Art - the Modern Age era

Authors Avatar

Many artists and scholars do not know when the Modern Age era started and most likely when it ended. Most predict that the majority of the 19th century and up to the World War II marks the Modern Age. The modern period became one of the biggest movements in the Art history. It brought unique ideas and themes where people agreed and disagreed. Yet it is undeniable that the novel and original style brought a new breeze to the time period and to the new genre. As each century brought new life into the history of Art, here, I will be explaining the similarities and the differences of three sets of paintings drawn by Leonardo da Vinci, Jacopo Tintoretto, Nicolas Poussin, Francois Boucher, Benjamin West, and Francois Goya. Other than the fact that these artists have different painting styles, they all have similarities in how they included morals and meanings behind each of the images.

 The first painting that approximately marks the beginning of the Modern Art era is the Last Supper, drawn by the renowned artist, Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo was the son of a notary and a peasant girl. Though he was unfortunate with having a mother who ran away after his birth, he received enough caring from his father. His love and admiration for art truly began when his father first introduced him to the renowned workshop of Andrea del Verrochio in Florence. As an apprentice, da Vinci showed his great talent where he expanded his life by entering the service of the Duke of Milan in 1482. Until the fall of Duke of Milan, he had spent 17 years achieving higher in life. After the longs years in Italy, he then explored the world of machineries. Not only was he an artist, but he was also a sculptor, a scientist, and an inventor.

He then drew one of the well-known masterpieces, Last Supper, in the years 1495-98 for his fellow friend, Duke Lodovico Sforza. This painting illustrates the scene from the Bible, where Jesus Christ tell his twelve discples that one of them will betray him. Since the painting is coming right from the Bible, many may believe that this is a religious painting, in fact this painting was hung in the church. However this painting has no religious meaning whatsoever but just a simple story. Jesus Christ is no other than an ordinary “man” in this image. There are no halos, nor light to show his presence and importance. Yet, some may disagree and explain that the whole painting is surrounded by Jesus Christ. He has been placed in front of three windows that are in the back of the room, and he is framed by the center window with a curved pediment that arches above his head, signifying the hidden halo. His head serves as the focal point of this piece and the viewer’s eye is immediately attracted to it. Da Vinci has arranged the disciples into groups of three and illustrated their hand motions giving to give this piece an aesthetic feeling. The viewer’s eye is taken on a journey through the oval-shaped composition of the piece, but it is clear that Jesus serves as the vital magnet. Even the lines across the rooms are diagnolly focused on him. Also, Jesus and his twelve disciples are seated at a long table that is parallel to the picture plane. The room is spacious and peaceful, and Christ has his arms spread in disposed trust. The rest of the people are restless and dramatic with their behavior with Jesus’ prediction. Just by looking at the twelve disciples, audiences can see the tense excitement filling the room. One of the disciples is even ready to kill the guilty man with the sharp knife, not knowing that he sits next to the man.

Join now!

         To artists in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, it was necessary to give proper deference to notable occurrences such as the Last Supper. Another artist, besides Leonardo da Vinci, Jacopo Tintoretto took upon the challenge of recreating the Last Supper. Both of their paintings are very similar in subject matter, but they differ in composition, symbolism, and the choice of narrative moment.

Jacopo Robusti, another well-known artist in the Renaissance era, was born in the year 1518 in Venice. He was called the “Tintoretto,” because his father was a dyer, “tintore.” No one knows how Tintoretto got his talent ...

This is a preview of the whole essay