Baptism of Christ and The Virgin on the Rocks- week four

The pieces I chose are the paintings ‘Baptism of Christ’ (pg. 618) and ‘The Virgin of the Rocks’ (pg. 634).  Both of these paintings have people as the main focus, but the Virgin on the Rocks is has more dynamic unity then the Baptism of Christ. The color and techniques used in the paintings are vastly different, and I think this is the biggest noticeable difference between the two paintings.

In the Baptism of Christ, Christ is the main focus of the painting and he is directly in the middle, the virgin on the rocks also places the main character in the center of the piece. The surrounding characters are all facing the direction of the main character in both paintings. In this sense I would consider the compositions very similar. But the Virgin on the Rocks has more dynamic unity then the painting of Baptism of Christ. The people are at different levels on the canvas- spread out better than the people on the Baptism of Christ. In the Baptism of Christ they are all standing and reach about the same level, making it much less interesting. 

The colors and techniques used is what I find makes them most different. The Virgin on the Rocks has deep rich colors with a lot of contrast. The people also have somewhat of a spot light on them, giving them a very pleasant glow that brings your eye toward them. But the Baptism of Christ has lighter coloring, and less saturated. Your attention is drawn to Christ who is basically an all-white coloring, which helps bring him out. But Baptism of Christ has many more light colors then the Virgin on the Rocks. I find the darker more contrasted painting more appealing than the lighter colored painting. 

Both of these painting have a background that is a landscape. Baptism of Christ is, again, very light colors. But it also has a very low horizon line you see clouds, blues skies, even a white bird flying. The Virgin on the Rocks on the other hand has a very high horizon line; you can hardly see the sky. The small portion of the sky is still dark colors like much of the painting, and it leave the people with the light to be the main focus of the painting.

The Virgin on the Rocks has a much more realistic look then the Baptism of Christ. The Virgin on the Rocks really shows the natural curves on the human body, and the shadows on the body really make it look realistic. With the painting of the Baptism of Christ the human body is much less pronounces, and the natural curves are harder to see. This painting also doesn’t have the dramatic showing and shading that the Virgin on the Rocks does, which to me makes the figures have a flatter appearance.

The Virgin on the Rocks and The Baptism of Christ are both done well, and it is obvious the difference in the time periods paintings.

"Annunciation" Week 3 post

The painting “Annunciation” is page 613 in the Art History book. This painting is beautifully done, and creates peaceful picture.  But there is also a sense of distress and confusion. The composition of characters in the painting contribute to the overall feeling of clam and distress you get from this picture, but the colors add an immense amount of feeling to the painting as well. 

The composition of this piece draws your attention really to the two characters; the angel and Mary. The room they are in is slightly illuminated compared to the space outside, so the center of focus is on the room.  The floor in the main room is even darker behind the angel and behind Mary, really emphasizing those to as the main focus of the painting. The characters both have different aspects that make it obvious what part they are playing in the painting. Mary is distressed and confused, and the angel seems to have it together and shows no sign of confusion or fear. 

The angel also has an open yard, and free space behind him/her. He has room to leave easily. But Mary seems to be sitting inside, possibly against a corner… that is what I feel it is. There are no signs of easily accessible ‘escape’ or place to wander. She is very much trapped. This also give us a sense that Mary is the one in distress, and the angel is there with much freedom to leave, but also to help and comfort.

Something I found interesting in the composition of this painting was behind each of the characters heads is a circle. It looks as if they are painted on the wall, but they both land directly behind Mary and the angel’s heads. It gives almost a halo-like affect, except these circles are not brightly colored. They are actually a darker color then the wall. I feel the painted may have just been trying to draw more attention to the head or the figures themselves. The dark color against the light colored wall does make it pop a bit.

