Women Artists and Female Imagery in EARLY MODERN EUROPE

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SECOND EDITION POLITICALLY INCORRECT Women Artists and Female Imagery IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE

GINA STRUMWASSER California State University, Fresno Bassim Hamadeh, CEO and Publisher Michael Simpson, Vice President of Acquisitions and Sales Jamie Giganti, Senior Managing Editor Miguel Macias, Graphic Designer Kristina Stolte, Senior Field Acquisitions Editor Natalie Lakosil, Licensing Manager Claire Yee, Interior Designer

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First published in the United States of America in 2016 by Cognella, Inc.

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Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-63189-023-9 (pbk) / 978-1-63189-024-6 (br) CONTENTS

Dedication ...... ix

List of Illustrations ...... xi

PART 1: CREATIVITY xviii

Production of Art ...... 1 Introduction ...... 1 What Role Does Familiarity Play in Comprehension? ...... 1 How Does a Museum Experience Inform the Viewer? ...... 2 What Is the Value of Looking at Art? ...... 3 What Role Do the Five Senses Play in Perception and Reception? ...... 3 Is It Necessary to Distinguish between Art and Image? ...... 6 Why Was Art Produced in Early Modern Europe? ...... 7 What Was the Purpose of Religious Art in the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance? ...... 8

Why Did Artists Produce Religious Themes? ...... 8

Creativity ...... 9 Introduction ...... 9 Is There a Simple Deﬁ nition of Creativity? ...... 10 What Is Art? ...... 11 Why Do Artists Craft Diverse Pictorial Translations of the Same Theme? ...... 11

Description (Deﬁ nition) ...... 11

Analysis (Examination)...... 12

Interpretation (Comprehension) ...... 12 Art as Re-presentation ...... 18 Artist Creator: The Renaissance ...... 19 The Renaissance “Man”: Vasari and Gender ...... 20 Artist Creator: Early Modern Europe to the 21st Century ...... 21 Art and Ritual ...... 22 Viewing and Reception of Art May be Considered a Seductive Power ...... 23 Is It Possible to Comprehend and Articulate the Process of Creativity? How Does the Stimulus Emerge for the Creative Spirit? ...... 24 What Role Does the Artist Play in the Creative Act? ...... 24 What Does the Creative Experience Feel Like? ...... 27 Alternative Technology and Art (Art Shaped by New Technology) ...... 31

Printmaking: 1450–1500 ...... 31

Printmaking: 1600s ...... 32

Camera Obscura: 1500s and 1600s ...... 35

Camera: 1800s ...... 36

Camera: 1900–21st Century ...... 42

Conclusion ...... 42 PART 2: WOMEN ARTISTS OF EARLY MODERN EUROPE 44

Introduction ...... 45

Women’s Role in Alberti’s The Family in Renaissance Florence and in Castiglione’s The Courtier ...... 46

“Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” ...... 48

Ancient and Medieval: Boccaccio’s Account of the Early Women Artists Thamyris, Marcia and Irene, and the First Woman Eve, in Concerning Famous Women (De Mulieribus Claris) ...... 57 Thamyris ...... 58 Marcia ...... 59 Irene ...... 61 The First Woman: Eve ...... 61

Christine de Pizan (also Pisan, 1365–ca. 1430) ...... 62

Women Artists in Sacred Spaces: The Convent ...... 64

Early Modern Europe: The Renaissance ...... 66 Did Women Have a Renaissance? ...... 66

What Stimulated and Promoted Women to Produce Art Professionally? ...... 67 In What Manner Were They Able to Excel in the Male-Dominated Cultures of Early Modern Europe? ...... 67 The Northern Renaissance ...... 67 Caterina van Hemessen (1528–1587) ...... 67

The Italian Renaissance ...... 73 Properzia de’ Rossi (ca. 1490–1530) ...... 73 Lavinia Fontana (1552–1614) ...... 80 Sofonisba Anguissola (1532/1535–1625) ...... 91

The Baroque ...... 95 Judith Leyster (1609–1660) ...... 95 Maria de Grebber (Dutch, 1602–1680) ...... 99 Artemisia Gentileschi (Italian, 1593–1652/1653) ...... 101

18th- and early-19th-Century France: Rococo and Neoclassicism ...... 106 Marguerite Gérard (French, 1761–1837) ...... 106 Elisabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun (1755–1842) ...... 109

Conclusion ...... 114 Can We Politically Correct History? ...... 114

PART 3: FEMALE IMAGERY WOMEN FROM SACRED AND CLASSICAL TEXTS 118

Introduction ...... 119

Categories ...... 122 Gender Deﬁ ned ...... 123

The Heroine ...... 124 The Virgin Mary ...... 125 St. Mary Magdalen ...... 139

Religious Women and Female Saints ...... 154 St. Teresa of Avila (1515–1582) ...... 155

