The artistic theme in which an artist depicts the Virgin Mary with Jesus Christ as a child is known as the ‘Madonna and Child’. This depiction has its roots in Early Christian art due to the iconic roles that Christ and Mary play in the Christian religion (Dunkerton 37). The ‘Madonna and Child’ has had a place in many of the early periods and traditions of art. Religious themes were able to command such a strong presence in the history of art due to their role as devotional aides in churches and other religious buildings (Dunkerton 27). Religious art was well maintained by religious orders and churches, and many patrons throughout early history were tied to the Catholic Church. In the 1400s, religious artwork continued to play a prominent role, but a revival of the Classical form also started to occur. The period known as the renaissance was marked by a desire to look back on the past and a sense of individualism. The era also brought about the use of new and classical techniques for art such as naturalism, perspective, and proportion. Nonetheless, art during this period remained diverse as several art traditions, influences, and patrons contributed to the outcome of an artist’s work. The National Gallery of Ireland possesses a few of depictions of the Virgin Mary and Child in its collection of Early Italian work. The first work I will discuss is a work by Zanobi di Jacopo Machiavelli known as ‘Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints’, which was complete in 1470. The second work is known as, ‘The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints John the Baptist and Lucy’, and was completed by Marco Palmezzano in 1513 (National Gallery of Ireland: Essential Guide). While created around the same time period and within close geographical proxim...
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...lical scene, but the use of different artistic techniques and the impact of separate influences can create unique creations. The catering to particular audiences and patrons further exacerbates the apparent variation among art during this artistic period.
Works Cited
Brenner, Carla, Robyn Asleson, and Debra Pincus. "Virgin and Child." Italian Renaissance Learning Resources. Grove Art Online, 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. .
Dunkerton, Jill, Susan Foister, Dillian Gordon, and Nicholas Penny. Giotto to Dürer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery. London: Yale UP in Association with National Gallery Pubblications, 1991. Print.
Kemp, Martin. The Oxford History of Western Art. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print.
"National Gallery of Ireland: Essential Guide." The National Gallery of Ireland. N.p., 2008. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
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...
Hartt, Frederick, and David G. Wilkins. History of Italian Renaissance art. 6th ed. of the book. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2006.
During the Italian Renaissance Raphael was one of the most influential artists. He painted many brilliant pieces, mastering the use of depth, perspective, and the use of shadow and light. Throughout his life, Raphael used the Madonna as a reoccurring subject in his work. One example of this subject is the Madonna of the Candelabra. This dark shadowy portrayal exemplifies the pure and humanistic ideals of the Madonna that made Raphael’s versions so well known and loved throughout the ages. The timeless beauty and grace that he captured and the realistic qualities of his work are unparalleled.
Harbison, Craig. "Sexuality and Social Standing in Arnolfini's Double Portrait". Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Summer, 1990), pp. 249–291
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 – 1652), daughter of a well-known Roman artist, was one of the first women to become recognized in her time for her work.. She was noted for being a genius in the world of art. But because she was displaying a talent thought to be exclusively for men, she was frowned upon. However by the time she turned seventeen she had created one of her best works. One of her more famous paintings was her stunning interpretation of Susanna and the Elders. This was all because of her father. He was an artist himself and he had trained her and introduced her to working artists of Rome, including Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. 1. In an era when women artists were limited to painting portraits, she was the first to paint major historical and religious scenes. After her death, people seemed to forget about her. Her works of art were often mistaken for those of her fathers. An art historian on Artemisia, Mary D. Garrard notes that Artemisia “has suffered a scholarly neglect that is unthinkable for an artist of her caliber.” Renewed and long overdue interest in Artemisia recently has helped to recognize her as a talented renaissance painter and one of the world’s greatest female artists. She played a very important role in the renaissance.
The early Renaissance art in Florence focused on an elaborate, Gothic style of painting; very formal and traditional, yet there was always something that seemed to be lacking. Perspective and depth were two very important qualities in painting, yet up until the time of young Masaccio, (born Tommaso Guidi), paintings were beautiful, but seemed to just be art that hung on the wall. In Masaccio’s work, “rather than recede in space, the figures seem to come forward” (Cole 120). He may not have known it at the time, but his style of painting would influence many painters well after his death; Donatello, Michelangelo, and so on. Masaccio may have only painted for a total of 8 years, but during those 8 years he revolutionized not only the time of the Renaissance, but also the way painting could be created by the artist, and seen by its viewers. Through the use of linear perspective and astronomical instruments, he was able to create amazing works that defied the limits of the human eye, and allowed a painting to possess realistic depth. Through his skills, Masaccio was able to move away from the Gothic and elaborate style of the time, and his paintings reflect the first use of perspective in order to create a sense of a realistic, three dimensional world.
The subject matter of Maddona and Child was a very popular one for artists of the The subject matter of Maddona and Child was a very popular one for artists of the sixteenth century. Rapahel, and Giovanni Bellini both painted numerous versions of the Maddona and Child. While both of the artists viewed the subject as a religious and highly emotional expression, their portrayal of many other aspects differed greatly. While Raphael portrayed what seems to be a loving, warm relationship between mother and child, a lifelike Christ child, and serenity within his paintings, Bellini portrayed a relationship that seems distant relationship between mother and child, a deathlike image of the Christ child and a sense of depression and uneasiness within his works.
