Located in a hallway nestled between the Art of Europe and Art of Ancient Worlds wings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is the Italian Renaissance Gallery (Gallery 206). Here, Donatello’s Madonna of the Clouds and Luca della Robbia’s Virgin and child with lilies face one another, vying for museum-goers’ attention from alternate sides of the narrow gallery. Both pieces indulge ingenious techniques, original at the time of conception, to create a completely new visual experience of a very traditional biblical scene, the Virgin Mary with her child, Jesus Christ. This paper will employ close visual analysis of two 15th-century Renaissance reliefs from Florence depicting the Virgin Mary and Jesus Chris in order to show how these artists used innovative …show more content…
The title of the piece, Madonna of the Clouds, implies setting; however, Mary’s robes blend in with the surrounding cherubs, creating a mass of folds. Donatello shows perspective through subtle changes in the depths of carving – stiacciato relief – a technique that he devised (Britannica). This varying strength of line utilizes shadows to enhance emotion, as seen with the Virgin Mary. The concern that she shows for her son in her arm foreshadows his fateful end. This expression though, is not only demonstrated within the facial features of her profile, but also in the ever-present shadow under her chin, directly above Christ’s head. Stiacciato relief depends on the reflection off of pale materials, like marble, in order to manipulate light to enhance or detract from the forms themselves (Britannica). Donatello controls his medium to work with his audience’s position, casting shadows to be where they are most meaningful. Awareness of his viewers’ angle ceased to allude Donatello as his earlier marble masterpieces, the sculptures at the Or San Michele, employed their alleviated situations to accentuate his subject’s personalities as seen with Saint
...is the focal point with the orthogonal of the gestures of the apostles lining up towards it. Masaccio makes good use of chiaroscuro, since his figures have soft, round edges and their bodies are apparent under their drapery. The drapery shows creases and edges which allow for that to happen. Masaccio also employs directed lighting in which the sun comes from the right and all the figures’ shadows are to the left, which is what would happen in real life. Furthermore, Masaccio uses soft, subdued colors, such as green, blue, and pink. The mood of Massacio’s painting is static with all the figures standing in contrapposto with their one knee sticking out and the individuals in Classical and naturalistic proportions. Masaccio placed his scene in the recognizable Arno Valley. Also, Masaccio’s story has no disguised symbolism and rather depicts a straightforward story.
The sunrise in this painting is considered the vanishing point; there is no reference to clouds, sky or land. Even though there isn't any man made objects the giant rocks or mountains have parallel lines that exceed to the sunrise. There is also two focal points in this work of art. To emphasize the focal points Bartolo uses elements of design. One of the focal points is the horse which is located in the center of the picture plane. The horse does not gasp all the attention it also permits the viewers to focus on the second focal point, which is the man in red kneeling down in front of St. Dominic. The color red attracts our attention to this man. There are also line of sight directed to him by St.
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...
Campbell examines thirteen Venetian engravings and paintings, as well as an example of early poetry, to illustrate the grafting effect of different imagery sources within a single picture, along with poetic imagery and form used with poesia. Many examples of art that Campbell examines focuses on the nature of the works, such as the juxtaposition of “pagan opposites” in Christian subject matter, the idea of the gaze, juxtaposing two pictorial ...
Both Jan van Eyck and Fra Angelico were revered artists for the advances in art that they created and displayed for the world to see. Their renditions of the Annunciation were both very different, however unique and perfect display of the typical styles used during the Renaissance. Jan van Eyck’s panel painting Annunciation held all the characteristics of the Northern Renaissance with its overwhelming symbolism and detail. Fra Angelico’s fresco Annunciation grasped the key elements used in the Italian Renaissance with usage of perspective as well as displaying the interest and knowledge of the classical arts.
Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, the first impression of their significance comes through the initial visual interpretation. When a work of art is viewed the visual details are the first to be noticed. For example, size, medium, color, line, balance, contrast and overall composition are generally the primary elements seen. Before an artwork can be further examined for greater significance the formal elements must be taken into consideration. The purpose of this particular paper is to discuss and analyze a very interesting piece of biblical art; Caravaggio’s The Crowning with Thorns. This work, presumed to have been created between 1602 and 1604 was created using oil paints on a 127x165.5 cm canvas.
