OCCLUSION ISSUES IN EARLY RENAISSANCE ART

Barbara Gillam

University of New South Wales

Epiktetos (c 500 BC)

Unknown (third Q 6th C BC)

Unknown (966) New Minster Charter: King Edgar of England: Presenting the Charter to God.

* Early Renaissance

* More naturalistic scenes

* Portraying occlusion and segregation of surfaces become important.

Bartolo di Fredi (c 1395)

- The Adoration of the Magi

Giotto (1303-1305)

1. Reducing confusions due to occlusion*by viewpoint.*by occlusion cues*by placement of objects on ground plane

2. The problem of occlusion of faces and haloes

3. Tolerance of intransitivity of occluding surfaces and impossible figures

Sano di Pietro (1445)

HIGH VIEWPOINT REMOVES SOME CONFUSION.

DUCCIO

(from Maesta completed 1311)

Pieter Bruegel (1559)

Bembo Bonifacio (c 1494)

Occluding surface terminations.

Perceptual rather than cognitive occlusion.

Sienese painter (1482)

Giotto (1303-1305)

Master of occlusion cues.

Gillam & Chan (2002)

Ambrogio Lorenzetti (1342)

Masterly use of ground plane to place figures

Duccio (1308-1311) from the Maesta

Ambrogio Lorenzetti (1342)

Halos surrounding heads reduce confusion.

Duccio (1285) Rucellai Madonna

Duccio

Maesta (1308-1311)

Giotto (1310)

Ognissanti Madonna

Haloes as occludersPhysical objects.

Giotto 1303-5

Giotto 1303-5

Giotto (1303-1305)

Giotto (1303-1305)

Giotto (1303-1305)

Pietro Lorenzetti (c 1315)

Beato Angelico (c 1431)

Reverse halos

Duccio (1308-1311)

Duccio

Simone Martini (c 1312 or c 1337)

Guyart des Molins (third Q 14th C)No halos in front

Fra Angelico (c 1440-1442)

Duccio

Ambrogio Lorenzetti

Giotto

Duccio 1308-11