StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Influence of Renaissance on Art and Architecture - Assignment Example

Cite this document
Summary
Pondering over the works of art, the aim of this paper is to compare two great pieces of art namely, “The Last Supper” by Leonardo Da Vinci and the paintings of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. The author concludes that both the pieces of art closely reflect the feature of the period…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.2% of users find it useful
The Influence of Renaissance on Art and Architecture
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Influence of Renaissance on Art and Architecture"

The Influence of Renaissance on Art and Architecture Around the 15th century a new era had begun in the world. It was known as the period of Renaissance and this period ultimately culminated to the modern period. The influence of Renaissance was witnessed in all walks of art and architecture. During that era works of art became intellectually much enriched. The period between 15th to the early 20th century have produced imminent painters like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo. Pondering over the works of art the aim of this paper is to compare and contrast two great pieces of art namely, “The Last Supper” by Leonardo Da Vinci and the paintings of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. “The Last Supper” was one of the famous piece of work by Leonardo Da Vinci and the work was completed in the year 1498. A very important feature of the painting was that the depiction of the characters was very human in nature. Even the technique used to develop the painting is also praise worthy because Vinci has represented the theme of his painting in a wonderful manner because all the characters present in the painting directs their attention to towards the head of Christ. It can be said that the painting was the best example of the one point perspective ever created. (Esaak). The subject matter of the painting remains that Jesus has his last meal with all his disciples before he is crucified. Leonardo’s work can be said to have more humanistic approaches because he tries to divorce his piece of work from the religious aspects. It in fact makes the viewer aware that Leonardo was a painter who was more concerned with the artistic and humanistic values of his paintings. During that period it was very common to form localized versions of religion and as a result we saw that even Leonardo Da Vinci had formed his own version of religion and so his painting has certain contradictions with the depiction in the Gospel. (Cline, 3). One of the most noteworthy contributions of Michelangelo was his paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. A significant feature of the Michelangelo’s work was that he wanted to represent opposite forces in his work like the spirit and the flesh or night and day. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is resplendent with the stories of the Genesis and other stories of the Gospel. Again here we get the reflection of the Renaissance feature that is emphasis on humanness which Michelangelo does by painting a child’s face on the adult body of Adam to express Adam’s surprise and wonder after being created. The painter here moves away from the traditional Biblical story. (Wilder, 165 and 167). Both in Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo we can observe the features of renaissance. These Renaissance men were essentially lovers of beauty either in man or in the nature. They wanted to express the beauty that is embedded in the creations of the world. It is true that religion had a lot of importance in the lives of men but people during the period of Renaissance had a life which was not much influenced by religion and such an attitude was reflected through paintings and other works of art. (Cairns, 255). As a result both “The Last Supper” by Vinci and the paintings of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo reflect that they were more concerned with the humanness of the emotions and they wanted to reflect spontaneous emotions of the human beings and did not want to curb human feelings with the force of religion. It has already been studied earlier that Vinci in “The Last Supper” wanted to depict the Disciples of Christ more like people of the real world and that is why he did away with the halo which was supposed to be present around each of the members except Judas. Moreover according to the Gospel, Judas was supposed to be placed in a special direction but Leonardo had kept the position of Judas similar to that of other disciples so that he could make his work more real. On the other hand we can witness the humanness depicted by Michelangelo in his work by placing a child’s face on the adult body of Adam. This he did so that he is accurately able to express the innocence and the element of surprise which Adam undergoes after being created in this world. With such a diversion from the Biblical story he wanted people to relate to the element of surprise which an individual experiences at being exposed to something which is completely new. Vinci in his painting of “The Last Supper” had infused some amount of drama moving away from the traditional features of the Last Supper. He wanted to reflect his interpretation through his painting. He tries to reflect the emotional turmoil which the disciples undergone after Jesus had announced that one of his disciples would betray him. Vinci has successfully portrayed their emotions through their gestures and bodily postures. Even the table which he