Vermeers The Music Lesson and Rubens The Three Graces - Essay Example

Baroque Painting in Relationship to Renaissance Aesthetics: Vermeer’s The Music Lesson and Ruben’sThe Three Graces The Renaissance was a time of great advancements in sciences and arts. The world changed dramatically during this period with technology and creativity running at a high level with rapid changes being observed. Humanism was the central theory of the period, a sense of reason applied to religion and philosophy that was based upon the classical works from Aristotle and Socrates, with Vitruvius from Rome providing the seminal work on architecture for those of the period. The way in which light and colour were used emphasized the drama that was sought after during this time. In comparing the work of the Baroque period to the work of the Renaissance, one can see a heavier and richer use of colour, while sharper uses of light and shadow combine to emphasize a climactic point of drama. In order to examine the differences between the works that was done in the Renaissance in comparison to the work done in the Baroque period, pieces with the same theme allow for clear contrasts. The Three Graces (Figure 1) by Peter Paul Rubens reveals that the fascination with mythological subjects that was observed during the Renaissance still provided subject matter for the painters of the Baroque period. Rubens’ work allows one to observe that there is an emphasis on the curves of the body, the heaviness of the form accentuated with more extreme chiaroscuro. The light and dark of the painting creates a more dramatic look to the work. As well, the tones that are used provide a higher level of drama to the moment of the embrace between the three deities. Figure 1. Peter Paul Rubens, The Three Graces, (1636-1638) When you compare the work of Rubens to the earlier works of Botticelli (Figure 2) and Raphael (Figure 3), there is a distinct difference in the tension within the composition. In the works of Botticelli and Raphael, the figures are light and delicate with one another. However, in the work of Rubens, there is a defined tension between the three women, their arms grasping each other and pulling or pushing, creating an activated movement. While the composition is relatively the same in all three paintings, the flexed muscles, thickened bodies, and tensed Figure 2. Botticelli, Primavera (1485-1487) interaction creates a higher level of drama in the Rubens work from the Baroque period than in the paintings from the Renaissance period. The Baroque period provided for a more painterly approach to the artwork that was generated. The dynamism of the work was created through a less controlled performance of the act of painting, while the Renaissance had work that was done in a more linear format. According to Beardsley, the linear work of the Renaissance in comparison to the more painterly work of the Baroque “is comparable to the shift of emphasis from rhythm to harmony” (218). Where linear painting is defined by carefully rendered images that are three dimensional due to the use of carefully controlled perspective, painterly work has an element of randomness that is Figure 3. Raphael, The Three Graces (1504-1505) created through the emotions of the act of painting. According to Staiger, “Linear perspective uses the artist’s viewpoint to figure out angles of things that recede into the distance” (104). In painterly work, however, the brush strokes are applied where they feel right, rather than through a perspective that is relevant to the position of the artist. The paint strokes are more visible and have a textural effect that is not present in a more linear work of art. Johannes Vermeer did work that embraced the aesthetics of light and shadow in combination with rich toned hues. He was greatly influenced by the changes that were being made away from the aesthetics of the Renaissance period. According to Gowing, “The baroque provided the example which dominated Vermeer’s beginnings. And while other Dutch painters could carry its rhythm as a kind of trophy, a personal adornment, could wear the baroque, with Rembrandt, as a feather in the hat, Vermeer was compelled to take it more to heart” (58). However, as every artist must find his own way of expressing his position within a period of art, Vermeer began to look at the interplay of perspective. Vermeer took innovation to the next step, his use of the camera obscura allowing for a perfected perspective within his work. While there is some debate over whether or not Vermeer used the device, the angles on some of his work suggest that he created his work through using a set up that reflected an image onto the canvas, providing a perfection of reality to the formation of his composition. His work, however, is not a simple recreation of reality and subject to the recreation of a projected image. In The Music Lesson (Figure 4), Vermeer not only most likely used the device to create the perfected perspective, but he creates a specific narrative within the composition as the reflection of the room and the tile within the room suggests an intimacy. Vermeer manipulated the emotional context of the work in regard to the perspective within the work. The work of Vermeer is not merely comprised of studies of reality, but a revelation of a unique way of seeing his subjects. He works with the understanding that the world is social, thus moments of social interaction become the subject of his work. In this way, he relates