High Renaissance Art: The Annunciation

A new divide in art and religion occurred during the 17th century. The Reformation occurred and caused a major divide between Protestants and Catholics. In northern Europe, Protestantism took root, especially in the city of Amsterdam. In southern Europe, Catholicism stood fast, especially in Rome. In this paper I will argue that Amsterdam and Rome developed unique political and religious environments that created two different painting styles within the Baroque period. These different environments led to two very different subject materials: secular in Amsterdam and non-secular in Rome. Despite some similarities, these differences distinctly separate Protestant Baroque in the north of Europe and Counter-Reformation Baroque in the south of Europe and two paintings can accurately portray these differences and similarities: “The Calling of Saint Matthew” by Caravaggio and “The Art of Painting” by Vermeer.

Often times in pieces of writing like stories and other works of fiction, writers include various types of symbols to convey certain ideas and present common themes. A literary symbol is something that means more than what it suggests on the surface. A symbol could be just about anything. A symbol could be a person, an action, or even an inanimate object, from a Jesus-like figure to curtains on a window, though it must be hinted at by the story that it is a symbol, one cannot simply be made up by the reader in order to make a connection. Symbolism is used like this throughout nearly every work of writing. The story “The Guest” is a story during a time of war. Daru, a lone member of one of the

It have two angels next to him. During that time, Saints were highly recognized and play a significant part in all social group and class. Therefore, this painting shows how important Saint and religion were during that time. This painting also suggests that Saint Francis is big and mighty. In addition, the angels give an image that Saint Francis is protection. The painting appears to have levels of designs on both side of Saint Francis, giving impression of a library. This indicated to me and others that the teaching of religion is central to all group and class. Saint Francis is the main focus and the details shows his work during at time. (Finkelstien)

Christ with the Symbols of the Passion is a work by Italian painter Lavinia Fontana, its medium is oil on panel and it was executed on 1576. In this piece we see, what seems to be, Christ after he was brought down from the cross. He is sitting at the center of the piece with multiple angels besides him. The color palette seems dark and obscure as well as the overall mood of the piece. He is surrounded by symbols that are significant to the process of His crucifixion such as the cross, the crown of thorns, a whip, and is also surrounded by three angels. This painting is an accurate representation of Italian Mannerist style, and has all the characteristics that defines it as so.

Art has been around for millennium, but it starts to become more realistic as the Renaissance progresses. In Document A, a painting by Duccio di Buoninsegna is shown. This religious painting was probably painted in respect to the Madonna, but it is unclear. In terms of art, it isn’t a very good piece of work even though it has religious meaning. Duccio di Buoninsegna probably did

The artist Dieric Bouts painting is called Virgin and Child. This painting dates back to 1455-1460 and is drawn with oil on a wood panel 81/2 x 61/2 . The time period is Netherlands, Haarlem. The Virgin and child are paint about the Virgin Mary and her love for her son.

Leonardo Da Vinci 's The Last supper is a popular work of art that is Da Vinci 's rendition of the last supper as told in the bible. This paper will include an in depth visual analysis of the painting as it appeared on the original canvas. The paper will also address the cultural and religious significance of this work of art in that time period. I chose to do the analysis on The Last Supper because it is an artwork that i have seen many times in my life, but oddly enough do not know a lot about. In this paper i plan to not only inform you , but inform myself on the many aspects of The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci.

The poem “On the Subway” by Sharon Olds is about a very delicate subject. It is about discrimination and devices such as imagery, symbolism, and first person point of view give the reader that immersion they need to capture the main point of the story.

The Crucifixion; The Last Judgment by Jan van Eyck, was painted around 1435-1440. Jan van Eyck was one of the most celebrated painter of the 15th century in Europe. Jan van Eyck was a Netherlandish painter. Van Eyck was a significant artist during the Northern Renaissance of the fifteenth century. This diptych like most diptych is not large, each panel stands 22 ¼ by 7 ⅔ inches. Jan van Eyck painted Christ’s sacrifice for the salvation of mankind and the Last Judgment.

Leonardo clearly understood how single point perspective could control how the viewer perceived his painting. He employed this technique to draw our attention to Christ’s face which is at the center of the composition. Likewise Christ’s gaze is directed to his left hand whereby he is reaching for the ‘bread’. Together with the holy wine, Christ was to offer the Eucharist, symbolic of The Last

One-point linear perspective is used with God as the vanishing point. Your eyes cannot help but to follow the looks that ascend upwards. The chiaroscuro shows the darkness and shadows on the earth and gets lighter towards Heaven. The apostles are wearing complementary colors of red and green on their clothes. The clouds are fluffy and white with shadows of gray. The higher sky is a yellow-orange with hues of gold. The red, yellow, and orange shows the warmth in the painting. Whereas the paler blue sky at the bottom show a cooler temperature. The Assumption and Consecration of the Virgin is polychromatic with its variety of color. This painting is an example of iconography. It is widely understood by the Christian culture. Mary was an important figure in biblical times. She carried Jesus though she was a virgin. She was a faithful servant to God. The apostles followed Jesus who died for all sins. God is ruler and protector of all. He watches over all of mankind. Many people worship Him and appreciate pieces of art that play a role in religion. This is an aesthetically beautiful painting that had a big part in the Italian

The use of the fresco technique when painting, usually produces a matte-like finish once it has dried, a trait that can be noted when analyzing Bondone’s painting, The Meeting of Joachim and Anna. On the other hand, Simone Martini’s painting, The Annunciation, shows the opposite finish of Bondone’s painting, because The Annunciation is considered to be very elegant, and includes a gold background, which enhances its brilliance. This is mainly because The Annunciation was painted in tempera and gold leaf on wooden panels, the opposite of a fresco painting. The use of tempera and gold leaf added immense sophistication and brilliance to Martini’s painting, something that Bondone’s painting was lacking. While Bondone’s painting has a matte finish which can be associated with the Florentine style of art, and Martini’s painting has more of an elegant finish,

The Baroque period covers one hundred and fifty years from 1600 to 1750. Its characteristics tend to include, lavish, over the top, expensive and much more then necessary. The period is painted literally with architecture, paintings, clothing, food and much more that continuously begs people of today to ask ‘why?’. The use of frill and extravagance in art in this period has become less of a question of ‘why’ and more of a question ‘where is the extra?’, because this part in history is centered around adding extra ornamentation to everything. With such an over the top part in history, it would seem impossible to pick one piece that could embody every aspect of the Baroque Era but it is to be proven that one piece has such potential. Gian Lerenzo Bernini’s, The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, sculpted in 1647 to 1652. The piece is of Saint Teresa being struck by an Angel’s

Florentine type of depiction spread widely due to the painting. Its popularity among the masses can be understood by the fact that the image has been used by most religious foundation in expression of Jesus and His mother Marry during the child’s tender age (Gelfand, 2000). It’s one of the most treasured paintings in the world. When compared to the Italian standards, the panel is said to be very minor, but its regard is extensively expressed with respect to many other paintings that are said to be, in the ancient times, the most regarded.

Artwork is a form of self-expression from an artist based on life experience, or on something that the artist feels strongly about (Berenson, 87). The product of art can help others with similar experiences but not able to express the same feeling themselves. From the product of art, people can start drawing excitement, purpose as well as encouragement about the real thing being expressed. Through a piece of art, the artist can communicate a purpose, an emotion or an idea in their work. In this research paper, I compare two pieces of artwork; Madonna and child with the saints by Giovanni Bellini and Madonna and child with the two angels done by Fra Filippo Lippi. Madonna and child are amongst the most popular yet controversial topics in the Christian art.