Brief Review Of The Sacrifice Of Isaac By Peter Paul Rubens

Religious artwork has been prevalent throughout all of history. Christian artwork has been ever changing and evolving based on what it going on during the time period in which the work was created. In Romanesque artwork, art was imaginative and involved mysticism along with themes that represented their fears of the end of the world. In Gothic artwork, the art turned away from evoking fear and instead had the goal of bringing people into the church. In the fourteenth century, the religious art responded to the crises of the time period. During the Renaissance, artwork shifted to an interest in realism, which can be seen in Raphael’s Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John. The medium for this work of art is oil paint. it was painted in 1500 and is 47 inches in diameter.

“David Slaying Goliath” by Peter Paul Rubens is an example of Renaissance art. This painting depicts a well-known Bible story of a young Israelite boy named David who kills the giant, Goliath, with a slingshot, and chops off his head with a sword. Rubens has chosen to illustrate this Bible story at the moment when David is about to hack off Goliath’s head with the giant’s sword. In addition, we see armor-clad soldiers rushing into battle in the background. In “David Slaying Goliath,” Peter Paul Rubens uses color, value, and line to illustrate the dynamism and energy within the painting that makes it look realistic. In addition, these elements contribute to the sense of excitement and anticipation of the event depicted.

The art piece that I selected for my analysis is called The Triumph of Divine Love by Peter Paul Rubens. The artwork is an oil painting on canvas, circa 1625. This piece of art was commission by Isabella Clara Eugenia, Infanta of Spain and Portugal. The Triumph of Divine Love was one of eleven art pieces in a series portraying the Eucharist cycle, an important issue in the Catholic-Protestant strife. Its purpose was to aid in the Catholic Reformation and the artwork was to be displayed at the Convento de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid. (Ringling Museum n.d.)

It is a famous example of Renaissance art showing portraiture, realism, and some perspective. In this painting there are four distinct characters. Each has a different expression that shows how they are feeling. There is also more detail in the faces then in any other parts of the painting. Another technique it demonstrates is heightened realism. Whereas before the Renaissance the figures may have been painted simply and in only enough detail to get the general idea across, these figures are shown more realistically. Lastly there is the technique of perspective as shown in the background of the painting. The sea stretches out into the sky and the land in the background is shown how it would look if the viewer was actually

Baroque painting contained dramatic details, large in scale and was full of energy. This style was intentionally non-symmetrical. The painters of this time were looking to capture the real feelings of their subjects along with the movement or action taking place.

     In both paintings, the artists use people to help create the mood of the scene. In Moretto’s Entombment, Moretto depicted each figure with his or her own unique emotion. Saint John the Evangelist (lower left) looks towards Christ with a gaping mouth as if he still can’t believe this is happening. He also holds Christ’s arm like he wants to help in some way but he knows that he can not. Nicodemus (upper left) definitely looks the least emotional of the group but that may be because his beard hides some emotion. Moretto angled Nicodemus’s body toward Christ as if he was trying to help, but restrained himself . Nicodemus also clenches the crown of thorns towards his chest shows in order to show the viewer his grief. Mary (above Christ) looks saddened but also in deep thought. Her eyes wander off into the sky looking at something that we can not see. I think Moretto did this in order to hint to us that Mary foresaw this event and knew that it was part of a greater picture. Joseph of Arimathaea (upper right) has his body turned away slightly, causing him to twist his neck giving us the impression that the event is too terrible for

In terms of subject matter, both works are visual depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In each painting, Christ is the central figure, surrounded by two groups of figures. On the left, a group of women that includes the Virgin Mary mourns over the dead body of Christ, while on the right is a group of soldiers and other lamenters. Both works feature a rocky landscape on which the figures are positioned. Encircling Christ are several angels whose gestures of lamentation echo those of the figures below. Highlighting the severity of each scene is the blood that pours from Jesus' wounds. The blood from his feet drips onto human bones that are embedded in the rocky terrain below. The skull serves as a "memento mori," or a reminder of death, an idea that has been repeated in several other depictions of Christ's crucifixion.

-So, with my painting in mind, I went to KSU online >> Hale Library >> ARTstor >> ‘Abraham and Isaac’. But there were too many paintings. And the majority of them looked the same. After clicking through about a dozen paintings from the Louvre, of Rembrandt and Domenichino and not finding the specific painting from my memory, I went to the Nelson Atkins’ website and then cross referenced with the list ARTstor was offering. The painting was Peter Paul Rubens’ The Sacrifice of Isaac and I can say, details get lost in memory.

One of the most visually intriguing pieces in the exhibit is the Portrait of Père Bouju by Maurice de Vlaminck. It was painted around the year 1900 by the French artist. It is not particularly beautiful by normal standards. At first glance, the texture of the paint stands out more than any other feature. It has very strongly defined brush strokes and thick paint in portions, especially the face of the man and the background. The lines in the paint are mostly straight, short, and wide with some that are thinner and wavy, like the smoke. The man is in the center of the canvas, he is the only discernable image, and he is almost devoid of detail aside from the face and the hat. The colors are almost entirely neutral aside from the red scarf. In this oil on canvas portrait the man is wearing a

Vittore Carpaccio’s symmetrical input truly served it’s purpose. Focusing on the center third of the painting, there’s a mere perfect symmetrical contrast of life and death top to bottom. Most impacting is the symmetrical division of the malnourished and tortured body of Jesus Christ, The left side of his body is in a lively sitting posture on the throne. While his right side is the embodiment of death, his punctured ribs and dangling arm. From the ground up, Carpaccio illustrates the contrast of life and death with minimal details in the painting. The supporting stones of the throne, directly below the arm rests, are divided by breakage, the left stone is cracked and falling apart, while the opposing stone appears to be intact. Vittore Carpaccio managed to capture the cycle of life with many elements one wouldn’t think of comparing life and death with. The top left portion of the throne is a half broken, followed by Jesus’s deadly posture to the falling apart ground stone of the throne, Death is captured in a very recognizable minimalistic form.

Though this painting is centuries old people are still able to identify with it and enjoy it fully. This painting is truly timeless.

During this assignment I will talk about three types of Work of Art from three different artists from the Baroque period through the postmodern era. 1). Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio; 2) Rembrandt van Rijn; and 3) Peter Paul Rubens, these three artists were known for their religious theme in their art work. The naturalism that was visibly demonstrated in each of the artist work with high contrast of lighting that noticeably appeared in these paintings. Each artist was well known and respected for their work.

The present work is focused on undertaking an in-depth analysis of two famous religious paintings: The Virgin and Child by Barnaba da Modena, an Italian painter from the fourteenth century, and The Elevation of the Cross by Peter Paul Rubens, a seventeenth century Flemish artist and diplomat. Following, by comparison, a thorough account of the two works' features, careful observation reveals more than one interpretation.

This painting exemplifies many of the characteristics of Caravaggio’s paintings, which is typical in the Baroque period.

Choose three (3) works of art from three artists from the Baroque period through the Postmodern era. Your three (3) works of art should come from the time periods or art movements covered in the reading from Unit 4 and Unit 5. Your choices must comply with the following criteria: