced poor families out of their homes before the demolition and  upped the price of homes so many poor people couldn’t afford to  return afterwards) see Charles Marville- before Haussmanization  below…