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What Major Developments Were Made In Art (стр. 2 из 2)

longevity) masterminded the deliberate drawing of attention from location to

location by using light and darkness and using straight converging lines. ??????????? The

Italian learning spread across the continent, fusing with native Gothic styles

as a result of the plundering and the occupations of the Italian Wars, but

Italy continued to drive forwards.? In

the 1520s, the plethora of talent led many to claim that perfection had been

attained, and so, Mannerism developed.?

The inability to outdo their forebears in skill led many to try to outdo

them in their invention and originality of form.? Michelangelo?s own disregard for norms, especially in

architecture, had briefed the European public for such an occurrence and taught

the European public to admire an artist?s originality.? The result was the growth of the appeal of

virtuosos such as Cellini and this led to bizarre and extravagant

semi-reactionary works.? Contravening

the most basic of the classical texts on paintings, the Mannerists tried to

drive themselves from what they saw as a rut. ??????????? The

Mannerist Jacob Robusti (Tintoretto) felt that the beauty of Titian?s work was

not compelling enough for story telling.?

Using fragmented light instead of Titianesque swathes of colour and

using imbalanced arrangements of figures, Tintoretto portrayed the legend of

St. George and the discovery of St. Mark?s remains with great power and

excitement.? A further extension of this

school was El Greco?s work.? Raised in

Crete, El Greco was used to the Byzantine style that was devoid of natural

appearance or realism.? Encouraged by

Tintoretto?s work, El Greco?s art disregarded natural form and colours

producing stirring visions, notably in his ?Opening of the Fifth Seal?, a

very shocking piece.? His

residence in Spain where there was a religious fervour suited to his style is a

happy coincidence for the art world.. ??????????? The

idolatry of Spain that sustained El Greco and kept his reputation and finances

afloat was lacking at this time in much of northern Europe.? Protestantism prevented the production of

religious images.? Portrait painting and

illustration alone sustained the northern painters.? Hals? use of ?undignified? poses, unlike Holbein?s contrived

dignity, was designed to convey a characteristic mood, but like Holbein, it

followed strict rules of balance. ??????????? The area

of most interest to art historians in the Netherlands is the fate of the old

altarpiece painters, many of whom began to paint landscapes. By becoming genre

painters, the Dutch artists were able to continue to thrive.? This era saw the birth of the landscape – a

result of a financial necessity to find new subject matter.? The landscape was a pure show of artistic

talent; something that could not have happened prior to the cult of the artist. ??????????? The

seventeenth century saw the greatest advances since Michelangelo?s death.? The Roman Baroque style, with its

abandonment of some of the simplicity of classical architecture whilst

retaining its motifs, rose at this time.?

A reaction to the polarisation of wealth, extravagance unseen since the

Gothic era was possible.? The

triumphalism of the Counter-Reformation, the renewed power of the Papacy and

the rise of absolutism as a doctrine all led firstly the church, and then

royalty, to turn to the Baroque as a show of might.? Breaking new rules by sheer expense and extravagance, this was a

Roman extension of Mannerist independent thinking.? Bernini?s David is not Michelangelo?s David. Carracci, under Rafaelite

influences, moved to an era of classically influenced anatomy, sentimentality,

simple and harmonious painting.?

Meanwhile, Caravaggio moved to unravel the truth at the cost of

beauty.? To him, beauty was not of any

importance, and the world as it existed was all that mattered.? His irreverent ?Doubting Thomas? was

criticised for its depiction of the apostles as common labourers.? The contrast between Carravaggio?s

Aristotlean brutal realism (disparagingly called ?naturalism?) and Carracci?s

Platonic world of ideals we see reflected elsewhere. Rubens? idyllic landscapes

contrast with Velazquez?s early works.??????????? The

Renaissance changes were multifaceted.?

The artist was brought onto a skewed plain in relation to his art, and

this era?s love of ?Masters? gives us our modern preoccupation with the works

of famous artists.? The printing press

allowed dissemination of copies of Botticellis or other popular works, so

popularising art and allowing widespread art appreciation.? Despite this, the era saw the ?schools? come

to the fore, as each supported its champion against one another.? Stylistically, perspective was the single

most important innovation, as Giotto?s understanding of foreshortening had

already allowed some realism to exist in art, paradoxiscally as a result of his

study of the unnatural Byzantine school.?

The movement for the real world as art grew until Raphael?s ability to

conjure natural beauty showed an alternative.?

The movement from the realism of Michelangelo to the blurred impressions

of Velazquez and Rembrandt indicate a middle ground.? Finally surpassing the Ancients, the Renaissance was truly a

rebirth for Italian art, as masters like Donatello, irritated by the staleness

of the vogues of their fields, spearheaded reform, and genii such as Masaccio,

Michelangelo and Leonardo applied the lessons of science to art. [1] P. 144, ?The

Story of Art? ? E.H. Gombrich [2] P. 3 ?

Michael Baxendall ? Painting and Experience in Fifteenth Century Italy

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