Artist Critique - Essay Example

Artist critique Introduction Born in 1415, Piero della Francesca was an Italian painter of the renaissance famous for various paintings including Saint Jerome and a Supplicant currently displaying at the New York Museum of art. The artist perfected the profession with his artistic and critical view of religion a major social feature at the time. Piero della Francesca died on 12 October 1492 of heart related complications in his home town of San Sepolcro. The painting, Saint Jerome and a Supplicant just as with many other of his works is a tempera and oil on wood. The image that has lasted for more than six centuries still exhumes realistic features of the early society with the artists portraying specific features of the painting thereby communicating as effective as he had fist anticipated. Renaissance refers to the period of rebirth; in culture and art, the period witnessed an increase in knowledge pioneered by some of the most realistic scientific inventions and religious realizations that have shaped the society to this date. Artists captured the social developments in their critical art works which helped portrays specific features of the society through the eyes of the artists. Italy has remained a strategic society in the development of both religion and scientific knowledge with most of Italian scholars and artists being among pioneers of the modern day knowledge. Piero della Francesca is therefore one of such artists who seek to portray features of the religion in the early Italian society. His works and type of painting influenced several others artists including Melozzo da Forlì and Fra Carnevale both of who were his fellow Italians. Feldman critique Piero della Francesca painted Saint Jerome and a Supplicant, in 1450 as his representation and criticism of the Christian faith that had spread to various parts of the continent. Religious art works were famous at the time as the Catholic Church sought to use such art to improve the reputation of the church. Most of such arts hung in churches and in homes of some of the leading figures in the church. The painting displays currently in New York museum of art. Still life is the subject matter in the painting, which adopts an abstract approach to art and the portrayal of the society in such works. The painter provides an abstract portrayal of the society developing a visible background, middle ground and fore ground in his image thereby communicating effectively through the painting. The activity in the painting centers on Saint Jerome, possibly a leader of the church at the time. The old frail man holds an open bible in the mode of a discussion as he consults with another man. The other man appears more formally dressed than the saint did thereby depicting that he was a dignified member of the society possibly a civil servant at the time. The man stands in a somber and respectful mode portraying the respect he has for both the Saint and the discussion they are sharing. Besides the two who constitute the fore ground, the image reveals several other features of the setting a feature that helps analyze the nature of the early society. Besides the saint is a crucifix an element that earns relevance to the Christian faith. The work is exciting with the two men holding an intimate chat possibly about their faith. The neatly dressed man approaches the frail rugged Saint and appears respectful before the man; a feature that does not only interests an audience but also depicts the importance of the religion at the time as captured by the artist. The Saint’s audience appears more groomed than the Saint does; from his neatly trimmed hair to his clean robe, the man exhumes confidence and an ambience of importance around him. Despite these, the man shows respect and interest in the beaten Saint as he listens to him carefully. The church at the time was having negative publicity owing to several scandals and claims of the church being capable of forgiving sins. The church therefore engaged on an extensive campaign through such arts in a bid to earn the church more dignified reputation among the congregation. Such artifacts thus portrayed the importance and relevance of the church in the society (Damisch, 2007). Analysis Different features of the painting communicate appropriately thereby earning a combined relevance and communication role in the entire creation. The foreground portrays the two main characters of the image consulting. The middle ground reveals the bible and the crucifix that helps corroborate the faith in discussion. Without the crucifix, the consultation could possibly be an Islamic meeting. However, the crucifix narrows the relevance of the painting by relating the image to the Christian faith. The background on the other hand provides a landscape of the city. The artist portrays the developed nature of the society by capturing the structures and the landscape that shows vegetation and structures thereby capturing the size and economic might of the society at the time. Interpretation and judgment The artist achieves effectiveness of communication owing to his ability to depict different features of the images. He sought to prove that Christianity was important and everyone was to respect the faith. He achieves this by portraying the important man dressed decently humbling himself before the Saint. Such was the portrayal the church wanted from the congregation. The artist’s ability to capture the essence of the art portrays his effectiveness as a communicator as he achieves great success in doing that. Conclusion The artist captures the sense of space and diversity in his painting among other features of the art. In his bid to communicate effectively, the artist uses his artistic skills to capture specific features of the society and incorporates strategic features of the faith in the painting thereby earning relevance and effectiveness of communication in the painting. Every feature of the paining the artist incorporates in the background, middle ground and foreground are all relevant and contributes to the effectiveness of the communication features of the image. Part 2 Piero della Francesca was an iconic artists of his time who helped earn better reputation for the Christian faith. Through his work, the relevance of art in the society becomes eminent. I liked his incorporation of various features and elements into the painting in a bid to increase the relevance of the painting. He gives attention to details a feature that helps corroborate the essence of the painting. He for example remembers to distinct the religion in the painting by adding the crucifix of Jesus a feature that most artists could have overlooked. The miniature detail marked the essence of the entire painting. Reference Damisch, H. (2007). A Childhood Memory by Piero della Francesca. New York: Stanford University. Read More