Bonaventures art - Christian artists - Assignment Example

Number: Introduction According to the gospel by St.John of the Bible, the word of God gains primacy over the image; before the world was, the word existed. However, Christian artists have tirelessly tried to represent the word with the image; creating images, which can speak, on behalf of literature. Historically, the artistic work was meant to assist in understanding the Biblical scriptures. In this regard, St.Francis is said as one of the key Christian figures of the early times; as early as the thirteenth century. Ina perspective, Bonaventure was aware of the biographical background of Francis’ life. Bonaventure strived to have a personal meeting with Francis’ companions; still alive as early as in 1260. Although Bonaventure really sought for the Saint’s companions, it is hard for one to conclude that Bonaventure’s intention was to present a trustworthy figure of Francis the Saint. A school of theology has argued that Bonaventure’s effort was to realize a theological history, that made him an icon of Francis’ background; this was the Bonaventure’s intended paint; “a stigmatized saint.” Additionally, Bonaventure brings out Francis as the founder of “a new religious order.” He also presents a conformity image between Francis the Saint and Christ. According to Bonaventure, St.Francis had a visionary experience while praying on top of a mountain in alone. During the experience, St.Francis was imprinted the wounds of Christ at the crucifixion; Christ’s wounds were referred to as the stigmata, while the experience the stigmatization. Consequently, Bonaventure a Franciscan’s leader wrote about St.Francis, and thereby making St.Francis canonical. Analyzing the paintings This piece of work can also be analyzed by dividing it into three sections: foreground, middle-ground, and the background. Every figure, symbolically communicates to the observer. Additionally, the positioning of each figure is an important attribute of the artist. The wall painting and the panel painting reveal similar features, as well as some features which are different. Wall Paintings Top-right hand side of the painting represents an image of Christ crucified. Bonaventure tells about the visionary experience of St.Francis while praying alone on a mountain top; he saw the crucified Christ with wounds, which were later, imprinted on him (St.Francis). Bottom-right hand side of the painting shows an image of a person reading a book, presumably a Bible, while sat in front of a church. At the top-left hand side, the artist paints a raised place, suppose a mountain, extending across the middle ground, to the fore ground. St.Francis’ visionary experience happened on top of a mountain. In the middle-ground, diagonally to the image of the crucified Christ, there is an image of a man, presumably praying. Additionally, the artist includes some continuous paintings connecting the praying man and the crucifix- perhaps a communication between the two. By closely assessing the information documented by Bonaventure, one can therefore infer that when one is separated to the self full of satisfaction and selfishness, he or she is thus able to communicate with God. The artistic work of the wall is classic and inspiring, since the figures themselves reveal more than words. The observer can engage the mind more and thus gain more understanding to the literature governing the art work. Every figure is positioned in a defined bearing, so as to represent the Biblical text with great clarity. This attribute is specifically represented by the diagonal projections connecting the crucifix and the praying man, St.Francis. Panel Painting One of the images in the fore-ground shows a group of people clothed in black attire, while kneeling right in front of a figure that appears like a throne, or an esteemed place. In the middle ground, the artist paints a figure that of a praying man, while lifting his hands. The praying man seems to have a direct connection with the figure of Christ crucified, right at the top-right hand side of the overall panel painting. The event in which the praying man and the crucifix seem to occur is on top of a mountain, as represented by the artist. By using Giotto’s work as the premise, we can therefore infer that his painting represents a professional approach of painting work, representing positioning specific figures in specific positions, in order to capture the ideal message of the Biblical context as much as possible. Giotto’s bearing of figures reveals that there are relations amongst images. This attribute helps in creating the intended link amongst images. Similarities of the two Images The two paints show many images which are similar: a crucifix, churches, and a mountain. The positioning of images tends to correlate, particularly the mountain and the crucifix. Images of the mountain in both paints tend to occupy more than a half of the overall picture. The crucifix and the man praying from a raised ground indicate to have some communication, as the artists represent with some diagonal projections in both paints. The main message communicated by both paints is similar, since many of the figures in the paints are similar, and positioned in a similar way. The artists tried to teach the theology of the God-man relationship, revealing that man should seek for spiritual excellence with God, as much as he seeks for bodily excellence. The man reading the word is lowly placed, in the wall paint, as compared to the man praying from the mountain top. Differences between the two paints One of the distinguishing features of the panel painting from the wall painting is the absence of the representation of the word. The wall painting features a Bible, as being read by a man in front of a church. Giotto uses the image of persons kneeling in front of another structure, a future missing on the wall paint. Additionally, the artist represents the top position of his work like an apex, whereas the wall painting only features the top of the mountain on one side of the overall painting; the top-left side. The intensity of the wall paint is thicker compared to the panel paint. Conclusion According to the Bible, the word of God cannot be ultimately represented by images. However, the Christian artists have engaged in an effort of making the scriptures relevant to themselves via paintings. St.Francis’ visionary experience attracted various artists of the past, who tried to figuratively represent the very experience. Some of the major paintings include the panel painting and the wall painting. The position and the bearing of figures in the paintings are decisively placed, and thus a keen observer will eventually learn the whole message passed through such painting work. Work Cited Artstor, www.Artstor.org, Accessed, 27 Jan, 2012. Read More