Tomasso Portinari: Art Analysis

390 Words1 Page

2. Tomasso Portinari wanted this piece to be displayed in his family's chapel in Florence and was intended to be a representation of the writing of the birth of Jesus by St. Bridget (Stokstad, 2011). Portinari and his family are represented in the piece. Located on the side panels of the piece Portinari, his wife, and children can be seen kneeling beneath the depiction of Patron Saints. They are represented much smaller than the Saints, Mary and Joseph, and the shepherds. The family is instead similar to the size of the Angels. The artist, Hugo van der Goes, I feel is also represented in this painting through his style. Besides the subtle symbolic parts of the painting, like the flowers or jar decorated with grapes used to represent the blood of Christ, royalty, and purity, van der Goes painted the shepherds in an uncommon way for the period. This style may have been …show more content…

Photographs are often commissioned in today's society. From wedding photos, graduations, birth announcements, engagement, athletics, and family photos the list goes on of paid for photography. Most of these circumstances the purpose is more for remembrance or documenting a milestone or achievement in life. Beyond the standard family photo, graphic design can also be considered commissioned art. Usually, a piece of work from a graphic designer is going to be used in some sort of advertising capacity or branding, but it is still a work of art ordered or authorized by another person. One example I remember from the town I grew up in always sticks out to me. The city bordering my town constructed a building of loft style apartments and while brainstorming how to fill them or promote them they came up with a really great idea. The plan was to commission artists to paint the entire outside of the building in murals in exchange for free rent. I joined the service before anything ever came of the idea and I'm not sure if they ever did follow through with the plan, but the idea was always fascinating to

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of The Ghent Altarpiece

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    1432.) is a magnificent work of Christian art. The painting of the Lord is covered with symbolism from top to bottom. The background has Christian’s symbols of wine and pelicans which relates to blood of Christ. The Lord wore clothing such as the headgear that represents the trinity, and sash that reveals the Sabbath. The phrases in the painting that reveal about eternal life and power of the Lord. Finally the painting has symbols of power: the large amount of gold presented in the painting and the crown below his feet. The painting is rich with symbolism, and the work of art need to be carefully overserve to see the full

    Read More

  • Raul Ramirez Painting Analysis

    199 Words  | 1 Pages

    Raul Ramirez is a very confident, creative student that is in Mr.Ward’s high school english class in The Bronx,New York, who loves to paint. Raul used to paint his sister by bribing her with whatever he could scunge up,but know his girlfriend just sits for him. He knows that painting will not give him much money and tells the readers by saying “People just don’t get it.Even if I never make a dime --which,by the way,ain’t gonna happen--I’d still have to paint.” Raul is also a very shy teenager that wants to be an artist and will be the first person in his family to be a painter if he becomes one. The thing is even though his “brothers” don’t support him--by laughing at him and saying he's loco-- he still wants to paint and says it by saying

    Read More

  • John Sloan's Art Analysis

    1036 Words  | 3 Pages

    Surprisingly, fifty years later, artist John Sloan happen to meet all the qualifications Baudelaire has designed for Monsieur G— making urban life observations and drawing from memory. Sloan adopts and employs Baudelaire’s idea of urban watching and further expands it for an American audience. Born and raised in Philadelphia, John Sloan first begun his art career as a newspaper illustrator. After years of working, he developed his own artistic style and started making paintings and etchings. When he moved from Philadelphia to New York, he has found that city life scenes of great interest that he then started observing and making etchings for scenes of modern life. He was well-known and celebrated as the founder of the Ashcan School and was most celebrated for this urban genre scenes. (Lobel, Chapter1)

    Read More

  • Jean Hey’s Annunciation

    2188 Words  | 5 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Perugino And Caravaggio

    1317 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Comparison between Jan van Eyck and Fra Angelico

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Renaissance in Western Europe brought a “rebirth” to the arts. No longer was the church the only accredited patron for the arts. Instead, a wealthy middle class arose as patrons and were able to purchase artist’s works. Although many pieces still had religious themes, the styles, freedom of creativity, and less reserved pieces were created. The Renaissance was not only confined to Italy, although it is often mistaken as the birthplace of the movement. All over Western Europe artwork flourished. Artists from the north came to Italy to study the classical arts and the renowned Italian Renaissance artists. Many of the same themes and subject matters were depicted throughout Western Europe. One such subject matter, the Annunciation, was portrayed by Jan van Eyck, a Flemish panel painter, as well as, Fra Angelico, an Italian fresco painter. In short, the Annunciation occurred when God sends the angel, Gabriel to deliver the message to Mary that she will give birth to his only son. Although both artists had the same understanding of the biblical account, their styles varied to agree with the concerns and interests of the people of the time as well as where they lived. They were able to establish their individuality through their artwork, even with the same subject matter. The Annunciation by Jan van Eyck is a perfect reflection of Northern Renaissance panel painting while Annunciation by Fra Angelico is the essence of Italian Renaissance fresco painting.