Images of Faith: Women from the Old Testament ...... 159 Rebecca ...... 160 The Female Hero Metamorphosed and the Woman Betrayed ....161 Queen of Sheba ...... 162 Judith ...... 174 Esther ...... 184

Goddesses and Mortal Women from Ancient Literature and History: The Virtuous Victims ...... 194 Danae ...... 194 Europa ...... 197 Io ...... 200 Daphne ...... 201 Andromeda ...... 204 Eos/Aurora ...... 207

Women from Ancient History: The Sabine Women ...... 214 Lucretia ...... 216 The Femme Fatale (Female Aggressors and Predators) ...... 220 Eve ...... 221 Delilah ...... 228 Venus ...... 229

Conclusion ...... 237

How Can We Use Female Imagery? ...... 237 DEDICATION

I dedicate this text to the memory of my parents and to my husband Stewart and sister Marilyn for their inﬁ nite patience and constant support. In addition, I would like to thank my dear friend, Dr. Phyllis Peet, for introducing me to the scholarship of women. XI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PART 1: CREATIVITY

FIG# TITLE PG# Fig. 1.1 Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, Paris, Musée du Louvre. 2 Fig. 1.2 Mona Lisa retouched. 2 Fig. 1.3 Challenger Tragedy, photograph. 4 Fig. 1.4 911 Disaster, photograph. 4 Fig. 1.5 Planet Pluto, photograph. 5 Fig. 1.6 Vittore Carpaccio, Dream of St. Ursula, Venice, Gallerie dell’Accademia. 5 Fig. 1.7 Giotto, Adoration of the Magi, Padua, Arena Chapel. 14 Fig. 1.8 Masaccio, Adoration of the Magi, Pisa Polyptych, Berlin, Gemaldegalerie. 15 Fig. 1.9 Leonardo da Vinci, Adoration of the Magi, Florence, Galleria degli Ufﬁ zi. 16 Fig. 1.10 Nude Woman (Venus of Willendorf), Vienna, Naturhistorisches Museum. 22 Fig. 1.11 Raphael, Galatea, Rome, Sala di Galatea, Villa Farnesina. 25 Fig. 1.12 Leonardo da Vinci, Vitruvian Man, Venice, Galleria dell’Accademia. 26 Fig. 1.13 Cesare Ripa, Allegory of Painting, Iconologia. 29 Fig. 1.14 Felice Maria Casoni, Portrait medal of Lavinia Fontana, obverse and reverse, 1611, 30 London, British Museum (see also Fig. 2.23). Fig. 1.15 Mantegna, Battle of the Sea Gods, Chatsworth, Devonshire Collection. 31 Fig. 1.16 Rembandt, Self-Portrait, 1640, London, National Gallery. 32 Fig. 1.17 Anon. 17th century, Camera obscura.35 Fig. 1.18 Vermeer, View of Delft, The Hague, Mauritshuis. 37 Fig. 1.19 Julia Margaret Cameron, Photograph of Julia Jackson, Chicago, Art Institute. 39 Fig. 1.20 Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #21, 1978, Metro Picture Gallery. 43 POLITICALLY INCORRECT

