Shaping Identity - Detroit Institute of Arts

Transcription

Detroit Institute of Arts
Shaping Identity
November 11, 2013
THIS TRAINING CONSISTS OF:
Day One: Big Idea, Tips, South Wing, European Cret Building
Day Two: American Cret Building, North Wing
Walkthrough with L & I Team Member
Things to note:
o All student tours will meet specific criteria in the Common Core State Standards as
well as Grade Level Content Standards for the State of Michigan for those districts
that have not yet adopted Common Core.
o Be flexible! No tour should rely on a specific route or object – have alternatives and
don’t be wedded to any one area. This includes adult tours. Use an interactive!
o For popular areas, consider teaming up for an object but be sure to ask first.
It is ok to share a gallery as long as:
 You have checked with the tour leader that is already there
 Your voice does not dominate the room
 ADP is not present
As with all trainings, we learn from each one. A new fact, a clarification, a correction, a
new technique or we reconsider an object. L & I will continue to update, tweak, adjust
and add to this tour so it never becomes stale. It will train again in 2016.
Big Idea for all Shaping Identity
tours Students taking the Shaping Identity tour
explore how people use works of art to
define, reinforce and transmit
• personal
• cultural, geographic
• and national identities
SHAPING IDENTITY AND ADULT TOURS
Everyone, young and old, wants to make sense of the world around them.
What better way than to explore the art that is around us everyday.
Each piece has a story to tell:
• It can be about the artist who made it
• the culture in which it was made
• the person or group it was made for
• about the time period it lived in
The DIA has taken a proactive approach in understanding our visitors and
what they want from us. Based on what we have learned – aspects of the
Shaping Identity tour can be a wonderful fit for most adult audiences.
When working with adults – some of the same rules apply:
Engage! Remember the DIAs Mission Statement of helping each visitor find personal
meaning in art.
Define and Identify! Be mindful of using art historical terms or making references to
historical events during your tour. If you use the term “baroque” – be sure to define it.
Alternative Endings! Remember that some of the adults on our tours will have watched
movies and documentaries and read books that may be deal differently with a particular
subject matter. That’s ok! Thank them for sharing and be comfortable in knowing that there
is more than one opinion on just about everything!
And as with all tours… It’s ok to say, “I don’t know!” Only the most insecure will expect
you to know every bit of data about every object on view or will challenge you on a particular
fact or object. Relax – go with the flow – and be assured that the position you are presenting
is one that the DIA shares with you.
What should a student
get from this tour?
A student will . . .
• learn that looking at art can be rewarding
and can provide surprising insights
• discover commonalities and differences
between people living in different places
and times
What should a student
get from this tour?
A student will . . .
• build awareness of her/his own culture
• become more mindful of how he/she
relates to other people in the world
For African American Emphasis
• Students will understand African American
contributions to the art community while
exploring American history, society and
creative expression from an African American
perspective.
• Students will be able to give examples of how
African American artists chose to tell their
stories and how their depictions changed over
time.
A Shaping Identity tour with an emphasis
on African American history may include
works from:
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American
African American
Contemporary
Kresge Reception
For Shaping Identity with an emphasis
on the Spanish-Speaking World
• Students will be able to give examples of how
cultures associated with Spain and the Spanish
language have changed over time and how art
expresses that change.
• Students will understand ways that Spanish
culture spread throughout the world and the
impact it had on indigenous populations in
America.
A Shaping Identity tour with an emphasis
on
Art of the Spanish-Speaking World can
include works from:
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Ancient Americas
American
European
Modern and Contemporary
Rivera Court – Required!
For Shaping Identity tours with an
emphasis on Art of the Americas
• Students will understand how the indigenous populations of North,
Central, and South America used their art to reflect their personal,
spiritual and cultural identity and that these objects were used in
everyday life.
• Students will learn that European explorers and immigrants
changed the population of the Americas and adapted or changed
their personal or cultural identity to reflect a new nation.
• Students will understand the rich history of North, South and
Central America from it’s earliest discovery to the present day.
A Shaping Identity tour with an
emphasis on Art of the Americas can
include works from:
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American - required
Ancient Americas - required
Native American – required
African American - encouraged
Contemporary - optional
Rivera Court - optional
Galleries and Works of Art
Things to watch for:
Red: Take Note!
Orange: Object Data and Identity Tie-in
Green: Tours
Blue: Something of interest, Michigan / Detroit connection, & I like the color!
PREFERRED LANGUAGE
Native American, American Indian or Indian?
The DIA has made a conscious decision to NOT use the term “Indian” in its interpretation in
the galleries. Native American or American Indian is preferred.
Is Tribe ok? How about Culture Group or Nation?
The correct definition of tribe refers to the indigenous population of a particular group and
their descendants. The installations in the DIA are broad-based due to the need to rotate
the collection so it can be preserved. As a result of these installations, several different
groups can be represented at any given time.
While the word tribe is acceptable for some Native American Nations including those in
Michigan, not all Native American Nations like or use this term. In its history, the term was
used to denigrate Native cultures. Nation, as in “Sioux Nation” is preferred.
For African Art, the DIA interpretation uses Culture to accurately identify the people who
created the work such as Kongo Culture in Congo or the Yoruba Culture in Nigeria. The
DIA prefers that you use Culture.
Ancient Americas
The Ancient Cultures of the Americas gallery encompasses North, South and
Mesoamerica before the time of Columbus’ voyages to the New World.
Mesoamerica is the area from northern Mexico through southern Panama.
The term Mesoamerica also relates to the cultural continuum and the constant
migration of groups throughout the area.
The galleries are organized geographically and thematically:
• Ancient Costa Rica: Symbols of the Chiefs
• Ancient Cultures of the Midwest: A Local Artistic Legacy
• Ancient Peru: Art in the Service of Society
• Ancient Mexico: The Cycle of Life and Death
PERSONAL IDENTITY
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Metate—stone table used with grinding
stone (mano) to grind dried corn into corn
meal
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A metate symbolized the owner’s control
over agriculture and food technologies.
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Parrot imagery symbolized the taking of
enemy heads in battle; forest-dwelling
parrots feed on a human-head-shaped
Costa Rican fruit.
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Functional metates are not usually as
elaborately carved as this; this one
probably functioned as a chief or other
leader’s stool
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This metate represents the chief’s power
over life and death in 2 ways:
Parrot Effigy Metate (corn grinding table)
500-1000 CE
1986.56.1
Shaping Identity, Spanish, Art of the Americas
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Parrot imagery = military prowess
Metate = control over food
GEOGRAPHIC IDENTITY
• Fruit
• Parrot
• Corn
CULTURAL IDENTITY / PERSONAL IDENTITY
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Jar in the form of a Jaguar
1000–1500 CE
Costa Rica
56.235
Shaping Identity, Spanish,
Art of the Americas
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This jar represents a jaguar, the strongest and most
dangerous creature of the Costa Rican jungle.
The jaguar is posed like a chief of ancient Costa Rica
who sat with hands on knees.
The jar conveys the power and authority of its original
owner, most likely a chief.
The jar symbolizes the power and authority of a chief
by using a jaguar.
Animal decorations convey power.
Smaller jaguar heads are painted on the legs, arms
and body of this jar.
The legs contain seeds or beans which make a
rattling sound through the slits in the legs.
The rattling represents the sound of the jaguar’s roar.
CULTURAL / GEOGRAPHIC IDENTITY
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Late Archaic Culture, Southeast Michigan
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Birdstone
1500-1000 BCE
52.224.1
Shaping Identity, Art of the Americas
Objects like this from Southeast Michigan and
the surrounding area can date back more than
3000 years.
The artists pecked out the rough shape with a
stone hammer then ground and polished the
surfaces into the final form.
The stone is banded slate which is unique to
Michigan. The linear pattern is a distinct
characteristic, chosen for its aesthetic appeal.
Making the object beautiful increased its
functionality.
It is thought that stone weapons were used to
hunt mammoths and other game.
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Some scholars think they were used as
ornaments and symbolic embellishments for
hunting weapons.
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The first Native American arrived in Michigan
over 11,000 years ago.
CULTURAL IDENTITY / GEOGRAPHIC IDENTITY
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Precious metals symbolize leadership
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Chimu culture, Peru
Cup (Kero)
about 1300 CE
F1985.13
Art of the Americas
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Gold: glows like the sun
Silver: Cool and reflective like the moon
Copper: deep and rich like the earth
The elite drank from gold cups as they presided
over communal feasts at harvest time.
