A Visual Analysis of Four Art Works Narrative Essay

The Renaissance, meaning rebirth or revival, was a revolutionary period that made a great impact on arts and culture. The Italian Renaissance is divided into three major phases: Early, High, and Late Renaissance (Rzepinska, 1994).

Though centered in Florence, Italy slightly before the turn of the 1500, its profound intellectual and economic changes influenced entire Europe for the next few hundred years (Rzepinska, 1994).  Tired of the restricted secular teachings of the Catholic Church, people began to turn towards humanistic philosophy (Hollingsworth, 2003).

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There was a renewed, heightened appreciation for great craftsmanship, literature and high culture.  Spiritual matters became a concern after Martin Luther questioned the Church in their selling of indulgences and usage of Latin in Scriptures that were only accessible to the rich and noble but not the poor (Hollingsworth, 2003). This ultimately led to the germination of Protestant Reformation that transformed the spiritual landscapes forever as proven in many great works of art.

The Early Renaissance was lead by sculptor Donatello, architect Filippo Brunelleschi, and painter Masaccio (Bailey, 2003). They began the movement on the foundations that development and progress was integral to the evolution and survival of the arts.

They found their inspiration form antiquity, creating realistic figures that portrayed personality and behavior (Woods, Franklin and Richardson 2007). Their work also greatly emphasized the laws of proportion for architecture, the human body, and space (Hollingsworth, 2003).

The High Renaissance moved to a generalized style of art that focused on drama, physical presence, and balance. Major artists of this period included Leonardo Da Vinci, Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian (Woods, Franklin and Richardson 2007). The period lasted only from 1495 to 1520 as it was taken over by the Late Renaissance.

This movement was put into motion by the sack of Rome in 1527, forcing artists to relocate to other artistic centers in Italy, France, and Spain and later paved way to a new wave of thought known as the Mannerist movement (Hollingsworth, 2003).

For the purpose of this assignment, I will analyze Fra Angelico's Lamentation over Dead Christ (1436-1441), Masaccio's The Tribute Money, Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini and His Bride, and Edouard Manet’s The Bar at the Folies Bergere.

Lamentation over Dead Christ by Fra Angelico (1436-1441)

The most obvious differences between Early and High Renaissance is the shape of figures and the use of chiaroscuro - an element in art defined as a bold contrast between light and dark (Bailey, 2003). Painters of the Early Renaissance strongly leaned towards using perspective: a system for creating an illusion of depth or three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface (Bailey, 2003).

However, the technique seemed fraught with problems. For instance, in Fra Angelico's Lamentation over Dead Christ, there is the sense of denied aerial perspective, but if the viewer looks at it longer, the figures and their halos appear flat. The artist fails in his attempts to create a vivid and alive mythical illusion.

The usage of halos are significant at it deconstructs the visual perspective of lines softening the image especially against the predominant angular crucifix. The arrangement of the halos also provide a soft and rhythmic motion of a wave that helps to distract the viewer from an emotionally hardened image of Christ dying.

The artist utilizes a vivid color of the robes that personally, seems to as if represent the blood that is supposed to flow out of Christ. On the crucifix, there is minimal trace of blood in what would should have been a dramatic and tragic part of Christ’s life. Also notice the surrounding figures and their lack of emotional expression on their face and no trace of tears.

Their robe seems to express more motions than anything else in the artwork. Lighting-wise, the halos are to create a luminous setting for what is supposed to be a fabulous, surreal moment in Christianity. Note to customer: Need more detail here to balance out the other analyses you have done so this won’t come out uneven.

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