PART 2: WOMEN ARTISTS XII OF EARLY MODERN EUROPE FIG# TITLE PAGE # Fig. 2.1 The Limbourg Brothers, February Page, from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 49 Chantilly, Musée Condé. Fig. 2.2 The Limbourg Brothers, June Page, from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, Chan- 50 tilly, Musée Condé. Fig. 2.3 The Limbourg Brothers, September Page, from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 51 Chantilly, Musée Condé. Fig. 2.4 Pietro Lorenzetti, Birth of the Virgin, Siena, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. 53 Fig. 2.5 Interior with View of Choir (Tornabuoni Chapel), Florence, Santa Maria Novella. 53 Fig. 2.6 Reception Room, Florence, Davanzati Palace. 54 Fig. 2.7 Domenico Ghirlandaio, Birth of St. John the Baptist, Florence, Cappella Maggiore, Santa 54 Maria Novella. Fig. 2.8 Camera, Florence, Davanzati Palace. 55 Fig. 2.8A Wet nurse chair, Florence, Davanzati Palace. 55 Fig. 2.9 Master of Charles of Durazzo (Francesco di Michele) Wooden Birth Tray (Desco da Parto), 56 Cambridge, Harvard Art Museums. Fig. 2.10 Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Allegory of the Good Government in the City, Siena, Sala della Pace 57 (also titled Sala dei Nove), Palazzo Pubblico. Fig. 2.11 Anon. French, Page with Thamyris, from Giovanni Boccaccio, Concerning Famous Women 58 (De Claris Mulieribus), Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale. Fig. 2.11A Detail. Anon. French, Page with Thamyris, from Giovanni Boccaccio, Concerning Famous 59 Women (De Claris Mulieribus), Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale. Fig. 2.12 Anon. French, Page with Marcia, detail from Giovanni Boccaccio, Concerning Famous 60 Women (De Claris Mulieribus), Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale. Fig. 2.13 Anon. French, Christine de Pisan in Her Study and the Building of the City of Ladies, 63 Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale. Fig. 2.14 Caterina van Hemessen, Self-Portrait at the Easel, Basel, Öffentliche Kunstsammlung. 69 Fig. 2.15 Caterina van Hemessen, Young Woman Playing the Virginals, Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz 71 Museum. Fig. 2.16 Portrait of Properzia de Rossi, Illustration from “Le Vite” by Giorgio Vasari, edition of 73 1568. Fig. 2.16A Properzia de Rossi, Crest of the Grassi Family, Bologna, Museo Civico Medievale. 74 Fig. 2.17 Properzia de Rossi, Joseph and the Wife of Potiphar, Bologna, Museo di San Petronio. 76 Fig. 2.17A Detail. Properzia de Rossi, Joseph and the Wife of Potiphar, Bologna, Museo di San 77 Petronio. Fig. 2.18 Lavinia Fontana, Self-Portrait in a Studiolo (or Study), Florence, Galleria degli Ufﬁ zi, 83 Corridoro Vasariano. Fig. 2.19 Lavinia Fontana, Portrait of a Noblewomen, Washington D.C., National Museum of Women 85 in the Arts. Fig. 2.20 Jan van Eyck, Arnolﬁ ni Wedding Portrait, London, National Gallery. 86 Fig. 2.21 Lavinia Fontana, Self-Portrait at the Spinet Accompanied by a Handmaiden, Rome, Acca- 90 demia Nazionale di San Luca. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 2.22 Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait with a Book, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum. 91 Fig. 2.23 Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait at the Easel, Lancut, Muzeum Zamek. 94 Fig. 2.24 Judith Leyster, Self-Portrait, Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art. 97 XIII Fig. 2.26 Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, Windsor Castle, The 103 Royal Collection. Fig. 2.27 Marguerite Gérard, The First Step, Cambridge, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Art 108 Museums. Fig. 2.28 Elisabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun, Self Portrait in a Straw Hat, London, National Gallery. 111

PART 3: FEMALE IMAGERY WOMEN FROM SACRED AND CLASSICAL TEXTS

FIG# TITLE PAGE # Fig. 3.1 Jean Pucelle, Betrayal and Annunciation from the Book of Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux, New 127 York, Metropolitan Museum, Cloisters Collection. Fig. 3.1A Detail. Jean Pucelle, Annunciation from the Book of Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux, New York, 127 Metropolitan Museum, Cloisters Collection. Fig. 3.2 Giovanni Lanfranco, Annunciation, St. Petersburg, Hermitage Museum. 128 Fig. 3.3 Lavinia Fontana, Annunciation, Baltimore, Walters Museum of Art. 129 Fig. 3.4 Robert Campin (Master of Flemalle and Workshop), The Merode Altarpiece, center panel of 131 the Annunciation, New York, Metropolitan Museum, Cloisters Collection. Fig. 3.5 Duccio, The Maesta Altarpiece, Siena, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. 132 Fig. 3.6 Elisabetta Sirani, Virgin and Child, Washington D.C., National Museum of Women in the Arts. 134 Fig. 3.7 Mary Casssatt, Mother About to Wash Her Sleepy Child, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County 135 Museum of Art. Fig. 3.8 Leonardo da Vinci, Madonna of the Rocks, Paris, Musée du Louvre. 136 Fig. 3.9 Raphael, La Belle Jardinière, Paris, Musée du Louvre. 137 Fig. 3.10 Caravaggio, Madonna of the Pilgrims, Rome, Church of Saint Agostino. 138 Fig. 3.11 Hugo van der Goes, Portinari Altarpiece, Florence, Galleria degli Ufﬁ zi. 140 Fig. 3.12 Giotto, Lamentation, Padua, Arena Chapel (also titled Scrovegni Chapel). 143 Fig. 3.13 Caravaggio, Entombment of Christ, Rome, Pinacoteca Vaticana. 144 Fig. 3.14 Donatello, St. Mary Magdalen, Florence, Duomo Museum. 145 Fig. 3.15 Anon. Spanish, 1100–1300, Noli me tangere, Madrid, Museo Aqueologico Nacional. 146 Fig. 3.16 Lavinia Fontana, Noli me tangere, Florence, Galleria degli Ufﬁ zi. 147 Fig. 3.17 Giovanni Savoldo, St. Mary Magdalen at the Sepulchre, Los Angeles, Getty Center and 149 Museum. Fig. 3.18 Antonello da Messina, Virgin Annunciate, Palermo, Galleria Nazionale della Sicilia. 150 Fig. 3.20 Titian, St. Mary Magdalen, Florence, Palazzo Pitti. 152 Fig. 3.21 Gianlorenzo Bernini, St. Mary Magdalen, Siena, Cathedral, Chigi Chapel. 154 POLITICALLY INCORRECT

