Week 5 Blog Post

High Renaissance art was seen as graceful, balanced, and natural. From the later years of this the High Renaissance, around 1520, came the Mannerism period. The art of Mannerism was very different.  Mannerism is known more for its artificial qualities as apposed to the usual naturalistic qualities.  Vasari, a Mannerist artist, described this period as, “le maniera moderna”, or the “modern style”.  This modern style would emphasize elongated proportions of its figures, using a variety of clashing colors. The themes seen in Mannerist paintings would represent a combination of Classicism, Christianity, and mythology. The two Mannerist paintings I have chosen to compare are Parmigianino’s Madonna with the Long Neck, and Bronzino’s Allegory with Venus and Cupid. Both these paintings show the unique qualities of a mannerist painting. Qualities like The elongated proportions, the clashing colors, and obscure imagery.  

            In Parmigianino’s Madonna with the Long Neck Mannerism is seen clearly in the elongated proportions. We see The Virgin Mary holding a rather large baby Jesus. Her elongated legs and lowered torso contrast with her swan like neck creating a look of gracefulness and beauty. As she holds Jesus it looks as if he is close to slipping from her grip. His arms are spread wide as if he is relaxed positioned the way he is. The angel to the far right was then drawn to attention with her leg extending out towards the front showing yet another elongated limb.

            In Bronzino’s Allegory with Venus and Cupid the elongated limbs are not as noticeable. We see the awkward positioning of the characters around each other, and the positioning of their elongated limbs, but this painting focuses more on the obscure imagery of the figures. All the figures have been crowded into the foreground of the image. The majority of the figures have been eluded to represent a different character in the story. The two figures in the center are said to be cupid and his mother Venus. Venus is holding the golden apple she had won, and cupid has his back curved to display his wings. These two are easily distinguishable. Both are nude, and bathed in a white light that creates a porcelain skin texture. The man in the top right corner can be assumed to be Time because of the hourglass behind him. The identities of the remaining figures are less certain. Their emotions and the obscure imagery used helps to identify what they represent. The old woman for instance is seen as envy for her expression of anguish.

            Both Madonna, and The Allegory are Mannerist Paintings depicting different Mannerism Characteristics. The clashing colors of both paintings create contrast amongst the figures to distinguish their features. The most noticeable characteristic in both images is the elongated figures. How the figures are proportioned or eloquently wrapped around one another creates a unity not usually seen in common art. The Mannerism Period was a time for distortion that still created beauty. Art took on a darker tone, and the realism of the Renaissance style was replaced by something more adventurous, if you will.  

Week 4 Blog Post

This week I chose the first option to discuss the differences and similarities between two pieces from two different times in the Renaissance period. From the Early Renaissance period I chose the Trinity with the Virgin, St John the Evangelist, and Donors. From the High Renaissance period I chose the Assumption of the Virgin. Both show distinct similarities such as depth and details. The unique quality that comes from both these pieces show in the differences of intimate detail and the colors.

The Trinity with the Virgin, St John the Evangelist, and Donors was a piece from the Early Renaissance period. Like the Assumption of the virgin we see a depth in the work. Each character on a different layer of the grouping shows the realism in these two pieces. With the Trinity I found the most striking visual element of this painting being its symmetry. Each character is placed to mirror the other. We don’t see such symmetry in The Assumption of the Virgin. Although the symmetry is clear in the structure of the layers we lose such symmetry with the figures places around the piece. In the Assumption there are masses of figures drawing our attention to different places of the piece. Although both have different symmetrical values the attention it brings to itself keeps my focus on the amount of details in these figures.

The detail includes the coloring of the figures. That was the biggest difference between these two pieces that I noticed. In the Trinity the colors are natural and softened to create the emotion behind it. In the Assumption of the virgin the colors vary and create intense energy towards the middle. The outer edges of the piece are shadowed and show figures of greater detail than those in the center layers. Those in the center layers are brighter and more meshed together. The detail is not as pronounced in these figures.

What I did notice in the Assumption of the Virgin was the dynamic unity talked about in the reading, they said, “dynamic unity is a prime characteristic of High Renaissance art” (p. 639). The four large figures on the four corners of the piece created unity amongst each other, but it was the figures interaction with one another in the clouds that I saw unity. The connection of limbs of the figures made me wonder what limb was connected to what body. These curves and mob like figures, I believe, is where the piece shows dynamic unity. The action of these figures gives the piece energy and leave you with the feeling that what is happening in this piece is more chaotic than the peacefulness of the colors are portraying.

