This paper explores the relationship between clothing and the presentation of women in the cultural, political and economic milieux of the Renaissance Florence. It traces dramatic stylistic shifts in female portraiture through an analysis of three different case studies dating from circa 1465 to 1545 beginning with Antonio del Pollaiuolo's Portrait of a Young Lady, then Leonardo da Vinci's Portrait of Ginevra de' Benci, and, finally, Angolo Bronzino's Portrait of Eleonora del Toledo and Her Son Giovanni. These portraits reveal that changes in pose and dress paralleled contemporary attitudes toward the female subject. They document the socially determined career of a woman and the constraining regulations she adhered to when maiden, married or mother. Nevertheless, this progression reveal an increasing role for women in the service of the economy, the arts, and the State.
Copper engraving. This collection of illustrated Biblical scenes contains text in French and Latin. This book was published in Paris sometime around 1650. The publisher and engraver of this work was Pierre Mariette I, who died in 1657. In mid-seventeenth century France, the monarchy controlled politics and culture. Cardinal Richelieu, Chief Minister to King Louis XIII, established the French royal printing-office, the Imprimerie Royale, in 1640. In the years to follow, King Louis XIV would come to establish a number of academies to both promote the arts and inhibit challenges to his royal authority. Analysis Here the artist depicts the risen Christ floating above a disrupted tomb. His body is surrounded by a bright aura, and he holds two fingers on his right hand toward the sky. His feet show wounds from the nails. He is depicted with hollow cheeks against the bright emanation of light and the effect is quite ghostly. Around the tomb a large group of soldiers hold various poses; some seem to be rising from slumber, other sleeping. One soldier shields his face from Christ; others brandish weapons as they turn to flee. In the distance the sun is rising and the three crosses stand on a hill. Three woman holding urns approach. ; https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/resurrection_iconography/1000/thumbnail.jpg
Following the surrender of Toledo to Alfonso VI of Castile-León in 1085 C.E., shifting political and religious power remolded the social fabric and land ownership of the city. As the former capitol of the Visigothic empire and one of the cities on the 'frontier' of a hegemonically Christian Spain, Toledo was a nexus of the manifestation of Reconquest ideology for Castilian Christians. Religious buildings in Toledo constructed or expanded during the twelfth- through fourteenth-centuries express stylistic adaptation and growth. However, the terminology used to describe this architecture needs further clarification. This thesis suggests that with respect to Toledo, the term Mudéjar has been inflated to include theories of the social development of this architecture and elements that may not truly have been part of this regional style. I will assess the rise of a distinct architectural style in religious architecture in twelfth- to fourteenth-century Toledo through formal analysis and social contextualization of patronage. Representative key examples are the church of Santa Cruz and the church of Santiago de Arrabal. This thesis will focus on the inconsistent definitions of the Mudéjar architectural style offered by contemporary scholarship and scrutinize the factors that likely contributed to the development of this visual style.
