Fra Carnevale: Presentation Of The Virgin In The Temple

Art History Make-Up

Miquela Caswell

Professor Keotch

Art History

1. Fra Carnevale, Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple

The painting is an epic to the daily life of a church at the start of the Renaissance. The painting is done for a little girl who is in the foreground. The sole purpose of the painting is the eagerness and excitement of the future. The people are active in bright clothes. The colors used are bright showing hope for the future. The people in the painting add to the delightful optimism. The forms are delineated like the columns. Apparent details above the columns, retreating into the background. The masses have space and mass. Every stone is perfectly in place. There is a peculiar darkness across the painting that

hops above two angels.
The result is a fantasy.

This is a place of worship that is so ornate, precise and exactly in angle that it could only be the vision of a Renaissance monk. The forms in the painting are obvious that one does not become aware at first of the fact that the building does not make a lot of sense. Arches and columns stagger all over, dividing space. The windows do not align, none of the pillars stand at same height.

There is deep space on a flat surface. The museum wall caption mentions “Roman art Inspiration”, and this is evident in the Fra Carnevale, as the painting captures the church in the early days with the people dressed in long, colorful robes flowing to the floor. The church in this context the roman church is a place of culture where people are free to express themselves and their different ideologies. The church belongs to everyone and everyone is welcome. Lastly, there are striking examples of architectural fantasy and expertly calculated mathematical perspective (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1951).

2. Northern Painting Saint Luke drawing the virgin is a very important European

painting.

Saint Luke drawing the Virgin is a painting by Rogier Van Der Weyden in the year c. 1435-1440. It is a tempera and oil on oak panel. The painting is a picture of Saint Luke painting Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. Saint Luke is an evangelist. Van Der Weyden made this painting for the association of Saint Luke. He painted himself as Saint Luke, identifying himself with the evangelist. Van der Weyden emphasized the profession of artist by having St Luke paint the Virgin in silverpoint.
This painting is among the first examples of this idea in Renaissance art. It shows a personal connection between the artist and the painting. This connection is reflected in the painting with St. Luke sharing a moment with the virgin and the child. The virgin is not portrayed with a halo or crown; instead, she sits on a stool: a Madonna of humility, giving van der Weyden is painting a “new sense of naturalism”. There are several differences and similarities between Van Eyck’s Rolin Madonna and Saint Luke drawing the virgin.
The most notable similarity is the three-paneled opening in the background with a distant landscape, the religious iconography, and the fact that a mortal figure occupies the same space as the Madonna and child. Main difference is Van der Weyden’s “warmer” approach as compared to Van Eyck’s more pious earlier works. 15th Century Flemish paintings are oil painted figures featured convincingly and with keen consideration to detail. Most of Flemish paintings are focused on biblical stories but occur in a15th century setting. In the artwork, there are several symbols used to express different philosophical, moral, and religious messages. Oil painting was famous in the 15th century.
3. Mannerism
Mannerism is an era of art that came into being around 1520. It encompasses a diversity of approaches inclined by the ideals connected with artists like Rosso. Mannerism favors instability instead of the clarity and balance of the first Renaissance painting.
One of the striking formal characteristics of this painting is the highly refined modeling of the bodies, which become extraordinarily soft under the effect of a warm, intense light. Rosso Florentine’s style changed from violent and raw stances to a warmer style. He became fascinated of the beauty portrayed by the idealized human figure. This is achieved through a medley of simplistic composition, warm lighting, and softened color tones. This work depicts the quiet moment after the crucifixion in which Christ has been removed from the cross and has been left by his followers for a moment of repose.
Instead of a scary scene of death, in this picture Christ looks like he is sleeping peacefully the only indication of crucifixion being the nails on the ground below him, the delicate, thin crown of thorns on his head and the wound on his side (Murray, 1967). This painting depicts emotional quality. It focuses more on physical beauty and harmony. The colors used in this painting are vibrant and rich.
Fiorentino was not afraid to try anything new. After the thoroughness and idealism of the rebirth, artists were enthusiastic to spread and broaden the forms of art. Mannerism was an era of European history that came after Renaissance movement. Some critics view mannerism as late renaissance. Mannerism has only been appreciated in the recent years. Florentino, with his vague use of elongated figures and space, wants to rebel against the norm, he has more in common with recent artists rather than the renaissance artists of the time.
The primary of intuition and imagination was a basic rule of Greco’s technique. He assumed that grace is the main purpose of art, but the artist achieves it only if he can resolve the difficult problems with ease. Greco regarded color as the main ingredient of painting, and acknowledged that color had primacy over form.
El Greco loved crude colors crude as a show of his agility. Art Historian Max Dvorak connected Greco’s art with antinaturalism and mannerism. In his work, Greco exhibited a tendency to embellish rather than to explain. The spiritual sensation transfers from painting to the audience. El Greco is violent and careless in execution of art. This was a way of acquiring freedom of style.
The frame of the human being becomes more unearthly in El Greco’s works. Another characteristic of his work is light. He had a mature style and had the capacity to change his technique in harmony with his environs. El Greco was also a portraitist; he was able to convey a sitter’s character. His portraits are fewer than the paintings, but are of good quality .El Greco was also a sculptor and an architect during his lifetime.
He designed altar compositions. El Greco is considered a painter who included architecture in his paintings. The Venetian painting technique of artists was derived from the painting technique of Northern Renaissance artists. In the Venetian painting technique, artists prepared the canvas with a glue-gypsum mixture, providing a pure white ground similar to gesso used today. The saint Dominic in prayer was completed in c. 1588.
The main style was mannerism (late renaissance) and it was painted during the Spanish period. It is a religious painting. Saint Catherine was worked on between the years 1610-1614. In this painting, she displays the martyr’s palm while resting her left arm on a fragment of the wheel her right hand holds the sword with which beheaded her.
4. Baroque Theatrical Realism
The martyrdom of Saint Mathew is a painting by Caravaggio and is one of his early mannerist works.

