History of Western Arts - Essay Example

TOPIC: INTRODUCTION OF HISTORY OF WESTERN ARTS Introduction A portrait can be simply defined as a representation of a specific individual or scenario as the artist might encounter in life (Hartt et al, 2011). It therefore not just a mere record of someone’s feature, but says something about who he or she is representing to the world, a real/true picture of a real person’s presence. The tradition of portrait in the west dates back to particularly to the ancient Greece and Rome, where lifelike depictions of different representation of men and women were reflected in sculpture and some on coins (Slovely et al ,2001). In trying to keep with the spirit of humanism, artist of the early renaissance tried as much to show a lifelike human forms with accurate proportion and realistic expressions and clothing (Johnson, 2005). For example a woman of the Renaissance, like a woman of the middle ages, were never given any political rights and were treated to be legally subject to their husbands. Women of all classes were required to perform, first and foremost, the tasks assigned to a housewife. For thousands of years women had very few economic, legal, or political rights and, in theory were expected to be submissive to their fathers or husbands (Hartt et al, 2011). Women were restricted to traditional gender roles, which forced them to remain in the domestic or private restriction of a community. Women’s roles as daughters, wives, or mothers were therefore considered their most important function in a community (Johnson, 2005). For the high class members of society, the reproductive ability of a woman was an extremely significant determinant of inheritance and maintenance the family line (Hartt et al 2011). Through all classes of society, the social system of patriarchy evolved as the primary way to regulate women’s behavior and maintain social control (Slovely et al, 2001). Although women were often depicted in Renaissance art or literature, the cultural advancements and political developments that emerged from the Renaissance overwhelmingly neglected women (Johnson, 2005). The Renaissance brought a renewal and rebirth of intellect, culture, art, and social advancement that was seemingly only advantageous to men. Women continued to be deployed in communities only for the advantage of men, as daughters who could potentially help the family through an advantageous marriage, or as wives who took care of the home and produced children to help work on the farm or to carry on a family name (Hartt et al, 2011). The behavior of women were also an important indication of the social status and reputation of their families. Women’s sexuality, particularly among the elite, was highly regulated to ensure purity before marriage and the legitimacy of heirs after (Slovely et al, 2001). If a woman was accused of having an affair it could later be claimed that her child was not a legitimate heir to an inheritance, or to the throne (Johnson, 2005). Peasant women labored in the field alongside their husbands and were answerable to their home should any housewife role arise (Hartt et al, 2011). The wives of middle class shop owners and merchants in many cases helped run their husbands businesses as well. Even women of the highest class, though attended by servants, most often engaged in the tasks of the household. These tasks included to cook for their families, entertaining, sewing among other task that may arise sewing, cooking, and entertaining, among others (Slovely et al, 2001). Women were not married were not allowed to live by themselves, they were required to live in the households of their male relatives or, in most cases, joined a convent (Hartt et al, 2011). In keeping with the spirit of humanism, artists came up new techniques to give paintings a more three-dimensional, life-like quality, and commonly studied human and animal anatomy in a bid to clearly help in advancing knowledge in these fields (Johnson, 2005). The first important painter of the Renaissance was Giotto di Bondone. Giotto painted during the turn of the fourteenth century, bringing a new dimension away from the Gothic and Byzantine artistic traditions (Hartt et al, 2011). He deeply studied nature in an effort to relate his paintings with reality, an effort most notable in his especially realistic facial expressions. Giottos innovations made in the portrayal of perspective were improved upon by a later painter, Tommaso Guidi, known as Masaccio (Messy Tom) because of his disheveled appearance (Johnson, 2005). Masaccio is credited with mastering perspective, and was the first Renaissance artist to paint models in the nude, often using light and shadow to define the shape of his models rather than clear lines. Masaccios best known work is a scene from the Bible called The Tribute Money (Slovely et al,2001) .Furthering the accomplishments of his predecessors, Sandro