Mccahon Symbolism

Barna da Siena’s Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine and Other Scenes from 1340 is vastly different in content, composition, and a number of other attributes from Fra Carnevale’s 1467 painting Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple. It is clear between the roughly hundred years between when the two were painted that advancements in realistic painting soared and a further appreciation for realism and humanism developed. The need to portray more than just the holy subjects, and to show how far painting had evolved is evident in the differences between Barna and Fra Carnevale’s works. Although, the emotion behind Barna’s work, and its significance are, in my eyes, far greater than that of Fra Carnevale’s.

This sentence givers light to why he named the book The Luminous Darkness because from any darkness in someone’s life, God still casts His light everywhere. It matters where we get our light from because having the wrong light source can lead to bad things, but with the right light we can create ourselves to be a better human, one who sees how God created us to be.

Heffernan’s paintings express her untamed imagination with majestic fantasy, dream-like subjects, yet she paints with a very classic technique. When I first viewed The Self Portrait as Wunderkabinett, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel came to mind. Michelangelo illustrates the desire and describes the oneness that humans anticipate with God through salvation. The artists painting technique is traditional, with the sensible and realistic proportions of the human body, the distinguishing lines, the application of shadow, the intricate detail on every object within the painting, and the use of traditional complementary color pairs.

This paper is going to be a close examination of Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of Matilda Stoughton de Jaudènes, an oil canvas dating from the year 1794. Initially, there is going to be provided a formal analysis of the work of art in question as far as the elements of Art are concerned. Thereafter, attention will be drawn to how the sitter is conveyed through the artist’s artistic choices on the painting. With reference to that, multiple aspects of the piece will be discussed as to the way in which they contribute to attributing an identity to the sitter. Lastly, the paper will elaborate upon how two formal artistic elements effectively convey one aspect of the sitter’s identity. In particular, the elements of color and light will be

The painting The Holy Family with Saints Anne and John the Baptist, 1592 (oil on canvas) was created by Italian painter Sofonisba Anguissola (c.1532-1625). It is currently held at the Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, as a gift from Mrs. Forbes Hawkes and Bridgeman Images. This painting is among the unique pious narrative paintings by Anguissola. “The Holy Family” is the last dated painting by the artist. It was executed when she had just returned to Italy after spending 14 years working for King Philip II at the Spanish court. By this time, she had already married to a Genoese ship captain. Her various visits to court and her personal contacts with great painter at that time largely inspired herself. Through these contacts, she successfully stayed in touch with current developments in art. By closely observing this masterpiece, I argue that the artist perfectly sustain the beauty of counter-reformation arts in her work by use of light and shadow, delicate brushwork and accurate proportions of each subjects.

The gazes of the fresco’s subjects run along this depth axis towards a point that lies beyond the coronal plane of the fresco. This intersection of gazes to a point beyond the plane of the visual text is reminiscent of those in Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas, on which critical theorist Michel Foucault comments, referring to the gazes of the model, the spectator, and the painter, “These three ‘observing’ functions come together in a point exterior to the picture: that is, an ideal point in relation to what is represented, but a perfectly real one too, since it is also the starting-point that makes the representation possible” (15). Gaulli’s Triumph of the Name of Jesus, once again, is a visual text that is viewed di sotto in sù, the viewer’s gaze turned skyward to partake of the text. This viewing takes place across a vertical space—a distance between the viewer on ground level and the vaulted ceiling—that is pronounced by a set of trompe-l'œils that the viewer is responsible for reconciling. The aforementioned disruptions of visual boundaries and patterns in the text, the disruptions of media boundaries from paint to sculpture to architecture, and the artificial shadows projected by the painted figures all contribute to the viewer’s ability to perceive this depth axis and focus on the burst of light that resides at a point beyond the coronal plane of the

Another interesting motif is the international influence in the paintings. Even though the paintings have extremely Catholic origins they have some elements of other cultures. One of the biggest ways this is shown is in the sibyls that are between some of the scenes. These sibyls have origins from Africa, Asia, Greece, and Ionia. These paintings also show departure from traditional Catholic values in some of the symbolism the paintings show. In the center of the ceiling there is a painting of man and God, yet God is painted inside the shape of the human brain. In

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.

the light is his way of saying he knows God is with him. In his reference of fate, he says

The Gothic ivory statuette is of the Virgin Mary standing in a vertical composition. Mary’s body pushes against the force of gravity; she seems tall and strong. The nature of the vertical composition forces the viewer to look at the image from top to bottom. As we examine Mary, she feels natural and relaxed because she stands with most of her weight shifted to one side, creating a contrapposto. This pose, though asymmetrical, provides balance when we consider the figure cradled on her hip. The Christ child sits, pressed into Mary’s side and supported by her left arm. Christ grasps the flowing folds of his mother’s veil in one hand, and in the other, he holds a fruit. Together, these figures create a triangle. Mary’s head forms the apex of the triangle where her right arm and Christ form the base corners. Mary dominates the tip of the composition, and she serves as the vertical component. The vertical nature of the piece impacts how the viewer interacts with the piece. The statuette seems to ascend, or refer to the heavens. The composition acts as a reminder that this piece holds a holy or spiritual

The Annunciation is a Christian celebration of the iconic moment that the archangel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother to the Son of God, Jesus. The story of the Annunciation derives chiefly from the biblical Gospel of Luke, and has been portrayed abundantly and variously in many visual art forms from the earliest centuries of Christianity and Christian iconography. This essay will explore the depiction of the Annunciation and symbolism in the period of the Italian Renaissance and pay particular attention towards the development of the focus on spiritualism towards naturalism through the refined language of expression and gesture from the 14th century to the late 15th century.

Soth’s thesis in this paper is essentially that Starry Night is both Van Gogh’s representation of the biblical scene Agony in the Garden -- when Jesus prays to God after the Last Supper acknowledging his impending betrayal-- as well as Van Gogh’s physical agony and nostalgia. He argues that Van Gogh created the piece through a mixture of observation and imagination as a consolation piece for the artist to seek religion through means other than traditional Christian imagery. Carlo Dolci’s version of Agony in the Garden is referenced in particular (311). Soth’s physical

Many of this pictures contributed to studies of various emotions, which were later used in his religious and historical paintings. The may have also been used to illustrate his command of chiaroscuro, or the use of light and shade without color. In one painting deep shadows cover his face, leaving his features almost unrecognizable. In Protestant Holland during this time, religious art was valued as not being important. Even so, biblical and religious subjects accounted for about one-third of his work. Drama, as part of the Baroque period, was fully accentuated.

I see this very much in Zurbaran’s paintings of Saint Francis, where the use of chiaroscuro gives it a dramatic effect but not an idealized or unrealistic feel. However, in keeping with the focus of this essay which is the influence new scientific knowledge had in the arts we

He tended to explore the darker aspects of life and death in his paintings. Rebelling against conventional ideas- divine intervention, Virgin Mary, and death- he came to create his own style, forcing civilization ahead, and forcing others to follow his path. His paintings show pleading through man's direct knowledge of God (Cunningham and Reich 1640). By revolting against the classical traditions, he created his own style, which other artists wished to portray also. Thus, he created a forward movement in the fashion of art and architecture.