Behind the Canvas (35 page)

Authors: Alexander Vance

6
.
T
HE
R
ENAISSANCE
. When scholars speak of the Renaissance, they are usually referring to a period roughly from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries in which citizens became tired of the stupidity of the Dark Ages and decided to become a more progressively prosperous people. You will find, however, that scholars disagree on what truly caused the Renaissance. Allow me to enlighten you. The Renaissance began in the Italian city of Florence, the birthplace of what is known as Italian cuisine. As the incredible food found on Florentine tables improved, so did the city's artistic talent, which in turn had its influence on politics, literature, science, etc. (Leonardo da Vinci's mother, for example, was an excellent cook.) Don't let academia tell you differentlyâthe Renaissance was brought about by one thing: an astoundingly good plate of spaghetti. (Excerpted from
Dr. Buckhardt's Art History for the Enthusiast and the Ignorant.
)

7
.
M
ICHELANGELO DI
L
ODOVICO
B
UONARROTI
S
IMONI (1475â1564)
. Michelangelo (you can see why scholars shorten his name) was the Italian Renaissance contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci, and every bit the talented fellow. While there is no historical documentation on this, I don't doubt a wager existed between the two: Which one of us will be the most famous artist 500 years from now? It would probably be a toss-up.

Michelangelo's accomplishments include creating the dome on Saint Peter's Basilica, painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and sculpting
David
(who wears no clothes, so get your parents' permission before viewing). The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel alone took four years to paintâ5,100 square feet of surface space. Can you imagine constantly craning your cranium up at the ceiling as paint drips in your eyes for four years? Talk about a crick in the neck. (Excerpted from
Dr. Buckhardt's Art History for the Enthusiast and the Ignorant
.)

8
.
J
AN VAN
E
YCK (CA. 1390â1441)
. An early Dutch master masked by a modicum of mystery, little is known about the particulars of Van Eyck's life. Historians agree that he was one of the most significant Renaissance artists of the fifteenth century, with a remarkable ability to capture detail in his paintings. But it's the hints at a more complex life that really make this artist intriguing. He was employed, for example, by a powerful duke to go on many “secret” journeys. Who knows what their purpose was. Politics? Espionage? Clandestine societies? Look closely at his paintings and you will find all sorts of hidden symbols and icons, or scribblings in Latin and Greek. And the skill with which the paintings were renderedâyears beyond his contemporaries. So masterful was his use of the new medium of oil paint, in fact, that some suggest he invented it. But I say that's giving one man too much credit, no matter how mysterious he is. After all, he was just a painter, not a magician. (Excerpted from
Dr. Buckhardt's Art History for the Enthusiast and the Ignorant
.)

9
.
A
RTEMISIA
G
ENTILESCHI (1593â1656)
. At a time when women artists were few and far between, Gentileschi established herself as one of the most accomplished painters (male or female) of the Italian Baroque period. But she wasn't content just painting what the next guy was painting. Instead, the vast majority of her fifty-seven works display dominant, daring, or defiant damsels. And did I mention swords? In fact, one of her favorite subjects was the story of Judith and Holofernes. In that ancient tale, Holofernes is the general of a conquering army and Judith lives in the city to which he's laid siege. While the general is sleeping, Judith creeps into his tent with the help of her servant and lops off the fellow's head. City saved. End of story.

Gentileschi was a big fan of Caravaggio, and many of her paintings feature a masterful use of chiaroscuro. Most of her contemporaries and, dare I say,
ahem
, historians, couldn't get past the fact that she was a
woman
painting during this era. (Girl power! Feminism!) But that detracts from the bigger picture: Gentileschi was a darn good artist. Period. (Excerpted from
Dr. Buckhardt's Art History for the Enthusiast and the Ignorant
.)

