Sunday, December 3, 2017

16th Century Italian Art

My piece will be named Angels in Place and it is 18’8” X 9’2” oil on canvas. In my piece, I used figures such as angels, clouds, and babies to portray the biblical themes for the painting. The elements are apparently layer over one another like I have seen in many other pieces from this time. The colors would include deep tones of red, blue, yellow and green to provide boldness and meaning. Formally, I drew inspiration from many pieces from our text book but especially Creation of Adam by Michelangelo. I tried to represent the repetitive male figure idea in the bottom right of my painting. “In late medieval and Renaissance Italy, theologians continually emphasized the humanity of Christ and the need for the faithful to lead lives modeled on Christ’s own. This perspective welcomed visual images that stressed his human existence and particularly favored themes related to his earthly birth and death.” [1] I tried to incorporate the idea of Christianity and the idea of being “reborn”. “Images were meant to enhance the experience of the faithful both in communal and in individual worship, and devotional treatises gave instructions for how to use pictures to enter more fully into sacred history. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, such pictures often occurred in series that allowed viewers to trace the progression of events, but the stories of Christ’s life were also represented in independent easel paintings, especially in the sixteenth century and after.” [2] I included a woman’s head because besides the fact that human figured were used a ton in Italian Sixteenth Century painting, painters often could sell their paintings for more and faster if they commissioned their pieces to people who wanted a portrait of themselves. The clouds and the dark tones were used to create a sense of drama and also a feeling that we might be in an unearthly place. Commissioning my piece would be what were to happen and how I would fund my piece. I would work for a church to help to expand the knowledge of Christ or a wealthy person to create a piece of art for them to buy and use as decoration. Churches could be able to request a piece. This piece would be for personal expression as well as for commissioned work. Details of the painting would be left for me to decide and left for me to express myself. Artists during this time were really able to experiment creatively which is something I wanted to express. Creativity is key when it comes to producing a unique piece and being able to put your own thoughts and expression into art is necessary in order to stand out.  I would tell my paying client that I would finish this piece in 4 weeks. The painting would need to be done in a large area because of it’s size. Artworks of this magnitude require immense mental concentration and work. Four weeks would give me ample time to be able to complete the painting. Long days and nights are required to achieve the detail and intricacy on each piece I create and I need the time to do so. I expect this to impact the viewers in the church in a spiritual way. I would hope my piece would help the community of the church in Italy to develop a closer relationship with the god they worship. The depictions and entities I portray in my paintings have strong biblical connection and I believe people feel this and are attracted because of it.   



[1] Sorabella, Author: Jean. "Painting the Life of Christ in Medieval and Renaissance Italy | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed December 03, 2017. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chri/hd_chri.htm.
[2] [2] Sorabella, Author: Jean. "Painting the Life of Christ in Medieval and Renaissance Italy | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed December 03, 2017. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chri/hd_chri.htm.