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A painter and illuminator, Jean Fouquet is regarded as the most important French painter of the fifteenth century. Little is known about his life but it is quite sure that he executed, in Italy, the portrait of Pope Eugenius IV. Upon his return to France, he introduced Italian Renaissance elements into French painting. He was the court painter to Louis XI. Whether he worked on miniatures rendering the finest detail, or on larger scale in panel paintings, Fouquet’s art had the same monumental character. His figures are modelled in broad planes defined by lines of magnificent purity.
86. Stephan Lochner, c. 1410–1451, Northern Renaissance, German, Madonna of the Rose Bush, c. 1448, Mixed technique on panel, 51 × 40 cm, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne
87. Jean Fouquet, c. 1420–1481, Early Renaissance, French, Portrait of Charles VII of France, c. 1450–1455, Oil on oak panel, 86 × 71 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris
The particularity of this painting is due to its squared shape, nearly full-scale, exceptional at the time. The frontal representation is characteristic of the official portraits of monarchs in the West. The two white curtains stand as symbols of majesty. From the years 1420 to 1430 the upper-body intimate portrait was a new fashion spread by Flemish masters. Here Fouquet carries out a synthesis between the traditional full-length representation and the upper-body representation. He enlarges the king’s stature, exploiting the fashion of padded shoulders. This work was painted in a precise political context: at the time, the victories of French royalty were being celebrated. This portrait will have a great influence on Jean Clouet and Holbein, who both travelled through the city of Bourges.
88. Piero della Francesca, c. 1416–1492, Early Renaissance, Italian, The Flagellation of Jesus, c. 1450, Oil and tempera on panel, 58.4 × 51.5 cm. Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino
Through the scientific use of perspective in a measured, symmetrical manner and its symbolic contents, The Flagellation contributes to the humanistic rendition of figures in painting and characterizes the painter’s interests in mathematics. The architecture is a predominant part of the scene, which is divided by the column supporting the temple.
Piero della Francesca
(1416–1492, Borgo San Sepulcro)
Forgotten for centuries after his death, Francesca has been regarded, since his rediscovery in the early twentieth century, as one of the supreme artists of the Quattrocento. Born in Borgo San Sepolcro (now Sansepolcro) in Umbria he spent much of his life there. His major work is a series of frescos on the Legend of the True Cross in the choir of San Francesco at Arezzo (c. 1452-c. 1465).
While influenced at the beginning of his life by all the great masters of the generation before, his work represents a synthesis of all the discoveries these artists had made in the previous twenty years. He created a style in which monumental, meditative grandeur and almost mathematical lucidity are combined with limpid beauty of colour and light. He was a slow and thoughtful worker and often applied wet cloths to the plaster at night so that – contrary to normal fresco practice – he could work for more than one day on the same section. Piero’s later career was spent working at the humanist court of Federico da Montefeltro at Urbino. Vasari said Piero was blind when he died, and failing eyesight may have been his reason for giving up painting. He had considerable influence, notably on Signorelli (in the weighty solemnity of his figures) and Perugino (in the spatial clarity of his compositions). Both are said to have been Piero’s pupils.
89. Piero della Francesca, c. 1416–1492, Early Renaissance, Italian, Adoration of the Holy Wood and the Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, 1450–1465, Fresco, Choir of the Church of San Francesco, Arezzo
The cycle of frescos was commissioned by the richest family in Arrezo, the Bacci. The theme of the cycle is taken from the Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine.
90. Petrus Christus, c. 1410–1473, Northern Renaissance, Flemish, The Lamentation, c. 1455, Oil on panel, 101 × 192 cm, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
91. Fra Filippo Lippi, c. 1406–1469, Early Renaissance, Florentine School, Italian, Virgin with the Child and Scenes from the Life of St Anne, c. 1452. Tempera on wooden panel, Tondo, dia. 135 cm, Palazzo Pitti, Florence
Oral tradition, later encouraged by art such as this, names Anna and Joachim as Mary’s parents, but there is no scriptural basis for the notion. In this masterpiece, often called The Bartolini Tondo, three highlights in the life of Anna are presented. The background scenes are dedicated to the Virgin’s mother, St Anne (or Anna), and include the first meeting of Anne and her husband-to-be Joachim, and a scene of the subsequent birth of Mary. In the foreground, is the Madonna with her child. Like Persephone, the Greek goddess of natural cycle, she is holding a pomegranate, a symbol of rebirth, fertility and abundance in nature. The infant Jesus is also holding the fruit, and with his raised right hand, he is bringing its seed toward his mouth.The pensive expression of Mary in many paintings of her with the child Jesus is often interpreted as reflecting her prophetic awareness of the future sufferings that will befall her only son. But in this case the Virgin might be recalling her mother’s life. The surrounding scenes might be intended to show her recollection of her mother. The artist’s mastery of detail as in the transparency of Mary’s veil and her fine features were inspirations for the later masterpieces of his most famous pupil, Botticelli.
Fra Filippo Lippi
(1406 Florence – 1469 Spoleto)
A Carmelite monk, he lived in a monastery in Florence at the same time as Masolino and Masaccio were painting frescos in Florence. He was ordained a priest in Padua in 1434.
His works show the aesthetic interest of his time through sophisticated drawing and his ability to obtain transparent effects on opaque colours. After his death, his workshop members completed his unfinished frescos. Botticelli was one of his students, as was his son Filippino Lippi. The works of the two former Fra Lippi students link the Early and High Renaissance periods. Works include major fresco cycles for Santa Maria Novella in Florence and for Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome.
92. Andrea Mantegna, 1431–1506, Early Renaissance, Florentine School, Italian, Death of the Virgin, c. 1461, Oil on panel, 54 × 42 cm, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
93. Alesso Baldovinetti, c. 1425–1499, Early Renaissance, Florentine School, Italian, Annunciation, c. 1447. Tempera on panel, 167 × 137 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
94. Fra Filippo Lippi, c. 1406–1469, Early Renaissance, Florentine School, Madonna with the Child and Two Angels, 1465. Tempera on wood, 95 × 62 cm. Galleria degi Uffizi, Florence
95. Benozzo Gozzoli, 1420–1497, Early Renaissance, Florentine School, Italian, The Procession of the Magi, Procession of the Youngest King (detail), 1459–63, Fresco, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence
96. Rogier van der Weyden, 1399–1464, Northern Renaissance, Flemish, Triptych: St. Columba Altarpiece (central panel), c. 1455. Tempera on wood, 138 × 153 cm, Alte Pinakothek, Munich
97. Cosimo di Domenico di Bonaventura Tura, c. 1431–1495, Early Renaissance, Ferrarese School, Italian, The Spring, c.