had painted was a reflection of the Renaissance art in Italy. There is also an intellectual touch in the painting because Vinci had shown Christ in a luminous landscape to express his divine status and hence could do away with the conventional halo. (Paoletti and Radke, 370 and 372). Similarly we can say that even in the paintings of the Sistine Chapel Michelangelo had infused a lot of intellect. Through his paintings he had tried to show his Neo-Platonist doctrine. The paintings were such that one had to read the history in a reverse order. He has tried to show that although in this world we begin with our bodily existence but it finally comes to end with the body being integrated with God that is he tried to say that ultimately the spirit continues its existence. (Estep, 39). Thus we can say that in both the works namely, “The Last Supper” and the paintings of the Sistine Chapel, the artists have tried to infuse a lot of philosophical content and both the works were intellectually enriched. It is true that Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo were ultimate products of the Renaissance but there were also differences between the two great maestros. For example Da Vinci incorporated a lot of scientific evolutions in his work and Michelangelo reflected more of passion into his work. Another aspect which differentiated the two men were that Michelangelo gave more attention to the physical aspects of his characters for example in the Sistine Chapel he focused on the child’s face of Adam to give his message to the viewers but Vinci on the contrary gave more attention to the psychological aspects and it becomes evident if we consider “The Last Supper”, where he tried to portray the theme of one point perspective by making all the characters look at Jesus so that after careful observation it becomes clear to the viewers that the main theme of the painting is certainly Jesus Christ. Both Da Vinci and Michelangelo were contemporary to each other and consequently Michelangelo considered himself as the rival of Vinci. Some of the other differences which can be seen between both the artists and is well reflected in “The Last Supper” as well as the paintings of the Sistine Chapel were that Vinci used more of veiled obscure images in his work whereas Michelangelo used clearer lines and images in his paintings. (Roddis and Leviton, 59). Vinci concentrated more on the psychological aspects is evident from the fact that he used more of obscure images this is because he wanted to throw insight to the fact human psychology is not very clear it is rather difficult to decipher the psychology of the individuals. On the contrary the fact that Michelangelo concentrated more on the anatomical features become clear as he focuses more on the clear lines. Thus here we can conclude that the main feature of difference which was reflected in the works of the great artists were the physical representations of emotions and psychological interpretations of emotions. “The Last Supper” by Leonardo Da Vinci and the paintings of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo stand as epitomes of the Renaissance art work. It is true that both the artists had different means. One used more of passion whereas the other used more of philosophy but both of them were highly impressed by the spirit of Renaissance and that is the reason we witness a lot of similarities between the two works. Both the works aims to explore the humanness of individuals. They wanted their works to reflect human beings more closely. It was their attempt to make the people relate more to their pieces of work. In both the paintings we can see that the artists wanted to bring forth the greater philosophies of life but in a more subtle manner. We can conclude saying both the pieces of art closely reflect the feature of the period and at the same time successfully represents the fact that they were created by two different individuals who had different world view. Works Cited 1. Cairns, Earle. Christianity through the centuries: a history of the Christian church. Michigan: Zondervan, 1996. 2. Cline, Austin. “Last Supper, painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, 1498”. About.com: Agnosticism/Atheism. retrieved on July 21, 2009, from: http://atheism.about.com/od/imagegalleries/ig/Leonardo-Da-Vinci/Last-Supper--Da-Vinci.htm 3. Esaak, Shelley. “Leonardo da Vinci - The Last Supper”. About.com: Art History, retrieved on July 21, 2009, from: http://arthistory.about.com/cs/leonardo/a/last_supper.htm 4. Estep, William. Renaissance and Reformation. Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1986. 5. Paoletti, John and Radke, Gary. Art in Renaissance Italy. UK: Laurence King Publishing, 2005. 6. Roddis, Miles and Leviton, Alex. Tuscany & Umbria. Lonely Planet, 2006. 7. Wilder, Jesse. Art history for dummies. For Dummies, 2007. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(The Influence of Renaissance on Art and Architecture Assignment, n.d.)
The Influence of Renaissance on Art and Architecture Assignment. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/performing-arts/1725940-art-history-research-paper
(The Influence of Renaissance on Art and Architecture Assignment)
The Influence of Renaissance on Art and Architecture Assignment. https://studentshare.org/performing-arts/1725940-art-history-research-paper.
“The Influence of Renaissance on Art and Architecture Assignment”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/performing-arts/1725940-art-history-research-paper.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Influence of Renaissance on Art and Architecture

