ART class discussion question

From Medieval times to the Renaissance, the shift in society and humanity as a whole, was immense. Due to a vast variety of factors, societies around the world were being influenced by the significant rise of religion. During the Medieval times, it was more of the early stages of this “religious influence”, by the time of the Renaissance era, religion had already taken part in societies as a whole. In regards to art itself, we can see how during Medieval times the pieces of artwork were far more “simple” than the ones created during the Renaissance period. Undoubtedly, there are several factors that influence this stylistic comparison between the two, however one very noticeable factor is how artists in the Renaissance focused on creating portraits that demonstrated the “divinity” of their religion; they created portraits that expressed in detail and color, how “divine” these Biblical beings were to them. During the Medieval times we can also observe this appreciation for religious characters and happenings, however it isn’t portrayed with the same detail or expression that can be seen in artworks of the Renaissance period.

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Diego, this thread is asking for analytical responses to the works posted above – do you have any comments on that?

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Here I will be comparing both Biblical Characters Adam and Eve, but from two different point of views one from Medieval and the other Renaissances. First as you can see the medieval version has lots of red, and darker colors. Which makes you relate to more of a bad darker feeling and get a foreshadow that something bad is going to happen or will end up being the result of something. There’s no light or balance in the color but a more serious vibe. They use regular basic dark, but bold colors which I feel captures the viewer. There is no emphasis on the anatomy or face expressions. They also use oil or a different texture paint besides marble structures, or glossy paint. Also, their art was very flat but did express some symmetry.

Next, I will be analyzing the Renaissance version of the Adam and Eve story, this one is so beautiful to me. It has lighter fluffy colors lol its softer, more balanced and toned in a way. It emphasizes the human anatomy the abs and toes which I never noticed before along with the fingers. If you look close all of the humans in the picture are perfectly aligned. It has the red and blues in the picture to let us know that there is still a symbolism of heaven and hell even though it’s not shown in the typical way such as flames and clouds but more in a human form (the lady with the red dress and knife and the blue sky in the background). Compared to the medieval picture where hell was the dark shade of red that was covered all in the background leaving adman and even to be the only representation of the heaven setting.

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Although the themes portrayed in both pieces of art differ in terms of meaning, the artistic tones used in both illustrate purpose and balance to the meaning of humanity. The panel portraying the Medieval Lord approaching Adam and Eve incorporates negative space with little additional detail for better comprehension of a biblical event. The imagery in this panel reflects a sense of weakness and shame before God as highlighted by Adam and Eve’s gaunt-like physical appearance. The complexities of humanity are defined less vividly than that of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. In contrast to Michelangelo’s painting of the Creation of Adam, humanity is expressed more naturally and figuratively during the Renaissance. The composition is robust and detailed allowing each subject to feel more unique and lifelike. Textures and shadows are also organized in a way to give greater tone within all of his subjects. Michelangelo adopted a more humanist approach to this work by emphasizing classical aspects such as nudeness and other physical features that portray our sense of self.

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There are many differences between the renaissance view and the medieval view of humanity. The viewpoints on both paintings are very different Medieval view on humanity the lord seems to be very demanding and powerful.He seems to stand alone and be the one who is controls what is going on. In the renaissance view the lord seems to be painted more as a human. He as people surrounding him. He is powerful but seems more friendly. I believe that this painting being in color very vibrant helps him seem more human like.

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From the picture point of view, the medieval paintings are pessimistic, feudal. To the Renaissance, this feeling has improved, into an optimistic attitude. Renaissance works, which embodies the humanist ideology: advocating the liberation of individuality, against the medieval asceticism and religious view; to promote science and culture, against obscurantism, get rid of the church’s bondage to people’s minds; affirm human rights, against theocracy, Theology and the philosophy of the scholarly basis of all authority and traditional doctrine

Renaissance art praises the beauty of the human body, advocating the proportion of the human body is the world’s most harmonious proportion, and it applied to the building, although a series of religious stories are still the theme of painting, sculpture, but the performance is Ordinary people of the scene, the god pulled to the ground.

I think that is why Adam in the Sistine Chapel has a greatly changed the way the human body is portrayed.