A study of cast shadows in 15th-century painting in Siena, Italy. Not before the mid 15th century... more A study of cast shadows in 15th-century painting in Siena, Italy. Not before the mid 15th century did Sienese painters embrace the naturalistic method of cast shadow introduced by Masaccio in Florence during the mid 1420s; the few who did so consistently experimented with it on limited occasions only. There was no common coherent reason for depicting or omitting cast shadows; apparently, they just followed their customs and predilection. However, the Stigmatization of St. Francis (National Gallery, London), painted on the reverse side of the 1444 Sansepolcro Altarpiece by Stefano di Giovanni di Consalvo da Cortona, a.k.a. Sassetta, shows that the shadows were simply kept to remain faithful to the medieval traditions of the painters' patrons. In this scene, which would have been viewed almost exclusively by the Franciscan friars, the shadow of the saint's head is omitted in accordance with the ideas of preacher San Bernardino of Siena, who argued for the transparency and luminosity of saints. This kind of discussion about the nature of the saint's body must have been of crucial importance to Sassetta or his patrons.
Abstract: Bernardino of Siena, the most active Franciscan preacher in the fifteenth century, died... more Abstract: Bernardino of Siena, the most active Franciscan preacher in the fifteenth century, died in 1444 in L’Aquila. While his body remained there, some of his belongings travelled back to Siena and were kept in the custody of the Osservanza. Bernardino was canonized in 1450, only six years after his death. This paper examines his effigies depicted during these six years, especially focusing on the Effigy of Blessed Bernardino (Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena) by the Sienese painter Pietro di Giovanni d’Ambrogio. Probably this was originally located in San Donato in Siena, where the third examination for the canonization was held in 1448. The careful reading of Processo di Canonizzazione edited by L. Pellegrini and the close observation of the details allow us to analyze the peculiar function of this effigy. The effigyrenders meticulous realism in his facial features, and most notably, his belongings are depicted with cast shadows, giving them tangibility which is important for the contact relics. This realism should be interpreted as part of the strategy of the Sienese government to produce many effigies in place of his body and to legitimize the preservation of the precious relics.
At one time, sculptures occupied lofty places. We looked up at a statue, and the statue looked do... more At one time, sculptures occupied lofty places. We looked up at a statue, and the statue looked down at us. Sculptures depicted gods, saints, figures of myth and allegory, statesmen and heroes. As monuments, these images were separate from the hustle and bustle of the city. They turned skyward, towering above the crowds. The role of elevating the image and enforcing the essential verticality of the monument was given to the base on which the statue was placed. Modernism has viewed the traditional role of the base with deep suspicion, actively rejecting it as useless and even making its presence a basis for criticizing a work. It is generally agreed that Auguste Rodin's (1840-1917) memorial sculpture The Burghers of Calais (1889) was a defining moment in the modernist approach to the base. Rodin initially vacillated between a traditional high pedestal for his sculpture group and the revolutionary use of a low base. If we believe what the artist later said to Paul Gsell, he actually preferred there to be no base at all: " I do not want any type of base for the sculpture group " [1]. Rodin's aim was not to honor only Eustache de Saint-Pierre as the sole hero whose sacrifice assured the freedom of Calais; rather, by placing the group of burghers at eye level, he wished to emphasize the suffering of the entire citizenry [2]. While that decision certainly helped make clear the meaning of this particular monument, it also had more general implications. By bringing the sculpture down to the level of the viewer, it may well have opened the way for a revised conception of the relationship between work and viewer, raising the issue of physical presence in sculpture. The relationship between Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) and the bases he used for his sculptures was a complex and productive one. Let us look, for example, at Blonde Negress II (1933) (Fig. 1) in The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Four bases support this sculpture. Moving from the bottom to the top, we find first two forms made of oak: an irregularly shaped pedestal in which the marks of the sculptor's chisel are still evident, and, on top of this, a sawn square. The wood square is surmounted by a piece of limestone carved into a cruciform shape, and this is topped, in turn, by polished marble. Not only does the base determine the height at which the work is displayed, but the differences in shape, color, material, and surface texture of the various elements work together to produce a complex concerto of meaning and effect. The artist was not content to offer simply a finished work; he was also concerned with the orchestration of a total visual effect. Here, every component can be seen as part of the artwork. Brancusi, moreover, displayed as independent works The Newborn (1915), designed without a base, and Caryatid (1914/1915) (Fig. 2), made as a base to support another sculpture. And in Targu Jiu stands a work in the form of a single pillar of the type that once acted as a support, here given grand, architectonic dimensions: Brancusi's Endless Column (1937-38) [3]. Although no base was intended for The Newborn, the work was most likely exhibited on some type of dais. It was on such a display base that an ordinary urinal was
A study of cast shadows in 15th-century painting in Siena, Italy. Not before the mid 15th century... more A study of cast shadows in 15th-century painting in Siena, Italy. Not before the mid 15th century did Sienese painters embrace the naturalistic method of cast shadow introduced by Masaccio in Florence during the mid 1420s; the few who did so consistently experimented with it on limited occasions only. There was no common coherent reason for depicting or omitting cast shadows; apparently, they just followed their customs and predilection. However, the Stigmatization of St. Francis (National Gallery, London), painted on the reverse side of the 1444 Sansepolcro Altarpiece by Stefano di Giovanni di Consalvo da Cortona, a.k.a. Sassetta, shows that the shadows were simply kept to remain faithful to the medieval traditions of the painters' patrons. In this scene, which would have been viewed almost exclusively by the Franciscan friars, the shadow of the saint's head is omitted in accordance with the ideas of preacher San Bernardino of Siena, who argued for the transparency and luminosity of saints. This kind of discussion about the nature of the saint's body must have been of crucial importance to Sassetta or his patrons.
