Art Appreciation Essay

Throughout history, people have used paintings and art as a tool to express their religious beliefs and values. Illustrations depicting the Virgin Mary and child, often referred to as Madonna and Child, are one of the most recurring images in Christian and European Art through the ages. Though these paintings and sculptures may have similarities in their iconography and style each work of art varies based on the different artists’ and time periods. Two paintings that portray these features currently reside in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. The first, Virgin and Child by Rogier van der Wyden, was originally painted after 1454. In the painting, the Virgin Mary is holding Christ against her shoulder as he twists around to face toward the viewers. The second painting is Virgin and Child with a Donor, painted by Antoniazzo Romano and originally painted c. 1480. In this painting, Virgin Mary is supporting Christ who seems to be standing and includes a figure of a man with his hands crossed in prayer. While both paintings depict the mother and child, there are both similarities and differences in style and portrayal. In this paper, I will thoroughly examine these traits, as well as address the similarities and differences associated with the two paintings. This analysis will be done by using information gained from reading Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, in class lectures from ARTH 1381 Art and Society Renaissance to Modern and ARTH 1300 Ways of Seeing Art, and close visual

In the early 13th century two paintings came to shape the view of the Christian faith and put their stamp on history by ushering in two different styles of the same idea. Cimabue Enthroned Madonna and Giotto Enthroned Madonna became iconic images that have stood the test of time. At a glance they appear to be same but with a closer look very distinct differences are apparent and unmistakable. The Cimabue Enthroned Madonna and child was painted around 1285 A.D. for the church of Santa Trinita in Florence.

Descent of Amida and the Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas is a hanging scroll from the Kamakura period in 13th century demonstrating Amida Buddha and 25 bodhisattvas swiftly descending over the mountains into a village. The artist used real gold paint and small slivers of gold to create patterns to add radiance to the people descending from the mountain. That usage of gold in art work is known as Kirikane and it is one of the great achievements of early Japanese Buddhist. The gold really stands out from the rest of the landscape because it is all dark colors. The symbolic meaning of this hanging scroll is that Amida would come down from the heavens to the home of a dying person in hopes of having their soul escorted into paradise. I like this painting

Cimabue created “Virgin and Child Enthroned” in about 1280, while Giotto di Bondone, an Italian painter and architect, created his “Virgin and Child Enthroned” between 1305 and 1310 (Stokstad & Cothren, 548, 550). The two paintings have various similarities. However, the most obvious similarities are that both focus on Mary and the Child Jesus, are long and pentagon shaped, and include figures of angels and prophets. In addition, both paintings have a sort of Byzantine influence (Cimabue’s painting more than Giotto’s), including the golden backgrounds and the hierarchy of the figures (“The Ognissanti”). However, there are many noticeable differences between the paintings as well. In this discussion post, I will be focusing on three major differences: the portrayal of Mary; the positioning of Mary and Jesus; and the placement of the angels and prophets (including where the figures are looking).

Madonna and Child with Angels and Prophets, an alter piece standing some 12 feet and 7 inches tall, was created around 1280-1290 A.D. for the Church of Santa Trinità in Florence, Italy and is now in the Galleria delgi Uffizi Florence. This iconographical piece was constructed through tempera and gold leaf on wood by Cimabue, an Italian painter who brought classical tradition back into art during the 13th century, when Italo-Byzantine style was dominant, paving the way for art in the Renaissance period.

The path from Medieval/Byzantine art to the Renaissance can be illustrated in the changing renditions/transformation of the Virgin and Child. Beginning with the Byzantine depiction of the Madonna and Child on a Curved Throne (unknown artist, 13th century) and ending with Fra Filippo Lippi’s version of the Madonna with Child (1437), there are subtle, yet substantial transformational changes that occur with various artists who depict the continuity of the subject of the Virgin and Child enthroned. These various renderings evolve over time for over a century as the Renaissance era develops whereby humanistic art begins to realistically echo human experience. As stated by Soltes, “Byzantine art continues the early Christian artistic connection, an emphasis to and with the sacer, the other reality, matters that are spiritual rather than material, it is as we have seen like Egyptian art in representing its figures in their divine connectivity” (L15, 2:21).