The painting illustrates the martyrdom of St Mathew the evangelist. According to belief, the saint was murdered on the commands of King of Ethiopia while celebrating mass at the altar. X-rays disclose two attempts at the masterpiece before the one we see today, with a progress towards simplification by decrease in figures, and decrease of the architectural aspect. The first translation exposed is in the mannerist approach of an admired artist in Rome. At this point Caravaggio focused more on the calling, a companion piece. This painting signifies the time when mannerism paves way to the baroque. The younger artists were loved the work, and Caravaggio became very famous in Rome. The Taking of Christ is the work of Michalengelo Merisi Da

Caravaggio.
A feature to be noted is that Caravaggio has used early church architecture in his favor: large cathedrals like those that Saint Peter’s are well lit unlike the small chapels. There are seven figures in the painting; from left to right they are St. John, Jesus, Judas, two soldiers, a man who is a self-portrait of Caravaggio, and another soldier. They are standing, and only the upper three- quarters of their bodies are depicted. The main light source is not evident in the painting but comes from the upper left. Cavaraggio’s style is recognizable for its realism, intense chiaroscuro and emphasis on co-extensive space. Caravaggio went beyond the call of being natural. The artist shows every detail as it is and does not hide it in fantasy

References
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.). (1951). The Metropolitan Museum of Art miniatures: Your own museum of art in miniature. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Murray, L. (1967). The late Renaissance and Mannerism. New York: F.A. Praeger.
Nicoll, A. (1967). The development of the theatre: A study of theatrical art from the beginnings to the present day. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
Purtle, C. J., & Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (1997). Rogier van der Weyden, St. Luke drawing the Virgin: Selected essays in context. Turnhout: Brepols.
Rowland, D. B. (1964). Mannerism: style and mood: An anatomy of four works in three art forms. New Haven: Yale University Press.