Mannerism

            Mannerism was the movement after the death of Raphael. Many wanted to get away from High Classical idealism and realism. Through elegance, grace, and artificiality artist departed from past artistic conventions such as balance and lifelike references. Many of the art created during this time referenced past High Renaissance art, but unlike the High Renaissance art the humans were disproportioned and the background and subject matter for the pieces usually left someone scratching their head. Examples of mannerism are Parmigianino’s Madonna with the Long Neck and Bronzino’s Allegory with Venus and Cupid.

            As I said before the Mannerist style portrayed the human form in disproportioned and anatomically incorrect positions. Madonna with the Long Neck is a good example, as the title suggest, the Madonna’s neck is exaggerated to a length not normal. Her body proportions are incorrect as well; her legs are thick and long compared to her small and thin shoulders. Her hands are too long for a female and her body is in an unbalanced position holding Christ. The baby is also anatomically incorrect, the baby is much too large and long to be a child, and his arms are at awkward positions giving the impression of no balance. Anatomical awkwardness is also shown in Allegory with Venus and Cupid. Cupid is seductively holding Venus in an awkward anatomically impossible position. Cupid’s back is curved to a point unimaginable and the angles at where his legs are bent at have no reinforcement to his pose.

            Another Mannerist style is the use of background, with the Classical period background was used for the basis of foundation, to set the setting and establish order and balance. Mannerism deterred from that conveyed the background as more of an abstract idea. In the Madonna with the Long Neck the background has a small man unrolling a scroll, the way he is positioned seems that the artist was not pressed to worry about perspective. As the image of the unsupportive column suggest as well. The column is gigantic in proportion to the small man, so this takes away at what depth there is to the picture and if there is linear perspective. In the Allegory with Venus and Cupid the background is very random and gives off the impression as being tight and cramped. There is much movement in the background distracting the viewer from Venus and Cupid. Not only that but, there is no sense of where the light is coming from. The lighted figures are in random places and the lady on the left top corner should be lighted as she is at the same distance as the man in the right top corner.

            Although both artworks are Mannerist I feel the Allegory withVenus and Cupid is far more anti-Classical. Although the Madonna with the Long Neck does have the necessary elements to be considered Mannerist, the piece still has some main references to the High Classical High Renaissance Period; such as the use of color and the direction of the light. Bronzino’s piece on the other hand seems as though it has no reference in it except for the gods of Greece. Everything is very random the subject matter can be interpreted in many ways and the positions, light direction, and balance of the piece is very Anti-Classical.

High Renaissance

            During the Medieval ages many of the art focused on the symbolism, the message of the art. Artists were more abstract in regards with nature and the human form. What was more important was to give a message through art. As the middle ages past the Renaissance began and people were starting to go back to the teaching of the Classical period of the Greeks and Romans. In doing so, humanism was brought forth again, but this time humanism was transformed into many art forms. Artist were delved more into trying to portray realism as much as possible, although by the High Renaissance some idealism came through to humanism and gave it an extra upgrade to the perfection of art.

            Although in the Early Renaissance the illusion of the natural world was attempted through fine detail in objects and people, the High Renaissance artist tried to achieve this illusion through more empirical and analytical means. Using different light textures such as sfumato, the subtle transition from light to dark that Leonardo Da Vinci excelled at, artist were able to create an ideal perfect surrounding or scenery. Another technique used to enhance the illusion is chiaroscuro or implanting implied spotlights on person to enhance the shadows and overall realistic effect of the piece to give the sense of three-dimensionality.

            Many of the artworks created during the High Renaissance period were set into a well thought out space, or more mathematically rational. A way many artists of that time achieved such organized space was through linear perspective. Linear perspective allowed artist to render a three-dimension space on a two-dimensional surface. This was done by first picking a vantage point or a place where everything will recede to. The closer objects are to the vantage point the smaller and more indistinct they will be, the farther the more detailed and larger it will be shown. This manipulation of space allowed the artwork to have the illusion of depth and foreshortening, it gave the viewer a sense of reality, as one would see the real world. Added to linear perspective was atmospheric perspective, which was the illusion of depth through colors, so as one was closer to the vanishing point the colors would be more bland and cooler such as blue or gray and as one is farther from the vantage point the more colorful and radiant they are.

