On September 10th I was given the opportunity to attend a very unique lecture presented by Dr. Rebecca Compton about Florentine altarpieces. Not fully knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised at how fascinating and intricate this early form of art was. I found the lecture to be incredibly fascinating and valuable to me as an art student here at the College of Charleston.
Dr. Compton’s lecture discussed Florentine altar painting from the end of the 14th century to the beginning of the 15th century. Her lecture focused on the work of Giovanni al Ponte, a painter in Florence during the 1420s. Using his work, Dr. Compton was able to explain in the long process of altar painting and the hard work that went in to creating these elaborate declarations of faith.
Dr. Compton defined what an altarpiece was, and what purpose they served for the church. She stated that altarpieces served three main purposes. An altarpiece first served to tell a story for the illiterate. During the 14th and 15th century, many people remained illiterate, and altarpieces served as a visual narrative. Secondly, altarpieces called to mind the story of Jesus and served as a visual reminder of Jesus’ life. Lastly, altarpieces existed to excite and stimulate the viewer to allow for a more powerful religious experience.
All altarpieces first begin with wood panels. These panels then were be prepared with gesso (gypsum mixed with animal glue). The gessoing process was a long one, it took approximately four layers of rough gessoing and eight layers of smooth gessoing, this process took days to complete. After this, the artist could then incise the design with Tempera. Tempera paint dries extremely quickly, so work had to be done quickly and efficiently on those panels. After the tempera design is completed, the panels were prepared for gilding. Gilding, or the process of applying gold leaf or gold paint, increased the overall effect of the altarpiece immensely. 24 karat gold is poured and spread into sheets that are almost transparent. According to Dr. Compton, the gilding cost is one half the cost of the entire altarpiece and is incredibly expensive.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of the lecture, for me, was learning of the time and effort that went in to making the pigments of the paint for altarpieces. Altarpiece painters would visit guild apothecaries for mixed pigments, which came from different parts of the world and took hours to create. The clothing of the religious figures on altarpieces gave the artists an opportunity to use color, but using color wasn’t the same as it is for painters in the contemporary world. Pigments took time and money. The color “Red Lake”, for instance, came from the insect Cochineal, which was imported from India. To dip something in this dye just one time costed nearly two hundred dollars. To dip it twice was four hundred. The color “Ultramarine Blue”, from the lapis lazuli rock was incredibly labor intensive. To get the pigment from the rock, one would have to knead the stone for forty hours under lye to produce pigment. On top of this, Ultramarine Blue costed nearly $3,330 an ounce.
As an artist, I have always bought my canvases, bought my paint, and all of my art supplies, which only takes some gas to drive to the nearest art supply store. I never really thought about how painting must have been during a time when these supplies weren’t readily available. Dr. Compton’s lecture gave me valuable insight and the upmost respect for artists of the 14th and 15th century.
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Dr. Compton’s “The Glory of Color: Pigments in Early Florentine Altarpieces”
On September 10th I was given the opportunity to attend a very unique lecture presented by Dr. Rebecca Compton about Florentine altarpieces. Not fully knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised at how fascinating and intricate this early form of art was. I found the lecture to be incredibly fascinating and valuable to me as an art student here at the College of Charleston.
Dr. Compton’s lecture discussed Florentine altar painting from the end of the 14th century to the beginning of the 15th century. Her lecture focused on the work of Giovanni al Ponte, a painter in Florence during the 1420s. Using his work, Dr. Compton was able to explain in the long process of altar painting and the hard work that went in to creating these elaborate declarations of faith.
Dr. Compton defined what an altarpiece was, and what purpose they served for the church. She stated that altarpieces served three main purposes. An altarpiece first served to tell a story for the illiterate. During the 14th and 15th century, many people remained illiterate, and altarpieces served as a visual narrative. Secondly, altarpieces called to mind the story of Jesus and served as a visual reminder of Jesus’ life. Lastly, altarpieces existed to excite and stimulate the viewer to allow for a more powerful religious experience.
All altarpieces first begin with wood panels. These panels then were be prepared with gesso (gypsum mixed with animal glue). The gessoing process was a long one, it took approximately four layers of rough gessoing and eight layers of smooth gessoing, this process took days to complete. After this, the artist could then incise the design with Tempera. Tempera paint dries extremely quickly, so work had to be done quickly and efficiently on those panels. After the tempera design is completed, the panels were prepared for gilding. Gilding, or the process of applying gold leaf or gold paint, increased the overall effect of the altarpiece immensely. 24 karat gold is poured and spread into sheets that are almost transparent. According to Dr. Compton, the gilding cost is one half the cost of the entire altarpiece and is incredibly expensive.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of the lecture, for me, was learning of the time and effort that went in to making the pigments of the paint for altarpieces. Altarpiece painters would visit guild apothecaries for mixed pigments, which came from different parts of the world and took hours to create. The clothing of the religious figures on altarpieces gave the artists an opportunity to use color, but using color wasn’t the same as it is for painters in the contemporary world. Pigments took time and money. The color “Red Lake”, for instance, came from the insect Cochineal, which was imported from India. To dip something in this dye just one time costed nearly two hundred dollars. To dip it twice was four hundred. The color “Ultramarine Blue”, from the lapis lazuli rock was incredibly labor intensive. To get the pigment from the rock, one would have to knead the stone for forty hours under lye to produce pigment. On top of this, Ultramarine Blue costed nearly $3,330 an ounce.
As an artist, I have always bought my canvases, bought my paint, and all of my art supplies, which only takes some gas to drive to the nearest art supply store. I never really thought about how painting must have been during a time when these supplies weren’t readily available. Dr. Compton’s lecture gave me valuable insight and the upmost respect for artists of the 14th and 15th century.