A great artist, Eugene Delacroix, once said, “What moves men of genius, or rather what inspires their work, is not new ideas, but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough.” This famous saying, highlights one of the reasons art or even a single painting is so important. Art is more than shapes and colors; art brings about so much more meaning. It expresses life, history, beauty, and morals. It shows beliefs and contributes to the many reasons that make a human being, a human. Art represents past, present, and future. An ancient painting that was made over 500 years ago could have all the meaning in the world. It shows what life was back then, how humans have evolved since, and how humans should evolve in the future. Understanding a future is the understanding the past, which is why Sandro Botticelli’s famous painting the Birth of Venus, is so important to understand. Knowing a masterpiece is first knowing a little bit about the artist behind the masterpiece. Sandro Botticelli was born in Florence, Italy and lived from 1445-1510. His real name was Alessandro Filipepi but he was brought up by his brother who nick-named him Botticelli meaning “little barrel”. The book Sandro Botticelli Life and Work by Ronald Lightbown talks about how Botticelli spent his entire life in Florence, experiencing some of the most common hardships that were expected during the fifteen century such as plague, flood, hard winters, and famine. Botticelli was a famous early Renaissance painter and is recognized for his well-known painting Primavera, which was known as the largest mythological painting of the Early Renaissance. This work has a humanistic nature and is said to reflect contemporary ... ... middle of paper ... ...that really brings an ancient religion back to life and makes me realize just why humans centered their lives on these angelic super humans. Botticelli did such an amazing job of making a Greek fantasy come to life. It’s almost like its own beautiful world that makes one want to enter. Conclusively, Botticelli’s painting the Birth of Venus, was one of the most insightful paintings of the Renaissance. It gave amazing painting techniques and depictions of the ideal women. It portrayed parts of Greek mythology beliefs and showed just why Venus was the main focus of the painting due to her beauty and grace. This masterpiece represents the birth of love and that spiritual beauty is a main force of life. After 500 years, colors may fade and paint may chip but the breathtaking message Botticelli was trying to perceive about Greek mythology and beauty will always stay.
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Show MoreThough most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.
The works of art from the Archaic Period, Classical Period, and Hellenic Period developed physically and mentally, and the study of their aesthetic differences from period to period allow for a decided contrast and comparability. This interpretation has had a profound effect on the art world and that continues even in today’s world. The importance of Greek sculptures is evident in the storytelling of the gods, the people, and the culture. We use these sculptures as a tool to go back into the past of the Greek people, letting us admire how far mankind has truly come, whether it is in art or intelligence. Generation after generation has been and will continue to be able to see for themselves the society, culture and uniqueness of these periods through the wonderful sculptures that came out of ancient
Peter Paul Rubens’ masterpiece, Venus and Adonis, is not only a significant artwork of the baroque-period in Europe during the 17th century, but it also tells the mythological story that begins with love, and ends in tragedy. Displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this painting is admired for representing the unique baroque-style of this era, as well as Rubens’ particular use of the medium and how it reaches those who are viewing it. His attention to detail and crafty use of symbolism within the painting assist viewers in deciphering the story, along with the values of the time period in which Rubens was living. In studying the composition of the work and noting the historical context from which it came, one can ultimately understand Rubens’ point-of-view and thus, connect to the painting in a way he or she has never imagined.
It seems fitting that for more than a century, the popular image of an angel has been that of an angel by Angelico. As historian Pope-Hennessy tells us - "the idiom he evolved has come to be regarded as the natural language of religious painting". (1) The impetus to research Fra Angelico's life comes from a deep respect for religious art . However, having grown up in the Catholic Church, stained glass windows and sculptures of religious figures were more familiar to me than religious paintings. An in-depth look at the life of one of the most familiar Italian artists was very appealing . Angelico's work was very well known in his own day, and throughout the entire Renaissance period it lost none of its luster and none of its influence over artists and art lovers. (2)
Giorgio Vasari’s book The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects was written as a second edition in 1568. It is a collection of written accounts that Vasari thought were the best and most esteemed artists in the Renaissance, which specifically focuses on North Italian cities such as Florence and Milan. This primary source is a tool that gives the reader an understanding of the ways in which Italian Renaissance artists lived their lives. The Lives is also important because it is considered the first book to focus on art history. Barolsky states that Vasari’s Lives is “a foundational text in the history of art history” (Barolsky 33). Vasari, in many ways paved the way as an art historian for others in the future by writing
1. In the Botticelli work at the Uffizi, what concept of the Renaissance did most of the work of Botticelli relate to? During Botticelli era of renaissance, the culture shifted from religion to science along with mystical theories. When viewing Botticelli’s work at Uffizi website, noticeably his work related to mythological subjects during Renaissance. Paintings such as “Birth of Venus” by Botticelli on the Uffizi website display mythological art. This piece of art describes the birth of Goddess Venus on a sea shell yet fully grown. In addition, this painting exemplifies Botticelli’s mythological impact on Renaissance.
