Art History of Egyptian Painting Style - Term Paper Example

Art History An invariable feature of Egyptian painting style is the twisted perspective of figures. The head, torso and legs are portrayed in profile; the shoulders and eyes are depicted straight on. This is also called frontalism. Many well-known Egyptian paintings have the king or the main figure in a blown up scale and his servants are seen at a much smaller scale, according to their comparative importance. "Ti Hunting the Hippopotamus" is a radiant example of frontalism. Michelangelo's famous sculpture of David is a little different. Based on the artistic disciple of disegno, this sculpture is deemed the finest form of art as it mimics divine creation. Michelangelo worked under the principle that the image of David was existing in the stone block he was working on - like the human soul is said to be within the physical body. Also, it illustrates the contrapposto style of posing the human figure. The proportions are different to the human form, with the head and upper body relatively bigger than lower body's proportions. 2. In the Justinian mosaic, King Justinian is seen to be wearing the same imperial robes as Jesus Christ. The point of the mosaic is to evidently depict Justinian as Christ's envoy on earth, and to show him as a creditable successor to Constantine. This depicts his power both in the State as well as the Church. Justinian is seen in the main altar of the church, the most holy part, further depicting his authority. Justinian, thus, exercises his power over the priest, perhaps even signifying his holiness, which is seen through the halo. Giotto's works exhibited a different spirit of realism. He broke away from Byzantine art. His was a more personal and realistic way of viewing a painting. His concern was more human emotion and dramatic art. To make the latter more effective, Giotto placed his figures in space more practically conceived than painters before him. Also, he used shadows more efficiently to generate a sense of the figures. In the Madonna Enthroned Giotto produced depth by layering the attendant angels, with the angels in the fore blocking the vision of the angels behind. 3. Leonardo's stylistic innovations are more apparent in The Last Supper, in which he re-fashioned a conventional theme in a completely new way. He groups the apostles in units of three framing Christ in the center. Christ is calm while the others are gesturing animatedly. Through the weightiness of the figures and the magnitude of the scene, Leonardo da Vinci reintroduced a style founded a generation earlier by Masaccio. The Mona Lisa, easily Leonardo da Vinci's most famous work, is known for the mastery of technical innovations as well as the mysteriousness of its celebrated smiling subject. Sfumato and chiaroscuro are evident here. Leonardo da Vinci is a master of both. Sfumato (smoked) is a deftly atmospheric haze or effect produced by delicate transitions between areas of color. This technique is particularly evident in the delicate gauzy robes worn by the subject and in her mysterious smile. Chiaroscuro (light and dark) is the skill of modeling and defining forms by the use of contrasts between shadow and light. 4. Drer is known as the German Leonardo da Vinci because of his cerebral curiosity. However, there is one stark difference. While the great Italian looked outward at the world around him, a trait seen in the portrayal of Mona Lisa, Drer looked inward at the mystery of the human soul. He was a self conscious person. Durer's "Self-Portrait of 1484 at the Age of Thirteen", is a radiant demonstration of his unusual self-consciousness. Drer seems to have founded the genre of the self-portrait, thus starting a tradition which is among Northern European painters. 5. Giotto's mourning of Christ has a subject mourning over the dead body of Christ. The Virgin Mary is seen embracing her Son for the final time. He varied the size of the figures to appropriately fit them into the page. Everything is seen as being squeezed together, showing how little Giotto cared about the aspect of space. These figures in the forefront reveal the entirely new concept in Giotto's art. Christian art had by then reverted to the pristine Oriental idea that to reveal a story clearly figures had to be shown completely, a la Egyptian art. Van Eyck's The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait is a portrait of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini (an Italian merchant from Lucca, Tuscany) and his wife Giovanna Cenami in a bedchamber. It is regarded as one of the most original and composite paintings in Western art history. Van Eyck executed this work with oil on oak panel in 1434 AD. 6. Raphael's The School of Athens represents a congregation of the greatest philosophers of ancient times. The School of Athens is something of a vague title in that regardless of the presence of such renowned Athenians as Socrates, there are several non-Athenian worthies in the scene. There is Zoroaster from ancient Persia and Averroes, the great Islamic commentator on Aristotle, who in reality came many centuries later. Perhaps Raphael wanted the viewers to see how multicultural and trans-historical reason is. The School of Athens is easily Raphael's masterpiece. Upon seeing the painting, the viewer is drawn to the space created by artist's perfection of scientific perspective. The viewer's eye is immediately drawn to the horizon line where the figures of Aristotle and Plato are central. The lines meet on the central vanishing point situated in between their heads. Also, the two disputing philosophers are standing at the entrance of the last arch. This arch forms a halo above them thus bringing them into prominence. 