Renaissance

Creation of Adam by Michelangelo

Located in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican, Rome, Michelangelo created one of the most well-known paintings in the world, the Creation of Adam. This painting can be found on the ceiling of the chapel which amazes everyone around the world since the time it was unveiled. Michelangelo used fresco as the form of medium which gives it more of a three-dimensional, sculpture like illusion when looking at from afar. There are many theories behind this painting concluding whether Michelangelo believed that Adam was created in the image of God or the reason for God reaching his hand out to Adam is to give him knowledge and power to multiply and replenish the earth and the red background God is in, is the brain. There are many conclusions to this painting but one thing we can all agree on is the magnificent work or display Michelangelo put in this piece.

Raphael's School of Athens

Another painting located in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, Rome, is the “School of Athens” by Raphael. While Michelangelo was in the Pope’s chapel working on the ceiling, in the other room, what used to be a library and apartment for the Pope, was Raphael was working on covering all four walls of the room with beautiful fresco paintings. Each of these paintings represented philosophy, theology, poetry (or sometimes called literature) and justice which symbolizes human knowledge. “School of Athens” is representing philosophy because of the two main figures in the middle; famous philosophers Plato and Aristotle being surrounded by great thinkers that have changed the world.

da Vinci's The Last Supper

Painted between the years 1495-1498, Leonardo da Vinci wanted to capture an image of the apostles’ expressions when Jesus told them that one of them will betray him. Using the medium oil, fresco, and tempera, if we look carefully into each person’s face, we can see the emotions and bewilderment behind their expressions. Many are looking at each other with shock pointing at Jesus almost looking like they are asking “who would do such a thing?”. Then there are others looking to Jesus with the expression “Lord, is it I?” and if we squint and look deeply into the hands of one specific apostle on the left, we can see Judas holding a small bag representing the ransom that was paid to the person who outs Jesus to the Romans. Many emotions are being displayed in this painting that is held up in the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy.

David by Michelangelo

This sculpture of David stands at 17 feet high in the Academia in Florence, Italy. Purely made of marble, Michelangelo shows fine workmanship with the details in the hands and arms as we can see veins and muscles standing out making David seem large in stature compared to the other two David statues. The reason for this large statue is because it was not meant to be kept inside but placed on top of a cathedral for people outside to see its beauty from far away. However, this size symbolizes the greatness and strength of David for being able to defeat Goliath, a large man. Almost like David absorbed this quality of Goliath making David the “goliath” in this story.

Arnolfini Portrait by Van Eyck

I remember four years ago when I first learned about this piece, we called it The Arnolfini Wedding but during the recent years, researchers and analysis's have said that there is no real evidence to back up that what is being represented in this piece is a wedding even though the symbolism in each detail says otherwise. The artist, Jan Van Eyck used oil paints to construct this work of art instead of the usual fresco or tempera artists at this time were using. The oils gave a richer, deeper color to the painting that no other medium could have which is what makes this painting so incredible. If you look farther into the portrait, past the two people, you can see the details Van Eyck put into this work, especially in the middle of the painting where you see a mirror. Imagine the steady hands you need to have to create those images in the background and with the oil paints making sure that they pop.

Dürer's Knight, Death and the Devil

The medium for this work of art is different from all the others. Prints are a type of media where you engrave images on a hard surface, known as a matrix and transfer that image by blotching ink on top of the carved surface and pressing it on a piece of paper or fabric. Looking at Dürer’s print, we can see how detail oriented he was and how those details really capture the meaning and symbolism behind his work. We can see a brave knight sitting tall on the back of a horse with much confidence however at the bottom of the page we see signs of death being portrayed basically meaning that wherever this knight is going, death is inevitable but with his character, he will do whatever he can to die with dignity and that no one, not even the devil (who is lurking right behind him) can stop him from that.

Donatello's David

Using bronze, Donatello creates history by making the first free-standing nude sculpture since classical antiquity marking it as an important event in the early Renaissance. The story behind this sculpture is of the one in the Bible, David and Goliath. David, a boy not large in stature comes face to face with the great Goliath who is described to be gigantic, rugged and menacing with much protection and weapons. David, not having much besides a stone and a sling, defeats Goliath with what he has and slays him. Now looking at the sculpture, we can see that Donatello truly captures the stature of David being a small boy but then if we look down to his feet, we can see Goliath’s severed head with David holding Goliath’s sword in one hand. It’s interesting to see Donatello depicting this with a nude David, bringing back the culture of the Roman’s respecting and glorifying the human body.

The Gates of Paradise by Ghiberti

Lorenzo Ghiberti was a sculptor back in the 15^th century who competed with many other brilliant sculptors to get a chance of fame to put their artwork on the doors of the Baptistry of San Giovanni in Florence, Italy, right across facing the Duomo. If we look at each of the panels on the door, we can see ten biblical stories being portrayed through the bronze gilds. It has been said that nothing like this has ever been done before. Standing at 17 feet tall and weighing four and a half tons, much care needs to be put in place to this work of art because of the outside weathering and damage it has been through.

David by Vercocchio

Inspired by Donatello’s work, Andrea del Vercocchio made a bronze sculpture, using one of his pupils, Leonardo da Vinci, as a model, around 1473 and 1475 from the same David and Goliath biblical story. Unlike, Donatello’s statue, Vercocchio wanted to depict David as a determined, conceited boy with his posture and body language. When we look at the statue, we can see David sort of leaning his weight to his right side with his left hand on his hip, making it seem like he’s saying “yeah, I just did that.” This kind of pose with the weight being shifted to one certain side is called contrapposto and we can see this technique being used in all three of the David statues.

Brunelleschi's Duomo

Filippo Brunelleschi, a gold smith not having any formal architectural background, designed a dome for one of the most famous and beautiful cathedrals in history. The Santa Maria Del Fiore, cathedral in Florence, Italy, is known for Brunelleschi’s dome and his engineering mindset that was way ahead for his time. Till this day, no one really understands how he was able to come up with this idea especially since the dome is twice the size of what the usual domes where at this time. He left no sketches, no drawings just the dome and for people to wonder if linear perspective was used to create it. It took much time, effort and brain power to get this pristine dome built which took about 16 years to build but it was definitely worth it since it is still known as the biggest dome in the world to exist since the 1400’s.

References:

http://www.italianrenaissance.org/michelangelo-creation-of-adam/

https://mymodernmet.com/school-of-athens-raphael/

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/11100/knight-death-and-the-devil

https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/collection-areas/drawings-and-prints/materials-and-techniques/printmaking

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-gates-of-paradise-174431341/

https://nelson-atkins.org/gates-of-paradise/

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/early-europe-and-colonial-americas/renaissance-art-europe-ap/v/donatello-david-bronze-c-1440s

https://www.thehistoryofart.org/andrea-del-verrocchio/david/

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/high-ren-florence-rome/michelangelo/v/michelangelos-david-and-the-florentine-republic

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