Wayside Madonna is an oil painting on canvas by Edith Catlin Phelps. It was painted around 1939. Painted in southern California, it is a genre painting that is part of the regionalism movement but also has a religious subject. This painting is currently part of the permanent collection at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California. Phelps's oil painting Wayside Madonna ultimately focuses on the lady in the foreground, providing a narrative about southern California culture, and places an emphasis on the need for a more American focus and style of painting that does not rely so heavily on European art.
While the Flemish were proficient in oil painting, Italian Renaissance artists continued their predecessor’s use of tempera. Furthermore, the paintings were ultimately created for different purposes and separate viewers. Although both works are centered on the defining moment of the annunciation, The Merode Altarpiece incorporates this scene into a secular setting, therefore differing from Fra Angelico’s The Annunciation which was painted for a monastery. Finally, Flemish and Italian Renaissance paintings differ in levels of realism. Although the Flemish painters were skilled in portraying realism of physical forms, they lacked a full understanding of linear perspective. In contrast, the Italian Renaissance artists were well versed in linear perspective but lacked a complete grasp of the natural
I open with this statement to help provide the context and content of this essay. It is my opinion, like that of the great conceptual artist Sol Lewitt, that many individuals misinterpret art, especially the art of the past. In connection with this, I also believe each person has a right to their own opinions and thoughts. It is my hope that you as the reader will permit my upfront opinion found in this essay. It is my desire to compare and contrast the two pieces I have chased through their formal characteristics, the symbols they contain, and the cultural backgrounds of each piece of art. I have chosen two paintings depicting the same story, Christ being adored at his birth. The first piece, painted by Pietro Perugino in the years of 1470 to 1473, is titled Adoration of the Magi. The second painting is entitled Adoration of the Shepherds, and was painted by El Greco between 1612 and 1614. While both of these paintings depict similar scenes centered on the adoration of Christ they both differ in their functional purposes, the symbols they include, along with their formal or stylistic characteristics.
In this artwork, da Vinci once again had the complexity of foreground and background and the deeply symbolic effects of light and dark (Bishop 207). “No artist’s eye has seen more profoundly than his into the mysteries of light; no artist’s brain has more clearly formulated its rules” (Müntz 62). Leonardo da Vinci uses sfumato and chiaroscuro in the paining of the Madonna of the Rocks just as he did in painting the Mona Lisa. The foreground of the Madonna of the Rocks shows the Madonna, the baby John the Baptist, the Virgin Mary, an angel, and the Christ Child (Bishop 207). The forming of a classical triangle by the foreground group is a technique used in the Renaissance (Bishop 207). The background shows rocks, where an arch is formed, and opens to a landscape (Bishop 207). Bleiberg sees the background as “a mysterious crag filled landscape that is illuminated by two different sources of light, one in the distance and another that throws an ethereal glimmer upon the faces of the subjects in the foreground” (388-389). The Madonna of the Rocks shows how talented Leonardo da Vinci was with the use of shadows and
Wright, H. David. The Vatican Vergil: a Masterpiece of Late Antique Art. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993. Print.
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.
The Renaissance art that I've included contains a piece by Robert Campin entitled “Annunciation Triptych,” and another work by Fra Filippo Lippi, called “Madonna and Child Enthroned with Two Angels.” In both of these paintings we see some of the typical themes of Renaissance art. For example, Lippi included in his scene a background which wouldn't have necessarily been needed. Really he could have chosen just about anything, like the woods or the sea, that might have been easier to paint. He chose though what appears to be the inside of a building, likely a church. Not only that but he went to great lengths to ensure everything was in perspective, and the lines and angles are straight and sharp. Similarly Campin has also chosen an interior scenes with strong perspective and exacting details. In both of these the artists seem to be capturing an event, much like with a photography in modern times. While both images portray fictional scenes, the artists wanted to capture the moment to tell a precise historical story. They both go to some lengths to include background details which also capture architectural details. To me it seems that they both approached their work meticulously and with reason and mathem...
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.
Madonna is a controversial legend whose attitudes and opinions on sexuality have forced the public to take notice and change the image of females in society. Madonna believed women’s sexuality was a natural aspect of life; therefore, she dared to challenge the rules and definitions of femininity and sought to expand the meaning of it. In a male dominated world, she wanted to focus on the importance of women and let them have a voice of their own. Madonna shattered all the myths on traditional beauty standards and made her statement on sexuality and feminism, which changed how society viewed the standards of beauty. She impacted female power by encouraging sex- positivity into her music and her style. It is mainly because of Madonna that ordinary women, and women in modern entertainment have more choices and freedom which continues to influence further generations.