The Death Influenced Music Of The Medieval And Renaissance Era

The ominous figure in the centre of the foreground - Jesus Christ hanging lifeless on the cross, in Luca di Tommè’s ‘The Crucifixion’, primarily catches the eye. The symmetrical arrangement of lamenting figures around the cross, as well as the gilded background, highlight him as the focal point of this artwork.

Niccolo di Pietro Gerini’s Scourging of the Four Crowned Martyrs (1385-90) depicts a scene in which four martyrs are pursued by a group of men with some scourging tool (which resembles a modern-day rake). A late Gothic painting in which Gerini depicts a Catholic story of the Four Crowned Martyrs, the Scourging incorporates much of the static, stiff forms which are characteristic of the period’s prevailing style. In the painting, one can notice clear divisions of space, distinct separations of forms within that space, and emphases on the men doing the scourging within that space as a function of where the light is directed in the painting. An analysis of these three key elements of the painting suggests a cohesive assertion about the way the painting’s subjects are depicted within the image. Initially it seems apparent that the four martyrs are depicted in a negative manner with the scourging men taking precedence. However, an analysis beyond the obvious elements – particularly the figure suspended in the air and the devilish figures attacking the scourging men – suggest that the four martyrs are actually being depicted in a more positive light.

The lamentation by Giotto depicts the death of christ and the subsequent morning of his followers including Marry, after he removed from the cross. The scene itself is nothing new, it has been depicted countless of times before. It is Giotto’s revolutionary style, or rather his regressive style, that brought European art back to a more realistic depiction of figures in religious art. In The Lamentation the viewer can sense a three dimensional space in which the subjects inhabit. In addition to giving the work a little depth, Giotto also added figures that did not serve a narrative purpose and only existed to assist the viewer’s eye and provide a surrogate figure for the viewer to identify with. These figure have their back s turned to

The new emphasis on learning, especially via direct observation of the natural world, led to new artistic techniques that allowed artists to mimic those of the ancients. The Early Renaissance was, therefore, a progression of observing the works of the ancients, and undergoing a new process of trial-and-error learning from prior mistakes and tracing the path of artistic creation. The aim of the artists was to better their abilities at portraying human characteristics, both physical and emotional, while creating a more ideal finished product, something that was as significant in presence as the natural world itself. Much progress was made in these campaigns during the Early Renaissance, and the emergence of the High Renaissance was characterized by the true mastery of the method of creating mankind’s body and emotions[1], and an artwork as balanced as nature itself. Jean Hey’s “The Annunciation” demonstrates the product of this final Renaissance transition.

Another comparison that can be made to the modern era and Renaissance Europe is the field of music. Music has always been a part of the history and served as a form of entertainment for a long time. In early Renaissance Europe, wealthy merchants were able to educate their family in the arts and music. Women from rich families were also involved in music. Music in early renaissance was created in a way to sooth the listener's ears. Music with vocals was predominant and composers documented music for certain instruments. Events that led to changes from 1400 to 1600 (Arkenberg, 2002) led to the major shift in the styles making music, ways of distributing music, neo musical genres and the creation of instrument used in making music. The early Renaissance

The works of art that will be compared in this paper are Giotto, Lamentation (c1304-5), and Rogier van der Weyden, Deposition (c. 1435). Although the two artists use different media and style, they share the same topic: the story of the lamentation of Christ from the Holy Bible. The story of lamentation of Christ can be summarized as following: due to the betrayal of the Judas, Christ was arrested and crucified. Both drawings illustrate the scene of the deposition of Christ. These drawings demonstrate the naturalism by using emotional effect.

In the wake of the Black Plague, most of europe was an obsessively morbid culture; almost entirely rejecting life, the late 14th century birthed the start of a growing anticipation of the apocalypse, and the image of death that we are most familiar with today; a skeletal, grim reaper cloaked in black, holding a scythe.

