What is the political purpose of a work of art?

1. What is the political purpose of a work of art?

3. The Bayeux TapestryRomanesque Period 1050-11501066 Battle of HastingsDuke Williams II of Normandy The Bayeux Tapestry (actually an embroidery measuring over 230 feet long and 20 inches wide) describes the Norman invasion of England and the events that led up to it. It is believed that the Tapestry was commissioned by Bishop Odo, bishop of Bayeux and the half-brother of William the Conqueror. The Tapestry contains hundreds of images divided into scenes each describing a particular event. The scenes are joined into a linear sequence allowing the viewer to "read" the entire story starting with the first scene and progressing to the last. The Tapestry would probably have been displayed in a church for public view. History is written by the victors and the Tapestry is above all a Norman document. In a time when the vast majority of the population was illiterate, the Tapestry's images were designed to tell the story of the conquest of England from the Norman perspective. It focuses on the story of William, making no mention of Hardrada of Norway nor of Harold's victory at Stamford Bridge.

4. Ambrogio LorenzettiView of the frescoesSala dei Nove, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena 1338-40

5. Ambrogio Lorenzetti's most revolutionary achievement - one of the most remarkable accomplishments of the Renaissance - is the fresco series that lines three walls of the room in the Palazzo Pubblico where Siena's chief magistrates, the Nine, held their meetings (Sala dei Nove). These frescoes offer an argument about what constitutes good government. The frescoes make a further argument about why good government matters….

6. Ambrogio LorenzettiAllegory of the Good Government1338-40 Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

7. Ambrogio LorenzettiDetail: Allegory of the Good Government1338-40 Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

8. Ambrogio LorenzettiDetail: Allegory of the Good Government1338-40 Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

9. Detail: Allegory of the Good Government1338-40 Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

10. Ambrogio Lorenzettidetail: Effects of Good Government on the City Life 1338-40 Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

11. Ambrogio Lorenzettidetail: Effects of Good Government on the City Life

16. Ambrogio Lorenzettidetail: Effects of Good Government in the Countryside

17. Ambrogio Lorenzettidetail: Effects of Good Government in the Countryside

18. Ambrogio Lorenzettidetail: Effects of Good Government in the Countryside

19. Ambrogio Lorenzettidetail: Effects of Good Government in the Countryside

20. Ambrogio Lorenzettidetail: Effects of Good Government in the Countryside

21. Paolo Uccello • He was fascinated with perspective. • Thee three scenes from the Battle of San Romano represent a new, more realistic way of depicting space—called linear perspective. • Linear perspective uses a single vanishing point.

22. What is the purpose of these paintings? They once decorated three walls of a bed chamber in the Medici Palace—at one point this bedroom was occupied by Lorenzo the Magnificent.

23. Paolo Uccello Niccolò da Tolentino Leads the Florentine Troops1450sTempera on wood, 182 x 320 cmNational Gallery, London

24. Detail Paolo Uccello Niccolò da Tolentino Leads the Florentine Troops1450s

25. Paolo Uccello Bernardino della Ciarda Thrown Off His Horse1450sTempera on wood, 182 x 220 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

26. Detail Paolo Uccello Bernardino della Ciarda Thrown Off His Horse1450s

27. Detail Paolo Uccello Bernardino della Ciarda Thrown Off His Horse1450s

29. Paolo Uccello Micheletto da Cotignola Engages in Battle1450sTempera on wood, 180 x 316 cmMusée du Louvre, Paris

30. Detail Paolo Uccello Micheletto da Cotignola Engages in Battle