Pietro Lorenzetti

With paintings like these, why be ill at ease?

Pietro Lorenzetti brought a whole bunch to the table in his time, in the form of his architectural works, domestic details, and spaces such as the one displayed here.  He helped introduce the new views of art, that naturalism and the depiction of reality in its truest form held a greater disposition than that of past appearism.  His art made the subject matter feel three dimensional and real, and displayed not only the events that were occurring in the scene, but also the raw thoughts and feelings experienced by the people in his works.  This particular painting, Deposition, shows Christ after he died on the cross.  Note how correctly proportioned the subjects are in relation to the objects in the picture plane.  Below is a closeup of the same painting, and you can see the intense emotion displayed in the woman's face.  Such art really set up the model for art during the Renaissance, and it is also the foundation for art in today's world.

One of the first paintings to be done with a Renaissance style was the Madonna Enthroned, dating around the 1310. Giotto original painted the Madonna Enthroned for the high altar of the Ognissanti Franciscan church in Florence. This painting depicts a joyful Virgin Mary seated with the baby Jesus on her lap, with saints and angels circled around them.

The Madonna Enthroned shows the several styles of art that influenced Giotto. He continues the traditional Italo-Byzantine style by using gold shading throughout the artwork and with the flattened gold background. The altarpiece is said to represents a formalized illustration of an icon, still retaining the stiffness of Byzantine art, and Giotto represented the hierarchy by centralizing Madonna and the Christ Child. Also, he made them much larger in size than the surrounding saints and religious figures. However, Giotto does do something unique for this time; he paints his images in thee-dimension and adds emotion into their painted faces. He does this by using a technique called chiaroscuro; which uses the contrasts of light to give life to his figures. Giotto has managed to capture the tenderness and wonder of Mary as she cares for her infant son.  The detail that Giotto put into this painting is what makes it so beautiful.  

 Sources: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GiottoMadonna.jpg

http://www.jesus-story.net/painting_birth_christ.htm

The Devil in Fresco 20

            Decorating the walls of Basilica of St Francis in Assisi are 28 frescos detailing the life of St Francis’s, including his ghost. All portray great religious scenes, such as St Francis preaching in the presence of the pope. The artist behind the works is currently in dispute- originally thought to be Giotto, scholars had began to doubt it, and evidence from 2002 has provided evidence to the theory.

            When restoration was done recently, a new detail emerged. In the 20^th fresco, one of the more famous detailing the death of St Francis, in the clouds surrounded by angels, is a face. Complete with a sly smile, hooked nose, horns, the devil is hiding. First discovered by an art restorer, the face is nearly invisible from the floor. Many different theories as to why the devil was included are floating around. Some wonder if the artist did it mocking an acquaintance, and others believe it to show that the devil is always there- waiting for you to slip up. it may also be a reminder of St Francis in his youth, when he admitted to being a sinner. No matter the reason, it was not designed to be a major part, just a hidden little detail forgotten for decades.

St Francis and the Birds

          

          St Francis of Assisi lead a very interesting life and made a huge impact on many peoples lives in the Renaissance era. So there is no wonder that such an inspiring, God-like man, was the center of many paintings by artist and architect Giotto di Bondone. Giotto painted 28 scenes of St Francis' life, and many other paintings of his life but the above is about a story of St Francis traveling to Spoleto Valley near the town of Bevagna. He saw a pack of birds and ran over to them. Instead of the birds squawking and flying away, the birds patiently stayed. In complete shock (and can you blame him, birds were just hanging out wanting to listen to him. I would just lose my mind!), St Francis asked if the birds wanted to hear the word of God. He said to them “My brother and sister birds, you should praise your Creator and always love him: He gave you feathers for clothes, wings to fly and all other things that you need. It is God who made you noble among all creatures, making your home in thin, pure air. Without sowing or reaping, you receive God’s guidance and protection.” As the story goes, the birds then flew off "rejoicing and praising God in a wonderful way according to their nature". St Francis then thanked God and went on with his journey.

          This painting (and the other ones just like it, seen below) are completely fascinating to me. I feel like they really speak to the kind of person St Francis of Assisi was. He was holy and caring, and that definitely shows through the paintings and writings on his life.

 

St. Catherine of Genoa

            Arguably one of the holiest women of her time St. Catherine of Genoa was born into a family with strong ties to the church, having two popes from the Genoa line.  Setting the standard for a little Christian girl she was described as being “extraordinarily holy” being gifted with prayer, having a deep connection with Christ’s passion love and patience. Furthermore, if that wasn’t enough she was simple quiet with unquestionable obedience.

            At the age of 16 she was married to an abusive husband. Due to her unmatched obedience the first five years of her marriage in complete submission to him. During the latter part of the marriage, according to the source she turned to secular methods for dealing with the abuse. These however, because of her unbelievable encounter with God were overlooked and were considered an innocent detour from her extra holy life.

            Her incredible encounter with God was what really interested me in St. Catherine’s life. Ten years after her marriage she had the desire to become the holy girl she once was.  She visited a convent in Genoa where a nun advised her to confess to the nun’s confessor. The second she knelt down in the confessional her soul was pierced with a divine light and in that same moment she “manifested her sinfulness and the Love of God with equal clearness”  (Florence Capes). After this indescribable moment she lost consciousness and experienced a sort of ecstasy.