somewhat to the Renaissance, his work not about the drama of the moment, but about the event of the moment. Wolfe states that “His spaces are contoured to modern habits of perception and his canvasses often allegorize within themselves the terms of history of their own seeing. By “way of seeing”, then, I mean those structures of perception that are always already social” (11). Vermeer created a social moment, a peek into the world that provided an intimacy. Figure 4. Johannes Vermeer, The Music Lesson (1662-1665) The rich details of the representation of reality that Vermeer created provide a framework for the emotional action of the painting which can be found within the mirror. It has been theorized that this is when Vermeer’s career changed, his interest in the subjects becoming far less important than the thematic content. The Music Lesson is seen as a reflection of the love that Vermeer had for his work. Wolfe states that the mirror reflects “an alternative pictorial order” which translates the “relationship of the woman at the clavecin to the man beside her into another narrative” (206). As her reflection looks at the man, reflecting her emotional position rather than her physical position, the narrative turns to an insinuation of desire, thus reflecting the desire that Vermeer felt for his painting. It might be considered that despite the sedate nature of the composition, this emotional context provides the drama that was familiar to the Baroque period. In this contrast of compositional and thematic propositions is found a connection between the Renaissance and the Baroque periods. Wolfe says that “We might understand the mirror as an ongoing internal commentary within the painting, a place where the painting’s primary drama of courtship, however subdued, is interpreted and revised” (207). Through an almost surreal relationship between the female figure at the instrument and the reflection of her emotional context as she relates to her teacher, Vermeer creates a subtlety of drama that is reflective of the tensions that can be seen in other paintings of the Baroque period. In comparing the dynamic tensions in the Rubens piece to the subtle techniques of tension within the Vermeer work, the evolutions of the period can be observed. The work of Rubens still reflects many of the elements of the Renaissance, both in theme and in composition. However, the new intensities of colour and tension are readily available to the viewer, the piece having some very old compositional aesthetics, but reinterpreted in a very new way of seeing the interaction between people. Looking at the Vermeer work allows the viewer to observe a sophisticated point of view on tension and composition. The composition is a perfected form of perspective, most likely assisted by the use of the camera obscura. However the emotional drama is developed through the reflection of emotion within the mirror rather than the reflection of reality. The two works can be used to see a progression of theories on theme and composition within the time period. As in all things, time will provide for advances in philosophy, theory, and technologies as they relate to aspects of human production. The work of Rubens shows a progression past the work of the Renaissance painters, a piece of high tension and drama that was emotionally far beyond the way in which the Graces had been portrayed by either Botticelli or Raphael. However, the repetition of the theme and the composition connects the work to the previous painters, a new vision on an old theme. Vermeer used a new technology in order to create a more perfected vision of reality. The use of the camera obscura allowed him to replicate reality from its source. His skill at rendering shape and texture allowed the paintings to be taken further into that perfected reality. However, within that reality he created emotional context from a new and fascinating twist. The Baroque period was a time of great changes in the way in which the world was being viewed. Both Rubens and Vermeer reflected the changes that were being seen within their time, their generations each reflecting a step through the period. Rubens was dynamic and active in his work, his brush creating high drama that evoked strong emotional reactions in his viewers. Vermeer was subtle, but still held his viewers captive within the revelation of dramatic context within his work. As he explored the themes of his subjects, he found ways in which to reveal human experience. Both painters made important contributions to the art of painting, their reflections of the human experience filled with different, but equally vital context that helped to frame the Baroque period. Illustration Figure 1 Peter Paul Rubens, The Three Graces, (1636-1638) Figure 2 Botticelli, Primavera (1485-1487) Figure 3. Raphael, The Three Graces (1504-1505) Figure 4. Johannes Vermeer, The Music Lesson (1662-1665) Works Cited Beardsley, Monroe C. Aesthetics: Problems in the Philosophy of Criticism. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1998, p. 218. Print. Gowing, Lawrence, Vermeer. Berkeley [u.a.: Univ. of California Press, 1997, p. 58. Print. Staiger, Kathleen L. The Oil Painting Course You've Always Wanted: Guided Lessons for Beginners and Experienced Artists. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2006, p. 104. Print. Wolf, B. J. Vermeer and the invention of seeing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001, p. 11, 206-207. Print. Read More