Mary’s facial expression is very downcast, there are large bags under her eyes and her head is leaning down slightly. Her shoulders are also slightly slummed inward and she gives the position of vaguely curling over. Her dress is wrinkled; the artist shows great depth in the uneven folds and creases in her dress. The material is bent and random places, just as a dress looks when someone is sitting down. But it also gives a small appearance of slightly un-kept, which would make sense considering she was probably sitting alone in the room before the angel showed up.  The angel looks much more put together, and seems to be serving the distraught Mary. The angel actually seems to serving Mary. The angel is in a slightly kneeling position is looking up at Mary. The angel leaning toward Mary gives the sense that the angel is there to help and has a great deal of respect for Mary.

The angel’s clothing, unlike Mary’s, has more decoration, and detail. They also look well kept. Although there are actually more fold in the angels clothes, they are all in a vertical position in such a way they were made to be.  But the differences between the angel’s clothes and Mary’s clothes are important. The decoration and complexity of the dress show that that angel is in some sort “high class” one of importance in a sense. And Mary’s clothes are much more “lower class” and just less lavish then the angel’s. 

All the colors in this painting are very pastel and soft looking. There are no colors that stand out harshly and draw immediate attention. The angel has the very light pink dress, and Mary in wearing a darker green dress. I feel this also shows the relationship between the two to be one in sadness and gloom, and the other has no sign of either of those things.  But the pink pastel colors seem to give off a feeling of hope, or purity. While the dark green that Mary is wearing seems much more burdening. 

Overall I think this painting gives us the feeling of sadness and calm atmosphere. And the composition- placement of the characters- has a great deal to do with that. As does the colors this artist used in the painting. I think the painting “Annunciation” is gorgeously done.

“Northern Renaissance: The Supreme Art.”-week 2

 “Northern Renaissance: The Supreme Art.” documentary I found to be a fascinating! The ideas that were valued in the Northern Renaissance were very much religion and naturalism. But new ideas and concepts were created during this time as well. Throughout the documentary “Northern Renaissance: The Supreme Art” it showed beautiful paintings, sculptures and tapestries that were incredibly realistic, detailed, and life-like.

The sculpture at this time was gorgeous, and people worked the stone with detail and precision that had never been seen before. And was the leading form of art. But what really stood out during the northern renaissance was the painting. Painting flourished during this time and was taken to a whole new level of naturalism. One of the first paintings that showed true naturalism… or the painting that started off the new era of naturalism was the Ghent Altarpiece. This is a beautiful piece, and is still considered one of the best pieces in the world today. People today are intrigued by its incredible naturalism just like the people of northern renaissance were fascinated by how true the painting looked. The colors and textures matched so closely to reality people were and still are completely awed by it.

The Brugge Madonna Child is another example of the naturalism that was developing. This painting looked so natural and real, that it was hard to even tell it was a painting. New methods in color mixing were created to make the deep rich colors of “real life”, which really helped with the look of naturalism.

Religion was a huge part of the Northern Renaissance. Churches and Cathedrals were one of the main places beautiful artwork was found. Sculpture and paintings of biblical stories and characters were universally seen throughout the Northern Renaissance. Their traditional depiction of biblical characters was also changed during this time when art work started showing characters that were dead, rise again. Ghent Altarpiece was the first painting to portray the dead to be living again. It changed paintings from there on out.

During the Northern Renaissance self-portraits also became very popular. Having personal pictures of themselves painted, allowed future generations to remember them.  Because painting was making such leaps at this time, the detail, accuracy, and life-like qualities it had, people really enjoyed self-portraits. It makes sense that the people who used this most often at the time were royalty, and people of significant importance.

Painters who were taking new steps in painting became really famous. The “birth” of the new developing painting ‘business’ really began to thrive when Jan van Eyck’s paintings were noticed. Nobles, royalty and townspeople became fascinated with his work. According to records he became so well know that people started asking to see his assistants work. His work became so extensive that he had many people working under him to complete his projects.

It amazes me the incredible detail that artists were able to create, and that detail was obviously valued during the Northern Renaissance, and still is valued today. I find the Northern Renaissance a beautiful change of artistic view points, techniques and styles.