The School of Athens.
The painting above is the "The School of Athens", painted by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, or Raphael of Urbino, a small but significant city in central Italy. It was painted between 1501 - 1509 as part of commission work for the Apostolic Palace in The Vatican. Today, the rooms in which these works reside are called the Stanze di Raffaello. It is considered to be "Raphael's masterpiece, as well as a perfect embodiment of the classical spirit of the Renaissance". Philosophy, or the sciences, poetry, justice, and theology. These are the four bases of human knowledge that Raphael painted that represent the essence of the Renaissance, being a period of over all rebirth and advancement in those four areas. The painting represents philosophy and the sciences, and recalls as well as celebrates the birthplace of Philosophy: ancient Greece. It is said that in this painting, every major philosopher of the Greek era can be seen, although its difficult to decipher who is who(of course with the exception of Aristotle). It serves not as a realistic account, but is more a monument and survey of that era's elite and most influential. If Raphael were alive in the 20th century, I wonder if he would have sued The Beatles for the cover of Sargent Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. The technique of perspective is used heavily and masterfully in this painting, using a one point perspective, giving us a vanishing point directly between Plato and Aristotle's head. It also uses the technique of linear perspective.
The Taking of Christ
"The Taking of Christ" by Caravaggio is a Baroque era painting depicting the arrest of Jesus Christ at the hands of the Romans prior to his Crucifixion. Michelangelo Mirisi da Caravaggio, was born in Milan Italy in 1571 and died in 1610 at the age of 38. He painted "The Taking of Christ" in 1602, and its medium is oil on canvas. It is currently located at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. Characteristics of Baroque era art can be seen heavily in this painting through the dramatic exaggeration of expression to depict tension. The highly detailed facial expressions make the viewer feel as if they are seeing the action in motion. The painting depicts a dark background, showing us the bleak nature of this moment. The light, or light of god seems to be only focused on Jesus, very little of Judas, the other two apostles and the Roman officer's armor. Some say that this depicts Judas' fall from grace, and specifically on the black polished Roman armor, the light reflecting is meant for the viewer to have introspection and to examine one's own conscience. A technique that is used here heavily is asymmetry. There is a clear divide between good and evil between Jesus and Judas, yet the line is pushed heavily to the left leaving Jesus very little room. There is also much more strong dark forceful colors on the right than the well lit left(perhaps Caravaggio was a Democrat!), most likely to convey the burden of darkness Christ had to stand against, with only such little light on his side.
Above is "Head of an Old Woman" 1610, by early Baroque era painter Orazio Borgianni, who was born 1574 in Rome. This image shows us a striking portrait of an old woman, using dramatic lighting to highlight her face, a technique seen in many Baroque era paintings to highlight drama. In this case, the drama shown is the worrisome and tired look on a wrinkled weathered face. Perhaps this is to make us aware of our own mortality. The contrast between light and dark highlights the curvature of her face, and exemplifies the collar bones, perhaps to convey how brittle the woman is.
The painting above is the "The School of Athens", painted by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, or Raphael of Urbino, a small but significant city in central Italy. It was painted between 1501 - 1509 as part of commission work for the Apostolic Palace in The Vatican. Today, the rooms in which these works reside are called the Stanze di Raffaello. It is considered to be "Raphael's masterpiece, as well as a perfect embodiment of the classical spirit of the Renaissance". Philosophy, or the sciences, poetry, justice, and theology. These are the four bases of human knowledge that Raphael painted that represent the essence of the Renaissance, being a period of over all rebirth and advancement in those four areas. The painting represents philosophy and the sciences, and recalls as well as celebrates the birthplace of Philosophy: ancient Greece. It is said that in this painting, every major philosopher of the Greek era can be seen, although its difficult to decipher who is who(of course with the exception of Aristotle). It serves not as a realistic account, but is more a monument and survey of that era's elite and most influential. If Raphael were alive in the 20th century, I wonder if he would have sued The Beatles for the cover of Sargent Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. The technique of perspective is used heavily and masterfully in this painting, using a one point perspective, giving us a vanishing point directly between Plato and Aristotle's head. It also uses the technique of linear perspective.
The Taking of Christ
"The Taking of Christ" by Caravaggio is a Baroque era painting depicting the arrest of Jesus Christ at the hands of the Romans prior to his Crucifixion. Michelangelo Mirisi da Caravaggio, was born in Milan Italy in 1571 and died in 1610 at the age of 38. He painted "The Taking of Christ" in 1602, and its medium is oil on canvas. It is currently located at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. Characteristics of Baroque era art can be seen heavily in this painting through the dramatic exaggeration of expression to depict tension. The highly detailed facial expressions make the viewer feel as if they are seeing the action in motion. The painting depicts a dark background, showing us the bleak nature of this moment. The light, or light of god seems to be only focused on Jesus, very little of Judas, the other two apostles and the Roman officer's armor. Some say that this depicts Judas' fall from grace, and specifically on the black polished Roman armor, the light reflecting is meant for the viewer to have introspection and to examine one's own conscience. A technique that is used here heavily is asymmetry. There is a clear divide between good and evil between Jesus and Judas, yet the line is pushed heavily to the left leaving Jesus very little room. There is also much more strong dark forceful colors on the right than the well lit left(perhaps Caravaggio was a Democrat!), most likely to convey the burden of darkness Christ had to stand against, with only such little light on his side.
Above is "Head of an Old Woman" 1610, by early Baroque era painter Orazio Borgianni, who was born 1574 in Rome. This image shows us a striking portrait of an old woman, using dramatic lighting to highlight her face, a technique seen in many Baroque era paintings to highlight drama. In this case, the drama shown is the worrisome and tired look on a wrinkled weathered face. Perhaps this is to make us aware of our own mortality. The contrast between light and dark highlights the curvature of her face, and exemplifies the collar bones, perhaps to convey how brittle the woman is.
This Renaissance era portrait "Madonna and Child Entbrombed with Two Angels" by Fra Fillipo Lippi. Fillipo was born 1406 in Spoleto. The painting was done in 1410. What stuck out to me the most was not the painting, but rather the painter. "Fra", short for Friar, or someone who has taken vows before the catholic church, a member of the clergy, is the painter. One of the four aspects that make up human knowledge according to Renaissance Italians is theology. Its fascinating that a Fra would also be a skilled painter, but its not surprising for the times. The painting gives us Mary sitting with Christ on the Throne of Wisdom. The use of light here is very warm in showing us the subjects, and it is speculated that the pose of the baby was inspired by the statue of Donatello. Some techniques used here is linear perspective on the corridor behind the Madonna.
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