From the Middle Ages through the Renaissance Essay Example for Free

From the Middle Ages through the Renaissance Essay Artists bringing designs, paintings, choreography and music to life shapes the history of the Middle Ages. Middle Ages began from the very earliest single digit centuries. Middle Ages and Renaissance Age’s culture centered around religion. Religion was the purpose of all art. Artists living during the Middle and Renaissance ages created paintings, sculptures, music and other designs that were unique to their interpretations, relying on craft and communication. â€Å"We should not assume that our priorities necessarily match those of the original patrons. (Goffen, 1999, p. 207) Two memorable Renaissance artworks are Michelangelo’s Pieta and Da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks. The marbled Pieta sculpture design is Mary holding her son Jesus, who passed away. This image immediately shocks the viewer and is not easily forgotten. After really looking at the sculpture, the viewer does not have to be familiar with the story to realize an unusual message is coming through. â€Å"The point of the work was to engender empathic meditation and devotion on the part of the viewer. † (Kieran, 2004, p. 169) Mary’s facial expressions are calm, relaxed, untypical for a mother who lost her child. The fully grown adult child Mary is holding would be as big as her, if not bigger. To make the unexpected sculpture look realistic or proportioned, the artists relied on light colors and unusual sizing of objects. Mary’s body is bigger than the man’s body. (Kieran, 2004, P. 41) Further bringing the entire picture into perspective, the size of the arched window encasing Mary and Jesus, surrounding Mary’s upper body offsets illusions of sizes. http://enwikipedia. org/wiki/Piet%C3%A0_(Michelangelo) Analyzations of Da Vinci’s art goes on indefinitely. His Virgin of the Rocks shows baby Christ and St John. â€Å"The picture is conceived in a mood of great solemnity. The children no longer play as equals (Clark, 1939, p. 45) Baby Jesus sits independently with two hands bringing focus that he is guided by higher beings invisible to human perceptions. St John is limited to human protection or guidance. (Clark, 1939). The artists used darkened tone colors enhancing mystical moods that are unknown to humans. Natural background content consists of nature made subjects. The setting is taking place in a miniature cave allowing the trees blending with the sky to be visible. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Virgin_of_the_Rocks All types of art influences and guides human behavior, within reason. Religion is the background purpose for the invention and creative experimenting with art. Creative art encouraging individualism began in the Middle ages, and lead us into the Renaissance ages. Today’s art, sculptures, plays and architect is modern reinventions of artwork originating during the middle ages. References Clark, K. (1939). Leonardo Da Vinci: An Account of His Development as an Artist. New York: Macmillan. Retrieved March 1, 2008, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=6598638 Goffen, R. (1999). Behind the Picture: Art and Evidence in the Italian Renaissance. Renaissance Quarterly, 52(1), 207. Retrieved March 1, 2008, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=5001255997 Kieran, M. (2004). Revealing Art. New York: Routledge. Retrieved March 1, 2008, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst?a=od=108856090 Maes-Jelinek, H. (1997). Charting the Uncapturable in Wilson Harriss Writing. The Review of Contemporary Fiction, 17(2), 90+. Retrieved March 1, 2008, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=5000469960 OConnor, J. P. , Temple, V. A. (2005). Constraints and Facilitators for Physical Activity in Family Day Care. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 30(4), 1+. Retrieved March 1, 2008, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=5012125114 Osmond, S. F. (1998, December). The Renaissance Mind Mirrored in