Question #1: In the central panel of The Merode Altarpiece (c.1425-1428) by Robert
Campin (or Workshop of the Master of Flemalle) depicting the Annunciation,
the artist has employed spatial conventions typical of the medieval style
rather than one that mirrors the real world. How is this medieval treatment
of space manifested in the painting? What is the purpose for such spatial
conventions in this composition? (MAXIMUM WORD COUNT 400, NO MORE NO LESS)
Qustion #2: A comparison of two 15th-century Italian paintings of the Last Supper by
Andrea del Castagno (c.1445-50) and by Leonardo da Vinci (1495-98)
provides an instructive look at the Renaissance style. Discuss the two artists’
approach to the iconic subject of the final meal that Christ shared with his
apostles. How does each artist treat the drama of this pivotal moment in
Christ’s life, one that leads to his eventual death? Can one artist be said to
depict the subject in an unorthodox (or unconventional) manner compared to
the other? Explain.
(MAXIMUM WORD COUNT 400, NO MORE NO LESS)
Question #3: The artists Giotto and Masaccio are considered touchstones in the history of
Western art, especially in the advancement of painting. Scholars focus
particularly on Giotto’s early 14th-century fresco cycle in the Arena
Scrovegni) Chapel in Padua and Masaccio’s 15th-century fresco decoration of
the Brancacci Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence.
Why are these fresco decorations so influential on later generation of artists,
like Michelangelo, for example? What particular aspects of these wall
paintings heralded the new in Italian Renaissance painting, thus making a
definitive break with the medieval past?
(MAXIMUM WORD COUNT 400, NO MORE NO LESS)
Question #4: In 1436 Leon Battista Alberti wrote metaphorically that the dome of the
Florence Cathedral “covered the entire Tuscan people with its shadow.” Why
is the cupola of the cathedral considered the greatest of Brunelleschi’s works
and one of the landmarks of Renaissance architecture? In your discussion,
provide three (3) examples of the technological innovations in the dome’s
construction.
(MAXIMUM WORD COUNT 400, NO MORE NO LESS)
Question #5: The Renaissance pope Julius II, by all accounts, was an immensely ambitious
man and one of the most powerful and influential popes. His decade-long
papacy, though controversial, was probably best known for his remarkable
patronage of the arts, in which he employed three of the greatest artists of
the High Renaissance (Bramante, Michelangelo, and Raphael).
Discuss one of Julius II’s major commissions during his papacy: the new St.
Peter’s Basilica by Bramante; the decoration of the papal apartments (the
Stanze) by Raphael; and the construction of his tomb and the painting of the
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. What did Julius intend to
convey with the particular commission you are discussing? What do
the breadth and scope of these grand artistic projects mean in the context of
Julius’s ambitions and his idea of papal power, of the pope as leader, and his
vision of the Catholic Church?
(MAXIMUM WORD COUNT 400, NO MORE NO LESS)