Fig. 3.22 Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy, Rome, Church of Santa Maria della 156 Vittoria. Fig. 3.22A Detail. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Bozetto, St. Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy, St. Petersburg, 157 XIV Hermitage Museum. Fig. 3.22B Detail. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy, Rome, Church of Santa Maria 157 della Vittoria. Fig. 3.22C Detail. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy, Rome, Church of Santa Maria 158 della Vittoria. Fig. 3.22D Detail. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy, Rome, Church of Santa Maria 158 della Vittoria. Fig. 3.23 Unknown Artist 15th c., Speculum Humanae salvationis, detail Judith Slaying Holofernes, 174 Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale de France. Fig. 3.24 German 15th c., Biblia Pauperum, Annunciation with the Fall of Eve and Gideon’s Fleece, 160 Washington DC, National Gallery of Art. Fig. 3.25 Lorenzi Ghiberti, Florence, Gates of Paradise (East Doors of the Baptistery). 161 Fig. 3.25A Detail. Lorenzi Ghiberti, The Story of Jacob and Esau, Florence, Gates of Paradise 161 (East Doors of the Baptistery). Fig. 3.26 Three Soldiers Bringing Water to King David (top) and Queen of Sheba Bringing Gifts to 164 Solomon (below), Speculum Humanae Salvationis, Westfalen oder Köln, circa 1360. ULB Darmstadt, Hs 2505, fol. 19r. Fig. 3.27 Conrad Witz, Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, Berlin, Gemaldegalerie. 165 Fig. 3.28 Piero della Francesca, Detail of Fig. 3.3, Discovery of the Wood of the True Cross and the 166 Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Arezzo, Church of San Francesco. Fig. 3.29 Piero della Francesca, Detail of Fig. 3.3, Discovery of the Wood of the True Cross and the 167 Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Arezzo, Church of San Francesco. Fig. 3.30 Piero della Francesca, Detail of Fig. 3.3, Discovery of the Wood of the True Cross and the 167 Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Arezzo, Church of San Francesco. Fig. 3.31 Piero della Francesca, Detail of Fig. 3.3, Discovering of the Wood of the True Cross and the 168 Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Arezzo, Church of San Francesco. Fig. 3.32 Piero della Francesca, Detail of Fig. 3.3, Discovering of the Wood of the True Cross and the 168 Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Arezzo, Church of San Francesco. Fig. 3.33 Lavinia Fontana, Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, Dublin, National Gallery of 169 Ireland. Fig. 3.34 Jacopo da Empoli, Marriage of Eleonora de Medici and Vincenzo Gonzaga, Florence, 171 Galleria degli Ufﬁ zi. Fig. 3.35 Properzia de Rossi, Queen of Sheba Meeting King Solomon, Bologna, Museo di San Petronio. 171 Fig. 3.36 Donatello, Judith, Florence, Palazzo Vecchio (Palazzo della Signoria). 175 Fig. 3.37 Lavinia Fontana, Judith, London, Walpole Art Gallery. 176 Fig. 3.38 Jan Massys, Judith with the Head of Holofernes, Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor 177 Schone Kunsten. Fig. 3.39 Caravaggio, Judith, Rome, Palazzo Barberini. 179 Fig. 3.40 Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith, Florence, Galleria degli Ufﬁ zi. 180 Fig. 3.41 Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith and Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes, Detroit, 181 Institute of Arts. Fig. 3.42 Elisabetta Sirani, Judith with the Head of Holofernes, Cambridge, England, Burghley 182 House Gallery. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 3.42A Detail. Elisabetta Sirani, Judith with the Head of Holofernes, Cambridge, England, 183 Burghley House Gallery. Fig. 3.43 The Virgin Mary at the Last Judgment and Esther Before Ahasuerus, Speculum Humanae 185 Salvationis, Westfalen oder Köln, circa 1360. ULB Darmstadt, Hs 2505, fol. 67r. XV Fig. 3.44 Hans Burgkmair, Female Worthies, Esther, Judith and Jael from Eighteen Worthies series. 186 Fig. 3.45 Philips Galle after Maarten van Heemskerck, Esther Accusing Hamen at the Banquet, from 186 the History of Esther Series. Fig. 3.46 Andrea Castagno, Esther, Florence, Galleria degli Ufﬁ zi. 186 Fig. 3.47 Alessandro Botticelli, History of Esther, Paris, Musée du Louvre. 187 Fig. 3.48 Rembrandt, Young Woman at her Toilet, Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada. 188 Fig. 3.49 Artemisia Gentileschi, Esther Before Ahasuerus, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. 189 Fig. 3.49A Detail of Esther, Artemisia Gentileschi, Esther Before Ahasuerus, New York, Metropolitan 190 Museum of Art. Fig. 3.49B Detail of Ahasuerus, Artemisia Gentileschi, Esther Before Ahasuerus, New York, Metro- 190 politan Museum of Art. Fig. 3.50 Veronese (workshop of), Esther and Ahasuerus, Paris, Musée du Louvre. 191 Fig. 3.51 Artemisia Gentileschi, X-ray study of Esther Before Ahasuerus, New York, The Metropoli- 191 tan Museum of Art. Fig. 3.52 Jan Gossaert, Danae, Munich, Alte Pinakothek. 195 Fig. 3.53 Titian, Danae, Madrid, Museo del Prado. 196 Fig. 3.54 Rembrandt, The Rape of Europa, Los Angeles, Getty Center and Museum. 197 Fig. 3.55 Correggio, Jupiter and Io, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum. 200 Fig. 3.56 Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Apollo and Daphne, Rome, Villa Borghese. 203 Fig. 3.57 Giorgio Vasari, Perseus and Andromeda, Florence, Galleria degli Ufﬁ zi. 205 Fig. 3.58 Annibale Carracci, Perseus and Andromeda, Rome, Palazzo Farnese. 206 Fig. 3.59 Guido Reni, Aurora, Rome, Casino Rospigliosi. 207 Fig. 3.60 Guercino, Aurora, Rome, Villa Ludovisi. 208 Fig. 3.61 Agostino Carracci, Aurora and Cephalus, Rome, Palazzo Farnese. 209 Fig. 3.62 Nicolas Poussin, Aurora and Cephalus, London, National Gallery. 211 Fig. 3.63 Douris (Painter), Eos and Memnon, Paris, Musée du Louvre. 211 Fig. 3.64 Michelangelo, Pietà, Rome, Cathedral of St. Peter’s, The Vatican. 213 Fig. 3.65 Nicolas Poussin, Rape of the Sabine Women, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. 214 Fig. 3.66 Giovanni Bologna, Rape of the Sabine Woman, Florence, Loggia dei Lanzi. 214 Fig. 3.67 Bernini, Pluto and Persephone, Rome, Villa Borghese. 215 Fig. 3.67A Detail. Bernini, Pluto and Persephone, Rome, Villa Borghese. 215 Fig. 3.68 Master LD, Tarquin and Lucretia, Paris, Bibliotheque de l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts. 217 Fig. 3.69 Artemisia Gentileschi, Lucretia, Genoa, Milan, Collection of Gerolamo Etro. 218 Fig. 3.70 Rembrandt, Lucretia, Minneapolis, Institute of Arts. 219 Fig. 3.71 Limbourg Brothers, Scenes from Genesis, Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, Chantilly, 222 Musee Conde. Fig. 3.72 Hubert and Jan van Eyck, The Ghent Altarpiece (Open), Ghent, Cathedral of St. Bavo. 223 Fig. 3.73 Albrecht Dürer, Adam and Eve, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. 224 Fig. 3.74 Aphrodite Braschi (free copy of Cnidian Aphrodite, 1st century BC), Munich, Glyptothek 225 POLITICALLY INCORRECT

