â?¢The Vatican Museums
â?¢ArtLex â?" Earlier Renaissance Art
â?¢ArtLex â?" Later Renaissance Art
These sites are available through the unitâ??s Resource List
Select three paintings or three sculptures from the Renaissance period.
Visit websites for Gothic Cathedrals.
â?¢New York Carver â?" Cathedral Art
â?¢A Digital Archive of Architecture â?" High Gothic
â?¢Earthlore Gothic Dreams â?" Cathedral Architecture
Choose three cathedrals from the Gothic period (search www.artlex.com for more info on Gothic cathedrals).
Using meaning, symbolism, and any other aesthetic issues concerning the art you have chosen. Explain how the works of art fit into the context of the time period.
After visiting the websites at Art Lex, I chose 3 paintings from the Renaissance period to discuss as a model for you.
First of all, you might select Andrea Mantegna's compelling piece, "The Adoration of the Shepherds," from 1450. Its image is located at http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/r/renaissance.later.html or http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/32.130.2
You might look at his color usage. For example, the bright colors definitely seem to depict realism of the scene and also the religious importance of the onlookers as they worship baby Jesus. Landscape is definitely a prominent feature of the piece as the mountains denote the long road that the shepherds had to take literally and spiritually to witness this day.
Research also attributes the wonderful technique in terms of the "hard, precise drawing, the astonishing clarity of even the smallest details in the distant landscape, and the refined, pure color are typical of his work, as are the intensely serious expressions of the figures" (http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/mantegna/1/adoratio.html).
Symbolism further permeates the painting. When looking at the obvious religious symbolism, it offers hope with Jesus' birth. Critics also suggest that "The shepherds, after all, are the blank page in the Christmas story. All around them are people, places and things either with names or obvious symbolic radiance: Mary, Joseph, Herod, Caesar Augustus, Bethlehem, angels, wise men, even a mysterious star. Joseph is, of course, portrayed as an old man, off to the left side. He is asleep, propped in a sitting position, his head and arm ...
Three paintings from the Renaissance period are explicated briefly.