Free «Art of the Italian High Renaissance» Essay

I chose Leonardo da Vinci's. Among his notable pieces of art work is Annunciation in the Uffizi and Mona Lisa or Woman with an Ermine, in Krakow, Poland. I am interested in his manuscript which is displayed near Buckingham Palace in queen’s gallery. It is about his studies on waves which symbolize the penetration of scientific searching current in 15th &16th centuries. It is a phenomenon which is parallel to antique times. His finest piece of work comes into being through his dedication to correct human form in art.

The figure below shows Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, before restoration

The style used in the figure is imagery. There is a revelation of bright colors of the masters. It was during last supper and there was falling onto floor in pieces during Leonardo's lifetime. This is different from other restoration. The parts of the wall that had dropped have not been repainted and the glue that tends to dull the fresco was not used.

The last supper is a symbolic gathering of Jesus and his disciples. Leonardo in his art uses linear prospective to create depth in pieces of art. Without such devise we would be able to see more since manuscript would have been crowded and flat. Leonardo brought out the facial expression of disciples on learning the news that Jesus will be betrayed by one of disciples. It is this focal point that forcefully captures the attention of everyone who border to find out meaning of his art. It was not known to da Vinci at that time that it will eventually become a template where all the picture of Jesus will be base. He became famous through his tremendous painting. The face of smiling Mona Lisa is one of great art he use to demonstrate his love for art as science. It’s perfectly anatomical features, grounded triangle composition and careful lighting conditions and observation of atmospheric combine to give Mona Lisa an enigmatic appeal. There quite unique feature that are clawing in Mona Lisa which is unlike any painting before it. Her carefully painted her eyes and lips and leaves her expression undefined. He leaves the viewers to determine the moods. At one moment she looks kind, sad, flirtatious, confident, amused, skeptical, and everything else in between.

Human being was the central focus of all Leonardo arts and science. It was human concern that made renaissance figure like Leonardo to spend much of their time work that benefits people on their daily lives but not other worldly interest of the church. In his Renaissance he focuses on the humanity which was an outgrowth of the interest in Roman and Greek literature, philosophy and the historiography. In his art and science he offers a stark contrast to Medieval Christian Church which produces their art in different direction. The Leonardo pieces are base on the Roman culture and that why his work is link to Italian Renaissance. He brings out in his study an understanding that led to imitation and admiration. As humanists he turned away from a religious preoccupation with personal immorality, focusing instead on how to enjoy, make the most of, and improve this life for the humans living it.

The literature work of Leonardo emerges in a variety of form and genre. The influence of social literature both impelled innovation and impeded it. They dynamic religious atmosphere produce by reformation and counter-reformation often provided the catalyst for literary innovation but could not also exert a repressive force on choice of the subject matter and style. Other political and social changes played a role in the creation of an atmosphere conducive to the production of fine literature. However, it was the introduction of the mechanized printing press that proved to be the most influential events in the development of Renaissance literature. In manuscript form the distribution of literature was necessarily slow and limited. With growth in the number of printing presses, books and pamphlets proliferated. Literature innovation was able to reach an increasingly literate public, many members of which in which in turn wrote their own poetry, drama and prose. This ongoing cycle fueled even greater creativity among writers. Such is the impact of the literature of the renaissance that it continues to be a source of inspiration for modern writers.

Work of artist in Counter Reformation

The artist can use animals, human figure and object to symbolize an abstract of the concept. This is called allegories picture or stories. It employs hidden meaning to pass a massage in a more appealing manner. We can see this in Carlo Marathi where he created a figure in the honor Pope innocent IV. He gave a human form with the concept of justice in the left side and faith in the right side. He links the Pope with the faith by her papal attributes.

In this drawing by Carlo Maratti, created in honor of Pope Innocent XI, allegorical figures give human form to the concepts of justice (left) and faith (right). Faith is linked to the pope by her papal attributes: the crosier (or staff), the model of the Church, and the tiara. She also holds keys to indicate spiritual authority. The white rays issuing from Faith's head reveal the primacy of Faith over Justice.

2. You are the Pope during the Counter-Reformation in the 17th century. The Catholic church is under attack by the Protestant reform movement and you wish to commission an artist to make a powerful artwork to glorify the church and inspire your congregations loyalty and faith. You set up a contest, and two of the most well known artists submit their work. Bernini submits the sculpture The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, and Caravaggio submits the painting The Entombment. * State in a letter to both artists what the guidelines are for the commission: i.e. explain exactly what artistic and religious goals you expect the artist to fulfill to help the cause of the Counter-Reformation - Catholic church is under attack by the Protestant reform movement. Be sure to first explain what that cause is (why are you so threatened and worried about the Reformation and how can the artist help you?) * Which artist's work would you choose? *Explain why you think the artist's work you choose would be the most successful and effective in visually fulfilling the church's goals, as stated in the original letter you wrote above. How did they more faithfully reflect the requirements set by the Council of Trent? Finally, why did you chose that artist over the other one (i.e. why do you think the other artist's work is less successful and appropriate?) FORMAT : Prepare of this exam the same way you would for an in-class test. Review your class notes and the assigned reading in the textbook. It is not a research paper and does not require outside research, footnotes or a bibliography. It is your own ideas and needs to be written in your own words. Absolutely do not just paraphrase from the textbook or outside references; that will result in a lower grade. please please please do it with your own words not just paraphrasing or citing informations from textbook or the internet.