Unit 3: Artist as Scientist part 2
Announcements
assignment folder update is
posted
midterm handed out next
Thurs.
Art session #2 Tues. &
Thurs.
Wrap up Unit 3:
– Middle Ages
– Renaissance
– Artists of the
Renaissance
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Maria Sibylla Merian
– Earth Map update
Unit #3: Activities
Connections concept map:
Classic Period, Middle Ages and the Renaissance
Lecture Notes:
Leonardo da Vinci
Renaissance: Art materials and techniques
Maria Sibylla Merian
Science Illustration lecture notes:
Uses and conventions
EARTH MAP
Unit #3: Terms
polytheism
Renaissance
fresco
cabinet of curiosities
spontaneous generation
copper plate engraving
Surinam, S. America
The rise of early western civilizations
• Technology advanced
• Long distance travelexploration
• Trade routes to Asia
• Well-developed artistic,
religious and literary
classes—increase spare
time for upper classes,
resources and
motivation to advance
The rise of early western civilization’s
CCM4A. Middle Ages: 5th to 14th century– settled agriculture
• Rise of organized religions
• Period of upheaval
rise of church of Rome & settled
states of Europe.
• Catholic Church gained power – socially and politically
• Feudalism and cast systems—few owned most of land
• Rise of monarchies and the middle class (artisan and merchants)
• Urban and rural areas established
• Stifling of creativity and the scientific spirit that were prevalent in the
Classic era.
CCM4B. Art of the Middle Ages
•Illustrate religious text –
•Architecture--decorating
churches or public places
with religious scenes
•Show devotion to the
church
• mythological creatureslife’s mysteries were
explained through myths
and scriptures
• inaccurate representations
•anthropomorphic
•Stylized
•Not drawn from life
Middle Ages
CCM4C. Attitudes toward nature
• Human superiority over nature.
• Monotheism – single god predominates
• Nature/wilderness viewed as evil –
where the devil lurks
• Taming wilderness becomes a moral act.
• Controlling nature instead of interacting
with it…didn’t consider ourselves part of
the natural system.
• People looked to scriptures to answer
questions about the world, nature, life
and death and our place in it.
• Exploring the natural world, self
expression and questioning life was
discouraged and deemed sacrilege
Samson Killing the Lion,
Albrecht Durur, woodcut
Settled Agriculture
Byzantine Empire or Late Roman empire 1261- 1453
Mosaic of the Grape harvest
SETTLED AGRICULTURE
Medieval Europe
500 AD - 1509
Middle Ages-- settled agriculture
Religious Portraits of the Middle Ages
Classic Period:
Rise of civilizations
urban/rural
Trade
Art became socially,
politically, spiritually
and culturally
important
Middle Ages
Rise of organized religion
settled states of Europe
stifling of creativity &
scientific spirit
religion-based art
Renaissance (rebirth)
1400’s – 1700’s
CCM5a. The Renaissance 1400 – 1700
• settled agriculture
• Originated in Italy
• Catholic Church remained the
ultimate power.
• Rebirth of the scientific spirit.
• Revival of ancient Greece
• Influenced philosophy,
literature, politics, art and
technology .
• Led to the expansion of
European countries across
globe- technologic and
geographic exploration
The Renaissance
Why Italy:
•1,000 years of cultural &
intellectual starvation
•Richest trading nation
•Immigration of Greek
scholars with access to
the ancient scriptures.
•Rich patrons, religious and
merchant classes with
funds for commissions.
•Well established artisan class
•Desire to imitate and study
nature.
Artist as Scientist
A new scientific spirit--Scholars began to examine the
world with fresh eyes and to
question the myths and fantasies.
Painting materials of the Renaissance:
• egg tempera paint- 1st c. AD Egypt
–
–
–
–
Primary painting medium up to 1500
Egg binder- painted on wood panel
Transparent- multiple layers needed
Permanent- dries quickly
• Frescos- Classic period 2000 BC
– Brushed onto wet plaster- murals
– Long drying time
– Non correctable - permanent
• oil paint- 1500 AD
–
–
–
–
Oil-based- slow drying- toxic
Wood panel or canvas
Versatile – easily correctable
Depth and texture
• Watercolor – Prehistoric? China
– Painted on paper- transparent
– Preliminary sketch-mobile simple
– Not permanent – fades over time
Artist as Scientist
Leonardo da Vinci:
1452 - 1519
A true renaissance man.
