the National Gallery
We explore image-making and artistic patronage in early modern Europe and the role of key artists of the Renaissance such as Leonardo, Raphael, Holbein and Dürer.
It was during the period covered by this course that the artist, architect and author Giorgio Vasari effectively invented the history of art, when he published 'The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects' in 1550. A second edition of Vasari’s 'Lives' (as the work is more generally known) followed in 1568. In both editions, the focus is on the artists themselves, their biographies, the influences on them and their influence upon others. However, this is just one of the stories we can tell. Over the next six units we will take a more thematic approach, looking at the artists themselves but also the political, theological and cultural environments in which they lived and worked, alongside topics such as artistic rivalry, the influence of Islamic art, and the role of women.
The 16th century was a period of dynamic transformation and development: a time which witnessed dramatic religious reform, the advent of printing, the rise of humanism, and an extraordinary wave of artistic activity. Rulers and leading families sought to rival one another with increasingly elaborate programmes of patronage, pursuing the best artists of their day, from Dürer and Holbein to Michelangelo and Titian.
In this introductory session, we will examine the political structure of Europe and gain an understanding of the political systems and rulers who governed the societies in which art was produced. We will look at competition and rivalry between King Henry VIII in England, King Francis I in France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and focus on the patronage of Popes Julius II and Leo X in Rome.
We also evaluate the impact of the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation on the visual arts, following Martin Luther’s infamous Ninety-Five Theses of 1517 outlining his criticisms of Catholic church practice, often considered a major catalyst for the ensuing schism within the church.
After the break we are joined by Peter Schade, Head of Framing and Harriet O’Neill, Adult Courses and Events programmer, both at the National Gallery. Few of the National Gallery’s collection of paintings have retained their original frames but Peter has spent many years sourcing, creating or adapting examples which complement the paintings historically. He will discuss notable examples from the 16th-century collection with Harriet, whose PhD ‘Re-framing the Italian Renaissance at the National Gallery’ examined the impact of these ‘new’ frames.
This week we focus on the National Gallery’s 'Christ Mocked (The Crowning with Thorns'), one of the rare works by Bosch in a British collection. Many of the most powerful and emotive works of Northern European art describe the suffering and Passion of Christ, from private devotional images or woodcut prints, to more public works such as large-scale altarpieces and sculptural groups.
In this dramatic painting, Christ is represented as a passive victim tormented by four brutish and grotesque figures who press closely around him, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere. Yet the work requires placement in the religious context of the turn of the century to be fully understood. Why are the figures dressed in contemporary costume? What is the significance of non-scriptural elements and objects, such as the dog collar or the oak leaves? How would the painting have been viewed and interpreted during the period? We will examine the work within the context of some of Bosch’s paintings in other collections.
After the break we will go beyond what can be seen with the naked eye, thinking about the ways in which the technology available to the Gallery’s conservators and scientists can enhance our understanding of the collection. Guest lecturer Rachel Billinge, Research Associate in the National Gallery's Conservation Department, will discuss the technical investigation of Bosch’s 'Christ Mocked (The Crowning with Thorns') and will demonstrate, with the aid of photomicrographs, X-ray images and infrared reflectograms, how analysis of the panel has revealed surprising information beneath the painted surface.
This week we will look at the relevance of literature to the art of the period and how painting during the Renaissance reflects clear changes in literary taste. Depictions of Greek and Roman mythologies became a frequent and popular source material, as both patrons and artists became more familiar with classical sources and stories. Depictions of these could reflect a patron’s erudition and awareness of the antique, or relate heroic stories of the past to glorious events of the present. Mythological paintings often thereby become important tools for the display of power and wealth.
We will examine mythological imagery in the 16th-century collection of the National Gallery, with a particular focus on Titian’s paintings created for one of the most important and prestigious collections in Europe, that of King Philip II of Spain. These ambitious 'poesie', as Titian named them, were intended to be the visual equivalents of poetry, drawing upon classical subjects which underlined Philip’s sophistication, yet also appealing to his predilection for sensual subject matter.
After the break we will be joined by guest lecturer Deborah Howard, Professor Emerita of Architectural History in the University of Cambridge, who will discuss Venice’s relationship with the East. Trade with the Eastern Mediterranean was the lifeblood of the Venetian Republic from the start. The eastward voyages of merchants, pilgrims and ambassadors infused the city’s maritime culture and coloured its townscape. This lecture will consider reflections of this eastern perspective on the art and architecture of the city, with particular emphasis on the paintings of Gentile Bellini and Vittore Carpaccio.
The Renaissance engendered a reawakening of interest in both the human form and character, and the portrait became the most effective visual means of recording this rising awareness of the individual. This was a period in which some of the most imaginative ways of having one's likeness recorded appeared – a time when patrons could literally reinvent themselves through the visual image, and in which artists were given the possibility of transforming the genre and creating ingenious variations on a theme.
In this session, we explore examples by some of the most influential artists of the period such as Giovanni Bellini, El Greco, Titian and Dürer, with a special focus on Holbein’s masterpiece, 'The Ambassadors'.
In 2020, the National Gallery hosted the first major exhibition in the UK dedicated to the work of Artemisia Gentileschi, following the acquisition of her 'Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria', and in 2019 the Prado Museum dedicated a highly acclaimed exhibition to Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana. These are promising and inspiring steps towards the revival and recovery of the reputations of many great female artists who achieved fame and renown amongst their contemporaries, but whose lives became obscured over time. Thanks to the efforts of several scholars and to many high-profile institutions attempting to redress gender disparity in their collections, less familiar names such as Anguissola, Fontana, Catharina van Hemessen, and Levina Teerlinc are again rising to the fore. In this session we will explore their work and also some of their contemporaries who acted as notable patrons and collectors of art.
After the break, we are joined by the award-winning author Sarah Dunant who will discuss the life and patronage of Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua. The first and greatest female art patron and collector of the Italian Renaissance, she was born into the Este court of Ferrara and married at 15 into the Gonzaga family in Mantua. Over the next 50 years she would go on to create a dazzling Renaissance court, running the state while her husband was away fighting or in prison and amassing a collection of contemporary and antique art to rival the greatest collectors of her time. When she died, she left behind her a treasure trove of letters, unique in the history of the Renaissance women.
A notable result of the increased status of the arts during the Renaissance was the sense of competition between the artists themselves. Nowhere was this more pronounced than in Italy, where the rivalry between Michelangelo and Leonardo – and between Michelangelo and Raphael and Sebastiano – not only drove the production of great works of art, but also led to important areas of collaboration.
There will also be discussion of the literary contribution of Giorgio Vasari’s 'Lives of the Artists'. Dedicated to Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, its expanded second edition included more than 200 artists’ biographies, spanning a period of 300 years. Vasari’s ground-breaking book combines fascinating descriptions of artworks with delightful anecdotes about their creators, but to what extent have our views of Renaissance art been influenced by his opinions and criteria? We will conclude by drawing together all of the strands from the preceding weeks, allowing time for discussion.
Explore the life and work of El Greco, one of the most unusual, original and visionary painters of his age, in an in-depth session which complements our 'Stories of art: 1500-1600' course.
Born and trained in Crete, El Greco enjoyed success in Venice and Rome and then in 1577 settled in Toledo, Spain. Here he spent the rest of his life, producing works characterised by astonishing exaggerations of form, distortions of proportion and bold, brooding colours.
Many of these paintings can still be seen in their original location and we will examine them alongside works by El Greco in the National Gallery, explaining how their mystical appearance reveals a wide variety of sometimes surprising influences, and to what extent they reflect the cultural, religious and socio-economic climate of Toledo in the early 17th century.