11
.
A
RT
I
NSTITUTE OF
C
HICAGO
(
C
HICAGO,
IL, USA
)
. When the Chicago Academy of Design was first constructed in 1870, it contained both an art gallery and an art school. As fate and a cow would have it, however, Mrs. O'Leary's heifer kicked over a lantern the following year, burning half of Chicago to the ground in a dreadfully destructive disaster known as the Great Chicago Fire. The academy's building went up in smoke, and soon thereafter the academy went bankrupt. But in true American fashion, the group sought corporate backing, renamed itself the Art Institute of Chicago, and bought its own assets at the bankruptcy auction.

Since those early years, the Art Institute of Chicago has become one of the finest art museums in the world, most famous for its collections of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and American paintings. It also maintains a substantial fire insurance policy. (Excerpted from
Dr. Buckhardt's Art History for the Enthusiast and the Ignorant
.)

12
.
S
AINT
G
EORGE AND THE
D
RAGON
. This is one of the more oft-painted subjects in art history, which is completely understandableâeveryone likes dragons. The story goes like this. Next to the ancient kingdom of Silene there was a lake where a dragon made its home. The diet of dragons, of course, is primarily meat, which is hard to come by on a large scale. So the dragon made a deal with the kingdom that if they would feed him several sheep and a woman every day, he would curb his appetite and not eat the entire population in a gluttonous, fiery barbecue. The town chose the tasty woman each day by lottery. One day the princess of Silene “won” the lottery, much to the dismay of her father, the king. But the rules were rules, and so they dressed her up, splashed her with marinade, and sent her out to a lakeside dinner with the sheep.

Enter Saint George the warrior. This holy hero on horseback charged the dragon, fiercely skewering him in the side with a lance. Then he called on the princess to throw her girdle around the dragon's neck. She did so, and the wounded dragon instantly followed her around like a puppy on a leash. Saint George and the princess took the dragon back to Silene, where Saint George offered to slay the dragon if they all agreed to come to church. An offer they couldn't refuseâthey were quickly running out of sacrificial womenâthe people agreed. The kingdom of Silene did decide to keep the concept of a lottery, however, and has used it ever since to part a fool from his money and to fund public education. (Excerpted from
Dr. Buckhardt's Art History for the Enthusiast and the Ignorant
.)

15
.
L
ANDSCAPE.
Landscape is one of the most critical creative categories found in both painting and art in general. Simply stated, landscape art depicts scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and usually includes a sky and a horizon. True landscape focuses on these elements alone, although landscape can often be used as a backdrop for a different artistic genre. Landscape painting is found in all cultures throughout the history of art. For example, with half a continent of undeveloped land, it was a favorite of mid-nineteenth-century American painters, most notably Thomas Cole and the Hudson River School.

Note that landscape should not be confused with the modern derivatives of seascape, riverscape, cityscape, moonscape, hardscape, inscape, escape, and Pinkscape, which was my favorite British punk band in the 1980s. (Excerpted from
Dr. Buckhardt's Art History for the Enthusiast and the Ignorant
.)

16
.
P
IETER
B
RUEGEL (CA. 1525â1569)
. Pieter Bruegel is one of the great Flemish/Dutch Renaissance masters of the sixteenth century and the head of a painting dynasty. When you hear the name Bruegel in art history, chances are it refers to this fellow. However, it also might be referring to his son Brueghel the Younger; his other son, Jan Brueghel the Elder; his grandson Jan Brueghel the Younger; his great-grandson, Abraham Brueghel; or the family cat, Felix Bruegel. (The cat was the only one to keep the original spelling of the family name.)

This Bruegel set himself apart from other painters at the time, related or otherwise, by focusing on landscapes and the poor pastoral peasant. His peasant paintings, such as
The Hunters in the Snow
and
The Peasant Wedding
, are always full of action and the hustle and bustle of everyday country life. Studying his paintings is almost enough to make one want to abandon academia and become a peasant. Almost. (Excerpted from
Dr. Buckhardt's Art History for the Enthusiast and the Ignorant
.)

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