Leonardo, Michelangelo and the Renaissance Cartoon

In Italian the word for paper is carta and the suffix "–one" means large, the “cartone” was a very large sheet of paper.  These cartone or cartoons as we have come to call them were specifically: large and very detailed drawings used to create paintings and frescoes.  These differed from sketches or studies in that they were the same size as the intended painting and were created to transfer the image.

The drawings were made to transfer the images to the painting surface in one of two ways.  In the first the cartoon acted as a type of stencil, thousands of small holes pricked the edges of each line and a bag of charcoal dust was “pounced” upon the cartoon.  In the second the cartoon acted as carbon paper, the back of the image was coated with charcoal dust and the image was carefully traced.  Since either process was messy and damaged the original paper, very few of these survive.  Those that remain were typically created for paintings that weren’t executed.

Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and John the Baptist, Leonardo da Vinci, 1499-1500,

The National Gallery (London) 

charcoal and white chalk on paper, perhaps with a brown wash, 4’6” x 3’4” (141.5 x 104.6 cm)

Leonardo did paint a version of his Virgin and Child with St Anne and John the Baptist, which today is in the Louvre, but it does differ from this drawing.  This particular cartoon has survived remarkably intact and is an astonishingly beautiful work of art.  Today this is at The National Gallery in London and it may be one of the most incredible works of art I have seen in person.  I have always felt that the few paintings that Leonardo made simply glow and outshine every other work which is in their presence in a museum setting, even if those works are masterpieces as well.  His cartoon may even outshine his paintings, using only charcoal and white chalk on paper (perhaps with a brown ink wash) he manages to create an illusion of depth and convey emotion.  Look at the image closely and you can see that he used very few lines and used the combination of charcoal and chalk to bring his method of chiaroscuro (modeling form with lights and darks) to the drawing.  When it was seen by other artists, they were amazed that he was able to fit several life-size figures in a cartoon which was only 4'5" x 3'4'.  This was due to the fact that the figures were all sitting, it provided inspiration for generations of artists.

The 16^th century artist and writer, Giorgio Vasari wrote a book, The Lives of the Artists (called originally The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects) which was published in 1550 and updated several years later.  This book included a biography and historical account for dozens of Renaissance artists.  His book is still used as an important source for art historical research today and in his chapter on Leonardo he writes of this cartoon when it was on public display in Florence in 1501:

“Once completed and set up in a room, brought men, women, young and old to see it for two days as if they were going to a solemn festival in order to gaze upon the marvels of Leonardo which stupefied the entire populace.”*

Epifania, Michelangelo Buonarroti,1550-53,

The British Museum, black chalk on twenty-six sheets of paper, 7’6” x 5’4”

Michelangelo sadly burned many of his preparatory drawings and sketches so that he wouldn’t share his techniques and process with others and also so that people would think he was divinely inspired and not see any work that didn’t measure up to his standards.  However Michelangelo had extremely high and probably unrealistic expectations for his work, even his small sketches show his artistic genius. There are only two surviving cartoons from him and the Epifania is one of them.  This work, done on a large scale is over seven feet high and was created on twenty six sheets of paper.  Cartoons were often done on separate sheets of paper or the originals were cut up to make the transfer process easier. The Epifania was drawn for a project that was never created and the actual subject of the cartoon is unknown.

Let’s compare and contrast the two cartoons: Michelangelo’s cartoon has a greater level of detail in the drawing but he doesn’t use the same level of chiaroscuro that Leonardo’s cartoon had.  Unlike Leonardo's cartoon he has focused less on the emotion between the figures and more on anatomy.

After the fresco lost its popularity in the 16^th century and painters frequently drew directly on their canvases this style of Renaissance cartoon fell out of use.  Over the next century the word cartoon took on its modern meaning of another type of drawing, frequently used in political satire and later as illustrations.

