The Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel, which features Michelangelo’s art from the high Renaissance at the end of the 15th century, depicts scenes from Moses’ life on the south side and the life of Christ on the north side, an idea “aimed at restating papal authority by showing Moses and Christ as the eternal lawgivers” (Blue Guide 442). Perugino’s St. Peter is depicted as entrusted with the authority that continues that of Moses and Christ, and which lives on through each successive pope. The south wall of the Sistine Chapel shows that connection to Jewish roots plays an important part in the history of the Christian faith.
In the Pantheon, Christians subsumed a pagan area and imposed Christian art in place of shrines to the various gods and goddesses of Roman mythology. When we visited, I was a little disappointed to see that most of the original Roman art was gone and replaced by Christian monuments. Unlike the Pantheon, the Sistine Chapel does not try to cover up the Jewish faith, a fact which I found unique. The south wall, and the ceiling for the Sistine Chapel, both involve depictions of stories from the Hebrew Bible. On the South wall, various panels depict the journeys to and from Egypt, the killing of the Egyptian from Exodus, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the tablets of the law, among other stories (Vatican.va).
The importance of Moses can be viewed through a historical art lens as well. The Renaissance period was one of rebirth and rediscovery of Romanesque art. High renaissance art depicts “nobility and grandeur in ... figures involved in actions of depth and significance” (vlib.iue.it). Artists sought to imitate architectural forms of ancient Rome. We recall that ancient Roman art was based upon the artistic influence of ancient Greece, which exalted the beauty of man as perfect in form. Thus, if Moses was painted in a high Renaissance time period, and the Renaissance recalls the grandeur of man in ancient Rome, then Moses will be painted to reflect grandeur. Moses is presented as a grand, imposing form in Botticelli’s “Punishment of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram” (1482). On the way to the Promised Land, some Jews complained against Moses, and God punished them by allowing the ground to swallow them (Numbers:16, vaticanstate.va). Moses points to the left diagonal corner of the sky in a gesture of power. The Renaissance emphasis of the line can also be seen in this fresco, with the diagonal line of Moses’ arm pointing towards the sky as a prime example. The Arch of Constantine in the background is another example of the use of line, albeit a horizontal one. The crowds on the right are vertical lines, and the lines cause the eye to scan from areas of order to the focal point of disorder, which is the men that are being swallowed by the ground.
Blue Guide
http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/CSN/CSN_Sud.html
St. Peter’s Basilica
The Pieta statue of Michelangelo Buonarroti, from 1498-1498, is another example of Renaissance art. The marble sculpture depicts the Virgin Mary holding her limp son after his death. It depicts redemption through suffering, which is a common theme of Italian Renaissance art. Mary is the model of enduring suffering; even though her face is serene, we know the pain she is enduring. Jesus’ body is sprawled over her lap, and even his face has the serene expression. This is unusual because he has just been tortured and crucified.
Even though another Renaissance characteristic is the presentation of things as they actually are, Michelangelo does not portray Christ as brutally wounded. Rather, he is barely maimed in this depiction. The Virgin is similarly calm in face, with a “serene dignity” (finearttouch.com). However, their bodies are realistic in the sense that the contortions and lines resemble human limbs and facial expressions accurately. Another anomaly in the presentation of reality is Michelangelo’s decision to portray the Virgin Mother as almost younger than her grown son. Michelangelo, well-versed in theology, would have not erred accidentally; the Blue Guide urges us to consider Dante’s Paradiso: “‘Virgin mother, daughter of your son’” (414). Ross King notes that Michelangelo reported that abstinence from sex prolongs life. When confronted by critics who thought that Mary was portrayed as too young in this sculpture, Michelangelo simply said, “‘Don’t you know…that women who are chaste remain much fresher than those who are not? How much more so a virgin who was never touched by even the slightest lascivious desire which might alter her body?” (The Smiles of Rome 109). According to Michelangelo, Mary remains youthful and vigorous because she remains a virgin. She has never lost that innocence. This statue helps us to understand that the Christian adoration of the Virgin, which continues today, has a history that dates back to Renaissance times and earlier. The Pieta statue’s popularity today indicates that the same level of honor that is bestowed on Mary during Renaissance times is still practiced today.
Blue Guide
The Smiles of Rome
http://www.finearttouch.com/The_Pieta_by_Michelangelo,_A_Study_of_Redemption_Through_Pain.html
No comments:
Post a Comment