As we entered our second class on Monday, we continued our study on the art of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in Italy. The themes for this class focused on the portrayal of convincing reality, discussion of “disguised symbolism” in relation to realism, and lastly, the rise of prominent artists, such as Giotto, Duccio, and Cimabue. We compared two renditions of the virgin Madonna. The first rendition consists of Italian painter Cimabue’s Enthroned Madonna and Child, and the second being Italian painter and architect Giotto’s Madonna Enthroned. The two artists took vastly different approaches to presenting the woman, child, throne, and angels. Most profoundly, though, Giotto’s work is known as a symbol of progression, stemming from his use of rendering space through a convincing manner. Continuing forward in class, we compared to works presenting the same scene, Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem and The Lamentation. These two works, again, are quite different, given Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem presents the details of the scene, while The Lamentation captures the feeling of the moment.
Toward the end of class, we discussed the quotation, “Without fear every man may travel freely, And each may till and sow, So long as this commune, Shall maintain this lady [Justice] sovereign, For she has stripped the wicked of all power” (Powerpoint 1). As we discussed in class, this quotation represents the latin term “securitas,” meaning the concepts of safety and security. Therefore, this quotation relates to the notion that the idea of fear and uncertainty has the ability to reign over humankind. This course, though, has been focused on religious, Italian art, leading me to think about how religion often provides order, ritual, and practice, ultimately relieving fear from the people of society.