A Renaissance Painting and the Use of Scientific Principles on Perspective and Light - Assignment Example

of Lecturer] Assignment, Visual Arts and Film Studies An Analysis of the ‘The Holy Family with St. Anne and John the Baptist Introduction The painting “The Holy Family with Saints Anne and John the Baptist, 1592 (oil on canvas) was created by Italian painter Anguissola, Sofonisba (c.1532-1625). It is currently located at the Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. A gift of Mrs. Forbes Hawkes and Bridgeman Images, the painting is dated 1592 (C16th) (Pizzagalli, p. 2). ‘The Holy Family with Saint Anne and John the Baptist (1592)’ is among the unique pious narrative paintings by Italian painter Sofonisba Anguissola. The Holy Family 1592 is the last dated painting by the Italian painter. It was painted when the artist had just returned to Italy after spending 14 years at a Spanish court. By this time, she had married Orazio Lomellini, a Genoese ship captain. The artists obtained her inspirations and subjects for painting from the many visits to various courts and her contacts with painters of great renown such as Luca Cambiaso (Pizzagalli, p. 12). Through these contacts, Anguissola stayed in touch with current developments in art. The art is unique and more interesting to study than others by the painter are because the artist usually painted portraits. The art is oil-on-canvas and measures 49.5" x 43.5" or 125.7x110.5 centimeters. It is one of the Lowe Art Museum collections at the University of Miami. This masterpiece is among the well-known Counter-Reformist works, which portrayed the interests of counter-reformists in devotional images. The main purpose of these arts was to appeal to the viewers in an emotional manner, never achieved by reformist painters (Pizzagalli, p. 15). Analysis of its Visual Elements As a counter-reformation art, ‘The Holy Family with St. Anne and John the Baptist’ is depicted in a clear and accurate fashion with little imaginary or unnecessary embelishments and decorations. As is the case with other Renaissance paintings, this painting has teh features of the then developments in the depiction of light through space. In addition, light is representaed through its reflection from different surfaces. This representation of light through refleciton from surfaces and space helps the painting to achieve extreme realism. The use of oil paint instead of tempera or fresco, really helped the painter to achieve light representation. In this art, oli painting helped the artists to achieve a richer colour, finer detail and greater realism. Like other oil painting, these features must have been achieved by many weeks of reworking the paining.The artist, through the use of the visual features of the counter-reformation and reinassance art, amaneges to bring out the dorminant Christian themes of evangelism, apostles and members of the Holy Family. Through the use of cloour and light, these subjects have been presented as real people, in real-life postures and poses. Thus, the artist used colour and light to express real emotions. The arist has also used the flexibility of oil painting to create depth of colour, by applying the paint in diffrent ways using an array of tools and techniques. The light areas of the images are painted using thin glazes of paint while the darker tones achieved by thick and dense impasto. Blending and layering was also used to achieve colour richness and tonal shades and transitions. In addition, the image uses oil paint to achieve transparent and opaque effects for the foreground and background of the respectively. The painting also has matt and gloss finishes, resulting in the stunning effects of light and colour and better realism. Through sweeping brushstrokes, the painter achieved robust compositions and realism and an exceptional combination of magnificence and intimacy. By use of cool colours, the artist manages to make her narrative genre to work by way of realistic figures and colours. The artist has also used oil paint to bring out details, forms and figures using an array of depths, shadows, colors and shades. The image also has a sense of perspective and proportion because of the different shades of coluor and light used in the different sections of the painting. For instance, the foreground is more lightly shaded compared to the middle and the background. By the use of oli paint, the artist manages to create an accurate and complex composition of the soft glow from the cnadle light and a detailed perspective of the surrounding room. In the image, the artist manipulates light and shadows to capture the intensity of the viewer’s emotions by focusing more light and colour on the holy family while hsading the other figures in the painting a bit darker. Although the background is darker than the foreground, it is equally detailed “The Holy Family with St. Anne and John the Baptist’ is an art of the Catholic Counter-Reformation art and era (1560-1700). The Protestants mostly removed public art from religion and preferred that society moved towards secular styles of art that glorify God by reflecting natural beauty of creation and people created in God’s image. On the contrary, counter-reformists encouraged that religious art such as “The Holy Family with St Anne and John the Baptist’ be created and displayed. In fact, the Catholic Church directed that the content of such an art be strictly religious. This art was also