Renaissance Movement - Research Paper Example

Renaissance Artist Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Leonardo da Vinci: The Great Renaissance Painter 4 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction The continent of Europe witnessed a massive social reformation and upheaval during the medieval period known by the name of Renaissance Movement. This movement not only reformed and changed the set social pattern but also brought a huge reformation in the domain of art, literature and science, philosophy and music. Along with English art, Renaissance era witnessed a major change in the existing pattern of art and sculptor. The era witnessed a complete new pattern of color scheme, theme, motif and formation that the European history of art has never witnessed before. Renaissance art became a distinct school of art and with its deviation from its predecessors and evolved almost as a new genre of art form. Renaissance as a concept evoked the “rebirth” of the ancient tradition and with this perception; this genre of art took classical antiquity as the foundation of its art form. However, the artists associated with the school transformed the tradition by incorporating modern techniques pertaining to science which was witnessed as the recent developments during the period in the northern half of the Europe. This was manifested by the use of contemporary scientific knowledge and techniques. Gradually Renaissance art amalgamated with Renaissance Humanist Philosophy and as a coherent and integrated form spread throughout the continent of Europe. This newer concept influenced not only the artists and the sculptors but also greatly moved their patrons who started taking great interest in the new form of painting. With the explicit use of newer techniques and developed artistic sensibilities, the Renaissance art stands as a milestone in the trajectory of the history of art as the Europe witnessed a transition from the mediaeval period to an early modern age (Hartt, 1970). Leonardo da Vinci: The Great Renaissance Painter Leonardo da Vinci, a multi-faceted archetypal Renaissance man was a genius. He was at the same time, a painter, sculptor, artist, scientist, botanist, architect, musician, writer, engineer, inventor, mathematician, anatomist, geologist and cartographer. His “unquenchable curiosity” launched him to a paradigm of genius (Gardner, 1970, pp. 450-456).  He was well known for his feverish inventive bent of mind and imagination. Born in the year 1452, Vinci illuminated the world and served the society with all his expertise from myriad domains till the year 1519. Leonardo da Vinci is considered to be the greatest painter and perhaps the most widely and diversely talented personality of all times (IEEE, n.d.). Helen Gardner, the famous art historian visions about the great man in the following words, “the scope and depth of his interests were without precedent and "his mind and personality seem to us superhuman, the man himself mysterious and remote" (Gardner, 1970, pp. 450-456).  But Marco Rosci contends that the vision of Leonardo should not be considered as something mysterious, rather it is essentially logical in the eyes of Rosci and he believed that the empirical methods which Leonardo employed were unusual in his contemporary era (Rosci, 1977, p. 8). Leonardo da Vinci is primarily known for his path-breaking Renaissance paintings. Leonardo is well-known for his supreme masterpieces which despite of his diversified expertise has captivated his name and fame even after four hundred years of his survival. Leonardo’s paintings as a product from the school of Renaissance painting is always appreciated and discussed at a great length by the patron, connoisseurs and critics of art. The explicit use of light and his detailed knowledge of anatomy which he used extensively in his paintings reached the masterpieces at a different dimension. His knowledge of botany and geology also becomes evident through his paintings and his interest on physiognomy well reflected through the minute lines and curves his paintings bear. The greatest attribute as a humanist to the renaissance school of art that Leonardo contributed was his clear exposure of human gestures, postures and emotions neatly depicted in the figures which he painted. If one minutely goes through the chronological division of Leonardo’s painting career, then one can easily come to a concluding fact that Leonardo’s painting career extensively covers the renaissance period thereby evoking the true essence of artistic techniques and themes of Renaissance era. The painting career of Leonardo vaguely can be divided into four neat divisions namely, Leonardo’s early work, his paintings during 1480s, paintings during 1490s and his painting during 1500s. While discussing the great works of Leonardo, the painting which made him eternal must top the list. It is famous by the name of “Mona Lisa” or “la Gioconda” which means the laughing one. The elusive face on the portrait of the women in the picture made it the most talked about and mysterious painting of the world. The mysterious quality of the portrait is evoked deliberately by the painter by his subtle implementation of shadowing the corners of the mouth and eyes so that an ambiguity can be retained