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.
The most striking aspect of the piece at first glance is the perspective. The geometric perspective gives the scene a palpable sense of depth
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and clarity. However, the vanishing point is slightly off-center, as if the viewer was walking past the scene and had not reached the point where the vanishing point would appear in the center. This furthers the sense of the fresco as a tableau vivant, an instant of a story or myth frozen at a certain moment. Additionally, the painting is framed in the architecture. The viewer peers through a barrel arch in the foreground, which is inlaced with geometric patterns similar to the floor’s pattern. This arch stands on a kind of pedestal rendered with such skill it appears an architectural feature of the wall. Furthermore, the architecture that the episode is seen through has straight on one-point perspective, which makes the biggest and closest barrel arch function as a frame for the depiction of the Annunciation. Through this wonderfully wrought arch, we can see three other barrel arches that hold up the loggia, yet the perspective for these arches is different, with the vanishing point somewhere left of the center. Looking out through this architectural frame, the Annunciation itself occurs in the foreground yet the background is also rich with minute detail. Pinturicchio adds to the realism of the piece by setting this famous scene in the landscape of Italy and not the Holy Land.
In the background through the loggia in which the Virgin Mary stands, a town on a hilltop can be discerned. Numerous details of Arcadian activities are in the background, including a woman drawing water from a well and a sort of gathering or feast. However, it also appears that there is a battle playing out in the town. The villagers look blissfully unaware, but there is some indication that some of the warlike riders are coming towards the rustics. The wonderfully detailed background provides a startling juxtaposition to the heavenly scene playing out in the focus of the fresco. Tiny black riders thunder towards the town’s gate, while the cities defenders poke their spears out before them, the battle is about to commence. A man, just a dark blob at this distance, lays prostrate on the ground taking the blows of the two fighters standing over him. All of this plays out in the background of the holy scene of Annunciation. More than any other aspect of the fresco, this brings this heavenly event down to earth. As the Archangel Gabriel informs Mary of the imminent miracle of immaculate conception and the coming of Jesus Christ, men battle and people live out their lives behind
them. The composition has strong diagonal lines. In addition to the diagonal orthogonals that the off-center vanishing point creates, the dove is zooming in on a ray of golden light. The dove, representing the Holy Ghost, creates a major movement across the picture plane, and directs the viewer’s focus to Mary, who contributes to the grounding of the scene. She stands candidly slightly off to the right, posed as though she was just looking away from her book. Her right hand still rests on the book, as if she is about to turn the page. She sits on no throne and no has no architectural setting that elevates her as several other Annunciation scenes have her situated. Mary wears a subdued cloak of blue and green with subtle gold edging, quite unlike the angel’s bright golden garb. In fact, the Father coming down in his bank of clouds, the Archangel Gabriel, and the dove symbolizing the Holy Ghost all shine with beautiful golden colors. This is a subtle and persistent reminder of the divinity of these entities, even with all the grounding of the story of the Annunciation that Pinturicchio achieves through his realism and choice of setting. By setting his Annunciation in the Italian countryside, Pinturicchio achieves something great—the melding of the divine with the mundane. For instance the everyday sight of a housewife drawing water out of a well is placed directly behind and to the right the Archangel Gabriel as he holds lilies, symbols of Mary’s holy chastity and purity. There is something humanistic about placing these divine figures in the context of people’s everyday lives. Pinturicchio did more than just produce a beautiful composition with amazing geometric perspective and lifelike figures, he created an earthly space that angels, holy virgins, and divinity embodied could inhabit as well as the puny villagers in the background.
When that room is entered all voices are hushed, and all merriment silenced. The place is as holy as a church. In the centre of the canvas is the Virgin Mother with a young, almost girlish face or surpassing loveliness. In her eyes affection and wonder are blended, and the features and the figure are the most spiritual and beautiful in the world's art.
At the top of the artwork the upper part of the cross extends beyond the altarpiece. The edge of John the Evangelist’s red robe on the left of the altarpiece and the edge of Mary Magdalene’s pale blue skirt on the right are cut off when the panel ends, giving the viewer the feeling that, rather than looking in on the scene, the viewer is actually taking part in the scene. This, added to the empathy invoked through the delicate, heart-wrenching rendering of the figures in the artwork, let the observer directly interact with the painting and places him/her within the narrative.
