Matthew from the Gospel Book made for Archbishop Ebb of Reims, circa 816 to 835 C.E. This illumination which measures about 10 by 8 inches portrays a rather frail-looking saint with his hair almost standing on end and his garment twisted around on his body and deeply wrinkled, perhaps from sitting much too long at his table while transcribing passages for a new edition of the Holy Bible. There is almost no background or landscape in this illumination but what there is of it appears very unnatural and sketchy. Also, the proportions of the saint's body appears to be somewhat unnatural, not to mention his face which appears to be almost a caricature or a cartoon of a real human face. Also, the expression on the saint's face makes him look as if he is not enjoying the task at hand, being the writing...
Overall, this illumination appears to have been rendered by someone without any real knowledge about art or how to present a person in real life. For example, his face is very simply drawn and his foot at the bottom resting on top of what appears to be a large book is also very crudely drawn. In general, my main reason for not liking this particular piece of art is because of its crude simplicity which does not express enough raw emotion nor does it offer any kind of personal inspiration. It is also much too dimensionally flat, meaning that there is no depth to it nor any kind of perspective; in essence, the figure of St. Matthew seems to close to the background which gives it a rather amateurish look…
Langston, in his commentary, sought to point out that the Negro condition was crucial to their development as artists. "We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame." (Hughes). In this declaration, one does not detect racial pride or bitterness, but rather, a tender plea for the right to create art without being judged by society as vulgar or threatening. Hughes viewed
The compositional structure here is actually quite daring. Even though a viewer tends to "read" a painting left-to-right, as with a book, here the left side of the canvas seems to fade away into nothingness. It is not just the empty seascape on the left as compared with the dark richness of the forest on the right. The left half of the painting contains the subject of the painting after
Renaissance and Baroque Periods The term Renaissance describes, not only a movement in art, but also a corresponding social and cultural movement that moved through Europe at the conclusion of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance period lasted from the 1400s to the 1600s, and spread through most of Europe, though it is probably the most heavily associated with Italy. The term "renaissance" means revival or rebirth, and the Renaissance did mark
Renaissance Art Within the broad gamut of Renaissance art throughout Europe, two sculptures remain outstanding and worthy of mutual comparison. Those two works of art are Michelangelo's statue of David and Donatello's same. The latter is the predecessor; Donatello's David predates Michelangelo's by about fifty years. Donatello's sculpture of David is considered to be of the Early Renaissance period, and was completed by about 1430 (Hudelson, n.d.). Michelangelo's David, on the
Bernini's statuary group is a combination of lyric and mimetic representation depicting both a mythical episode and vital energy which is best felt when looking at Persephone's hand pushing against Pluto's face. In fact, even this apparently simple detail is dual in the sense that on one hand, it is meant to give the impression of despair and struggle, and on the other, this gesture results in creases in Pluto's
Renaissance Art The relationship between patronage and art During Early and High Renaissance of Italy, it was through the vehicle of patronage was the key fashion in which an artist established his artistic identity as well as established himself economically. For instance, in considering Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus," it is important to remember that this vision is not an individualistic picture of a an artist living outside of his society. Rather,
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