Key Stylistic and Spatial Elements of Inigo Jones Interior

Introduction architecture in Germany has gone through various transformations and trends, whereby the major and most influential ones were experienced during the era of Inigo Jones.... … Key Stylistic and Spatial Elements of Inigo Jones' Interior Student's Name Name of the Course Project Report Date Introduction architecture in Germany has gone through various transformations and trends, whereby the major and most influential ones were experienced during the era of Inigo Jones....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Summary of the Renaissance

From the fourteenth century to the sixteenth century, the Europe rekindled its drive for excellence of its artistic, social, scientific, and other… It also laid down a fertile soil for the questioning of the authenticity and rationality that characterize the next period of Western civilization, the Reformation. Logic and balance became the pillars of renaissance Architecture and the Ideal Citizen Renaissance is the period in Western civilization that ignited the rebirth of the intellectual and economic stature of Europe....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

The development of art

Progress was also seen in sculpture, art and architecture which largely dominated the church construction.... Progress was also seen in sculpture, art and… Romanesque architecture preceded gothic and were both found in buildings such as churches and cathedral in Chartes, France, Belgium and Germany.... Romanesque architecture has its roots in Rome and was mainly practiced during the The Development of Art Romanesque and Gothic architecture Romanesque and Gothic architecture styles were employed during the medieval ages....
2 Pages (500 words) Research Paper

Traits of the Gothic Architecture

The development of the Gothic style showed strong influence of the Romanesque architecture such as the inclusion of elements like the pointed arch and the rib vault, the arch added to the surface of the vault (Hendrix 2011, 25).... It is crucial in the developmental evolution of architecture during the Middle Ages and it departed from the principles of Roman art, particularly those designed in the East.... The aesthetic narrative of this architectural… As it progressed, however, it became the preferred style of many European churches because it appealed much to the ecclesiastical taste (Hopkins 1826, 1) The word "gothic" The Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is significant in several ways....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Container architecture part2

This paper seeks to portray the suitability of Singapore… With this regard, the paper considered aspects like median household income, median home price, and education average level. According to Households income trends in year 2012 report, which was published by statistics department in Singapore, the monthly average Container architecture part2 Singapore is a sovereign as well as a highland country in South East Asia.... ingapore's architecture shows styles and influences from different places and periods....
1 Pages (250 words) Assignment

Ospedale degli Innocenti

hellip; Ospedale degli Innocenti was the first building which reflected Brunelleschi unique style; in this way, it is very important to analyze influences and inspirations he found in Roman architecture designing this building.... There are many ways how Ospedale degli Innocenti reflects its connection to Roman architecture.... Built during 1419–1451 to serve as an orphanage and hospital for children, the building represents clear influences of new architecture which came to replace dominant gothic motifs (Günther, 2010)....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

The Development of Architecture through the Different cultures

architecture is one of the oldest forms of expression that can be seen to express humanism and the culture of the people living in a specific period.... This paper looks at the different forms of architecture and how they influenced culture and the promotion of new ideas.... hellip; architecture is one of the oldest forms of expression that can be seen to express humanism and the culture of the people living in a specific period.... architecture is a visible indicator of the culture and beliefs of the people highlighting their qualities and abilities in life....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Architectural Science in the UK

The paper “Architectural Science in the UK” will look at a dwelling, which refers to a unit of settlement.... This implies to either a part of a building or an entire building that constitutes to a unit of accommodation.... Such units require a degree of sustainability of a feature.... hellip; The author states that designing and developing a dwelling requires effective utilization of space, which is often the most important feature....
10 Pages (2500 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us