Layla Quinones
HUA101
October 9, 2008
Museum Journal #2
The Italian and Northern Renaissance
When I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, I found a couple
of Renaissance paintings that I really fell in love with. First, was a painting titled “The
Birth and Naming of Saint John the Baptist; (verso) Trompe-l'oeil with Painting of The
Man of Sorrows” by Bernaert van Orley, a Netherlandish painter. It originally was part of
a triptych altarpiece and was commissioned for a church; dated from 1510-1520. On a 25
x 30 inch canvas, the artist chose a medium of oil paints which were actually discovered
during the Northern Renaissance. The general theme of this painting is to illustrate the
important arrival of the Catholic St. John the Baptist. This painting caught my eye
because it seemed to depict various scenes in one picture plane. To the right of the big
column that divides the entire painting in half, are 2 scenes: one of which shows St. John
the Baptist being cleaned by three maidens after he is born while his mother lye in bed
behind them. The curtain draping down on the right side of her bed divides into the
second scene which appears to have some sort of holy man reading a scroll to bless the
baby after his birth. On the other side of the column dividing the entire piece is a peacock
sitting rather close to the viewer, watching the events unfolding as we see them. This
peacock symbolizes eternal life for the saint or the presence of God. Furthermore, there
are many people looking into the distance on the far left of the painting and I really do
not understand their significance or symbolism in the painting. It can be yet another event
occurring or the result of the Northern Renaissance style to use an abundance of detail in
their paintings. The painter gives a unique directional force for the viewer in this
painting. The columns divide the scene in two however, the right side is keen in attracting
the viewer’s eye because of the two events occurring on one side. The burgundy color of
the drapery hanging from the bed also plays a big role in attracting the viewer’s initial
eye, leading into the scene that is cut by the hanging drapery; then leading left on the
other side of the column in the middle. Balance is achieved in the painting by the vertical
columns that appear on the left side of the painting and the large peacock that occupies
the left corner of the picture plane corresponding to all the “commotion” occurring on the
right side. Lastly, I observed that on the left side, apparently the right bottom corners of
the columns are almost aligned with each other leading the viewer’s vision from the right
to the left side of the painting where a small scene is also shown.
This painting also shows a great amount of Northern Renaissance style in the
bright colors that the artist chose to use alongside with amazing detail. For example, the
cobble stones on the left of the painting look as if carefully painted and thought out to
portray space and detail. The drapery with its rich burgundy color, also seems as if caught
in movement. The overall Gothic feel to this painting is illustrated by the furnishings and
clothing that the women are wearing; which also reflects the North Renaissance style.
The next Renaissance painting that stood out and was special to me was the
painting “Venus and Adonis” by Titian also know as Tiziano Vecellio. This famous
Venetian painter chose to depict a scene from Roman mythology. Using oil paints that
were initially discovered by Northern Renaissance painters, he depicts the scene of Venus
trying to prevent her love Adonis from leaving her and ultimately getting killed. This
painting initially stood out to me because it was one that was not based on the Christian
religion much unlike the Byzantine style before the Renaissance. This reflects the
economy in Italy during this time and that the middle class people were also willing to
buy art with different subject matter. Also, the fact that the artist chose to portray the
goddess Venus in a sort of backwards position as if in mid-movement with a passionate
facial expression, illustrated the intense emotion and desperation she had in trying to
convince Adonis to stay. The hunting dogs that appear on the right side of Adonis
illustrate the readiness to hunt. Their mid-movement and facial detail set the position of
Adonis’ decision to continue on with the hunt. Cupid, sleeping in the background, with
his arrows hanging from a tree, symbolizes the absence of lust. This suggests that
Adonis’ appeal to Venus is absent therefore, leading him to resist her persuasion. Lastly,
the landscape background and enormous size (63 x 77 3/8 in) of this painting gives it a
heavenly, mystical world-like feeling that draws the viewer into the scene.
Although both of these paintings were made during the Renaissance
period, the fact that they were made in different parts of Europe during this time give
them a considerably different style. First, the subject matter in these two paintings is very
different. The fact that the artists in Italy had the benefit of a rising economy, allowed
middle class merchants to be able to afford art. Therefore this led to a generally different
subject matter of every day life and it helped generate other types of paintings than the
Northern Renaissance had. In the North, the Church or noble Christian people were
mostly the only people who could afford art and, this led to the widely common Christian
themes in art work of the Northern Renaissance. Second, from the paining “Venus and
Adonis”, the style of Italian artists was to illustrate the human body in a most beautiful
way. The posture and emotion of Venus gives an extra sense of realistic passion that is
extremely hard to envision but a key factor in making the painting come alive. This
reflected the focus that Italian artists had in anatomy and proportion. On the other hand,
the north had a growing interest in colors which is reflected in the use of various colors
and this catches the viewers eye in the painting “The Birth and Naming of Saint John the
Baptist…”.
The last painting that I came across that intrigued me was the painting “Old
Woman Cutting Her Nails” by Rembrandt, made during the Baroque period. It is an
interesting painting to me because he glorifies an everyday activity and makes it look
poetic and emotional. The light depicted in this photo illuminates the figure with a poetic
and dramatic feel that is unique to the Baroque period. The viewer is made to feel as if
he/she is in the painting itself because the figure is placed in the front nearest to the
viewer. The background of this painting is limited to light, unlike the woman herself who
is illuminated in it as she crouches forward to cut her nail. Although the subject and
theme of this painting is an activity that happens all the time, Rembrandt was sure to
make this “activity” come to life with his style of painting and capture in detail, the
brittle, sad body of an old maid. The artists strategically chose the somber colors of this
woman’s clothing as well as in the background to give a sad, depressing feeling to this
painting that reflects the weakness of all humanity. This overall emotional and dramatic
style was key during the Baroque period.