[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.24,0:00:04.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[music playing]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.74,0:00:07.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Let's talk about Campin's Merode Altarpiece
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.60,0:00:09.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which is in the Cloisters in New York.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.60,0:00:11.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: And, in fact, we're not really sure it's by Campin.\NWe're guessing but usually
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.80,0:00:16.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there's a little question mark after his name \Nand so art historians do this funny thing where
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.77,0:00:18.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they'll make up a name if they're not sure.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.53,0:00:22.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, we definitely know it's this person \Nwe've invented called the Master of Flemalle
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.46,0:00:24.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: We have a triptych. \NThree panels on the left.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.66,0:00:28.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The donors on, in the center panel, \Na scene of the Annunciation
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.24,0:00:30.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and on the right, Joseph
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.24,0:00:31.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: It's such a great example \Nof the North.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.94,0:00:33.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's relatively small.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.46,0:00:35.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a portable object.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.04,0:00:38.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: It's small because it was made\Nfor someone's private home.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.22,0:00:41.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: As opposed to the sort \Nof the public art that we're used
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.76,0:00:42.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to seeing in Italy.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.68,0:00:46.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Right, giant altarpieces. \NSo, it's a good indication
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.16,0:00:50.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a change in who's buying art \Nto a sort of new upper-middle class,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.93,0:00:54.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who is very affluent who want to buy art \Nfor their private altarpieces
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.80,0:00:55.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in their homes.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.80,0:00:57.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: And that's beautifully reflected in
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.26,0:00:59.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this very odd decision of the artist
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.24,0:01:01.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to represent the Annunciation \Nin the middle, in
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.66,0:01:05.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what was then a modern\Ninterior environment.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.17,0:01:06.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In other words, this is the kind \Nof house that you would
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.93,0:01:08.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,see an altarpiece like this in.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.43,0:01:11.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Right, so it's sort \Nof the equivalent of doing the
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.22,0:01:13.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Annunciation in Brooklyn.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.13,0:01:14.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: She could be reading.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.27,0:01:16.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Maybe, she's\Nreading it on her iPod.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.63,0:01:18.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: That's right,\Nor she's looking at wikipedia. [laughing]
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.38,0:01:20.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: [laughing] Could be. Maybe she's\Nsitting in front of her laptop.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.47,0:01:21.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: So this would have looked \Nthat odd to people in
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.43,0:01:23.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the 15th century. In other words,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.55,0:01:25.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that this was sort of that out of time.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.27,0:01:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: But it was something \Nthat was appealing
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.00,0:01:29.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to them that out of time. \NIt made them feel
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.70,0:01:31.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that these figures were
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.22,0:01:34.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,closer to them \Nand that they could relate more
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.54,0:01:38.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,emotionally to what this must have been like
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.50,0:01:40.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for Mary as a woman \Nto have been told this.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.44,0:01:43.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To sort of get inside those feelings
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.55,0:01:45.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was an important, I think, way
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.96,0:01:48.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the early 15th century that people
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.51,0:01:49.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were connecting to God.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.80,0:01:51.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: It's interesting,\Nbecause that you say feelings,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.60,0:01:53.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because other important aspects
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.22,0:01:54.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are so different in Northern painting,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.94,0:01:55.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I think are beautifully
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.89,0:01:59.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,examined here, which is that\Nthere's such attention to the material.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.92,0:02:01.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Such attention to the materialilty,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.72,0:02:03.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to material culture. You know, everything
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.72,0:02:07.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is so specific. \NThe brass of the candle
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.67,0:02:09.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or the wood of the table and the way
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.29,0:02:11.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was constructed \Nand the carving and the
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.10,0:02:13.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cloth, and the beams of the ceiling.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.38,0:02:15.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Or Joseph's worktable \Nwith the grain
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.17,0:02:16.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the wood.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.22,0:02:17.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Oh, and all of the tools.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.70,0:02:19.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, and that's actually sort of a
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.63,0:02:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wonderful aspect. I've always imagined
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.00,0:02:22.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that one of the reasons that
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.43,0:02:23.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there was such attention to those
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.87,0:02:26.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tools is because Campin himself was the person,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.94,0:02:29.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was a craftsman. Was somebody who would've
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.05,0:02:31.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made this object, and so Joseph is --
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.79,0:02:34.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: And probably \Ngot the wood ready and prepared
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.68,0:02:37.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,his paints and made his brushes \Nand things like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.24,0:02:39.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: And so, this is kind of love \Nof that,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.51,0:02:40.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that material culture.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.89,0:02:42.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: But of course those things\Nare also symbols.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.80,0:02:43.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: All symbols.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.77,0:02:44.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Yes.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.71,0:02:48.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: And, in fact, there are\Na tremendous amount of symbols in here.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.09,0:02:49.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Yeah, more than we can recount, I think.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.97,0:02:52.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Yeah. Although there are a couple\Nof little details
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.05,0:02:53.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we probably \Nshould sort of point out.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.80,0:02:58.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of my favorites \Nis the little teeny image of Christ
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.47,0:03:01.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,surfing down on \Nthe little golden rays.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.93,0:03:02.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Yeah.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.94,0:03:05.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: With a cross on his back...
