The Annunciation is a Christian celebration of the iconic moment that the archangel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother to the Son of God, Jesus. The story of the Annunciation derives chiefly from the biblical Gospel of Luke, and has been portrayed abundantly and variously in many visual art forms from the earliest centuries of Christianity and Christian iconography. This essay will explore the depiction of the Annunciation and symbolism in the period of the Italian Renaissance and pay particular attention towards the development of the focus on spiritualism towards naturalism through the refined language of expression and gesture from the 14th century to the late 15th century. As a student of Duccio di Buoninsegna who was an Italian artist and actively worked in the city of Siena, Tuscany, Simone Martini's most famous painting "The Annunciation and the Two Saints" (1333) (Fig. 1) shows influence of the Sienese style of painting at a time when Byzantine art was very popular in the 14th century (Kleiner, 2010:387). This is made evident by the expansive use of gold in the background space behind the figures and flowing throughout the panelled-painting, the attention paid particularly to decorative pattern, as well as the detail and subtle use of sinuous line and rich colours to create pattern, which are all characteristics of Sienese-styled religious iconography. The painting is considered very beautiful, executed with tight, elegant brushstrokes and bears a medieval interest in the representation of the supernatural and spiritual. The overall artwork is composed of a large panel containing 'The Annunciation' with two others flanking it said to have been painted by Lippo Memmi, wh... ... middle of paper ... ...w York, NY. Britannica Educational Publishing. - Kulenovic, R. 2004. The Annuncition Lionardo da Vinci [online]. Available: http://www.johner.moreinfo.se/museer-firenze-uffizierna-annunciation-en.shtml [2014, May 14th] - Bibliography Bibliography - Shea, R. 2004. Marcia Myers: Twenty Years Paintings & Works on Paper 1982–2002. Manchester, United States: Hudson Hills. - The Bible: English Standard Version. 2001. Illinois, United States of America. Crossway Bibles. - Van Dijk, A. 1999. The Angelic Salutation in Early Byzantine and Medieval Annunciation Imagery. The Art Bulletin. 81(3): 420-436). - Von Rohr Scaff, S. 2002. The Virgin Annunciate in Italian Art of the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance. College Literature. 29(3):109-123. - Web Gallery of Art. n.d. Available: http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/l/leonardo/01/2annunc.html [2014, May 10th]
Another example of Christian iconography is The Transfiguration. It is located in the Church of Saint Catherine’s monaster...
By most accounts, the year 1500 was in the midst of the height of the Italian Renaissance. In that year, Flemmish artist Jean Hey, known as the “Master of Moulins,” painted “The Annunciation” to adorn a section of an alter piece for his royal French patrons. The painting tells the story of the angel Gabriel’s visit to the Virgin Mary to deliver the news that she will give birth to the son of God. As the story goes, Mary, an unwed woman, was initially terrified about the prospects of pregnancy, but eventually accepts her fate as God’s servant. “The Annunciation” is an oil painting on a modest canvas, three feet tall and half as wide. The setting of the painting is a study, Mary sitting at a desk in the bottom right hand corner reading, and the angel Gabriel behind her holding a golden scepter, perhaps floating and slightly off the canvas’s center to the left. Both figures are making distinct hand gestures, and a single white dove, in a glowing sphere of gold, floats directly above Mary’s head. The rest of the study is artistic but uncluttered: a tiled floor, a bed with red sheets, and Italian-style architecture. “The Annunciation” was painted at a momentous time, at what is now considered the end of the Early Renaissance (the majority of the 15th Century) and the beginning of the High Renaissance (roughly, 1495 – 1520). Because of its appropriate placement in the Renaissance’s timeline and its distinctly High Renaissance characteristics, Jean Hey’s “Annunciation” represents the culmination of the transition from the trial-and-error process of the Early Renaissance, to the technical perfection that embodied the High Renaissance. Specifically, “Annunciation” demonstrates technical advancements in the portrayal of the huma...
Ruskin, John. “Grotesque Renaissance.” The Stones of Venice: The Fall. 1853. New York: Garland Publishing, 1979. 112-65. Rpt. in Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1989. 21-2.
First is Rogier Van der Weyden, “The Deposition” on which such terms Skull of Adam which explains reminder Christ died to redeem Adam’s sin and Symbol of Archer’s guild which tells tiny crossbows to act as a reminder that Ghent Archer’s Guild paid for Altarpiece in the painting. Another culture in France, which has one of the famous art pieces that explain the Disguised Symbolism, and is Limbourg Brothers (Pol, Herman, Jean) October 1413-1416. This painting describes "The Limbourg brothers expanded the illusionistic capabilities of manuscript painting with their care in rendering architectural details and convincing depiction of cast shadows” (Kleiner 571). My initial impressions of this painting are the functional calendar across the top and castle scene below complete with a horse. Within the bottom picture, I noticed the unfortunate individual in ragged clothes lower in the picture. The farming rows separate the landowner on horseback plowing then a hunter. Higher up is the river and fishermen, then individuals with fancier dress including hates walking a street. Highest in the bottom picture is the castle for nobility. The tallest tower touches the above picture of a god driving a chariot. The very top is the calendar month which shows pictures representing astrological signs of the
Smith, R. “Eternal objects of desire. Art Review- Art and love in Renaissance Italy” in New York Times Art and Design, November 20, (2008)
In conclusion, painters like Sano di Pietro and the unknown artists of The Virgin and Child Enthroned have a tent to play around with people’s brains but also try to connect their ideas to other painters. I compare and contrast the Virgin and Child, and Saint Jerome by Sano di Pietro with the Virgin and Child Enthroned and the Crucifixion and find more differences to each other than similarities.