Fig. 3.74A Detail. Head of Cnidus Aphrodite (Roman copy, 2nd century AD ?), Paris, Musée du Louvre. 225 Fig. 3.75 Michelangelo, The Fall of Man and the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Rome, The 226 XVI Sistine Chapel, The Vatican. Fig. 3.75A Detail. Michelangelo, The Fall of Man and the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Rome, 227 The Sistine Chapel, The Vatican. Fig. 3.75B Detail. Michelangelo, The Fall of Man and the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Rome, 227 The Sistine Chapel, The Vatican. Fig. 3.75C Detail. Michelangelo, The Fall of Man and the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Rome, 228 The Sistine Chapel, The Vatican. Fig. 3.75D Hans Baldung Grien, The Witches Sabbath, Vienna, Graphische Sammlung Albertina. 228 Fig. 3.76 Rembrandt, The Blinding of Samson, Frankfurt, Stadelsches Kunstinstitut und Stadtische 229 Galerie. Fig. 3.77 Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, Florence, Galleria degli Ufﬁ zi. 231 Fig. 3.78 Titian, The Venus of Urbino, Florence, Galleria degli Ufﬁ zi. 233 Fig. 3.79 Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Judgment of Paris, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. 234 Fig. 3.80 Agnolo Bronzino, The Allegory of Venus, London, National Gallery. 234 Fig. 3.81 Peter Paul Rubens, Garden of Love, Madrid, Museo del Prado. 235 Fig. 3.82 Boucher, The Toilet of Venus, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 236 Fig. 3.83 Bellini, Toilette of Venus, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum. 237 Fig. 3.84 Advertisement for Calvin Klein Jeans. 237 Fig. 3.85 Hieronymus (or Jerome) Bosch, Tabletop of the Seven Deadly Sins, Madrid, Museo del 238 Prado. Fig. 3.85A Detail. Hieronymus (or Jerome) Bosch, Tabletop of the Seven Deadly Sins, detail. Madrid, 239 Museo del Prado. PA RT 1CREATIVITY 1

DEFINITION, PRODUCTION, INVENTION, PERCEPTION, AND RECEPTIONS OF ART

PRODUCTION OF ART What Role Does Familiarity Play in Comprehension?