Copper, silver and gold decorated their clothing
and possessions.
Skilled artists crafted objects made of precious
materials for rulers and no one else.
Cup imagery:
o Leaders appear on both sides.
o This side shows the leader in a feather
headdress, earspools, and a bejeweled belt,
holding tall scepter-like poles in both hands.
o Lower register shows a row of small birds
with outstretched wings and open beaks.
They seem to be singing or speaking to the
leader above them.
CULTURAL IDENTITY
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Palma —shaped like a paddle worn at the waist as
protective gear in ancient Mexican Ball Game. This
palma is purely decorative (real game gear would not
have been made of stone!)
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Ball Game —a bit like soccer; players bounce rubber
balls off their hips. At the end, a player was sacrificed
to the gods. Scholars debate whether a winning or
losing player was sacrificed. (Note that the current
label says “loser” is sacrificed)
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Carvings tell us about ancient Mayan cultural beliefs
about the interconnectedness of life and death.
• Figure with immense headdress—the god
who accepts the ball player
• Figure at the bottom, head sideways —the
player who has been sacrificed
• Tall stalks behind the god —stalks of corn that
is gifted to the people in return for the player’s
sacrifice
NOTE: it will be important to help kids be thoughtful, not
judgmental, about this practice .
Shaping Identity, Spanish, Art of the Americas
Vera Cruz culture, Mexico
Palma (ball game equipment)
250-950 CE
47.180
CULTURAL IDENTITY / GEOGRAPHIC IDENTITY
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Mayan Culture, Mexico, Belize,
Guatemala and Honduras
Tripod Jar
300-600 CE
1894.12.A-B
Art of the Americas
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Glyphs on the white and blue area include the names of
the city and the ruler in the burial of what has been
called Tomb 12.
The blue color is associated with the sky and the watery
underworld as well as with the fertility of the earth.
The scrolls in red cinnabar represent the Mayan
Underworld.
Cinnabar is an orange-red pigment (mercuric sulfide)
often called Chinese Red.
In Mesoamerica, the color red was associated with
sacrifices and the renewal of life.
Inscriptions on the vessel suggest it may have contained
cacao beans, rather than chocolate liquid.
In ancient Mesoamerica, liquid chocolate was mixed
with maize, honey, sweet flowers, or chili peppers before
consumption.
Chocolate beans were also used as currency.
This jar would have been a prized possession.
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Nayarit culture, West Mexico
Male and Female Figures
100-400 BCE
1999.4 and 1999.5
Art of the Americas, VTS, ADP
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Ornaments decorating nose and ears
show wealth.
Bodies covered with painted designs
represent beauty.
Woman holding a baby signals the desire
for healthy children.
The man playing a musical instrument
suggests many festivals to enjoy.
This object was placed in a tomb by the
deceased’s family.
It expressed the hope that the next life
would provide all the pleasures and
opportunities of this one.
Figures like this were made to ensure the
transition between mortal life and the
next life.
Cosmos
According to Native American belief, the universe is a sphere with the sky world
above and the watery underworld below, divided by the terrestrial disk of the earth.
The earth is divided into the four quadrants of the cardinal directions: north, south,
east, and west. The human task on earth is to keep the upperworld and the
underworld in balance.
These unseen upper and underworlds are home to powerful spiritual forces
(thunderbird and underwater panther) that can affect the earth through natural
events such as thunderstorms.
In this gallery area, three cases contain objects symbolic of the cosmos as
understood by Native Americans of the Great Lakes and the Midwest.
Kay Walking Stick
Four Directions: Vision
1995
2005.25.A-B
Shaping Identity,
Art of the Americas
PERSONAL & CULTURAL IDENTITIES
Left:
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Right:
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The plus shape is often used in Native American art as a symbol of the earth’s four cardinal directions
Imagery is meant to suggest the unseeable, eternal, spiritual elements of the earth
Represents the land, the earth as it often is shown in Western art
It’s recognizable as a physical entity, something you could see
It’s about balances:
Kay Walking Stick balances ideas about the earth that come from her Cherokee cultural background and
spiritual beliefs and from her exposure to traditional images of the land in European and American art.
For Walking Stick, who is half white and half Cherokee, the juxtaposition of the four-directions symbols and the
rugged mountains represents balance between the spiritual and physical, the eternal and momentary.
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Cheyenne culture, Arkansas and Colorado
Cheyenne Shield
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about 1860
76.144
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The image of a bird just above the center of this shield
represents the thunderbird.
A Cheyenne warrior named Little Rock saw this shield
during a dream in which thunderbirds appeared and offered
it to him.
He then had the shield made to provide both spiritual and
physical protection from his enemies.
Little Rock died protecting his Cheyenne camp from
General George Armstrong Custer’s Seventh Cavalry.
Custer had destroyed their camp in violation of a treaty, and
Little Rock’s shield was taken as war booty.
The shield’s hard core of buffalo rawhide was protection
against arrows but not bullets.
A painted cover of tanned buckskin, which fits over the
buffalo core, shows Little Rock’s vision.
The thunderbird is surrounded by smaller birds, all of whom
symbolize power.
The moon is shown as a crescent shape, and the
constellation Pleiades is represented by the cluster of
seven circles.
Encircling the shield is a blue border standing for
Grandmother Earth who gave the Cheyenne their first corn
and buffalo.
Red is the most sacred color, standing for supernatural
blessing and life.
Black (original color of now-faded background) is a victory
color representing enemies killed.
The blue-green color was probably made from the blue clay
of the Cheyenne sacred mountain, Bear Butte.
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The carved face on this bowl represents E-yah, the
spirit of gluttony.
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The Grand Medicine Society, an elite group of spiritual
leaders of the Yankton Sioux nation in South Dakota
held feasts and used these large bowls.
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Such bowls boasted of the owner’s ability to eat
enormous quantities of food – a sign of spiritual power,
like E-yah.
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E-yah seems to be offering the bowl’s contents to the
owner.
Bowl
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about 1850
81.497
CULTURAL IDENTITY
Shaping Identity,
Art of the Americas
These bowls were used in feasts for over-eating to
“protect themselves” from future famine.
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They are both ceremonial and functional.
Yankton Sioux, South Dakota
Norval Morrisseau New!
Cycles
about 1985
2007.3
CULTURAL IDENTITY
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Image is of a frog, horned serpent, fish,
bear, bird and turtle.
Aboriginal Canadian artist – Anishnabe / Ojibwa (Canadian) or Chippewa (U.S.)
Morrisseau is also known as Copper Thunderbird, a name given to him by a medicine
woman following an illness – powerful name gives energy.
Created works depicting the legends of his people – he was the first to paint the myths
and legends of the Eastern Woodlands.
He founded the Woodlands School of Canadian art and was a prominent member of the
Indian Group of Seven.
He is self-taught.
Born in Thunder Bay Ontario.
“My paintings are icons, that is to say, they are images which help focus on spiritual
powers, generated by traditional belief and wisdom.”
Design and Identity
There are 3 groups of clothing in this gallery and they take many forms –
Personal Identity: What does the clothing communicate about an individual?
Community Style: How can clothing identify someone as a member of a specific
group?
Native American Identity: How did clothing play a role in asserting a broader “Native
American” identity when missionaries, officials, and others pressured Native
Americans to assimilate.
Eanger Irving Couse
Chief Shoppenegons
1910
11.4
CULTURAL AND PERSONAL IDENTITY
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David Shoppenegons was an Ojibwa from Michigan.
He chose to wear clothing that identified him with his
ancestors.
• This attire was customary for leaders of the early 1800s
when the Ojibwa traded with Europeans.
• These are not the day-to-day work clothes he would have
worn.
• He is wearing the headdress of a chief and two gorgets
(neck ornaments) of silver.
• Gorgets were given to Ojibwa chiefs by their European
trade partners in recognition of their status as captains of
the fur trade.
• He holds a canoe paddle, a reference to his own work as
a hunting and fishing guide.
• He and his family worked as guides on the Au Sable River
near Grayling.
• His facial expression is one of pride in his heritage.
Note: Anishnabe, Ojibwa, and Chippewa are terms that refer
to the same Indian Nation.
Man’s Shirt, 1860
Northern Cheyenne
1988.27
CULTURAL and PERSONAL IDENTITY
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Men and Women worked together to make the
clothes
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Men hunted the animals whose hides were then
cleaned and prepared by women
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The women decorated clothing with porcupine
quills, beads or ribbons, while men painted
design on shirts and other regalia
Some trade goods enhanced daily lives by making
life easier:
 Iron blades and axes
 Brass kettles
 Blankets
 Wool and cotton cloth
 Silk ribbon
 Glass beads
 Silver ornaments
 Metal needles and scissors
 Cotton thread
Not so positive: guns and liquor
INDIAN REMOVAL ACT
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May 28, 1830: the Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew
Jackson.
