This essay will contrast and compare the artistic and conceptual elements of the following two paintings: Scipione Pulzone’s The Lamentation (1593) and Francesco Trevisani’s Dead Christ Supported by Angels (1710). Although the paintings selected are painted almost two decades apart, they share many similarities. The paintings depict how historical religious events impact art. Conserving art pieces is important because it allows is to preserve and understand our history and our humanity, in its various forms. Art provides evidence of historical occurrences as viewers can comprehend the style of a certain time period, as well as the lifestyles of individuals of a certain time. In addition, art is valuable, as it is open to interpretation from …show more content…
He also uses light on the faces of other figures, such as St. Mary and Mary Magdalene. This helps create tone in the painting. This also helps bring out the emotions of the figures. Pulzone uses an expressionistic manner, as Pulzone focuses on depicting natural looking faces and expressions on the figures surrounding the body of Jesus. Their gripping emotions grab the viewer’s attention. Each figure shows a unique expression, but they all express their initial reaction to the event of the Crucifixion. Pulzone allows the viewers to partake in the sadness and state of shock felt by St. Mary, St. John, and the other figures in the painting. Pulzone allows the viewers/ believers of his painting to meditate on the death and salvation of Christ, and to share their emotions with the emotions of the figures.
In addition, Pulzone utilizes shadowing. Shadows are cast down on the figures faces, especially on St. Mary’s face and on John’s garment. The folds on figures’ gowns are also very detailed. Pulzone contrasts the lifeless and dark body of Jesus with the intense blue color in St. Mary’s robe, as well as the intense red in John’s robe. St. Mary’s robe also contrasts with the orange garment shown as part of Magdalene’s clothing. This orange color provides a contrast to the blue garment. The pure colors of the elegant, but simple garments foreshadows the color schemes used by
At the top of the artwork the upper part of the cross extends beyond the altarpiece. The edge of John the Evangelist’s red robe on the left of the altarpiece and the edge of Mary Magdalene’s pale blue skirt on the right are cut off when the panel ends, giving the viewer the feeling that, rather than looking in on the scene, the viewer is actually taking part in the scene. This, added to the empathy invoked through the delicate, heart-wrenching rendering of the figures in the artwork, let the observer directly interact with the painting and places him/her within the narrative.
Looking across the entire triptych certain visual elements can be seen. Lighting is carefully used to highlight many important details in the painting; the dramatic facial expressions of many of the people in this scene are clearly lighted and defined to illustrate the emotions felt by the witnesses. In the left panel of The Raising of the Cross, among the mourners appear to be St. John, another man that seems to be consoling St. John, Elizabeth (the mother of John the Baptist), St. Mary (the mother of Jesus) and Mary Magdalene (hoocher.com). One of the mourners is actually looking directly at the viewer with a very distraught expression on her face. The mourner that I suspect is St. John in the back appears to be almost nauseous and his face is surrounded by darkness and is subordinate and his face is being emphasized. Also, the rocky background is subordin...
A distinction of colors exists within the painting: there is dreary dark blue background contrasted by the intense shades of red and white worn by the figures. A specific example of this the women flanking the Virgin Mary. The woman to the right of Mary attracts the most light and is the brightest in color. The Virgin Mary herself is dark, dull, and shadowed. The woman behind Mary, similar to the other woman, is wearing red and bright. In reality, the lighting of these figures do not make logical sense. If Rosso’s mission was the depict reality than the women would be shaded evenly from light to dark. Due to the overall lack of a single swath of colors, the eye is forced to look all over the painting rather than focus on one main
A common topic of artwork throughout history has been the crucifixion of Christ. Since it is such a common topic, it makes it very easy to see how artwork changed and developed from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. The painting on the left, The Crucifixion by Pietro Lorenzetti, shows the usual characteristics of a painting from the Middle Ages. The facial expressions are not varied or very in depth, Jesus and the other saints have the typical halo that is used very often, and the colors are mostly all bright, making nothing in particular stand out. The second painting, on the right, is by Caravaggio and is titled The Flagellation of Christ. There is an obvious shift from one painting to the next. Caravaggio’s piece is much more realistic.
In his Crucifixion, with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist Mourning (c.1460), a piece within the Northern Renaissance collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rogier van der Weyden portrays a stark image of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The right panel of the diptych depicts the gruesome image of a crucified Christ. Weight pulls the emaciated body down into a Y-shape, contrasting the T-shape of the cross it is mounted on. The only movement comes from the loincloth wrapped around Christ’s waist that dances in the wind. Blood visibly trickles from the corpse’s wounds. Behind the body, a red cloth is draped down the grey wall. At the base of the cross sits a skull and bone. The left panel portrays the Virgin Mary swooning in despair as Saint John attempts to support her weight. Her hands are clasped in prayer as she gazes up at her lifeless son. Both figures are clothed in pale draping robes. The vibrant red of the cloth that hangs from the grey wall in the background contrasts the subdued colors of the
Lines are probably one of the most emphasized elements in this piece, as Jesus is almost completely made from lines and he is the center piece of this work. The Lines were used to define boundaries of shapes and spaces in most of Jesus like his hair and clothes. Also, lines were grouped to depict shadows and form patterns or textures, in his neck, head, hands, and clothes. It’s safe to say that Jesus in this piece is made up almost entirely of lines, with little shading and no color. Therefore it intertwines with the other elements like shape, mass, light, color, and texture in this piece, which is great as the piece would of have seemed more flat and inhumane. Also space, but more particularly implied depth was used on the sun behind Jesus with vertical placement and overlap elements. Probably to emphasize the holiness of Jesus as the sun is portrayed shinning on him and is the only real color used in this piece. There is no actual motion, but implied motion using Jesus’s hands that was used to make this piece seem more real and not as
The collector positions his body in front of Jesus to help make an impression of three-dimensional space. Jesus stands in his reddish robe with a blue over garment, gathered around his shoulder and waist, position with shoulders back and chin high, signifying he is the leader of the others. The shining, brightens Jesus’s face, drawing the view toward him. The light contrast behind the brightly dressed, emphasizes the focus point in the painting, at them. The men, wearing bright orange, blue or green gather around to create a circular space.
