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 rediscovery of Greek and Roman classical antiquity in the Renaissance Italy created a perfect climate for creative ...
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...ver surpass its extraordinary success. The vast collection of the antique nude arose from this age and enriched the world today with its remarkable work. It seems that as Michelangelo explains God sparked divine gifts into their intellect, gifts designed to be shared and enjoyed with the whole world.
Works Cited
Long, J.C., (2008). Botticelli’s Birth of Venus as wedding painting. Aurora, The Journal of the History of Art, 9, p.1. ISSN 1527-652X.
Gromling, A. & Lingesleben,T. (1998). Botticelli 1444/45-1510 [Translation from the German; Fiona Hulse] (1st ed.).Koln, Germany: Neue Stalling, Oldenburg.
Tinagli, P. (1997). Women in Italian Renaissance Art: Gender Representation Identity. Manchester, University Press.
Bonfante, L. (1989). Nudity as a costume in classical art. American Journal of Archaeology, 93(4), 543-570. (greek male nude, excellent )
As time kept passing, more and more magnificent sculptures were made by numerous artists. One of the most memorable sculpture was Aphrodite of Knidos, goddess of love and beauty. Back in the Late Classical Period, the civilians were only used to seeing ideal male nude bodies, but Praxiteles decided to make a different approach and sculpted the first female nude. Because he obviously had never seen a goddess before, he used his imagination and sculpted bathing Aphrodite as humanlike possible. He did not make it look idealistic, but instead made it beautiful with flaws.
The small, crudely carved statuette of an obese woman contrasts heavily with the graceful classical forms of sculpture such as Aphrodite of Cnidos, Praxiteles, 350 BCE. Although it would be difficult to associate the word beautiful with this statuette, there can be no doubt that it reflects the female form. The statuette has also been known as “la poire” or “the pear” due to its size and shape and more recently was donned the Woman from Willendorf. The removal of the title Venus served to take away the figurine’s status as a goddess and lower it to the human level, therefore allowing more consideration of the figurine’s purpose (Witcombe, sec. 3. The adage of the adage.
...e of Knidos, created by Praxiteles, can only be found in copies today, but at the time was the first sculpture of a goddess nude. He had transformed marble into the soft and radiant flesh of the goddess of love and taking on a worldly sensuousness. Originally located in a rotunda where it could be seen from all angles. Female nudity was very rare to the Greeks, especially that of a goddess. The sculptor made it look like Aphrodite’s nudity was nonchalant, which made it more sensuous with a welcoming look on her face. With several copies, all being found to be slightly different, all still capture the goddess’s womanly beauty that is not too sexually aggressive. With he hourglass torso, sloped shoulders, large hips and thighs, slim calves and ankles, and small feet and hands, this statue is the polar opposite of any manly figure, which is why it is known to be luring.
Winckelmann like Vasari dealt greatly with the artistic problems concerning representation and imitation of nature including the need for the human beauty in a figure. However he also was interested in art criticism based in historical timelines and causes for the change and evolution of modern art. This greatly seen in this article not only in his thesis that great contemporary art is based in antiquity but also in his explanation for why the Greek art was so well done and why it has risen back into the hands of modern art. First, Greek work came back to contemporary society greatly by the monarch led by Titus who brought authentic work from Greek masters for his artists to learn from and imitate. He also discusses the correlation between the bodies, like that of the Theseus model, with the Greek lifestyle they lived based heavily on training for the Olympic games and the resemblance of youth’s bodies to godlike figures. Great masters of contemporary work use these same bodily model and ideal of beauty in their work. Winckelmann states that their present good taste is due to the fact that they, “partook of good taste at its source.” Overall the Greeks set up rules of art that could be imitated to capture nature and its ideal form of beauty, an idea that many sought to accomplish.
”[3] Botticelli has achieved a sense of movement in the painting; Zephyrus’ gusts catch the brocaded mantle in undulation, carrying also the perfumed rose petals that swiftly fall upon the whitecaps. The Birth of Venus was painted in ca.1482 and has been exhibited at the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence. This painting was intended to be one of Botticelli’s most famous artworks painted for the Medici. The Medici were enthusiastic art collectors of the humanist art movement during the Renaissance.
