There are few
eras in history with the overwhelming impact of the Renaissance. The dominance
of the Church that defined the Middle Ages was replaced by humanism. Man and
his world transcended their place on Earth to become God in heaven. The art and
architecture of the Renaissance included religious subjects represented by real
people in real surroundings. Man superceded God and thereafter creates the
world we inhabit.
The Merode
altarpiece is the earliest example of Northern Renaissance art. It is a
triptych with Mary and Gabriel in the center panel. Mary is reading a book and
Gabriel is about to announce that she will carry God's child. The right panel
shows Joseph in another room with his carpentry tools. The left panel shows
three people in the courtyard, including the person who paid for the
altarpiece. The Annunciation happens to ordinary people on an ordinary day.
Michelangelo
painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It represents the height of the
Italian Renaissance, commissioned by Pope Julius II. The ceiling is painted in
fresco, applying pigment to wet stucco. Scenes from the Old Testament cover the
surface. In the middle, God and Adam reach out toward each other, fingers
stretched to nearly touching. Who is creating whom? If there were no angels,
they might be brothers. Man and God are not so different.
Pieter Bruegel
the Elder painted peasants in their natural environment. He uses oil paint
which has translucent quality well suited to realism. His subjects farm, hunt,
and dance. Religion is not portrayed. This is emphasizing man's importance in
the world.
The rebirth of
secular art was paid for by merchants like the Medici of Florence. Money drove
the art world then just as it does today. People who paid for art wanted to influence
what was in the picture. They wanted to be in the picture with their wives
looking sensible and prosperous. The religious subjects were replaced by
ordinary people.
Renaissance art
benefited from the development of perspective. It made landscapes realistic and
the people sizes depended on distance instead of importance. Backgrounds became
more detailed and nature was featured. Man's world was central.
If the artists
of the Renaissance did one thing, it was to help us to appreciate ourselves and
the world around us. We are worth being made into art. We are Michelangelo's
David and Bottacelli's Venus. We live in Bruegel's fields and dance at his
wedding. Most of all, we create the world inspired by Leonardo's inventions. We
are reborn in every way.
