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The importance of religious art
Painting on religion
Essay on a religious painting
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During the time between 1590 to 1667 in France, a European artist named Nicolas Regnier made a quite an immense, remarkable and beautiful painting called “St. Sebastian Attended by St. Irene”. He creates an artwork that has a narrative attached to it. The painting describes the biblical references, themes, and symbolisms through dissecting the piece as a whole as well in small sections for the viewers to see. The artist easily demonstrates the different skills sets and techniques of realism through his painting using light and shadow. In addition, Reigner makes certain objects and figures important and through his painting such demonstrating the use of color, emphasis and having lighting. Reigner makes the tone of the whole art piece dramatic …show more content…
Artist makes St. Sebastian's body important by firstly having the body be placed in the foreground. The intended to put the body in the foreground in order to be the the first thing that the viewers observe. Furthermore, he only figure in the composition that is a pose that lays horizontally. Secondly, the artist uses the openness of his bare skin to this lure the views into the paining. Also, St Stabastion, expresses the terrible condition he is in. Thirdly, the darkened color and shadows on his face expresses in a deadly and sickly feeling to the viewers. emphasises the the He be interested in the As, a result, this creates emphasis in one part on the composition of the painting. Fourthly, his left arm is an important part of the composition because the artist intentionally created this limb to be bent in an uncomfortable way to look limp and paralyzed. In addition, the limp arm was to show empathy of the direr struggle of what incredible torture he endured. Lastly, St. Sebastian is pushed in front and the other two figures behind him making him the main focus of the artwork.As, a result, this creates emphasis in one part on the composition of the painting. mentioned in a previous paragraphs the deep rich red color blouse that St. Irene is wearing give emphasis she is vivacious and full of life compared to St.Sebastian who looks more listless and
The tendencies of Baroque translated differently in parts of Europe. In Italy, it reflected the return of intense piety through dense church ornamentations, complex architecture, and dynamic painting. Calabrese’s work exhibits the combined artistic stimuli of the 17th century and culminates in the acquired Caravagesque style that alters how paintings were composed from then on. Executed at the height of Calabrese’s most creative phase, St. John the Baptist Preaching is indicates the monumentality of change in urbanization as well as the return of Catholic permanence in the 1600’s. Aside from the Baroque power of the artwork, Calabrese’s St. John is a piece worth gravitating to and stands as reminder of the grandiose excesses of Baroque art.
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...
In the essay “Naturalism and the Venetian ‘Poesia’: Grafting, Metaphor, and Embodiment in Giorgione, Titian, and the Campagnolas,” Campbell explains the role of poetic painting, poesia, in Venetian artwork during the 1500s. Titian personally used the term poesia when he “[referred] to paintings he was making for [King Philip II] with subject matter derived from the ancient poets.” Poesia now refers to a type of sixteenth century Venetian painting, which Giorgione and Titian initiated and used within their works. Campbell’s main argument is that poesia is not simply aesthetic or reflective of poetry, but rather “grounded in the process of making – and in making meaning – rather than in an aesthetics of self-sufficiency or self-referentiality.” Like poetry, it is not self-contained; meaning lies outside of the work, within the interpretations of the viewers. He discusses the idea of grafting in poetry and how the same grafting model is utilized in the visual arts. Different images, such as pagan figures and contemporary figures and settings, are juxtaposed to create visual discordance and give an intrinsic meaning to the viewer. Campbell then uses many examples of writing, poetry, engravings, and paintings to explore his argument and the connections between artists during the 1500s.
The artists of the Baroque had a remarkably different style than artists of the Renaissance due to their different approach to form, space, and composition. This extreme differentiation in style resulted in a very different treatment of narrative. Perhaps this drastic stylistic difference between the Renaissance and Baroque in their treatment of form, space, and composition and how these characteristics effect the narrative of a painting cannot be seen more than in comparing Perugino’s Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter from the Early Renaissance to Caravaggio’s Conversion of St. Paul from the Baroque.Perugino was one of the greatest masters of the Early Renaissance whose style ischaracterized by the Renaissance ideals of purity, simplicity, and exceptional symmetry of composition. His approach to form in Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St.Peter was very linear. He outlined all the figures with a black line giving them a sense of stability, permanence, and power in their environment, but restricting the figures’ sense of movement. In fact, the figures seem to not move at all, but rather are merely locked at a specific moment in time by their rigid outline. Perugino’s approach to the figures’themselves is extremely humanistic and classical. He shines light on the figures in a clear, even way, keeping with the rational and uncluttered meaning of the work. His figures are all locked in a contrapposto pose engaging in intellectual conversation with their neighbor, giving a strong sense of classical rationality. The figures are repeated over and over such as this to convey a rational response and to show the viewer clarity. Perugino’s approach to space was also very rational and simple. He organizes space along three simple planes: foreground, middle ground, and background. Christ and Saint Peter occupy the center foreground and solemn choruses of saints and citizens occupy the rest of the foreground. The middle distance is filled with miscellaneous figures, which complement the front group, emphasizing its density and order, by their scattered arrangement. Buildings from the Renaissance and triumphal arches from Roman antiquity occupy the background, reinforcing the overall classical message to the
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.