“A man of
unquenchable
curiosity and feverishly
inventive imagination"
Artist as Scientist
Leonardo did extensive studies
on how animals and humans
moved and how their
muscles and bones worked
together.
This led to his anatomical
research that he
conducted on live and
dead subjects.
Artist as Scientist
Artist as Scientist
5B. Art of the Renaissance 1400 - 1700
• Revival of the realism of Classic
Greece
• Artists gained an important
position in society
• Religion-based themes BUT
• Late renaissance- landscape,
portraits and still life also
became popular
• Realism based on observation
• Expansion of art materials used
- experimentation
• Mastery of illusionary painting
techniques
illusionary painting techniques:
Foreshortening- showing depth
with the way a subject is drawnposition
plane changes with in one subject
Lamentation over the Dead Christ,
Andrea Mantegna,
Quadratura and Trompe l'oeil
illusionistic technique of
architectural perspectiveextending architectural
features into the painting.
Artist as Scientist
The Mona Lisa 1503 – 1506
Lisa Gherardini
Leonardo da Vinci’s most well
known painting.
It is on permanent exhibit at the
Louvre in Paris and is one of
the most visited paintings in
history.
Sfumato- the seamless
blending of colors and value
Artist as Scientist
Last Supper- 1498
15’ x 29’ tempera on dry plaster
took 3 years to complete
wall of the convent of Santa Maria delle Gracie--Milan, Italy
Linear perspective- technique that gives a painting depth
The Last Supper?
5C. Attitude towards Nature
• Human superiority over nature.
• Cultural superiority - colonization of
other continents
• Wilderness = bad evil
• Taming wilderness remains a moral
act.
• Learning about nature in order to
better understand and control
nature.
• Curiosity toward natural processes,
concepts, physics and behavior to
answer questions about the world
and life.
• Commoditization of food resources
IMPACTS of AGRICULTURE?
Garden plan of
Versailles, circa
1660.
Artist as Scientist
Maria Sibylla Merian
1647 – 1717
The first lady of Natural
History.
Self-made ecologist,
biologist and artist
She lived life on her own
terms, in the maledominated world of
science.
Women’s role during the Renaissance
• Denied political rights
• Education- women were incapable of higher thought – too
emotional
• Marriage- expected at an early age , the property of the father then
after marriage, the husband
• Divorce unheard of – women could not initiate
• Single women could not live alone – marriage, live with male family
members, join a convent or become a nun.
• Responsible for the household but deferred to the husband to make
decisions.
• Did not have any rights to property- all earnings went to the men in
their lives.
• Average lifespan was 30 – 40 yr. depending on socio economic
status
• high infant mortality rate
• Average family size 10 children
Artist As Scientist
Maria was born in 1647
in Frankfurt Germany.
Step-father - Flemish
still-life painter
Family-owned
engraving business
and publisher
exposed at an early age
to natural history and
engraving from her
step-father.
Artist As Scientist
In Germany of the 1600’s
social upheaval and
religious hysteria.
Pagan or folk religions of our
Neolithic past were still
practiced in rural areas.
Threatened the Church
Superstition, suspicion and
persecution of nature
based religions and
activities.
Women were persecuted the
most - gatherers
Artist As Scientist
spontaneous generation:
The popular theory of
the origin of the “lower
animal” life forms.
the belief that life
spontaneously arose
from inanimate
substances
“lower” life forms were
considered
unimportant for study.
Artist As Scientist
1663 Married student of her
step father’s at 16 years of
age
Maria was a very
unconventional wife:
1st child was born 3 years
later
2nd born 10 years later
Only 2 daughters 20 years of
marriage.
Artist As Scientist
Maria continued her
interest in insects and
plants.