As time passed throughout the Renaissance, and artits and artisans moved up through the ranks of the social hierarchy, they slowly started becoming known as geniuses. They all competed against each other and constantly set the bar higher for not only other artists but also themselves and powerful figures at the time. In the Adoration of the Magi, Botticelli not only includes himself in the painting, he also replaces the Three Kings with Medici Family. The Medici’s were critical in the progress of Botticelli’s career especially Cosimo de’ Medici who appears, kneeling in front of Mary and Jesus. The other two kings are Cosimo’s two sons, Piero and Giovanni de’ Medici. This painting helped to solidify the friendship that the Medicis and Botticelli
There are a lot of paintings that are really famous but there artist is dead and the paintings by far out lived the painters by a lot of years like 100s of years. Some of those paintings can show us what it was like to live back when they were alive and gives us history on what things might have looked like. One types of painting that I think is the most fascinated is what the Indians drew in caves. There have been many debates on what the pictures on the cave walls means. The paintings tell about their lives and the way that they did things the thigs they hunted and different ways that they may have believed. The pictures thought us about their culture and what different animals were sacred and animals that they hunted. Also Rome made sculptures of the gods that they believe in and that thought us about what they did for their beliefs and there old building also gave us a lot of what they did and there culture. Old art works show us what the culture was like in the times that those group of people lived
Sandro Botticelli was a painter in the early Renaissance and was not appreciated during his time. Botticelli never wed because he did not like the idea of marriage and he claimed that it gave him nightmares. There were suspicions that he was homosexual, but it was never proven right or wrong. One of his most famous paintings is The Birth of Venus, which depicts the goddess Venus. Another famous painting of him is Primavera , also known as Allegory of Spring, portrays a group of mythological figures in a garden. It did not have an art historian named it. By analyzing the cultural background, the theme, and details we will be able to understand why Botticelli is considered an important painter.
The Birth of Venus is a beautiful Renaissance canvas masterpiece created by Sandro Botticello. The picture illustrates the birth of Venus in a very mystical way. Venus has emerged from sea on a shell which is being driven to shore by flying wind-gods. She is surrounded by beautiful roses which are painted in a truly remarkable color. As she is about to step to land, one of the Hours hands her a purple cloak. The back drop includes the sea and a forest. The overall effect of this painting are almost overwhelming, color and beauty meet the eye in every angle.
Long, J.C., (2008). Botticelli’s Birth of Venus as wedding painting. Aurora, The Journal of the History of Art, 9, p.1. ISSN 1527-652X.
During the ancient times in Greece, Plato was the first human to document and criticize the existence of art and artists. He mentioned that human art was always in a form of a representation of something else. In one of Plato’s famous works, he demonstrates the idea of art is like an “imitation of nature” (Blocker 3). In other words, the purpose of art was to represent nature and nothing else. Art was not created for the sake of its own self nor was it created to appreciate its own beauty by any means. Instead, art, usually in forms of writings, paintings, or sculptures, was created to only to represent nature, Gods, emperors, families, or other important individuals. Furthermore, Plato had a very critical view towards the existence art in our society because art makes us more emotional, and our emotions lead to many errors about life. He believed it is our rational thinking, not our emotions or senses, which helps us und...
Botticelli uses a vast number of techniques in this painting he uses the contrast of the figures with the dark outline of their bodies to have the pop off of the canvas, he used the robes and flowers to show the force and direction of Zephyors breath, elongated limbs to interest the viewer. Botticelli believed to have used the Golden ratio in this painting .The Golden Ratio or Phi (1.618) is basically creating and appreciating a sense of beauty through harmony and proportion. The Birth of Venus can be broken up into three vertical and horizontal, Zephyors and Chloris would be in the left, Venus in the center, and Horae to the right. The way Botticelli uses contrast to draw the viewer to the newly born deity with a dark outline around the body to show emphasis on her pale skin with soft pink or coral tones for shadow on the skin. The way he painted the hair as it gracefully drapes down to be gathered at her pelvis, by using mixture of a yellow ochre color to bring highlights and depth the goddess golden locks. Zephyors tanned skin glows against the soft blue from his silk like robe, Chloris clinging from him her pale skin emphasize his warmth .The use of drapery, waves, and even hair to show movement and direction, the darkness of the background and the bright
Art can be regarded as one of the greatest pastimes. From the several finger paintings of the family created in Kindergarten to the priceless paintings and artifacts found in the Louvre, art is appreciated by all. In Lamen’s terms, art can be defined as a way of expressing oneself. Although many people consider art to consist of paintings and drawings the variety of subjects under this heading are numerous. Some include sculptures, music, and even photography. However, of all these, paintings are regarded as some of the most common inner expressions. Inner expressions range from love to grief, but a specific example is respect for nature. These images enable one to exercise the imagination in ways daily life is not capable. A good painting will allow one to dream into a world unlike their own, feel the terror, or serenity. Also by simply looking at a painting, one can tell about the feelings of the artist at that time. It is rare to not see a depiction of some natural landscape. With their talent, artists express their love and respect for nature through the simple brush strokes. Two paintings represent this fact. One entitled Port of Ostia During a Tempest, by Leonardo Carlo Coccorante, is a depiction of a violent storm. The second painting by Sanford Glifford, entitled Kaaterskill Falls, is a more subtle painting of a valley. This expression has been seen from the beginning of man, when he first drew on the walls of caves hoping to extract the souls from the animals, throughout the course of history.
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.