St. Mark, Donatello

Donatello's St. Mark: photo cred. wiki

I was walking from the Duomo to Piazza Della Signoria when I saw Donatello’s sculpture of St. Mark. What first drew my eye was the intricate detail all across the arch. I never realized how much I would enjoy gothic style until I witnessed it here. What also stood out to me was the stance of the statue, and how it has remnants of a very naturalistic style, yet still holds a somewhat asymmetrical element bringing it back to the Dark Ages. The drapery is extremely impressive and can entice anyone to get close and graze it, just to convince them that it’s not real. Vasari mentions, “The figure was worked with such good judgment that while on the ground it’s excellence was not recognized by people lacking and understanding.” I found it funny that when the workers guild rejected the statue, Donatello covered it with a cloth for fifteen days without touching it, and then revealed it to them, and it was accepted. The reasoning behind it was that when he reintroduced it, he changed the level it was in, which was perfectly proportionate when viewed from below. The fact alone that the placement of the work determines how your eye sees it, fascinates me.

Gates to Paradise

Gates to Paradise: photo cred, wiki

The Gates to Paradise is by far the most fascinating work of art that I have seen. Although I have to admit I haven’t been able to see them here in Florence just yet. Back home I visited the Glendale Forest Lawn, and at the top of the hill they have a museum which displays the replica of The Gates to Paradise. It was incredible how natural the scene felt, particularly the sacrifice of Isaac.  Although the scenes are small in scale, Ghiberti did not let this limit the amount of detail that he was able to put in.  Everything was present and noticeable and the physical expressions were so natural and real that you could feel the suspense within the scene.  To be in Florence now, and to have the opportunity to see the real Gates to Paradise right after they have just been restored is something that I have been impatiently waiting for and am excited to experience.

Lions, Tigers and Pisano

photo credit The Pulpit

Nicola Pisano’s design of the Pulpit of the Pisa baptistery stood out to me in more ways than one, aside from the fact that it’s a beautiful religious masterpiece, it’s very French Goth, which I personally love. Every inch of the pulpit is richly decorated with scenes from Christ’s life, such as: the Annunciation (when the angel Gabrielle tells Mary she will become a mother) the Nativity scene (when Jesus the Son of God is born), all the way up to the crucifixion Christ (where he becomes the ultimate sacrifice). What fascinates me is how Pisano was so strongly influenced by Roman remains and sculptures from Augustan times. The reason is because we look at these great artists that were absolutely brilliant, it seems as if they were almost creating magic with their hands, but just as we are so fascinated with Pisano, Cimabue or Giotto for example, they were just as fascinated. As an artist it’s amazing how we continue to be inspired and influenced by the ones before us. And these pieces of art can come alive inside our souls in ways that words cannot express. Although one thing that confused me was how Hercules was incorporated into this piece. During the Duecento it was very uncommon to see anything resembling pagan religions within a Cathedral, and the idea that Pisano could have included the image of Hercules is very disheartening for me. 

The Duomo

"The Duomo"
Photo: Tania Zatikian

The competition between Franciscan and Dominican churches was important because they wanted the best artwork. Therefore many artists became more important during the time because of their artistic genius. With this they could produce more significant artworks than those without the skills that were gained by others. This created more emphasis on the individual talent in the artwork itself. Vasari explains this within his three phase of art. Those phases being, making the rebirth of art, emphasizing the perspective of the artwork, and the third being the perfection of the first two phase. This has been seen within the artwork of Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello. An example of these changes in the style of art is a piece of Donatello’s sculpture of the Prophet Habakkuk, which can see now in the basilica of the Duomo. These changes can be seen in the subject body in how the clothes drape and have the sense of gravity within the folds. This is amazing to still be able to see even today, because of this experience I am able to personally wittiness these pieces of artwork. 

                                            

                                           

The Crucifix

Photo by: Tania Zatikian

 I was very fascinated with the lecture pertaining to the Crucifix. I really like how you can see the evolution from the Byzantine art to the Renaissance. In my earlier blog I mentioned how interested I was in how different artists depict religion in their artwork. I see crucifix images everywhere in my day-to-day life, but I have never seen the panel of the life of Christ. Which in my opinion is very important to understanding the actual event that led to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It’s pretty much the first four books in the New Testament. Not only was it a significant piece but it was also an educational piece, I didn’t know this until the lesson we had in class. We automatically assume everyone had the same privileges that we have today, but what I failed to realize is that some people did not know how to read, so the panel was the only bible they had.  Which is why I appreciate The Doors to Paradise that much more. It gives the piece that much more meaning.

Vasari

Giorgio Vasari was in my opinion someone who understood the depth of the paintings of the artists he writes about. He was a painter, architect, and writer who could see past what others can see. I believe his book “The Lives of the Artists” which he was so famously known for and which we’ll be studying became so famous because he like an onion pealed the layers of the artists to bring out the core of who they really were. He was a man with great understand, and I envy that kind of talent and knowledge.  And his architecture has left me completely speechless. I really look forward to studying this book; maybe then I can have a complete understanding of who Giorgio Vasari really is. Being able to walk step by step with the artists as I experience their work in person is an experience that has no words. I would love to step into the shoes of Vasari and feel exactly what he wants his readers to experience.

Palazzo Vecchio

Photo by: Tania Zatikian

Renaissance Experience

Being someone whose artwork was influenced by the Renaissance paintings and the Baroque period, I feel as if I have a special kind of connection towards this specific period. The face expressions, the formation of the bodies, the details is made to perfection. You can look at a painting and feel as if you’re living in that time period yourself. What fascinates me most is how religious the artists were back then. Religion is a big part of my life, so it interests me to see how people/artists back then viewed religion and how they made it such a big part of their life. I’m overwhelmed by the emotion and detail every piece has. What I want to take out of the experience is, to understand or at least try to understand what the artists were feeling or what exactly they were trying to express while they were working on their piece. By understanding this, I hope to gain some inspiration for my own artwork.

                                      Corrado Giaquinto, The Lamentation, 1740's