*Vasari, Giorgio. The Lives of the Artists. Translated from Italian by Julia Conaway Bondanella and Peter Bondanella. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Origins of the Art Museum

It is hard for me to imagine a world without art museums, but they are in fact a fairly modern concept.  Most art collections were either owned by royalty or the extremely wealthy and were not available to the general public.  July 14 is Bastille Day, the day that the French Revolution began in 1789.  The enormous Louvre palace, which was only one of King Louis XVI's palaces, contained a vast royal art collection: thousands of paintings, drawings, sculptures and decorative arts from across the globe and dating back centuries.  This was turned into a public art museum less than one month after the French Revolution began, making it one of the earliest art museums.  However the Art Academy had been located in the Louvre for approximately a century prior and displayed art publicly at the annual Salons.  Today the Louvre is one of the largest art museums in the world. 

View of the Grand Gallery of the Louvre, Hubert Robert, 1796, Louvre

However the Louvre wasn’t the first art museum that was open to the public. There were at least two in the 17^th century, the Kunstmuseum Basel in Switzerland, originally a private collection, opened to the public in 1671 and the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University opened in 1683 as the first university art museum, though both were considerably smaller in size than the Louvre. 

Before the 20th century art museums looked quite different then today's museums.  Notice the cluttered layouts of art in the two paintings, museums walls were absolutely packed with art hung in what is today known as the "salon style" layout, hung in several horizontal rows.  Some items would have been identified for the viewer but not all, and it was much harder for the viewer to appreciate an individual painting.

The Tribuna of the Uffizi, Johann Zoffany, 1772-78, Royal Collection,Windsor Castle

In Florence, Italy the administrative offices of the ruling Medici family in would later become the Uffizi (the word for offices in Italian) which contained their large private art collection.

In the 16^th century the artist and architect Buontalenti designed the first gallery in the building, the Tribuna of the Uffizi.  The gallery had been open to visitors by request  and was considered a highlight of the Grand Tour, the trip taken by aristocrats through continental Europe.  This contained many famous Renaissance paintings and ancient sculptures.  The well known painting by Zoffany, The Tribuna of the Uffizi (above) shows how the gallery looked at the time and included portraits of the actual visitors.  He painted this work for the King and Queen of England since they were unable to visit and see it for themselves.  It is an interesting work which contains paintings within a painting.  In 1765 after the Medici family was no longer in power, the entire building was opened to the public as a state art museum, the Uffizi Gallery.

Laocoön, Roman copy from 1st c. AD after 2nd c. BC Hellenistic original, Vatican Museums

Another prototype of an art museum which was visited on the Grand Tour was the Pio-Clementino Vatican museum which opened in 1771.  This was the joint project of two Popes: Clement XIV and Pius VI (which is why it was named Pio-Clementino).  The work housed in this museum had been collected since Pope Julius II first purchased the Laocoön sculpture after it was uncovered in 1506 (I discussed that sculpture in a post last week).  The Pio-Clementino also housed several other famous Greco-Roman sculptures including Apollo Belvedere and Sleeping Ariadne as well as many Renaissance paintings.  Later the Pio-Clementino expanded to the current Vatican Museums (follow the link to learn more of the history on their website).

Another important early museum was the British Museum in London, which opened to the public in 1759. This was the personal collection of archaeological artifacts of Sir Hans Sloane.  When it opened it was both an art museum and a library and also contained many important items pertaining to science, history and anthropology. All of these museums still exist today, and along with thousands of others they continue to enrich our lives with art.

Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and the Beginnings of the Renaissance

The story of the rivalry between Filippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti and the creation of the Gates of Paradise is also the story of the beginning of the Renaissance in Florence and it unfolded in an interesting way.  Each of the works here are among my favorites and will be discussed in more detail in future posts.

In the 1300’s or “Trecento” the artist Giotto had introduced ideas of humanism and realism to painting.  He was also appointed head architect for the Santa Maria del Fiori, the main cathedral of the city.  Giotto designed and began work on the campanile (bell tower), which is a separate building.

