Art Criticism as the Art Education - Research Paper Example

Running Head: ART EDUCATION Art Education [The of the will appear here] [The of the will appear here] [The of the Professor] [Course] Introduction Art criticism is an integral part of the art education. This is because art criticism opens the minds of the artist towards better understanding of numerous art pieces and allows them to appreciate art at the same time. Art criticism allows one to reflect on one’s own art perception in comparison with the rest of the world. It opens the minds of the artists towards small nuisances that the artist might ignore. Tiziano Vecelli, also known as Titian is one of the most popular artists of the Renaissance era. His technique of color, tone, texture etc have been greatly appreciated by art patrons of all times including leading critics. Most critics while commenting on the work of Titian focus on his oil painting techniques and the way in which Titian brought his own unique perception to his art pieces. One such critic is Ernist Gombrich, whose comments on Titian’s Madonna with Saints and Members of the Pesaro Family will be discussed. Ernist Gombrich is an Australian critic and historian. Some of his most prominent books include Story of Art and Art and Illusion. The second critic is Eliane Gondinet Wallstein who has analyzed the painting Noli Te Tangere by Titian. Wallstein is a known Christian art critic who has commented on various religious painting including the Noli Te Tangere. Wallstein discusses the fact that Titian has removed various Christianity elements from the painting. The third critic is Mark Hudson whose recent book, Titian, The Last Days has gained him much acclaim in the critic world. Hudson is a British writer, journalist and critic who has explored Titian in great detail and this is the basic reason for selecting him in this paper. This paper will attempt to discuss the analysis of these three critics and develop similarities in the way they deal with Titian as a painter. The aim is to understand how art critics analyze different painters of the same artist. Tiziano Vecelli or Titian Tiziano Vecelli, popularly known as Titian or Da Cadore, was an Italian painter who was able to generate high amount of popularity for his art during his own lifetime. Titian was a respected part of the Venetian School during the sixteenth century. The subjects of Titian’s paintings ranged from mythological creatures to humanly figures and sometimes an amalgamation of both. Titian had expertise in painting all kinds of subjects from life drawing to still life. Though born in the Alps, Titian moved to Venice in order to benefit from the art styles of great painters such as Giovanni Bellini and Giorgio Barbarella. Titian held a respected position in the art circle during his long life of 90 years. In this time period, he remained a considerable influence on patrons of Italian Renaissance because of use of color, texture, luminosity, tone and richness in his painting. The forte of Titian lies in oil paintings, even though Titian also painted numerous frescos during his lifetime. It was Titian’s love for his home country that in many of his paintings, he showed a great appreciation towards landscape and mountains in particular. Even when he painted humans or mythological figure, his attention to the landscape has been worth noticing. He incorporates the landscape in the painting in a manner that it forms a necessary part of the entire painting. Some painting by Titian have specifically commanded great respect, while at the same time they have been a subject of intense criticism. Some of the paintings of Titian include the Venus of Urbino, Noli Me Tangere and Mars, Venus and Armor. E.H. Gombrich, "The Story of Art" Critique of Madonna with Saints and Members of the Pesaro Family In this article, E.H Gombrich aims to analyze one particular work of Titian and that is Madonna with Saints and Members of the Pesaro family. Gombrich begins the article by laying down the main focus of the article which is the off-centered placement of Madonna. In his article, Gombrich gives the background of the painting by explaining the subjects within the painting and the historical background of the painting. Gombrich does this in order to understand the reason for Titian to place his Madonna a little off-centered from the time-honored composition. In this critique, Gombrich talks about the creative genius of Titian and his masterly use of color and light. While analyzing a portrait of Titian, it is impossible not to comment of the use of color, tone and light. This is because Titian holds immense respect within the art circle for his use of colors. However, it is neither the quality of the strokes nor the use of colors that Gombrich stresses on. Gombrich reflects on how Titian has broken the rules of composition while painting a mythological creature such as Madonna. In most paintings depicting Madonna, the figure takes up the centre stage and therefore is in the exact centre of the painting. In order to stress on this fact, Gombrich brings forth in his article a comparison with Titian’s own teacher, Giovanni Bellini. When Bellini painted his Madonna with Saints, he placed her Madonna within the centre stage (Gombrich, 1995). The breaking of the rules is the centre of the argument of the whole painting. Gombrich, however, does not criticize Titian for breaking this particular rule of composition, but on the other hand, he goes on to say that Titian was able to manage the unique placement of Madonna. According to Gombrich, Titian has still made Madonna the centre of the picture