The Early Renaissance, Let's Talk Art!
Tabarek Aldabbagh
Hello everyone! In today's blog, I'll be discussing a piece of art from the early renaissance, and analyzing it as if there isn't enough renaissance art analysis out there. Still, I want to get my two cents in, so please indulge me for a moment of your time, and I hope you end up liking it.
I am reading Cunningham & Reich's Culture and Values Volume 2, and this blog will address chapter 12 of that text. In the chapter, there are a few questions that help the reader really get involved with the information. I've chosen the first one that quotes "Choose one of the major paintings of this period and analyze it closely in terms of composition, graduation of color, and use of perspective." (Cunningham, 293).
Bring it on! Challenge accepted. I've chosen the art piece by Fra Angelico titled Annunciation. It grabbed my attention.
.jpg?format=2500w "Fra Angelico, The Annunciation (1445-1450)")
This painting takes place in the Dominican Convent of San Marco, Florence. Fra Angelico (1387-1455) was a known painter, and so once the Convent was built, he was chosen to do basically fill it with his art. In the textbook, it mentions that this painting quote "shows his indebtedness to the artistic tradition of Masaccio" (Cunningham, 278). With Masaccio being the architect behind the convent.
Fra Angelico, Annunciation (1445-1450).
In this painting, depth is clearly used. The vanishing point is set and the floor is wider in the front and shorter in the back. The columns get smaller the farther away we get, which creates the feeling of the viewer almost being there. Also, the light source is clearly coming from the top left, as we can see the right side containing the shadows. The columns and even the angel Gabriel's beautiful pink dress (I honestly want one) are highlighted on the left side. These elements are subtle but create a very realistic atmosphere.
I wanted to point out how the building is incorporated into the painting. According to the textbook, "the architecture frames the two principal figures in the scene"(Cunningham, 278). This is very noticeable, and in fact, not only is the building featured in the painting but the painting is made to perfectly belong there. In the video below, there are a man and a woman discussing the video and the man mentions, “the other thing is that the vanishing point seems too high and the floor seems to be too steep, but when you look at this fresco as you ascend the staircase, it makes more sense.” (Fra Angelico, the annunciation, 3:15). I totally appreciated this, and as a nerd for architecture loved how much the artist paid attention to the finest details.
Fra Angelico, The Annunciation. Start at 1:34
In all honesty, I can talk about this painting for hours, but the world is a busy place. I hope this satisfies someone's curiosity.