From that moment one her internal state never changed, almost as if she was high on God the rest of her life. However, this high was “accompanied by severe penance which was in her mind required of the Holy Spirit. She lived out the rest of her life serving in the Great Hospital of Genoa where she later on became manger and treasurer.  

St. Catherine of Genoa lived nothing short of a holy life, serving in almost every way possible, however it was her encounter with God that truly immortalised her.  

Sources: 

Info: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03446b.htm

Image: http://saints.sqpn.com/saintc35.jpg

Giotto, Crucifixion

        Mosaic, Crucifixion Italian

1200-1220 Venice

     San Marco Cathedral

 

            Let’s start with Mosaic, Crucifixion Italian of the 1200-1220, notice here we see the lack of realistic details of the artist’s work. We can see that even Jesus body is quite curved and uneven with the rest of his body. And although his face is looking down as if he was in pain but the features of face is not detailed enough to show us exactly what he is feeling. And finally notice how the angels are looking down at him and watching his blood squirt.

Giotto, Crucifixion

 Italian, 1300-1305,Padua,

Arena Chapel

               About one hundred years later, when Giotto did a painting of Jesus’s Crucifixion, we can see a big difference and how advance the art of the Renaissance has changed within those years. By Giotto’s gently strokes to his bright and vibrant colors to express emotions and details, is what made the Renaissance art different and influential to many other artists around this time and after him. As I pointed out earlier, from Mosaic painting, Jesus body was not proportionate and as we can see from Giotto, he really focuses on bringing art to life and giving Jesus a very realistic image. He even gives the angels life by placing them around Jesus and flying and not just watching from above.  Also we see that the angels are catching his blood in a bowl, I wonder why Giotto added that feature. What is everyone else take about the bowl and what it represents?


 where i got the pictures: http://imaginemdei.blogspot.com/2011/04/holy-week-with-giotto-good-friday-early_22.html

St. Clare of Assisi

St. Clare of Assisi could be considered the feminine counterpart of Francis. She followed the preaching of St. Francis and devoted herself to a life in poverty and humility. She took a vow of virginity and chose God as her only lover. In 1215 she founded the Order of the Poor Ladies (or Poor Clares) at the church San Damiano. In contrast to the Franciscans, the Poor Ladies didn’t moved around the country to spread their voice. The young women who dedicated their lives to God instead lived a poor and simple life mostly in enclosure and silence. Being close to God was their main obligation.

            

Born in 1193 as a daughter of a count and a countess, Clare grew up in an upper-class family in Assisi. Her parents expected her at the age of 12 to marry a noble man and with this to expand the family wealth. But Clare refused and preferred to wait until she was 18. By then she met St. Francis who preached in the streets of Assisi. With him she talked about her desire to confide to God and both became friends. On Palm Sunday Clare decided to leave her family behind and take on the religious life on which she later built her order on. She met with Francis at a chapel where she cut off her long hair and changed her fine clothes for an ordinary woolen habit to symbolize her conversion. The painting of Giotto I chose shows Francis and Clare in their typical brown robes with no shoes or any other comforting attribute. Francis shows the stigmata and Clare is holding a palm, which is referring to the night she finally devoted her life to God. In the painting Francis and Clare seem to be connected because of their similar appearance. Both are standing before the same background, they are the same height, they wear same clothes and have the same halo around their head. Nevertheless they are somewhat separated by the arch and the pillar between them. But it makes sense in a way that they both believed in the same religious values and orders but still lived a different life after all. Francis spread his word by traveling and preaching whereas Clare and her sisters stayed in enclosure and silence. They both dedicated their lives to God but in completely different ways. 

Clare led her sisters for 40 years, until she died in 1253 after 27 years of serious illness. She was canonized a saint two years after her death.

(Fun fact: In 1958 St. Clare became the patron saint of television. During her illness  Clare was sometimes not able to attend Mass and reportedly she could see and hear the Mass on the wall of her rooms.)

Information from following sites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clare_of_Assisi

http://www.saintclareofassisi.org/index.cfm?load=page&page=170

http://www.francisandclare.org/ourPatronSaints.html

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Giotto; The Last Judgment

Giotto's wonderfully elaborate and vibrant frescoes contribute to the artistic revolution during the Renaissance.  In the Arena Chapel frescos, this particular image of "The Last Judgment" painted in 1305-1306 is a very interesting piece.  According to www.aug.edu, the Last Judgment painting is "based first on Matthew 25:31-46" which explains that "the Son of Man sits enthroned in Heaven and judges the nations, placing the saved on his right and damned on his left. The former go off to Heaven, the latter to eternal punishment." I don't know about you, but the magnitude and detail of such a fresco that explains what would happen to me after I die would probably compel me to live a righteous life. Indeed it is a powerful painting that portrays a profound religious experience like many other frescos that were composed during this time.
When looking closely at the artwork, we can see the obvious shades of color that where intended to represent the saved and the damned.  on the left side of the painting, there is a bright array of color, and the souls of the saved are portrayed in a "heaven like" background.  On the right side, we can see the dark, ominous shades of red, black, and grays.  And to the bottom right corner sits Satan, surrounded by the souls of the damned. In mid center on a brilliant throne sits the "Son of Man" surrounded by elaborate, bright white and gold colors. This is truly a painting that could be analyzed and discussed for hours. Such brilliant work by Giotto and other Renaissance artists during this time has truly left a historical footprint for others to learn and follow.