Introduction1 A focused gaze or an inconsequential glimpse of Mona Lisa’s smiling mouth (Fig. 1.1), attentive Born in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1961, eyes, or elegant hands affords instant recognition Mr. Drew grew up in a housing project of the original painting. Despite an unusual format, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, with his indeed fragments of a familiar work, the painting is mother and four brothers. He found his easily recognizable. Viewing a familiar object from calling early. As a youngster, “I drew a unique perspective stimulates fresh insight.3 on everything,” he recalls. “Even on a test paper, I turned it over and drew. I did second grade two times because all I wanted to do was draw.”2 February 2, 2000. 1 I want to thank Dr. Ann Berliner, Professor Emerita, 3 My doctoral adviser at UCLA, Professor Karl Birkmeyer, California State University Fresno for reading this chap- used to tell his students that after studying art history ter and making suggestions about the material. for many decades, the best way to see something new is 2 The quotation was taken from a published interview to turn the familiar works upside down or sideways and with artist Leonardo Drew. New York Times, Wednesday, view them from a unique perspective. POLITICALLY INCORRECT

This personal approach to art history does not breed contempt. Familiarity and recognition encourage visual satisfaction and contentment. The Mona 2 Lisa is a comfortable image because it is accessible, a pervasive image that is encountered in art history books, popular culture, advertising, movies, cartoons, and greeting cards as well as displayed on dining or living room walls at home (Fig.1-2). The purpose of this chapter is to put readers at ease by suggesting that this text be approached with existing knowledge and available wisdom. Familiarity with the Mona Lisa and other works of art further intensiﬁ es the potential for comprehension and satisfaction.

How Does a Museum Experience Inform Spectatorship or the Privilege of Viewing?

Is the purpose of a museum similar to a library, an intended space for quiet study? Spectatorship, or looking at art within a museum or gallery, should be understood as an uncomplicated pleasure that makes a substantial impact on the viewer by embodying many levels of personal connotation, comprehension, and emotion. Since audience response depends upon the spectator’s unique life experience (that might include gender, age, or cul- tural associations) and what is being seen; there is no single way to predict emotional reaction. This engagement with works of art in a museum or

FIGURE 1.1 Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, Paris, Musée du Louvre.

FIGURE 1.2 Mona Lisa retouched (Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Mona_Lisa-chan,_by_Leonardo_da_ Vinci,_from_C2RMF_retouched.jpg). CREATIVITY

gallery is a personal communication that may be simultaneously as simple as it is profound. 3

What Is the Value of Looking at Art?

While spectatorship depends upon the sense of sight, setting amplifi es aesthetic attraction by appealing to all fi ve senses. Sight, auditory, smell, touch, and taste provide the foundation for the appreciation and investiga- tion of art history. Environment and exhibition of art inform perception. Although experiencing each of the fi ve senses is not a necessary requirement of consequential encounters with art, ambience or setting contributes to the potential to see and comprehend. What is seen and the way in which it is perceived reinforce historical precedence and clarify intent of the original pictorial communication.

What Role Do the Five Senses Play in Perception and Reception?

Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance painter and scientist, argues that the sense of sight is the most potent.4 In comparing art to music, Leonardo questions the number of people who journeyed to hear a musical piece. He explains that after a musical performance, the piece dies; it no longer exists. In contrast, a devout believer might travel miles to see a semblance of Christ or the Virgin Mary that may have sustained centuries of worship. For this reason, Leonardo considers the eyes and the sense of sight the most valuable organ of the body.5 Prior to the production of records, or vinyl discs, in the 20th century, because no device had been invented to imitate and reproduce sound, a musical piece did not survive a performance. Thanks to the compact disc and eventually the iPod, early 21st-century listeners are privileged to hear music played repeatedly from concert to ear buds. Music recorded on cur- rent music devices never dies. These recordings function as a perpetual storehouse of memory. Certainly, as a painter and observer of nature,

4 R. Klein and H. Zerner, Italian Art 1500-1600, Englewood Cliffs, 1966, 4. For a further discussion of this concept see Leonardo’s Treatise on Painting. 5 Leonardo was an astute observer of nature, which he felt was a necessary requirement of the painter. In his Treatise on Painting, he included a large section on the anatomy of the eye and on optics. See E. MacCurdy, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (2 vols.), New York, 1938, vol. 1, Chapter 9, “Optics,” 233–275 and particularly, 246-247. POLITICALLY INCORRECT