The primary focus of ancient Greek sculptures was that of the human body. Almost all Greek sculptures are of nude subjects. As the first society to focus on nude subjects, Greek sculptors attempted to "depict man in what they believed was the image of the gods and so would come to celebrate the body by striving for verisimilitude or true – likeness (realism and naturalism!)."(Riffert) Not only did the Greeks celebrate the human form in their art but also in everyday life. (Riffert) One of the favorite topics for sculptors was that of the athlete. In Greek culture athletes were described as "hero–athletes". (Riffert) This shows that athletes were revered and looked upon as heroes. The influence of athleticism is evident in many famous sculptures. I will attempt to show how the human form influenced Greek art. It is important to note that many of the Greek sculptures discussed do not exist in their original form but rather in Roman copies of the original bronze sculptures. (Riffert)
Partridge, Loren. The Art of Renaissance Rome 1400-1600. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1996.
The masculine and idealized form of the human body is an ever-present characteristic of Michelangelo’s sculpture. Many people over the years have speculated why this may be, but there has never been a definitive answer, and probably never will be. Through all of his sculpture there is a distinct classical influence, with both his subject matter and his inclination to artistically create something beautiful. In most cases, for Michelangelo, this means the idealized human figure, seeping with contraposto. This revival of classical influences is common for a Renaissance artisan, but the new, exaggerated form of the human body is new and unique to Michelangelo’s artistic style.
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.
In the Medici Chapel, commissioned by Pope Leo X and Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici around 1520, Michelangelo sculptured four nudes, two around the tomb of Lorenzo and two over the tomb of Giuliano, although two of the nudes were female, Night and Dawn, it is believed that male models were used and their bodies are strong and athletic looking. The figure Day over the tomb of Giuliano, is a most unusual pose: left arm under the body, right arm crossing to show a muscular back, legs crossed in the opposite way, and a partially blocked out head. This figure provides another testament to the evolution of the artist’s style, talent and uniqueness.
The Birth of Venus, by Sandro Botticelli, after 1482, was the choice for my writing assignment. It can be found on page 401, in our textbook, The Humanistic Tradition, by Gloria K. Fiero. The painting is a tempera on canvas and is 5ft x 9ft ½ in. Canvas was often used because it was less expensive and easier to transport. The Birth of Venus was one of the first non-biblical female nude paintings. Many of the earlier artwork of nude females were of Eve. As I was doing research, I found many different opinions and interpretations of the work. Often nude female artwork enhances a demeaning image of the female.
...reat talents of artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and many more. We don’t see the type of art that was done during the Renaissance in today’s world. Art has given us the opportunity to almost go back in time, to see people’s emotions and feelings and how events happening in the world just by looking at an artists masterpiece.
The Birth of Venus is a beautiful Renaissance canvas masterpiece created by Sandro Botticello. The picture illustrates the birth of Venus in a very mystical way. Venus has emerged from sea on a shell which is being driven to shore by flying wind-gods. She is surrounded by beautiful roses which are painted in a truly remarkable color. As she is about to step to land, one of the Hours hands her a purple cloak. The back drop includes the sea and a forest. The overall effect of this painting are almost overwhelming, color and beauty meet the eye in every angle.
The Renaissance was a time when people began to think and see things differently. It was a time for new innovations. People wanted to study the past and learn more about culture. People began to see important in human emotion, and they began to see that there was much more rather than just religion. Europe was facing many problems like the Black Death. But the problems caused a shift in the world view of people in 14th century Italy. During the early 1400’s, Europe witnessed a major rebirth of fine art painting, sculpture, drawing and architecture. Early Renaissance art had its birth of creativity and development in Florence, Italy, which eventually spread to Western Europe. Italy contained the status of being the richest trading nation with both Europe and the Orient, Italy was fortunate to be left with a huge repository of classical ruins and artifacts. In almost every town and city, examples of Roman architecture and sculpture, including copies of sculptures from Ancient Greece, had been familiar for centuries. The decline of Constantinople and the capital of the Byzantine Empire caused many Greek scholars to go to Italy, bringing knowl...
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.