From Renaissance to Modern: A Journey through the Art World - Essay Example

From Renaissance to Modern: A Journey through the Art World By Introduction The English poet John Keats immortalized art in the famous poem titled Ode to a Grecian Urn stating that “She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss, /Forever wilt thou love, and she be fair!” (Lines 19-20) Indeed art does never fade; rather it enriches the very essence of life in its various colors, hues and shapes. From ancient times, art has been a strong underlying force that has driven human beings to explore themselves, their higher potentials and to transcend their short life-spans to never-ending fame through their artistic imprints. In my opinion therefore, works of art are quintessential pieces of the cultural progress of a society; artists mould the aesthetics of a culture and culture sets the platform and boundaries for the artists to take their flights of fantasy and create exquisite objects d’art. Thus study of art works can be termed as a study of cultures in the context of history and the various movements that influenced art. If only it was possible to have lived with each artist when each of their master-pieces were born! My imagination provides me with opportunities to fulfill those aspirations that are impossible in reality. With imagination as my time-travelling chariot, I shall journey into various periods in history, and try to understand the evolution of culture and traditions that encouraged artists to produce objects d’art, especially paintings. My readers here can have a glimpse of my experiences in three such periods of history, and have a closer look into three works of art from the Italian Renaissance, North European Renaissance and Modern Art periods. I conclude my journey by stating that the world of art is huge that the three periods that I have journeyed into just appear to be three dimensions of three droplets in a big ocean waiting to be explored. Drowning in this ocean of art is truly an enriching personal experience for me. Northern European Renaissance Art I travel into the fifteenth and sixteenth century Europe. The effects of Italian Renaissance (my travel into the period can be read in the following pages) have gradually percolated into other parts of Europe; however the differences in location and driving force behind the movement have led the movement in other parts of Europe to be called as ‘the Northern Renaissance’. I find that the Protestant Reformation and a prolonged conflict between various religious factions as well as faiths are impacting lasting changes like the division of the Netherlands and so on. Furthermore, the influence of Reformation extends into the field of art too and I find that though the Northern Renaissance art too has religious themes, but very different from the icons and images of Roman Catholic religion. Here in the Northern parts of Europe, Renaissance has swept through places like Netherlands and Austria. Emphasis is on activities of daily life, the lives of rustic country sides, the everyday events of peasants, who live simple and pious lives. Example of this is the elder Peter Brugal’s painting like "Haymaking (1565)." Other themes like weddings are also found, just as the portraits of the patrons who were mainly business people. Famous artists include Jan Van Eyck and Rogier ven der Weyden. Let me take you closer to one of the most famous works of Northern European Renaissance. This is another masterpiece and is called “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb” (Appendix 1) otherwise known as the “Ghent Altarpiece” of 1432. It is the work of brother duo Jan and Hubert van Eyck and the theme is the most sacred; in this work a lamb is at the center and is worshiped a huge gathering of people including angels and martyrs, prophets and apostles. I am sure the significance is not lost on all of you. The sacrificial lamb which shows blood stains around its neck denotes Jesus Christ, His sacrifice and the Crucifixion in order to save the world, and the gathering include common people as well as angels and holy men. This grand painting will go through turbulent times getting damaged, stolen and dismantled; however, I see hope too because it will be finally restored by experts and find a place in the Cathedral of Saint Bavo, Belgium.   The Italian Renaissance Art My journey into the art world takes me to a very highly evolving period. Later generations will call this period ‘the Italian Renaissance’. The year is 1457, I am told and I feel the guiding philosophy being based on humanism; philosophers like Petrarch are revered highly and I feel that my fellow human beings appear as though they have developed a new awareness, a new sense of self-respect regarding their position in the creation and in the world. Everywhere I travelled in Italy, I can sense the presence of this renaissance movement; in the potentialities of the successful business men and the learned individuals in Florence, Milan and Venice who patronize arts from their financial profits (Edwards 1). As mentioned earlier, the business and the intellectual communities have impacted the artist community and the thoughts deeply