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Affected Nations: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee-Creek, and Seminole
previously identified as the “Five Civilized Tribes” – the nations who were well
established as autonomous by George Washington.
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Other nations affected: Wyandot, Potowatomi, Shawnee, Lenape
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The Removal Act was strongly supported in the South where people were eager to
gain access to lands inhabited by the Native American Nations.
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The Removal Act paved the way for the forced relocation of tens of thousands of
Native Americans to the West, an event known as “The Trail of Tears.”
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The act designated territories and reservations on which they were confined.
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Reservations brought different nations together and new alliances and antagonisms
were formed.
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Native American cultures merged through Inter-tribal events and intermarriage. New
styles of clothing emerged.
Pre-Reservation and Reservation Period
Metis Cree, Manitoba, Canada
Winnebago (Ho-Chunk Culture), Nebraska
and Wisconsin
Coat
Shirt
about 1835
81.231.1
CULTURAL IDENTITY
about 1800
81.435
CULTURAL IDENTITY
Assiniboine, Yanktonai, North Dakota
Assiniboine, Yanktonai, North Dakota
Man’s Shirt
Man’s Leggings
about 1905
2000.66.1
about 1900
2000.66.2.A-B
Change and Continuity
This gallery contains older and newer examples of:
• Southwest pottery
• Weavings
• Kachina dolls
• Arctic carvings
• Western baskets
• Northwest Coast masks
Countless generations have refined and passed down these artistic traditions, combining
ancestral teachings and personal style in their creations.
Jar
about 1400
1999.1394
PERSONAL & CULTURAL IDENTITIES
These jars represent techniques of making pottery that
have been passed down through the generations for
hundreds of years.
Each individual and generation adds to/adapts the
tradition (Youngblood jar is a good example).
Ancient Pueblo Jar—made in a Pueblo village between
Arizona and New Mexico
• Clay mixed, shaped, fired, and decorated by a
woman 600 years ago
• Made to store water
• Decorated with step design—symbol of
lightning, thunderclouds valued in the dry
southwest
• Orange-red colored clay distinctive to this
region
Youngblood Jar—made a few years ago by Nathan
Youngblood, potter from Santa Clara Pueblo in New
Mexico.
• Combines techniques learned from his family
Nathan Youngblood
and ones he invented himself.
Jar
• Youngblood innovated putting the two spheres
2003
together and adding mica to clay.
2004.109
• The black color comes from a technique his
grandmother perfected and taught him.
• He incorporates a mixture of designs that are
carved into the clay rather than painted on.
• Step design appears here, too.
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Julian Martinez and Maria Martinez,
San Ildefonso Culture, New Mexico
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Jar
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Maria and Julian Martinez combine traditional
skills and artistic innovation.
Maria and Julian Martinez of San Ildefonso pueblo
were among the first generation of husband and
wife potters.
She made the pots, he painted them.
In the late 1920s, they invented the technique of
black-on-black pottery where the designs are
created by contrasting black matte painted design
with the highly burnished (polished).
Julian Martinez painted the image of the
meandering horned serpent that encircles the pot.
The image was inspired by rock drawings created
by the ancestral Anasazi.
This fired black ware continues to be produced by
their San Ildefonso pueblo.
about 1935
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1999.208
CULTURAL IDENTITY
Shaping Identity and Art of the
Americas
Note: After the pot was formed using red clay, the surface of the bowl
was polished.
• Then the area around the figure (dull) was painted with thinned red
clay slip (liquid clay).
• A fire is built under and on top of the pots, oxygen is reduced which
causes the clay to turn black.
• The polished portions look shiny and the area around the figure that
was painted with slip looks matte.
Hopi Nation, Arizona
Kachina Doll
about 1930
1997.23
CULTURAL IDENTITY
Shaping Identity, Art of
the Americas
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Kachina dolls are given to children to teach
about spirit messengers.
They began to be sold to outsiders in the early
1900s.
1995.110
Hundreds of different Kachina spirits can be identified by the Hope and the Zuni.
Kachina spirits are impersonated by masked dancers who perform during events
associated with agricultural seasons.
Kachina spirits have many powers:
• To bring rain (important in the arid southwest)
• To help in everyday life of the village
• To punish lawbreakers
• To be messengers between man and the spirit world
Note: The “stiff” kachinas are older and traditionally given to children. The “action style” was
developed in the 1960s.
Northwest Coast
• Objects in this area represent animals and other creatures that tell stories about
creation, ancestors, family heritage, and spirit helpers of the Northwest Coast.
• The heavily-forested Pacific Coast is home to several different Native American
nations, whose artists excel at creating sculpture, many made from the
abundant cedar trees.
• Bold animal forms and faces characterize Northwest Coast art and are often
combined or intertwined on a single object.
• Objects that tell stories about Northwest Coast people’s origins are among the
most important possessions of a family.
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Willie Seaweed
Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka’wakw),
Canada
Grouse Mask
1939
63.148
CULTURAL IDENTITY
Shaping Identity, Art of the
Americas
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The dramatic mask and bright colors make the features
more visible in the dim light of a potlatch performance.
A potlatch is a feast hosted by a family that tells the
assembled guests stories of their ancestors.
Gifts are also exchanged.
The masked dancers represent supernatural beings that
have helped the family in the past.
The family commissioned the masks from artists who
were well known in the community.
Each artist possessed his own flair or style. Willie
Seaweed, for example, innovated the use of white paint
to make his masks vibrant and lively.
The Grouse Spirit is the “master of ceremonies” of a
potlatch.
The grouse performer dances with a rattle and brings
each spirit out into the dance house for everyone to see.
Seaweed became a Chief.
He helped preserve his people’s traditions as a sculptor,
singer and storyteller.
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Tsimshian (tsimm schan), Canada
Raven Rattle
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about 1880
T1989.156
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CULTURAL IDENTITY
Americas
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Animal forms represent spirit helpers that aid
shamans (spiritual leaders) in performing
their many tasks.
Using masks and rattles, shamans call to
spirit helpers for assistance in curing the sick,
prophesying the future, traveling to the spirit
world, and protecting the community.
The rattle is in the form of a shaman riding on
the back of a raven.
A frog is on the shaman’s chest and their
tongues touch.
This act signifies the communication between
the frog (underworld), our world (shaman)
and the raven (upperworld).
The box behind the frog symbolized the
structure which held the sun, moon, and
stars.
In the origin story, the raven was allowed to
release the box’s contents which gave light to
the human world.
The rattle was used by a chief.
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This is a food bowl in the form of an animal.
The animals’ head is at one end, tail at the other
and bent legs on the sides.
The animal often relates to the clan creature (crest)
of that family.
Bulging profile is a symbol for the owner’s hospitality
and the bounty at a feast or celebration.
The bowl may be filled with local foods and passed
around at a feast gathering until empty.
Haida Nation, Alaska
Bowl
about 1830
1988.12
CULTURAL IDENTITY
Americas
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Bent-wood bowls use a single plank for all four
sides which are bent at the corners and a second
plank fitted and joined for the bottom.
The first plank is made soaked, then heated (steam)
so that it may be bent over time at the corners.
Notches, called kerfs, are cut into the plank where
the corners will be.
Sides 1 and 4 are lashed together, usually with a
sinew cord.
Planks are quite thick to withstand the bending
without cracking and breaking.
A second plank is fitted and joined for the bottom.
Dick Price, Canadian
House Ornament
1927
47.397.A
PERSONAL and CULTURAL IDENTITY
PERSONAL IDENTITY
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This object tells us about cultural and spiritual beliefs among the Kwakwaka’wakw, Native
Americans of the Northwest Coast, in what is now British Columbia in Canada.
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It is a house post designed to guard the entrance to a house It represents the sisiutal, or double
headed supernatural creature. The face in the center represents the body (note the arms and
hands) and the heads are at the sides.
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The use of the sisiutal here is meant to represent the crest or emblem of a particular family.
CULTURAL IDENTITY
There is a deep belief system associated with sisiutal. Traditionally the Kwakwaka’wakw believe the
sisiutal to be connected to war and strength. It can change forms from a self-propelled canoe to a
salmon, to a human being, and can kill when angered.
