Cythera

Pilgrimage to Cythera

           In the 18^th century Jean-Antonie Watteau was unappreciated for his talent, painting fete galante scenes. This kind of painting was different from the average mythological or history painting that many artists were creating at this time.  Fete galante paintings were of scenes that depict aristocrats enjoying the great outdoors. One of his paintings that caught my eye was the Pilgrimage to Cythera.

Embarkation for Cythera

            The painting of the Pilgrimage to Cythera captures the essence of fete galante. Though usually this kind of painting has ambiguous subject matter since facial expression are hard to interpret. The painting of the Pilgrimage to Cythera is a romantic and idealized scene of men and women in fancy costumes; Watteau was inspired by theatre which showed in his art. The Pilgrimage to Cythera caught my attention because it is very similar to the Embarkation to Cythera, the painting Watteau submitted to Academy which resulted in the creation of fete galante category of painting.

            Cythera is an island off the coast of Greece, and is said to be the birthplace of Venus, the goddess of love. Pilgrims would travel to the island to seek love. Due to ambiguous subject matter it is uncertain whether the pilgrimages in either paintings have just arrived to Cythera or if they are leaving. After viewing each of the paintings, I realized that many of the couples in the Pilgrimage are the same couples in the Embarkation, there are only slight differences. Most of the differences are within the landscape. In the first painting, the landscape appears very close; there is not a lot of atmospheric perspective giving illusion to depth within the painting that is seen in the Embarkation painting. In the Pilgrimage painting there is part of a ship visible, which is not present in the other version. Also there are many more putti, cupid, flying around in the painting of the Pilgrimage to Cythera. In each painting there is a statue of Venus on the right, each of them are very different. The first painting shows the entire statue of Venus with cupid holding onto her leg. In the painting that Watteau submitted to the Academy has a much smaller statue which only depicts Venus’ bust; the rest of the statue is covered with flowers. The colors used in each painting are very different, in the first painting the colors are vibrant, and cheerful which gives the painting a completely different feeling from the other painting. In the second painting the colors are more subdued, and dark. Though there are about the same number of people in each painting there seems to be more going on in the painting of the Pilgrimage.

            It is unclear who the patron was for the Pilgrimage to Cythera. I did read that Watteau recreated the painting to produce the Embarkation to Cythera which he submitted to the Academy. Unfortunately, Jean-Antonie Watteau suffered from tuberculosis which leads to his death on July 18^th, 1721; he was only 37 when he died.

            The Pilgrimage to Cythera is an interesting painting of elegantly dressed men and women searching for love on the island of Cythera. These paintings could be viewed as a rejection of Enlightenment ideals. The Cythera paintings are of “impossible dreams, the revenge of madness on reason and of freedom on moral rules.”

My resources were:

WebMuseum

Silver and Exact Blog

MetMuseum

David

            Naturalism is a key part of Renaissance art during the 15^th century.  Naturalism is capturing objects as it appears in nature. Artists would strive for extreme detail and idealized perfection while attaining balance and harmony. Renaissance artists were influenced by humanism, the appreciation of human achievement. Baroque art of the 17^th century integrates some ideals from the Renaissance while moving forward with change. Michelangelo created David in 1501-1504 this sculpture embodies Renaissance ideals. Bernini created a David sculpture in 1623, comparing the two David sculptures shows how Baroque art has evolved from Renaissance art.

Michelangelo’s David conveys Renaissance styles; naturalism, idealism, humanism and harmony. This David sculpture is naturalistic yet idealized because he has anatomy, and very perfect musculature. David appears to be perfectly proportionate except his hands that are huge. It is said that his hands are large because David was going to be placed very high. From far away David’s hands would have appeared proportionate. His hair is idealized with flawless curls. Harmony is captured by creating him to be the perfect height, and by utilizing contrapposto pose. The contrapposto pose is when the figure has one weight bearing leg and one bent leg, which causes a shift in the hips. There is added balance in the arms, one arm is bent and the other is straight, similar to his legs. Humanism is achieved in this sculpture through appreciation of the nude human body.

Bernini’s David shows how Baroque art has developed from Renaissance art. This sculpture of David is more naturalistic than Michelanglo’s, the anatomy seems very natural. Bernini’s David is not as idealized as Michelanglo’s perfectly muscular David. Baroque art moves away from idealism, instead artists show the dirt of life. Bernini captured David as an average man with messy hair, who does not have perfect curls. Bernini’s David suggests emotion, it seems that he is biting his lip and scrunching his brow. Michelangelo’s David appears emotion less. This shows how Baroque art blurs the boundaries of reality and art. Michelangelo’s David looks like stone, where Bernini’s David looks like a real man doing real things. I think that Bernini’s sculpture shows humanism because this David is mostly nude, and only has a small section of cloth covering him. During the 17^th century the Catholic Counter-Reform caused censorship in art, through specifically placed fabric. Baroque art also moves away from visual harmony, instead of using contrapposto pose, David is twisted and utilizes visual diagonals which is more visually interesting. Art during the Baroque period portrays motion and moments of heightened drama which is unusual for Renaissance art.

            Art during the 17^th century has many stylistic similarities to Renaissance art yet is very different. Baroque art rejects Renaissance ideals of perfection through idealism. Baroque art is visually dynamic, includes emotion and drama. This art period conveys true naturalism by showing even the dirt under fingernails. I think that it is interesting to compare the David sculptures by Michelangelo and Bernini. Comparing sculptures like this demonstrate the evolution of art from Renaissance to Baroque.

