Introduction Any discussion of the role of texts and art works in changing the status of art and artists, wherever the location, has no option but to place art in an historical, sociopolitical and cultural context. Art cannot be taken as an entity in and of itself, or be placed outside of the above frameworks. The scope of this discussion cannot feasibly include a thorough history of European art from the decline of the Roman Empire to the rise of the artist in Renaissance Italy and beyond the Alps. It will, however, attempt to condense certain points which will allow some historical context to lead it into an understanding of the roles of texts and works of art in changing the status of art and the artist. Many questions arise, not least …show more content…
The discussion will focus upon the essential texts of Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) in the elevation of the artist from a lowly crafts member of the Guilds of St Luke via patronage by the Church and rich Italian city-states to celebrated innovator of cultural aesthetics and society figurehead such as Michelangelo Buenarroti, the mentor of Vasari whom he saw as the pinnacle of artistic practice, one whom it is ubiquitously claimed excelled even the art of the ancient Greeks. It will also briefly discuss other notable artists who wrote during the period of the Renaissance. Historical context Since the time of the Greeks (artists held in great reverence in the Renaissance such as Apelles and Zeuxis – 5th-4th Centuries BC) recorded via Pliny the Elder (23-79) in what has come to be known as Antiquity, through the Roman Empire, art became enshrined in the western Christian Church and in the
Therefore, this introduction and analysis of fifteenth-century Italian painting arises from looking at social relations. Through the institutional authorization, Baxandall examines the integration of social, cultural and visual evaluations. The author explores visual art not only from a social construction, but also looks at the major role it plays in social orders such as interactions between individuals or between larger social groups.
This paper is a formal analysis of the Marble grave stele with a family group relief sculpture. It is a pentelic marble style relief standing at 171.1cm tall carved by a master. It is from the Late Classical period of Greek, Attic which was completed around ca.360 B.C. . I chose to analyze this piece as apposed to the others because I’m mainly attracted to art and sculptures from the Greek era. The overall color used in this relief is ivory with a few cracks and pieces broken off. There is some discoloration which causes the color to come off as slightly light brown for most of the relief. The sculpture appears larger compared to the other sculptures in the art room. It represents a family which includes a man, his wife, and their
Case Study: The use of assemblage and the found object in historical and contemporary art practice.
Many of us today have things in our culture that we appreciate without thinking about where they have come from. The things we enjoy so much could be from another culture, and even another place in time. This document will explore the influence of Italian Renaissance art on today's civilization, which has greatly changed the art of today.
Bruce Cole wrote his work entitled The Renaissance Artist at Work in 1983 with the purpose to analyze art and artists of the Renaissance period. Within this work, Cole addresses topics ranging from the social lives of artists during the period to specific types of art present during the period. He covers how art, using styles such as the fresco, is created and how some of the reasoning and significance behind different works. While Cole is a respected author and figure in art history, the purpose of this essay is to further analyze and assess the accuracy of claims made within the book. Specific claims about the artists including that, “[The artist’s] creation was perceived…as an object with a function,” and, “From the moment the artist walked
“Reputation is an opinion about entity (a person, a social group, an organization), typically a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria. Also, reputation may be considered as a component of identity as defined by others” [ ]. This essay will talk about a very famous Italian Renaissance artist, considering the circumstances in which such artist had established his reputation. The essay intends to explain the values of the Renaissance era and their qualities, and then to apply this knowledge specifically to the reputation of Michelangelo Buonarroti, the Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet.
Michelangelo Caravaggio, the great Baroque painter of the seventeenth century, was always an artist under scrutiny. His style, the subject matter of his paintings, and how he chose to depict his subjects, was often criticized and rejected by his patrons. In a journal article written by Troy Thomas, entitled "Expressive Aspects of Caravaggio's First Inspiration of Saint Matthew", these rejected paintings are discussed. The article focuses on the themes of these rejected works, but namely Inspiration of St. Matthew, and uses these themes to prove the work's validity. This painting is compared and contrasted to other similar, accepted works of the time as well, to help show that the work was not done in bad taste.
The selection from Leon Battista Alberti’s On painting is mainly divided into 5 paragraphs numbered 25 through 29. Just as the title suggests, the text deals with the art of painting and its virtues. It talks about the benefits painting offers to the artist and why they are valuable, as well as showing the importance a work of art gives to the object being painted. While referring to many examples in history, Alberti also compares painting to the other “crafts” and explains why it is more noble, as well as more enjoyable and self-satisfactory.
The images of Madonna and Child (1425) and the Virgin Adoring the Christ Child with St. John the Baptist and Two Angels (1500-1520) show the transformations in painting accumulated by artists during the Renaissance period. In Michael Baxandall’s work Painting and Experience in the Fifteenth Century Italy he uses contracts between artists and commissioners to present a sort of timeline of differences between what people wanted in works of art during the fifteenth century.
Giorgio Vasari was a terribly biased, over exaggerating writer who often incorporated his voice and opinion into historical documentations of the renaissance. This unique approach has earned him the title “father of art history” by setting the stage for art historical research for centuries to come. His documentation of the artists during the Renaissance is the now most referenced monumental text in the field of art history, Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects. This documentation of renaissance art is divided into 3 distinguishable periods, where each period represents a new stage of development and the overcoming of various challenges of artistic
In this concern, the core characteristic of this period is the portrayal of the nudity and the natural world (The Premier Artists of the Italian High Renaissance). This provides an explanation to the renewed interest to the ancient culture, especially Greek and Roman, as well as the change of the artistic canons. Here, it should be stressed that the High Renaissance has initiated the cult of humanism, according to which, the man has been treated as the visual proof of God’s power. Moreover, the work of art has been considered as the result of the marvellous and hard labor rather than the craft itself (The Premier Artists of the Italian High Renaissance). All in all, these changes are said by the scholars to be one of the most crucial moments in the history of art due to the number of masterpieces
When we look at the history of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, we always like to use the confinement of thinking and the liberation of ideas to sum up the two, especially in the art, the medieval paintings are often used in dark colors, deformed three-dimensional concept Showing the real world, and often less a bit human nature. And after the Renaissance, the painting masters are the opposite of it. I am not here to comment on their good or bad, but from the artistic point of view, to explore whether a good form of art needs to reflect the community and a wide range of civilizations
Beginning with the Renaissance (1400-1600) we see a change in the subject matter being portrayed by artists of the time. We can attribute this change not only to the change in patrons, from the Christian church to wealthy bankers and politicians, but also to the growing body of scientific knowledge. “The Renaissance was
When the new upper class movement, Renaissance, occurred in Italy around the 14th century, a revival of the classical forms originally developed by the ancient Greeks and Romans, an intensified concern with secular life, and interest in humanism and assertion of the importance of the individual began. Thus, artists such as Mosaccio and Giotto depicted art that unlike the Middle Ages, showed emotions, feelings, and bright colors, thus demonstrating the deep concern for naturalism in the society. Other artists during the Italian Renaissance period such as Giovanni Bellini began to express their art through secular and religious themes and ideas that were exhibited through landscapes and portraits. As new styles of
"A picture can paint a thousand words." I found the one picture in my mind that does paint a thousand words and more. It was a couple of weeks ago when I saw this picture in the writing center; the writing center is part of State College. The beautiful colors caught my eye. I was so enchanted by the painting, I lost the group I was with. When I heard about the observation essay, where we have to write about a person or thing in the city that catches your eye. I knew right away that I wanted to write about the painting. I don’t know why, but I felt that the painting was describing the way I felt at that moment.