"Il Duomo" Santa Maria del Fiore, dome by Brunelleschi, 1420-1436

However Giotto died in 1337 and was replaced by his assistant, Andrea Pisano.  Due to war in Europe, an uprising in Florence and plagues there were far fewer artistic works being created in the city.  The main cathedral “Il Duomo” was left without the dome that was envisioned for it.

Florence was a republic and ruled by its guilds, the most prestigious guild was the Calimala (wool merchants).  In a building separate from the duomo is the Baptistery, which had great significance for Florence as St. John is the city’s patron saint.  The Calimala were in charge of all artistic decoration for the Baptistery.  Andrea Pisano had constructed a set of doors with 28 small bronze panels which was considered a masterpiece.  The doors were hung on the east side of the building which faced the duomo.

Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac, competition panel, Lorenzo Ghiberti 1401 (Bargello)

In 1401 the Calimala decided to commission a 2^nd set of doors for the north side of the building and held a competition.  Artists had to create one bronze panel with the theme of the Sacrifice of Isaac.  Lorenzo Ghiberti won the contest and began work on the doors which lasted for the over twenty years.

Last Supper, panel from north baptistery doors, Ghiberti, 1425-52

Filippo Brunelleschi was another participant in the contest, it is unclear whether he was not chosen or was chosen to work as a partner with his rival Ghiberti.  Their two entries alone were saved and remain on display to this day, over 600 years later at the Bargello Museum in Florence.  Either way Brunelleschi was upset that he wasn’t chosen as the clear winner and decided to go to Rome and take his friend the sculptor Donatello with him.  They studied classical Roman architecture and sculpture for several years in Rome.

Brunelleschi returned to Florence and entered another competition, to build the dome of the duomo and this time he won, however Ghiberti was also given roles to assist with this task.  Brunelleschi had studied the dome of the Pantheon and was influenced by it.  He designed a structure that used a dome within a dome to support its massive weight.  Constructing the dome was an arduous task but his plans worked and the dome was constructed fairly quickly.

The Tribute Money, Masaccio, 1425 (Santa Maria del Carmine)

Brunelleschi also did several studies in drawing to determine the method of perspective in painting that the ancients used.  He made a painting of the Baptistery using perspective and put a small hole in the center.  If a person stood behind the painting with their back to the Baptistery and looked through the hole, Brunelleschi would hold up a mirror and the viewer would see reflected how the actual building matched the painted one.  This was written about but sadly the painting has been lost.

The effect this had on artwork was immediate as can be seen in Masaccio’s fresco cycle of the life of St. Peter.  Artists now used a single vanishing point that all lines in the painting could be followed to for an extremely realistic depiction of three dimensional space.

Joseph, panel from east baptistery doors, Ghiberti, 1425-52 (Museo Opera di S. Maria del Fiore)

Even Brunelleschi’s rival Ghiberti began to use perspective in his work.  He was commissioned by the Calimala to create one final set of doors and he proposed his own design with 10 large bronze panels instead of 28 small ones.  The Calimala accepted his proposal and in creating sculptural reliefs in a new larger format began to use a new artistic style.

Compare the panel of Jospeh to the earlier Last Supper, the new larger panels are very shallow bronze reliefs but due to the artist’s use of perspective they give the illusion of great depth. These doors took over 25 years to construct but the effect is astounding, the artist Michelangelo later dubbed them “The Gates of Paradise.”  They were widely praised and were moved to the east side of the building so they would now face the cathedral (note- the originals are now in a museum and have been replaced by copies).

Gates of Paradise, East baptistery doors, Ghiberti, 1425-52

The artistic rivalry that had sprung forth from Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi had produced two sets of bronze doors, a completed dome for the cathedral and a new method of architecture in the dome.  It also brought a strong influence of Classical art to Florentine art in the 15th century (or Quatrecento), a rediscovery of perspective in painting and last but not least a return to the style of ancient sculpture now being created by Donatello who had gone to Rome with Brunelleschi.  The former spark of the Renaissance in Florence had been reignited.