THE GREAT HALL AND EUROPEAN CRET BUILDING
PERSONAL IDENTITY
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Pleats come from fashionable clothing most popular
during the 1520s.
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This armor is called Maximilian after the Holy Roman
Emperor who ordered many suits of armor in this style.
•
Maximilian I established a court workshop to supervise
the creation of his own armor in the 16th century. He
was referred to as the “last knight” for his chivalrous
manners and intense interest in armor.
•
Maximilian armor represented the human body more
closely than other types; it was more rounded with
heavy fluting made of thin sheets of metal. Fluting gave
the armor extra strength without additional weight.
•
This suit weighs 65 pounds.
•
Armor was expensive and so was a symbol of wealth
and social status.
NATIONAL IDENTITY
Maximilian Armor
1525
56.123
Shaping Identity
Armor for warfare must be practical and protective; could
be decorative if it didn’t impede function. Fashion trends
translate to collective identity when armies of men enter
battle wearing armor displaying a distinct national
aesthetic.
Shaping Identity
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
•
•
•
Tomb Effigy of a Recumbent Knight of the Anhalt Family
between 1350 and 1375
27.1
This sculpture represents a fully dressed knight who died while on route to or from a war, possibly the
Crusades.
Coat of arms on the chest armor, we know the knight was German from a noble family.
Dogs at his feet indicate loyalty.
This sculpture was included in a church to commemorate the knight and remind churchgoers to pray
for his soul.
CULTURAL IDENTITY
•
•
•
Knights were highly regarded as heroes and protectors in 13th and 14th century Europe. Because they
were so highly valued, they were among the first laymen to be buried within church walls.
Effigies were created as grave markers as well as monuments to the person, giving them both religious
and secular meaning.
This effigy is remarkably detailed with idealized facial features, even indicating embroidery on the
knight’s tunic.
New!
At the highest point are
keystones decorated with
the coat-of-arms of the
family who owned the
chapel.
•
•
•
•
•
Chapel
1522/24
23.147
CULTURAL & PERSONAL IDENTITY
Shaping Identity
Was originally part of a chateau owned by a
noble family in eastern France.
By the 14th century, individual chapels for
private devotion were increasingly common
among the aristocracy.
Private devotional enclaves such as this were
meant to convey the status, wealth, and
prestige of the family as well as the piety of
its owners.
European medieval architecture was actively
sought by American collectors between the
world wars.
This chapel was acquired by the Arts
Commission, gifted by Ralph Harman Booth
and his wife to the museum while the DIA
was still under construction.
Michel Sittow
Catherine of Aragon, Late 1400s / Early 1500s
40.50
Shaping Identity, Spanish
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
Catherine of Aragon (b.1485 – d.1536) was the youngest daughter of Isabella and
Ferdinand of Spain.
•
Considered very beautiful, she was the first wife of Henry VIII of England; Henry
divorced her after 24 years to marry Ann Boleyn.
•
Spanish ambassador to English Court – first female ambassador in Europe
•
Intelligent: a book about the education of Christian women dedicated to her; she
was friends with many scholars of the day.
•
Compassionate: started a program to help the poor.
•
Painted by Netherlandish artist from northern Europe who was a court painter for
Queen Isabella.
•
Attention to fine details of surfaces typical of Northern European style.
•
Probably painted during Sittow’s visit to England, during Catherine’s early years
there.
•
Painted as Mary Magdalene, who went to Jesus’s tomb to anoint his body but
found him missing, thus linking Catherine with a revered saint known for her
beauty and dedication to Jesus.
Artist known as Master of the Saint Lucy Legend
Virgin in the Rose Garden
1475–80
26.387 - Shaping Identity
RELIGIOUS IDENTITY
•
Mary and infant Jesus in the center, surrounded by
female saints.
•
Angels hold a crown above Mary—to believers, after
Mary’s death, she was crowned queen of heaven
and the angels.
•
Jesus is shown symbolically putting a ring on St.
Catherine’s finger. She lived 1300 years after Jesus
and is said to have dreamt of her marriage to him.
•
All are surrounded by a rose garden meant to
symbolize paradise; flowers represent Mary.
CITY IDENTITY
•
City of Bruges in the background. The tallest building
represents the church; the second tallest is the cloth
hall, representing the city’s prosperity.
•
Bruges was a famous center for high quality tapestry
production.
•
Artist collapses several time periods and stories to
bring Christian beliefs into his present day:
• Jesus and Mary from 0-ish
• Saints from 1100s to 1300s
• Bruges in late 1400s
The Medici Family, Arts, and Politics
The ruling Medici family of Florence
collected and promoted the production of
art that reflected their interest in classical
antiquity, established sophisticated artistic
workshops, and set a standard for using
art to promote dynastic aspirations.
INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY
Giovanni Bandini
•
This sculpture represents Cosimo de’ Medici. He’s
considered the most important of the Medici family
because he acquired the title Grand Duke of
Florence.
•
The sculpture marries this element of unreality
(Cosimo wears the armor and clothing of an
ancient Roman) with a kind of truth (Cosimo’s
features are shown realistically—receding hairline,
mole, bags under his eyes) to transmit the
message that he is a wise, elder, statesman.
•
Cosimo has himself represented like the Roman
emperor Augustus (1500 years earlier), to liken
himself to the ancient ruler who was admired
among his people as a military hero and great
leader.
•
Cosimo was among those Renaissance patrons
who wanted artists to revive ancient Roman and
Greek arts and culture.
•
His patronage and the purpose of this sculpture is
clearly propagandistic. Though he was known to
engage in brutal military campaigns and treated his
enemies mercilessly, he wanted to put his own
image out into the public realm and define himself
as someone to be admired.
Bust of Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany
about 1572
1994.1
Shaping Identity
FAMILY IDENTITY
•
Duchess Eleonora of Toledo (1519-62), wife of Duke
Cosimo I Medici, and their second son (of 11
children!), Giovanni. She was the daughter of the
most important lieutenant of the Holy Roman
emperor. Cosimo married up!—into power and
wealth.
•
Eleonora wears dazzling jewels (notice waist belt),
satin and velvet, pearls—all indications of Medici
status and wealth.
•
Her face is round and flush with health as is her
son’s.
•
Her arm around her son is protective but also
presents him to the viewer.
•
Pomegranate design all over the dress; symbol of
fertility because the fruit is made up of seeds.
•
The image transmits and emphasizes the idea that
Eleanora is healthy, can have many children.
STATE IDENTITY
Agnolo Bronzino and his Workshop
Eleonora of Toledo and Her Son
1545–50
42.57 –
Shaping Identity, Spanish-Speaking World
There are 2 paintings similar to this one, suggesting this
was sent out as a state gift to other ruling courts. The
painting declares Eleonora to be the matriarch of a
thriving dynasty for Florentine prosperity.
Agnolo Bronzino and his Workshop
Eleonora of Toledo and Her Son
1545–50
42.57 –
Shaping Identity, Spanish-Speaking World
•
Eleonora of Toledo: (el-aye-uh-nor-uh of
toe-lay-doe) b. 1519 – d. 1562; from
Toledo, Spain.
•
Daughter of viceroy to King of Spain and
Holy Roman Emperor who controlled much
of western Europe at the time.
•
Marriage vastly improved Cosimo’s wealth,
reputation and connections.
•
Astute business woman (real estate);
patron of the arts (poetry, painting).
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
This child-size set of armor was made in
Florence for Duke Cosimo II (1590-1621).
•
Cosimo II was part of the Medici family.
•
This armor was called armatura da barriera,
or “armor for the barrier.”
•
According to records of Cosimo, he was
quite good in tournaments until his death in
1621.
CULTURAL IDENTITY
Italian
Boy’s Corsaletto
c. 1605
53.200 Shaping Identity
•
The teen Cosimo II would have worn this
corsaletto in “foot-tourneys” during which the
opponents would strike each other above
the waist.
•
In the mid 1700s, the Medici armories were
dismantled because they were considered a
relic of decades-old violence. Only about
1,000 pieces of Medici armor are extant.
•
This armor can be identified because of the
meticulous records kept at the Medici
armory.
New!
Medici Grand Ducal Workshops
Table Cabinet
about 1620
1994.77
PERSONAL IDENTITY
Shaping Identity, VTS
Pietre dure (pee-EH-trah DOO-rah),
Italian for hard stones – “stone painting”
•
•
•
On this cabinet, precious and semi-precious stones form each animal.
On the central door, Orpheus from ancient Roman mythology tames beasts with music.