The object of this book, Early Medieval Art, is to convey the theme “tradition not only receives and transforms, it literally invents a tradition upon which it founded itself” (p. 15) concerning art of the early medieval era. The purpose of this book is to summarize and offer knowledge of medieval art, that will then be included in the greater series of books by other specialists for Oxford University Press. Lawrence Nees accomplished his argument successfully by following the chronological production of the art and the traditions that are imbedded within them. Although, his thesis is strongly supported, Ness’ failure is found in his over reliance on the artwork itself, which then leads to the masking of his personal arguments.
While the Flemish were proficient in oil painting, Italian Renaissance artists continued their predecessor’s use of tempera. Furthermore, the paintings were ultimately created for different purposes and separate viewers. Although both works are centered on the defining moment of the annunciation, The Merode Altarpiece incorporates this scene into a secular setting, therefore differing from Fra Angelico’s The Annunciation which was painted for a monastery. Finally, Flemish and Italian Renaissance paintings differ in levels of realism. Although the Flemish painters were skilled in portraying realism of physical forms, they lacked a full understanding of linear perspective. In contrast, the Italian Renaissance artists were well versed in linear perspective but lacked a complete grasp of the natural
In Bernardino Pinturicchio’s The Annunciation the frequently depicted biblical scene is rendered in a remarkably realistic setting. It is set as if we’re looking through the rounded arch in the foreground straight into the realm of angels and the Virgin Mary herself. In fact, the entire composition suggests an instant of time caught glancing through a window. The painting as a whole is more realistic than many previous Annunciation scenes, which brings the divine closer to our realm and down to the viewer’s level. This has the effect of making a mythical and renowned scene seem relatable and lifelike.
Even the faces of the men in the foreground appear to be wax like and flat. One of the least successful faces in the piece is that of the practitioner who is in the lower right corner of the piece, closest to the bottom edge. His face only contains three distinct values of skin tone, which makes his face appear one dimensional and lifeless. Furthermore, his left hand seems to be awkwardly placed and disproportionate in its length in comparison to the dimensions of his face. While his left hand flows somewhat with his body and reflects the style of the rest of the piece, his right hand, which is much lighter in color as if it somehow managed to catch all the light from an unknown light source, shows no consistency with the artist’s technique. It is bulky and out of place. The way it grasps the surgical instrument seems very unnatural. In fact, the only purpose the hand serves in this piece is to connect this man to the scene itself as an extension of this triangular composition. In this sense this figure is important, for his disproportionate body catches the viewers eye at the very edge of the painting, just as his or her attention is about to waive, and shoots it back into the main composition.
As I walked into the first gallery, I saw a wood sculpture that stood in the center of the room. This carving depicted “the crucified Christ, flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist with Angels holding instruments of the Passion”. It was painted oak and very appealing to the eye. It stood approximately 15 feet in the air. The origin of this sculpture is unknown, but it was found in a Belgium church. This kind of sculpture usually stood at the entrance or at the center of the alter in the church facing the congregation. This image of the suffering Christ relates to the Christian ideas of suffering and Christ’s salvation of all mankind.
1. Viladesau, Richard. "Counter-Reformation Theology And Art: The Example Of Rubens's Paintings Of The Passion*." Toronto Journal Of Theology 28.1 (2012): 29-42. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
... the way that the artwork is resembled in the religious background of the gospel but reconstructed in to a celebrating impression. Throughout the fresco painting it depicts the myth of the Christ’s three fold temptations relating back to the article that “distinction between fresco and panel painting is sharp, and that painters are seen as competitors amongst themselves discriminating also, between the difference in genuine attempts in being better then the other.” Baxandall, “Conditions of Trade,” 26. in relation, the painting concerns the painter’s conscious response to picture trade, and the non-isolation in pictorial interests.
...ered to. In addition, Grunewald’s particular selection of saints Sebastian, Anthony, and John the Baptist also relate to the right artwork’s secondary purpose per their patronages. Christians associate St. Sebastian with the rejection of disease, St. Anthony with the curing of disease, and St. John the Baptist with the healing nature of water in the Christian sacrament of baptism (503, 510). Therefore, a patient with (or at least familiar with) Christian beliefs of the crucifixion can be uplifted by the promise of healing because he or she could identify with the saints depicted and in the image of Christ suffering (Hayum 509). In this way, the right artwork’s content both harmonizes with the church architecture and helps the hospital patients bear their sufferings as Jesus did, whereas the left artwork only accomplishes harmony and symmetry with the space around it.
Art is important to religion in many different ways. Perhaps none has analyzed how art and religion have influenced and affected each other through the ages. Pictures painted of past events that help to bring back the feeling and importance of the past have been forgotten by some. To the one’s that haven’t forgotten are able to see the event’s as the bible says they happened. Not only can you see the events, but it also allows the younger students of the church to understand the events. The use of images of God became widespread after the second century. This religious art has defiantly been around for centuries and plays an important role to the history of religion as well as the future.
Art has always been an expression guarded for the seemingly elite in classical history and this idea continued to survive throughout most of art history until the late 1800’s when finally, slowly, the barriers broke down and the masses were opened up to the various forms of expression. Although they were exposed to simple art forms, such as local works that were produced by seemingly grass-root artists or possibly the artworks displayed in the Catholic Cathedrals meant to add a meaning of sophistication and reverence to display Christ, this was mostly evident in the Medieval and possibly Gothic periods, while the Renaissance proved to be a cleansing period of the old and a new wind rushing through the stodgy halls of antiquity. But the catch about the Renaissance was that it was mainly present in a seemingly isolated and controlled environment, unlike the false pretense that ...