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.22,0:03:06.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,heading right to Mary,\Nby the way.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.100,0:03:09.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Right. Right\Nto her womb, actually.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.10,0:03:11.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: And then there's \Nthat fabulous almost starburst
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.17,0:03:12.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as her knee projects forward.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.74,0:03:13.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Uh-huh.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.74,0:03:15.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: And look how beautifully\Nrendered all of that
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.43,0:03:18.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,light and shadow is.\NAnd it's sort of so odd
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.51,0:03:21.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the artist is so technically proficient
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.80,0:03:24.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in rendering textures and forms.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.22,0:03:25.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: And, of course, \Nit's because they have oil paint.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.96,0:03:28.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Ah, and it's so luminous \Nas a result.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.22,0:03:32.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Right, and so we can get \Nthe reflections on the
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.38,0:03:34.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reflective surfaces \Nlike the brass candlestick
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.67,0:03:37.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or the brass pot \Nin the background, or the --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.19,0:03:38.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: The porcelain --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.19,0:03:40.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Of the vase or\Nthe heavy wool fabric,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.77,0:03:43.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I imagine, of Mary's dress.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.30,0:03:45.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: But then, at the same time, there's
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.43,0:03:46.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some real structural problems
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.71,0:03:48.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because in Italy by this time,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.14,0:03:49.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Brunelleschi is doing his thing, and
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.89,0:03:52.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,linear perspective is being understood.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.21,0:03:53.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this, this floor --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.60,0:03:54.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Now Masaccio would've
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.76,0:03:56.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cut his hands off if he had painted this.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.22,0:03:57.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[laughter]
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.43,0:03:59.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He would have been \Nvery unhappy with himself.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.00,0:03:59.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: That's right.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.80,0:04:01.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: He would have thought \Nhe made a big mistake.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.16,0:04:03.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Well, that's absolutely, \Nlook at the tabletop
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.01,0:04:04.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and look at how it \Ndisagrees with the floor,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.54,0:04:06.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is still too steep, \Nand there are
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.80,0:04:08.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just too many multiple, \Nsort of, perspectives here.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.79,0:04:10.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Right, and the room looks narrower
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.87,0:04:12.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the back than it does \Nin the front, and
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.61,0:04:13.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the floor looks like it tilts upward.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.89,0:04:15.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're looking at the top \Nof the table and the
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.27,0:04:17.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,side of things at the same time.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.16,0:04:18.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The space is all wrong. \NIn fact, the
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.94,0:04:21.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,figures are too large for the room,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.27,0:04:24.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the, the room is not --\Nit's packed with objects.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.47,0:04:26.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: There's no room for anyone \Nto walk around in.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.80,0:04:29.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it's not a real space.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.24,0:04:32.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: And it's fabulous in the information
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.14,0:04:34.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that it conveys. I have to tell you,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.22,0:04:36.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm especially in love with the most
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.88,0:04:38.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,distant views. If you look in the donor panel
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.74,0:04:40.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all the way on the left, and you look through
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.72,0:04:44.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the open door, you can \Nactually see the streetscape
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.26,0:04:46.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, you can see a horse \Nand you can actually see a shop --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.68,0:04:47.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: And people by a window.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.88,0:04:49.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: That's right. People\Nin the window.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.39,0:04:51.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And on the opposite side,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.46,0:04:52.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in back of Joseph,\Nand back of --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.66,0:04:54.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: A whole Flemish city back there.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.16,0:04:55.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Oh, it's incredible.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.16,0:04:56.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Yep
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.05,0:04:58.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: And, so it's all this important
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.39,0:05:00.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,religious symbolism placed within
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.24,0:05:02.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this modern mercantile environment.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.40,0:05:04.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: You know, with all this sort of
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.31,0:05:06.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mundane things of everyday life.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.37,0:05:07.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My favorite part are those shutters\Nabove Joseph on the ceilings,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.88,0:05:09.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those little hooks that hold the shutters\Nto get up
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.60,0:05:11.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that hold the shutters to get up
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.37,0:05:13.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then you can imagine them coming down,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.48,0:05:16.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you can see how the bolts in the wood there
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.43,0:05:18.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how rust is stripped down and
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.07,0:05:21.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this attention to things\Nthat are so seemingly mundane
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.65,0:05:25.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and unimportant next to this\Nvery, very sacred moment.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.84,0:05:28.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>> So what exactly is it \Nthat Joseph is making there?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.44,0:05:30.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: I think he's making a mousetrap.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.32,0:05:32.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: Because of course the trap for the devil.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.10,0:05:33.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,>>: And there's lots \Nof other symbols too.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.40,0:05:38.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[music playing]