Artists used the natural veining of the stones to represent the physical qualities of the animals.
•
Describes Medici’s prized menagerie collection of Italian domestic animals as well as animals
from distant lands.
The cabinet has 18 drawers, each decorated with a different animal, including three more
drawers behind the Orpheus panel.
The stones came from all over the world indicating far-reaching trade.
It would have taken several craftsmen several months or even a year to complete this cabinet.
•
•
•
•
During this period, Orpheus was often used in art to symbolize Grand Duke Cosimo I, though
Cosimo I ruled with an iron fist he brought prosperity to the land and promoted growth in the arts.
Peter Paul Rubens
Saint Ives of Treguier, Patron of Lawyers,
Defender of Widows and Orphans
about 1615–16
64.459 Shaping Identity, VTS, ADP
PERSONAL IDENTITY / RELIGIOUS IDENTITY
•
This painting represents Saint Ives, patron saint
of lawyers.
•
One hand rests on books of law; the other holds
the petition of a follower.
•
Woman and children plead for help; their
presence and his attentiveness convey his role
as defender of widows and orphans.
•
An angel crowns him with a wreath from heaven
as acknowledgment of his good deeds; notice
the bishop’s hat at his feet; he rejected the offer
for high rank to help to poor directly.
•
The artist represents St. Ives “in action.”
Previous depictions show him holding a book.
Here he engages a family directly; the painting
conveys his legendary compassion through
storytelling imagery.
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
Get groups to look through this carefully and compare
to other images of women they see on this tour.
•
Painting of Jewish heroine Judith. In Old Testament
(apocrypha), the Assyrian general Holofernes lays siege
on Judith’s town. Judith enters his camp with her
maidservant and seduces him. When he is drunk, she
beheads him. Judith’s maidservant wraps up the head
and they leave the camp. When the Assyrians discover
that their leader is killed, they retreat.
•
This scene puts us in the middle of the story, in the
middle of the most anxious moments.
•
Judith’s face conveys calm. Her maidservant’s mouth
looks slightly open as if she’s breathless, nervous.
GENDERED IDENTITIES
Artemisia Gentileschi
Judith and Her Maidservant with
the Head of Holofernes
about 1623–25
52.253 – Shaping Identity, VTS
•
This painting features a strong female protagonist and
was painted by a woman artist.
•
Get groups to notice how Gentileschi draws us in to the
story and lets us unfold it as we go (use interactive).
•
Gentileschi was known to put herself into her images.
Here, she does so symbolically—the crescent moon
shaped light on her face suggests her namesake,
Artemis, Greek goddess of the moon.
PERSONAL IDENTITY
Jusepe de Ribera
St. Jerome in the Wilderness
about 1645/1685
49.4
•
Jusepe de Ribera: (Hu-sep-ay day ree-bare-a)
•
Jerome lived in the 5th century and was famous for
compiling and translating the various parts of the Bible into
a single, consistent style.
•
Lived a hermit’s life as he worked on translation, in solitude.
•
In art, usually shown writing/translating, with skull, few
clothes: red cloth is symbolic of him as a church leader.
•
Shown here at entrance to rocky cave or grotto.
•
Lion in lower left corner refers to medieval story about
Jerome removing a thorn from a lion’s paw while living in
the desert.
•
Dramatic lighting; bright light and dark shadow.
•
Painted with sensitivity to the psychological and spiritual
state of Jerome.
•
Realistic depiction – wrinkles, red nose, sagging skin of
older man.
•
Artist was born in Seville, Spain, but lived adult life in Italy.
CULTURAL IDENTITY
Bartolomeo Esteban Murillo
The Flight Into Egypt,1647/1650
48.96
•
Paintings such as this used to tell stories to
illiterate public.
•
Spain and Catholic Church became powerful
allies during counter-reformation – Catholic
imagery by Spanish artists sometimes used to
demonstrate this point.
•
The Catholic Church named Joseph a saint but
wanted people to connect with his humanity.
•
Has staff on shoulder – carrying tools –
concerned expression on face.
Spanish Choir Stalls
1353
47.91.1-2
CULTURAL IDENTITY
•
Stalls were originally part of a convent chapel in
north central Spain.
•
Convent: a group of buildings where Catholic nuns
lived in solitude and prayer.
•
Choir stalls lined sides of chapel; nuns sat and stood
during long religious services.
•
Separate stalls allow contemplation and focus on
prayers.
•
Seats fold up for standing.
•
Choir not what kids think of today – not the singers!
•
Originally 50 stalls in this convent.
•
Catholicism and Islam coexisted in Spain at this
time.
•
Painted imagery includes scrolling vines and floral
motif in bold red and green, characteristics borrowed
from Islamic art.
•
Coats-of-arms for Doňa Maria de Padilla painted
repeatedly; she was convent’s patron and the
mistress of Don Pedro, King of Castile.
•
(dohn-hya maria day pah-dee-yah and pay-dro cassteel )
•
Padilla’s name means “frying pan” – note pans in the
coat-of arms
SOUTH WING
Johann Joachim Kändler
Postmaster "Baron" Schmiedel
1739
59.296 – Shaping Identity, VTS, ADP
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
Get kids to look closely for the mouse (and
his friend in the hat).
•
Both of these sculptures represent court
jesters.
•
The “Postmaster” is a jester dressed up
twice. He’s pretending to be a baron who is
pretending to be a mailman. Get kids to
notice the medals and details of the ropes,
buttons, and fabrics (very difficult to
achieve in porcelain which is soft almost
like frosting).
•
He trained his mice to hide in his hat or
sleeve and pop out to scare the audience.
PERSONAL IDENTITY / CULTURAL IDENTITY
Only a very wealthy woman could afford such an
exquisitely embroidered pair of gloves and “stomacher,”
the panel of fabric covering her midsection.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Nicolaes Eliasz Pickenoy
The gloves were an expensive luxury during the
1600s.
Such gloves were often made for a bride and would
be suitable for a marriage portrait.
•
The stomacher would have been worn only by the
wealthiest classes.
•
Pickenoy was the leading portrait painter in
Amsterdam prior to Rembrandt’s arrival in the 1630s.
Portrait of a Lady
1630
21.214 – Shaping Identity
The companion portrait of her husband is now lost.
The ¾-length life size portrait would have been
expensive.
The woman is at the height of fashion at the time.
Black clothing was introduced by the Spanish court
of the mid-16th century – it remained so through the
17th century.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pieter de Hooch
Mother Nursing Her Child
1674/76
89.39
Shaping Identity
Genre (everyday) scene with mother nursing her
child.
Her feet rest on a foot-warmer.
This painting represents matronly virtue.
Her clothing and pose indicate a sense of humility.
The spaniel symbolizes the loyalty of the woman to
her husband and family.
The spotless interior testifies to the domestic virtue
of the Dutch housewife.
A Dutch mother’s responsibilities extended equally
to meticulous care of the household.
The physical and psychological advantages of
breastfeeding for both mother and child were well
recognized in the 17th century. Therefore,
breastfeeding was valued highly as the most
important of all maternal duties.
The lighted doorway, doorsien or “seeing through”
was a device that 17th century painters employed.
This peaceful little doorsien, which draws the
viewer’s eye, accentuates the domestic diligence of
the woman in the foreground while implying,
perhaps, that a moment of relaxation may follow her
attentive care of her child.
New!
•
•
•
Gerard ter Borch
A Lady at Her Toilet
about 1660
Scenes of women dressing or adorning themselves in boudoirs
appear infrequently in Dutch painting before 1650.
This painting reflects the evolving taste of an increasingly
prosperous society, which, during the 17th century, came to
emulate the refined customs of the aristocracy and to value
paintings of fashionable people seen at leisure.
This new preoccupation became symptomatic of a growing
gentrification of Dutch culture.
•
With the emphasis on material possessions and physical
adornment, this scene may well have had moral implications
for viewers living in a Calvinist environment that stressed
virtues of a moderate, dutiful, hard working life and the
dangers of worldly temptation.
•
The snuffed candle and the mirror (no memory), can be read
as reminders of a transient existence.
•
Unclear whether she is putting on or taking off the ring – can
symbolize loyalty and faithfulness as long as it isn’t removed.
The spaniel could mean loyalty or it could refer to the follies of
courtship.
•
65.10
Shaping Identity
Note the Turkish Carpet on the table –
emphasizes trade and it’s a nice
connection to our Islamic Gallery!
