Judith Slaying Holofernes

Judith Slaying Holofernes Wiki Commons

Considered today to be one of the most accomplished painters in the Baroque generation after Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi’s skill in displayed in her 1620 work, Judith Beheading Holofernes. Raised in an era where female artists were not accepted as painters, their acceptance into guilds non-existent, Gentileschi was trained by her father, a follower of Caravaggio. This influence is most exhibited in her large-scale subjects with strong light and darks. Her best-known image, Judith Beheading Holofernes, depicts the decapitation of Assyrian general, Holofernes by Judith, a beautiful widow. Gentileschi depicted this subject six different times

Judith’s figure takes on an almost stiff stance with her arms held at straight angles out in front of her, both wielding a sword and cutting into the neck of Holofernes. Her maid stands at her left, holding down the arms of the flailing general. Holofernes himself lies in the bottom left of the picture plane, his body foreshortened perfectly and blood spurting out of his neck.  Together the three figures form a triangle of sorts, illuminated by a strong, unidentified light coming from the lower left-hand side. The light is extremely Caravaggio-esque, as is the non-existent background. Overall, the skill that is displayed in the rendering of the figures, especially as exhibited in the proportions, truly sets Gentileschi a part from her contemporaries, making her one of the best Baroque painters.

From Renaissance to Baroque

David, Commons

Bernini’s David

1623-1624

170 cm

Galleria Borghese, Rome

Gian Lorenzo Bernini was in the forefront of the Baroque movement, rejecting the strictly frontal statues of the Renaissance, which dictated that, the spectator view it from one side, and one side only. Commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the statue resides in the Borghese Gallery to this day among the works of other great Baroque artists.

            Bernini’s David is an entirely new representation of the mythical figure that defeated Goliath using only a slingshot. The sculpture relates to an unseen entity in the form of Goliath, the object of David's aggression, as well as to the spectator, caught in the middle of the conflict. The skill of Bernini is exhibited in the pose itself.  The contortion of the figure itself is something to be marveled at, something that is meant to be experienced from all vantage points. Unlike earlier representations by Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Verrocchio, David is not self-contained and interacts with the space around it. This causes the viewer to go around the figure entirely, slowly examining the details and coiled muscles, carved with skill and finesse that is entirely Bernini. 

Madonna of the Long Neck

Madonna and Child with Angels and St. Jerome

1535-1540

Parmigianino

Commons

Parmigianino is perhaps the greatest Mannerist painter for not only does he capture the extreme elegance and beautifully exaggerated art taken from art and nature he also captures the mannerists willful complicating of the body as seen in his 1535-1540 piece Madonna and Child with Angels and St. Jerome more commonly referred to as The Madonna of the Long Neck.

Unlike the calm and peaceful Madonnas that Raphael painted, Parmigianino's painting gives more of a sense of abandon and movement. The subject of this piece is derived from medieval hymns that compared the Virgin's neck to a great ivory column. This column can also tie into a symbolic column representing the foundation on which the Catholic Church stands.  The Madonna of the Long Neck  shows the Madonna, seated on a high pedestal and clothed in beautiful robes, holding the baby Jesus on her lap. To the left of the picture are four angels crowded around the Madonna, looking admiringly on Christ. On the right are a row of marble columns and the disproportionally small figure of St. Jerome.

Here the illusionism that was in service of the High Renaissance is being used here to deform and distort the body. The Madonna does not have normal human proportions; her neck, shoulders and fingers have all been elongated to make her appear more elegant and graceful. The proportions rendered in this painting are most similar to those shown in Michelangelo’s Pieta with the Virgins enlarged thighs and the contortion of the arm of the Christ child. Indeed, the child appears more alive than dead which could be an allusion to his eventual death and resurrection. Continuing with the distortion of space, instead of giving a sense of equilibrium and balance to his arrangement, Parmigianino has chosen to pack all the angels claustrophobically to the left of the Madonna. Yet, the space to the right of her is open, except for the tall figure of St Jerome who has been so reduced in size he only just about reaches the Madonna's knee. Overall, it is Parmigianino’s perspective and knowing  reconfiguration of the figures that elevate him to one of the greatest Mannerist artists. 