Albrect Durer

            During the 16^th century there was a famous German artist named Albrect Durer. This artist created many paintings during his time. The Suicide of Lucrezia oil painting by Durer was painted in 1516. The painting of Lucrezia is influenced by Italian art styles. This painting also has early northern European traditions.

            Italian art during this time embodies humanism, the celebration of human achievement. Italian art conveys Greek ideals. The Suicide of Lurcezia painting has many Italian characteristics. Lurcezia is captured nude; this is a way to celebrate the human body. The figure is standing in a contrapposto pose, meaning there is a weight bearing leg and a bent leg which causes a tilt on the figures hips. In this painting the tilt of the hips is slightly covered by drapery. There is some foreshortening with the arm that is grasping what looks to be a sword. The sword is foreshortened as well. Part of Italian art is that there is harmony and balance through out the work of art.  I feel that there is a good sense of balance and harmony in this piece because the figure is centered in the painting; her arms are asymmetrically balanced with one arm showing and holding the sword which is balanced by her other arm that is behind her. Many Italian works of art utilize linear perspective and in some pieces orthogonal lines are present. Perugino’s painting The Delivery of the Keys to St. Peter uses linear perspective and orthogonal lines to convey depth. In the painting of The Suicide of Lucrezia does not utilize this technique.

            Early northern European art conveys naturalism, representing objects the way they appear in the natural world. The Suicide of Lucrenzia departs from some early northern European traditions. Many early northern works of art have extreme detail. This painting however does not have the same amount of detail that Jan van Eyck’s painting of The Arnolfini Portrait, where the artist captured all the details in each of the objects he portrayed. There are details in the painting of Lucrenzia, the drapery especially, yet there could be more detail throughout the painting, for instance the sword has very little detail.  I feel that Durer was able to capture Lucrenzia’s figure very naturally, the body seems very proportionate. The painting seems to have an intuitive perspective rather then the Italian linear perspective, meaning the perspective is eyeballed instead of mathematical. I say this because there is a bed behind the figure rather then architecture which would appear more linear to the viewer.

            Overall The Suicide of Lucrezina created by Ablrect Durer has a balance between early northern European style and Italian style. Though the painting seems more Italian inspired because of the humanism attributes; the figure is nude, the way the figure is posed and the illusion of foreshortening. The painting has some early northern styles of naturalism and intuitive perspective. If Durer wanted to follow early northern traditions the painting would need more attention to detail. Durer’s painting appears on the edge of departing from the early northern European traditions. 

Mannerism In The Seattle Art Museum

         During the Late Renaissance, 16^th century, ideals shifted which resulted in Mannerism. The styles of the High Renaissance where figures are perfected are no longer perfect in Mannerism. Most art created during this time is often viewed as unsettling due to the new styles. Two paintings in the permanent collection of the Seattle Art Museum fit within Mannerism. The Origin of the Cornucopia created by Abraham Janssens and Vincent Sellaer’s painting Leda and the Swan and Her Children fit Mannerism because of their stylistic qualities.

            The Origin of Cornucopia, 1619, embraces in many ways Mannerism. Unrealistic body proportions are a mannerism style. This painting has slight elongation; this may be from the way the bodies are positioned in such exaggerated poses where the figures are twisted in ways that appear rather uncomfortable. The figure’s gestures create a movement throughout the painting. Each character is moving in direction or another. Some limbs appear elongated to create emphasis on their movement. Pontormo’s Descent from the Cross, 1525-1528, has figures that create movement in the same gestured way as Janssens’ painting. The Origin of Cornucopia has what some people would call erotic imagery because there are shirtless nymphs being portrayed. Mannerism paintings frequently have unusual colors, the Descent from the Cross has unusual colors when bright pink is utilized for a figure’s back juxtaposed to it is a vivid blue for his stomach. Janssens’ painting does not have any unusual colors or juxtapositions. The Origin of Cornucopia has beautiful colors much like paintings of the High Renaissance. There is a good balance of light and dark contrast. This painting is not as visually unsettling as Leda and the Swan and her Children.

            The painting of Leda and the Swan and her Children, 1540, conveys Mannerism more so than The Origins of Cornucopia. The figures portrayed have unrealistic body proportions. The figure’s bodies are elongated for example Leda’s torso and hands. Unlike Janssens’ and Pontormo’s none of the figures emphasize movement in this painting of Leda and the Swan and Her Children. The figures appear rather still except the child that is hanging on Leda’s shoulder who seems like he’s attempting to get Leda’s attention. There appears to be a lack of balance, the figures seem packed into the painting. I say this because Leda is resting her right arm on the swan’s neck, which is rather unsetting. The emotions seen in this painting are kind of disturbing. Leda appears withdrawn from her children. The three children convey almost scary with their weird faces. The contrast of light and dark contribute to the weird vibe, Leda’s face and chest are too light. There is some erotic imagery in this painting. Leda is half naked and is not being very modest.

The painting of Leda and the Sawn and her Children appears more unsettling than the Origins of Cornucopia painting. This may be because the painting of Leda and the Sawn and her Children painted by Vincent Sellaer in 1540, which is more towards the beginning of the shift in ideals. Janssens painted the Origins of Cornucopia in 1619, which is early 17^th century perhaps when ideals start the shift again.