CULTURAL IDENTITY
•
This could have several veiled messages: that worldly
possessions and pleasures are ephemeral and that the
splendor of outward appearances is deceptive, and that men
should beware of the attractions of vain women.
•
•
•
•
Jan Havicksz Steen
Gamblers Quarreling
1665
89.46
CULTURAL IDENTITY
Shaping Identity, VTS, ADP
The inscription on the chandelier is
from Proverbs and states that “wine
is a mocker.”
A messy household is often referred
to as a “Steen household.”
•
•
•
This is a moral story – the hazards of
excessive drinking and gambling lead to bad
behavior.
The discarded broom makes the point that this
is an unswept floor, littered with cards, gaming
pieces and other debris.
The artist frequently explored the kinds of
chaos that can develop in both taverns and
households when human beings lose control
and indulge in uncivilized behavior.
Numerous 17th century prints and books testify
that gambling was viewed as a dangerous
pastime – the vice of the idle – that could lead
to squandering one’s fortune, loss of domestic
tranquility, and outbursts of violence.
Steen (stain) was a tavern keeper and aware
of the risks of alcohol.
Beer brewing is a leading Dutch industry that
continues to this day – especially in the city of
Haarlem where Steen lived.
Tobacco was imported into Europe during the
early 17th century and was believed by some
to have medicinal properties, but was already
recognized as an addictive substance with
mood-altering properties.
•
The Jewish Cemetery represents the wellknown, still-surviving Jewish burial ground
Beth Haim (House of Life) in Ouderkerk,
about five miles south of Amsterdam.
•
The tombs are from the real cemetery and
they are placed in a setting that is fictional.
The painting is allegorical and refers to the
Dutch belief that everything, especially life, is
temporary.
These scenes are called vanitas – they are
reminders that life is fleeting and that human
endeavor is futile.
Other symbols refer to hope and redemption:
clearing skies, birds, light, rainbow.
•
•
Jacob Isaaksz van Ruisdael
The Jewish Cemetery, - NEW!
about 1655/60
•
26.3
CULTURAL / GEOGRAPHIC IDENTITY
•
Sephardic Jews moved into Amsterdam in
the early 1600s and established this
cemetery between 1614 and 1616.
•
All of the tombs can be identified.
•
•
•
Edwart Collyer
Still Life: Letter Rack
1692
•
•
•
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
•
“trompe l’oeil” – (tromp loy) deceive or fool the
eye
This painting depicts things that are
common for the time: combs, sticks
of sealing wax, medallions,
recorders, a feather quill, and other
instruments associated with letter
writing.
The artist frequently depicted printed
publications, most of which are in
English.
The London Gazette offers
tantalizing clues referring to specific
historical events but the artist has
chosen to keep that information
hidden from view this makes the
meaning more generic.
An educated man
Can read and write
Speaks and / or understands
multiple languages
Is well groomed
Enjoys music
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
Attributed to Cornelis Bisschop
The Artist in His Studio
1665–70
This painting describes the generalized
identity of an artist
• Paint palette in hand.
•
Partially painted canvas in
background.
•
Print on the table between his hands
represents his study of human
anatomy.
•
Skull and extinguished candle
represent life’s brevity and in this
context refer to the artist seeking
immortality through art that lasts long
after the artist’s death.
CULTURAL IDENTITY
• Skull and extinguished candle would have
been recognized beyond the context of the
artist’s life.
• For the Dutch in the 1600s, these symbols
of human mortality reflected religious beliefs
about the need to be modest and decent
during their short lives in order to get into
heaven.
FAMILY IDENTITY
Michiel van Musscher
The Sinfonia (Family Portrait)
1671
•
This is an image of how one Dutch
family chose to represent itself—as very
wealthy and very content.
•
Signifiers of wealth
• The wife, on the left, wears an
opulent silk satin gown.
• The floor is made of patterned
black and white marble.
• A servant in the background holds
a plate of oranges—citrus had to
be imported from the
Mediterranean to the Dutch
Republic. At a time without
refrigeration, oranges symbolized
wealth.
•
Signifiers of contentedness/happiness
• The husband plays a cello, a
symbol of the family’s refinement.
• The notion of producing
harmonious music is meant to
convey harmony and happiness
between husband and wife.
New!
PERSONAL IDENTITY
• The subject is Sophia, Princess Palatine
who was the twelfth child of Frederik of
Bohemia and Elizabeth Stuart.
• Elizabeth commissioned this formal state
portrait as part of her campaign to marry off
her children as strategically as possible.
• In 1658 Sophia married Ernst Augustus,
Elector of Hanover.
• During the reign of Queen Anne of England,
Sophia was next in line of succession but
died only months before the queen herself.
• Sophia’s son, George, succeeded Anne to
become the first Hanoverian king of
England, George I.
•
•
Gerrit van Honthorst
Portrait of Sophia, Princess Palatine
1641
72.860
Shaping Identity
•
•
At the time of this portrait, Sophia was 11
years old.
Like her sisters, Sophia received artistic
instruction from the artist of this portrait.
In the biography of the artist, Sophia is
singled out for special mention.
No works by her hand survive.
The Artist: Post was known for creating
Taking a Fresh Look!
Frans Post
View of the Jesuit Church at Olinda, Brazil
1665
34.188
GEOGRAPHIC AND CULTURAL IDENTITY
detailed landscapes that were accurate but also
included motifs that were imagined.
• Post spent 8 years in Brazil documenting
what he saw – this painting however, was
created about 20 years after his return to the
Netherlands.
• The depiction of a Jesuit church in ruins may
have had political and patriotic significance –
reminding viewers that Portuguese (Catholic)
power crumbled during the occupation of the
region by the Protestant Dutch (about 16301645). Catholicism was re-established in
1654.
• Post’s works were popular with Dutch
patrons and King Louis XIV because of their
exotic appeal.
Colonial Brazil: sugar cane originated in Asia and
Arab traders introduced it to Africa and Europe
• The first commercial production of sugar
cane in the new world was undertaken in
1550 when the Portuguese built sugar cane
plantations and mills near Olinda.
• Enslaved Africans were brought to Olinda to
work the plantations.
• Brazil had the largest concentration of slaves
from Africa.
• Brazil was the last country in the Americas to
ban slavery.
Nicolas de Largillierre
An Alderman of Paris
1703
66.23
Shaping Identity
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
This painting represents a
councilman for the city of Paris.
•
He would have been recognized
as an aristocrat, the most upper
tier of European society (only the
aristocracy could serve in the
government) because of his
• Elaborate wig
• Opulent clothes
• Demeanor
CULTURAL IDENTITY
Use this painting to give your group
the starting point for the rest of the
suite—Splendor By the Hour is about
people like him—the wealthiest and
most powerful of European society in
the 1700s. It is about how people in
his class spent their mornings,
afternoons, and evenings.
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
Only a woman of high rank and status could
have owned a silver set like this.
•
It belonged to a Portuguese duchess named
Henriette-Julie-Gabrielle de Lorraine. Her
uncle, a French prince, had it made for her
when she was engaged to be married at age
15. The set included:
•
•
•
•
Etienne Pollet
Toilet Service
1738-39
53.177-192
Large boxes—held jewelry or ribbons
Small boxes—held pins
Round lidded containers—held cream
and rouge
Designs include
• Coats of arms on the large boxes
representing Henriette’s family and her
husband’s family.
• Roots on the bottom of the small oval
container—it contained a paste made of
roots used as toothpaste.
CULTURAL IDENTITY
Shaping Identity
Even though this was made for Duchess Henriette,
most people of her class—the aristocracy—
needed similar objects in similar numbers during
the hours long ritual of getting ready the morning.
Men and women, alike.
Joseph Highmore
Miss Hamilton
about 1735-45
48.312
Shaping Identity
PERSONAL IDENTITY
This woman, Miss Hamilton, chose to have
herself depicted with evidence of her wealth
and status:
– She’s dressed in a dazzling, highly
fashionable gown.
– Nature is shown in the background,
perhaps a park or the grounds of an
estate or country house.
– She carries a book telling us that she
has plenty of leisure time; she doesn’t
have to work.
GENDERED IDENTITY
The presence of the book is deliberate. It tells
us that Miss Hamilton is educated and literate;
something that would have been appropriate for
young women of the aristocratic classes as a
demonstration of their refinement.
Dining Table Interactive
Use this table to encourage your
group to:
• look around the room
• notice that the Epergne (below) is
featured in the video
• imagine how objects displayed were
used
• compare this banquet to feasts they
have had
William Cripps
Table Centerpiece (epergne)
1763
29.312
Shaping Identity
NOTE: it will be important to dispel
notion that everyone in the 18th
century lived like this or that if we lived
back then, we would have dined this
way.
