The Fragment of a Fresco is a piece that is perfectly balanced with equal proportions divided directly in the center. It is an illusionary view shown through two panels that appear as green tinted glass. Within these panels are scenes of the world outside as if looking through a window. Looking into the left panel, one can see a square temple with ornamental sculpture surrounding the roof. An intricately designed columned porch runs deep alongside the temple. In front of the temple at the base of the panel, is a group of men or boys displaying gestures of joy and happiness. The right panel is filled with a cluster of various buildings including a round temple. The depicted buildings display a view of the elevation and complexity of the design of the city. The buildings are painted using an elaborately layered style that utilizes shadows to show the depth of the city. The upper portions of both panels have faded to the point that the scenes are completely obscured. Directly surrounding both panels is a red border that is plain and non-decorative. Dividing the fresco into the two individ...
At a workshop behind the cathedral, Michelangelo began an extraordinary work of art that would be thirteen feet tall, made of marble, and would take nearly three years to complete. Compared to previous artists, Michelangelo’s David was based on human model and wa...
Ochenkowski, H. “The Quatercentenary of Leonardo Da Vinci.” Burlington Magazine 34.194 (1919): 186-203. Web. 26 May 2010.
Seymour, Charles. Michelangelo, the Sistine Chapel Ceiling: Illustrations, Introductory Essays, Backgrounds and Sources, Critical Essays. New York: Norton, 1972. Print.
Baxandall, M., Giotto and the Orators: Humanist Observers of Painting in Italy and the Discovery of Pictorial Composition, 1350-1450, Oxford, 1971. Bellori, G.P., Le vite detpittori, scultori et architetti modern), Rome, 1672. ed. E. Borea, intro. G. Previtali, Turin, 1976.
The high point of Michelangelo’s early style is the gigantic marble statue David which he made between 1501 and 1504, after returning to Florence. David, Michelangelo’s most famous sculpture, became the symbol of Florence and originally was placed in the Piazza Della Signoria in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, the Florentine town hall. With this statue Michelangelo proved to his contemporaries that he not only surpassed all modern artists, but also the Greeks and Romans.
The objective of this essay is to provide an explanation of Leonardo da Vinci’s life and work as an artist in context with his time spent in Milan. Following an initial introduction to Leonardo’s formative years in Florence (and his apprenticeship to the sculptor and painter Andrea del Verrocchio, 1435-88), I will attempt to explain the significance of his presence in Milan with detailed descriptions of his work there. Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) was also an artist and architect, but is perhaps better known for his book on the lives of well known painters, sculptors and architects (published 1550; from Cimbue to his autobiography which was included in a revised edition):
MacCurdy , Edward. The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci . New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc., 1958. 209-314. Print.
Michelangelo Buonarroti is arguably one of the most inspired creators in the history of art and the most potent force in the Italian High Renaissance. As a sculptor, architect, painter, and poet, he exerted a tremendous influence on his contemporaries and on subsequent Western art in general.
Johnson, Geraldine A. Renaissance Art, A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Art, by definition, is “something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings”. Throughout history, one way that art has been used is to reflect a multitude of ideas and beliefs. Christian beliefs and ideas have been portrayed in artwork since the beginning of Christianity, although, it was not always acceptable to do so. The idea of the final judgement is a Christian idea that has been displayed in art repeatedly in a variety of ways. Michelangelo’s fresco the Last Judgment (1536-1541) is a piece that visualizes this idea. Since the time it was finished, this significant piece found in the Sistine Chapel has been continuously critiqued and analyzed. Many Christians struggle to interpret the event of a final judgment after reading it through Scripture. In analyzing Michelangelo’s piece, it is similar difficult to determine what he exactly meant to portray and what the various part of his masterpiece represent exactly. Many have examined this piece and made different regarding what exactly the various figures and objects are supposed to represent. The diverse interpretations of this work further shows the idea that when Christian ideas are reflected through artwork, it is hard to ascertain exactly what an artist intended to demonstrate. In addition, the controversies surrounding this piece represent the idea that when Christian ideas are revealed through art, there is potential for disagreement regarding what should and should not be included in Christian art. Michelangelo’s Last Judgment is just an example of what results when Christianity is brought into art.
Brown, Patricia Fortini. Art and Life In Renaissance Venice. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997.
Paolucci, Antonio. The origins of Renaissance art: the Baptistery doors, Florence. New York: George Braziller, 1996.
Leonardo’s version of the Last Supper was painted El fresco depicting the scene passively without emotion. The work has the supper table horizontal across the lower third and Jesus and his twelve disciples dining behind it, before a backdrop of both man made structure and natural landscape. The artwork is un-cluttered and simple. The lighting is subtle and non-dramatic. Colour is conservative and dull this is partly due to the limited paint available and the technique and decay of fresco painting. The wor...
The Last Judgement by Michelangelo is the most preeminent representation of Italian Renaissance fine art, and undoubtedly the most valuable piece of the era. Characteristics of Italian Renaissance artwork are present throughout the painting. Realism, perspective, individualism, light & shadowing and are the most prominent qualities of this painting. Particularly, realism is expressed through the nudity of the people displayed in the painting, not every person’s body is perfect, ideally many bodies have flaws. Realism and expression are shown when “the proportions of his figures grew… more menacing… [and] seething with nudity” (1). The people behind the altar of the Chapel were naked with indecent expressions, displaying individual