and thus there is an underlying humanism evident in the paintings of this age. Religion, as it has been so far, the most important influence in terms of theme and commissioners and the Roman Catholic Church at that. The Italians it appears to me have great passions and like grand themes like heroism, victory for the subject of their paintings next to religious themes from the Bible. Roman heroes and heroines also catch their fancy and what I find is the importance given to the human anatomy – the structure and study of human form by the Italian artists. They like to have balance and symmetry and practice it in their art works too; the result is an amazing quality of harmonious spacing and grandeur in their works, winning them all round and ever-lasting fame. The use oil, tempera and fresco for doing the paintings probably because the climate in Italy is more suitable for their use; the availability of marbles in the vicinity also helps them experiment with forms of sculptures and architecture too. Examples from this period abound in number, the two most famous being Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. In order to take a closer scrutiny, I walk into the studio of da Vinci to study his techniques. I find his studio full of notes and drawings and sketches, of human form and other portraits. One portrait that caught my attention was what he calls “La Gioconda”, or the Mona Lisa (Appendix 2) – the one that is a mirror of the wife of Francesco del Giocondo; He takes about three years to perfect this masterpiece, which is oil on wood, measuring about 77 x 53 cm (30 x 20 7/8 in); he seems to have prepared this meticulously with his sfumato technique of sketching multiple dissolving layers of the background that makes it almost translucent. Da Vinci also seems to have lost his heart to this creation of his as much I have; though posterity will Mona Lisa preserved in Musee du Louvre, Paris (France), currently I see him carrying it along with him wherever he goes. Modern Art The period spanning 1867-1975 is long and art of this period comes under ‘Modern Art’. I see, however, this ‘Modern’ encompasses diverse styles and methods of creating art. People call various under various names like Impressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, etc, to name a few. Together, they show the evolution of art and the influence of social transformations in the field of art. These Modern art works reflect transformations – social, political, technological, and scientific as much as they reflect the techniques of individual artists and their imprints on art. Pablo Picasso is one artist who catches my eye; Future generations call him the father of Cubism. Let me give you a closer look into his ‘Les Demoiselles d'Avignon’ (1907) (Appendix 3). This work, his followers claim, is a ‘proto-cubist’ work (Cooper 1970, p.24). This work is large and takes the artist about nine months to finish. It depicts five nude women prostitutes from a brothel-house in Carrer d'Avinyó (Avinyó Street), Barcelona - Spain. The painting shows most of them gazing back at the viewers, just as the viewers gaze at them. It shows two women wearing dark-mask like expressions probably reflecting African influence. This painting is about to cause a stir in the world of arts. It is according to me, a fine specimen of Picasso’s revolutionary thinking and his passion for innovation in art. However, I also see that his novel style did not come overnight. Picasso, I can see, has experimented with hundreds of sketches, practicing them and studying them before he arrives at his final work. He admittedly uses expressions that are markedly different from classical French traditions or contemporary styles. No wonder that his name is about to make its mark in the history of arts! Conclusion My journey in time across three periods of art history has been personally very enlightening and delightful. I journeyed into the Northern European Renaissance and then took a dip into the sea of Italian Renaissance art and then fast-forwarded to Modern art. I have been able to present to you only one drop each of large seas, in the ocean of art world. Even to say one drop seems preposterous, since each painting represents only a small dimension of artists’ talents where there may be many. My space and time constrains me from giving you more. However, the bright side is, it may kindle you to experience these works in first-hand. If this is right, then I consider my journey fulfilled and purpose accomplished. Thank You! Appendix 1 : Adoration of the Mystic Lamb Source: http://www.artbible.info/art/large/187.html Appendix 2: La Gioconda Sources: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Mona_Lisa_headcrop.jpg Appendix 3 : Les Demoiselles d'Avignon Source: http://www.moma.org/explore/conservation/demoiselles/ References Edwards, Eric (2013). “Origins of early Renaissance styles in Italy and Northern Europe” in Eric Edwards Collected Works. Online article retrieved from http://ericwedwards.wordpress.com/2013/12/14/origins-of-early-renaissance-styles-in -italy-and-northern-europe/ Cooper,  Douglas (1970) The Cubist Epoch, Phaidon Press Limited pp. 11–221,  ISBN 0-87587-041-4. Read More