Compare And Contrast The Renaissance And Baroque Art

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The Italian Renaissance and the Baroque era are two major periods in art history, some of the types of art in those periods were painting, sculpting, and architecture. During these periods, many artist gained enormous fame from creating wonderful pieces of work that represented their beliefs and artistic thinking. This essay will analyze and evaluate two pieces from those major art periods. Rembrandt 's painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp and the sculpture David, by Michelangelo. These two masterpieces shed light of their significance in art history. David represents the Italian Renaissance for it being a strong symbol of the new republic, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp depicts the focus on human progression. At the …show more content…

It reflected the Counter Reformation by the Catholic church against the Protestants. Much of Baroque art were stylized from Mannerism and what was going on at the time. “To counter the inroads made by the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church after the Council of Trent adopted a propagandistic stance in which art was to serve as a means of extending and stimulating the public’s faith in the church. To this end the church adopted a conscious artistic program whose art products would make an overtly emotional and sensory appeal to the faithful” (Britannica). This led to a new interest in nature and the need for learning, encouraging the developments of science and exploring the world, where art was becoming more engaging and …show more content…

Rembrandt was known for his expressive use of light and shadow in his paintings. His painting, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is an important example of medical progression. It is a group portrait of surgeons who are participating in a public dissection of a cadavers left arm being examined. The Netherlands in the 17th century was largely Protestant and art was no longer created for the Church. Artist look to merchants and professionals for patronage. During the Renaissance, artists explore the human body and then in Baroque era they begin somewhat a scientific exploration of the human body. Like Michelangelo, he dissected corpses in private so he can have a better understanding of the human

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