Preview

Comparing Two Works Of High Renaissance Art And Michelangelo's Mona Lisa

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1023 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparing Two Works Of High Renaissance Art And Michelangelo's Mona Lisa
Renaissance Art
AIU Online
March 15, 2014

Abstract
My report is about two works of High Renaissance Art, by Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling and Leonardo’s Mona Lisa. The two works of art to me represent High Renaissance Art at its best. The two pieces show art to be colorful, yet refined, subtle and perceptive. The Sistine Chapel is by far Michelangelo’s best work, because I love the bible and the themes he made to fit the verses. The Mona Lisa is beautiful to me and has beautiful coloring and has withstood the test of time. I will be talking about the form of these two pieces; the subject matter; and the content in my report.

Renaissance
…show more content…
The information was retrieved online and in the book. With Leonardo’s Mona Lisa the picture is not quite common for the Renaissance era. The face is turned nearly frontal; the shoulders are turned ¾ towards the viewer and the hands are included in the image. (Khan, 2006) The Mona Lisa is a 2-Dimentional work of High Renaissance Art and the materials used to create it were oil paints, a cottonwood panel, and Leonardo’s mighty hand and paint brush. The style that was used was a Sfumato and atmospheric perspective. Sfumato- a Smokey haziness to soften outlines and create an atmospheric effect around the figure. Leonardo was one of the first ones to use this technique in Florence, Italy. The painting was painted using a technique called Chiaroscuro. The colors used to produce the Mona Lisa were: earth tones, flesh tones and blues and greens. The line of the Mona Lisa is an actual line and a jagged, irregular line. The shape of the Mona Lisa is triangular, which Leonardo used. The texture of the Mona Lisa would have been smooth. The value of the Mona Lisa would have been suggestive of planes and textures. The balance of the Mona Lisa would have been unity and variety. The Mona Lisa has subject matter and that would be a Florentine woman of beauty. The Mona Lisa is likely a portrait of the wife of a Florentine merchant and her gaze would have been meant for her husband. The Mona Lisa was never delivered and Leonardo kept it when he went to work for Francis I. I think that Leonardo’s message would have been that he was painting the world something of beauty and leaving us in awe. The Mona Lisa is the most recognized painting in the entire world and has become an icon of the Renaissance. The Mona Lisa would have been a representational work of art. Leonardo Da Vinci wasn’t just a painter he was a sculptor, inventor, etc., and was the best

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Divinci, the first to complete the portrait of Mona Lisa inspired an identical yet different portrait of a woman named Maddalena. When making the Mona Lisa, Davinci utilized techniques known as chiaroscuro to emphasize light and darkness, and sfumato for transition when…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    There 's no exact tally of the art and culture snatched by the Nazis, and the commonly accepted number of 6 million bits and pieces excluding art and architecture that the Germans intentionally demolished. At the conclusion of the war and subsequently the Nazi admission of defeat, approximately 5 million items were reverted to their countries and owners, mostly due to the monuments program. “Who cares about art?” Lt. Frank Stokes says instinctively as he attempts to persuade Franklin Roosevelt to allow him to take a group of soldiers into war-torn Europe to protect and recover priceless works of art, including the van Eyck brothers’ Ghent Altarpiece and Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child, from the escaping Nazis. Hitler took little concern for human lives but fairly a lot for art; he planned to take the whole of Europe’s…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Mona Lisa is an extremely well known and controversial oil painting by the famous Renaissance inventor, artist, and scientist, Leonardo Da Vinci. He began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503 and finally finished in 1519, a little before his death. Da Vinci created the now world renowned painting as a commission for the Gerardini Family. The painting is actually named after a member of the Gerardini Family, Lisa Del Giondo. It is currently on display in the Musée de Louvre in Paris France. The painting depicts a calm woman with folded hands slightly smiling. The Mona Lisa was designed using geometrical shapes. Da Vinci repeatedly used concealed triangles to shape the painting to bring the…

    • 330 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Art 110 Final Project

    • 366 Words
    • 1 Page

    One of the very first account about the Mona Lisa, goes back from the last couple of years that Leonardo da Vinci was still alive. When Leonardo was staying in France, he took the painting there while he was visiting and lived at the court Francois, however, Leonardo started on the portrait while he was living in Florence within the years of 1503 and 1506. With that being said, the person who is in the painting of the Mona Lisa was possibly from the city of Florence.…

    • 366 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed” (Michelangelo). Michelangelo was one of the great artist who created great art during the Renaissance period. One of his most popular paintings is the Ceiling from the Sistine Chapel with the Creation of Adam being the main focal point. Art in the Renaissance period was more focused on the aspects of realism, humanism, and the prospective of what was created. Leonardo da Vinci was perhaps the most interesting artist of the Renaissance period; with that, he still holds presumably the most idealized painting in the world today, priced upwards of $1 Billion the Mona Lisa. Both…

    • 230 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He spent long periods of time on it and was frustrated at his patrons because they thought he was wasting his time. It was one of Italy’s most celebrated paintings during Leonardo’s lifetime. In 1503 Leonardo da Vinci was going to change the world, he was asked by a wealthy Florentine named Francesco del Giocondo to paint a picture of his 26 year old wife, Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa is if not the most famous painting in the world, one of the most famous paintings in the world. He studied the shape and structure of hands closely, so he could paint them greatly, he spent an extreme, countless amount of time on this painting which caused it to become one of the famous in the world…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prior to the Renaissance, the subject of most paintings and art was religion, focusing on portraying christian thoughts, values and symbolism. They were often painted to remind one of the importance of god and holding thoughts to him. Paintings prior to the renaissance were often out of proportion and did not look realistic.…

