Saint Catherine of Alexandria painting by Raphael dated back in the year 1507 represents a traditional Christian saint martyred in the early 4th century in the hands of Emperor Maxentius who was a pagan1. In the painting, Saint Catherine is seen to lean on the wheel upon which she was condemned to die, but the wheel broke miraculously. The painting dates back to the year 1507 just before Raphael left for Rome from Florence. The saint's torsion and pose which shows her turning enraptured towards a heavy light shows Raphael's study on both the dynamic compositions of Leonardo and the sinuous grace of the Perugino's paintings portrays the religious passion in the painting.
According to hagiography, Saint Catherine was both a princess and a renowned
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It is relatively large size, something that is not common with other work by Raphael and its preparation for transfer has made a good number of art historians to take the painting as a final copy used for the relocation to the Saint Catherine of Alexandria wood panel in London2. However, precise comparisons have shown the divergence in the two paintings that include the right neck and nape side, face perspective, clothing as well as reduction of the figure.
The cultural aspect of the drawing is depicted by the standing and leaning nature of the saint on the wheel as well as the characteristic of her execution. Her curved movement in the figure is produced by using curving lines in drawing her hands and clothing. It is also clear from the front that her head is twisted to the left with a slight pose of her body. However, the drawing lacks a background as the artist concentrates on expressing the suffering on the saint’s face. The mindset of the pain experienced by the saint is disintegrated by the elegance of the garment that seems to swirl around her figure in a circular way. The drawing’s involvement of influences that are clearly visible in it has barred academicians from dating it accordingly. The drawing is believed to have been executed between the year 1505 and 1507 as it corresponds to a crucial stylistic development phase of Raphael who was known to have been highly sensitive and productive as far as taste change was concerned2. The painting of Saint Catherine shows Raphael’s extensive know-how who at a tender was approved to carry out the Vatican
Development in art often follows two tracks: development over a period of time and also differences in regional development. Both changes are seen in the comparison of Barna di Siena’s Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine and Rogier van der Weyden’s Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin and Child. Originating in Italy, the Renaissance began in the mid to late 13th century. Barna da Siena was one of the early Renaissance artists influenced by Duccio di Buoninsegna and Simone Martini. Barna di Siena’s painting is dated around 1340 and Rogier van der Weyden’s painting was painted nearly a century later around 1435. Rogier van der Weyden had the advantage of development in perspective and modeling that developed over time, but was also from the Flemish school of art, a style totally different from that of the early Italian Renaissance artists. What lends these paintings so readily to comparison is the fact that the general symmetrical composition of two main figures and the sizes of the two are approximately the same. However, it is clear that a century and a different region has created stylized differences that are very clear.
Saint Christina of Markyate’s story provides more than the religious experiences of a hermit, it presents twelfth-century life in, mostly, the Huntington area of England in a very detailed manner. Baptized as Theodora, Christina of Markyate’s path of religious devotion is claimed to have begun in her early teen years with a vow of chastity (35). This vow was only known to one other person, a close friend named Sueno, until her parents attempted to arrange a marriage for her. Being described as attractive and intelligent, as well as coming from a wealthy family, this was not uncommon for women in Christina’s lifetime. Upon declining the first suitor, a bishop, her hardships begin and, at times, seem as though they were both unlikely to end and
In addition, scenes from the lives of the Virgin Mary and St. Blaise, a fourth century martyr, are also present. All the characters in the panels more or less have halos and therefore are holy figures. The twelve apostles line the bottom of the panels, perhaps suggesting that they were the foundation of the Catholic religion. Basically, the painting is designed for a church altar, it has religious figures in it, and it is filled with Bibles and images of Christ's crucifixion. All of this relays a strong message to the viewer that this is what is important in life; one should pay close attention to religion and have respect for
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...
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.
It was examined by infrared reflectogram and x-rayed for the first time and, on the basis of stylistic hallmarks such as “emphatic cross-hatching,” such as on the face of the saint, it was confirmed to be a Michelangelo (Michelangelo, n.d.). The painting depicts a pale St. Anthony, who was a mystic and possessed the gift of levitation, floating in mid-air being accosted and attacked by several demons, one holding a fiery torch. A correction to the upper curve of one of the bat-like demon’s arms, where Michelangelo applied a slight paint stroke, can be seen.