Artemisia Gentileschi's Madonna and Child, was created during the Baroque Period, c. 1609 (Brash), when the Catholic Church was sponsoring the arts to return to traditions Protestantism had disregarded (Baroque Artists). Created in Rome, this painting shows the mother, Madonna, holding her child, the young

The comparison/contrast of Giorgione’s Enthroned Madonna with Saints Liberals and Francis of Assisi and Tintoretto’s The birth of John the Baptist. Giorgione’s is painted during the high renaissance era and Tintoretto’s is painted during the Counter Reformation era. We will begin with the main focal points in the paintings. Both painting have different main subjects but they both have the Madonna as/in the main focal point.

Examination of the images of the Lord Buddha: the images show the interconnectedness of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha – The Buddha is composed (ordered, symmetric, well proportioned, alert) signifying the Dharma and is clothed in the robes of the monk.

Seen as, “one of the world's most beautiful pictures,” La Primavera was a pivotal image that portrayed all kinds of traits and values expected from women. Primavera reflected the value of antiquity by using Greek mythology to portray values and qualities expected from women during the Renaissance, such as purity, romance, and marriage. Painted in 1482, Botticelli used Roman mythology to depict the beauty of the spring, and the love and feminine qualities it brings. Antiquity meant translating and connecting times to ancient Greece and Rome. La Primavera did this by using Roman Gods and Goddesses and portraying them to reflect the acts of women in the Italian Renaissance period.

Raphael (1483-1520), was a well known Italian painter and architect. His oil painting “The Sistine Madonna” is one of his most famous works. Pope Julius II commissioned this painting in 1512. A Madonna is any painting or sculpture that portrays the Virgin Mary. The painting portrays the Madonna standing on clouds and holding her infant. During his time, Raphael created a variety of Madonna paintings such as “The Small Cowper Madonna” and “Madonna and the Child”. “The Sistine Madonna” was the last of Raphael’s

     This paper will compare the themes found in the paintings “Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and an Angel” by Domenico di Bartolomeo Ubaldini (Puligo) and “Madonna Enthroned” by Giotto. Both paintings deal with fables from the Christian faith but were executed during different periods in art. The Giotto painting was created around 1310 and the Puglio painting was executed between 1518 – 1520. Here, these two paintings have similar themes both at the extreme beginnings and endings of the Italian Renaissance, and as such they serve to present an exceptional example of the developments in art that occurred within that time. This paper shall compare

In Buddhism, the very nature of a sculptural image is complex. Not only have the conception and function of images varied over the course of Buddhist history, but also according to the particular ritual, devotional, and decorative context in which they are situated. Although there has been considerable scholarly debate about the matter, it seems clear that Buddhists began to depict the Buddha very early on, perhaps even before he died, although no such images survive. The Buddha himself is recorded in some commentaries on the Pali sutta s to have said that images of him would be permissible only if they were not worshiped; rather, such images should provide an opportunity for reflection and meditation. However, in other commentarial texts images

The historical work I have chosen is called ‘A smiling Buddhist Monk’, more commonly known as ‘Laughing Buddha’. The sculpture is from the Henan province, located in northern China, made in the Ming dynasty, dated AD 1486. The artist of this work is unknown as it is from this era but the sculptor may have been a Buddhist monk. Manually constructed and carved from Stoneware, this Buddha is glazed in the sancai palette, meaning created from a colour scheme based of three colours. The modern work I have chosen is called ‘Our Gods’, created by Liu Xiaoxian in 2000, a Chinese Australian born in 1963. His work is an altered and edited photograph compiling of two pieces; Buddha created from 22,500 miniscule figures of Christ, and Christ created from 22,500 figures of Buddha. The contemporary work, ‘Our Gods’ is based off the historical work ‘Laughing Buddha’, as it incorporates the image of the Buddha into its work, symbolising the happiness and foundation of the Buddhist religion.

Religion has driven the creation of multiple renowned artistic innovations and visual marvels. Throughout Europe, religion played a huge role alongside the people being not only a belief system, but also having governmental control over political institutions. Throughout Europe’s medieval era and onwards, religion played a huge part in artistic culture. Art was used primarily to convey religious concepts and decorate places of religious worship. Gothic architecture is a prime example, many fresco paintings from in the fourteenth century were created in Christian churches, depicting tales from the bible as well as the Virgin Mary and her son. As the years past the styles and techniques for portraying religious artwork progressed and evolved with fresco mural paintings such as Giotto di Bondone’s Meeting of Joachim and Anna, as well as Jan van Eyck’s Double Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife.