Episode 108: Venetian vs. Florentine Renaissance Art

Bellini, Madonna of the Meadow, abt 1500

Venice and Florence were powerful city states during the time of the Italian Renaissance. Venice was a port city which meant that all the exotic wonders of the world could be found there. This lead to experimentation with color that other European cities couldn't come anywhere near to emulating. Color was such a huge part of Venice that people created whole businesses that involved the making and developing of pigments and dyes. It is no wonder that Venetian art was known for its "colorito" approach.

Colortio was the Venetian approach to painting using lots of color and conveying extreme drama.

Titian, Bacchus and Ariadne, 1520

Colortio was the Venetian approach to painting using lots of color and conveying extreme drama.

Giorgione, The Tempest, 1505

Giorgione, Madonna and Child with Saints Liberale and Francis, 1505

Veronese, Feast in the House of Levi, 1573

Tintoretto, The Finding of Moses, Late Renaissance

In Florence, the city probably most well known for Renaissance art, draftsmanship, line and figural accuracy (disegno) were taken very seriously. The use of light, just like in Venice, was very important but took on a much different quality.

Antonio Pollaiuolo, Hercules Slaying Antaeus, ca. 1478

Domenico Ghirlandaio, Birth of the Virgin Mary

Bronzino, Portrait of a Young Man, 1530

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Venetian vs. Florentine Art. This is our last full episode for the summer but we will have Short But Sweet episodes up every Wednesday until our semester starts back up in August. Thanks for sticking with us through season three! We'll see you in a couple of month's for season four!

Episode 107: Art for Arts Sake

"Art for arts sake” from French slogan “l’art pour l’art” —expresses a philosophy/concept that the intrinsic value of art, and the only “true” art, is divorced from any didactic, moral, or utilitarian function. In Greek, these works are described as autoteles (aut- + telos, meaning self + goal) or “autotelic—complete in itself.”

Whistler, Nocturne in Black and Gold, 1872-77

“Beauty is a form of Genius--is higher, indeed, than Genius, as it needs no explanation. It is one of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection in the dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon. It cannot be questioned. It has divine right of sovereignty. It makes princes of those who have it.” —Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

James Abbott McNeill Whistler, The Peacock Room

Edward Burne-Jones, Golden Stairs, 1876-1880, Tate Britain

Rosetti, Lady Lilith, 1868

Soul's Beauty

Body's Beauty

We apologize for the delay in uploading this episode. We hope you enjoyed learning more about "Art for Arts Sake". Next week Lauren will be back with Julia discussing the differences between Florentine and Venetian art. 

Short But Sweet: Episode 14: Three Museums You Probably Don't Know About

We've got another Short But Sweet for you this week! Lauren gives us the run down on three museums you may have never heard of. Enjoy!

Number 1: J. Paul Getty Villa, Malibu, California

Number 2: Bargello Museum, Florence, Italy

Number 3: Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England

We hope you enjoyed this week's Short But Sweet. Next Wednesday Lauren and Carolyne will be talking about the The Philosophy of Art (which is a lot more interesting than it sounds!)