to strictly glorify God and the traditions of the Catholic Church such as the holy family, saints and the sacraments (Pizzagalli, p. 21). Therefore, ‘The Holy Family with St. Anne and John the Baptist’ falls under the larger Catholic Counter-Reformation art, which is characterized by doctrinal Christian arts of the 16th, 17th and the 18th centuries. These arts were formed to counter the revolt against Rome, led by Martin Luther, among other reformist luminaries. Launched by the Council of Trent, the counter-reformation art adopted a stricter biblical style, which emphasized the ideological and theological difference of Catholicism and Protestantism (Pizzagalli, p. 14). As ‘The Holy Family with St. Anne and John the Baptist’ depicts, counter-reformation art focused on the mysteries of faith and the important roles of the Virgin Mary, the holy family and the saints. Its main goal was to rejuvenate the Catholic faithful across Europe and dilute the effects of reformation (Pizzagalli, p. 2). The features of ‘The Holy Family with St. Anne and John the Baptist,’ which mark it as a counter-reformation art, include its focus on the distinctive aspects of Catholic dogma. It relays messages of the concepts of perfect conception, the annunciation of the virgin, and the transfiguration of Christ. The art has images that appear uplifting to the Catholic faithful and emphasizes the role of the Virgin Mary and the saints. Counter-reformation art was also to be illustrated accordingly (Pizzagalli, p. 32). The ‘The Holy Family with St. Anne and John the Baptist’ is also a scene filled with the appropriate spiritual intensity, as directed by the counter-reformation Catholic. Holy Family with St. Anne and John the Baptist’ differs from other counter-reformation arts by portraying a nude image of the young Jesus. As a counter-reformation art, ‘The Holy Family with St. Anne and John the Baptist’ conforms to the Council of Trent requirement that an image represents the person depicted in it. In addition, the art relays the message that the persons depicted (the holy family and the saints) and not the image, be venerated (Pizzagalli, p. 40). In addition, the images do not have beauty that can excite lust. It is also quite orderly, as is required of counter-reformation art, with every image neatly arranged. Comparison to Other Paintings ‘The Holy Family with ST Anne and John the Baptist’ shares several features with other paintings of the Counter-Reformation paintings. For instance, as in the case of Water Seller’ by Velázquezs, both images depict the development the artists were undergoing in this period. Both paintings exhibit the beginnings of the technique found in the artists’ mature creations. Both artists offer deeper insight into the persons of the paintings. This closeness into the persons of the images is indicative of their insight into the subjects of their arts. Both artists portray accurate interpretation of the minute details of reality in their understanding of human perception in the paintings. Just like Jacques-Louis David’s ‘The Death of Socrates,’ ‘The Holy Family with St. Anne and John the Baptist is oil on canvas painting. However, in ‘Death of Socrates,’ David glorifies the individual as a self-sacrificing hero committed to country and family, unlike The Holy Family and St. Anne and John the Baptists,’ which glorifies religion. How it fits into a larger Renaissance to Rococo art historical framework It is worth noting that Anguissola adapted the composition of the painting from the work of her painter friend, Luca Cambiaso. Nonetheless, her version of the art portrays higher levels of warmth of presentation. In this aspect, ‘The Holy Family and St. Anne and John the Baptists’ fits into the early Renaissance painting and not with the harsher realism that preferred by many of the Counter-Reformation artists the ilk of Cambiaso. The subject of ‘The Holy Family with St. Anne and John the Baptist (1592)’ is quite ambiguous because the figures seem not to fit the named subject. Although the art is referred to as ‘The Holy Family with Saints Anne and John the Baptist, the figures could as well be St. Elizabeth, St. John the Baptist and the Holy Family. Anne was the mother of the Virgin Mary while Elizabeth, Marys cousin, was the mother of St. John the Baptist. The paint has nothing to indicate whether the woman is St. Elizabeth or St. Anne apart from the presence of John, the son of Elizabeth. As a renaissance painting, “The Holy Family with Saint Anne and John the Baptist” has certain features, including perspective regarding how it is achieved and its effects and realism. Like other renaissance artists, the painter had the freedom to depict humanity through symbolism, portrait and an element of narration. As a Renaissance painting, this art differs from others such as those from Late Medieval period by its use of close observation of nature, the anatomy of the characters, and the use of scientific principles on perspective and light. The use of light and shade in the painting also accord it a feature of Renaissance art. First, different areas of the painting have different lightness and darkness, ranging from white to black. Tonal arrangement in the image also suggests different light and shadows to depict three-dimensional space. Work Cited Pizzagalli, D. “The Lady of the Painting: The Life of Sofonisba Anguissola, Gentlewoman and Artist of the Renaissance.” 2003. Milan: Rizzoli. Read More