We spent the first portion of class deconstructing our selfies and analyzing the choices we made, knowingly and unknowingly. After that we talked about some of the common practices with portraiture in the Renaissance. One really interesting note we made was the difference in portraits done by Italian and Northern artists. They were likened to the schools of Aristotle and Plato. The Platonic way of portraits were more airbrushed and ideal. Many noticeable flaws were hidden or simply left out. The Italians were more likely to take a platonic route for portraiture. However the Northerners took a more Aristotelean approach, keeping many of the imperfections of the sitters and accentuating the very human aspects of those sitting for a portrait.
Category: AR257 (Page 10 of 33)
During class we solidified our knowledge on portraiture using class examples. We observed many different angles, backgrounds, and filters, all adding their own individuality to the image. I enjoyed the different ways we all interpreted the selfie assignment and discussing random moments in each of our lives.
After our class seflies, we went into Renaissance portraiture. We discussed Campin’s A Portrait of a Man and a Woman which displayed a true portrait. It is amorphous, meaning it has no background making the focus solely on the facial features of the figures. We also talked about silverpoint drawing which is a mode of painting where you use a pointy silver stylus of sorts and then draw on a parchment cured with a material that oxidizes. Van Eyck used this mode of painting though it creates a fragile piece that doesn’t store well . We also looked at Weyden’s take on portraiture. He wanted to capture the personality of the people he painted rather than just paint them, like van Eyck often did. Many times, Weyden’s figures don’t look straight on at the observer. He also takes advantage of what they are wearing and the perspective of the observer compared to the placement of the figure, all adding to the status of the figure.
In our class today, we focused on dissecting the choices behind our selfies. I thought it was interesting to see how everyone interpreted the assignment differently, either by providing a selfie of themselves or a selfie from pop culture. I also noticed that everyone had a different interpretation of the composition and it provided a lot of ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of by myself. Specifically, I thought it was interesting that people innately had natural lines (line from the arm taking the photo is aligned with the line of someone’s head, as an example). Although renaissance art was very thought out, it’s interesting the choices the artists make happen naturally in nature.
In class, we talked about the one-point perspective by Petrus Christus, Exeter Madonna. We touched on the idea of aerial or atmospheric perspective in which as an object recedes into the distance relative to the viewer, we see that object with reduced clarity, value and color saturation due to water molecules. This can be seen with the blurring of outlines and a loss of details within Exeter Madonna. With the use of rising perspective, more elements are able to be shown. Another work that used rising perspective was Robert Campin’s Merode Triptych. This image was a domestic work, not an altarpiece. There are no halos which is an early change for the time period. Additionally, this is the first annunciation that takes place in a secular setting, making it more relatable.
What is disguised symbolism? It is objects that are within a painting that are at home in the painting (do not stick out), but convey symbolic meaning. For reference, there is Jan van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece Altarpiece of the Lamb), c. 1432. Ghent: Cathedral of St. Bavo. The doors, which seem normal in the work, are symbolic of the doors in heaven. The actions occurring inside of the room are all religious, so the altarpiece is saying if you do these things, the doors of heaven will be open. Additionally, all the objects on the table in the middle image are symbolic in a way. The book is a reference to the Old Testament, and the three white lilies refer to the holy trinity. Two of the lilies are fully grown, but the third is a bud, referring to unborn Jesus who is about to enter the Madonna’s womb.
Recently in class, we have been discussing perspective. Interestingly enough, perspective was not a uniform way of drawing, but differed between northern and southern artists. Given that one of our final assignments is to compare and contrast differences in the Renaissance between the north and south, I have been paying close attention to the contentions between the styles. Firstly, southern artists seem to use a far more mathematical approach. This is evident when looking at studies like Alberti’s one point perspective. The north tended to rely on free handing perspective. Overall, there began to have more types of perspectives like aerial, and there was an added level of symbolism. This is demonstrative of how quick things can change during the Renaissance and how much art developed when compared to the present daty.
In class today, we learned about Leon Battista Alberti’s revolutionary rules on perspective, which were published in On Painting. These guidelines give clarity on how to implement perspective into paintings. It relies on vanishing points and grid systems and to my surprise, was almost scientific. In fact, Alberti’s methodology consists mainly of drawing lines to give depth to the page or canvas. Some have equated this way of painting and drawing with looking through a window. We can see the use of this method in Masaccio’s The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, and Two Donors. There is much depth behind Christ giving the background a realistic look. As the eyes wander further into the background, details begin to get smaller, just as they wood in real life.
Today in class, we analyzed our classmates’ selfies. We started out with a selfie of Kim Kardashian holding up an “I voted” sticker. We talked about how the suggestive nature of her head tilt and cleavage was at odds with the supposedly serious political message she was trying to convey.
We also talked about how angles are used to capture items and scenery in the background. Noah was trying to show off the ski mountain in the back of his selfie, so he took it at a high angle, and Lily was trying to show off Miller library in the back of her photo. To capture such a wide scene, she placed her weight on her back leg so she could extend her arm.
In my selfie, I was trying to show off my new winter coat. You can see my mirror and closet in the back, which shows what I was doing right before I took the photo. I took the coat out of the closet and then looked at it in the mirror before snapping the picture.
The first thing that we did in this class we finish our discussion on Petrus Christus’ Exeter Madonna. This artwork also implemented eyeballed perspective meaning that the perspective lines did not line up completely and only appear to. This was a less rigorous way of doing perspective that contrasted the precise way Italians used. Northerners like Petrus Christus also often used rising perspective in their paintings. Rising perspective is a construction that allows more details to be shown. This was unique to the Northerners where detail was considered crucial compared to the Italians that placed more emphasis on the big picture. The Exeter Madonna painting also gave us an example of aerial (or atmospheric) perspective. This perspective showed how air or atmosphere changes how things look when further away because you cant see something objects as well because of the bits of suspended water in between you and the further away object.
We also discussed a lot about disguised symbolism which is when objects are symbols but also are at home where they are. With this topic in mind, we looked at Robert Campin’s Merode Triptych which depicted a completely domestic image. This triptych also featured a rising perspective to show everything on the table tops. Campin also makes a conscientious decision not to include halos in order to make the Saints feel more like regular people. One of the disguised symbols present in this artwork was the open door. This door was meant to show that the annunciation was the beginning of the process that would unlock the gate of heaven. Another symbol was the vase on the table that is decorated with what looks like Hebrew letters. This was a reference to the Old Testament. Another reference to the old testament is the book that is placed over the scroll. This showed that the book, the more recent version, is taking over what was used in the past, scrolls. White lilies in the annunciation were also representative of Mary. In this one particular, two are bloomed and one has not yet. The unopened bloom is for Jesus who had not been born yet. This is not all there is and there are in fact many more symbols in this painting however what ties them all together and makes them disguised symbolism is the fact that the objects do not look out of place.
Today, towards the end of class, we discussed the emergence of portraiture during the Renaissance. At first, during the 14th century, portraiture was done in profile view, reminiscent of how they would be drawn on ancient coins. The frontal view was reserved for God, so artists found this the best way to depict people. However, this style soon began to evolve. Next, artists began drawing people with their heads turned at a 3/4 view. I found this both innovative and strange. I can see the benefit of drawing subjects at this angle, as it shows off much more of their face than a profile view would. However, it is also very easy to make a face look very distorted and odd at this angle.