We opened today’s class by looking at some Michelangelo works, specifically Awakening Prisoner and Pieta. I found particularly interesting the Awakening Prisoner, and how it (although unfinished) was a fantastic example of neoplatonism and how Michelangelo was upheld as the ideal artist. Creating an ideal out of an earthly material such as marble is an inherently neoplactonistic ideal.
We compared Michelangelo’s Pieta to the Rottgien Pieta shown in the textbook. Compared to this other pieta, Michelango’s Virgin is depicted as youthful and serene. He utilized immense amounts of fabric to cover the complex anatomy of Mary cradling Jesus. I particularly loved his usage of pyramidal composition and harmonic forms.
I found very interesting Prof. Plesch’s comment about Pietas, and how they depic Mary cradling Jesus as if he is a child, echoing Nativity.
Next, we began studying Late Michelangelo and Mannerism. We started with the Sistine Chapel ceiling. I found it particularly interesting that the works of art in the Sistine Chapel are arranged in a somewhat chronological order (Ante Legum, Sub Lege, and Sub Gratia). I particularly liked Michelangelo’s usage of illusionism through his depiction of architecture in grisaille. The ceiling contains various artistic elements, such as the lunettes which contain depictions of Christ’s ancestors, prophets and sybils sitting in front of columns, and the mysterious ignudi.
We continued to compare Michelangelo’s Lybian Sibil with Raphael’s Madonna of the Meadow, particularly through their usage of colors, depictions of fabric, and posing, which altogether showcase Michelangelo’s depart from the simplicities of the High Renaissance.
We began to study Mannerism with Jacopo da Pontormo’s Pieta, and discussed the unsettling times that may have incited the artistic movement.
We covered two works by Parmigianino: his self portrait, and the Madonna of the Long Neck. Although the Madonna of the Long Neck was unfinished, I found several parts fascinating, such as the strange anatomical proportions of the Virgin, and her complex, adorned hairstyle that seemed to directly copy the Apollo Belvedere.