            An example of High Renaissance art would be of The Virgin of the rocks by Leonardo da Vinci. Sfumato is utilized as one can see the overall smoky or hazy look to the piece; it gives the impression as someone is peering in through a light fog. Chiaroscuro can be seen in each individual of the piece, they seem to be radiating light. This gives the viewer a heightened view of the person’s forms and expressions. The pieces are laid out in a triangular form, which was popular at the time, to give the artwork a sense of balance and stability. The Virgin is at the top and the three individuals are placed so as to make an implied triangle. Linear perspective is also employed at around the left middle corner where there is a range of rocky cliffs. The vantage point begins there and the orthogonal lines go out in a eastern direction, the cliffs near the vantage point are smaller and less detailed than the rocky cliffs behind the Virgin. The atmospheric perspective adds to this illusion of depth by making the cliffs near the vantage point cooler in cooler and less distinct. As one can see the Virgin and the people around her are warmly colored and finely detailed to finish off the perception of depth. All these techniques and skills finish off to make a excellent piece of art that renders the illusion or reality well.

Early Renaissance analysis

            The Crucifixion with Saints by Perugino is an example of Early Renaissance art. The elements used to incorporate this painting were a base in painting that spread among other aspiring artists of that time. My reaction to the painting is one of awe; the painting exhibits a dynamic sense of balance. To portray the sense of balance, the painting utilized the elements of composition, color, style, line and scale.

            As one can see, the Crucifixion of Saints one can see that the painting is divided into three panels. This was typical at the time during the Early Renaissance to create this type of art medium. Usually they were placed on altars at churches, so they respectively gained the name as altar pieces. Since the altar piece has three panels, this altar would be called a triptych. I believe balance is the strongest point in this painting. Perugino established balance by how he juxtaposition everything on the painting. As one can see Perugino used a pyramidal figural group, which is Jesus at the top and the four persons at the bottom evenly spaced to create a triangle like shape. This created a sense of balance as all implied weight is equally shared on every point of the painting. Another pyramidal structure that can be examined is of the foreground landscape. The rocky hills surrounding the five figures form a sort of upside down pyramid to give more importance to the central figure. The importance of the figure in the middle is emphasized by the empty background. This use of juxtaposition allows the viewer to see that the central figure is the most important of the piece. Composition was the most heavily used element to exhibit the aspect of balance.

            Another element utilized to show balance, was color. Using the technique called atmospheric or aerial perspective; Perugino was able to further portray balance through the whole piece. On the foreground all objects are beautifully and warmly colored. All features are exhibited and the use of shadow and light gives the foreground a warm and heavenly glow. The objects on the background though are shown in cooler colors. A sort of bluish gray or colorless background indicating the illusion of distance, as well as the apparent use of less detail as the farther away the scene is from the foreground. This gives the painting depth and a more dynamic sense that the scene is more realistic.

            The style that Perugino used for the Crucifixion of the Saints was heavily popularized by Flemish painters. It allowed artists to paint a visual picture of a window to see a real event or a perspective of what would have happened. Flemish painters were adamant about detail to all features such as the people, objects in the painting, or aspects that reside in the natural world. For example the flowers at the bottom of the painting are highly detail, all the leaves are shown, petals, highlights of the stems and leaves, and the grass surrounding the flowers is individually painted. Today lots of artists spend much time on immaculate detail as this because it consumes too much time. Perugino’s Flemish style gave more balance to the painting because it gave a continuity of detail to the whole composition. Nothing was left less detailed or else it would distract the viewer and therefore compromise the balance of the piece.

            What also helped to establish balance of the Crucifixion of that Saints was the use of line. As I said before, the painting is in pyramidal form, but more importantly Perugino utilized the skill of linear perspective that became a standard in Renaissance art. Jesus at the top of the altar piece was used as the vanishing point, or the point where all direction comes from. Then orthogonal lines, or imaginary lines that give direction spreading from the vanishing point, spread out towards all the figures at the bottom. This allows the viewer to lead his or her eye at the top, or the focal point. Then lead down to the rest of the altar piece, this allows for a more fluid continuous line of direction. The use of line gives the viewer a balanced sense of direction as the viewer does not feel compelled to start viewing at the right corner or on a random spot.

            To finalize the feel of balance, Perugino uses scale to create depth and realism. This is called intuitive perspective, as objects or landscapes get farther into the distance; they appear smaller and out of focus. An example of this is on the left panel of the altar piece, a lion is shown in the middle ground smaller that the man in the foreground, giving the impression that the lion is at a farther distance then the scene on the foreground. Other examples include the landscape in the middle panel in the background, and the fence behind the person on the right panel. These uses of scale further assume the sense of balance because it gives the continuity of depth giving the overall sense of the painting as stable and harmonious. 

