High Renaissance in VeniceBellini, San Zaccaria Altarpiece• Sacra conversazione• Vaporous sfumato, harmonious unification of

modeling and shading (i.e. Saint Jerome’s beard)

• Overall tonality• Linear perspective• Serene color, gently glowing forms• Dominating architecture that cradles the

figures in a unified scene• Virgin and Child surrounded by a symmetrical

grouping of saints• Light enters from the left• Architecture of the church reflected in the

painting; painting becomes an extension of the real space of the building it is housed in

High Renaissance in Venice Giorgione, Tempest• Poesia• Dream-like, lyrical state• Deserted town with a soldier

and a breast feeding woman• Bushes are shaggy, unkempt;

mysterious pastoral setting• Columns–indicating fortitude–

are ruined, bridge tottering• Lightning makes the scene

menacing• Building incomplete with a half-

completed arch• Uncertain meaning

Giorgione, (Titian?), Pastoral Symphony

• Soft forms of figures; no clear cut edges

• Mysterious theme, unknown meaning

• Shepherds are poets who are inspired by the nymphs who are muses

• Shepherds were thought to have beautiful singing voices

• Nymph dips pitcher into the well of inspiration

• Chiaroscuro and nuanced use of shadowing

• Rounded masses and volumes of women

High Renaissance in Venice

Titian, Venus of Urbino• Sensuous delight in female form• May not have been a Venus, but a

painting of a nude• May have been painted for the Duke of

Urbino to celebrate his union with his young wife

• Looks at us directly• Dog (fidelity) curled asleep, does not

sense that the onlooker is unwelcome• Two servants search for something in

cassoni (marriage chests), always made in pairs and intended for the storage of a wife’s trousseau

• Rose (in her hands) and myrtle (on the windowsill) are bridal attributes

• She welcomes the viewer

High Renaissance in Venice

Titian, Madonna of the Pesaro Family

• Battle of Santa Maura, 1502, won by Jacopo Pesaro, who kneels at left

• Right: five males of patron’s family presented by Saint Francis of Assisi

• Diagonals and triangles establish a complex asymmetrical spatial relationship

• Virgin at the head of a right triangle

• Multiple oil glazes to increase richness

• Turk bowing on the extreme left

• Saint Peter in the center, although not central to the composition

• Very unusual arrangement not to have Madonna and Child in the center, cf. The Last Supper, San Zaccaria Altarpiece

• Painterly effect in descriptive passages in the painting (i.e. glistening armor of Saint George)

• One figure looks out at us, brings us directly into the composition, as is typical in High Renaissance art

• Columns not part of the original composition: added later

• Light comes from above left, from “on high”

Veronese, Christ in the House of Levi• Hard to notice Christ and Mary, lost in the shuffle• Architecture sets the scene, dominates the action• Rich costumes, tables magnificently set, stage-like quality• After the dinner: no one is eating any more• Chaotic diffuse composition• Christ turns water into wine for the groom of the wedding who has run out• Not many people are interested in the miracle that has taken place• Came into trouble with the Inquisition for the lack of spirituality in the painting:

dwarves, jesters and German soldiers abound–daring artistic license

The expressive hedonism so alien to the religious context - the subject in fact appears to be a purely pagan one in exaltation of love of life in 16th century Venice - aroused the suspicions of the Inquisition. On July 18th 1573 Veronese was summoned by the Holy Office to appear before the Inquisition accused of heresy. If the questions of the inquisitors show the first signs of the rigours of the Counter-reformation, Veronese's answers show clearly his unfailing faith in the creative imagination and artistic freedom. Not wishing to yield to the injunction of the Inquisition to eliminate the details which offended the religious theme of the Last Supper, he changed the title to "Feast in the House of Levi", a subject which tolerated the presence of fools and armed men dressed up "alla tedesca".

High Renaissance in Venice

Titian, Isabella d’Este• She was 60 when this was

painted, but wanted to look 20• Titian used another painting of

Isabella at 20 as a guide• Self-assured, sophisticated• Garment fades into the

background• Light highlights face, fur and

hands; variety of textures• Famously demanding female

patron

Titian, Assumption

•High altar of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

•Glow of color, Titian one of the great colorists in art history

•Daring arrangement of figures in space, very naturally grouped

•Solid figures wave their hands passionately

•Natural curves and sways in the composition

•Youthful Virgin initially thought to be improper because of her sumptuous beauty

•Enormous size of figures, towering verticality

•Light makes for a complex spatial arrangement

Mannerism in Venice

Tintoretto, Last Supper• May be a reaction against the Veronese• Deep perspective leads your eye back into the painting to nothing in

particular; dynamic diagonal• Muddy atmosphere with lamps burning fitfully• Lamps reveal angels swooping down from the sky• Only light sources: swinging oil lamps and Christ’s (and apostle’s)

incandescent halos• Christ gives the Eucharist to Saint Peter• Judas on opposite side of table, without glow of halo• Long table divides earthly food from spiritual food• Hectic scene in a dining hall• Dogs, cats, servants and miscellaneous figures• Very busy composition

Palladian Architecture

Palladio, Villa Rotonda, Vicenza• Pleasure pavilion set in a pastoral

setting• Perfectly symmetrical interior and

exterior• Greek pediment, Roman dome, Ionic

columns, Roman statues• All Palladian villas are built of brick

and faced with stucco• Air of discreet opulence• Four identical colonnaded porches

with a wide flight of steps• Villa faces four horizons

simultaneously• Villa as temple• Centrally planned buildings

considered perfectDome originally unglazed as in the Pantheon

No matter how you view the building it seems complete

Palladian Architecture

Palladio, Villa Rotonda, Vicenza (continued)• Pediments over doorways and windows• Building was meant to be lived in “artistically:” central hall

functioned to hold learned discussions, hear music, etc.• Villa’s relationship to the setting may suggest a limitless vista;

the porches that face the horizon at the same time lead to the depths within; the spatial settings that emphasize one’s view of the world also add dimension to the view of someone from within

• The intimacy of the interior culminates in the great central hall

Palladio, San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice

•Clearly lit High Renaissance interior

•Side aisles indicated on the façade

•Mannerist: two temple façades intersect, creating an interplay of light and shadow

•Columns with arches containing sculpture

•Columns set on huge pedestals overwhelming the spectator

•Dramatic setting in the Venetian lagoon