New!
PERSONAL IDENTITY
• Sir Joshua Reynolds was a revered portrait
artist in 18th century Great Britain as well as a
noted art critic and the founder of the Royal
Academy.
• This portrait was painted at the height of
Reynolds’s career between 1774 and 1776 for
Mrs. Vertue Jodrell, wife and second cousin of
Richard Paul Jodrell, a scholar and dramatist.
The couple married in 1772.
• Unusually, Richard Jodrell had his portrait done
by Reynolds’s rival, Thomas Gainsborough.
Sir Joshua Reynolds
Mrs. Richard Paul Jodrell
1774/76
77.7
Shaping Identity
CULTURAL IDENTITY
• Elite married couples of this time period in
Europe often commissioned portraits of
themselves to flaunt their wealth as well as to
commemorate a marriage.
• Note the woman’s white skin and elaborate
costume, both indicative of her wealth and
social status.
• Eastern clothing influenced Western tradition in
the mid 1700s, explaining the depiction of Mrs.
Jodrell in a turban.
New!
Johan Peter Melchior
Hoechst, German
The Chinese Emperor
1766
51.59
PERSONAL IDENTITY
• Founded in 1746, the Höchst Ceramics Factory was
based in the German city of Mainz, then the capital
of the Holy Roman Empire.
• The piece was based off of a 1742 oil sketch,
Audience of the Chinese Emperor, by François
Boucher.
• Höchst hired many artists to create porcelain
sculptures, including Johan Peter Melchior, bestknown for his figures and busts.
• Melchior was the chief modeler at Höchst, with this
piece being one of his first works. In 1770, he was
named court sculptor to Emmerich Joseph, elector
of Mainz.
CULTURAL IDENTITY
• Boucher and Melchior worked in the chinoiserie
style, wherein European artists incorporated
Chinese and pseudo-Chinese elements into their
works.
• The chinoiserie style came into vogue between the
17th and 19th centuries, a product of increased
contact between Europe and East Asia.
• Note the palette, scroll, bust, and other objects
suggesting the arts. By their placement at the
emperor’s feet, the piece references the importance
of rulers as patrons of the arts.
New!
Johann Joachim Kaendler
Meissen Porcelain Manufactory
Sultan Riding an Elephant
about 1749
2004.11
Shaping Identity
PERSONAL IDENTITY
• Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and
King of Poland, founded the Meissen Porcelain
Manufactory in Dresden in 1710.
• Johann Friedrich Böttger invented the hardpaste white porcelain that made the company
famous.
• Like many of the pieces produced by Höchst
Ceramics Factory, Meissen made many pieces
with Asian or pseudo-Asian motifs.
• Many of the pieces with foreign influences
were based upon pieces from Augustus the
Strong’s collection.
CULTURAL IDENTITY
• Together with Melchior from Höchst, chief
modeler Kaendler elevated the status of
porcelain from a minor art form to a major one.
• This piece is done in a style known as Rococo,
evident by the lavishly decorated base, the
detailed clothes of the sultan, and large
amount of gilding.
• This sculpture and the previous object were
unusual in that they had secular themes. Much
of the porcelain produced during this time
period was made for the decoration of
churches.
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
•
Robert-JacquesFrançois Lefevre
Jean-Baptiste-Claude
Odiot
•
1822
81.692
Jean-BaptisteClaude Odiot
Pair of WineBottle Coolers
from the Demidoff
Service
about 1817
71.296-297
Have your group look at both the
painting and the wine coolers together.
The painting is a portrait of JeanBaptiste-Claude Odiot, a famous French
silversmith.
He chose to be portrayed and identified
by his profession.
•
He’s holding a book of his designs,
more design drawings are on the table.
•
He points to vessels he’s produced, like
the Wine Bottle Coolers displayed
nearby, as if presenting them to us.
NOTE: Color of coolers may lead kids to
think they are gold. May need to clarify that
these are silver with gold gilding—thin sheet
of gold applied to surface.
After a model by Antoine-Denis Chaudet
Napoleon I
1810
1997.8
Shaping Identity
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
Plaster bust of Napoleon Bonaparte,
emperor of France who created a French
Empire reaching into Egypt and covering
much of Europe from 1800-1815.
•
He’s shown as youthful, and handsome.
•
Sculpture was made by the Sevres
Porcelain Manufactory, which was was a
royal manufactory. Busts and portraits of
the royal family was part of their larger
mandate.
•
Many versions of this bust were made to
glorify Napoleon to those around him.
They were distributed by Napoleon and
members of his family as official and
diplomatic gifts, often to members of
royalty from other countries.
J. Michallon the Younger
Caricature Busts
1830-40
1993.83-92 – Shaping Identity
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
Like Napoleon, these are plaster busts. Invite
your groups to compare how the Napoleon
portrait looks in comparison to these.
•
The artist of all of these portraits used humor
to create lighthearted caricatures of his
friends and politicians.
•
He looked carefully at the individual person,
paying close attention to her or his physical
characteristics, exaggerating some of them
to create caricatures. They had to look
enough like the person so that it was
recognizable but also play up some feature
to bring out the humor and absurdity.
•
Michallon even depicted himself and his wife
in this satirical style.
•
Cat on his portrait is a visual pun on his
name.
Francisco Goya
Dona Amalia Bonells de Costa
About 1805
41.80
•
(Doe-nya amal-ya bon-aye day coe-stah)
•
She was the wife of famous scientist who worked for the King of Spain.
•
She wears a mantilla (man-tee-ya), typical of Spanish women of her
time and class.
•
LABEL IS INACCURATE: THIS IS NOT A MOURNING COSTUME.
•
Notice the difference between the way her face is painted and the way
the rest of the work is painted; face is very smooth and detailed, while
clothing and background made up of looser brushstrokes.
•
Original painting was painted over; face is part of original painting.
•
Original portrait had her standing, wearing a floral dress, a more
transparent mantilla that made her dress and neck more visible; her face
was thinner (visible in x-rays).
•
Perhaps the sitter requested a re-painting after she was married;
changes would be consistent with custom of showing her as a reserved,
married and more mature woman.
•
Canvas was expensive, so re-painting was a good option.
Vincent Lopez
Duchess d’Almodovar
About 1805
T1994.96
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
D’Almodovar (d’alh-moe-doe-var)
•
This painting is included so you can compare it to the
adjacent portrait by Goya.
•
Lopez and Goya both worked as painters to the King
of Spain; very different styles.
•
Brushstrokes not as apparent in Lopez’s work; more
“finished” looking.
•
Lopez much more popular with court because of his
more flattering style.
•
Today, Goya is praised for his innovation.
Goya
Lopez
Both paintings are examples of a new kind of portrait at the start of the 19th century that
reflects the uncertainties of the age of revolutions.
Before 19th century:
When Goya and Lopez are painting:
•
Glorify and flatter sitters by painting them in
luxurious clothing
•
Individuality of the person is emphasized
•
Middle class sitters (not just superwealthy)
•
Portray sitters as ancient Romans, gods, or
saints
•
Sitters want to be portrayed as contemplative
and considerate of serious issues
•
Include symbols of education and interests
PERSONAL AND CULTURAL IDENTITY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Joshua Reynolds
The Cottagers
1788
55.278
This painting is related to the Enlightenment,
a period following the American and French
Revolutions where nature was seen as
superior.
True virtue and beauty was to be found in
the simplicity of life.
This is a wealthy family (Thomas Macklin, a
London publisher) that never worked a farm
but it was fashionable at the time to be seen
this way.
The women represent the lofty notion that
the family has intellectual status.
The image of beauty and purity also implied
intellectual status.
Child (Miss Macklin) = purity
Young Woman (Miss Potts) = fruitfulness
Mature Woman (Wife of Macklin) = domestic
economy
Thomas Gainsborough
Lady Anne Hamilton
Painted between 1777–80
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Use this painting to compare and contrast with
Cottagers
Painting depicts a Countess, Lady Anne
Hamilton, wife of the Earl of Doneghall.
Several clues tell us she chose to represent
herself as a wealthy aristocrat, with relaxed
power.
She wears a dress of costly silk and lace, She
rests her elbow on ermine fur, Her hair is styled
in a high bouffant, fashionable for the time.
The background shows an expansive estate.
The largest source of wealth for the aristocracy
was land.
Seated at the entrance to her country estate,
this denotes a sense of oneness with the land
during this period following the start of the
Industrial Revolution.
