The renaissance was the transition from medieval to modern times; the era began under the influence of the cultural diffusion that occurred during the crusades, allowing the masses of the European Christian states that embarked on the holy wars to experience the extravagantly advanced empires, and their lavish culture. The culture exchange influenced the Europe states and allowed them to achieve great potential, reaching the peak of their empire, known as the golden age. The renaissance largely took place in Florence, Italy. Renaissance is a French world meaning rebirth, although the Renaissance’s cultural exchange had erupted throughout most of Europe. The people of Florence regained the realism perspective that the Greeks had captured. Greek art had profound influence on the eras to follow, many attempted to copy or capture the realism of their sculptures. The medieval ages had set this realism askew, attempting to create a religious symbol with every piece of art, this religiously influenced style of painting is known as pietistic art. The art of the medieval ages featured all flattened people and landscapes, displaying one dimensional portrait’s without a single shadow to create contrast or comparative darkness, the art of the time was incredibly sombre; with no perspective of size to create a sense of balance in the paintings.
The
renaissance was the peak of art culture, the creation of the Gutenberg printing
press allowed the spread of information, forever revolutionizing the Christian
church with the publish of Martin Luther’s 95 thesis. The
artists of the era wanted their paintings to show joy, in the beauty of the
human body and the pleasures of life. There were a few individuals who had a
great deal of influence on the eras shaping, such as Leonardo da Vinci, who was
not only an influential painter of the time, but he was also very talented in
many other fields. He was a scientist, an inventor and an artist. Michelangelo
was another great artist of the time, much of his work covers the walls and
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, he spent a lot of his time lying on his back,
atop of towering scaffolding to paint the elaborate artwork that covers the
Chapel’s ceiling. The birth of oil paint was another revolutionary creation
from this era, giving the artists a new medium that dried slowly and
allowed versatility, perspective, and realism.
Jan
van Eyck was a painter from the Netherland, who lived in the early 15th century. Many claimed he was the creator of
oil painting, He was not but he was the first well known European painter to
master the technique. His paintings possess deep rich colours, attributed to
his use of oil paint. Jan Van Eyck's painting of the Arnolfini wedding beholds
masterful examples of symbolism, representing sanctity and holiness in the
matrimony of the wedding. The axis’s of the convex mirror displays Jesus
Christ's journey from birth to crucifixion. An interesting fact about the
painting, the women in the painting named Giovanna appears to be pregnant, but
she was known to have never conceived a child. The dress that was fashioned for
her had an excess amount of fabric fashioned on the front to portray the look
of pregnancy and fertility, as it was fashionable at the time as the current queen
was pregnant.
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