The Fall of Giants

Oculus, Wiki Commons

A pupil of Raphael, Giulio Romano was a skilled artisan, not only excelling in architecture but in painting and drawing as well. This combination of talents is exemplified in his Palazzo della Te, namely his Chamber of Giants. Vasari himself praises the artist for his innovation in this room and for what was, “Accomplished by Giulio with good judgment and admirable skill, and to him our artisans owe a great debt for such inventions.”

            Giulio Romano's illusionism invents a dome overhead and dissolves the room's architecture in the Fall of the Giants, a story from Ovid’s Metamorphose.

In the center of a sky painted with masterly perspective there appears to be a round temple painted sotto in su and the throne of Jupiter, over which an eagle presides. Disgruntled and angry earthly beings, the giants plan to overthrow the gods. Giulio Romano depicts the moment when, aided by Juno, Jupiter takes his revenge, punishing the giants by unleashing the fury of the elements against them and striking them with his thunderbolts.

Fall of Giants, Commons

The architectural features of the room include the walls, vault, and originally the floor, which merge without distinction. Vasari tells us in fact that the floor was made of river pebbles that continued, painted, around the base of the walls. A fireplace on the east wall, traces of which can be seen, was cleverly incorporated into the scheme: the real flames that burned here continued as painted flames issuing from the mouth of the giant Typheus. As Vasari puts it, “when a fire is lit, makes it seem as if the giants are burning… and so, without any deviation Giulio used this invention of the fire to make an extremely beautiful decoration for the fireplace.” Romano rendered the figures and setting, so that from the viewers perspective, it appears as though everything is crashing down into the room. According to Vasari, what is marvelous about the work “is that the entire painting has neither beginning nor end, and that it is all tied together and runs on continuously without boundary or decoration so that the details near the buildings seem very large, while those in the landscapes recede into infinity.”

The Chamber of Giants is an example of the complexities of mannerist art. Gone are the days of perfect proportion and exact linear perspective. Instead, Romano gives us something to marvel at. 

Raphael of Urbino

Painter and Architect

Wikipedia Commons

“The liberality with which Heaven now and again unites in one person the inexhaustible riches of its treasures and all those graces and rare gifts which are usually shared among many over a long period is seen in Raphael Sanzio of Urbino.” 

Giorgio Vasari

Painted between 1510 and 1511 as a part of Raphael's commission to decorate with frescoes the rooms now known as the Stanze di Raphael in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, The School of Athens has been a painting that I have always loved.

Commentators have suggested that nearly every great Greek philosopher can be found within the painting, but determining which are depicted is difficult, since Raphael made no designations outside possible likenesses, and no contemporary documents to explain the painting. Compounding the problem, Raphael had to invent a system of iconography to allude to various figures for whom there were no traditional visual types. Socrates, , Plato according to Vasari, the scene includes Raphael himself, the Duke of Mantua, Zoroaster and some Evangelists.

In the foreground two figures dominate, Aristotle on the right, Plato on the left pointing upwards. The architecture and setting of the piece was inspired by the work of Bramante who, according to Vasari, helped Raphael with the architecture in the picture. Some even say that the setting may be St. Peters Basilica. Raphael’s perspective is astounding in this piece as exhibited by the architecture. The delicacy and softness he gives to his figures is astounding. Overall, in my mind, this piece has outshined most of Raphael’s other pieces.

“We may indeed say that those who possess such gifts as Raphael are not mere men, but rather mortal gods, and that those who by their works leave an honoured name among us on the roll of fame may hope to receive a fitting reward in heaven for their labours and their merits.” - Vasari