The Two "David"s

In the Baroque period, we see a shift in ideals from the Renaissance Period. Renaissance art usually depicted moments before important events took place, with little to no (implied) movement. Art in the Baroque period, however, took a wide turn from those thoughts with dramatic poses in every scene and is recognized by rich colors and stark contrasts in black and white. Taking a look at the Michelangelo’s “David” from the Renaissance Period in the 16^th century and comparing it to Bernini’s “David” from the Baroque Period in the 17^th century can give us clear indications as to what was sought after in each century. Both statue depict the same young man, David; the Biblical hero who defeated the giant of a man, Goliath, with his sling and five stones.

At first glance, one can immediately see a difference in the way the two Davids are posed; Michelangelo’s is calm, almost reflective, with an air of relaxed composure; even though this statue depicts David, the young, clever man who defeats a seven foot tall colossus, it does not seem to tell his story. The tranquil form certainly does not look like someone who is about to battle or just battled a near monster, the contrapposto way of his arms and leg suggest a state of thinking, revealing the ideals of the Renaissance Period in idealism and humanism. Contrastingly, Bernini’s “David” shows the man at the height of the action. Both figures demonstrate each of the artists’ superb skills with details down to the slightest vein, but Bernini’s David depicts him in a dramatic pose. One can see the stress and anticipates the next action, a winding up of the arm just before it releases the sling creates a visually stimulating experience none had witnessed before. Michelangelo’s is much more formal in the fact that it is really only meant to be viewed from one side (a look at the back reveals nothing more than the rest of the man’s body), Bernini’s, on the other hand, challenges the viewer to walk around it. Looking at their faces, the contemplative “David” by Michelangelo seems composed and engulfed in thought. Little expression is visible, the blank stare gives the viewer little into the mind of this man and what he is about to do. Conversely, Bernini’s “David” is full of emotion, with a tense mouth and heated stare, one can clearly see the state of alarm he is in and that this is a story of intense battle. Another difference is that one is Michelangelo’s David is naked, while Bernini’s remains clothed, which could be a reflection of the Renaissances ideals in the humanism (the appreciation of the human form) while Bernini showed his appreciation of the human form thorough his use of the dramatic pose.

Both works reveal the ideals from one period to another. I found it very interesting the beauty in both in different ways. Michelangelo sought the splendor in perfection, while Bernini sought to evoke a feeling of instructiveness with the viewer.

Albrecht Durer

Albrecht Durer was a painter from Nuremburg, Germany , and son of the goldsmith Albrecht Durer the Elder. He was also a very accomplished printmaker and established his name in his twenties through this profession, regarded as the greatest artist in Northern Renaissance ever since, and is renowned today for his works in self portraiture. With such great fame, we know much about Durer today because many though his autobiographical writings and many works of surviving art. Throughout his paintings, we see the reflection of the Italian Renaissance style and for this blog, I have chosen his one of his earliest self portraits; The Portrait of the Artist Holding a Thistle.

In 1493, Albrecht Durer created this painting for his fiancé while he was away for a guild tour. The Portrait of the Artist Holding a Thistle was painted in the classic pose; with three quarters of his upper body being showed with him at a facing the viewer at a slight angle. It is said that this painting could possibly be a betrothal painting. Durer has depicted himself in the act of giving a thistle, and it is said that this medicinal plant is in fact an aphrodisiac and for this reason it is seen as an oath of faithfulness for his fiancé Agnes Frey. The inscription reads “Things happen to me as it is written on high," and lead others to believe that the thistles were instead a reference to the thorns on Christ’s head. When he returned at the end of May, 1494, he and Agnes Frey were married. . This painting was significant for the time for that this was one of the very first independent self portraits in Western painting.

Here he has depicted himself in very expensive and sophisticated clothing in much detail. We see each ruffle of his white tunic, each one giving a small shadow, revealing his skill and knowledge in the way light plays. The large and ostentatious gown he wears almost seems to flaunt his wealth and fame. Looking closely, one can even see the stitching of the garment and the meticulous work put into the shades from light to dark. His face is in great detail, we can see the hints of muscles and facial lines to the smallest feature and his neck reveals the soft changes in light though its boney ridges.

As mentioned, Albrecht Durer was more than a painter, but a very celebrated printmaker and he alone made printmaking an art form. Durer elevated the way printmaking was performed and “expanded it’s tonal and dramatic range.” He traveled to Italy quite a few times and was engaged not only by the artistic practices, but the theoretical interests. Here he developed a new interest in the human form; which were reflected in his studies back home and showed his interest in humanism.

During the later years of Durer’s life, his health started to decline, and he focused mostly on theoretic and scientific writings until he died in 1528 and buried amongst his country’s most influential artists. 

Mannerism

In the late High Renaissance time period, Mannerism began to emerge as a response to Protestantism. It incorporates the real visual aspects such as light and shadow, but it is very dissimilar from humanistic paintings from those such as Leonardo da Vinci. Mannerism in a sense embodies more a theatrical feeling rather than the fascination of how realistic the piece is; the people and environment in mannerist art seem much more synthetic. Exaggerated features and appendages are a common sight to emphasize what they sought out for in beauty. In this blog, I will be comparing Pontormo’s “Entombment” and Parmigianino’s “Madonna of the Long Neck.”

“Entombment” (also known as the Deposition of the Cross) was painted circa 1525-28 by Jacopo Pontormo and can be viewed at the Capponi Chapel in Santa Felicia, Florence. At first glance, you can see the theatricality of the expressions on each of the figures faces; each one portraying an emotion of anguish, misery or sadness.  Limbs and gestures fill the piece in a way that was not conventional from the renaissances earlier pieces. Due to the lack of space, all of the figures seem to be fitted almost uncomfortably in the restrictions, even furthering the sense of panic. Also, the Virgin Mary seems much larger than anyone in the painting; she seems to trump Jesus even though he is within our foreground.  We do not see the following of rules such as the pyramid or triangle seen in previous renaissance works, but a much more scattered and chaotic, but balanced, composition.

“Madonna of the Long Neck” (or Madonna and Child with Angels and St. Jermone) is an oil painting by Parmigianino painted about 1535-1540. The painting depicts Madonna holding (a very large) baby Jesus and on the left angels come crowding in the admire him. Though the expressions are not as melodramatic as we saw in Pontormo’s painting, we still get the exaggerated features (as the title suggests). Knowing that the Christ child is suppose to be depicted as a baby, we can clearly see that instead of extended features, his entire body is enlarged, appearing more as a young child; perhaps this was to even further the attention on to him. Also, we see Madonna’s elongated neck, which stretches up and peers down at the young Christ. Also, the angel (on the left in our foreground) legs seem lengthened to a point that does not seem to follow an ordinary appendage. Another contradiction to Pontormo’s work was the seemingly sporadic gesturing. In “Entombment,” we saw movement in almost every limb, “Madonna of the Long Neck” s much more subtle with the figures, with the exception of the Christ child’s restless posture. 

These two pieces both depict biblical stories in a manor much more stylistically than what we saw in previous Renaissance period artwork. Instead of careful system in placing people and figures, a much more random and unsystematic method is being portrayed. Mannerism moved from the realistic point of views to a different aesthetic with a taste that went beyond what we would see in the world.