Essay On Renaissance Art

Many people overlook the importance of the ancient arts. Artists, such as Myron or Reymerswaele, are often forgot about and people only remember the famous ones. Individuals with knowledge of the ancient arts know of the ‘hidden’ or the infamous artists. Any artistic connoisseur would be able to tell the differences between the Greek and Roman period and the Renaissance art; however, the style of art is similar in many ways.

In the Renaissance period, Marinus van Reymerswaele created a masterpiece called “St. Jerome in his Study” in 1541. Saint Jerome was a secretary to Damasus the Bishop of Rome and as the title states, he sits in his study. When Damasus passed away, Jerome was disappointed and saddened that he did not get promoted to Bishop of Rome so he fled to Bethlehem and started to translate the Bible. In the painting you can see Jesus Christ, a skull, and an hourglass representing his own mortality. His hands look like talons on a bald eagle or a hawk and the sunken skin on his head grips his skull representing death (Charney).

In the same time period, Masaccio painted “The Tribute Money” with the subject of his painting being Jesus Christ. This fresco is located in the Brancacci Chapel. Having this being painted in 1425, it is quite the ancient work of art. The artist, Masaccio, was an Italian Renaissance artist. This piece of art was accompanied by another named Masolino. On the ground you can see shadows. Masaccio is the first artist to show a sense of weather. Within this fresco, the Roman tax collector needs money from the twelve apostles and Christ himself. If one looks closely at the clothing, the tax collector appears two times and Peter appears three times. The fresco is two scenes in one; which explains the mult...

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...e painting indicating that it is obviously a Christian painting (Zucker). So the theme and meaning would be about a tax collector and Jesus Christ working a miracle. “Marcus Aurelius”, on the other hand, was a little different. Nothing, other than himself, was in the sculpture. But research shows that he was a Pagan. He prayed to his Gods and looked for signs for what he needed or wanted ("Marcus Aurelius Biography.").

Of all these pieces of art, they all have certain meanings and one just needs to know how to look for them. The individuality of each of these paintings is astounding. They are all very original but original in their own ways. Many people can tell the obvious differences. Only people with knowledge of the ancient arts would be able to tell the differences between Greek and Roman and Renaissance artwork but also be able to tell all the similarities.