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The idea of the human body and how to represent it in art changed drastically throughout the Renaissance. Not only did the new materials and techniques that were created help further images into looking natural and realistic, but the social changes that were coming about affected how the nude was represented as well. During this period, the people looked back towards antiquity to understand their current world. In a sense, the ancient world of Greeks and Romans seemed more tangible as a past history to the people in this era than history from medieval times. Over time, attitudes towards the body and the nude followed this evolution into becoming more accepted, but through the scope of Christianity and ancient literature or philosophy. Along with this …show more content…
While the artists of antiquity embraced the nude body, during the Renaissance the nude was something that was hard to tackle. One of the major reasons that the naked body was looked down upon within this society is because of its connection to that of original sin. Original sin, which led to the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, was an idea that was contrived by St. Augustine but impacted Renaissance society deeply. Various paintings conveyed the clashing perspectives and themes, but it began to embrace the representation of the body in a specific kind of interpretation as well. The artwork Birth of Venus by Botticelli is one of the paintings that mixed the world of the Renaissance with that of the antiquity. A mythological scene such as the one portrayed by Botticelli was popular among Florentines and the Medici. Works of mythology like this one are a part of the Neo-Platonist idea of the world of senses, which includes that real knowledge is the idea that through contemplation we can understand the mind and elevate the self to understanding the
Although, both the Aphrodite of Knidos and the Birth of Venus have like traits such as nude female body, contrapposto stance, and iconography, they also can be easily contrasted by period of creation, technique, and artist. The human body has always been a popular choice among artists, but it seems the nude female body is quite controversial. The Aphrodite of Knidos, sculpted by Praxiteles about 350 – 340 B.C., or during the Greek Late Classical period, was a nude female modestly covering her genitalia. The Aphrodite was what made the small island of Knidos known to people around the world. Some 1,000 years later, the Birth of Venus arrived. Artist Sandro Botticelli, during the Italian Renaissance (ca. 1482,) defied odds with a similar interpretation of the Aphrodite despite stricter views on nude women. Both pieces share similar traits, yet can be easily identifiable apart from each other.
Freestanding sculpture that decorated the early Classical Period of Greek Art consisted of predominantly male nude figures. The male body was used in seeking to create "more realistic ways to portray the human figure in painting and sculpture and to place figures in more realistic settings"(Stokstad pg 178). This portrayal of young men through freestanding sculpture revealed a sort of obsession with the male body in which society took on as the norm. As opposed to the Greek society, the one of today might associate nudeness with aspects of profanity and vulgarity because of the view that certain parts of the body are not to be seen by public eyes. A nude body of today may also be seen as sexy or provocative. This allows the public art form of yesterday to be replaced by the controversial art form of today.
Over the years many artist have viewed sensitive subjects within their work. Sex is one of the sensitive subjects that has been viewed in a positive and negative way. Before and during the 19th century, most paintings, sculptures, and art pieces focused on the features of a human's body. During this time, most artist believed that showing these features of a human could show the role a woman and man had in life. Sculptures in early times focused on the body of a man and showed distinctive features from head to toe. Most sculptures were representations of Greek Gods, which showed their strength and power throughout their body. Showing the sexual side of men in art, lead to showing the sexual features of a woman. The sexual features of a woman was shown throughout paintings and sculptures that mostly represented fertility. suppose to symbolize the sexual union between him and the woman. The idea of showing sex in art has been shaped and formed into various perspectives.
They also had the use of perspective and many times real people and settings were represented. Examples of these Renaissance paintings would be Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Raphael’s School of Athens, and Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. The Birth of Venus is a good example of humanism as the focus is Venus, the Roman goddess of love and Venus is standing contrapposto in the middle of the painting. The School of Athens is another perfect example as Greco-Roman architecture is prominent and the sculptures are painted in the contrapposto stance. The Last Supper expresses the idea that any individual had unlimited potential. Leonardo also uses facial expressions of the people to show who Christ
During the renaissance, there was a renewed interest in the arts, and the traditional views of society came into question. People began to explore the power of the human mind. A term often used to describe the increasing interest in the powers of the human mind is humanism. Generally, humanism stresses the individual's creative, reasoning, and aesthetic powers. However, during the Renaissance, individual ideas about humanism differed.
