The Renaissance in Western Europe brought a “rebirth” to the arts. No longer was the church the only accredited patron for the arts. Instead, a wealthy middle class arose as patrons and were able to purchase artist’s works. Although many pieces still had religious themes, the styles, freedom of creativity, and less reserved pieces were created. The Renaissance was not only confined to Italy, although it is often mistaken as the birthplace of the movement. All over Western Europe artwork flourished. Artists from the north came to Italy to study the classical arts and the renowned Italian Renaissance artists. Many of the same themes and subject matters were depicted throughout Western Europe. One such subject matter, the Annunciation, was portrayed by Jan van Eyck, a Flemish panel painter, as well as, Fra Angelico, an Italian fresco painter. In short, the Annunciation occurred when God sends the angel, Gabriel to deliver the message to Mary that she will give birth to his only son. Although both artists had the same understanding of the biblical account, their styles varied to agree with the concerns and interests of the people of the time as well as where they lived. They were able to establish their individuality through their artwork, even with the same subject matter. The Annunciation by Jan van Eyck is a perfect reflection of Northern Renaissance panel painting while Annunciation by Fra Angelico is the essence of Italian Renaissance fresco painting. The compositions that each piece displays is different and prestige in its own right. Flemish panel painters were largely influential and created extraordinary developments in composition. The artwork tends to be very detailed and filled with symbolic meanings from surrounding objects or even coloring. Jan van Eyck was especially credited for paying exceptional attention to detail that creates such a realistic form, the figures seem lifelike. Much of this realistic appearance is due to the medium that was widely used in the North. The use of oil paints and techniques, such as finer detail with smaller brush strokes and layering of oil paints to create a glaze, were used and developed giving the Northern art distinct characteristics and composition. Italian painters created frescos by applying pigments to wet plaster. The result is a dull, flatter color and they were unable to achieve intricate detail. The com... ... middle of paper ... ...ic meanings that still are puzzling art historians today. Some of the key symbols that Stokstad points out in the text is the dove, representing the Holy Spirit; the white lilies as a symbol of the Virgin Mary. She also points out, two rather unknown symbols to the sacrilegious, the date of the Annunciation in signs of the zodiac on the floor, as well as the lone stained glass window that is symbolizing God rising above the three windows that are placed in the background behind Mary. These three windows represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 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.
The background behind the figure contains pelicans and grapes with vines. According to Mary Elizabeth Podles, the significance of the pelican is that the pelican will give its own blood to feed their own children, and the grapes represents the blood of Jesus during Eucharistic ceremony (54). Christians believe that they are consuming the blood of Christ when they drink the wine. Jesus fills his followers with his blood just like the pelicans feed his or her children with their blood.
Sandro Botticelli, The annunciation 1485 represents the angel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary looked at the images of each other, but separated them through the center rows of pillars, which unified composition by the ray of light reflected in the back of Angel Gabriel in the linear perspective carrying god’s message in the heaven. By contrast, Hans Memling, the Annunciation 1475 presents an image of Han Memling through the use of bright colors, it represents the left wing of triptych, by the tall, narrow shape and the diagonal thrust of composition, the stain glass window, the crown in the top of Han Memling represented the peace, the shape are all equal and all the shape of buildings are equally designed, the building s are symmetry, moreover, the repetition of colors makes the painting more stand out. The variety, pattern used all over the painting, such as the row of building are the same color. The
Another prevalent symbol to me is the idea of sin. In The Ministers Black Veil Hooper just suddenly one day shows up to church wearing a veil. At first the people are sort of angered by it. People soon start to flock to his congregation to view the spectacle, and go so far as to test their '"'courage'"' by seeing who will go and talk to him. I think that the veil could represent sin. In The Ministers Black Veil Hooper was either trying to hide his sin from the people so that they could not judge him, which is god"'"s job, or maybe he was trying to protecting his self from the sins of the people. In the end of The Ministers Black Veil Hooper dies, and sees his congregation all wearing black veils, which would probably hint that maybe it represented the sin in all of us. In The Birthmark Georgiana"'"s birthmark could represent, as some religions believe, the original sin which is bestowed on all by the '"'hand'"' of god. But, unlike Hooper, Georgiana could not help her markings.
Annunciation (Paolo Caliari) and The Raising of Lazarus (Joachim Wtewael) are oil on canvas paintings located in the Blanton Museum of Art. Annunciation is set on a balcony during sunset; the archangel Gabriel appears to be ascending from heaven and a woman seems to be falling in awe of the sight. The Raising of Lazarus depicts about fourteen people in a scene where everyone is looking at a different person, but no eye contact is taking place. The people are in the foreground, and a city can be seen in the background. Although these works of art were created during a similar time period and share a few similarities, these paintings also contrast in a number of ways when viewed closely.