regarding the nature of the lady’s laughter. This particular painting is from the last chronological segment of painter’s career and was painted in the year 1503 to 1505 or 1507 at Louvre in Paris. The quality of shadow implemented in the painting for which it became famous came to be known as “sufmato” or Leonardo’s smoke. Vasari comment’s “the smile was so pleasing that it seemed divine rather than human; and those who saw it were amazed to find that it was as alive as the original" (Vasari, 1568, p. 267) about the picture is worth noticing. On detailed examination, this particular masterpiece renders much information about the kind of techniques followed in the world of art during the era and at the same time it brings into focus much information about the socio-cultural perspective of the time. The dress is a complete unadorned piece if compared to the hands and the eyes of the portrait. This is again a deliberate move of the painter to highlight the facial gesture and ambiguous expression of the women. Also the dramatic landscape used as a background symbolizing the world in transitory phase or in state of flux is sign of renaissance spirit and captivates the contemporary socio-cultural movement and is a true record of time. The use of subdued color compared to the extreme smooth nature of the technique pertaining to painting by employing oil is superb. At the same time the oil is laid on in the fashion much like that of tempera and the brushstrokes are indistinguishable due the blend used on the surface of the portrait itself (Wasserman, 1975). All these techniques evoke the true essence of the Renaissance school of paintings and bear the actual mark of time (BBC News, 2010). Another famous and much talked about painting of Leonardo was produced during the segment of his artistic career from 1490s. Drawn in the year 1498, the picture was produced at the Convent of Sta situated at Milan in Italy. The painting depicts Lord Jesus with his disciples are having their final food or final sharing of food by Jesus and his disciples before they were captivated and put to death. The painting is the captivation of the precise moment mentioned in the Bible where Jesus declares that one amid his disciples is going to betray him. The mode is fresco, a popular mode of painting in the Renaissance era. But the critics claim that Leonardo used tempera over the ground which was basically gesso which resulted into mold and falking. This painting is considered as one of the greatest paintings of Leonardo with very high value for religion. Leonardo took a great pain to distinguish facial gesture and expression of every character preset in the painting and adequately distinguished the faces of Lord Jesus and the traitor. For this nature of the painting it is perfectly described as a masterpiece of design and characterization. Also the importance of religion in the life of the Renaissance man is well demonstrated in this picture. Also this picture captivates the relentless desire and inquisition of Renaissance man in the human nature and characteristics. After the famous paintings such as Mona Lisa and The Last Supper by Leonardo, the third famous painting which comes to our mind is that of the Vitruvian Man. This painting is almost taken as a symbolic icon by the world which is being replicated almost on everything starting from the texts to euro and T-shirts. Created in the year 1487, the painting accompanies notes on the famous architect Vitruvius. The painting is done with pen ink on paper demonstrates a male figure with dual superimposed figure with his arms and legs inscribed within a circle and square at a simultaneous pace. The drawing is based on the topic of correlations with which ideally a human figure can describe geometrical shape. This image of Leonardo truly carries forward the essence of the age. The artist here tries to blend art and science and presents his extreme interest in proportions. Very intimate to the Renaissance spirit, the picture is also an attempt to relate man and nature at the same paradigm. Conclusion Renaissance means rebirth and very true to the essence of its name, completely evoked a new school of art, literature and thought. Artist such as Leonardo represented the spirit of Renaissance through his work on almost all the aspects and produced a canon yielding the spirit and philosophy of the era (The Worlds of Leonardo da Vinci, n.d.). References BBC News, (2010). Mona Lisa Painting Gives Up More Secrets To Science. News. Retrieved Online on March 11, 2011 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment Gardner, H., (1970). Art through the Ages. Harcourt Brace College Publishers. pp. 450–456. Hartt, F., (1970). A History of Italian Renaissance Art. Prentice Hall. IEEE, (No Date). Leonardo Da Vinci. Personality of the Issue. Retrieved Online on March 11, 2011 from http://ewh.ieee.org/r10/bombay/news5/LeonardoDaVinci.htm Rosci, Marco (1977). Leonardo. Bay Books. p.8. The Worlds of Leonardo da Vinci, (No Date). Leonardos Vitruvian Man. History. Retrieved Online on March 11, 2011 from http://leonardodavinci.stanford.edu/submissions/clabaugh/history/leonardo.html Vasari, G., (1568). Lives of the Artists. Penguin Classics. Wasserman, J., (1975). Leonardo: Leonardo da Vinci. H.N. Abrams. Read More