Introduction

Art History Online - Final Exam

Into the Depths of Hell

Yucaipa, CA

Joshua Pico

Works shown:

• The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun (Rev. 12: 1-4)
• Saint Michael Overwhelming the Dragon
• Satan and Beelzebub
• Orpheus Charming the Animals
• Belphagore
• Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons
• Barque of Dante
• The Garden of Earthly Delights
• The Gates of Hell
• Satan before the Lord

Exhibition Introduction

The Inferno

Artist’s: 

• William Black 
• Raffaello Santi
• Sir Thomas Lawrence
• Guiseppe Cades
• Jean-Baptiste Oudry
• Martin Schongauer
• Eugène Delacroix
• Hieronymus Bosch
• Auguste Rodin
• Corrado Giaquinto

                The theme to my exhibition is the underworld and although we as humans can never truly know what hell, demons, or Satan may look like the artists presented in this exhibit give their visual imagining of the theme. The connection between all of the works is quite simple. They all deal with the underworld, or hell. They also present the demons in charge of these netherworlds and the punishments faced by man. The selection of artists was strictly based on the theme. I made these connections through strong visual evidence and some are based on stories and myths.

Satan before the Lord

Artist: Corrado Giaquinto

Media: Oil on Canvas

Date: 1750

Dimensions: 46.06 in. x 34.65 in.

“The painting depicts God addressing a devil, who in turn points downward. The devil has the usual attributes of the fallen angel: dark colouring, bats' wings, pointed ears. The painting has a pendant: Job Sacrificing to God to Ask for Blessings on His Sons. The lunette shape of the two compositions, their dimensions, and the swift manner in which they were executed suggests two sketches for frescoes, perhaps part of a more extensive cycle. The two paintings were first attributed to Sebastiano Conca then to Corrado Giaquinto. However, neither attributions are convincing.” Web Gallery of Art

Corrado Giaquinto was born February 18, 1703. He apprenticed with Saverio Porta, and by October 1724 he left his hometown of Molfetta and began training in the Neapolitan studio of Francesco Solimena between 1719 and 1723. In 1730 he was commissioned by King John V of Portugal for the Cathedral of the Mafra. In 1731, he was commissioned to execute frescoes in the church of San Nicola dei Lorenesi. In 1740 he becomes a member of the Academy of Saint Luke. He died in 1765.

                 

This painting does not take place in hell, but instead it takes place in heaven where God is banishing Lucifer to hell. Lucifer was an angel that grew jealous of God’s love of humans. He tried to overthrow God but was not successful. This is where the idea of Satan is given rise and therefore fits within the theme. I chose this piece because I like the myth behind the creation of Satan and where he emerged from.

The Gates of Hell

Artist: Auguste Rodin, cast by Alexis Rudier

Media: Bronze

Date: Modeled 1880-1917; Cast 1926-28

Dimensions: 20 feet 10 3/4 inches x 13 feet 2 inches x 33 3/8 inches

“In 1880 Rodin was commissioned to create a set of bronze doors for a new museum in Paris. Inspired by The Divine Comedy, written by Dante Alighieri (Italian, c. 1265–1324), Rodin planned to decorate the doors with characters that Dante met on his fictional journey through hell. The sculptor eventually discarded the idea of a strict narrative and instead created a weightless, chaotic world filled with more than 200 figures in the throes of pain and despair. Although the planned museum never came to fruition, Rodin worked on the sculpture for nearly thirty-seven years, periodically adding, removing, or modifying elements on it.”

Auguste Rodin was born November 12, 1840. He attended Petite Ecole in Paris for decorative arts. He had applied for renowned Ecole des Beaux-Arts three times but was rejected each time. Rodin became interlocked with controversy when he cast a bronze statue without the use of a live model. Nobody believed he did such a thing because his work was believed to be too realistic. He was commissioned to build the doorway to the future Museum of Decorative Art but he died before he could finish it. That doorway was the “Gates of Hell”. He died November 17, 1917.

             
This doorway was originally intended to display the sites that Dante saw through his trip in the nine circles of hell, however the artist thought that was too complex and decided to generalize it by just displaying a slew of demons, which is a part of the theme. I chose this work because it shows how demons and the idea of hell are even embedded in permanent structures like buildings.

The Garden of Earthly Delights

Artist: Hieronymus Bosch

Media: Oil on wood

Date: c. 1503-1504

Dimensions: 220 cm. x 389 cm.

“Bosch's most famous and unconventional picture is The Garden of Earthly Delights (c.1500; Prado, Madrid) which, like most of his other ambitious works, is a large, 3-part altarpiece, called a triptych. This painting was probably made for the private enjoyment of a noble family. It is named for the luscious garden in the central panel, which is filled with cavorting nudes and giant birds and fruit. The triptych depicts the history of the world and the progression of sin. Beginning on the outside shutters with the creation of the world, the story progresses from Adam and Eve and original sin on the left panel to the torments of hell, a dark, icy, yet fiery nightmarish vision, on the right. The Garden of Delights in the center illustrates a world deeply engaged in sinful pleasures.” WebMuseum, Paris

Hieronymus Bosch was born in c. 1450. Very little is known about Bosch because he kept no records of his own life through diary and there are no letters available that could account for his life. The only records known are from his hometown, Hertogenbosch. He married in 1480 to Aleyt Goyaerts van den Meerveen. He picked up most of his painting techniques from a religious group called the Brotherhood of Our Lady. He is attributed with 25 works, none of which are dated. He died in 1516.

             
My favorite paintings have always been from the Renaissance period because they had the best depictions of what hell would look like. I find the visuals of torture in this painting to be quite entertaining because they are over exaggerated. The abnormal creatures are also enjoyable to view. This artwork fits the theme because of its representation of hell and its numerous demons.