This is the largest sized portrait done at the
time, which was also the most expensive, and
she hired one of the two most famous portrait
painters in the country.
New!
PERSONAL IDENTITY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Anonymous
Sir William Brereton
1579
50.194
Shaping Identity
b. 1550 / d.1631
English politician who sat in the House of
Commons at various times between 1597
and 1622.
He was about 9 when his father died in
1559 and he inherited the extensive
family estates.
He was educated at Oxford.
The cameo depicts Queen Elizabeth I in
recognition for meritorious service to the
crown.
The inscription states that he is 28 years
old and a soldier.
The Coat of Arms was added when he
was knighted in 1588.
His lavish costume would have cost many
times the annual earnings of the average
person.
Alexandre Roslin
Louis-Phillippe, Duc d’Orleans, Saluting his
Army on the Battlefield
1757
80.36
PERSONAL / NATIONAL IDENTITY
•Distant cousin of King Louis XV, France (1725-85)
•Field commander during Seven Years War (1756-63)
•Leader on horseback hearkens back to ancient
Rome: “I am a strong, confident, powerful leader.”
•Gentlemanly expression and gesture, luxurious
attire evidence of class stature.
•Significance of horseback – elevated; controlling a
powerful stallion.
•Landscape / territory is vast
NEW!
•
Represents the Old Testament figure of Rebecca, the bride of
Isaac.
•
In the story, Abraham sends a servant to look for a suitable
bride for his son Isaac.
•
The servant finds Rebecca and takes her to meet Isaac.
•
When Rebecca learned who he was she covered her face with
a veil - the veil over the face is a gesture of modesty.
•
This form of sculptural virtuosity appealed to a modern
audience keen on the sensual qualities of the veiled figure,
while simultaneously keeping within the bounds of modesty as
demanded by the subject and by propriety.
1872
23.10
•
This type of “neo-classical” sculpture, which harkens back to
ancient Greece and Rome, was popular with the aristocracy.
CULTURAL IDENTITY
•
This artist also sculpted Zephyr Dancing with Flora.
Giovanni Maria Benzoni
Veiled Lady
Shaping Identity
Great object for visual exploration!
THE GRAND TOUR AND ANCIENT WORLD
•
•
•
•
•
•
Canaletto
The Piazza San Marco
about 1738/1740
43.38
NATIONAL IDENTITY
Shaping Identity
Veduta (veh-DO-tuh) – “view”
•
•
•
This public square sits at the heart of
Venice – it is considered the most
impressive public space in the city.
All tourists on the Grand Tour would
have visited here.
At the left is the freestanding campanile
(bell tower) of St. Mark’s.
At right is the clock tower.
The Church of St. Geminiano in the
center distance was torn down by order
of Napoleon in 1807.
Cloth vendors at their stalls greet
visitors, many of whom are tourists and
members of the English elite.
The artist is using a rigorous
mathematical understanding of
perspective.
The function of this painting, or
paintings of this type, was made on
commission by those on the Grand
Tour.
A painting such as this would serve as
a memento.
Thomas Gainsborough
Top: Sir John Edward Swinburne, 1785
Bottom: Edward Swinburne, 1785
49.507 & 49.508
PERSONAL IDENTITY
Shaping Identity
•
•
•
•
•
•
Wealthy young men in the 1700s headed to Italy for the
Grand Tour.
They traveled with artists, intellectuals, and servants.
Tutors were supplied for those that were young.
This was part of their formal education.
While both brothers went on the Grand Tour, it is
believed that only Edward completed the trip.
Sir John inherited the baronetcy and was elected to
Parliament.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Salvator Rosa
Self Portrait
1650s
66.191
Rosa was a painter, poet, printmaker, musician, actor,
and satirist.
Active in Florence, Rome, and Naples.
He was among the first to paint turbulent landscapes
peopled with shepherds, biblical figures, and brigands
– these were among his most popular works.
He became known as extravagant and unorthodox, a
“perpetual rebel.”
He rejected the traditional patron/artist relationship
and refused to paint on commission or agree on a
price beforehand.
He also rejected interference in the choice of subject.
It is thought that he dabbled in witchcraft.
“I do not paint to enrich myself but purely for my own
satisfaction. I must allow myself to be carried away by
the transports of enthusiasm and use my brushes only
when I feel myself rapt.”
PERSONAL IDENTITY
Shaping Identity
The Finding of Moses, 1660/1665
47.92
•
(vel-ahs-kez)
•
This painting is a mystery – we are not sure who he is.
•
Some scholars think he is Don Juan de Fonseca, who
brought Velazquez to Madrid and introduced his work to
the king with a single portrait – this may be that portrait.
•
Velazquez went on to become a very influential artist.
•
Painted many portraits of the royal family.
•
Spanish kings did not send their paintings to other courts,
so Velazquez was not well known.
•
In the late 1800s, the Prado Museum in Madrid was
established, and royal paintings were donated;
Velazquez’s works became public for the first time.
•
Was hugely influential on painters 200 years after his
death.
•
Amazingly life-like, true to life, dispassionate observation
of reality.
•
Loose brush stroke – up close may look “messy” but
lifelike when step back (in garment and on face); very
unusual for the artist’s time.
Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velazquez
A Man
1599/1560
29.264
Taking a Fresh Look!
•
Painted when Spain was still ruling much of Western Europe.
•
Ferdinand was appointed by Spanish king Philip IV to be governor
of Spanish Netherlands in 1634; he was the king’s brother.
•
On his way to Netherlands, his Catholic army fought German
Protestants at Nordlingen – a turning point in the 30 Years War.
•
This painting celebrates the victory of the battle of Nordlingen.
•
Flying eagle represents the Habsburgs, the Spanish king’s (and
Ferdinand’s) family.
•
“Divine genius” hurls thunderbolt.
•
Battle scene in background; visible only because horse rears;
composition is tight and carefully arranged to tell a story.
•
Ferdinand looks calm, in control on a rearing, powerful horse –
heroic.
•
Princely portraits would not show leader engaged in combat – he’s
separate to retain dignity.
•
Painting is a sketch for the final version; look closely to see
changes, unfinished areas particularly around horse’s hoofs,
Ferdinand’s hand; loose, long strokes in background.
Peter Paul Rubens
Archduke Ferdinand
About 1635
47.58
PERSONAL IDENTITY / NATIONAL IDENTITY
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Roman
Statue of the Young Nero
Wearing a Toga
50 CE
69.218
Shaping Identity
This portrait announced that Emperor Claudius had
named Nero, his adopted son, as his heir.
Claudius ordered artists to sculpt and display portraits of
Nero throughout the empire.
This level of propaganda was necessary because
Claudius had chosen his stepson Nero over his
biological son.
Nero was the 5th emperor of the Roman Empire.
He began to be groomed as the next emperor at the age
of 14.
He is wearing the toga virilis (a garment reserved for
grown men) which demonstrates that he’s ready to take
on the responsibilities of emperor.
Three years after this portrait was made, Emperor
Claudius was murdered and Nero went on to become
one of the most hated emperors of Rome.
Panathenaic Amphora
375/370 BCE
50.193.A – B
Shaping Identity
CULTURAL IDENTITY
•
The winner of the foot race would be awarded 70 of
these filled with olive oil.
•
Olive oil was valuable and used for cooking, lamps,
bathing, and massaging the muscles – this would
have made the athlete very wealthy.
•
The Panathenaic Games were held in honor of the
goddess Athena.
Strigil set nearby:
Athletes rubbed
themselves with olive oil
and scraped sweat and oil
off with these!
Diego Rivera
DETROIT INDUSTRY
PERSONAL / CULTURAL / SOCIAL /
GENDERED / MICHIGAN IDENTITY
Shaping Identity, Art of the Americas,
Spanish
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
EVERYONE should be prepared to tour Rivera Ct. even though it is not a mandatory
stop for any tour except Spanish Speaking World
Most tours should be in the gallery for no longer than 10-15 minutes
Information shared during the tour should focus on the narrative
After a brief intro, consider asking them what they want to know
Captains have the right to remind you if your time is up
Be sure to inform your groups about the volunteer who is there and the iPad
Be careful about turning your back to your group, pointing and speaking into the wall –
you will not be heard by those at the back of your group
There are some minor errors in the study guide and with Acoustiguide. For the
updated, latest and greatest please refer to the iPad or attend one of the trainings to be
held on October 25 and December 17.

Shaping Identity - Detroit Institute of Arts

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