Masaccio used a technique called linear perspective. This technique allowed Italian artists to measure space so that all the objects in the painting are in proportion to each other. In this painting, Jesus is put intimately close to the scene by using linear perspective. An illusionistic hole is painted into the painted wall and this makes his portrayal more believable. Masaccio also used the technique of tonal modeling which created believable, almost sculptural figures proportionally related to one another to occupy that space. Both of these techniques helps to create good proportions and make the painting more realistic. Another technique that he uses is stage modeling. This means that the holy trinity is meant to be viewed from below and at a distance, like actors on a stage before an audience. In particular, this approach is based on a more human- centered view, locating a single spectator that is standing at a particular spot. In this painting, Jesus is the focus of the painting. In contrast, the Annunciation panel (from the Merode Triptych), which was painted by Robert Campin uses other techniques that greatly change the way the painting is
The Merode Altarpiece is a triptych painting that represents the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. This work displays the main characteristics of the Northern Late Gothic period. There is so much detail in this work of art. Campin utilizes many symbols in this altarpiec. The setting of the painting is in a Flemish middle class house. The Annunciation theme is being depicted in the central panel. A scene of Saint Joseph at work as a carpenter occupies the right-hand panel. The portraits of the donors are depicted in the left hand panel. Campin failed to understand the scientific perspective. To illustrate, there is no focal point in the painting and the table looks tilted. Campin used no aerial perspective. To illustrate, the background is still very crisp when seen from a distance. The most important aspect of the painting is the symbolism. For example, the lilies represent Mary's purity, the candle represents the Holy Spirit, even the mouse traps represent trapping evil. Campin also made use of bright, rich colors. In the central panel, the drapery of the figures are filled with colors of red and white. Campin has also made a good use of illusion of the space by making the town seem to be far away by distance by making them appear blurry. Furthermore, Campin has created figures that are not in proper proportion. To illustrate, the figure’s head is small and the bodies are big and it seems that if they get will hit their head if they get up. They look very unrealistic. Although they are not in proportion, the figures seem to have very sharp edges. The figures also look very stiff and rigid. In Merode Altarpiece, the light is arbitrary and the figures do not cast any...
...hese repeated vertical lines contrast firmly with a horizontal line that divides the canvas almost exactly in half. The background, upper portion of the canvas, seems unchanging and flat, whereas the foreground and middle ground of the painting have a lot of depth to them.
Despite its non-Italian origins and because of its timing and specific achievements in the portrayal of the human form, emotions, and artistic balance, Jean Hey’s “Annunciation” can be considered a natural representative of the culmination of the transition from the learning process of the Early Renaissance to the perfect execution of the High Renaissance.
The immediate background consists of natural mounds of dirt and a brick wall that enclose the Virgin, Child, and St. John, amplifying the protective effect that Mary’s figure has. The dirt mounds roll inward with a brick wall bordering them on the right, drawing the viewer’s attention towards the three figures. The background is painted in broad terms, with a simple, uniform depiction of tree leaves and smooth rock faces on the horizon. This contrasts with the fine-lined detail and texture of Mary’s hair, facial features, and veil, which further contribute to her elegance and highlight her
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
The ability to create a picture of The Annunciation in one’s mind is a key factor in understanding the analysis of the work. Francisco de Zurbaran approaches the painting with a naturalistic style. The painting features a room in which a woman – like angel is seen at the left kneeling on the ground before the Virgin Mary. The figure of Mary is placed between a chair and a small wooden table draped with a green cloth. Mary disregards an open Bible on the table, as she appears solemn while staring at the floor. Floating above the two main figures in the upper left side of the painting are cherubs resting on a bed of clouds. They happily gaze down at Mary with eyes from Heaven.
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
...hows atmospheric perspective, with the sky as well as the farthest archway becoming lighter and hazier as they recede into the background. In addition, the figures themselves are all very convincing. They are realistically placed seated on the stairs, leaning, kneeling, or standing with convincing weight on the ground, making all of figures appear grounded.
The Lamentation, or Pietà, is a common Christian narrative that depicts Jesus Christ’s family mourning over his body after he has been crucified. Many artists choose to interpret it and paint it in their own way, which is why I decided to use it for this paper. The Pietà, I found, is more of a detailed version of the Lamentation that is mainly only Mary mourning over her son. In general, the Lamentation includes Mary and other religious figures—“full” Lamentations include The Three Marys, John the Apostle, Joseph, and various other people such as angels and donor portraits. As time went on, some scenes became continuous narratives, showing other subjects adjacent to the Lamentation in the Passion of Christ. Meanwhile, others expanded in terms of their scenery and other specific details.
Raphael’s The Marriage of the Virgin is a typical High Renaissance painting from the early 16th century because of it’s style, sense of a three dimensions, and the subject. The subject is the competition of suitors for Mary and she would marry the one who’s rod miraculously bloomed, in which ended the marriage between the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, that Raphael depicts. This was painted as an attempt to create a balanced, harmonious and movement of a religious event that we associate with of that time. If we use the linear perspective system, we can trace the line back to a centrally place temple that allows us to venture around the figures placed on the steps and then even further through the doorway that shows the sky behind. The use
... 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.
Overall, by analyzing The Starry Night I saw that it is more than just a simple painting