How Did Donatello's Museum Influence Greek Art

The Renaissance era was the period immediately following the Middle Ages in Europe that involved the great revival of interests in the classical learning and values of ancient Greece and Rome. During the early Renaissance era, there was art. Art from the Renaissance period emphasized values from the Greek and roman cultures with creating the nude as an ideal figure, in order to somewhat capture the natural representation some ideals from classical Greek based on balance and proportion. Three renaissance works that demonstrate these influences are done by Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo.

Political figures in art has always been an important part of our history, culture and artistic representation, Roman and Byzantine art is a classic case of these representations. The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius and Justinian as World Conqueror are two examples that demonstrate the power and prestige of these political authorities. First, Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius from the Roman, Italy (173-176 CE) measures 11’6” high, cast in bronze. Secondly, Justinian as World conqueror from Byzantium period measures 13” x 11” entire panel, center panel 7” x 5” and 1” deep. The creator of the equestrian statue is unknown, however, the creator of Justinian’s ivory relief was probably made by the imperial work of Constantinople. The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius and Justinian as World Conqueror both depict the power, prestige and clemency of a political figures. Yet, both are distinct in their artistic representation which I’ll discuss below.

Michelangelo famously carved many sculptures throughout his lifetime. One of his most famous pieces is the Rome Pietà. The French cardinal Jean de Bilhères Lagraulas commissioned Michelangelo to carve a memorial piece for his own burial in 1497 (Wallace, 243). The Pietà is currently on display in St. Peter’s Basilica on a pedestal as an altarpiece. William Wallace’s article “Michelangelo’s Rome Pietà: Altarpiece or Grave Memorial?” discusses whether the Pietà should be viewed as an elevated altarpiece or at eye level as a memorial through historical context and the intention of how the work was made to be viewed by an audience. The Rome Pietà should be moved to ground level as it was meant to be viewed when Michelangelo carved the piece.

Because lintels were very heavy, the interior spaces of buildings limited in size. And most of the interior space had to be devoted to support the heavy loads.

Roman art dated back beyond 500 BCE, and was influenced by many cultures such as Egyptian and Greek, though the borrowed art mostly had authentic roman touches. Roman art was traditionally divided into two main periods, the art of the Roman Republic and the art of the Roman Empire, with subdivisions corresponding to the major emperors and leaders. There were many types of Roman art, these included paintings, sculptures, mosaics, architecture, jewelry and murals. This essay will investigate the nature of Roman art - what exactly is this form of art, where and when did it originate, who was it for and how and why did it develop?

This piece of art was painted by Andrea Mantegna close to 1450. There are multiple elements and analysis to be made about this painting such as: visual elements, materials, techniques, how this piece was influential, and subjects of matter (people, objects, landscapes,etc.). It will all be divided into three analysis: Formal analysis, Technical Analysis, and Contextual Analysis.

Expressing the beauty of the human body by means of sculpture had been an important concept for the ancient Greek culture; in which later would be of great importance to the ancient Romans, especially under the rule of Emperor Augustus. An example of a Greek sculpture that expresses much beauty and sophistication would be the Kritios boy, which exhibits the transition between the archaic period of Greek art to the realistic period of Greek art. It is believed that the defeat of the Persians after the battle of Marathon provided the confidence for the Greeks to pursue a realistic approach towards sculpture,

Though separated by more than a century and the hands of two different certifiable artistic geniuses. Michelangelo’s David and Bernini’s The Rape of Proserpina are both similar in medium but vary vastly with their meaning. These differences can be identified and analyzed through the iconographic method.

The Aureus of Octavian: Temple of Julius Caesar was minted in 36 BCE. The choice of using coinage itself as a way to send messages is a smart and logical choice. Coins were portable and widespread, and with images coins can carry messages, ones that have daily reinforcement with each usage. This particular aureus depicts the bust of Octavian Augustus on one side, and the Temple of Julius Caesar on the other. Zanker “is a good example of the effective use of new visual language by Octavian’s supporters” (Zanker, 1990). This particular coinage is an important resource to understanding what how August portrayed himself, but also how others may have perceived him, or were lead to see him.

The two statues of David by Donatello and Michelangelo may depict the same young shepherd boy and his heroic battle against the giant Goliath, but their artistic representation of this famous Biblical account are vastly different. The reason such unique representation of David is due to their unique interpretation of the story itself as well as the interaction between man and God. Both artists, whose goal was not to accurately depict David as he was described in the Bible, developed a significance to David’s defeat over Goliath using their own interpretation. As a result, Donatello’s representation of David is that of a nude, pubescent boy unable to achieve such a mighty feat without the support of God, while Michelangelo’s David portrays a

The artist Donatello molded a figure of David, the figure stands at 158 cm tall. It is currently on display in Florence, Italy and the medium used is bronze. The second figure was created by Michelangelo, the figure stands at 13’5″ tall and was carved from a single rectangular piece of marble. It is currently on display inside the Accademia Museum in Florence.

Even though the classical beliefs and practices of the Greco Roman period had ended, they were reborn in the Italian Renaissance in Florence. These are a few ways in how these classic beliefs and practices were born-again.

During the Archaic period the sculpted figures were more abstract geometric patterning, idealism, symmetrical and stiff. The purposes for the sculptures were designed as decorations of cult statues, religious buildings, or as honor reminder of the deceased/god. All statues of archaic period were in fact painted with very bright colors in the lips, hair, and other body parts. On page 117 “During the Archaic phase of Greek sculpture, freestanding representations of the male youth (kouros) retain the rigid verticality of tree trunks from which earlier Greek sculptures were carved“(Fiero). Most of the free-standing Greek sculptures from the Archaic era - resembled Egyptian statues in both shape and posture. During the Hellenistic period the

In this representation of Judith being physically in the act of beheading Holofernes, Caravaggio made the distinct choice to stray from the established pictorial traditions of the Book of Judith created by previous artists. For centuries, this scene had been demonstrated by showing Judith and her maid leaving the tent carrying the head of Holofernes or with the two women in the tent with the general’s head-less body visible in the background; that is, until Donatello’s depiction in the mid-fifteenth century with his famous bronze sculpture that implies the courage of commune against oppression. Although, Donatello’s version is still more about the anticipation of the action, and not the beheading itself. Caravaggio has left us with the impression

In 1812 Costa e Silva is called to go Brazil, leaving behind the works of Ajuda and Runa which never got to be completed. We will not linger on the work of Costa e Silva in Brazil, which will deserve detailed attention in due time. However, we would like to point out that an obelisk planned for a square in Rio among other commissioned works were there inexplicably halted which undoubtedly frustrated the architect. In Rio he forcibly teamed up with locally appointed Public and Royal architects such as Silva Moniz, engineer Santana and lieutenant-engineer J. M. da Silva, none of whom had his standing or expertise. Costa and Silva was called on to meet the demands of many works in progress and emergencies (e.g. Salvador landslides in 1813) until