Contextually, Raphael’s favorable personality and artistic reputation for having good taste contributed to his rise in certain circles, who called upon him for commissions, which he rendered with his artistic talent and mastery of perspective. In addition, Raphael’s contextual interpretation of this Madonna and Child includes the portrayal of a bearded Pope Julius II as St. Sixtus. Kloss (2005) states:
St. Sixtus was an early Christian pope who was the patron saint of the della Rovere family and Pope Julius II was a della Rovere; and here, the kneeling St. Sixtus, the early Christian St. Sixtus, has the features of Julius II. I want to point out the pope to you, well, the saint who bears the features of the pope, because Pope Julius is
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It's not difficult to imagine them walking or kneeling on these clouds. They have absolutely that kind of physical presence because there's no background in the sense of measurable space, but just clouds and the aura, the glow around the Madonna and child, it all presses forward toward us. And we are really given a tremendous sense of its presence, of its space (L21, 06:45). These two Renaissance artists comparatively are unsurpassed in innovation, originality and mastery of Renaissance techniques, which have influenced their contemporaries as well as their successors and continue to do so. The mannerist style emerged in Italy, particularly in Rome and Florence early in the sixteenth century, overlapping with the tail end of the High Renaissance. Mannerism was an intermediary trend that bridged the idealized style of the Renaissance and the dramatic exuberance of the Baroque eras. Aspects of Mannerism that culminated this trend, were “artifice, a tension of poses, conflicted compositions, emotional unease, or emotional exaggeration, a suppression or contradiction of the Renaissance spatial coherence, and non- canonical proportions, such as elongations in addition to the absence of primary colors which moved toward the acerbic, clashing hues”
Barna di Siena’s Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine exhibits a highly dramatic style that was not seen in his mentor nor in his fellow student Lippo Memmi’s work. The symmetric composition consists of two main figures, Saint Catherine and the adult Jesus. In the painting, Jesus is seen placing a ring on Saint Catherine’s finger and taking her as his spiritual bride. Both figures appear to be very light and frail and the draperies they wear do not show the human f...
During the late sixteenth century a new style of art, known as Mannerist, emerged through out Italy as a result of the Protestant Reformation. Mannerist distorted art was justified because it served mid way between the ideal, natural, symmetrical and the real, artificial, and unbalanced. The religious and political upheaval lead to the distinct Mannerist style know for being stylish, cultured, and elegant. Mannerist art is thought provoking, asking the viewer to ponder and respond to the spatial challenges and meaning found in the painting, sculpture, and architectural work. Mannerist painting and sculpture are characterized by complicated compositions, distorted figure styles, and complex allegorical interpretations. Meanwhile Mannerist architecture often employs classical elements in a new and unusual way that defies traditional formulas.
Hartt, Frederick, and David G. Wilkins. History of Italian Renaissance art. 6th ed. of the book. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2006.
Classicism of the Renaissance has been replenished during the Baroque period. During the Baroque artistic period, the exploration of the fundamental components of human nature and the realm of senses and emotions were very crucial. The Baroque era was a very dynamic time that showed an abundance of radiance and color. Artists of this time are passionate and sensual. Their works were many times considered to have an overpowering emotional effect.
The Renaissance was a time of rebirth, as its name entails. In Italy, more people were becoming literate and more books were being printed. More scientific discoveries were being made and therefore more theories were being published. In this time of intellectual prosperity, art also made a great leap. Perspective was the main change during this time period, and throughout the years, starting around 1400, it became more involved and more intricate. Eventually artists were so adept at using it, that it became the primary way to insert intimacy and feelings of emotion into a painting. This evolution of technique paved the way for later artists to play with new approaches to allow the viewer to experience an image in different ways.
Christ came into Mary's life through Gabriel, an angel, coming down from heaven to tell her that God has a plan for her and that she will be the mother of God's son. Her life was predetermined by God and she was meant to have complete trust in God. Donatello's purpose with this sculpture was to convince his viewers to trust in God, protect Christ, and show complete devotion to Mary and the angels. It was to convey that Mary is the Queen of the heavens and is someone one must tout and follow in like she did with God. Instead of heightening the somber and ethereal attributions of Madonna and Child's story, Luca dells Robbia heightens the purity, the joy, and the love between the pair.
Two styles that were a part of the Baroque era were known as the prima prattica stemming from the Renaissance era and the newer seconda prattica. “The rise of the seconda prattica and monody marked the beginning of a s...