Il Zuccone (prophet Habakkuk),Donatello, 1427-36 (Museo Opera di S. Maria del Fiore)

Suggested reading:

-Hartt, Frederick. History of Italian Renaissance Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture.

-King, Ross. Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture. 

-Radke, Gary M.The Gates of Paradise: Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Renaissance Masterpiece.

-Walker, Paul Robert. The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World.

The Judgment of Paris

The Judgment of Paris is a theme taken from Greek mythology, it is the story of how the Trojan war began and has been a common subject in art.  This was written about, painted, sculpted and quite popular in antiquity before becoming newly fashionable again during the Renaissance and throughout art history.  Themes on the Trojan war continued to show up in the arts for centuries and this was a commonly represented part of this story.

Judgment of Paris, Lucas Cranach the Elder, c-1528, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Here is a synopsis of the Judgment of Paris story:

Paris was born the son of the Trojan king but it was foretold at his birth that he would bring about the downfall of the city of Troy so he was sent away and raised in the country, unaware of his royal heritage.  When he grew up he became a shepherd, watching his flocks in the fields all day.

On Mount Olympus there was a wedding of King Peleus of Thessaly and the sea goddess Thetis (future parents of Achilles).  All the gods were invited except Eris, the goddess of discord, as she brought arguments with her everywhere.  After the vows Eris showed up angry and decided to play a trick, she rolled a golden apple down the aisle with the words “To the Fairest” and left.  Eris knew how vain the goddesses were and wanted to cause an argument.

Who was the apple for?  Who was the fairest?  No one could decide between Hera (Juno- goddess of marriage and Zeus’s wife), Athena (Minerva- goddess of wisdom) and Aphrodite (Venus- goddess of Love).  Not even Zeus, king of the gods, wanted to get in the middle of this argument.  He decided to let the Trojan shepherd Paris judge as he was proven to be a very honest man.

Judgment of Paris, Peter Paul Rubens, 1630’s, The National Gallery (London)

The goddesses paraded in front of him and each offered a bribe: Hera offered an empire, Athena offered great wisdom and military power, but Aphrodite offered to make the most beautiful woman in the world fall completely in love with him.

Paris chose Aphrodite as the fairest and then he chose Helen of Sparta (currently the wife of Menelaus).  Helen was so beautiful because she was a daughter of Zeus and her mother was Leda.  Aphrodite brought him to Sparta, Helen fell in love with him instantly and they went back to Troy.  All of Sparta was extremely angry and vowed vengeance.  The other two goddesses were extremely angry and vowed vengeance, and so the Trojan War begins.   

 

Judgment of Paris, Claude Lorrain, 1645-46, National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.)

Let's compare and contrast three well known paintings of this story (above).  German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder made several versions, he depicts the goddess as young and lithe (if proportionally inaccurate) and shows Paris dressed as a Renaissance man.  Rubens paints an exuberant and dramatic scene showing the goddesses in his famous plump “Rubenesque” manner and fills the work with multiple references to mythology (peacock, cupid, Medusa, etc.).  As typical of the French painter Claude Lorrain who  lived in Rome, he focuses on the landscape rather than the figures.  Lorrain loved all things classical and shows the goddesses dressed or partially draped in a way that was influenced from classical sculpture.

This was a popular theme for a few reasons: it showed the patron was educated and had knowledge of the classics, it was a theme from a famous war but showed no bloodshed and it depicted beautiful women.  Yet there was another and quite important reason for Trojan war themes.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art states on their website:

“Just as the emperor Augustus had claimed descent from Aeneas, a son of Venus, so many Italian princes traced their ancestry to the participants in the Trojan War or sought to equate their own accomplishments with the deeds of these heroes.”*

Frequently this is the case with subjects in art, the patron wants to tie himself/herself to the events portrayed in either a painting or sculpture and so commissioned a well known historic or mythological theme from an artist.


*Source of quote: Heroes in Italian Mythological Prints | Thematic Essay |Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art