Botticelli came up as a dominant artist during the early Renaissance. One of a circle of artists and scholars sponsored by the Medici in Florence, Botticellis most famous work, The Birth of Venus, shows the goddess rising from the sea on a conch shell. During the late fifteenth century Botticelli became a follower of the Girolamo Savonarola, and burned many of his paintings with pagan themes (Hartt et al, 2011). The Merchants and city officials whose patronage supported the Renaissance artists were mostly more interested in architecture than they were in painting. Therefore, as the city-states of Italy began to develop great wealth during the early fifteenth century, architects and sculptors rose to fame and power. In 1401, Florence held a competition to choose the artist to design and sculpt a pair of bronze doors for the Baptistry, a church honoring St. Paul the Baptist (Slovely et al, 2001). The winner of the contest, Lorenzo Ghiberti, spent 28 years completing the doors, which, decorated with scenes from the Bible, remain one of the greatest treasures of the Renaissance. Ghiberti developed the techniques of three-dimensional sculpture, and greatly influenced all Italian sculpture of the Renaissance (Johnson, 2005). The loser of the contest, Filippo Brunelleschi, traveled to Rome, where he studied Roman ruins and developed mathematical formulas to be used in architecture. In 1417 he again competed against Ghiberti for the right to design the dome of the cathedral of Florence (Hartt et al, 2011). He won the competition. The dome he designed, combining the modern trends in architecture and the style of ancient Rome, still dominates the Florentine skyline, and is considered one of the great architectural masterpieces of all time. In terms of sculpture, the acknowledged master of the early Renaissance was Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi, better known as Donatello (Johnson, 2005). Donatello studied under both Ghiberti and Brunelleschi, and went on to create several masterpieces for Cosimo de Medici in Florence. His most important work is the David, which depicts the Hebrew king in the classical style of a Greek god, and was the first freestanding nude figure sculpted since the Roman era (Hartt et al, 2011). Donatello went on to create the first bronze statue of the Renaissance, showing an incredibly realistic soldier on horseback (Slovely et al, 2001). During the Renaissance, artists benefited from the patronage of rich merchants and rulers, and were well known during their own times, unlike the anonymous artists who had produced works in guilds during the middle ages (Johnson, 2005). Great fame and influence was conferred upon the great artists of the day, and they were celebrated wherever they traveled. This fame convinced many artists that they deserved special privileges and consideration, which they were often granted (Hart et al, 2011). The artists of the early Renaissance were both liberated by the patronage of the wealthy and constricted in their choice of subject matter. Despite the changes wrought by humanism, the Italian population remained, more than anything else, highly religious (Johnsn, 2005). Wealthy patrons most often commissioned works of art that were in some way related to the Catholic Church, to which the wealthy often donated grand cathedrals. Altarpieces and religious murals were common among the works created during the early Renaissance, and artists were often confined to the Bible in choosing their own subject matter. Nevertheless, artists experienced great freedom to develop new techniques and work with new materials, as can be seen by the groundbreaking work of Giotto and Ghiberti (Slovely et al, 2001). In representing religion, early artist while not directly representing these central Christian images, the theme of death and resurrection were reflected through various series of images which were driven from Old Testament (Hartt et al, 2011). For example, the story of Jonah being swallowed by a great fish and then after spending three days and three nights in the belly of the beast is vomited out on dry ground was seen by early Christians as an anticipation or prefiguration of the story of Christs own death and resurrection (Slovely et al, 2001). Images of Jonah, along with those of Daniel in the Lions Den, Moses Striking the Rock, among others, are widely popular in the Christian art of the third century, both in paintings and on sarcophagi (Johnson, 2005). All of these can be seen to as the principal narratives of the life of Christ. The common subject of salvation echoes the major emphasis in the mystery religions on personal salvation (Hartt et al, 2011). The appearance of these subjects frequently adjacent to each other in the catacombs and sarcophagi can be read as a visual litany; save me Lord as you have saved Jonah from the belly of the great fish, save me Lord as you