Quentin Massys’ piece titled Ill-Matched Lovers (c. 1520 – 1525) represents the interaction between two people who have seemingly nothing in common. This piece was made around 1520 – 1525 as an illustrated narrative of a favorite northern European theme. The piece’s present location is the National Gallery of Art, and it’s earliest recorded home was the Hotel Provincial Government in Bruges in 1902 for the exhibition of Flemish primitive and ancient art. The piece is in good condition; oil on a panel, and it can only be seen from one side because it is hanging on the wall. Outwardly, this is a painting of a lecherous old man groping a young woman. However, after closer inspection, you’ll notice that the young woman seems to be taking advantage …show more content…
Although not a humanist in the strictest sense of the word, Albrecht Dürer, with his artistic productions, treatises on art, and correspondence with humanists, was an artist committed to creating a better society by harnessing classical art to the service of Christianity. According to David Hotchkiss Price, this philosophical approach permitted Dürer to synthesize the written and visual word into a new genre: the illustrated humanist book of faith. Thus, Price argues against the traditional view that Dürer was simply influenced by Renaissance humanism; instead, Price maintains that Dürer was an active contributor to the northern humanist movement. Price's consideration of Dürer's later belief in many of Luther's teachings is exemplified by his discussion of the images and accompanying texts in the artist's painting The Four Apostles (1526). The painting was a gift given to the newly Lutheran-dominated city council of Nuremberg, and the text from Luther's Septembertestament appeared at the bottom as a support for the apostles. By emphasizing Dürer's desire to combine the power of art and literature in order to elevate Christian society, Price has placed Dürer within his time as not only a close friend of such eminent humanists …show more content…
Strenuous effort is devoted to humanizing his characters through their expressions. In the Ill-Matched Lovers, Massys introduces irony to the traditional wedding portraits by using characters rendered less-than-ideal. The facial expressions alone contradict traditional portraitures like Ercole de’ Roberti’s portraits of Giovanni II and Ginevra Bentivoglio, which depict an ideal wedding portrait. Giovanni II and Ginevra are both seen unemotional in their portraits; masklike features and impenetrable stares revel little of the sitters’ personalities. Profile portraits like these recalled the images of emperors and deities on the ancient Roman coins and medals that were so highly prized at the time, insulating the message of the couples unattainable status. Moreover, the profile format, which isolates the sitter from the observer, was particularly appropriate to Giovanni’s position as a strong-willed politician. Contrastingly, Massys interest in dramatic expression and gesture is apparent in the highly expressive faces of the fool and the old man characters in the Ill-Matched Lovers; they are effectively juxtaposed with the pale and beautiful look of the young woman. This moral satire is a compliment to the writings of the humanists and intellectuals of the
The emphasis accorded these contingencies of physiognomy and the resolute refusal of any concession to our - or, so it would appear, antiquity’s - ideas of desirable physical appearance lead one easily to the conclusion that those portraits are uncompromising attempts to transcribe into plastic form the reality of what is seen, innocent of any “idealization” or programmatic bias. These are the portraits of the conservative nobility (and of their middle-class emulators) (luring the death-agonies of the Roman republic. There is no need to doubt that much of their character refers to quite real qualities of their subjects. These are men in later life because the carefully prescribed ladder of public office normally allowed those who followed it to attain only gradually and after many years to such eminence as would allow the signal honor of a public statue. One may well suppose that these hard-bitten and rather unimaginative faces closely reflect the prevailing temperament of the class and society to which they belong, and the twisted and
During the renaissance the Europeans saw love and courtship as two different yet important parts of life. It concerned expectations of families and communities, not just the longings of the couple. Shakespeare’s ‘Midsummer Night Dream’ gives us a clear view of a typical situation when couples fall in love and defy the rules. In the play there are four characters (Hermia, Helena, Lysander and Demetrius) all of which fall into one big love catastrophe. Both Lysander and Demetrius loved Hermia at the beginning of the play, Hermia loved Lysander and Helena loved Demetrius, as the play goes on both Lysander and Demetrius fall in love
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – popularly considered by many to be the quintessential love story of all time – is a play that we are all familiar with in one way or another. Whether it be through the plethora of portrayals, adaptations and performances that exist or through your own reading of the play, chances are you have been acquainted with this tale of “tragic love” at some point in your life. Through this universal familiarity an odd occurrence can be noted, one of almost canonical reverence for the themes commonly believed to be central to the plot. The most widely believed theme of Romeo and Juliet is that of the ideal love unable to exist under the harsh social and political strains of this world. Out of this idea emerge two
Written in the 16th century, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is still the foundations of classic literature today. Although this text is almost four centuries old, what keeps us interested is Romeo and Juliet’s tragic story of youthfulness and impulsiveness. It follows the protagonists’ progression into mature adults; overcoming the obstacles of authority along the way. The idea of a passionate, youthful love is something many of us relate to, furthermore, the audience can comprehend the emotions that these characters feel because we recognise them as emotions of the youth. Three key scenes that highlight youthfulness and its consequences are Scene one of Act one, Scene two of Act two, Scene five of Act three. These three scenes represent
The portrayal of all these attributes was proposed to be accompanied by the appearance of effortless distinction (Hitchings, 2013), in an attitude called "sprezzatura . . .[and] use in every thyng a certaine Reckelesness, to cover art withall, and seeme whatsoever he doth and sayeth, to do it wythout pain, and (as it were) not myndyng it" (Castiglione, 1528). While in the company of a woman, the man was instructed to be joyful, gentle, humble, courteous, and avoid any form of jesting. Furthermore, a man's love for a woman is ideally portrayed as a
Albrecht Durer was a German known for his engravings and painting throughout Europe. He lived from 1471-1528 and during that time made a great impact on the world of art. Durer was raised by his father and godfather, who were a goldsmith, and printer/publisher, respectively. From these men he learned his basic art skills such as drawing and woodcutting. His experience with his family as a child lead to his expertise in painting, printmaking, engraving, math, and theology. Durer, also often thought about the different proportions that are seen in a human body, which influenced his future work, such as his Adam and Eve paintings. He is known to be the first northern European to have been influenced by things going on with the Italian Renaissance.
