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Aesthetic theory of the portrait of the artist as a young man
Aesthetic theory of the portrait of the artist as a young man
Aesthetics in A portrait of the artist as a young man
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Alessandro Allori reproduces the view of a young man in 3/4s view in his portrait of Francesco de Medici (c. 1560). Every element of the portrait, from its dominant red key to the intricate gold embroidery of the sitter’s costume connotes virtue.This rectangular composition presents a young virtuous man deserving of his power and wealth. More importantly, it exposes the attitudes of the painter and patron as towards what virtues qualified a man as deserving privilege and power. The sitter, facing the portrait plane at an angle somewhere between a 3/4s and a frontal view, is shown at 3/4s length. The sitter only occupies about ⅓ of the total pictorial space. The painter provides ample space for the depiction of the sitter’s surroundings. Heavy red curtains of velvet dominate the scene. No reference is made to a reality outside these dark heavy curtains so the viewer assumes that we are in an interior space, likely a room in the home of Francesco de Medici. Though Allori dedicated the majority of the pictorial space in the portrait of Francesco de Medici to the background he clearly placed more emphasis on the foreground. The brushstrokes of the curtains are looser and less deliberate than those in the foreground. The painter's hand is left visible. Additionally, Allori only includes mid tones in his …show more content…
This expense is shown by fine materials and by fine detail work. The sitter’s red doublet is heavily adorned with very detailed gold embroidery. An expensive, likely imported lace peeks out at his wrists. A line of gold buttons leads up to the most extravagant portion of the sitter’s costume, his collar. This white collar is decorated with gold threat and small pearls or balls of silver. All of this luxury is undercut by the incongruous dark brown rope necklace the sitter wears. Such a piece, when seen with the sitter’s full outfit, must be taken to be some mark of distinction or
In the book, Giovanni and Lusanna, by Gene Bucker, he discusses the scandalous actions of a Florentine woman taking a wealthy high status man to court over the legality of their marriage. Published in 1988, the book explains the legal action taken for and against Lusanna and Giovanni, the social affects placed on both persons throughout their trial, and the roles of both men and women during the time. From the long and complicated trial, it can be inferred that women’s places within Florentine society were limited compared to their male counterparts and that women’s affairs should remain in the home. In this paper, I will examine the legal and societal place of women in Florentine society during the Renaissance. Here, I will argue that women were the “merchandise” of humanity and their main objective was to produce sons.
Andrea Schiavone devised a strategy to distinguish himself from the master painters before him. This style is marked by a sense on incompleteness and feathery brushwork. The painting The Marriage of Cupid and Psyche shows Schiavone at his best because it is the perfect example of the harmony between Titian and Parmigianino. The sinuous lines depicted in the painting give it a lot of sex appeal, while his heavy-duty paint handling keeps it from cloying. In this work Schiavone forces you think past the accepted notions of what is right, and instead focus on the beauty that lies past right and wrong. The painting itself is of Venetian origins, dating back to 1550. It is composed of oil on wood and it was originally octagonal in shape. The corners were add...
Zaho’s work like Noel’s, is in a way classical in nature but for a different reason, she interacts heavily with Dante and Boccaccio, but even more so with Petrarch. Zaho traces the classical roots of triumphal imagery and its relation to Petrarch’s Africa. She argues that the revival of the antique triumph was the most significant tool, propagandistic or otherwise, in legitimizing the rules of Italian Renaissance rulers. She looks at Sigismondo Malatesta, Federico de Montefeltro, and the Duke Borso d’Este for her case studies. She lends a key contribution to the field, in that she argues a point perhaps somewhat contradictory to that of Jane Black who takes a far more legal approach to the topic of Renaissance ruler’s justifications for their
The Arnolfini Double Portrait was dated 1434, and was likely completed in the same year. The medium for the painting was oil paint on oak panel, and is one of the few surviving panels from fifteenth century northern Europe. While the identity of the sitters for the painting is still a subject of debate amongst scholars, it is typically accepted that the male subject is Giovanni Arnolfini and the female subject was his wife. After all, Arnolfini was a successful Italian merchant with the means to commission such a painting, and was later used as a sitter for another of Van Eyck’s painting. The general consensus in the ...
Nygren, B. “Una cosa che non è: perspective and humour in the paintings of Filippo Lippi”, Oxford art journal, vol. 29, no.3 (2006), pp.319-339
As his career continued, Bellini became known for his landscapes and naturalistic depiction of light. Giovanni founded the Venetian school of painting, and lived to see his students succeed and even some of them become more famous than he himself was. His life ended in Venice in 1516, but his contributions to Renaissance art would live forever. Bellini brought a new level of realism and nature to art, innovative subject matter, and a new sensuousness in both form and color. Giovanni’s personal attitudes and styles predetermined the special nature of Venic...