Collecting specimens she
raised and noted their
transformations in her
drawings
Early paintings – Flemish
still life tradition
Artist As Scientist
unhappy married life
surrounded and
submerged herself in
her interests in insect
lifecycles.
1666 her first daughter
was born
1668 she published her
1st book of flowers
Artist As Scientist
In 1676 published her 1st
book on the metamorphosis
of caterpillars–
She discovered through
observations:
• many insects have distinct
life cycles
• certain insects relied on
specific plant species
for certain stages of
their lives.
Copper Plate Engraving
Plate of copper is covered in
acid resistant wax
Image is engraved exposing
metal
Acid bath to deepen engraved
image
Wax then removed
Ink is applied to surface with a
cloth.
Excess ink is wiped clean,
leaving the ink in the
engraved areas only
The plate is run through a press
with damp paper which
transfers the image to the
paper.
Artist As Scientist
Divorced in 1683
Labadist colony in the
Netherlands–
the only place that a single
mother could make a
living and support
herself.
created an archive of her
images and focus on her
work.
Artist As Scientist
Mother died in1688
Amsterdam, Netherlands the center of
world trade
Dutch East India Company
Set up a business dealing in
specimens.
Teaching young daughters of wealthy
families to paint.
She gained notoriety and respect in
local scientific circles.
Access to extensive gardens of the rich
and collections
Cabinets of curiosity
Artist as Scientist
Artist As Scientist
Drew from dead
specimens from
distant exotic places
Sparked her curiosity
about these exotic
species
What larva did they
arise from?
What plants did they
depend on?
Artist As Scientist
In 1699, at age 52
sailed the South
American colony of
Surinam on the north
coast of South
America.
Unprecedented for any
naturalist
Travelling alone with her
daughter
Independently funded
Sold 225 paintings to
fund the trip
Artist As Scientist
Surinam region :
Smallest country in S.
America
Latitude 5- hot and
humid
Northern area populated
with colonists
Rice and bananas
Southern area Tropical
rainforest and
uninhabited savannah
Artist As Scientist
Conditions were
difficult, especially for
a 52 year old Victorian
woman.
Heat, humidity, dense
jungles and unfriendly
colonists
Hired local indigenous
people to guide her
into the jungle.
Artist As Scientist
White Witch moth
Widest wingspan of
any insect
Spent several days
upriver, and with the
aid of the local
Amerindians
she was able to
witness the
metamorphosis of
this species of moth
which had never
been done before as
well as drawn.
Artist As Scientist
Artist As Scientist
Surinam toad
showing its
extraordinary
reproductive method
which she was the
first to record.
Artist As Scientist
1672 contracted malaria
returned to Europe
In order for her to
recuperate she needed
to leave the harsh
environment of the
tropics
Artist As Scientist
After her return to Amsterdam:
1705 published her most well
known book
“The Metamorphosis of
Insects of Surinam”
60 full color plates with text in
English
she published and funded the
project herself.
Artist As Scientist
Each image in the
book showed the
different lifecycles,
putting them on
their food plant.
the first natural history
book of it’s kind
giving important
information she
learned from direct
observation.
Artist As Scientist
Publishing the book
herself, cost her
more than she
saw in returns.
The book brought
her commissions
for floral paintings
Artist As Scientist
She had an unmistakable
style
She depicted species with
accuracy and detail but
incorporating her talents
in design creating
pleasing compositions
Created an interest in
“lower” forms of life ie
insects that up to this time
weren’t readily studied.
Helped to establish the field
of entomology
Artist As Scientist
Maria spent her remaining
years in Amsterdam living
with her eldest daughter
and continuing her
research, writing and
engraving.
Artist As Scientist
She died in poverty,
1717 at 70 years
old.
Her daughters
continued her work
today the few copies of
her books are
carefully preserved
in rare book
collections in Europe
and at Yale
University.
Artist As Scientist
Unit 3 Earth Map update:
3a. Leonardo da Vinci - Florence, Italy
3b. Maria Sibylla Merian- Amsterdam, Netherlands
3c.
“
“ - Surinam , South America