Virgin and Child in a Landscape was painted during 1492 to 1498 by possibly the Master of the Madonna Grog or Aert van den Bossche, formerly Master of the Embroidered Foliage, and likely be executed by the group of artist in his workshop. The dimensions of this painting is a 41.25 in. tall by 34.25 in. wide. It is oil painting on a wooden panel. This painting serves as an altarpiece, and portrayed the Virgin holding Christ in her arm sitting in a garden.
Thanks to my art class I have a great opportunity to visit one of the biggest museums that I ever seen in my life, that was Phoenix Art Museum located in the downtown of the Phoenix metropolis. The artwork that inspired me, and I have carefully studied for this assignment was very interesting art piece completed by Jacopo Del Casentino’s who named this art piece Madonna and Child. For instance, Jacopo Del Casentino painted this work using tempera on poplar panel. According to the scholars and historians the painting was completed in 1335 in Italy. For instance, the portrait is Jacopo Del Casentino’s interpretation and vision of the Madonna and her baby Jesus. It is very interesting that within the assign time (almost 700 years) the piece is still in fairly good condition; however, there is bad side of the condition within this work art, where we can see the tempera that is flaked in close proximity to the panel edging. In advance, the size of the portrait is quiet large and is only focused closely on the two main subjects that painting presents. As we can observe, the images are large and centered, allowing the two figures to become the focal point of the paint. In my opinion, we can find within this painting a little symmetry and pattern that is adding clarity of the view.
Manny innovative thinkers and artists lived in the Italian Renaissance, a time of revival and rediscovery, helping Italy recover from the lack of progression in Medieval society. The Black Plague that swept through Italy in the 1300s caused political disorder and economic consequences, hindering Italy’s progression. However, in the early 15th century, Italy began to recover from the effects of the Black Plague. A revival of Greco-Roman antiquity, a restored emphasis on the potential and capacity of individuals, and the value of individual success in certain trades became evident in Renaissance society. Humanist thinkers such as Petrarch, Mirandola, and Castiglione abandoned the Medieval mindset of the 14th century, and embraced a mindset reflecting
Jacopo del Sellaio’s Virgin, Child, and St. John is a characteristically iconographic tempera panel painting of Madonna, the Christ Child, and the infant St. John from the early renaissance, dating to the early 1480s. Sellaio was a Florentine painter under the apprenticeship of Sandro Botticelli, which reflects through his style and symbolism in the painting. In this work, he depicts a classically devotional scene filled with biblical symbolism. Sellaio’s Virgin, Child, and St. John expresses Mary’s loving role as Christ’s mother, the protective power and warmth of her maternal bond, and the significance of the birth of Christ.
The shift between the Middle Ages and Renaissance was documented in art for future generations. It is because of the changes in art during this time that art historians today understand the historical placement and the socio-economic, political, and religious changes of the time. Art is a visual interpretation of one’s beliefs and way of life; it is through the art from these periods that we today understand exactly what was taking place and why it was happening. These shifts did not happen overnight, but instead changed gradually though years and years of art, and it is through them that we have record of some of the most important changes of historic times.
The “Renaissance” was an important time following the Middle Ages. Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman art styles and ideas were revived during this period of time. Extravagant and detailed paintings were commissioned and featured mythological creatures from Greek and Roman culture. It was similar to an artistic revolution. One of the most famous painters from this period was Sandro Botticelli. Known for his detail included in his paintings, Botticelli went on to create paintings for influential figures of the Renaissance and a few frescos for the Sistine Chapel. Sandro Botticelli is the Renaissance Idol because he created a unique art style that was widely imitated by the time of his death.
The characteristics that delineate what Renaissance Art is considered to be include individualism, perspective, realism, and the appreciation of the classics. These are a culmination of the standards for the creation of Renaissance Art. These characteristics are what made Renaissance Art because they stemmed from an attempt to recreate the natural world's appearance with rationale and science (Stockstad 306). Michelangelo's David portrays the human body with realism but also with the self-assurance and idealization of the human body as personified in Renaissance pride (Sherman, Salisbury 311). The creation of linear perspective appeared and paintings were transformed from two-dimensional to all but three-dimensional in appearance. Sculptors
Flinging paint with an addition to carving marble into sculptures was an enormous part of the Renaissance. Art during the Renaissance Times was influenced by a few of the new techniques that Artists found interesting by making the art more realistic. There were a variety of different techniques used in painting and sculpting which causes art during this time to innovate. A few included balance and proportion, shadowing and the use of perspective. Paint was made mostly of rocks, plants or even dirt grounded up into powder and next you would be directed to add water. Paint brushes were made of animal hairs and a wooden stick. Occasionally they would paint on walls and ceilings. It would proceed up to twelve months to complete an exclusive marble statue. They mostly did paintings of people, animals, landscapes and sometimes buildings.