"Madonna with the Long Neck" and "Allegory with Venus and Cupid"

When looking at Parmigianino's "Madonna with the Long Neck" and Bronzino's "Allegory with Venus and Cupid," we see two pieces that represent the sixteenth century's mannerism style.

Elongation was thought to create a more elegant look in terms of mannerism, which my be one of the main reasons why mannerism styled art contained a lot of unnatural looking human figures. When looking at both "Madonna with the Long Neck" and " Allegory with Venus and Cupid," we see a lot of elongation being used in different areas of each painting as well as oddly proportioned bodies. In Parmigianino's "Madonna with the Long Neck," we see Mary holding her sleeping child. Mary herself has a very oddly proportioned figure with her obvious long neck, which holds up her smaller sized head. Below her neck we see her unnaturally slanted shoulders and her elongated fingers resting on her chest. Her legs also appear to be very long as we can see a point at which they begin and they look much bigger than the rest of her body. In Mary's lap is her baby who also has unnaturally long features. For one, his body as a whole is very long giving him the height of about a three or four year old. He seems to have the head of a baby as well as the feet of a baby but his body is very long, especially his legs. I also find it very interesting how Mary's son is given a muscular figure. The fact that he has the outline of muscles, gives him an even more unnatural look. Right next to Madonna and her baby we see a lady looking up at Madonna and this lady seems to have a very long thigh on her right leg that is peeking out. Looking at where her shoulders and her head are, she seems to have a very small torso. When comparing Madonna to the women who stand beside her, Madonna is huge. If she were to stand up, she would be incredibly tall next to those beside her. She would also probably be taller than the canvas used, another common trait in mannerism.

When looking at Bronzino's "Allegory with Venus and Cupid," we see a few areas of elongations but mostly, the figures appear to be awkward for other reasons. Cupid has the head of a young boy but a tall body of almost a teenage boy. The young features within his face do not go along with the length of his body. The way that cupid bends over to kiss Venus is very awkward as uncomfortable looking. It looks as if Venus is supporting him from falling over. Looking at Venus, she too is in an awkward pose. It looks as if her buttocks is elevated in some way yet the way her legs are bent, she looks as if she is supposed to be sitting. Her right leg looks as if it would be the leg supporting her lift but it's hard to tell if her thigh is supporting her or if her knee is. Either way, her body seems unnaturally supported. Again, we see elongated fingers used in both Cupid and Venus' hands. The man in the corner about Venus and Cupid, who reveals they're wrong-doing has an incredibly long arm to me. Compared to where his shoulder is, it seems as if his arm is a lot longer than it should be. Just like Mary, if Venus were to stand up, she would be incredibly huge and would be much taller than the canvas used.

Although many figures within each of these paintings are unnaturally proportioned, we still see a bit of elegance in them. For instance, both paintings contain drapery with simple folds and realistic wrinkles. There is also elegance in the way that each figure is posed. Mary has such a simple yet pretty look on her face and although her fingers are very long, the way that her hand rests on her chest shows elegance. Venus shows elegance in the way that she grabs Cupid's arrow from his quiver and the way her other arm drapes down. Both Mary and Venus are not making any sudden movements. They both seem very calm and peaceful in what they are doing. Even their children give off a sense of elegance through their bodies. Mary's baby peacefully sleeps in her lap and shows no sign of any rapid action or movement. We see the same thing with Cupid. He looks very still and at ease.

Overall, both pieces are very interesting and intriguing to the eye. They also give us an idea for what mannerism was about and how well Parmigianino and Bronzino used it.

Two Venus's From Two Different Periods

     I have alway been intrigued by the many depictions of "Venus" therefore I chose to compare and contrast Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" from the Early Renaissance and Titian's "Venus of Urbino" from the High Renaissance. 
   
 Both compositions serve as representations of the classical Venus whom typically gives a sense of innocence and modesty. She is typically seen as a beautiful woman and in an idealist manner. When looking at the "Birth of Venus," we see all of these characteristics. Venus is given long beautiful hair, an envious figure, and a pretty face. We see a classical technique being used in this painting with Venus showing such perfection. Her modesty is shown through her actions and facial features. She covers herself up and looks as if she is embarrassed to be seen or like she has been caught off guard. When looking at the "Venus of Urbino," we see a bit of a difference. We still see an idealized woman lying on a bed. Once again, her hair is long and beautiful and her appearance is perfect. The only difference is, this Venus is not as modest as most Venus's are portrayed. In Titian's depiction of Venus we see a woman who has an erotic intent. She shows such confidence  in her pose and the placement of her hand on her genitalia adds to the eroticism. Unlike Botticelli's Venus, we see a Venus who is not ashamed or embarrassed at all to be showing off her breasts or genitalia. One reason for her confidence could be that this was a bride welcoming her husband. The roses in her hand resemble a bride or reference marriage. Also, in the background are servants putting things away in her cassoni, or wedding chests. Viewers are drawn to the sexuality of both Venus's because of the attention that is given to their nude figures. Even though one Venus is more embarrassed by her nudity, we are still conscious of it because of how she  covers herself up. Although Titian's Venus shows a little less modesty, I think that she can still be considered a Venus because of her idealistic appearance, also seen in Botticelli's Venus. 
   