In 1898, Henry Ossawa Tanner painted “The Annunciation”. It is a 3 dimensional picture displaying a female looking towards the side of the room at this burst of light. This female is meant to stand for the Virgin Mary. She is sitting on her bed with an oversized robe. She is looking into this burst of light. She clearly sees it for what it is. The burst of light is meant to stand for the angel Gabriel. Tanner used Oil on a canvas to paint it. Tanner turned the angel into such an abstraction makes the mystical event almost plausible for an age of science. The painting can be read as an annunciation of the coming age of electricity. Its dimensions are 57 x 71 ¼ inches. It was made in Paris, France. It's on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. You could find it in the American Art section on the first floor in Gallery 111.
The paintings depict the story of the angel Gabriel visiting the Virgin Mary and announcing the news that she will give birth to Jesus. Yet, even though both Fran Angelico and Robert Campin tell the same story, they do so using different methods. Since, Fra Angelico’s artwork was created for the monetary in San Marco, it reflects that. Monks live simple and devoted faith filled lives. Fra Angelico captured the essences of this in the painting by keeping it very simple, with limited amount of objects and with few symbols. Few symbols was also partly because the audience would have a religious background and the monks could fill in the gaps of the story. Adding to this, the monks used this art work for devotion, and by Angelico keeping it simple the art work was less likely do interfere with the monk’s devotional time. Fra Angelico’s internal struggle as well, not wanting to make the item idolatrized, is also responsible for the simplicity and the Byzantine influence. The few symbols Fra Angelico drew in his paintings included the halos above the figure's head and Mary crossing her arms in a sign of humility. However, even the halos he created were not in perspective and flat as opposed to Masaccio’s 3D looking
In which on both paintings the Child’s right leg is over the Virgin’s right hand, the right pinky finger is bent in a weird upward angle and the same solemn expression portrayed in both signed paintings. Similarities were even found for the Christ Child comparing him to the two angel in Giovanni Bellini’s Dead Christ Supported by Two Angels (Pieta de Museo Correr) c.1460, having the same expectant expression with open mouths, and having similar disproportionate head, hands and
Sandro Botticelli, The annunciation 1485 represents the angel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary looked at the images of each other, but separated them through the center rows of pillars, which unified composition by the ray of light reflected in the back of Angel Gabriel in the linear perspective carrying god’s message in the heaven. By contrast, Hans Memling, the Annunciation 1475 presents an image of Han Memling through the use of bright colors, it represents the left wing of triptych, by the tall, narrow shape and the diagonal thrust of composition, the stain glass window, the crown in the top of Han Memling represented the peace, the shape are all equal and all the shape of buildings are equally designed, the building s are symmetry, moreover, the repetition of colors makes the painting more stand out. The variety, pattern used all over the painting, such as the row of building are the same color. The
During the 15th century, Europe started to have different cultural traditions that impacted the type artwork of artwork that was produced. There are several elements that have evolved during this time. Two artworks will be compared so that we will be able to evaluate how various techniques that are used can be used to portray the meaning of the painting as well as how the audience views the scene as well. One of the paintings that we will compare is a Annunciation panel (from the Merode Triptych), which was painted by Robert Campin in 1426. This painting will be compared to Holy Trinity, which was created by Masaccio in 1425. By comparing these two paintings, we will get a sense of what themes and ideals were valued during this time period.
The Ikon of the Annunciation is a famous icon created by an unknown artist during the early 14th century. It was discovered at the Church of St. Clement but now rests in the National Museum of Ohrid, Macedonia (Austin Web Design). Most of Ohrid icon paintings were from the Palaeologan Renaissance, a period of time when Byzantine culture influenced art (NI Institute of Ohrid).
In the previous paper I provided a visual analysis of Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation of Christ (fig. 1) and briefly discussed some interpretations made by renowned scholars. Within the discussion; I provided a brief preview of the iconography, symbolism, and narrative of this extraordinary Renaissance painting. The purpose of this paper is to take a closer look at the iconography of Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation of Christ and consider how the iconography of this artwork provides us with details about the function and symbolism of the piece. Due to the fact that “there is no documentation for this small panel” and many aspects about it are unknown, there are a plethora of interpretations about the iconography of this painting. Keeping this in mind, this paper will focus on the iconographic interpretations that hold the most credibility. Let’s begin with what is seen.
Duccio incorporated an exquisite collection of colour, in addition to numerous figures articulated to precision and gifted with deep-rooted human emotion so as to attain the effect of inspiration. Similar to the practices of Byzantine church and most recent practices, the development of the Stroganoff Madonna and Child envisioned to be prayed to when hung on the wall. This picture portrays the unique and new ability by Duccio to endow his figures with both emotional and physical
Larmann, R., & Shields, M. (2011). Art of Renaissance and Baroque Europe (1400–1750). Gateways to Art (pp. 376-97). New York: W.W. Norton.