Though the Renaissance era included all of Europe, Italy was the cradle of the movement. The cities of Florence, Rome and Venice were of great importance to this period. Major artists created art mainly in these three. As the center of Italy, Rome held the residence of the Pope and many other important factors. Throughout history, the Roman Catholic Church was very insistent on promoting their ideas. During this time, they used artists and their creativity to promote the Bible and other aspects of their beliefs. Artists were paid, or commissioned by patrons (often the Pope) to create art they wanted. One of the most ambitious patrons was Pope Julius II, who realized the impact visual images had on people’s ideas (Kleiner, 599). Pope Julius II was called the warring Pope, because he often went and involved himself in wars. He also held very humanistic ideas. Because of this, Michelangelo’s relationship to Pope Julius II was very different from his relationship with Pope Leo X, who succeeded Julius II. Julius, because of his adaptions to humanistic thoughts, he let Michelangelo express himself to the fullest, even when forcing him to paint the Sistine Chapel. Leo X, however, was very critical of everything Michelangelo set out upon. This resulted a strained relationship, and eventually abandonment of projects that were supposed to be completed. It is clear that Pope Julius II had a liking for Michelangelo, while the Medici’s looked on him as a type of lowly artist subject to their will.
Renaissance art is a component of the Renaissance, it was a period of literary, artistic, and scientific revival occurred in Europe in the sixteenth century. The key aspect of the Renaissance period as is the renewal of themes and art in Europe after the middle ages. For the first time, art enters the private sphere; the works are no longer just driven by religious or secular power, but enter houses. The renewal of philosophical reflection provides artists with new ideas. Painters and sculptors do not hesitate to represent the beauty of the naked human body. The four great masters of art create art forms that are still references for many artists from the renaissance till today.
The Renaissance was a period of European history that began in 14th-century Italy and spread to the rest of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. In this period, the feudal society of the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century) was transformed into a society dominated by central political institutions, with an urban, commercial economy and patronage of education, the arts, and music. The term renaissance, literally meaning "rebirth," was first employed in 1855 by French historian Jules Michelet (Paolucci 14). Swiss historian Jakob Burckhardt, in his classic work The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860), defined the Renaissance as the period between Italian painters Giotto and Michelangelo (Paolucci 18). Burckhardt characterized it as the birth of modern humanity after a long period of decay, although modern scholars have since debunked the myth that the Middle Ages were dark and dominant (Paolucci 18).
“Known as the Renaissance, the period immediately following the Middle Ages in Europe saw a great revival of interest in the classical learning and values of ancient Greece and Rome” (History). The word Renaissance is French for rebirth (Sachs 7). The origins can be traced back to Italy in the 14th century (History). Florence, Venice, and Rome grew into major centers in art, due to the changes that were occurring during this time (Sachs 7.) Artists across the country were exploring their newfound creativity and for new ways to express these advanced concepts (Sachs 7). The Renaissance was a time for artistic expression, especially through the eyes of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
This paper explains the history and development of the nude art in the Renaissance and Medieval period. In the Renaissance age the patrons and artist readopted the antiquity of the classical Greek into representation of nude. This is an epoch when drastic changes occurred in which Christian authorities no longer viewed the nude art as something conflicting or shameful. In contrary they believed that nude being reformed in ancient in classical antiquity portrays divine characteristics and emancipates the light that is pure and heroic (Long, 2008; Bonfante, 1989; Tinagli, 1997). To establish a further understanding why during the Renaissance age nude art brilliantly portrayed human anatomy, the work of some most remarkable artists such as Michelangelo, Botticelli, Masaccio and Durer are described (Long, 2008) These minds welcomed the classical antiquity into their paintings and sculpturing and often the Greek athletic figures and mythological Venus figure were used as ideal models in depicting nude art (Bonfante, 1989). The classical renewal of nude art had specific roles attached to both male and female nude, in the world of art. The religious figures were depicted in antique forms as to convey their theological status and importance. In contrast to the Renaissance period, the Medieval representation of nude art was rare and Religious authorities oppose its development as they believed it may lead to sin and degradation (Long, 2008; Steinberg, 1983). In short this paper will present a historical overview of the nude art and how the diverse cultural attitude towards depiction of nude existed in each period.
