Renaissance Painting Exhibit - Essay Example

CULTURAL ACTIVITY Cultural Activity: Renaissance Painting Exhibit Word Count 500 (6 pages) Introduction Recently, during this February, the decision was made to go see a Renaissance art exhibit at a local museum. The theme was about Italian Renaissance painters, so the artwork replicas that were analyzed were the following, which will be linked to today’s artistic expressions in some capacity: Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa; Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper; and Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam. This was a very exciting cultural activity for me to participate in, since going to Italy was a dream of mine. The real paintings were not on display, so we had to settle for looking at replicas—which were very impressive nonetheless. Each painting had a certain charm all its own. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa Perhaps one of the most famous paintings of all time was the Mona Lisa. Currently, the Mona Lisa is available for viewing at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Interestingly enough, there are many copies of the Mona Lisa in art galleries all over the world, as was the one that this writer viewed. According to Leonardo da Vinci’s Life (2012), “The mastery of the painting lies in its subtle detail, including the faint smile, and Mona Lisas distinctive gaze. The work [might] have been commissioned by…Francesco del Giocondo, who hired Leonardo to paint [his wife’s portrait], and this is why The Mona Lisa is sometimes referred to as La Gioconda” (pgh. 1). Of course, as has been mentioned before, it is Mona Lisa’s slight yet very distinct smile which has drawn people near and far to see her famous face. Since many artists lived off of their commissions from paintings, Da Vinci most likely wanted to ensure that he painted a very nice piece for Francesco del Giocondo—because creating a great painting, versus just a “good” one, might be the difference between him getting paid the full sum he was owed by Del Giocondo, who most likely commissioned this one particular painting. The interesting link that this painting has to today is that it was rumored that another painting was actually found hidden under the painting of the Mona Lisa. This was just found recently, and it is believed that this other painting was also done by Da Vinci. Of course, new discoveries are happening all the time in the art world—with many more surprises to come in the future as we all know. There is no limit as to how many surprises might be in the rafters, just waiting to be discovered. Perhaps we will realize that there are many more surprises hidden within and outside of famous commissioned Renaissance paintings. Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper Arguably, one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous paintings yet is probably The Last Supper. He finished the painting in record time. According to Esaak (2012), “[Da Vinci] began working on [this painting] in 1495 and finished Last Supper in 1498. This is worth noting, as Leonardo was a known procrastinator with a marked tendency to leave projects unfinished” (pgh. 5). Leonardo da Vinci was such an intelligent person that he was involved in several different areas of the liberal arts—but he truly had a gift for painting that remains evident today in The Last Supper. In fact, replicas of this painting have been utilized the world over, especially in churches to depict what the Last Supper might have really been like. That is the “link” to today’s world from the Renaissance period. What is interesting is that one can actually visualize Christ sitting at the table, letting his disciples know that he is going to be betrayed by one of the people sitting at the table with him. The disciples’ reactions to Jesus’ claims are as varied as they are interesting. Without a doubt, Da Vinci’s The Last Supper points to many elements that might have gone otherwise unnoticed. We see a Judas who is cowering—perhaps holding a bag of 30 pieces of silver? The other disciples have mixed reactions to what Jesus is saying. Ostensibly, one can guess that this is the moment at the Last Supper where Jesus is telling about his forthcoming betrayal—which is a shock to many of the disciples. The Last Supper also depicts the various relationships between Jesus and his varying disciples. Who is the nearest to Jesus, who is farthest from him—these entire puzzle pieces are of the most elemental importance in figuring out what kind of person Jesus was. This painting depicts the first Last Supper—but not the last supper, communion, or Eucharist by any means, at least within the confines of the Christian church. This is a beginning of a tradition that will last almost 2,000 years hence, and communion or the Eucharist is definitely one of the few “links” with today that people still can share, among other things. Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam The Creation of Adam is a painting that has long withstood the tests of time. It was painted onto the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. Basically, one of the most important facts about this painting is that Michelangelo had to paint on his back on top of a scaffold for the better part of many years until this was completed. His most famous part of the Sistine Chapel is obviously The Creation of Adam, where interestingly enough, Adam actually almost touches God’s finger (or vice versa), intimating that God was the author and finisher of Adam’s life. God was the person who gave Adam life, and this is revealed in the painting. According to Art and the Bible (2012), “[G]od points his finger at Adam, who is struck with life…Adam is shown as a powerful youth who is in the center of the composition, receives the breath of life. The divine dynamism is depicted in Gods blowing hair and beard. He is seated on the purple robe surrounded by angels” (pghs. 1-3). Now, many people have said that there are several Masonic symbols in the painting The Creation of Adam. This is the link to today’s world. The Masons were a powerful group of people who swore to secrecy to protect the brotherhood—with any breach of secrecy being upon pain of death. This means that basically anyone who decided to tell the secret or secrets of the Masons would be severely punished—by being killed or murdered. It hasn’t been verified if any of this is true—it’s just purely a rumor. However, people have argued that there are anti-Christian symbols present all over the Sistine Chapel, which lend one to wonder about Michelangelo’s motives. Did he have some sort of connection to the Masons or another group that favored anti-Christian images or sentiments? Surely, this is a question for the experts, but as for now, one can only make conjectures. Without a doubt, however, The Creation of Adam remains a painting that continues to draw visitors, who flock from places all around the globe just to get a sense of what the Sistine Chapel looks like and what the original painting itself looks like—arguably, by far, one of the most important frescoes that is on the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling. For years, art historians and curators have been trying to encourage constant restorations of the art so that the beauty of the piece will not fade, chip, or wear. Thanks to this constant curation and care, hopefully The Creation of Adam, as well as the other frescoes depicting Genesis, will still be around for many, many years to come in the future. Without a doubt, The Creation of Adam probably ranks as one of the most famous paintings in the Italian Renaissance, of course, when compared to other paintings that were completed by Michelangelo’s contemporaries—one of which was Leonardo da Vinci. Michelangelo’s beautiful contribution to the art world will never be forgotten with this work of stunning accoutrements and, as a physical feat, demonstrates remarkable accomplishment and success on Michelangelo’s part as an artist—because this is a piece of art that will be remembered forever. Michelangelo’s talents, however, will not only be remembered by today’s generation, but by generations in the future. Conclusion Each of these paintings has significant meaning to the Renaissance period, and can be linked to some interesting point of reference in today’s world—these paintings being Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Da Vinci’s The Last Supper, and Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam. Of course, no matter how one views these paintings, certainly they are some of our few links to the past with regard to the Renaissance era. At least we are able to look at these paintings and be able to get a sense of where the particular artist was coming from—emotionally, mentally and spiritually. The Renaissance, especially in Italy, was a time of great rebirth—giving way to an artistic revolution that completely changed the art world forever. These classic paintings, viewed time and time again, only serve to reinforce the notion that art, in all its forms—but particularly those from the Renaissance period—are national treasures that will stay with us even to the end of the age. REFERENCES Art and the Bible. (2012). Retrieved from . Esaak, S. (2012). Leonardo da Vinci—The last supper: ten common questions about the painting. Retrieved from: . Leonardo da Vinci’s life. (2012). Retrieved from: . Read More