Criticism And The Pre-Raphaelite Movement

The Renaissance began in the 1300’s and brought with it many new ideas and ways of thinking. The main one of these ideas being humanism, or that the best that a man can be is greater than the idea of theology. The Italians began to spread this idea and it began to grow. The Italians decided that the best way to express and spread the idea of humanism during the Renaissance was through their sculptures and paintings. This can be seen in many works of art from this time period such as the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, The School of Athens by Raphael, and Michelangelo's David.

We all know the famous Ninja Turtles, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, but what do these names have to do with the Renaissance Art Movement? These famous names were all part of the great masters of early Renaissance art. Their talents included sculpture, painting, architecture, music and drawing, while also diving into sciences and literature. Throughout this time individual expression and worldly experience became the main themes of the century inspiring many budding artists to come.

Rather than only thinking inside of the box, the Renaissance promoted thinking outside of it. People thought less about religion and thought more about themselves and their surroundings. A piece of artwork that shows this is the Madonna by Raphael. Comparable to “The Creation of Adam,” Raphael’s artwork illustrated the philosophy of art and the human individual. It stepped away from halos and heavenly beings, and gave viewers a sense of realism.

The Renaissance was a period in Europe civilisation that immediately followed the Middle Ages. It was an era of cultural growth that was introduced in Italy and was carried on throughout northern Europe lasting the 14th to 17th century. Many artists and scholars of that time period believed that they were contributing in a revival of the ideals and worth of the periods that arrive before them. The Renaissance period open doors for individuals to rediscover one’s will and obligations of observing the environment. It was an opening for them to express themselves in human terms. They shifted their interest from God centred to humans centred, known as Humanism. The Renaissance had expanded into four periods which were classified as Early Renaissance,

Neoclassical Art was an art form that followed the Baroque and Rococo art periods. Neoclassicism was a way for artists to display their wish to return to meaningful art, to escape the frivolity of landscapes and still life paintings, and paint something that had a moral, educational or inspirational value to the viewer. Neoclassical art was an attempt to return knowledge and purity back to art. Neoclassicism was mainly focused on Greek and Roman arts and stories of the classical era with some new advancement. It was a revival of antiquity.

Just like everything else in life, art has its critics. Art criticism is the expression used to describe the act of making selective judgments, both positive and negative, about an art piece. Just as art is so diversely expressed and interpreted, those who critique it also have various methods and use various standards when criticizing an art piece. There are many theories critics use to evaluate art but there are three basic theories most commonly put to use by professionals. The three basic theories are: formal theories, contextual theories, and expressive theories. Formal theories focus on the formalities of art. Critics using formal theories pay close attention to the making of a piece, how each section of the art piece works to form a visual experience that may or may not attract the attention of those who come across it. Formalists’ attention is centered on the formal organization rather than the themes, which they deem irrelevant. Contextualists, on the other hand, value the theme and its relevance to the times in which the artwork was created. The contextual theories deal with the context in which an art piece is used; what it symbolizes concerning the culture and values of the environment. Lastly, there are the expressive theories. Expressionists are more concerned with the artist and the personal expression put into the work. Also, because art is a method of communication, expressive theories

Key changes observed in the artwork of the time included the used of warmer color tones and portraits, such as the one discussed in our forum, featured women in a more relaxed position. These modifications reflected the changing times as many people began to branch out from social norms and make their own statement. William Cullen Bryant

Visual opulence, creativity, inimitable vision, and a style that is highly influential are the many characteristics of an admired movement in art history, that being of the Post-Impressionism movement (1875-1892). This movement, which was a by-product of the Impressionism movement, is the bridging gap between the two movements known as Realism and Expressionism. Post-Impressionism takes on some of the stylistic characteristics of these movements; however, it does not contain the all too glossy visuals of Realism or the heavily fantastic visuals of Expressionism, rather it is the intermediary of these two poles. My paper will discuss why this link was absolutely essential to the history of art movements, and I will be specifically using the

Claude Monet was an impressionist who used and changed art conventions such as the Salon des Refusés and the world as a source of ideas to create artworks such as “Impression, Sunrise”. The impressionists of the late 1800s wanted to capture the ephemeral moment in time. The artists had a major focus with the light and colour of the moment than with the details of

Document A shows the painting of Mother Mary with was during the Middle Ages and the painting of the Mona Lisa done during the Renaissance. Mother Mary painting means the medieval culture with baby Jesus on her lap and the Mona Lisa shows a wealthy wife. In the middle ages everything was based on religion and the catholic took over having most of the citizens reading the bible. As time changed into the Renaissance people started to look at how much money you have or how wealthy you are. “One begins to know the name of artists… feel stronger emotions in the subjects… see well-defined landscapes, natural folds in drapery, and three-dimensional figures...” Not only did the religion change, but also Art, People gotten better at painting, finding better ways to draw, make things took more realistic and made more and different brushes to be able to draw in any detail needed to make a painting more understanding. For example, with the

Art in the Medieval Times was dreary and bland. Many works of art were solely about God or holy figures. The most obvious change from the Renaissance to Medieval Times was the arts, according to Document A and also that “One begins to know the names of the artists ... feel stronger emotions in the subjects”. This shows that Renaissance art not only changed in style, in changed in how it made the viewer feel when seeing the art. Similarly, in Document A, Renaissance art is described as “new artistic styles would echo the broader movements and interests of the new age.…”. As compared to Medieval Times, the style of art became something similar to the time that people could relate to. In the Medieval Times, art was just meant to extol God’s many feats. People who viewed the painting were supposed to put that style of art on a pedestal. Medieval art was supposed to be worshipped, not so much understood. The individual in the Medieval Times was supposed to take away from the painting that the only thing that mattered in their life was the Roman Catholic church and God already had a plan for their lives. But in comparison, Renaissance art was supposed to empower and help people of the time to understand themselves and the fact that they can change their own lives.

Copernicus, Machiavelli, Erasmus, Gutenberg, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt contributed to the Renaissance. (1) “The Renaissance is the time period that followed the Middle Ages which began in Italy in the 14th century.” The word Renaissance in French means rebirth. It means rebirth because of the many changes that happened during the 1400-1600 century. The Renaissance began in the late 1400 in Italy and spread through Europe.

Generally believed to have begun in Florence, the Renaissance – also known as the ‘Rebirth’ – was a period of reviving interest in classical art and the beginning of scientific revolution. The Renaissance period did not begin abruptly; instead, it was an idea that took shape since the time of the painter Giotto (Gombrich 2007). In the early Renaissance period, Giotto experimented with and laid the foundation for painting with perspective, a method that was refined and perfected by later painters and sculptors. The period towards the end of the fifteenth century was known as the High Renaissance. It was the apex of artistic innovations, techniques, and productions. The height of the

The Renaissance time period was home to many new ideas in art. This includes new artists bringing forth ideas that had yet to be discovered and made popular. New themes and types of art were also being brought forward during this period.

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