The Renaissance: A Rebirth of Art History - Essay Sample

Introduction

Art has gone through many significant developments throughout history. It took a considerable turn before the 1500s and even after. The most crucial turning point was the Renaissance, which first occurred in Italy around the 14th Century. Renaissance has assisted the world of art in breaking from a typical structure which was initially developed by the ancient Greeks and Romans and shaping it to what it is today hence was referred to as the Renaissance derived from a French word, 'rebirth.' Before this cultural rebirth, artworks were mostly not made to scale making paintings disproportionate. In addition to that, the Renaissance changed the old social context of art by introducing humanism, new themes, and techniques (Wijaya, 2017).

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One particular exciting art piece is The Virgin of The Rocks, which is sometimes referred to as the Madonna of the Rocks, which is the name of the two paintings by Leonardo da Vinci painted around 1483-1486. The earlier of the two is hang in The Louvre in Paris and the other one in the National Gallery in London. Both paintings are nearly 2 meters and are painted in oil and were both painted initially on wooden panel. However, the one in Louvre has been transferred to canvas. It is important to note that the two paintings have the same subject. The Virgin Mary, the children Jesus and John the Baptist, and an angel are pictured in a rocky environment. The right hand of Mary is on the shoulder of John the Baptist (who is the child on the left). The left side of Mary is right above the head of Jesus, which can be interpreted as a protective gesture. John the Baptist is folding his hands and is praying towards Jesus. At the same time, Jesus, who is direct to the left of the angel, is raising his right hand to bless John the Baptist. The angel most likely represents the Archangel Gabriel. The angel is pointing towards John the Baptist. In the background, you can see the rocky cave and a river. In the foreground and the cave, various flowers and plants are depicted.

The rocks and caves represent a sanctuary. The stones also refer to Jesus, who is often called the foundation of the Christian religion. The flowers and plants are carefully chosen. For example, the palm leaves, which can be seen behind the head of John the Baptist, are a symbol of Mary and a symbol of the victory of Jesus over worldly temptations. According to Li (2015), the commissioner of this painting wanted Leonardo da Vinci to paint the Immaculate Conception (a Catholic dogma that Mary was born without sin) to serve as the center of an altarpiece for the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. This chapel is part of the Saint Francesco Grande church in Milan, and the chapel was founded before 1335 by Beatrice d'Este, who was the wife of Galleazzo I, the Duke of Milan. On the left and right of this painting would be two paintings of angels playing a musical instrument to complete the altarpiece. On the left is An Angel in Green with a Vielle painted by an associate of Leonardo, possibly Francesco Napoletano. On the right is An Angel in Red with a Lute by Giovanni Ambrosio de Predis (Li, 2015).

Another artwork worth mentioning is The Monalisa painting, a half-body portrait of Lisa del Giocondo by Leonardo da Vinci believed to be painted between 1503-1517 (Wijaya, 2017). Dimensions of the pictures are 77cm by 53cm and are in oil on a white Lombardy poplar panel. It is currently located in The Louvre Museum in Paris. The portrait shows Lisa Del Giocondo sitting outside in a chair with a straight posture. Her curly hair hangs along with her head, and she has a transparent veil on her head (which may be a sign that she is pregnant). She is wearing a dress with a bit of lace and a scarf over the shoulders. The light skin of her contrasts nicely with the darker tones in the rest of the painting. Note that she has no eyebrows, something that was not uncommon in portraits from that time, though research has shown that the Mona Lisa may originally have had some faint eyebrows. Her hands are crossed and laying on an armrest. She looks at us with an ambiguous expression. Her eyes and her small mysterious smile have been intriguing to viewers all across the world. What is she thinking about, and what is she looking at? The background shows a rocky landscape, and Leonardo da Vinci was the first to include such an experience in a portrait painting.

According to Vasari, Leonardo took four years to make the painting before putting it aside. He then moved to France to paint a Clos Luc upon King Francoise request, where he resumed to work on the Monalisa. It took him three more years to complete the painting. Da Vinci created Mona Lisa in such a way that her composition would evoke an ambiguous effect on the observer where the observer is attracted to her, but her divinity and mystery create a mystery. Leonardo's preliminary drawings encouraged other artists to make more and freer studies for their paintings and stimulated connoisseurs to collect those drawings. Through the drawings, his Milanese works were made known to the Florentines. Also, his reputation and stature as an artist and thinker spread to his fellow artists and assured for them a freedom of action and thought similar to his own. One such painter was the young Raphael, who sketched Leonardo's work in progress and adopted the Mona Lisa format for his portraits; it served as a transparent model for his Portrait of Maddalena Doni (Wijaya, 2017). The Renaissance period was that of the rebirth of old values as well as the formation of new cultural and intellectual ideas which shaped the outlooks of European society in many ways including new tendencies towards classicism and humanism.

References

Li, J. (2015). On the Scientific Spirit of Renaissance Art. In 3rd International Conference on Management Science, Education Technology, Arts, Social Science and Economics. Atlantis Press.

Wijaya, H. (2017). Practice-led Project As A Creative Method to Enhance Theoretical Knowledge in Art and Design Education. Advanced Science Letters, 23(2), 726-729.