    • 102 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, Italy is a masterpiece of biblical symbolism and humanistic style. Michelangelo was able to present both Catholic and Humanistic element in such a way that they do not visually conflict and blend into one of the most often visited pieces of artwork in the world. This work of art can tell us a lot about the values of society at that time and our progression through that period. Michelangelo’s fresco ceiling has since inspired many artists and elements in the ceiling have been imitated often in the years since then.…

    • 1248 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Appleton Museum Project

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages

    European artwork dating back 600 years ago often resembles the Mona Lisa, Attributed to Berardino (portrait of a woman). This painting is the oldest in the Appleton Museum often referred to by the guards as The Appleton Mona. Some say the portrait was painted the same time as the Mona Lisa. Even though there is no evidence the portrait was painted by one of Devin chi’s students. The features in the portrait are very different than others in this time period. The colors are all very deep and dark.…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For the next two years he designed and painted a mural of The Battle of Anghiari. Against Michelangelo’s will, a committee was formed to relocate the statue of David. In 1504, Leonardo da Vinci became part of that committee. The Mona Lisa was painted from 1503-1505/1507. It is the most famous painting in the world. Not only do the eyes “follow” you, but the elusive smile on her face lends and air of mystery. The shadows at the corners of the mouth and eyes is the reason that they are both so intriguing. This shadowing is called “sfumato” which means Leonardo's smoke. In 1515, Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to make a mechanical lion which could walk forward and open its chest to reveal hidden…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Renaissance started in the 1400s; this time of culture took place in all of Europe. During this time art and literature had flourished. Artists had been at their best during the high renaissance which was during the 1500’s. During this time people had used oil on canvas for the first time. These techniques gave more details and depth to the painting. This was called perspective. The Mona Lisa was a world renowned painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. It was a painting of his wife even though she was not very special historically. This painting was so popular that it had set the standard for all other paintings of that time. Another painting that Leonardo painted was “The Last Supper “was Jesus with his disciples eating. This painting had amazing…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the early 16th century, Leonardo and Michelangelo composed two religious iconographic images, similar in composition, but different in content. The first image is Leonardo’s Madonna and Child with St. Anne (168 x 112 cm) in the Louvre, created around 1508. This is an oil painting on wood support. The second is Michelangelo’s Holy Family, or Doni Tondo, (120 cm diameter) located in the Uffizi, and created in Florence circa 1504. This is a circular image in an elaborate frame, painted in oil and tempera on panel. Leonardo’s Madonna and Child with St. Anne was commissioned as an altarpiece for the Church of Santissima Annunziata in Florence and the Doni Tondo was likely commissioned by Agnolo Doni as a commemoration of his marriage to Maddalena Strozzi. Though not sharing any aspects in historical or physical creation other than their dates, these two images have a similar composition. The basic composition of these paintings is triangular in nature, and Mary is the…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Renaissance in Rome would have been a far more interesting book if more art, music, spectacle and pageantry were included. While there is mention of Raphael’s tapestries in the Sala della Segnatura (196), and the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo is not mentioned in any detail until page 258 of a 338 page book. Here art and architecture were created by some of the most celebrated artists in the world, specifically Michelangelo, Raphael, Bramante, and Alberti, yet not a hint of their biographies is entered into. On page 268 Stinger sums up all of the Popes’ major building projects in one paragraph. Nevertheless, Stinger mentions the importance of the artists Bramante, Raphael and Michelangelo in his final paragraph, inferring that through their works the classical and the Christian can stand conjoined, while basically ignoring these personalities in the body of his text.…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Greek culture is the source from which many of the characteristic elements of Western culture derive. Their explorations and innovations in art have both fascinated and inspired other civilizations for centuries. For this assignment I chose two Greek sculptures viewed at the Getty Museum. The first is Kouros circa 530 B.C. made of Dolomitic marble from Thasos and is approximately 200 cm (80 in) in height. The second is Cult Statue of a Goddess, (most likely Aphrodite) South Italy, 425 - 400 B.C. made of Limestone and marble. It stands at a height of 220 cm (86 5/8 in). There is some dispute to the authenticity of the Getty Kouros sculpture, but assuming it is not a modern forgery it would belong to the Greek Archaic period. Cult Statue of a Goddess (herein referred to as Aphrodite) hails from the Greek Classical period. The identities of both sculptors are unknown.…

    • 1130 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    He carried on the fifteenth- century experimental tradition by studying everything and even dissecting human bodies to see more clearly how nature worked. But Leonardo stressed the need to advance beyond such realism and initiated the High Renaissance’s preoccupation with the idealization of nature, or the attempt to generalize from realistic portrayal to an ideal form. "(Spielvogel, 2009) Leonardo exhibited a period of the Renaissance where artist tried to make a realistic portrayal to an ideal portrayal. A description given by Giorgio Vasari in his biography of Leonardo Da Vinci named The Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci shows a firsthand source of how others thought of him “In the normal course of events many men and women are born with various remarkable qualities and talents; but occasionally, in a way that transcends nature, a single person is marvelously endowed by heaven with beauty, grace, and talent in such abundance that he leaves other men far behind, all his actions seem inspired, and indeed everything he does clearly comes from God rather than from human art."(Vasari, 1550) shows the respect that Leonardo received from other artist during his lifetime. Leonardo's most famous work is the Mona Lisa which was commissioned by Francesco Del Giocondo to make a portrait his wife; and after toiling over it for four…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays