Renaissance Art
The Renaissance was first coined by a French historian
Jules Michelet in 1858 from the phrase “Renaissance des Lettres”. The word
means “rebirth” and is mostly used for the time span of the 15th to
17th centuries of Europe, the revival of art and literature under
the influence of classical models. These centuries saw the development of some
of the greatest thinkers, writers, artists, architects, scientists and wealthy
families. It created names such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo to Rene
Descartes and this is just a small sample of what came out of this period. Much
of the artists that created this time reflected the transformations of
culture in this period.
At
the beginning of the 15th Century, Northern Europe produced painters
such as the Limbourg Brothers. The three Netherlander brothers Paul, Herman and
Jean Limbourg produced some of their most famous work in service of Duke Jean
of Berry and created what is known as TRÈS RICHES HEURES (“Very Sumptuous Book
of Hours”), between 1411 and 1416.
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| February: Très Riches Heures Paul, Herman, and Jean Limbourg 1411-1416 |
The
book contained a calendar of the holy days where The Limbourgs created
full-page illustrations for each month. In this illustration of February Life
in the Country, the representation of the working class is prevalent. The
importance this illustration brings is the focus on human life and its human-centered value that can be seen through the scale of the humans and inanimate
objects in the illustration. It can be seen that peasants are working through the
winter for the benefit of a higher class. Because this illustration was created
for the Duke Jean of Berry it can be assumed that they are working for someone
such as the Duke.
It's interesting to see the thought
process of the Limbourgs because this is a time where humanism is becoming a
big part of the culture and a shift from a religious society towards a more secular
one that is evident through paintings like this. Stockstad explains, “Scale
relationships seem consistent with our experience in the natural world since as
the landscape recedes, the size of figures and buildings diminishes progressively
from foreground to background.”(581) In other words, the style of vanishing
horizons is starting to become more evident. Many paintings of this time show
the working class and the importance of human life.
As the Renaissance
progresses, the Church begins to be in competition with humans, where society
starts to expand from their traditional ways. During this time status starts to
become a big influence within the church. There is a newfound interest in the
commissioning of paintings. Patrons start to play an influential part in art in
the church. Artists from the workshop of Master of Flémalle, also known as,
Robert Campin (1406-1444) created a piece that represents the culture of
humanism and human competition vs. Religion and God in the triptych known as MÉRODE
ALTARPIECE. The center panel of this painting depicts the Annunciation of the
Virgin Mary in her home by Arch Angel Gabriel in a modern home of that time. On
the left panel, there is the painting of two donors and on the right panel there
is a depiction of Joseph.
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| Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece) Workshop of the Master of Flemalle c. 1425-1430s |
In the painting
the artists seem to portray everything equally through the amount of detail
there is in the whole painting from the shadows of the locks on the door to the
background that is seen through the window on the right panel to the guard and
the door in the left panel. It is recognized that the symbolism in this
painting is focused on the Virgin Mary. If you look closely you can see a small
figure with a cross going towards Mary and that symbolizes the Holy Spirit.
It is interesting because the Holy Spirit is usually represented as a dove and
in this instance, he is in form of a
human and it is reasonable because in scripture it is said that God takes a
human form as Jesus the son of the Virgin Mary. A lot of the symbols in this
painting have a lot to do with the representation of God. Even though the
painting contains everyday objects it shows symbols of theology and spiritual
ideas (Academy).
In the workshop of
Joseph, it is evident through the window of the Mercantile culture this was
painted in. There are a prosperous city and people strolling in a still life.
Meanwhile, in joseph’s workshop, the foreshadowing of Jesus Christ’s death and
sacrifice is represented through the boring of holes in the wood Joseph is
holding, the wood planks on the floor and the mousetrap on the table. Just as
Jesus was, Joseph is seen as a carpenter in this representation. The painting
symbolizes the conception of Christ and his death, commissioned by rich
patrons. Like many art pieces of this time because of the influence of
naturalism, humanism and now mercantilism we start to see the influence of
donors and their culture.
In addition to
Renaissance artists, a well-known Italian artist by the name of Masaccio creates
his paintings with a unique technique that is introduced during the Renaissance
period. A shift from flat up down paintings with little to no depth shifts into
art that uses vanishing points where depth of fields is starting to be created.
“artists could replicate the optical illusion that things appear to grow
smaller, rise higher, and come closer together as they get farther away from
us.” (625).
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| The Tribute Money Masaccio c.1427 |
One of Masaccio’s best-known
scenes are THE TRIBUTE MONEY 1427, where Christ is being confronted by a tax
collector. Jesus and his apostles are identified by their halos. Jesus commands
St. Peter to get money from the fish on the left where Jesus performs a miracle
of providing money through the mouth of the fish and finally St. Peter is seen
giving the money to the tax collector on the right. The painting shows a story
with three parts. The confrontation with a tax collector to the command of St.
Peter all the way to the giving of money to the Tax Collector. Three moments of
time in one painting. The way Masaccio
uses color is very important as well, where all the color palettes are given
to the robes of the apostles towards the attention of the story. The background
uses dark and grey colors to stay in the shadows of Jesus and his Apostles (625).
The artist does a wonderful job at creating a focus where it needs to be through
his use of colors and linear perspective.
Lastly, in contrast to religion in the Renaissance, the
introduction of Philosophy comes into play. The School of Athens is a great
example of art and philosophy by Raphael at the Vatican next door to the Sistine The chapel where Michelangelo worked.
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| The School of Athens Raphael c. 1509-1511 |
The painting brings so much to the table. With
Plato and Aristotle in the center of the photo, “Plato points upward to the
realm of ideas and pure forms that were at the center of his philosophy. His
pupil Aristotle gestures toward his surroundings, signifying the empirical
world that for him served as the basis for understanding.” (655) They are all
sectioned off for different types of philosophies ranging from mathematics, geography,
and astronomy. Raphael creates a unique dynamic by creating the vanishing point
to the center where Plato and Aristotle are and is very important because when
they are observed they create a division among all the philosophers involved in
this painting. He demonstrates the importance of the two in the middle by
creating open space in the middle towards the Plato and Aristotle with its
linear perspective.
What is
interesting here are the divisions. On the left side of the painting, philosophers
are discussing the issues of the ideal where figures like Pythagoras, most
famous for the laws of harmony in mathematics. On the right, there is Ptolemy
who theorized the movement of the planet, Euclid for his geometry, Zoroaster
and even the artist himself. The classical sculpture is also on both sides of the
painting, Apollo and Athena who are appropriate to both sides. Apollo is the
god of sun, music, and poetry and Athena is the god of war and wisdom. Both
serve a purpose to represent both sides of the painting (Academy). The
representation of this secular painting is a reflection on the shifting culture
from the traditional religious culture towards a more open, knowledgeable secular
culture through these philosophers that were painted. Raphael’s unique use of
art.
In conclusion, the
Renaissance art period shows the shift of a growing culture. One that has
shifting power and knowledge. It truly represents the opening of society to new
ideas and is the turning point for many in history. The influence of religion,
politics and laid the foundation for
exploration, technology and new interest in art. Every painting, drawing, and sculpture
captures a part of history and its impact.
Citations
Stokstad, Marilyn, and Michael Watt Cothren. Art History. Sixth ed., II, Pearson, 2018.
“Masaccio, The Tribute Money in the Brancacci Chapel.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/early-renaissance1/painting-in-florence/v/masaccio-the-tribute-money-1427.
“Raphael, School of Athens.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/early-europe-and-colonial-americas/renaissance-art-europe-ap/v/raphael-school-of-athens.
“Masaccio, The Tribute Money in the Brancacci Chapel.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/early-renaissance1/painting-in-florence/v/masaccio-the-tribute-money-1427.
“Raphael, School of Athens.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/early-europe-and-colonial-americas/renaissance-art-europe-ap/v/raphael-school-of-athens.
“Masaccio, The Tribute Money in the Brancacci Chapel.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/early-renaissance1/painting-in-florence/v/masaccio-the-tribute-money-1427.
“Raphael, School of Athens.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/early-europe-and-colonial-americas/renaissance-art-europe-ap/v/raphael-school-of-athens.
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