Leonardo’s strongest sense was his sense of sight. Perhaps had he been primarily a musician, the auditory would have surpassed the visual (he 4 played musical instruments and sang). We can test the sense of sight in the comfort of our living room. Some may remember the space shuttle Challenger disaster of 1996, in which seven astronauts and crew members (including the schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe) were killed as a result of the explosion of the aircraft (Fig.1.3). The event is easily recalled, but also surmised is the way in which we fi rst heard about it, where we were located, and what we were doing when becoming aware of the overwhelming news. It was impossible to believe simply by listening to the radio that the tragedy had occurred. Using the auditory sense was not suffi cient to comprehend the tragic circumstances. TV proved a more effective medium than the radio for absorbing and accepting the news story. Watching the Challenger blow up in midair enhanced the agonizing moment. Even years after this devastation, the explosion has become an easily recognizable icon, a visual symbol or signifi er of the Challenger catastrophe, establishing the effi cacy of the palpable image. This was additionally true of 9/11, when two terrorist planes intentionally collided with the World Trade Center towers in New York (Fig. 1.4). Primary judgments included an accidental crash, but when the second collision FIGURE 1.3 Challenger Tragedy, occurred, the conclusion was an extremist plot against the United States photograph. to destroy the skyscrapers and the people within them. Again, the audi- FIGURE 1.4 9/11 Disaster, tory sense did not compare to the visualization on television of the horrifi c photograph. explosions, the annihilation of buildings, and monumental loss of life. The CREATIVITY

FIGURE 1.6 Vittore Carpaccio, Dream of St. Ursula, Venice, Gallerie dell’Accademia. repetition of explosions, the collapse of the two Trade Towers, and people jumping out of windows to save their lives were excruciating to witness. This year (2015), a space shuttle has made it to the planet Pluto (Fig. 1.5). With cameras onboard sending signals back to the United States by means of NASA, these images are quite startling. A written description of the gilded planet could not compare to the astonishing reality of a photograph or visual prompt. Furthermore, looking at a picture from a local newspaper of an inconsol- able man kissing the photograph of his deceased daughter demonstrates the potency of the sense of sight. Seeing his daughter in a photograph stimulated his expression of mourning. Similar to a painted altarpiece of the Renaissance that represents an image of the Virgin and Christ Child and promotes the emotions of the worshipper, the photograph proves the power of images.6 It was believed that the spirits of the Virgin Mary, the Christ Child, or Christian saints to which the faithful prayed were instilled in these religious images. Sacred themes represented on single panels, altarpiece, or sculpture

6 See D. Freedberg, The Power of Images (Chicago and London, 1989). POLITICALLY INCORRECT

could be celebrated in churches or observed in the privacy of the home (Fig. 1.6). These images became the foundation for prayer to protect against 6 famine, the plague, invasion of foreign city-states, and natural disasters like fl oods or fi re. Images of the Virgin were implored to fi nd a good spouse (espe- cially for arranged marriages), initiate conception, facilitate safe delivery of a child, and eventually ensure the birth of a healthy male heir. The objectifi ed representation, painting, or photograph gains verac- ity as a result of the emotions it awakens and shared experiences of the onlookers. Images are more complicated than in the past, in part because there are so many of them. Life is considerably fraught with images that reinforce a predominantly visual culture.

Is It Necessary to Distinguish between Art and Image?

While the purpose of this discussion is not necessarily to question a distinction between art and image or to demonstrate a ﬁ ne line between the two, it is important to consider the impact and import that images have in our culture. Most escape notice; others inspire interest or arouse emotions. Images that excite and elicit a response attract attention and appeal to the senses. Professor David Freedberg has undertaken a prodi- gious task in his book The Power of Images to study audience response to images:

People are sexually aroused by pictures and sculptures; they break pictures and sculptures; they mutilate them, kiss them, cry before them, and go on journeys to them; they are calmed by them, stirred by them and incited to revolt. They give thanks by means of them, expect to be elevated by them, and are moved to the highest level of empathy and fear.7

An image is a reproduction, imitation, semblance, reﬂ ection, appari- tion, impression, or an idea or concept. For example, advertisements encountered on a daily basis are images that exploit our intent to pur- chase a product. Images on freeway billboards, computers or television, in movies, magazines and newspapers, on CDs, cell phones, diverse social media, greeting cards, and food products impact our lives without notice and overwhelm daily existence. With the exception of movies that instill fear or stimulate a sense of humor, amusing greeting cards, or

7 Ibid., 1. CREATIVITY

tragic newspaper photographs that excite compassion, images do not necessarily manipulate emotion or require intellectual participation. Thought anticipates and predicts emotion. Emotion announces response. 7 The function of art is associated with the power of response. Because art is created with the process of thought synthesized with the frenzy of creation, it can be deﬁ ned as a higher form of image. The sense of sight also appeals to the emotions. The most poignant painterly themes that were produced previous to the late 18th century commonly addressed the Passion of Christ (or the end of his earthly existence). Sacred subjects such as Michelangelo’s Rome Pietà (Fig. 3.64), the Virgin’s mourning over the dead body of Christ, elicit emotional response hundreds of years after the Renaissance. The pathos or compassion that the sculpture arouses can be identiﬁ ed with most tragic circumstances. The death of a child—even an adult child—can engender the deepest emotions. Films depend, for example, upon emotional appeal, and analogously in history, scenes of sorrow and despair were presented to the audience through the crafting of art and solicited through aesthetic patronage.