Northern Renaissance

            In the documentary of the Northern Renaissance, many ideas and thoughts were changing at a unfathomable rate. From the beginning of the Renaissance in Flanders, to the eventual renaissance in Italy. Before the renaissance, many of society’s thoughts and action were under the influence of the Church, specifically the Roman Catholic Church. Artists could not proclaim or sign their art because the Church thought it a sin of vanity and egotism. So many artists were anonymous. The video heavily discusses the starter of the new renaissance, Jan Van Eyck. Jan Van Eyck gave birth to a new revolution in art, at the time sculpture was thought of as the supreme art form because of the ability of artists to depict humans in the round, giving them a more realistic appearance. Sculptors such as Sluter achieved a new level of sculpting were not only did he sculpt humans, but he gave complex detail to the clothing and face to give the viewer the illusion that the sculptures were real human beings. As well as the clothing was given a sense that it was flowing and real.

Jan Van Eyck, like Sluter, wanted to reach a new level of realism, but he wanted to expand it to other medium. Before the Renaissance, tapestries were considered very valuable and high art, but as new ideas came, people wanted a new fresh take on art. Jan Van Eyck was one of the first to use oil painting as a medium to make supreme art. Many of the art produced at this time was religious scenes, famous victories, and sacred peoples. Eyck changed that by paint self-portraits, daily activity scenes, and modest normal people. Unlike the previous painters of his time who were anonymous Eyck made an effort to make his mark on his artworks, such as signatures, self-mottos, and inserting himself in painting. This was he was able to be globally known. What also gave him and other future painters more fame was the invention of the printing press. This allowed artists artwork to be copied and distributed, so that more people found out about their work.

            At the time of the renaissance there was two Popes in conflict that both proclaimed they were they real Pope. This caused many to doubt and distrust the Church and start looking for answers themselves. This allowed people like Jan Van Eyck to make his own interpretations of religious scenes. What made Eyck so different from other painters was his use of detail. He was determined to incorporate as much detail as possible. Not only that, but he wanted his work to look as real as possible. Eyck’s skill in layering oil paint allowed him to give a consistent illusion of reality, which astounded people of that time until today. The pigments he used were derived from various natural elements and involved a long and difficult process, so being as labor intensive, it was expensive to obtain oil paints. Eyck’s skill gave him the sponsorship of noblemen such as the Duke of Burgundy to finance his profession.

            During the Northern Renaissance, change was coming forth and going towards realism. To achieve a new level of skill and thinking, art during the renaissance was trying to convey itself more as a natural thing in the world, rather than a window open to the world. Oil painting especially captured this and very quickly became the new supreme art.

Importance of the Renaissance

The Renaissance, to me, was what art was supposed to be. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages introduced surrealism or a more symbolic way of representing an image. Although it is good to go away from the norm, one must always come back to what one can see in reality. During the Renaissance, many stopped following the teachings of the church and started to find explanation for the physical world through logic and science. Many of the discoveries introduced in the Renaissance hold prevalence today, such as, astronomy, physics, geology, and art.

Our culture heavily focuses on the 15^th and 16^th century art because it utilized math such as geometry and portrayed a more realistic sense of things. Proportion, anatomy, scale, shading, angles, and many other elements of art were reintroduced and founded during the Renaissance. Many feel that Renaissance art was the epiphany of art because of how realistic the art was. Human anatomy was perfected; color was used to emphasize reality by using the exact or near exact pigmentation of color to create a realistic effect. The use of shadows and contrast add a more three dimensional feel. Composition was well laid out so the placement of objects and people was proportionate to one another. Themes portrayed on paintings usually involved famous incidents in time or daily activities. This allowed many people to see how the Renaissance period was and how society was structured. Artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael were famous mainly because they worked closely with the Roman Church, so they were given the privileges of painting on churches, so their art was reached to a larger audience. All of these artists also expanded to other mediums such as painting, penciling, watercolor, oils, charcoal, sculpting, and architecture. By expanding upon mediums artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael could be more influential to a variety of viewers. All of them also looked to the real world for their inspirations, such as (secretly) ordering corpses to examine the muscle structure and bone structure of the human body and other animals. This allowed these artists to portray humans more realistically and give the viewer and more relatable theme. As well as studying the landscapes and incorporating the elements of perspective, scale, proportion, line, color, and light to make the scene look as if one can jump into the portrait.

No other artist has reached the level of technique and skill that Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael attained. This is why many classes and cultures revere them so, because they are the trinity (not in a religious sense) of humanism. They started a revolution in art, instead of heavily depending on symbolism and disregarding the human form; Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael perfected the human form and although adding symbolism to their art at times, it did not deter them from creating a realistic scene. This is why I believe the Renaissance was viewed as one of the most influential times in human history. The incorporation of art and science pushed the boundaries of what art could be.