through the use of colors. Gombrich goes on to assume in his article that Titian’s contemporaries would have expected Titian to create the painting in the way that he did. However, Gombrich does not delve in this thought for long and goes back to the use of color in the painting. Towards the end of his article, Gombrich reverts back to the technique of Titian in terms of using color and light to instill harmony in the painting. Titian’s paintings have been liked for the presence of harmony in each painting and Gombrich reasserts to the same fact. Gombrich’s article remains consistent in the way that he began by commenting on the technique employed by Titian in his use of colors and he continues on to comment on the same technique at the end of the article. Eliane Gondinet Wallstein’s Magnificat. Critique of Noli Te Tangere by Titian In this article, Elian Wallstein aims to analyze one particular work of Titian and that is Noli Te Tangere. Noli De Tangere was painted by Titian during his early ages and Wallstein comments on this fact in order to make the readers aware that this painting would be compared with others of that time and period. Wallstein begins the article by focusing on the background of the image rather than the two subjects, gracing the foreground. When Wallstein discusses the subjects, he does so by relating them with the background. It is through the description of the background that Wallstein goes on to discuss the meeting of the characters. Wallstein describes how the characters in the painting interact with the landscape such as the fact that on Mary’s side of the background, the curve of the hill is painted so as to develop a harmony between the curves of Mary and the curves of the hill (Wallstein, 2008). Wallstein probably does that because he understands the importance of the background in Titian’s painting. This shows that Wallstein is aware of the typical style of Titian and thus would be able to draw an apt comparison. Another reason for Wallstein’s focus on the landscape would be the fact that the scene depicted by Titian in his painting occurs in the tomb rather than in the open countryside. However Titian changed the background to suit his own artistic style. Even though Titian juxtaposed the subjects in a different background, he develops harmony by properly placing the characters in the right landscape. Wallstein also mentions other inconsistencies by Titian in relation with the scene that he tries to paint. Wallstein goes on to remark how the painting is not truly a copy of the scene mentioned in the Bible. Wallstein shows this by pointing out the absence of the herald angel, the halo and the cross in the hands of Jesus. Instead of the cross, Titian has painted a hoe, which according to Wallstein could have been a reference to Mary’s original mistake regarding the identity of Jesus. Mark Hudson, The Obscenest Picture Critique of Venus of Urbino In this article, Mark Hudson aims to analyze one particular work of Titian and that is The Venus of Urbino. Mark Hudson begins his comparison by discussing the famous views of Mark Twain regarding the painting. He then goes on to describe the background behind the painting giving reference of other such paintings including La Bella. Here the critic is trying to explain to the readers the context of the painting before moving on the main critique. Hudson, throughout his essay, comments on the lack of background information available on this particular painting and this could be one reason that he greatly depends on theoretical assumptions during his entire critique. Mark Hudson, when discussing the painting, goes into great detail in assuming the emotions of the painter when painting the naked Venus. He reminds the readers of the age of Titian when he painted his Venus which was 50 years old. According to Hudson, such painting are usually the fantasy of young painters and at such an old age, Hudson wonders what Titian was thinking and feeling. Hudson goes on to assume the Titian did not paint his own fantasy when creating the picture as the model is the fantasy of a young man and not a man in the age of 50 (Hudson, 2010). Hudson paints a very vivid picture of Titian composing the painting, from the stroke of his brush to the hot and humid temperature of the studio. Hudson does this in a way that the reader feels part of the time when Titian was composing the painting. While many critics comment on the beckoning nature of the Venus of Urbino, Hudson comes forth with a contrary view. According to Hudson, there is remoteness in the expression of Venus, and she does not appear to be tempting. This however, contrasts severely with the views of other critics that Hudson mentioned at the beginning of his article. While discussing the background of the painting, Hudson discusses the fact that Titian painted Venus during the time when nude women were usually painted standing. This was the first painting of a reclining nude woman. Hudson gave this theory by comparing nude women during the time Venus of Urbino was painted and he gives examples of such paintings such as Medici Venus. Hudson goes on to say that Titian’s painting was sensational in the manner that not only did it showed a nude reclining woman but this woman was painted nude at a time when erotic paintings of nude women were quite rate. Once Hudson has developed a good critique regarding the model of the painting, he moves on to discuss the background. Even while discussing the background, Hudson brings forward his knowledge of other painting done by Titian. Hudson compares the background of Titian’s other pictures with that