 When looking at the different styles used to create these pieces we can clearly see a difference in color. In Titian's painting, we see bright and vivid colors that were common in the High Renaissance period. Botticelli's painting has a lot of grey to it and the colors are not as bright. Both paintings show a bit of naturalism with their use of a horizon line and the poses that both Venus's are in. Botticelli's Venus stands in a contrapposta stance giving us a sense of movement and naturalism.Titian's Venus gives us that same feeling in the way that one of her legs crosses over the other. The shadows created on her legs also give off a naturalistic feel. I find it interesting that both Venus's have long and wavy blonde hair. It seems like it has become a symbol for a beautiful woman. 
     
Titian's depiction of Venus does contain dynamic unity. In his painting we are seeing what is thought to be a young bride on her wedding day. She is representing Venus in this painting and through her idealized appearance and her slight modesty, we can tell that this woman is a depiction of Venus. She is obviously not Venus herself but she is representing the well-known Goddess. Botticelli's Venus on the other hand, is a depiction of the actual Venus. Botticelli is telling a story about the birth of the actual Goddess, Venus. Because his painting is not a representation but Venus herself, there is a lack of dynamic unity. 
   
Although both of these painting revolve around the same Goddess, Venus, they each have their own styles and show two different interpretations. We also get to see a somewhat similar piece created in the early and the high renaissance period and get an insight on the differences between these periods.

Masaccio's "Holy Trinity": A True Early Italian Piece

    Masaccio created a beautiful piece that now hangs in the Church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. In his depiction of the "Holy Trinity," we see many characteristics that tell us this piece belongs to the Early Italian Renaissance. Through the color palette used as well as the texture and the use of depth and illusion that Masaccio's painting contains, one can infer that the "Holy Trinity" does belong to the Early Italian Renaissance. 
 
  Many pieces within the early Italian Renaissance seem to have the same dull colors that are used the "Holy Trinity." Of course many other pieces done by Masaccio stand out in the early Italian Renaissance and have nearly the exact same pallet such as his piece, "The Expulsion of Adam and Eve From Paradise." But most of the other pieces viewed in our book as well as the lectures look as if the colors used within the painting were all mixed with grey to create that dullness and the use of similar colors. We  see a very similar pallet used in Sandro Botticelli's painting of the "Birth of Venus." Again, the colors have a dull look to them and there is a lot of grey throughout the painting. The color that is used in both of these paintings that I find interesting is the coral color. We see it above Jesus in the "Holy Trinity" and we see it again used for the cloak and the flowers in the "Birth of Venus." This coral color is also seen randomly throughout other pieces such as in the "Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds" and in the "Baptism of Christ." This coral color is just the use of red with one or two more colors, which also supports the fact that many paintings in the Early Italian Renaissance contain a lot of reds and blues. Looking at a lot of the paintings, a lot of the people are dressed in either red, blue, or white. We also see the sky in the background of most of the paintings which usually  use the lighter blue and white. 
 
 One commonly used medium in early Italian art was Fresco. Fresco was when artists would paint over plaster; either wet or dry. When looking at the paintings, they all seem to have more of a rough texture to them which I assume is from the use of plaster. The "Holy Trinity" contains this rough look. It looks as if there is a sort of texture there that was not necessarily painted by Masaccio. We see the same textured look in Fra Angelico's "Annunciation" and again in Piero Della Francesca's "Baptism of Christ." Looking closely at each of these paintings and many others, there appears to be little cracks within the painting which I am assuming to be related to the use of the Fresco. Some paintings have a clearer picture but that does not mean that there was no use of plaster. Painters would sometimes paint using Wet Fresco, which was just wet plaster. Once the plaster would dry, the painting would dry with it and the pigments would be within the plaster. When using Dry Fresco or dry plaster, the paint would just dry on top but was more likely to chip. Either way, I feel that the use of Fresco contributes to the rough an texturized look of each painting. I feel that it also might have had something to do with the dullness in color. I have worked with plaster before and it has a grey tint to it. Especially when working with wet plaster, I could see how the pigments might have gotten more dull in color. Also, most of the early Italian paintings contain that dullness in color so I feel that in someway the use of Fresco might have had something to do with it. 
   