With the dimentionalism in both these pieces it’s easy to see the similarities. The differences are harder to see. When looking longer I can see them in the coloring and different energies both pieces give. One is solemn and more intimate; the other is intense and energetic with a great deal going on. Both seem to be symmetrical in the form of the piece, but once looking at the figures we see the difference in the symmetry of each piece. Regardless we are able to see those differences and appreciate each period as a distinctly different time in art.

Week 3 Blog Post

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise was Masaccio’s creation. In his brief career he painted The Expulsion on the walls of the Brancacci Chapel on the Church of Santa Maria Del Carmine in Florence.  With great detail Masaccio was able to obtain form and structure flawlessly in this painting. All in only four days. The shame cast in this painting gave us the true emotion of the Adam and Eve as they left the Garden. Masaccio uses great realism and psychological insight in the color and detailed figures. He also shows great use of perspective in the emotions of Adam and Eve.

First looking at The Expulsion I saw it as a type of collage as if the pieces were painted separately and then placed together for a dimensional effect. When I read further into it’s history I learned that in a way that was what was done. The angel was painted on the first day, the door way the second, Adam the third, and Eve the fourth. The blue halo around Adam is what drew me to this particular piece. It created a flat image rather than one of dimension. The Renaissance time was known for creating dimension in their works of art and creating a new way of looking at art. The Expulsion does not drastically create this dimension like other pieces have, like The Delivery of the keys to St. Peter had done.  The Expulsion is composed of detailed figures on a flat image.

The color of The Expulsion emphasized the nudes and browns through out the piece. I found this to be interesting and relevant to the emphasis of the nudity and shame Adam and Eve were feeling. I think Masaccio was meaning to keep the neutral color tones in his painting to emphasize the bareness of his figures. These color choices also bring attention to the angel in the background and the light source coming through the doorframe. The angel floats in the background with a dark pink dress draping over Adam and Eve as she holds a dark black sword to create the persistence in getting Adam and Eve to leave the garden.  Initially I thought the light source was the light coming from the doorframe, it is black, which is not the usual color for light. As I looked closer I realized the there was a shadow on Adam’s back where the light should have been hitting it, and lighting it up. I then realized it wasn’t the light source, but maybe God or another source expelling Adam and Eve from the Garden. Showing the darkness in their decision. Masaccio rather showed his light source in the long shadows going back left of the figures. Which gave a strong sense of volumetric solidity. The interesting thing was that the light source looked as if it were coming from the actual window in the rear wall of the Brancacci Chapel.

One of the main reasons I chose to analyze The Expulsion was because of the emotions in Adam and Eve. The details in the two figures set them apart from the surrounding images including the angel. The angel is washed out and shows little expression. Almost as if she is at peace, like an angel should be. Adam’s figure shows great details in his muscles. His stomach is clenched as if he were openly crying from shame. His mouth also alluded to him crying the way it is partially open and corners are turned upwards. His hands cover his face to keep from looking at Eve and making eye contact with anything.  Eve covers her body in shame and too is crying openly, her eyes clenched shut and mouth open as she sobs. These details in Adam and Eve create realism with in The Expulsion.

The Expulsion seemed to stand aside from other renaissance pieces, because it is a flatter image that emphasizes the detail in its figures as apposed to the surrounding area. The emotion in the faces as well as the flexed muscles tells the story of shame. Masaccio created realism in his figures instead of the surrounding area, because he know the emphasis was meant to be on the two in shame. 

*The Delivery of the keys to St. Peter mentioned in the second paragraph. 

Week 2 Blog Post

In the north during the beginning of the renaissance art period the artists were truly brilliant in their art and the ideas they have created for future art. I think the two major idea valued in the northern renaissance were religious values and realism.  Royalty usually provided the funding for the works of art in the northern renaissance time. 

Realism was what I believed to be the first valued artistic style they mentioned in the documentary. The Northern Renaissance was a time that brought dimension to the art world.  Dimension is an art style that brought true realism to the artist’s pieces.  Based on the dimensional work of the renaissance art we can see the realism in these pieces. Realism being the actual depiction of the object, it is set apart from the abstract. It’s how we have the tendency to view things as they really are.  The world is a three dimensional place and the fact that the northern renaissance time was able to depict this in their art. The renaissance was the time of dimension and bringing realism into art.

Religion has been valued in many times of art, but the renaissance was one of the most involved in their religious values. Their tapestries best described their religious stories. They, not surprisingly, showed realism in their tapestry as they were able to tell a story. These tapestries were woven with silver and gold twine and were able to depict various religious stories.

Renaissance truly marks the modern world in art. Based on the dimension, and realism brought to art we were able to evolve from that and create masterpieces. The renaissance intertwined their art with their religious beliefs leaving us with a better understanding of their world and what their culture valued compared to our values today. It’s an interesting time to look at and see their values in the values of modern time art.