of the Venus of Urbino. Throughout his whole article, Hudson depends largely on comparison with other painters and paintings. He even uses painting of Titian to develop comparison in his critique regarding the use of the background. In order to compare the time and the mood of the painting, Hudson uses examples of painting during the period when Titian’s Venus of Urbino was commissioned. In this manner, Hudson’s critique allows the reader to not just understand the context of the painting but also to develop an understanding of how the painting related with others of the same period. Critical Comparison of Titian’s Paintings by Different Critics In all the articles discussed in this paper regarding the different paintings of Titian, one thing that remains consistent is Titian’s ability to inculcate his own meaning to the paintings. Titian did not paint his subjects as people expected him to. He went on to give a new meaning to this painting. This is apparent in the way that Titian painted his Madonna slightly off-centered in Madonna with Saints and Members of the Pesaro family. Similarly, Wallstein comments on how Titian changed the setting of the painting to suit his own style. Furthermore Titian also went away with the usual identifying elements of a Jesus and Mary picture and came forward with his own elements such as the hoe in the hand of Jesus rather than the cross. In the same way, Titian did not paint his Venus as a Goddess and a model of virtue. He painted his Venus with a yearning of lust and sex. Even though Titian brought his own interpretation to his paintings, he was still able to hold on to at least one traditional depiction of the subject. For example, in the case of Venus of Urbino, Venus is still a sexual being who excites desires in her viewers. In all of the paintings of Titian discussed by the art critics, one common similarity is their reference to the history of the painting. Each critic first informs the readers about the context of the painting. He does this by explaining the reason by Titian painted the particular painting and the story that each painting is trying to tell to the readers. This is an important criterion for judgment as without proper context, the critique of the painting would be useless. It is important that when writing a critique to understand the context as it explains why the painter did what he did and how wanted the painting to be interpreted. In the case of Titian, the critics often are unable to offer any reason for the unique interpretation developed by Titian for each of his paintings. Theoretical Assumptions are also a large part of the critique. This more so in Mark Hudson’s critique where he discusses the Venus of Urbino. One reason could be the fact that the reclining nude woman seems to attract more mystery to her than any other artwork painted by the great Titian. Assumptions by critics are usually made on the background of the painting and the mood of the painter. This is because these paintings belong to the period of renaissance and therefore Titian could not come forward to offer an explanation for his paintings. Therefore, critics fill the void with their own assumptions. Since Titian is known for his use of color and stroke when creating his oil paintings, most critics have delved into the technique. However, the mention differs from one critic to another. Gombrich has incorporated the discussion of the use of color, tone and light in the composition of the painting. He discusses how Titian may have broken the age old rules of the placement of Madonna but he made it work with his use of color and tone. This Titian does, according to Gombrich, in the way his colors and light accentuate the character and placement of Madonna. On the other hand, Hudson discusses the masterly technique of Titian’s colors in the way Titian develops the mood of the painting. He discusses how Titian brings forth the attention of the eye to the glowing flesh of Venus through his brush strokes while making the eyes indistinct. Wallstein, however, does not remark on the use of colors and light by Titian. He sticks to how Titian has incorporated the landscape in the painting without mentioning the use of the colors in the landscape. Conclusion Titian is one the greatest painters in history and it is perhaps for this reason that none of the critics have criticized Titian severely for the use of his techniques. Most of the discussion on Titian’s paintings revolved on his way of incorporating a new meaning to the paintings. Titian explored the boundaries of art and gave art a new dimension in each of these painting. The critics, while analyzing his paintings, have discussed this in great detail and this forms the main part of their analysis. However, they are not critical of the way Titian has explored new meanings in old standards. Rather they have praised Titian for his careful management of the new interpretation through his talent. As Titian was known for his use of color and texture, the critics have been careful in mentioning this except for Wellstien whose main focus has been Christian art criticism and not that of the technique of Titian. Concluding, we can say that the critics analyze an art piece through a variety of elements including background of the painting, its significance, its impacts and the use of colors and lines employed by the artist. References Gombrich, E. H. (1995) Story of Art. UK: Phaidon Press. Hudson, M.(2010) Titian, The Last Day. New York: The Bloomsbury Press. Wallstein, E. (2008) Magnificat. Retrieved from http://www.artchive.com/artchive/T/titian/noli_me_tangere.jpg.html Read More