Cimabue vs. Giotto Di Bondone Essay

Art in the early Renaissance began with artists such as Giotto, who was credited with beginning a new style of art that Masaccio had taken up and integrated into his art later in the Renaissance. This specific style, being the use of massive figures, relation of background/landscapes to figures, and visual representation of perspective, was utilized by Masaccio in his frescoes in the Brancacci chapel. Masaccio’s Tribute Money is showing a biblical tale ,as the renaissance was not entirely anti religion, but with subjects that are being made to look realistic through a use of perspective (vanishing point, horizon line, etc,) and it is said that Masaccio's work was said to be “ living, natural, and real”. Artists such as Uccello took this style and adapted it to also make his art more realistic by using figures to show the laws of perspective, while others like Pollaiuolo

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

Both paintings represent the Madonna (the Virgin Mary) with the baby Jesus on her lap. In the previous painting, the arch vault and throne on which the mother is seated is stylized very realistically along with the saints surrounding them are all in proportion to themselves and to each other. In the later painting the pose of the Madonna is elongated and exaggerated, the baby in the later painting is quite large and the angels in the picture are crammed to one side with a "prophet" on the opposite which is very small not coming up to the Madonna's knee.

The masterworks of Bernini and Canova shared similarities along the lines of the sculptors’ works were crafted with precision and a keen eye for detail and were successful in giving their works a realistic effect. Both workers were masters in their own time and were able to manipulate marble to as though they were constructing a painting. They both incorporated classical forms in their works, depicting great scenes from mythical stories that could be viewed in great detail at a 360-degree angle.

One of the most famous painter and sculptors of the Italian Renaissance, the age of renewal and cultural achievement circa 1500, was the artistic genius Michelangelo Buonarroti. The man that desired nothing but perfection often reached it in his work. He captured the motion of the human figure and the anatomy of muscles in a way that was increasingly beautiful and startlingly realistic. Whether because of one of the most famous sculptures in history, “the David” or the paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, that became the textbook examples for the art period of High Renaissance, Michelango’s art changed the world and he will continue to be studied with awe throughout history.

Immediately, my eyes are drawn to Adam and Eve, for they are the largest figures in the painting. All of the characters are stylized to the tune of what the artist wants, for his figures, including the animals, are shown as very muscular, not very naturalistic. This is similar to Michelangelo’s characters, he believed that the mans body is the pinnacle of god’s creation, using the male body as the body of all of his characters, men and women included. These figures are also similar to the Greeks, who were very focused on the human body.

Aside from linear perspective, Calabrese incorporates other geometrical forms throughout the composition. One is the circle at the foreground of the painting, which Calabrese offers the audience to complete. More outstanding is the triangle that occupies the majority of the space. John’s body, parallel to his staff, begs the viewer to trace the triangle from his eyes, across the woman and the lamb in the foreground, up the staff, and through to his hand. This triangle is significant in its symbolism of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son. The message here is clear; through Jesus, the lamb, one will be saved. It is also interesting that Calabrese places John between the lamb and his hand. It coincides with the paintings’ function as an altar piece in that John serves as an intercessor to the Divine. Through him, one has access to Jesus, and therefore God. The geometrical lines and shapes add to the painting’s dynamism and contribute to the optimistic promise the painting conveys.

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

The title of this artwork is Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist and Angels. It was created by François Boucher in Paris. It was painted in the year 1765. It was painted with oil on a canvas. This painting is housed in the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, New York. In this painting, Boucher wonderfully depicts the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus, along with a toddler Saint John the Baptist and a lamb, having a picnic together. They are being watched over by five small cherub angels up in the heavens.

Another one of Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpieces known as Pieta was created between 1498 and 1499. This masterpiece was displayed in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The Pieta depicts the Virgin Mary holding the body of her son, Jesus Christ after His crucifixion. Like Michelangelo’s famous sculpture David, his masterpiece Pieta has also been re-created many times by other painters and sculptors.

When I compared these peices, my eye was drawn to were the poepl were placed. Specifally the figures of importance. Jesus and the virgin Mary are displayed on a grand throne. However, what surronds them is very difference in both peices of art. In " The virgin and cild", the angels around the throne are at different levels. In " Madonna Enthroned" the angels in this are arranged so that some are closer to the perciever. They have a clear apperances where as the ones located towards the back are slighlty skewed.

As described by Johnson, Italian’s increasingly strong urge to become more in tuned with God and Jesus Christ became apparent through the sculpted reliefs that were created for public and private worship. This need resulted in a more naturalistic approach to statues that concerned the Madonna and

Also the crisp outlines of the jewel-colored shapes created by their clothing as well as the continuity of folds and gestures, creates a rhythmic pattern crisscrossing the surface showing the element of design (Stubblebine). The imagery in Madonna and Child is displayed in how the artist expresses himself, and how the artwork communicates with the viewer. The artist expresses himself in that the work is symbolic. It is symbolic in that it depicts the sacred realm and the account of Mary and the Child it also emphasized the thirteenth century devotional practice on experiencing the sacred figures as real (Stokstad 259). In addition, the work was created within a structured stylistic context of devotional images and icons, and was not created as a personal expression. The Madonna and Child painting communicates with the viewer, in that the sense of human interaction convinces the viewer that the two figures exist in real space and time (Tomkins 3) and the intimate interaction between the Child and the Madonna evokes a human response from the viewer. Duccio explored the world of sentiment and empathetic emotional response with a lyricism and sensitivity to color. Some examples of this is the tender gesture of the Child, the distant glaze of the Virgin, yet deeply moving expression, the use of drapery folds to describe the forms of the

     The style and the form of these two paintings reflect the development of the artistic techniques during the Italian Renaissance. While both reflect a Biblical theme with a central focal point of the Madonna and Child, “Madonna Enthroned” has a key image that is best viewed from a central position and “Madonna and Child…” has a greater degree of importance over the majority of the surface of the canvas. In “Madonna and Child…” the viewer does not perceive that an image is being forced upon them as is found in the work by Giotto. A use of light and space is also key to preventing the Puligo piece from being “forced”, where the organization of distance visibly removes the viewer from “Madonna Enthroned” while drawing the viewer into the painting in “Madonna and Child…”. Color also serves a similar purpose, where Giotto’s work is monochromatic but ocher while Puligo’s work carries a greater expression through the detail involved.

Portraits of the Madonna and Child depicting Mary holding the infant Christ provide a recurrent image in art throughout the ages. In prevalent portrayals over the span of centuries, artists reflect a wide diversity in their representations of the iconic duo. In particular, two works found in the National Gallery of Ireland in the early Italian Renaissance gallery, The Virgin and Child, Saint John the Baptist and Prophets by an unknown artist (1325-1450) and The Virgin and Child by Paolo Uccello (1435-1440), highlight the transition between Byzantine and early Renaissance paintings of the Madonna and Child, particularly in relation to subject matter, composition, material, style and meaning. Although each of these paintings of the Madonna and Child depicts the same Christian iconography of Mary and Jesus, their differences in composition and style influence their meaning, with each painting reflecting the individual artist who painted it and the different time period during which it was created.