Dürer, Four Apostles

[@emmadaley313]

We're using these videos in my art history class and we've had a lot of readings lately, so when I saw it was another video with y'all I got excited! My fave art history duo

[@jackiegoyette8406]

I love this video! so interesting! thank you for this series!

[@ajmittendorf]

The sword is also a symbol, because it was Paul who wrote in Ephesians (chapter 6) about the armour of God and declared that the "sword of the Spirit . . . is the word of God." So as Paul holds the Bible and the sword, he is symbolically holding two different aspects of the Bible: a book and a weapon. The pen, in this case, is as mighty as the sword, for the two are one. ;)

[@Sasha0927]

St. Mark seems to disappear... I love what Dr. Harris said about having a personal relationship with God. Go figure, one of the first things I want to buy with my first PM check is an illustrated, hard-cover Bible I can enjoy looking at and take notes in. I'm excited to see what's available to that end. Paul is my all-time favorite apostle, so it's nice to see him make an "angry and defensive" appearance, lol. Sounds about right. Paul had such a tender heart for the people of God, but didn't take any crap! 😂 I feel like a chip off his block.

[@RichardCorral]

keep 'em coming

[@gerardsluke]

This is one of my favorite paintings because of the deep spiritual elements (Rembrandt's "Christ in the Storm of Galilee" is another fav...I imagine he was inspired by Durer's personal faith depicted.) My students always ask about the faith of artists. I tell them some have made paintings and sculptures of Biblical characters, but we really don't know what their hearts believed. We don't really know if some artists were Christians. Durer did. And he showed us.

[@inesmourao3628]

Ty, this vídeo helped me a lot ^^

[@ajmittendorf]

ANOTHER question: This video describes the significance of John, Peter and Paul very clearly, but not Mark. What is his role in this diptych, that he should be included as one of the four here? Thank you.

[@claymarzobestgoofy]

Awesome thanks!

[@ajmittendorf]

It might also be good to point out that, while it's never directly stated in the Bible, there are strong suggestions of a state of competition between Peter and John, especially from Peter. The fact that John is in the forefront of the left side of the diptych suggests that Peter has conceded to John, which is interesting.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

That pairing is always interesting, especially in Italian Renaissance painting.

[@ajmittendorf]

Question: I've been getting two terms confused, and I wish to clear that up. The background in this diptych is dark and mysterious. In art, especially in the Baroque, that technique is NOT called "Tennebrism," as I had thought. What is the correct term?

[@zephiel70]

Is chiaroscuro what you're looking for? Chiaroscuro allows you to see things in the background vs tenebrism, which has completely black backgrounds. I'd say this diptych is tenebrism, something Durer's known for.

[@ajmittendorf]

@@zephiel70 Thank you for your response, but, while I can never spell "chiaroscuro" on my own, I do understand it. The word I'm looking for is not the black background but the dramatic tension between light and shadow. That is the best I can remember the definition, but I can't look it up without knowing what I'm looking for. LOL Thank you, though.

[@zephiel70]

@@ajmittendorf I totally understand, I'm often stuck in the same predicament xD good luck!

[@euanthorburn8135]

♡

[@hetalchudasama]

One suggestion please. The background sound inserted in these videos of museum goers is distracting and it just seems gimmicky. Doing away with it holds the integrity of subject. Occasionally this background sound is louder than the speaker. These unnecessary production tricks are waste of time and do not necessary add any thing relevant to the subject. So why have it?

[@smarthistory-art-history]

We record our conversations in museums while looking at the work we are discussing. Happily these galleries are often busy with people who are delighted to be there. The noise you hear is simply the happy hum of others on the day we visited the Alte Pinakothek. The world is chaotic and imperfect, and that is where its beauty resides.