While Renaissance classicism called for restrained imagery, Grünewald showed viewers aggressive movement and unfiltered emotion. Christ’s face, for example, displays an anguish that not only looks like true suffering, but also is realistic enough to evoke this feeling. Likewise, the severity of his state is shown in his battered fingers and the torsion of his body as he buckles under the weight of the cross. Grünewald’s realism also extends to objects around Christ. The cross, for example, is unlike others we have seen in which two simple stakes are nailed together.
This deeply emotional painting shows the Virgin Mary cradling Jesus Christ, surrounded by three other people: Mary Magdalene, John the Evangelist, and the third Mary (the mother of the apostle James the Lesser). Jesus Christ is resting upon the linen that would later be used for his burial. The background of the painting shows the bases of the crosses used to crucify Jesus Christ, however these a shrouded in the darkness of the red and black sky, suggesting the turmoil felt during and after the crucifixion. In the bottom, left corner of the painting, several warped nails are depicted after being removed from the body of Christ. The nails represent one of the “instruments of the passion” because they are an important part of the crucifixion and represent Jesus Christ’s
The immediate background consists of natural mounds of dirt and a brick wall that enclose the Virgin, Child, and St. John, amplifying the protective effect that Mary’s figure has. The dirt mounds roll inward with a brick wall bordering them on the right, drawing the viewer’s attention towards the three figures. The background is painted in broad terms, with a simple, uniform depiction of tree leaves and smooth rock faces on the horizon. This contrasts with the fine-lined detail and texture of Mary’s hair, facial features, and veil, which further contribute to her elegance and highlight her
One example of how detail is used in this piece is through the faces of St. Teresa and the angel. The details of these two characters faces are so clear that the audience can identify their emotions. In this sculpture, St. Teresa’s eyes are closed and her mouth is open, indicating a kind of pain, pleasure, or a mixture between the two while the face of the angel is smiling which shows the angels pleasure in this circumstance. By allowing the audience to see these emotions, the audience is able to connect more to the characters in the
The ability to create a picture of The Annunciation in one’s mind is a key factor in understanding the analysis of the work. Francisco de Zurbaran approaches the painting with a naturalistic style. The painting features a room in which a woman – like angel is seen at the left kneeling on the ground before the Virgin Mary. The figure of Mary is placed between a chair and a small wooden table draped with a green cloth. Mary disregards an open Bible on the table, as she appears solemn while staring at the floor. Floating above the two main figures in the upper left side of the painting are cherubs resting on a bed of clouds. They happily gaze down at Mary with eyes from Heaven.
There is a cast of five different characters, which includes the angels and Jesus Christ himself. This painting seems to be symmetrical as there are two figures, or angels, on both sides. Christ is in the center and the angels are surrounding him. He is also in the foreground, upfront, whereas the angels appear to be in the background. Christ is dominating the pictorial composition, and is the main focal point of the work, guessing from his centered location in the painting. There are no real vibrant colors used in the painting, even the bright colors shown feel darkened as if the figures are in the shadows somewhere, and light is peaking in, shining off all of them. If the lighting wasn’t as dark, the colors would surely be brighter. Christ himself is nude, whereas the angels are each clothed in different colors. There is a warm light that makes Christ appear soft. The color schemes of the clothes the angels are wearing appear to be a lot of red, green and white. The painting helps us to understand that the main focal point of the piece is Christ. Not only is he the largest figure and takes up most of the painting, the light is directly shining onto him and leaving the angels to be darker, in the shadows. The angels have light on them to show they do have a presence but not nearly as much as Christ. Additionally, the left side of the bench that Christ is seated on, if looked at closely, appears to be
The artist also implemented texture and the appearance of reflecting light to make objects appear more realistic. All the objects in the foreground are meticulously painted, and some are even casting shadows. There is also astonishing detail in the background in the buildings that can be seen through the window. Despite the realism of the objects in which they capture light, the drapery of the clothing of the archangel and the virgin Mary is not very realistic and the spacing is not quite right, everything seems to be slightly tilted towards the front. The piece is packed with
Throughout the ages art has played a crucial role in life. Art is universal and because art is everywhere, we experience it on a daily basis. From the houses we live in (architecture) to the movies we see (theatre) to the books that we read (literature). Even in ancient culture art has played a crucial role. In prehistoric times cave dwellers drew on the wall of caves to record history. In biblical times paintings recorded the life and death of Christ. Throughout time art has recorded history. Most art is created for a specific reason or purpose, it has a way of expressing ideas and beliefs, and it can record the experiences of all people.