Art Blog - Art In History

The decision to include Leonardo is not based on the impact of the work on me viscerally and emotionally; in fact, on one level you could say he is not a "favorite" artist at all. It is more that I stand in awe of what he accomplished as an artist, while so much of his energies and imagination were focussed on other things. And of course, after a piece on Michelangelo, it is only proper to give Leonardo equal time. Michelangelo and Leonardo were the towering figures of the Renaissance until the younger Raphael rose to join them, great rivals, driving each other to greater heights… Continue reading… 5 comments

This is the first in a series of posts on seminal moments in the history of western art. The flowering of the Renaissance in Italy was certainly one of these moments. One way to see its emergence is through changes in the handling of the annunciation theme. Two of the primary impulses that define the Renaissance in Italy are the triumph of Humanism and the mastery of the depiction of real space. The first emerged in the late medieval period, with the rise of the cult of the virgin. The change in emphasis from the depiction of a forbidding Christ to the depiction of Mary is by definition humanist; Mary is human, approachable, sharing her nature and feelings with all of us. Thus, the rise of the annunciation theme is in itself a humanist trend… Continue reading… 1 comment

It is arguable that, as artists, one of our primary goals is to produce a reflection of what we understand as reality. If we are artists working in the Western Tradition, or simply raised in it, we are heirs to 600 years of realism. Though much Western art in the last 100 years has rejected this tradition, it is still a very powerful force. Whether it is a photorealist like Tennett, or the pervasive legacy of the impressionists, art dedicated to reflecting the real world is everywhere. But there are lots of choices, because there is no single definition of what is real. The strongest thread since Renaissance times had been to define reality as the world as it appears to us from a certain viewpoint… Continue reading… 4 comments

This post is in some ways a response to Gary's post on Raphael's "Descent from the Cross". I agree that Raphael represents a perfect moment in the High Renaissance: fully realized, harmonious and sublime. I then had to ask myself why, of the great masters of his time, he is the least interesting to me. I decided the answer lay in the limitations of perfection itself. "In praise of Imperfection" is a bit misleading; this post is more in praise of striving, of asking the questions instead of finding the final answer. For the Renaissance, the primary questions were those raised by Humanism, both in the arts and in thought in general (Gallileo, Copernicus, and of course Leonardo)… Continue reading… 4 comments

The role and influence of artists patronage through history is a fascinating subject, and one which may have lessons for the artists and patrons of today. In the following article I will be looking at the impact of the great Renaissance Pope, Julius II, on the artists of his time, an influence which clearly was a mixed blessing, particularly for Michelangelo. The Renaissance in Italy was the period in which the primary role of the church as patronage for the arts was challenged by the rising influence of the nobility. It seems at first that Pope Julius II would represent a continuation of the influence of the church in art patronage, and on one level this is true… Continue reading… 2 comments