Two Works Of Art Essay Example for Free

Two Works Of Art Essay Italy experienced a massive art boom in the early fifteenth century, or as Italians themselves call it â€Å"Quattrocento†. This especially concerns the art of painting, deeply affected by changes, inspired by approaching Renaissance. It is hard to say, that paintings of that time belonged to pure Renaissance, however, their style already could not be attributed to earlier Gothic. The transition period generated a number of painters and entire painting schools each of them with it’s own original manner. This paper is to compare and examine the similarities and differences between the paintings of Gentile da Fabriano (1370-1427), as representative of late Gothic iconographic painting and Paolo Ucello (1397-1475), whose paintings more likely include Renaissance trends. Fabriano’s â€Å"Coronation of the Virgin† (1420) and Ucello’s â€Å"Madonna and Child† (1470) shall be taken as examples. Both paintings can be found in the The J. Paul Getty Trust museum, Los Angeles, California. The theme of coronation of Virgin Mary by her Son Jesus as Queen of Heaven was quite popular in the medieval painting. Almost all the artists of the time, including Michele Giambono Lorenzo Monaco and later Raphael and Velasques   have once tried to depict this event[1]. Fabriano himself turned to it for a few times. The â€Å"Coronation† being described here belongs to one of his late paintings and should not be confused with the most famous â€Å"Coronation of the Virgin and Saints†, painted in 1400. The style of the â€Å"Coronation of the Virgin†, painted by tempera and gold leaf on panel may be called both Gothic and Renaissance. It can be noticed, that Fabriano has been strongly influenced by the Byzantine style, which has been accepted in Southern Europe for many centuries[2], and made artist’s paintings in a way similar to Orthodox icons of Byzantium and Russia. The main characteristics of such combined style, often called International Gothics, are the strict situation of figures and groups, flat plain background and absence of perspective, special set of brightly contrasting colors, including usually yellow, golden, red and blue, as well as vivid symbolism of each object, being depicted. Especially the Italian Gothic, which arose in during the second quarter of the fourteenth century, is characterized by balanced forms and a grave mannerism. Figures are painted against monochrome or gold backgrounds in a formula that barely hints at a third dimension, but never shows it.   Nevertheless, this style appeared to be much more realistic, than the one of earlier centuries. This panel of Christ crowning his mother, Mary, originally formed the front of a two-sided processional standard carried in religious ceremonies in Gentiles native town of Fabriano. In this shimmering image, Gentile makes effective use of the complex patterning and wealth of surface ornamentation that is characteristic of the International Gothic style and that recalls the rich fabrics woven in Florence. â€Å"Madonna and child†, painted by Paolo Ucello 50 years later by tempera on panel demonstrates a breakaway from international Gothic and turning to Renaissance. Ucello belongs to painters, who first started experimenting with one of the basic elements of new art style – linear prospective. This even caused the famous Italian expert of arts Vazari to call Ucello â€Å"an eccentric† and add, that he has been â€Å"intoxicated† by prospective. At the picture we can see the green meadows, yellow fields and blue skies, spreading up to horizon behind Virgin’s back. In contrast to Byzantium and Gothic art, which is almost always â€Å"frozen out of time and space†, now it is possible to identify the place, time of year and often even time of day, which brings an element of action and development to the painting, although prospective   still remains more an element of decoration. The new style is also characterized by increased volume of figures, and a depth of emotion which suggests human feeling instead of static and passive icons[3]. The medieval tradition of using religious subjects is now combined   with classical ideals of the human figure and an increased interest in depicting nature. In contrast to International Gothic, the colors become more varied and not so dramatic, with more overtones being used. â€Å"Coronation of the Virgin† belongs to one of the few surviving Fabriano’s masterpieces, since most of his early paintings and frescos have been destroyed[4]. Gentiles most famous surviving works were made during a short but influential stay in Florence in the 1420s, where he probably encountered the austere realism of his younger contemporary Masaccio. This golden picture is almost entirely taken up by the symmetrical figures of the seated Christ on the right, placing a bejeweled golden crown on the inclined head of the Virgin Mary, who sits on the left, her hands crossed over her chest. Above them, centered in the rays of a golden sunburst, hovers a white dove with grey-tipped wings and bearing a halo. Standing below and beside the figures, three miniature angels are aligned in two vertical rows. The Christ is wearing a medieval-style tunic of gold gathered at the waist by a narrow golden sash. The garment is embroidered with five-pointed golden stars, surrounded by stars of blue, and encircled by red stars. Falling from his shoulders as he raises his arms is a rich burgundy gown bordered in patterned gold, bearing vines with golden leaves and five-petaled golden flowers with hearts of blue. The Virgins gown, which she holds close to her, has tightly-clustered seven-petaled floral pinwheels of gold over a background of royal blue. Behind the two figures, from their shoulders down, flows a patterned dark green tapestry reminiscent of Christs robe with its five-pointed snowflakes of red and gold. The figures and the background, absent of depth, are laid virtually flat against each another. Standing in the lower corners on either side, the angels, partially obscuring each other in descending columns, look upward toward the figures of Mary and Christ, their lips open in song, their hands holding an unfurled white parchment ribbon with musical notes and Latin words that wind in and out of view. The hands and faces of the principal figures are painted realistically