Download Teacher's Guide - Saint Louis Art Museum

Introduction
Who were the great masters of early European art?
You might answer with famous names like Leonardo
da Vinci, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and
Jacques-Louis David. But there were many other talented
individuals who responded to changing ideas in science,
religion, and politics during the period from the
thirteenth through the eighteenth century. This packet
features seventeen works selected from the Saint Louis
Art Museum’s collection of European Art to 1800,
encompassing Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo,
and Neoclassical styles. These objects demonstrate the
importance of art in European culture, and reveal the
power of art to tell stories.
During this early period, artists in Europe looked to the
past and based their works on forms established by the
ancient Greeks and Romans. Because this was a great age
of discovery, painters and sculptors also experimented
with new techniques and styles. Many factors influenced
art in Europe before 1800, but one theme remained
strong—visual storytelling. Stories from the Bible,
mythology, and literature, fantastic creatures and sacred
figures, important individuals and everyday citizens
all came to life through art. In this packet we examine
some of the ways this period approached art as a form
of storytelling.
The Christian church was one of the most significant
influences on early European art. Because many congregants
were not able to read, the Church used painting,
sculpture, and other art forms to present its literature
and litany. The ivory diptych, Scenes of the Passion and
Afterlife of Christ (poster 1) is a small portable
masterpiece that was used for personal worship. Its form
is inspired by Gothic architecture.
A much later work also reflects the influence of church
architecture. During the eighteenth century, wealthy
men and women began to travel on the Grand Tour, an
extended journey to Italy to view the great masterpieces
of ancient Rome and the Renaissance. Painted representations
of well-known tourist sites were popular mementoes
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for these travelers. In Giovanni Paolo Panini’s Interior
of St. Peter’s, Rome (poster 14) a variety of people interact
in a grand architectural setting.
Images sacred to Christians remained dominant in
European art through the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries. Titian’s Christ Shown to the People (Ecce
Homo) (poster 8) gives us the artist’s vision of Christ just
hours before his death. Piero di Cosimo’s Madonna and
Child Enthroned with Saints Peter, John the Baptist,
Dominic, and Nicholas of Bari (poster 2), incorporating
the Pugliese coat of arms, was placed in a private chapel
where it bore witness to the family’s faith and devotion
as well as their financial status.
Works based on Biblical tales of heroes and heroines
inspired Renaissance viewers. Giorgio Vasari’s Judith
and Holofernes (poster 7) portrays a dramatic moment
from the tale of a Jewish widow whose bravery saved
her town. Judith’s bulging muscles and dynamic pose
depict female form using a super-human vocabulary.
Heroes and heroines depicted in art were not always
Christians. The excavation of the ancient Roman city of
Pompeii in 1748 revived Europe’s interest in mythological
legends and political sagas meant to inspire patriotism
and instill lessons of virtue and honor. Arria and Paetus
(Poster 16) with its dramatic lighting, clear lines, and
distinct poses, recalls ancient sculpture. Its subject matter
also teaches a lesson about duty, a virtue valued by
ancient and contemporary audiences alike.
This period also renewed interest in tales of mythological
gods and goddesses, great wars, and bizarre creatures.
Francesco da Sangallo’s Reclining Pan (poster 5) was
inspired by ancient sculpture and created from recycled
ancient marble. Bartolomeo Manfredi’s Apollo and
Marsyas (poster 9) tells the story of a god’s revenge on
an arrogant rival.
In Northern Europe at this time, artists used precise
details to convey narrative content. Mary, Lady Guildford
(poster 6), painted in England by northern artist
Hans Holbein the Younger, features the subject in a
sumptuous costume suited for a noblewoman. With great
skill, the artist recreated textures such as the fine gold
thread of the fabric. Lady Mary’s pose, accessories, and
expression convey her status as a member of the nobility.
Portraits tell stories about their subjects, but sometimes
research reveals interesting clues about their creation
as well. Bust of a Black Man (poster 13) was executed
during the time when the artist Melchior Barthel was
working on a tomb sculpture. The subject of the bust
may well have been one of his models for the larger,
more elaborate project.
With the invention of the printing press by Johannes
Gutenberg in the mid-fifteenth century, religious texts,
ancient prose, and other works could be widely circulated.
Prints became an affordable alternative to more costly
works of art. Albrecht Dürer’s innovative technique
and eye for detail pushed the boundaries of printmaking
to new levels. One of Dürer’s largest prints, St. Eustace
(poster 3), sets the stage for the saint’s conversion through
myriad details of plants, animals, and landscape.
One hundred and fifty years after Dürer created
St. Eustace, Rembrandt, working in a similar medium
in the Netherlands, completed Christ Presented to
the People (“The Ecce Homo”) (poster 11). The main
figures, Christ, Barabbas, and Pontius Pilate, appear
on an elaborate stage at a decisive moment in the
dramatic series of events. Again the artist includes
details that encourage us to look closely at the print
to interpret its story.
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Protestant
reforms reduced the demand for sacred art works in the
Netherlands. Patrons showed a great interest in the
objects and events of everyday life, and artists responded
by producing paintings such as Lodewik Susi’s Still
Life with Mice (poster 10) and Nicholaes Maes’s genre
painting, The Account Keeper (poster 12). Like many
artists, Susi and Maes painted highly detailed works
that exhibited their skill at representing surface textures
and the play of light on objects.
Another artist who demonstrated his skill at treating
light was Joseph Vernet, whose landscape scene, A Harbor
in Moonlight (poster 17), depicts the busy port of Naples
at night. Using several light sources, the artist portrays
an actual place with poetic sensibility.
Decorative arts, including metalwork, reveal stories of
how things were made. The steel Field Armor (poster 4)
was engineered to provide the greatest amount of
flexibility and protection during a battle. The porcelain
Pair of Vases from the Swan Service (poster 15) was part
of an extravagant gift that can still tell us about the
wealth and status of the donor as well as the recipient.
Both works help us visualize everyday life in early times.
As you can see, the objects featured in this packet
represent only a sample of the incredible works of art
in the Museum’s collection of early European art. We
encourage teachers and students to explore additional
paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, and works on
paper by visiting the Saint Louis Art Museum to look
for stories in the art.
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