7. Linear perspective is a mathematical system that creates the illusion of distance and space on a flat surface. This system started off in Florence in the1400s. Brunelleschi established its principles, and Leon Battista Alberti was the first to write them down for artists to follow. The artist must imagine the picture surface as something of an "open window" through which one can view the painted world. Straight lines represent the horizon and "visual rays" connecting the viewer's eye to one point in the distance. The horizon line is at the eye level of the viewer. Here, the sky appears to meet the ground. The vanishing point is generally located at the center of the horizon line. The best examples of twisted perspective are Egyptian art. The head torso and legs are generally depicted in profile, and shoulders and eyes are depicted frontally. Linear perspective has its limitations. To represent anything in geometric perspective is to envisage it from one, fixed eye point. To view these drawings correctly, one must close an eye and position oneself where the original eye point is. If not, the perspective is defeated. We normally do not see with one eye. Opening a second eye will be compromising on the artist's perspective. 8. Giotto's most spectacular and historical achievement is "Madonna Enthroned." The white robe of the virgin and the white drapery of the angels form the pyramidal composition. This is emphasized by the triangle shaped pediment of the throne. The Pieta by Michelangelo is strictly pyramidal, with the vertex coinciding with Mary's head. The statue widens increasingly down to the base, where the drapery falls. In painting "The Virgin of the Rocks" (Louvre), Leonardo introduced the pyramidal composition that became the trademark of the High Renaissance. The placement of the Christ Child, the Madonna, the young St. John the Baptist, and the angel generates a movement that the eye freely follows, yet the movement is restricted within the pyramid, giving a sense of grandeur and stability to the composition. Michelangelo's influence in Raphael's The Madonna of the Meadow is evident in this composition. The pyramidal structure recalls Leonardo. However, Raphael exerts his own harmonizing capacity on the Leonardo-like volumetric conception, infusing it with the serenity that symbolizes his paintings from this period. 9. In art, a "weight shift" or contrapposto is a pose which is irregular in that the figure is somewhat twisted around its vertical axis. Michelangelo's David is a classic example. The hips, legs, shoulders and head are in different planes in the sculpture. Another example of "weight shift" technique is the figures in the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo, by deploying contrapposto, entangles the figures by fluidly connecting them with each other. This style brings about an effect as if the painted figures are actually moving. 10. In Leonardo's The Last Supper the detail of true worth is the placement of Judas. It is believed that he painted Jesus and Judas last. He even visited the local criminal houses on his searches. Yet, the most important aspect is Judas' placement at the table, not his features. He is seen among his fellow disciples, toward the table's middle. Tintoretto's work, on the other hand, could be described as chaotic. There is a lot of movement in the picture that the spotlight could easily be taken from Christ if not for the halo over his head. The setting is so dark that the coruscating halo cannot help but draw the viewer's eye to Christ. Judas, unlike Leonardo's The Last Supper, is insignificant in Tintoretto's work. 11. The body of Parmigianino's Madonna with the long neck takes the form of the old-fashioned vase held by the figure on the Madonna's right. It is believed to be the shape of an ideal woman. The Madonna's neck is graceful and long like that of a swan, and so are her fingers. Parmigianino was playing with the traits of feminine beauty and the rules of art, stretching them further and reaching new heights of beauty. In addition to exacerbated proportions the composition itself has irregularities. At first glance, it appears normal, but as the viewer begins to look, he or she will find that the initial renaissance triangle has been twisted by the adding of numerous figures on the left. This creates an irregular and out of balance composition. 12. All examples of Egyptian art adhere to the same style - frontalism. In reliefs or paintings, the head of the character was drawn in profile, while the body could be seen from the front. The face was to the side and the eyes were drawn full. The legs were invariably turned to the same side as the head, with a foot placed in front of the other. Gothic Art is the style of art in vogue in Northern Europe from the middle ages to the start of the Renaissance. Gothic Art is known for the distinguishing arched design of its churches, its stained glass, and its enlightened manuscripts. Byzantine art is the art present during the Byzantine Empire, centered in Constantinople. Byzantine art was totally focused on the requirements of the Orthodox Church, in the icons and the decoration of churches with mosaics and frescoes. The Renaissance was an era of great creative and cerebral activity, during which artists broke from the shackles of Byzantine Art. Artists studied the natural world so as to perfect their understanding of subjects like anatomy and perspective. 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