 Although naturalism was not at it's peek in the Early Italian Renaissance, there was a great use of illusion and depth that contributed to the little bit of naturalism that was there. Masaccio's work of the "Holy Trinity" contains this exact illusion and depth. The way Christ pops out from the building behind him gives the painting that sense of depth. The background behind Christ and the Father gets darker and smaller giving us that sense of depth. That small use of depth can also be seen in paintings such as Piero Della Francesca's "Battista Sforza and Federico Da Montefeltro." Both figured in this piece show depth as they stand out from the background. The figures themselves lack a bit of naturalism but because of the background being so small and darker than the two figures, we get that small sense of naturalism. To me it looks as if they are being standing on a hill or a balcony but just like the "Holy Trinity," we get a small sense of naturalism from Francesca's painting. Another painting from the Early Italian Renaissance that has the same minor use of depth and illusion is Giovanni Bellini's "Virgin and Child Enthroned." This painting is very similar to the "Holy Trinity" because of the position that all of the characters take as well as the focal point being directly in the middle of the painting, surrounded by an arched pathway to what looks like a building. We see nearly the same depth and illusion in this painting as we do in the "Holy Trinity." The Virgin and the Child show the most naturalism as they appear to pop out of the scene a little bit. Both figures look as if they were given much detail and compared to the dark background, they really stand out. The lines in the painting help create that sense of depth and illusion as they move back, creating a vanishing point. One other interesting factor that supports the "Holy Trinity's" sense of illusion is Gene Brucker's "Secrion Diagram of the Illusionistic Spatial World Portrayed in Massaccio's Trinity." Through a diagram depicting the "Holy Trinity" from it's side, Brucker's shows how space is suggested within the painting allowing us to receive that sense of depth and illusion. In his chart, we can clearly see the different layers and points of illusion that are created. One last point that I would like to made that somewhat relates to illusion is the triangular composition that was common in Early Italian Renaissance. The creation of a triangle can be clearly seen when looking at the placement of each person. The people in the painting rise up to a single point which is God the Father. The triangular structure was popular because it created balance and gave a sense of harmony. We see this triangular composition again in Perugino's "Crucifixion With Saints." Again we have a depiction of Christ on the cross and the top of the cross created the tip of the triangle and the two people below, create the bottom tips of the triangle. Even in Early Italian sculptures we see the use of triangles. For example, in Donatello's "St. George," we see a triangle surrounding the statue of St. George. Above him is the top point of the triangle and then we have two points on either side of him that create that balanced feeling. 
   
 All in all, Masaccio's "Holy Trinity" is a great piece and just by looking at its use of color, texture, small amount of naturalism, and minor use of depth and illusion, it is clear to see that this piece originated from the Early Italian Renaissance. 

Norther Renaissance: The Supreme Art

After watching the documentary and pondering over all of the pieces viewed and facts heard, I feel that there were several different values in the Northern Renaissance. From the beginning of the video until the end, I felt like with each topic there was an important value that the Northern Renaissance culture had. The first value that caught my attention was religion. Van Eyck's "Figure of Adam" was very popular for its overall composition and the fascinating use of detail and depth but I also think that the religious aspect behind the painting also made it more ideal for their culture. Van Eyck created many pieces dedicated to religion, including the "Virgin with Chancellor Rolin," which hung on the wall of a hospital that Chancellor Rolin was a benefactor for. In this painting, sacred objects were shown. People believed that if they looked at a painting with sacred objects, the sacred objects could enter the soul through the eye. This was also known as visual communion. We viewed prayer books and the great detail that was put into their illustrations. Borders were created, making the pictures within look as if they were in a world of their own. The pictures looked real and gave a sense of comfort as the owners of these prayer books could read and also feel close to the sacred characters that they were reading about.

