Hans Holbein the Youngers portrait of George Gisze captures the mysterious stare of the subject while seated in his workroom. His surroundings suggest that he is a businessman or merchant going about his daily work, and at his midst are various objects that suggest not only his profession but his state in life his age, his view of the world (assumed to be symbolized by the scales), his relationships (the flowers, letter in hand, seal on the desk). The lighting also implies that the time of the day this painting was captured, or at least envisioned by Holbein, was at around sunset. Being acquainted with a few of Holbeins other works such as the one of Thomas More and Henry VIII, George Gisze is comparatively almost monochromatic, only mainly disrupted by the sharp rose red color of his garment, and the there more than several elements at play in the frame.
Holbein, who is one of the most demanded portraitists of the period, was clearly objectifying the subject by depicting him as realistically as he could and using the young merchant as the main thematic. This is starkly different from paintings in the Middle Ages where a single human element is seldom painted, and rarer if the subject is not of a religious one.
In Holbeins piece, we, as spectators are given a glimpse on how Gisze lives and his personality, in reference to this world (Perry, Jacob and Chase), unlike in Medieval paintings where the spiritual world is almost always conveyed.
We can even see the young merchants tools of trade that we could picture his life outside the painting, pointing to the humanism that is much valued in the Renaissance era. His humanity is perfectly conveyed through form and realistic bodily proportion, that even the cracks on his face are captured all in contrast with flat Medieval renderings,
Having to look at this work by Holbein, I cannot help admire the man more and more. There is clearly masterful skill in portraying the persona whose stare is towards an object that is outside the frame, much like the style used in St. Thomas Mores portrait. As already mentioned, I sense a life in this painting, and that despite the stillness of the elements involved in the picture. It reminds me of todays animated films that look as if they were live action sequences. I am also particularly arrested by the detail of his red garment that one could even make out the kind of fabric used and the reflection of light is perfect that it is so easy to look at and straightforward enough to believe.
Group 2
Sandro Botticellis high contrast work, Primavera, was completed 1482. It is stylized and rich, depicting classical deities. They are almost naked, slender and in action, and the narrative is not very much linear but varies per scene or individual and it works more like a vignette that as a whole they are only unified by space and shared characteristics. Although it works together in symbolism, it is possible that it does not have a structured narrative. There is not much perspective, since the background and the foreground meet in nearness, and the characters in the painting appear almost lined up from right to left without much variation in distance and spacing.
The depiction of mythological beings is a departure from the primarily Christian-spiritual composition of medieval artworks. Primavera is harmonious and balanced, with almost equal wait on the right and left sides, similar to many works in the middle Ages, with the difference being the execution. Botticelli achieves an almost melodic imagery, where characters appear to be dancing. This contrasts largely with the stiff proportion and harmony achieved by Duccios Maesta. Another strikingly Renaissance characteristic in Primavera is the various counterposes of the characters that make them appear more like they are moving. Not one of them, in fact, is in an upright, single-perspective pose typical of medieval art subjects.
It is rich and full of life, and it is perfectly justifiable why this is one of Botticellis finest pieces. The poses of the subjects who are all mythic characters and the graceful style reminds me of high quality linen flowing with the wind. Gracefulness this, I think is the best word to describe the painting. It looks like a parade of divinity and attractiveness, with each one playing their own assigned roles. Venus or Aphrodite has rich garments, true to her position as the goddess of love and beauty. The symbolism Botticelli employed is unfortunately something beyond me, and I believe it takes one to have a rich knowledge of the spectrum and culture of the Renaissance period to be able to interpret it.
Group 3
It is almost a modern painting with its geometric shapes, strong parallel lines and perspective. The Story of St. Nicholas by early Renaissance painter Fra Angelico makes use of gradients and variations of green, red and yellow, making the paintings palette high in contrast and bright in mood. It is, undoubtedly, a scene in a Renaissance town where architecture is of highly mathematical proportion. The figure slightly right of center is a bishop atop a platform, giving blessings to the peasants who all have their backs from the spectators view, making the bishop the only character with larger movements. But more than the characters, it is really the buildings in the painting that are striking and distinct. Why the friar put too much emphasis on the walls and the doorways, and why St. Nicholas, a boy standing in the center of the frame does not draw attention, we can only guess
As already been mentioned, this is probably because of the Renaissance fascination with proportion and scientific perspective (Perry, Jacob and Chase). Paintings during the Middle Ages, in contrast, are usually rendered flat and outlined. Fra Angelicos uncommon painting composition and juxtaposition of elements and objects against perspectival space and structures makes him a true Renaissance artist the kind of uniqueness and individuality in artists rarely observed in medieval art (Jensen). And space, that is what is most striking about Fra Angelicos painting. It is not just about his use of space in an outdoor setting, but the open archway and doorway also provide views of indoor space. It is crude and experimental but triumphs in execution and aesthetic, something not very familiar for those who are used to the representation of space in medieval times when only two-dimensional space was made use.
This painting particularly reminds me of cubism, a certain piece by Giorgio di Chirico, and the Russian suprematist movement. It is even wise to believe that this work by the friar was the inspiration for the development of those modern art movements and auteur styles. The narrow road that continue at an angle in the near distance and the images of the people trapped inside the buildings capture my attention at first site that I was not too keen on looking for the supposed main subject of the painting, St. Nicholas. Perhaps that was really the intention, not to make the Saint the main figure of the work. What puzzles me is how he depicts and distinguishes a poor and rich households in just one picture, and the role of the saintly figure with the halo is that of passivity.
Group 4
Lorenzo Ghibertis bronze relief Isaac Sends Esau to Hunt sculpted on a giant door shows a story from the Old Testament where Isaac is giving directions to young Esau whose hunting dogs stand in anticipation by his feet. Behind this central scene of the father and son is a figure of a woman in her bed, who is probably Esaus mother Rebekah. The hallway was drawn using the technique of providing space through parallel lines running towards a vanishing point, except that in this panel, the supposed point is disrupted by a horizontal line the signify the distance and scope of the house the characters are in. At the left side are some women talking, wearing rich robes and appear to be reviewing the days affairs.
Ghiberti used linear perspective which is characteristic of the Renaissance, and its use is particularly effective in a narrative portrayal of characters from the Scriptures. In medieval sculpture, especially seen in marvelous Gothic and Romanesque cathedrals, this reference to space and distance is not much employed. The naturalistic details of the characters garments is also what is admirable about Ghibertis work, since it helps create a sense of movement, and even age and status. Although this is not a distinguishably Renaissance technique and had been utilized in medieval work (such as the magi in Chartres cathedral), Ghibertis style is the much developed, meticulous form that emphasizes movement. The human beings are also depicted in their natural form and standing, with realistic proportions and anatomy (Perry, Jacob and Chase), decidedly different from impersonal forms of 13 to 15th centuries.
I feel like Ghibertis work is almost a painting, and this is achieved without the use of color to distinguish lines and forms, but are rendered into a bronze panel which made a narrative even harder to achieve. The relief could also have been otherwise flat without the employment of the theory of scientific perspective, that the viewer from outside could easily tell that the main characters are standing at the corner of the hallway and by some kind of stairs. The technique even made it possible for more details at the background where we see a boy running and columns that stand in line, framing the picture. These are those details about Renaissance sculpture, particularly this panel on the boy Esau and father Isaac by Ghiberti, who was likely at the height of his powers as a sculptor and storyteller judging from the masterful use of theory and foregrounding.
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