In Romeo and Juliet, there are some terrible characters. Some are worse than others, this paper will be discussing the more favorable ones, along with the contrary. William Shakespeare's 1597 Tragedy deals with liaison between Romeo and Juliet, whose respected families the Montagues and Capulets are embittered in a feud. When Juliet cannot stand being wed to anyone but Romeo, she takes a potion fabricating her death, Romeo believes she is dead, takes poisonous potion, he kills himself. Juliet wakes to see Romeo dead, stabs herself with a dagger, killing herself. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Benvolio and Friar Lawrence should be pardoned while Lord Capulet should be punished.
In Chaucer’s “Franklin Tale” the plot revolves around a married couple: the knight, Arviragus, his young wife, Dorigen, and a young squire, Aurelius who importunes and attempts to Dorigen. The characters can be said to oscillate between desire and their ego honor which affects what they say and do. Lacan’s definition of desire tells us that we desire for recognition from this “Other.” Our desire is to become what the other person lacks. Duby’s model of courtly love is a concept that focuses on chivalry, nobility and women being at the center. In this paper, I will examine what the story reveals about the relation each character has to his or her desire, how they act in accordance to their desire and the role magic or illusion plays in the plot and how it affect characters’ relation to desire.
Literary critics frequently insinuate that Claudio’s love for Hero does not epitomize true Shakespearian love. Critics like Stephanie Chamberlain and Jennifer Low claim that his affection roots in societal aspirations and material desires. Claudio, however, is not bereft of genuine love for Hero; rather, his actions result from the insecurities that typically accompany deep affection. In her essay “The Duelist as a Hero,” Low criticizes Claudio’s feelings towards Hero for being as shallow as his pockets are deep.
Desdemona and Othello’s relationship is (at least initially) everything that ought to be desired in a marriage: mutual respect, passion, empathy and loyalty. However, while sentiments of love and compassion circulate within the happy couple’s luxurious home, their surrounding neighborhood is filled with vitriol and paranoia: “Who is this animal that has bewitched sweet Desdemona?” they ask. The differences that separate Othello and Desdemona do not perturb them, but are starkly obvious and unnerving to the judgmental citizens of Venice. While it was certainly rare in the 16th century for couples to have such disparities in age, social position and race, none of these differences diminished how Othello and Desdemona felt for each other, yet each spurred external obstacles that threatened their relationship.
These characters have not come very far at all from the stock characters of Commedia dell’Arte, the innamorati on which they were based. In his book Commedia dell’Arte: An Actor’s Handbook, John Rudlin describes the speech of the lovers as, “flamboyant, hyperbolical, full of amorous rhetoric.” (108). These characters were differentiated by little other than their names and their relationships to other characters (often, a plot would revolve around a rich old man refusing to allow his
Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a famous work of art that contains symbolism t1o emphasize the love between two forbidden lovers. It is praised for being the “greatest love story of all time”. However, complaints about the beloved play has been on the rise. It is often compared to Ovid’s tale, “Pyramus and Thisbe”, due to its various similarities. These are both archetypical stories, but the symbolism shown in both of these tragedies tells a story of its own. We’ll start with what marked the beginning of the story for these lovers, the ancient grudge.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: a Symbol of American Romanticism The American Romanticism movement was one that forever changed the world of art and literature, and that can be shown throughout its works. This is very much the case for the short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It never fails to incorporate each aspect of this movement into each individual statement. From the complexity of the characters to the intricate descriptions of the natural world, the concepts spread far and wide, even to the simplest concepts like overlong exposition.
Another negative outlook against marriage and courtship is when we find of Hortensio’s plans to disguise himself as a “schoolmaster well seen in music to instruct Bianca”. Lucentio also disguises himself by swapping clothes and identities with Tranio so that he may “woo” Bianca secretly. This shows courtship to be a mockery as when you court someone, you are opening up and showing the person who you are and that you’ve nothing to hide. Hortensio is doing the complete opposite as
While Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s sculpture “Apollo and Daphne” depicts a Romanian story of forbidden love, Ron Mueck’s “Two Women” portray two elderly women hyper-realistically. By analysing the meaning behind the two sculptures, evidence is given that the two artists had different intentions for their work. The story “Apollo and Daphne” is from a roman poem named “Metamorphoses” by a man named Ovid. In the story, Apollo is hit by a magical arrow from a god of