With the use of the new techniques and mediums, painting had come a long way from mariner grace days With no sense Of dept or emotion, o precise three dimensional illusions on flat surfaces. This paper will review major painting techniques, developed and enhanced during Renaissance, which enabled this transformation. Many art historians consider Ghetto as the first Renaissance painter. He has abandoned the long-prevailed Byzantine style by pioneering a naturalistic approach of representation based on observation.
His methods of pictorial expression based on observation initiated an early scientific age, which recognized the fact that the visual world mum SST he observed before it can be analyzed and understood (Klein 381). Ghetto achieved a sense of spatial PPTP and restored naturalism, simplicity and restraint to painting (Frazier 272). Lamentation toreros reveals the essentials of his style. The strong diagonal rock in Lamentation gets viewer’s attention to Chrism’s head which is not at the center. This fresco is composed of different groups which contribute overall composition of the painting.
By managing light and shade in a stage like setting, he was able to add a volume and perspective to the painting. The use of the contrast of light and dark to add volume was one of the earliest examples towards the development of the chiaroscuro technique. Furthermore, his stage like settings could be considered as an early example Of the use perspective (Kline 383). Lamentation is much more realistic in depicting the narrative since there is a sense Of emotion in figures’ faces depicting the dramatic nature Of the scene, and therefore displacing the Byzantine style.
Italy was in the heart of the Renaissance movement in the fields of architecture and sculpture. However, in painting it was joined by another region of primary artistic influence and achievement, Northern Europe. The Italian Renaissance painting mainly treated biblical and lassie subjects, while the painting in the Northern region featured scenes from everyday life (Van Dyke 221). One Flemish artist, Jan van Check perfected the oil painting technique where the particles of color were suspended in an oil- based medium.
Using fast-drying oil, Van Check built up his pictures by applying translucent paint layers or glazes on an opaque monochrome understanding (Frazier 488). Compared to egg based tempera, which was the material to choice for most painters in 14th century, oil medium allowed artists to create richer colors with intense tonality, the illusion of glowing light, and enamel-like surfaces Klein ICC)_ Van Cock’s “Giovanni Arranging and His Bride” was one of the finest examples of oil paintings of the time. He has skillfully used oil medium to create the light effects adding volume and depth to the painting. Every object was painted in great detail.
Looking at the dog one can see its tiniest hairs with the right amount Of coloring and shadowing. The convex mirror, complete With its spatial distortion, is another object that catches viewers eye. The scene’s credibility is augmented With mirror, because the viewers can see not only the principles, Arranging and his wife, but also two persons who look into the room wrought the door (Klein, 403). Finally, the lighting and the sense Of depth in the painting could not have been made possible without the oil painting and his creativity. The viewer feels like he or SSH e is looking directly at the scene.
According to Read, the observation of detail and control of the medium are both masterly (267), Many examples of iconography can he seen in the painting. The objects and accessories depicted refer to the holiness of matrimony. Some of the important ones mentioned in Klein are, the cast-aside clogs indicating that that the event takes place on holy ground, the little dog symbolizes the fidelity, inn Saint Margaret statue in the bedpost symbolizing the patron Of childbirth, oranges on the chest symbolizing territory, the single burning candle in chandelier and the mirror symbolizing the all-seeing eye of God (402,403).
In the 14th century, Italian artists, such as Disco and the Lorgnette brothers, had used several devices to indicate distance, but with the development of linear perspective by Brucellosis, Early Renaissance artists acquired a way to make the illusion of distance certain and consistent (Klein ASS)_ The linear perspective helped artists to translate a three dimensional space on a tow-dimensional lane allowing them to rationalize the sight. There were two major kinds at the time, one-point and two-point perspective.
The difference between the two is the number of vanishing points in the horizon line. Two-point perspective has two vanishing points, and therefore allowing the artists describe the objects from different angles in the painting. A good one-point perspective example is Leonardo dad Vine’s Last Supper. There is a clear sense of dimensionality and the alignment of the doors supports the feeling depth in the room. Chrism’s head is the focal point of all converging perspective lines in the composition. He skillfully integrated the two. Emotional, the three-dimensional, and psycho dimensional focuses to Chrism’s head. In this painting, Leonardo revealed his broad knowledge about the observable world to the pictorial representation of a religious scene, resulting in psychologically complex and compelling painting (Klein, 460). Titan’s Madonna to the Pesaro Family is a good two-point perspective example. The scene takes place in what may be Madonna’s palace in heaven. In the painting, Titan did not compose a horizontal and symmetrical arrangement as in Leonardo Last Supper.
By utilizing a two-point perspective he rather placed the figures on a steep diagonal block with the positioning of the Madonna being well off the central axis. This kind of composition is more dynamic than most Remains seance examples and set the stage for a new kind of pictorial design built on movement rather than repose (Klein, 486), In the late 15th century, with the contribution of Leonardo dad Vinci, atmospheric perspective had emerged. Atmospheric perspective was an important accomplishment serving Renaissance artists’ need to enhance the sensation of a three-dimensional space.
It is essentially an optical phenomenon Where distant objects appear less distinct and bluish then they would be nearby. Furthermore, color saturation and value contrast diminish as the Object recedes into distance (Klein, 425). The advances in optical science and the need to enhance the illusion Of three dimensions on a bono dimensional plane had caused the development of another tech unique, called chiaroscuro. This is a painting technique that uses tones, highlights and shadows to create the impression of depth. It is a technique that may achieve theatrical effect.
The artists who explored and pioneered Harcourt were Sebastian del Bimbo, Raphael, and Gigolo Romano (Frazier 134). One of the good examples of chiaroscuro is Conversion of Saint Paul by Aggravation, He has used perspective, chiaroscuro, and dramatic lighting in a dark background to bring viewers into this painting’s space and action, almost as it they were participants in Saint Pall’s conversion to Christianity (Klein 537), Leonardo dad Vinci had invented another technique in painting, called suffuse, means smoky in Italian.
As the name suggests it refers to a blending of color that creates the smoky or foggy effect characteristic of his paintings. It is particularly detectable in distance views where atmospheric perspective is expressed by a blurred and bluish view. Like chiaroscuro, suffuse manipulates light and dark, however unlike the strong contrast that chiaroscuro exploits, stomata fuses the two in a harmony (Prairie 429).
Leonardo Mona Lisa, which is a true masterpiece painting in the history of art, exploits the combination all three techniques, atmospheric perspective, chiaroscuro, and suffuse. Hazy bluish background of atmospheric perspective is giving a depth to the background, and therefore enhancing the portrait Of Mona Lisa at the front, it almost feels like she is sitting n a balcony with a distant view. The use of light on Mona Alias’s face and chest is a truly unique application of chiaroscuro.
It almost feels like she is sitting in front off light source, and her skin is reflecting the light, not so much reflection coming from her dark dress. Finally, suffuse which seems to be used both in the landscape background and in dissolving all the pictures contours, blending and fusing them as if they are seen through a mist. This painting shows the talents of a true master, who is able to skillfully combine different techniques, and is able o blend his scientific knowledge to his paintings.
Renaissance was a time of great cultural and artistic change mainly influenced by the works of ancient Greece and Rome, Through the patronage of wealthy individuals, such as Medici family in Italy, and the duke of Burgundy in Northern Europe, the art gained currency, and artists were greatly valued. Mastery of perspective helped artists to imagine and portray even more extravagant illusionist’s scenes. Led by the master artists, Ghetto, Van Check, Brucellosis, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael, primitive paintings of orator-like figures on flat planes were replaced by precise three dimensional illusions with true coloring.