The renaissance art was very different from the medieval art since the renaissance art brought back the human interest of art. I have always found to be surprising that some of the most famous artwork is of naked humans. I also find to be strange as well. Since there are so many things paint or to make sculptures about, this makes me wonders why would artist pick humans and especially naked humans? Sure humans are an interesting thing to make or paint about, however, why not do something of a kingdom, a war, a battle, and even an animal. There are so many things that artist can make, but why to make the focus of the renaissance art of naked humans. However, many tourists around the world will visit these famous these masterpieces work when they are visiting the countries they were created. For instance, the statue of David, which is located in Florence, Italy, was created during the renaissance and it was one of Michelangelo finest work. I have had the pleasure of being able to see the fascinating sculpture in person. At first, I thought it was no big deal. However, when I actually saw for the first time in person my reaction was just. “Wow… I never see anything like. It was incredible”. I also asked myself, “How did he do that? What gave him the inspiration to create such a sculpture? How has it stayed up this long?” I was impressed and usually, I am not impressed by art. It was just
This essay will reflect on how body is represented in the portraiture art within the Renaissance’s golden period detailing specifically Botticelli’s paintings and how this experience have broadened and enhanced my knowledge towards the future interest. This period arise when the medieval dark ages come to its end and artist and their patronage reinvented and represented the ideas of the classical mythology, particularly of the ancient Greek and Rome. It is a time when outstanding numbers of paintings, sculptures, alfresco were born and a human body was exposed as the centre of the universe. An epoch where the dominate themes were no longer pure religious devotions but it shift its focus primarily towards the anatomical beauty of the bodies, ideally represented. Furthermore, I will detail Botticelli’s paintings “The Birth of Venus” and briefly reflect on other two “Venus and Mars” and “Primavera” paintings. All three include the mythic figure of the Venus, who signifies both passionate love and intellectual love that still culturally lives in today’s world. In my view a real portrait signifies the components of the individuality and also can translates the ideal impression of the truth embodied within human body and soul.
The Italian Renaissance included some of the greatest artists we have ever seen from Leonard Da Vinci, to Michelangelo, and Raphael. The Renaissance took place from the late thirteenth to sixteenth centuries and is know as the ‘rebirth’. The idea that the rebirth of the arts after being asleep for a thousand years is an amazing thing to grasp. This time brought back light to liberal arts, which were on the brink of being extinct. (Murray 2) What is also interesting about art during this time was that most of the art had Christian in its roots, for example, Botticelli’s The Allegory of Spring (Faure 1) is said to have had a Christian interpretation. (Murray) “Every Italian artist, willingly took the title of architect, sculptor, and painter” (Faure 2). At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Italian painters had asked the Flemish painters for their secret techniques because the Italians felt like the language of painting was one that was always meant for them. (Faure 4) The sculptors claimed their inspiration from ancient works. Lastly the Renaissance introduced idea of individualism, which helped the Italians get away from everything that was going on during that time. Art during the Renaissance included painting, sculpting and architecture, all of which were an important part in expressing the idea of individualism and making art what is is today.
In ancient Greek society, nudity was revered as a natural state of being. In exercise, art, and daily life, nudity was closely associated with the Greeks’ concept of youthfulness and beauty. The era was and continues to be famous for the depictions of precise, idealized anatomy that proliferated sculpture, pottery, and paintings produced by artists from the time. But this obsession with and celebration of the au naturel wasn’t afforded to all members of society. The lugubriously low social standing held by women at the time forced them to assume a more conservative way of dressing, as they continued to be disenfranchised and devalued.
Art has gone through many significant developments throughout history. The most important turning point was the renaissance. Art took a huge turn before the 1500’s and even after. The Renaissance has assisted the world of art in breaking away from a classic structure and shaping it to what it is day. Prior to this cultural rebirth, artworks were mostly not made to scale. Paintings were unrealistic and disproportionate. Religious figures seemed to be the focus of many works. The Renaissance changed the old social context of art by introducing humanism, new themes and techniques.