Why Was Art Produced in Early Modern Europe?

Art is produced for different reasons by each culture, geographical area, religious group, or chronological period. The ancient Egyptians relied upon the function of the tomb to produce mortuary art memorializing the dead, guaranteeing a life after earthly existence, and assuring a place to rest for the spirit, or ka, of the deceased pharaoh. The Assyrians celebrated the prowess of their kings through unique images of regal lion hunts. In ancient Greece, the artists crafted required idealization of their gods and goddesses and displayed them, customarily outside of monumental temples (Fig. 3.74). Although inspired by the Greeks, the Romans advanced the art of architecture. Managing to encompass colossal space, they fashioned monuments that are still in use to the present day. The thrill of walking into a medieval cathedral gives a taste of life from hundreds of years ago. The consecrated setting of a church is sustained by artistic and sensual elements (dependent upon the ﬁ ve senses) that synthesize the sacred circumstance of archaic ritual. Gilded altar- pieces, resplendent frescoes, illuminated manuscripts read and recited by priests, Gothic stained glass windows and walls of multicolored glass POLITICALLY INCORRECT

permeated by brilliant light, music of voice or instrument, the smell of incense, the palpable taste of the consecrated Host, and touch of cold 8 marble tabernacles confront and ignite the senses. One does not have to be a pious worshipper to appreciate the extraordinary celebration of the senses projected within the ritual of the Mass. Catholic ritual is a reen- actment of historical occurrences such as the Nativity, Cruciﬁ xion, or Resurrection of Christ. At the same time, liturgy serves as a metaphorical interpretation of biblical events and a conﬁ rmation of faith. The devout living in the late Middle Ages and early modern Europe experienced this sensual encounter, potentially recovered by a privileged cathedral visitor of the 21st century. An inspiring sensation of awe—the power and gran- deur of God—still dominates religious art, architecture, and ambience.

What Was the Purpose of Religious Art in the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance?

Why Did Artists Produce Religious Themes? According to Michael Baxandall in Painting and Experience in Fifteenth- Century Italy,8 there are three primary reasons that religious themes were produced. In the later Middle Ages and Renaissance, “the instruction of simple people” was the primary purpose of artistic portrayal because the populations of western Europe were illiterate. In addition, “mysteries of the church,” which were complex enough to be incomprehensible, could be clariﬁ ed and articulated through pictorial illustration. Images were employed during the ritual to make these mysteries appear tangible and to set them into memory. Finally, seeing painting or sculpture that celebrated the infancy of Christ or his Passion inspire “feelings of devotion and piety” by provoking an emotional response from the faithful. A pious image (or what the devoted saw, perceived, or internalized in church) was far more powerful than sacred sound (or what they heard). Baxandall describes religious images as “readily accessible stimuli” whose purpose was to serve in meditation of the Bible.9 Lives of the saints were also fashioned in a more believable and convincing manner through visual depiction. For this reason, the artist became “a professional visual- izer of lucid, vividly memorable and emotionally moving sacred stories”10

8 M. Baxandall, Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy (Oxford and New York, 1988), 41. 9 Ibid. Professor Baxandall cites the late 13th-century theologian John of Genoa and the late 15th-century Dominican Fra Michele da Carcano in the text. 10 Ibid., 45. CREATIVITY

who was empowered with permission and ability to craft sanctioned narra- tives and persuade the worshipper to believe in them. This approach to the purpose of images was sustained into the 16th century 9 by the canons that were set forth at the Council of Trent. “Moreover, let the bishops diligently teach that by means of the stories of the mysteries of our redemption portrayed in paintings and other representations the people are instructed and conﬁ rmed in the articles of faith, which ought to be borne in mind and constantly reﬂ ected upon.”11 The role of the painter was designed to ensure the comprehension of the stories for the faithful. Artists crafted:

books for the illiterate, to whom we must always speak openly and clearly. Since many people do not pay attention to this, it happens every day that in all sorts of places, and most of all in churches, one sees paintings so obscure and ambiguous, that while they should, by illuminating the intelligence, both incite devotion and sting the heart, in fact they confuse the mind, pull it in a thousand directions and keep it busy sorting out what each ﬁ gure is, not without loss of devotion.12

Clarity solicits comprehension, and it is this role that artists played for the devout. The urge to create would provide the resource for this sacred communication.

CREATIVITY

Introduction

Creativity is a human endeavor that communicates practical ideas and perceptive notions. A necessary component of the concept of creativity is the desire or urge to create. Art is a signiﬁ cant form of human expression and the principal manifestation of creativity because it stimulates passion.

11 Klein and Zerner, 120–121. 12 Ibid., 125.