Renaissance and early twentieth century art offer an interesting study in comparison because of their distinctive styles. It is the objective of this paper to describe the definitive characteristics of each period through comparing Raphael's Alba Madonna to Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory. Renaissance art is reputed for the unified balance achieved between pictorial considerations of measurable space and the effects of light and color on the one hand, and the artist's personal expression on the other (Pioch, 2002). This unity is evident in Raphael's Alba Madonna, a painting that represents the artist's unique style of sweetness of expression. The painting...

Indeed, it can be said that he was able to do this precisely because of the use of symmetry, namely, the round format that succeeds in focusing attention on the child Christ accepting the slender reed cross, a symbol of his fate (National Gallery of Art, 2004).
In contrast, Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory carries all the hallmarks of early twentieth century art, which was known for expending all its energies into modern art forms, appropriate to the industrial age. However, Dali's work typifies a group…