Two Icons of Renaissance Art - Essay Example

While many renowned names involve in this artistic stream, there are few who hold their stands unmatched as the propagators of artistic cultures. Two of such names are Botticelli and Raphael who introduced and developed a personal insightful depiction of some contemporary concepts and universal portrayals. Two notable works of art from Botticelli and Raphael are The birth of Venus (Botticelli) and Mond Crucifixion (Raphael). Those two works of art are very much the representing pieces for their contemporary culture picking up classical foundations to mount with artistic rendering of subtle individual depictions.

Heritage of classical ages During renaissance, new developments and imaginations of most artists had come out of the classical traditions of arts. Notably, modernism had not touched the world and breaking of rules was limited only up to the imaginations of artists. Thus, artist of earlier renaissance period opted to provide their insights to some traditional themes. Both The Birth of Venus and Mond crucifixion are grounded in deep Christian imagination of human conditions. As in The birth of Venus, the iconography does not entail a violation of themes dwelling in contemporary consciousness.

Similarly, in Mond Crucifixion depiction of Jesus is portrayed as a calm figure even when crucified. Theological icons as Venus and Jesus had a very specific place in classical artistic culture. On the other hand church’s influences were quite dominant over artistic depictions till renaissance. However, during renaissance most of the painters and artists had been associated and were adorned by the church too. It is mostly the style, imaginative depiction of surrounding and use of different shades which had put those arts on steps ahead of the classical ages.

Materials, Style and Colors As Botticelli belonged to an era when Oil paintings were not popularized up to an extent The birth of Venus was painted on tempera while Mond Crucifixion arrived at a time when popularity of oil paintings had overtook the use of tempera around whole Europe. Historically too, Oil paintings proved to be more facilitative compared to tempera. Tempera dries very fast and painters had to be very accurate in mixing the paint. Oil painting proved to be easier to use enhancing numerous opportunities to painters to use fast brushstrokes.

Comparing The birth of Venus to Mond Crucifixion, the use of oil in the later provides much scope to paint the background while in The birth of Venus background is dissolved into sea with very keen strokes till the end which is quite essential in a tempera material. In both the paintings, use of colors and lights is straight away comparable as The birth of Venus provides a little fading effect towards the third dimension while Mond Crucifixion holds sharper colors and clearer lights to sustain with the aura of Jesus which is essentially to be preserved in the painting.

The birth of Venus is visualized with the imaginative beauty of painter’s convictions to the relevant matter described by many earlier artists. Instead of the three Hours of Homer's hymn and Poliziano's poem, he shows us one fair nymph, in a white robe, embroidered with blue corn-flowers, springing lightly forward to offer Venus a pink mantle sown with daisies. In the laurel groves along the shore, we see a courtly allusion to the "Laurel who sheltered the