The concept of power has been evident throughout Byzantine culture, whether in its aristocratic and bureaucratic politics, textiles, architecture, or minted coinage. Consequently, the arts were frequently utilized to represent imperial and religious power with various renderings of symbols, colors, and icons. In addition, images portrayed significant visual and spiritual value as the viewers looked to them for knowledge, guidance, and prayer. The ruling emperors were held in high regard, and imperial families were dominant over Byzantine society. The emperor was created in God's image, given the responsibility to rule on earth and carry out the ten commandments. This essay explores the power of Byzantine emperors, their representation as divine rulers, their connection to Christ, and the power within the church, illustrated through Christ. ; https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/arth3620_2021/1040/thumbnail.jpg
Copper engraving. The Great Exemplar of Sanctity and holy life according to the Christian institution : described in the history of the life and death of the Ever Blessed Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world : with considerations and discourses upon the several parts of the story; and prayers fitted to the several mysteries : in three parts. Jeremy Taylor's The Great Exemplar, is considered to be the first narrative account of the life of Christ to be printed in English. First in his series of devotional works, The Great Exemplar became one of the most popular selling books of the seventeenth century. Born and educated in in Cambridge, Taylor (ca. 1613-1667) was consecrated Bishop of Down and Connor in Ireland in 1658, where he would come to experience great difficulty during an era of religious and political crisis. The engraver of this plate was William Faithorne (ca. 1616-1691), a Londoner, who was at one point taken as a political prisoner during the English Civil War; yet whom was remarkably allowed to continue to engrave portraits while imprisoned! Analysis In this illustration the twelve apostles are gathered closely around a table, with Christ positioned at the center. Here we can see a plate before him. There is bread on the table, and a cup. One of the apostles seems to rest his head on the figure of Christ. John 13:21-25 reads: When Jesus had thus spoken, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, "Truly, truly I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was lying close to the breast of Jesus; so Simon Peter beckoned to him and said, "Tell us who it is of whom he speaks." In the center of the illustration we can see that Jesus' hand gestures towards the figure in the foreground, Judas, seen holding the bag of silver. The apostles are shown reacting to the foretelling of the betrayal; turning towards one another, or holding their hands in expressive gestures. The identity of the "disciple whom Jesus loved," is the topic of much inquiry. Some biblical scholars believe it is John the Apostle, some Jesus' brother James, and some Mary Magdalene (among many other theories). ; https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/last_supper_iconography/1004/thumbnail.jpg
This project is an exploration of Islamic influences on the Adoration of the Magi (1423) by Gentile da Fabriano. The use of pseudo-inscriptions and Eastern textiles in the painting are central to the investigation of the work. I discuss the contact between the Republic of Florence and Muslim regions and the role of trade, crusades, and political contact on the arts of Quattrocento Florence. I analyze the extent of patron's contributions to the iconography in the altarpiece and the social and political implications of the piece.
AbstractThis paper traces the reception of the architectural style known as 'Mafia Baroque' within the professions of architecture and urban planning inBulgaria. The debate within these professions was strongly linked to the general decline of power among former intellectual elites and the specific decline of architects and planners, who were sidelined as arbiters of 'good taste' and disempowered as regulators of urban growth. The reaction to this style also highlights the rise in public concern over corruption and organized crime and dissatisfaction with post‐socialist urbanization. This paper chronicles the extent of changes in construction and regulation inBulgaria during the 1990s and argues that planners and architects were challenged not only by their professional marginalization but also by a deeper embarrassment over cultural change. It then relates this debate to broader post‐socialist anxieties over insufficient regulation of urbanization and fear of failing to meetWesternEuropean goals for economic and political change.
Emblem theory and cultural specificity / Karel Porteman -- Terms for emblem in the Spanish tradition / Pedro F. Campa -- George Wither's use of emblem terminology / Peter M. Daly -- The device in Puttenham's Arte of English poesie / Mary V. Silcox -- "Emblem" as rhetorical figure : John Hoskins and Thomas Blount / Michael Bath -- Schottel's view of the relation of proverb to emblem motto / Ingrid H(c)œpel -- Perceiving, seeing, and meaning : emblems and some approaches to reading early modern culture / Daniel S. Russell -- Image and moral teaching in emblematic animals / Jos(c)♭ Julio Garc(c)Ưa Arranz -- Authorities for symbolism in the sixteenth century / Denis L. Drysdall -- Mnemonic emblems and the Humanist discourse of knowledge / William E. Engel -- Theories of music as a conception of divine harmony / Paul P. Raasveld -- The influence of the Counter-Reformation defence of images on the contemporary concept of emblem / J.D. Loach -- Thomas Blount's The art of making devises and the translation of authority / Alan R. Young -- The authority of hearsay : the evolution of Rosicrusian symbols from Andrae to Bulwer-Lytton / Stanley W. Beeler -- Bibliography : primary and secondary sources / John Manning