According to Parramón (2005), when the XVI century was finishing in Rome, is when a new style named Baroque art arose. Baroque art developed during the seventeenth century and the first decades of the eighteenth century. Through this time Baroque art spread throughout Europe adopting different characteristics dealing with religion, political views, social situations and, the tradition of the country. The church of the counter, the absolutist states, and the Protestant Bourgeoisie, seized the usage of baroque forms to them as instruments for propagation of its values and as a manifestation of his power. The main features of Baroque art are: movement, sinuosity, exaggeration, theatricality, and pomp. The light sets are established as protagonists of architecture, painting and sculptures are closely articulated in exaggerating the dynamism, drama, and sense of apotheosis of the works. In contrast to the mythological and religious themes that the human figures played a leading role, other genres of art such as portraiture, still life and still life were developed.
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.
The School of Athens (Figure 1) is a fresco painting–a painting done in sections in the fresh plaster–on one of the four walls of the room, the Stanza della Segnatura this room is designated as papal library in the Vatican palace. In this image Raphael represents pictorially the intellectual activity of philosophy. He chooses to represent philosophy by depicting a large number of philosophers in the midst of their activities. The fifty-eight figures who occupy the grandiose architectural space are depicted in the midst of their activity: they are questioning, arguing, demonstrating, reading, and writing. Each figure is characterized so that it is not a mere compositional device, but a shorthand statement of the figure represented (Murray, 62). Raphael rendered the faces of the philosophers from classical statues if known, or else used his own contemporaries for models (Haas, 8)
As the seventeenth century began the Catholic Church was having a hard time bringing back the people who were swept away by the protestant reformation. The conflict between the protestant had a big influence on art. (Baroque Art) The church decided to appeal to the human emotion and feeling. They did so by introducing a style called Baroque. Baroque was first developed in Rome and it was dedicated to furthering the aims of Counter Reformation. Baroque was first used in Italy than later spread to the north. In this paper I will argue that the Italian Baroque pieces were more detailed and captured the personality of the figure, in contrast and comparison to Northern Baroque pieces that aimed to produce a sense of excitement and to move viewers in an emotional sense leaving them in awe. I will prove this by talking about the different artwork and pieces of Italian Baroque art versus Northern Baroque Art.
The Italian Renaissance included some of the greatest artists we have ever seen from Leonard Da Vinci, to Michelangelo, and Raphael. The Renaissance took place from the late thirteenth to sixteenth centuries and is know as the ‘rebirth’. The idea that the rebirth of the arts after being asleep for a thousand years is an amazing thing to grasp. This time brought back light to liberal arts, which were on the brink of being extinct. (Murray 2) What is also interesting about art during this time was that most of the art had Christian in its roots, for example, Botticelli’s The Allegory of Spring (Faure 1) is said to have had a Christian interpretation. (Murray) “Every Italian artist, willingly took the title of architect, sculptor, and painter” (Faure 2). At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Italian painters had asked the Flemish painters for their secret techniques because the Italians felt like the language of painting was one that was always meant for them. (Faure 4) The sculptors claimed their inspiration from ancient works. Lastly the Renaissance introduced idea of individualism, which helped the Italians get away from everything that was going on during that time. Art during the Renaissance included painting, sculpting and architecture, all of which were an important part in expressing the idea of individualism and making art what is is today.
Since the first prehistoric cave painting, and perhaps much before that, the human race has always used art as a form of expression. With the passing of each historical period came new technologies and techniques and were all influenced by the unique style, characteristics, and social conditions of those periods. Even though, each period discovered new forms and unique styles of art most historical periods were influenced by an earlier period of history. In this essay, I will explore the relationship, style, and influences of the Renaissance and Baroque periods and will also compare and contrast a work of art from both periods to further explain the relationship between the two eras.
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...
The title of the piece, Madonna of the Clouds, implies setting; however, Mary’s robes blend in with the surrounding cherubs, creating a mass of folds. Donatello shows perspective through subtle changes in the depths of carving – stiacciato relief – a technique that he devised (Britannica). This varying strength of line utilizes shadows to enhance emotion, as seen with the Virgin Mary. The concern that she shows for her son in her arm foreshadows his fateful end. This expression though, is not only demonstrated within the facial features of her profile, but also in the ever-present shadow under her chin, directly above Christ’s head. Stiacciato relief depends on the reflection off of pale materials, like marble, in order to manipulate light to enhance or detract from the forms themselves (Britannica). Donatello controls his medium to work with his audience’s position, casting shadows to be where they are most meaningful. Awareness of his viewers’ angle ceased to allude Donatello as his earlier marble masterpieces, the sculptures at the Or San Michele, employed their alleviated situations to accentuate his subject’s personalities as seen with Saint