have saved the Hebrews in the desert, save me Lord as you have saved Daniel in the Lions den, and many other. One can imagine that early Christians, who were rallying around the nascent religious authority of the Church against the regular threats of persecution by imperial authority, would find great meaning in the story of Moses of striking the rock to provide water for the Israelites fleeing the authority of the Pharaoh on their exodus to the Promised Land (Slovely et al, 2001). One of the major differences between Christianity and the public cults was the central role faith plays in Christianity and the importance of orthodox beliefs (Hartt et al, 2011). The history of the early Church is marked by the struggle to establish a canonical set of texts and the establishment of orthodox doctrine. Questions about the nature of the Trinity and Christ would continue to challenge religious authority (Slovely et al, 2001). Within the civic cults there were no central texts and there were no orthodox doctrinal positions. The emphasis was on maintaining customary traditions. One accepted the existence of the gods, but there was no emphasis on belief in the gods (Johnson, 2005). The Christian emphasis on orthodox doctrine has its closest parallels in the Greek and Roman world to the role of philosophy. Schools of philosophy centered on the teachings or doctrines of a particular teacher. The schools of philosophy proposed specific conceptions of reality (Hartt et al, 2011). Ancient philosophy was influential in the formation of Christian theology. For example, the opening of the Gospel of John: "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God...," is unmistakably based on the idea of the "logos" going back to the philosophy of Heraclitus (ca. 535 - 475 BCE). Christian apologists like Justin Martyr writing in the second century understood Christ as the Logos or the Word of God who served as an intermediary between God and the World (Slovely et al, 2001). Early Representations of Christian and the Apostles An early representation of Christ found in the Catacomb of Domitilla shows the figure of Christ flanked by a group of his disciples or students. Those experienced with later Christian imagery might mistake this for an image of the Last Supper, but instead this image does not tell any story. It conveys rather the idea that Christ is the true teacher (Hartt et al, 2011). Christ draped in classical garb holds a scroll in his left hand while his right hand is outstretched in the so-called ad locutio gesture, or the gesture of the orator ( Johnson, 2005). The dress, scroll, and gesture all establish the authority of Christ, who is placed in the center of his disciples. Christ is thus treated like the philosopher surrounded by his students or disciples (Slovely et al, 2001). Early representation apostle John Comparably, an early representation of the apostle Paul, identifiable with his characteristic pointed beard and high forehead, is based on the convention of the philosopher, as exemplified by a Roman copy of a late fourth century B.C.E. portrait of the fifth century B.C.E. playwright Sophocles (Johnsons, 2005). Since the days of the Renaissance, holders of political power, as well as rich businessmen and traders, have associated themselves with art in an effort to demonstrate and raise their social status (Hartt et al 2011). Artworks often presented an idolizing portrait of their owners by extolling their riches, their learning and their international connections. But sovereigns also identified with artists, viewing their divine right to rule as analogous to artistic genius. Some monarchs even practiced art themselves, and wanted to be known as artists (Slovely et al, 2001). In doing so, however, they accomplished the reverse: they made artists into nobles and lords of the realm. A recurring motif in political iconography was the ruler’s visit to the artist’s studio, each inspired by the other’s creative power (Hartt et al, 2011). By the Renaissance, however, nearly every artist in Italy used geometrical perspective in their paintings (Johnsons, 2005). Not only was this use perspective a way of showing depth, it was also a new method of composing a painting (Hartt et al, 2011). Paintings began to show a single, unified scene, rather than a combination of several. Perspective remained, for a while, the domain of Florence. Gradually, and partly through the movement of academies of the arts, the Italian techniques became part of the training of artists across Europe, and later other parts of the world (Slovely et al, 2001). References Johnson, G. Renaissance Art: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2005 Wilkins, G. & Hartt, F. History of Italian Renaissance Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Chicago, Prentice Hall, 2011 Howes, Kelly King and Christine Slovely. Harlem renaissance. Detroit: U.X.L., 2001. Read More