Abstract: Bernardino of Siena, the most active Franciscan preacher in the fifteenth century, died... more Abstract: Bernardino of Siena, the most active Franciscan preacher in the fifteenth century, died in 1444 in L’Aquila. While his body remained there, some of his belongings travelled back to Siena and were kept in the custody of the Osservanza. Bernardino was canonized in 1450, only six years after his death. This paper examines his effigies depicted during these six years, especially focusing on the Effigy of Blessed Bernardino (Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena) by the Sienese painter Pietro di Giovanni d’Ambrogio. Probably this was originally located in San Donato in Siena, where the third examination for the canonization was held in 1448. The careful reading of Processo di Canonizzazione edited by L. Pellegrini and the close observation of the details allow us to analyze the peculiar function of this effigy. The effigyrenders meticulous realism in his facial features, and most notably, his belongings are depicted with cast shadows, giving them tangibility which is important for the contact relics. This realism should be interpreted as part of the strategy of the Sienese government to produce many effigies in place of his body and to legitimize the preservation of the precious relics.
At one time, sculptures occupied lofty places. We looked up at a statue, and the statue looked do... more At one time, sculptures occupied lofty places. We looked up at a statue, and the statue looked down at us. Sculptures depicted gods, saints, figures of myth and allegory, statesmen and heroes. As monuments, these images were separate from the hustle and bustle of the city. They turned skyward, towering above the crowds. The role of elevating the image and enforcing the essential verticality of the monument was given to the base on which the statue was placed. Modernism has viewed the traditional role of the base with deep suspicion, actively rejecting it as useless and even making its presence a basis for criticizing a work. It is generally agreed that Auguste Rodin's (1840-1917) memorial sculpture The Burghers of Calais (1889) was a defining moment in the modernist approach to the base. Rodin initially vacillated between a traditional high pedestal for his sculpture group and the revolutionary use of a low base. If we believe what the artist later said to Paul Gsell, he actually preferred there to be no base at all: " I do not want any type of base for the sculpture group " [1]. Rodin's aim was not to honor only Eustache de Saint-Pierre as the sole hero whose sacrifice assured the freedom of Calais; rather, by placing the group of burghers at eye level, he wished to emphasize the suffering of the entire citizenry [2]. While that decision certainly helped make clear the meaning of this particular monument, it also had more general implications. By bringing the sculpture down to the level of the viewer, it may well have opened the way for a revised conception of the relationship between work and viewer, raising the issue of physical presence in sculpture. The relationship between Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) and the bases he used for his sculptures was a complex and productive one. Let us look, for example, at Blonde Negress II (1933) (Fig. 1) in The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Four bases support this sculpture. Moving from the bottom to the top, we find first two forms made of oak: an irregularly shaped pedestal in which the marks of the sculptor's chisel are still evident, and, on top of this, a sawn square. The wood square is surmounted by a piece of limestone carved into a cruciform shape, and this is topped, in turn, by polished marble. Not only does the base determine the height at which the work is displayed, but the differences in shape, color, material, and surface texture of the various elements work together to produce a complex concerto of meaning and effect. The artist was not content to offer simply a finished work; he was also concerned with the orchestration of a total visual effect. Here, every component can be seen as part of the artwork. Brancusi, moreover, displayed as independent works The Newborn (1915), designed without a base, and Caryatid (1914/1915) (Fig. 2), made as a base to support another sculpture. And in Targu Jiu stands a work in the form of a single pillar of the type that once acted as a support, here given grand, architectonic dimensions: Brancusi's Endless Column (1937-38) [3]. Although no base was intended for The Newborn, the work was most likely exhibited on some type of dais. It was on such a display base that an ordinary urinal was
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