Comparing Medieval and Rennaisance Paintings Essay

The transition from Middle ages to Renaissance for art changed dramatically. The Art in the Middle ages was usually 2 dimensional and had a religious subject. When the renaissance came around art changed a lot. New artistic styles would echo the broader movements and interest of the new age. The art produced in the renaissance was more 3d and focused more on individuals and landscapes (Doc A). Paintings such as the Mona Lisa are what the Renaissance focused on, as well as landscapes such as the wedding at Cana. The works of art changed man’s view of the world

The difference between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is most visible through art and architecture, demonstrated specifically through an emphasis on religion or classical antiquity, and humanity. During the Middle Ages, art was more religious because it had a very religious influence from the church having such great power in the community. When the Renaissance started, art became more focused on ancient Greece. The Greek influence was because scholars were broadly studying the revival of classical antiquity. The architecture was affected in the same way because in the Middle Ages the style of the buildings was being influenced by religion. The style in the Renaissance was being more influenced by ancient Greece.

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

3.How does this painting combine the style of the ancient Greek and Roman artists with that of the artists of the Middle Ages? Give examples.

People during the Renaissance learned to value individuality. According to Document A, medieval artists made paintings more focused on religion before the Renaissance started. For example, Duccio Di Buoninsegna made a painting that shows the Mother Mary on the throne while holding the baby Jesus in her arms.

In this essay, the difference between Northern Baroque and Italian Baroque styles of painting, the differences between a male and a female interpretation, the narrative differences, and the psychological dilemmas they present to the viewer will be discussed.

Prompt: Select and fully identify two paintings from different art historical periods and cultures that depict the same subject or theme.  Then discuss how the presentations are a reflection of the culture and style in which it was created.

The influences of any era is evident through artwork and architecture. During the Middle Ages the main influence was the church, this is evident through the focus on biblical and religious symbols. During the Renaissance the main focus was the study of people. This is shown through the increase in self portraits and classical antiquity-inspired buildings. The change between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is best shown through the art and architecture, demonstrated specifically through an emphasis on religion and classical antiquity, both suggesting a clear cultural change. The culture of both of these eras was greatly shaped by the studies of humanism and theology.

The great thing about art, is that there are multiple portrayals of one idea but, the artist’s own personal style allows one to feel something that another may not. Early Renaissance painters, Giotto di Bondone and Duccio di Buoninsegna established their own unique style to depict a biblical scene known as, The Betrayal of Christ. Through a close analysis of each artist’s representation of, The Betrayal of Christ, one is able to compare and contrast the artists own understanding of the scene through their attention to detail, character, and space throughout the painting. When examining these two works, one will have a stronger emotional response towards Giotto’s interpretation rather Duccio’s, due to his methods of handling organization, figures, and space.

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.

In the art world, the medieval periods were traditionally though to be the unproductive phase of Europe between the decline of Rome and the Renaissance. Our modern feelings toward medieval art are far more appreciative. The main intent of Medieval art was to express Christianity which was also a common bond between a wide spread and diverse Europe. For this reason most of the art found from medieval times originated in monasteries and churches. European art during the Middle Ages can be divided into four periods. These four periods include Celto-Germanic art which ranged from 400 to 800 A.D. and was important in metal work. Carolingian art ranged from 750 to 987 A.D. overlapping 50 years of the Celto-Germanic period. The period of

Many things changed from Medieval Times to the Renaissance. The catholic church saw it’s reign secede and individualism increase in the minds of the people of the time. Because of this, people in the Renaissance now looked at themselves in a way that was never seen before. Slowly but surely, the whole world changed. The rise in individualism and humanism signified a change in the way people thought about their purpose in life. In the Medieval Times, people believed that they were at the mercy of God, and they had no control over their own bodies or lives. From the change in Medieval Times to the Renaissance, whole fields were changed, especially art and the medical field, because of the rise of the individual and that way of life.

Another example is a painted work created by Caravaggio of Saint Jerome shown in deep intellectual thought, where unlike Durer, enriched colors are brought forth expressively. Although there is strong evidence of dedicated detail, the nature of subject matter has shifted.In Caravaggio’s work, there is no lion, not much detailed interior but a lone, frial St.Jerome, tirelessly stretching forward while reading his texts, with only a skull to keep company on the opposite side of his desk. The room is dark and ominous, and the only speck of light can be seen casted from the rear right-hand side of the painting and a sliver of golden halo above the saint’s head. The painting differs in many ways, presenting genuine color and brilliant contrast.

This book my Millard Meiss is addressing an area of study that is lacking. This text while informative is difficult to follow and the puts a lot of pressure on the reader to connect the dots. The content of the early renaissance can often be a difficult time in art history to nail down and discuss just because it is on the cusp of the late medieval and the renaissance itself. As any time of transition it can be difficult to understand what is happening in the world of art but may have been more convincing if he had placed this Tuscan period within the context of Europe as a whole at the time .This text by Millard Meiss helps the audience contextualize what was was happening in Italy after the black death and in doing so we understand the art world that much better. That being said the way in which Miess goes about making the argument that the art of this time is regressive, is problematic. In response to the question posed by this assignment how effective in my view is Millard Meiss’s argumentation? I am coming from the stand point that his argument is not effective. His argument is problematic because it is unclear, difficult to follow, lacks cohesion, and puts too much work on the reader. These elemental issues with his writing and argumentation are what in my view render the argument Millard Meiss is trying to make ineffective throughout his text “Painting in Florence and Siena after the Black Death”.

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.