The second value that I feel the Northern Renaissance culture had was their class and where they stood on their cultures social ladder. I feel that their taste in the artwork that was created grew and they became more aware of what they were purchasing and whom they were purchasing it from. When Van Eyck became well known, he was the primary artist for the Duke of Burgundy. The Duke of Burgundy spent a ton of money on work done by Van Eyck and claimed that he felt he was helping his people by spending so much money. The pieces took time and a lot of labor yet many people wanted them especially from Van Eyck. Old documents infer that Van Eyck may have eventually had workers under him, helping to create and manufacture some of his work to please the people who were demanding work from him. Paintings as well as tapestry were well crafted and citizens were willing to spend more money on them. Especially on silk tapestry depicting religious scenes on them. Religious scenes became a sort of artistic style in the Northern Renaissance and people were willing to pay the price for it. Eventually self portraits became popular and as it was stated in the video, a portrait was a lasting memorial of the person having the portrait done. It was also more appealing when one could brag about who painted their portrait which, to me, shows that class was important. Also, paintings done by prestigious artists such as Van Eyck, were well crafted. Van Eyck used many different types of mediums to emphasize areas of his paintings and gave them a more realistic effect. Purchasing a painting done by Van Eyck was purchasing a painting from one of the Northern Renaissances top artist, which meant that it had to be expensive. If one could afford precious art or if one could have a painting crafted by Van Eyck, then they must have been wealthy. Many of Van Eyck's paintings also show wealth with the crowns, the gems and jewels, and the clothing that those in his portraits wear. Gems and stones are even seen in religious paintings, pairing them up with their cultures other important value.

The art that was produced in the Northern Renaissance culture seemed to be based a lot around religion and many self portraits were done. The style behind these paintings was very fascinating in the fact that everything appeared to be so realistic. Through the use of oil paints, artists were able to layer and grasp the full effect of the human face and body as well as the objects around. In Van Eyck's "Figure of Adam" we can see how painting had evolved as Adam appears to nearly be stepping out of the canvas, with his left toe rising a bit. The style seemed to greatly revolve around humans in the Northern Renaissance. All of the paintings that were viewed in the documentary revolved around the human form. I think this was because the human form became more detailed and alive. The human form not only became more alive in paintings but also in sculpture. Claus Sluter creating many religious scenes using stone. He too created human forms with great detail and depth and managed to make them look real.

One famous painting that was created using the stylized depth and detail seen through all of his paintings is Van Eyck's, "The Arnolfini Portrait." The portrait looks as if one could walk right into the scene that is being depicted. The painting is said to be a depiction of Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife perhaps on their wedding day. In the documentary, one art historian digs deeper into the meaning behind the painting. Through documentation she finds that Arnolfini couldn't have had this portrait done with his wife because she died nearly a year before this portrait was done. She said that the only possibilities would be that the portrait was done with another wife that was not documented, that she found documentation of another Giovanni Arnolfini, or that the painting was done in remembrance of his deceased wife. I found that she had good evidence to support that this painting was done as a memorial to Giovanni and his deceased wife. One clue being the mirror in the background that resembled death. The mirror also had the Passion of Christ around it showing the birth of Christ on Giovanni's side and the death of Christ on his wifes side. Above the couple is a chandelier and above Giovanni is lit candle and above his wife is an unlit candle. This painting is one of Van Eyck's greatest pieces and although the exact meaning behind it remains unknown, it was beautifully crafted and shows the common style seen in Northern Renaissance art.

Week 1: Introduction

After doing a little browsing through our textbook, I feel that Renaissance art is so significant to our culture in the fact that so many pieces contain a lot of detail and I feel that our culture tends to be very aware of details. Most of the paintings that I glanced at appear almost three-dimensional and realistic. I think that our culture is sometimes more comfortable with what we see as normal and the realistic paintings portray what seem like mostly everyday activities or humans in their natural settings. Many of the paintings also seem to have an almost straightforward point to them when you just glance at them and I feel that our culture enjoys this because time is so precious that we want to get straight to the point, as fast as possible. We enjoy knowing answers and we enjoy knowing them even more when they are right in front of us and although I'm sure many of these paintings do have a deeper meaning, they show a great deal of naturalism. 

 

Renaissance art also seems to have a great deal of religion involved. I came across many religious painting in our book and I'm sure that they greatly appeal to our culture seeing as many people cherish religion. Most of the pieces specifically involved Christianity and portrayed Jesus on the cross or were found in Cathedrals and Churches similar to those from the early Christian period. Christianity made its breakthrough and within our culture, it seems to be practiced everywhere so of course, I feel, that pieces promoting Christianity and telling stories about the Christian belief are going to be popular. 

Overall, I think the the Renaissance era opened many doors to creativity which our culture loves. Not only in art but also with music and writing, the Renaissance era brought about different techniques for creation. It was also the time for furthering math and science. The 15th and 16th century, i feel, helped lead our culture to many of the hobbies, careers, and lifestyles that we have today. I think that the art created within the Renaissance period by prominent figures has also raised a lot of questions to our culture making it so important to us. For instance, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da VInci. This painting has brought up many questions within our culture regarding who Mona Lisa was. I have heard so many different theories behind this painting throughout our society which leads me to believe that we are so intrigued with the Renaissance period because of the normalcy it portrays but also the mystery.