    Read More

  • The Annunciation: A Painting by Francisco de Zurbaran

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Critique of The Raising of the Cross

    844 Words  | 2 Pages

    Looking across the entire triptych certain visual elements can be seen. Lighting is carefully used to highlight many important details in the painting; the dramatic facial expressions of many of the people in this scene are clearly lighted and defined to illustrate the emotions felt by the witnesses. In the left panel of The Raising of the Cross, among the mourners appear to be St. John, another man that seems to be consoling St. John, Elizabeth (the mother of John the Baptist), St. Mary (the mother of Jesus) and Mary Magdalene (hoocher.com). One of the mourners is actually looking directly at the viewer with a very distraught expression on her face. The mourner that I suspect is St. John in the back appears to be almost nauseous and his face is surrounded by darkness and is subordinate and his face is being emphasized. Also, the rocky background is subordin...

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Crucifixion Of The Virgin And Saint John

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his Crucifixion, with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist Mourning (c.1460), a piece within the Northern Renaissance collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rogier van der Weyden portrays a stark image of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The right panel of the diptych depicts the gruesome image of a crucified Christ. Weight pulls the emaciated body down into a Y-shape, contrasting the T-shape of the cross it is mounted on. The only movement comes from the loincloth wrapped around Christ’s waist that dances in the wind. Blood visibly trickles from the corpse’s wounds. Behind the body, a red cloth is draped down the grey wall. At the base of the cross sits a skull and bone. The left panel portrays the Virgin Mary swooning in despair as Saint John attempts to support her weight. Her hands are clasped in prayer as she gazes up at her lifeless son. Both figures are clothed in pale draping robes. The vibrant red of the cloth that hangs from the grey wall in the background contrasts the subdued colors of the

    Read More

  • Major Changes: Humanism and The Renaissance

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...tism. The dove which has been tactfully placed above the Christ’s head, symbolizes the Holy Spirit. The other characters are angels who believed to be witnessing the baptism. The nakedness of the Christ on the other hand symbolizes humility. The general landscape in this picture displays an extraordinary naturalism. The Francesca’s work also marked the era of excessive antiquarian style of sculpturing and tactful use of oil in painting (Prescott, 2005).

    Read More

  • Art Analysis: Infinite Vanitas By Kevin Best

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kevin Best’s oil on wood painting entitled Infinite Vanitas (2011) is a composition which illustrates the Vanitas genre of painting, demonstrating the allegorical message of the impermanence of time, the frailty of human life, and the futility of earthly pleasures and achievements. In this painting, many symbols that are typical of the vanitas genre have been used. The artwork has been painted in a realistic style, with textures which are representative of dramatic, dark shadows, realistic surfaces, highlights and a subdued colour palette.

    Read More

  • Art Analysis

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Lives Of The Artists By Giorgio Vasari

    1655 Words  | 4 Pages

    Giorgio Vasari attempt at writing a comprehensive catalogue of artists and architects, was seen as revolutionary in its mindset. In his book, Lives of the Artists, first published in 1550, and then again as a second edition in 1568, Vasari gives a detailed account of the lives and known works of artists from Giovanni Cimabue, to Titan of Cadore. Vasari goes to great lengths to ensure a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of each artist, is achieved through his account of their lives and works. Although Vasari's work is indeed renowned for its thorough nature, it is widely believed that Vasari took all information collected to be of face-value and employed no system of critique when it came to said information. This led to all information being included in his works, and creating the complex nature of the work due to the immense 'detail' included.

    Read More

  • The Lives Of The Most Excellent Sculptor And Giorgio Vasai

    1781 Words  | 4 Pages

    Giorgio Vasari’s book The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects was written as a second edition in 1568. It is a collection of written accounts that Vasari thought were the best and most esteemed artists in the Renaissance, which specifically focuses on North Italian cities such as Florence and Milan. This primary source is a tool that gives the reader an understanding of the ways in which Italian Renaissance artists lived their lives. The Lives is also important because it is considered the first book to focus on art history. Barolsky states that Vasari’s Lives is “a foundational text in the history of art history” (Barolsky 33). Vasari, in many ways paved the way as an art historian for others in the future by writing

    Read More

  • The Characteristics of Florentine Painting as Reflected in the Work of Masaccio

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Characteristics of Florentine Painting as Reflected in the Work of Masaccio The Italian Renaissance was one of the most productive periods in the history of art, with large numbers of outstanding masters to be found in many centres and in all the major fields of painting, sculpture, and architecture. In Florence, in the first half of the fifteenth century, there were great innovators in all these fields, whose work marked the beginning of a new era in the history of art. These innovators included Masaccio in painting. It was Masaccio (1401-28) who, in his brief and amazing career, was the real successor of Giotto and revolutionized Florentine painting.

    Read More

More about Tomasso Portinari: Art Analysis

Open Document