Michael Baxandall, the author of Painting and Experience in 15th Century Italy, talks about the influences that contributed to the creation and reception of 15th century Italian classical paintings. Specifically, he talks about the cultural impacts on the perceptions of the audience and the painter, mostly through the common religion, as well as what could affect those perceptions besides purely cultural influences. During the second half of the chapter, which held the most detailed information and the core of the chapter, he elaborated on Roman Catholicism’s major impact on what was painted and how it was viewed, as we can see through the many different forms of The Annunciation provided in pages 35, 52-54, and 56. Many priests, with high

Therefore, additional primary sources must be utilised, such as ‘The Book of Hours’, looking specifically at the ‘Office of the Dead; and ‘Ars Moriendi’. These popular texts provide a better indication of societies response to death. Nonetheless, these sources are still somewhat limited to presenting the responses of the upper echelons of society. This essay will evaluate the nobility’s response to death, analysing accounts of Edward IV’s funeral and cadaver tombs. Most of the primary sources available only indicate the nobility’s responses and consequently it is difficult to assert the responses of ordinary society to death. The analysis of sermons and prayers provide a better indication of wider societies response to death.

Artists and musicians of the time became dark and seemingly depressed. Before the plague, the music was up-beat and frequently heard while the artwork was frequently viewed. However, during the plague music was played very grimly and the art became somber. The artists were surrounded by the horrific nature of the Black Death. These artists used their works to escape and to deal with what was happening in their current lives and reflect on the way they were feeling. Since many people went into depression, they began to lose the beauty of art and music they once had. The somber change in art and music showed the change in the world around them. People of the time became obsessed with the culture of death, and they demonstrated this every day.

The most devastating and tragic mortal disease, the Black Death, spread across Europe in the years of 1346-53. The Black Death became one of the deadliest infectious diseases in history. This fatal and rapidly spreading disease horrified people of its time. The disastrous natural catastrophe was only compounded with other setbacks in fourteenth century Europe. Those set backs include, warfare, religious turmoil and peasant unrest. Also known as the bubonic plague, it struck Europe in 1347 and killed close to 50 million people. This constituted as half of their population, killing entire families and destroying tribes and villages in less than a mere century. To this day there are numerous theories of its origin, symptoms, its quick spreading, artistry and other documents that all reflect on the impact this plague had on society. The terror of the Black Death affected various aspects of European culture, particularly art. At a time of great suffering where traditional forms of grieving associated with death and burial were abandoned, artistry stands alone as being one of the most dominate ways people expressed their fears, sadness and pain. In this essay I will recognize three examples of works of art that reveal the prominent mood of this period of time. I will also discuss the Black Death in detail and the impact it had on the art market as well as the lives of artists and patrons.

But he's all changed during the pandemic, the paintings turned to death involving skeletons playing around with children, women and men. When people were diagnosed with the black death, they were told to do many of the cures created. Because none of these cures worked people saw the black death a time of death and sadness. Cultural and Economic Effects of The Black Plague explain that When painters made art pieces they includes skeletons to represent death, they were shown dancing with children, playing in towns/communities. These changes were some of the biggest society influences, including the literature of the time. In the 14th century artwork started to show dark humour and tone to cope with the tragedy. The Black Death had several consequences of cultural, religious and economic, these consequences were both negative and positive and contributed to conditions favourable to the decline of the

First, for the social effects of the black death. As a result of the Black Death, written language was almost lost, universities were abandoned. Furthermore, since the spread of The Black Death, Pessimism and depression, atonement and death became the most important themes in art. For example, many paintings at that time were mainly about the death of the people who had plague, and to show devotion to God. What this meant was people were very negative, they

The Medieval period began in 500 A.D. and ended in 1450 A.D. During this time in particular, the Catholic Church had significant influence on how music was used and created. Sacred music, for example, was most prevalent because of this. Due to the religious nature of this period, music in the church had to adhere to very specific regulations, some of which included prayers such as plainchants or Gregorian chants. A single melody without harmony, or one musical part sung together in unison, is called a Monophonic melody, which was sung primarily by monks. Some time later, around 900 A.D., the using of two melodic lines was permitted by the church, this music was called organum. A low, continuous note called a drone, was sung at the same time as the main melody. The two melodies were often moving in contrasting motion to each other. By the Late-Medieval period, 1100 A.D., the music of the church had shifted from monophonic to more polyphonic, often two or more varying parts.

3. Medieval and Renaissance culture varied in many ways, aside from the differing music. In the Medieval age (the time between the 5th and 15th century), the church controlled many things, not only music. The church was in charge of education, the church also dominated politics. People very much feared God. Whereas in the Renaissance (15th and 17th century) the state ruled over the church. People in the Renaissance believed that God wasn’t some fearsome being, instead they believed more in logical and practical thinking.