in a greyish pink, making their skin ashen, and their placid, almost expressionless features, look otherworldly, in great contrast to the richly-tooled golden crown, the embossed halos, and opulent, embellished fabrics. Presiding over all this, Christs uplifted hands, in the moment between setting the crown and blessing the Virgin Mary, are set against a broad sheet of pure gold that rises behind the figures until it vanishes under a gilded arch of carved leaves supported by spiral columnsan ornately-carved wooden frame through which we view the coronation. To create a sumptuous surface resembling tapestry, Gentile da Fabriano used extensive tooling, decorative patterning, gold leaf, and rich pigments. Considerable features of International Gothic Style can be noticed on the painting, including complex patterning, elaborate materials, and long flowing lines of the robes of the Madonna and Christ[5]. At the time the gold-encrusted panel functioned as a processional standard held aloft in parades that honored the Virgin Mary and originally depicted The Stigmatization of Saint Francis on the reverse. The centre of the composition is formed by the hands of Saviour, raised to bless his Mother and put a crown on her head, which contrasts to the painting of Ucello, where centre is formed by faces of Mary and Christ. The two pictures represent different approaches towards position of head and eyes of the figures. The Gothic style pays almost no attention to eye contact of the depicted person with a spectator, and the eyes of the Saints are always in a way divert. In Fabriano’s case the Virgin is looking down, vailing before her Son, while Jesus is looking directly at Mary. In contrast, the painting by Ucello brings in a brilliant example of fresh Renaissance relationship between the figure and the spectator. His Mary and Child are looking closely at the spectator and it seems, that they are trying to see that what is behind his outlook and spot his soul. Both paintings are deeply symbolic. The most recognizable Fabriano’s symbol is, definitely, the white dove over Madonna’s head, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, descending upon her. The red color of the gown, falling down from Christ’s shoulders, is a symbol of His Oblation to the humanity and it’s green backing, noticeable on top, is to point on the Resurrection. Finally, the golden color of Jesus tunic is to prove him as the Heavenly King. The clothes of the Virgin are depicted golden and blue, symbolizing   divinity, combined with purity and faith. The nimbuses of both figures are almost invisible in the golden light, streaming through heaven. The symbolism of Ucello’s â€Å"Madonna† is not so sophisticated as Gothic one. The divine Child is depicted, holding his mother’s clothes with his fingers, which is to hint the connection between them. The nimbuses of both figures differ, since the nimbus of Christ includes a cross – a traditional element of earlier iconographic schemes. This cross is red, once again symbolizing Christ’s Oblation[6]. In the years which passed between the creation of these two paintings, the ideas of humanism changed the attitude to human’s body. Fabriano covered the corpses of both figures with reach adorable dresses, leaving no space to any bodily features. In contrast, Ucello’s Madonna and Child displays a type of hushed beauty lost with the advent of the High Renaissance style in Italy. Her face and the body of the child are still pallid and far from Raphael’s vision, however, the Maid is depicted as a beautiful woman with golden hair, appearing from under her modest mantle. While Fabriano used medieval monochromic background, Ucello is one of the first artists, who used landscape to underline prospective in three well-rounded dimensions. Painting now becomes a window on the physical world rather than merely the spiritual one. In an effort to open up the scene, the artist from Paolo Uccellos workshop placed a landscape behind the Virgin and Christ. Instead of trying to show depth, however, the countryside simply forms a pattern of almost abstract trees and zigzags. The resulting design has a flatness and regularity that subtly enlivens the picture and complements the elusive three-dimensionality of the figure group.   Summarizing the overstated one can say that the two discussed may be found both similar and difficult. They are noticeable examples of corresponding painting styles – namely International Gothic and Early Renaissance. Being connected by the religious topic and symbolic filling, they differ in attitude between the characters and the spectator, the special position of figures and attempt to use a prospective in the later work, as well as use of more pigments and tones. It should be pointed, that Ucello’s   perspective studies were to influence the Renaissance art treatises of artists such as Piero della Francesca, Leonardo da Vinci, and Albrecht Dà ¼rer[7]. Due to the changed attitude and eye contact, Jesus and Madonna by Ucello seem to be much closer to us and more human, than Jesus and Madonna by Fabriano, which embodies the ideals of upcoming era of Renaissance. REFERENCES Bernhard Berenson., The Central Italian Painters of the Renaissance. 2nd New York: G. P. Putnams Sons, 1909 Germain Bazin., Italian Painting in the XIVth and XVth Centuries. New York: French and European Publications, 1938 Michael Levey., A Concise History of Painting: From Giotto to Cezanne. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1962 Linda Murray, Peter Murray., The Art of the Renaissance. New York: Praeger, 1963 Frank Jewett Mather Jr., A History of Italian Painting. New York: Henry Holt, 1923 [1] Bernhard Berenson., The Central Italian Painters of the Renaissance. 2nd ed. New York: G. P. Putnams Sons, 1909, at p. 131 [2] Germain Bazin., Italian Painting in the XIVth and XVth Centuries. New York: French and European Publications, 1938, at p. 26 [3] Bernhard Berenson., supra note, at p. 133 [4] Michael Levey., A Concise History of Painting: From Giotto to Cezanne. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1962 at p. 44 [5] Linda Murray, Peter Murray., The Art of the Renaissance. New York: Praeger, 1963, at p. 257 [6] Germain Bazin., supra note at p. 29 [7] Frank Jewett Mather Jr., A History of Italian Painting. New York: Henry Holt, 1923, at p. 144