Giovanni Baronzio - Research Paper Example

In particular, these paintings form the first narrative cycle to have been used in teaching human beings about the life of Jesus Christ. The paintings were introduced into programs of church decorations. However, the paintings could not capture the miracles performed by Jesus Christ (Bailey 19). (Bailey 31) Artist: Giovanni Barozio Size: 500x382px Genre: Christian painting Material: panel Date of completion: 1352 The painting of Giovanni, especially the scenes from the life of Christ date back to the time of Constantine.

Constantine had devoted more time in building quality buildings in the holy land to honor the life and events that surrounded the life of Jesus Christ. The scenes of Christ represented the nativity at Bethlehem. The mosaic represented the nativity and the adoration of Christianity. It is necessary to note that: “scenes from the life of Christ” were symbolic rather than being narrative in character (Bailey, P 7). Scenes from the life of Christ paintings capture Jesus’ life moments such as annunciation, Joseph’s dream, and the presentation in the temple, the adoration of the magi, the flight into Egypt, and the brutal killing of infants by King Herod.

The images of the infancy of Christ illustrated both the canonical gospels and various apocryphal texts (Carvalho 57). In clearly capturing the life of Jesus Christ, Giovanni’s “scenes from the life of Christ” concentrated on the physicality of Jesus and spiritual elements. The crucification of Jesus Christ on the cross was well captured by Giovanni through paintings. Dark colors have been used to represent the gloomy mood that surrounded the Crucification of Jesus Christ. In addition, after the death of Christ, Darkness in the paintings shows the 6 hour total darkness that followed (Carvalho 57).

Historical Context Scenes from the life of Christ show deep devotion into Christ as well as the development of humanism in early 1300s. The carving was made of ivory and was owned by rich members of the society. The paintings of Giovanni Baronzio represented spiritual devotion as well as being used as educational aids. The composition of the “scene from the life of Christ” painting is structured in various levels. There are panels in the painting that are further subdivided in three horizontal rows.

Each row aims at showing and representing the life of Jesus Christ at each stage (Kanter 49). Christ’s early life is captured in the bottom row. The painting represents the annunciation of Jesus Christ. During this period, angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, informing her of Jesus Christ’s birth. Giovanni paintings show the period of Jesus’ birth. In particular, the Holy Spirit has been symbolized by the alighting dove. In showing where the Holy Spirit was meant to be, Giovanni painted the dove top be perching on Mary’s forehead.

Mary’s purity was represented by Giovanni through the use of lilies (Kanter 50). The next painting represented nativity in the life of Jesus Christ. The painting has images of Mary looking lovingly at the face of the newly born baby Jesus Christ. In addition, the paintings included the images of donkeys and ox; these animals have been used to represent the humility represented by such animals in the society. The birth of Jesus Christ would be well captured by scenes of humility. Humility could only be captured through painting images of donkeys