Lorenzo De Medici can be considered as one of the most influential men of the 13th century. His work in political affairs and administration were renowned in all Italy and his family could count on him in every aspect. Lorenzo was also a promoter of a new period called Renaissance. He was one of the first “mecenate” to explore this new way of art. In this project, I will concentrate how he developed art in Florence, giving a clear example through an Artist of that period that was working for him: Sandro Botticelli. His work “The Spring” is a well-defined example of what we can call “art in the Renaissance”, in particular for the Italian Renaissance.
Brown, Patricia Fortini. Art and Life In Renaissance Venice. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997.
The decursio sides are representations of Antoninus Pius’ deification and funerary rites. The depiction consists of the cavalry circling the standing figures, two of whom carry military standards, while the rest are wearing their cuirass. These scenes represent the ceremony that is essential for the deification of the imperial members. The style that is used within these sides is in relief form, yet they also break from the traditional Classical style. The variation of the Classical style is prominent by depicting stocky human forms and using two types of perspective within a single space. The figures also lack the gracefulness of other works during this time that follow the Classical style. The perspective of the piece is unclear where the figures seem to be suspended in space for what seems to be an overhead view while at the same time using a single perspective. Despite the deviation of the Classical style this p...
Were the Medicis the great heroes of the Renaissance or the great villains? The Medici’s were a prominent family in the Renaissance, who ruled Florence from 1434 to 1737. They are regarded as being one of the most powerful and richest families in the whole of Europe. The Medics used this great status and wealth to develop an improved Florence, one that was significantly influenced by the Renaissance.
In the article “Conditions of Trade,” Michael Baxandall explains the interaction serving of both fifteenth- century Italian painting and text on how the interpretation of social history from the style of pictures in a historical period, pre-eminently examine the early Renaissance painting. Baxandall looks not only on the explanation of how the style of painting is reflected in a society, but also engages in the visual skills and habits that develop out of daily life. The author examines the central focus on markets, material visual practices, and the concept of the Renaissance period overlooking art as an institution. He observes a Renaissance painting, which relate the experience of activities such as preaching, dancing, and assessing. The author considers discussions of a wide variety of artistic painters, for instance, Filippo Lippi, Fra Angelico, Stefano di Giovanni, Sandro Botticelli, Luca Signorelli, and numerous others. He defines and exemplifies concepts used in contemporary critic of the painting, and in the assembled basic equipment needed to discover the fifteenth- century art. Therefore this introductory to the fifteenth- century Italian painting and arise behind the social history, argues that the two are interconnected and that the conditions of the time helped shape the distinctive elements in the artists painting style. Through the institutional authorization Baxandall looks at integration in social, cultural and visual evaluation in a way that shows not only the visual art in social construction, but how it plays a major role in social orders in many ways, from interaction to larger social structural orders.
As the seventeenth century began the Catholic Church was having a hard time bringing back the people who were swept away by the protestant reformation. The conflict between the protestant had a big influence on art. (Baroque Art) The church decided to appeal to the human emotion and feeling. They did so by introducing a style called Baroque. Baroque was first developed in Rome and it was dedicated to furthering the aims of Counter Reformation. Baroque was first used in Italy than later spread to the north. In this paper I will argue that the Italian Baroque pieces were more detailed and captured the personality of the figure, in contrast and comparison to Northern Baroque pieces that aimed to produce a sense of excitement and to move viewers in an emotional sense leaving them in awe. I will prove this by talking about the different artwork and pieces of Italian Baroque art versus Northern Baroque Art.
In the article “Conditions of Trade,” Michael Baxandall explains that fifteenth-century Italian art is a “deposit” resulting from the commercial interaction between the artist and the purchaser, who he refers to as a client. These works, as such, are “fossils of economic life,” and money, and they play an important role in the history of art. In our current perception of the relationship between the artist and art, “painters paint what they think is best, and then look around for a buyer” . However in the past, especially during the Renaissance period, the customers determined the content and form of paintings, as it was them who commissioned the work before it was created. He states that the artists and clients were interconnected and a legal agreement was drawn up specifying subject matter, payment scheme and the quality and quantity of colors, which would influence the artist’s painting style. Baxandall not only looks at the explanation of the style of painting that reflects a society, but also engages in the visual skills and habits that develop out of daily life. The author examines the situations between the painter and client within the commercial, religious, perceptual, and social institutions, centrally focusing on markets, materials, visual practices, and the concept of the Renaissance period, which saw art as an institution. Baxandall notes that Renaissance paintings also relate to the clients’ motives through such ways as possession, self-commemoration, civic consciousness, and self-advertisement. The author considers works of a wide variety of artistic painters, for instance, Filippo Lippi, Fra Angelico, Stefano di Giovanni, Sandro Botticelli, Luca Signorelli, and numerous others. He defines and exemplifies fiftee...
The painting has an order and there are different shapes and angles. Rectangular shape is main trend around this piece, including the wooden chest, the leg rest and the canvass. Also things overlap, creating the illusion of the shape look closer to viewer than the shape behind it. The example in this piece would be the chair on which Adelaide Labille Guiard sits be close to viewer than the girls behind it. This adds depth to the space. Also due to linear perspective girls behind the chair are smaller due to being farther away.
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...