As this painting was created in the High Renaissance, the composition shows the transition from spiritual to humanist. During this period, artists began to experiment with attempts to pay attention to realism and naturalistic features while still maintaining the appearances of spiritual figures. In the painting, Baptism of Christ, Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci worked on two angels seen on the left of the piece. Verrocchio was a renown early Renaissance artist, paying extreme details to humanism to a point where the line between real and spiritual was obsolete. In this painting, it is no different; the angel painted by Verrocchio appears as a small boy with a halo above his head. However, Leonardo’s contribution portrays an angel that is still divine, yet still having elements of realism. This concept of “realistic, yet spiritual” was a main idea that embodies the High Renaissance, and can be seen in Orley’s piece as well. Although there is a lack of attention to proper anatomy, the conception of “realistic, yet spiritual” is shown through the scenery in the background, where the landscape is depicted as a castle on the hilltop looming over a foggy forest. This imagery could be seen in reality, but the hazy feeling gives off a more spiritual world that is unearthly, but still on Earth. Landscaping also became a prominent theme that grew in
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...
A common topic of artwork throughout history has been the crucifixion of Christ. Since it is such a common topic, it makes it very easy to see how artwork changed and developed from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. The painting on the left, The Crucifixion by Pietro Lorenzetti, shows the usual characteristics of a painting from the Middle Ages. The facial expressions are not varied or very in depth, Jesus and the other saints have the typical halo that is used very often, and the colors are mostly all bright, making nothing in particular stand out. The second painting, on the right, is by Caravaggio and is titled The Flagellation of Christ. There is an obvious shift from one painting to the next. Caravaggio’s piece is much more realistic.
The first symbol is all the colors of the room. This symbolizes the ages of one’s life or the seven deadly sins. The colors are the rooms are “…blue- and were the windows. The second was purple… the third was green…the fourth was orange…the fifth was white…the sixth was violet…the seventh was
Even thought during 15th century, Northern Europe experienced numerous alterations in representation of pictorial space, this paper will only address two of the major changes. They include “MAN IN A RED TURBAN” which was developed by Jan van Eyck in 1433 and “DIPTYCH OF MAARTEN CAN NIEUWENHOVE” developed by Hans Memling in 1487. In these two arts, the sculptors used colored pigments, drying oils such as walnut, linseed, and poopy-seed oil. The tools included wood panel, canvas, wall, brushes, and spatulas (Pearson, 2005; Fuga, 2006).
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)
Piero della Francesca presented an iconic image of the Renaissance in Italy in his own way, highlighting the two most important idols of the Catholic church, Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Through oil paint, he connected sacred biblical meanings into his own masterpiece. He devoted Christ to portray him in a scene of blessing with his surroundings and other holy figures. The Madonna and Child with Two Angels (Senigallia Madonna), is a piece created with such emphasized meaning and such divinity of the holy, Jesus Christ and his mother the Virgin Mary.
One of the most noteworthy northern European writers of the Renaissance was the Flemish painter, Jan van Eyck. Although there are few records about his early life and rise to prominence, the Van Eyck family was well regarded within the Burgundian Netherlands which allowed historians to surmise that he was born in the 1380s. After years of travelling through various northern courts and gaining esteem, Jan van Eyck painted perhaps his most famous work, The Arnolfini Double Portrait. This work has been the subject of a great deal of critical analysis as a piece of Renaissance art. Some historians have found that the work is demonstrative of artistic and social ideals that were both ahead of its time and touted the line of controversy. However, taking into account the painting’s patronage, symbolism, artistic style, and function, it becomes clear that The Arnolfini Double Portrait is an exemplar of the Renaissance era artistic conventions and is not as difficult to parse as some critics would believe. In order to discuss the painting in its entirety, it is necessary to explore the context of the painting’s creation.
Symbolism is extremely prominent in the painting. For example, the yellow robes the priest is wearing denotes how he is hospitable and benevolence towards those in need. Whereas, Saint Jerome wears red which signifies the blood that was drawn at Christ’s crucifixion and how he was sacrificed so we could have a better life. In the upper right corner, four cherubs gather to look down on the people
During the 15th century, Europe started to have different cultural traditions that impacted the type artwork of artwork that was produced. There are several elements that have evolved during this time. Two artworks will be compared so that we will be able to evaluate how various techniques that are used can be used to portray the meaning of the painting as well as how the audience views the scene as well. One of the paintings that we will compare is a Annunciation panel (from the Merode Triptych), which was painted by Robert Campin in 1426. This painting will be compared to Holy Trinity, which was created by Masaccio in 1425. By comparing these two paintings, we will get a sense of what themes and ideals were valued during this time period.
The two painters Jan Van Eyck (c.1390-1441) and Hans Memlinc (d.1494) are both considered great masters of Northern Art. Van Eyck is known for his execution of naturalistic detail and creating translucency in his panels. Memlinc is known for his financially minded cornucopia of work and for revolutionising the genre of portraiture. However, their differences are more pointed than there similarities. Both artists are mindful of the traditions of the Flemish school, such a the use of light to create a sense of the third dimension on the panel and the importance of landscape and background. Both artists worked in Bruges at some point; Van Eyck was an earlier master who moved to Bruges in 1430 until his death. Memlinc was German but settled there in 1465 until his death. The paintings by Van Eyck that shall be discussed are The Ghent Altarpiece, Madonna with Chancellor Rolin, Portrait of a Man and The Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife. The paintings by Memlinc that will be discussed are The Diptych of Maarten Nieuwenhove, Portrait of a Young Man Before a Landscape and The Donne Altarpiece.