In his Crucifixion, with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist Mourning (c.1460), a piece within the Northern Renaissance collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rogier van der Weyden portrays a stark image of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The right panel of the diptych depicts the gruesome image of a crucified Christ. Weight pulls the emaciated body down into a Y-shape, contrasting the T-shape of the cross it is mounted on. The only movement comes from the loincloth wrapped around Christ’s waist that dances in the wind. Blood visibly trickles from the corpse’s wounds. Behind the body, a red cloth is draped down the grey wall. At the base of the cross sits a skull and bone. The left panel portrays the Virgin Mary swooning in despair as Saint John attempts to support her weight. Her hands are clasped in prayer as she gazes up at her lifeless son. Both figures are clothed in pale draping robes. The vibrant red of the cloth that hangs from the grey wall in the background contrasts the subdued colors of the
Catherine of Siena was born in Italy in 1347 at a time when political and religious changes were affecting the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Dedicating her life to the Holy Spirit from a very young age, Catherine pursued a life of purity and simplicity that served as a background to her great literary work, The Dialogue of the Divine Providence . Her work focuses on the importance of prayer and its transcendent power in human life.
One of the very first well-known portrayals of this narrative was by Giotto di Bondone. From around 1304, it is an Early Renaissance painting. Jesus is lying down, cradled by the Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene is cares...
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
The Book Catherine of Aragon written by Garrett Mattingly is about the life of Catherine of Aragon, the princess of Spain during the late 1400’s and early 1500’s. The book begins with Catherine’s life as a small child, before she became Queen. The first section of the book talks of Catherine’s upbringing as a princess and includes details on the duties of her and her siblings. A good example of this is described on page 17 as it shows how Catherine and her sisters had to be educated on their bloodline, heraldry and genealogy as well as dancing, cooking, and horsemanship which were the interests of her class) .
The Christian Church was absolutely instrumental in the art of the Renaissance. It was the driving force behind every inspiration; without the Church, there would have been no art. The Church was the only institution powerful enough to be able to support the commissions of all of the artwork, and it was the only institution, in which people had enough faith and devotion to spend so much of their time and money creating pieces that—although beautiful—were not necessities. The role of religion in art actually began during the Byzantine era. During this time, all artwork was religious in nature, and most of it was done in a consistently similar style so that figures from the Bible could be easily recognized by everyone and so that people had a consistent view of religious matters. Art during this time was largely iconic, meant to inspire the awe of God in the viewer. Along with various versions of the crucifix, one of the most popular images of the Byzantine style was The Pantokrator, an image of Jesus Christ as shown from above. An example of one of these pieces was done in the twelfth century in the abbey church of Monreale in the city of Palermo. Jesus is a monumental figure that takes up much of the space across the apse of the Church. One of his hands forms a mudra as the other holds the scripture. His fully frontal and direct stance along with the glimmering gold background serves to strike awe and fear into the viewer. Clearly this piece was done with the intent to impress the value and mightiness of religion first and attention to the detail and technique of the art second.
5).17 This fresco was painted between 1509 and 1511 and is located in the Stanza della Segnatura (one of four in Raphael’s Rooms) in Vatican City. Known as one of the most prominent masterpieces that were created during the Renaissance, this painting represents a total of twenty-one diverse figures in deep conversation, work or amusement as they share ideas, talent and philosophies. In his painting, Raphael incorporated his view on education as such an important aspect of human life. Through doing so, he utilised both the subject matter and the style of
The ability to create a picture of The Annunciation in one’s mind is a key factor in understanding the analysis of the work. Francisco de Zurbaran approaches the painting with a naturalistic style. The painting features a room in which a woman – like angel is seen at the left kneeling on the ground before the Virgin Mary. The figure of Mary is placed between a chair and a small wooden table draped with a green cloth. Mary disregards an open Bible on the table, as she appears solemn while staring at the floor. Floating above the two main figures in the upper left side of the painting are cherubs resting on a bed of clouds. They happily gaze down at Mary with eyes from Heaven.
The primary reason for the growth of the adoration of the Virgin Mary during the Medieval and Renaissance Period was her symbolic power that was brought forth through art, sculpture and literature. She captured the Christians imagination through both popular devotion and a theological reflection of God in works created through out the Renaissance. It was the image of the "Mother of the Redeemer," featuring the merciful kindness of the Savior and of His mother as companion in the redemption work of her son to show her divine right to her God.