Formal Analysis of an Early Italian Renaissance Art Piece

The Italian Renaissance marked a period of great cultural change and bridged the transition from Medieval art to Early Modern in Europe. Artists that emerged during this time period had a lot of medieval influence and it wasn’t until the end of the fourteenth century that new styles started to develop. Paolo Uccello was an emerging artist that broke ground with the pioneering use of perspective within paintings. An apprentice to sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti at an early age, Uccello was greatly influenced by his narrative style. Paolo was also close friends with artist and sculptor Donatello, who also influenced his style specifically within visual perspective.
Uccello was born in Pratovecchio Italy in 1397 and was a great Italian painter and mathematician. He is well known for his use of visual perspective, used to create a feeling of depth within his works. The Battle of San Romano is one of his best known works and is actually a panel of three separate paintings. While other artists during this time were depicting images that represented classical realism within their works, Paolo Uccello’s work did not and definitely stood out. Paolo does depict images in his paintings through the use of Realism, but emphasizes different points within his works, such as color and texture. The Battle of San Romano is considered by most art historians as one of the leading works in the development of linear perspective.
When looking at detail of Paolo Uccello’s The Battle of San Romano, there are many different aspects that are quite interesting. To understand the formal elements of this piece, the historical context behind it is highly relevant. This Battle took place between the Sienese and Florentine people in the year of fourteen thirty-two. It is said that these three panels were most likely commissioned by Lionardo Bartolini Salimbeni who; “ led the Florentine governing Council of Ten during the war against Lucca and Siena” (Cothren & Stokstad, 593). Royal patronage was a major factor in the Italian Renassiance, and because of this a lot of paintings were not only influenced before they were completed by also after. It is said that they were commissioned at the time of Salimbeni’s wedding, suggested by fertility symbols incorporated into the piece and consisting of bushes of oranges, roses, and pomegranates seen in the first panel, Niccolo Mauruzi da Tolentino at the Battle of San Romano.
In the first panel of this triptych, modernly sometimes called the London painting because of its current location, the viewer focuses centrally on Niccolo da Tolentino. Tolentino is shown in a large hat patterned with both gold and red coloring, mostly red. This is significant in the previously mentioned style of Uccello, to incorporate rich and sometimes unpredictable colors and texture. The viewer also sees in the foreground to the right of Tolentino, a dead soldier and a couple of broken lances. These lances and solider are said to be very carefully aligned in order to create a certain visual perspective that Paolo Uccello was known for constructing. The broken lances seem to point towards the vanishing point of this certain panel, something which Uccello was extremely concerned with. It was said by previous mentors and artists that sometimes he would stay up all night trying to depict this device carefully.
Also seen here, the central soldier that supposedly depicts Tolentino, has few protective gear on him and evokes a more festive and almost playful image. The young boy located behind Niccolo Tolentino also doesn’t wear a helmet or anything and in fact what is detailed is his long boyish hair. Paolo Uccello has depicted a scene here that is suggestive of a carnival like moment. Also complementary to this idea is the enormous white horse that Tolentino sits atop, which looks more similar to a show horse then one you would take into battle. Paolo Uccello seems to depict a triptych series that expresses more playful and bulbous features of a battle. Between these aspects and that of the visual perspective that Uccello has created within this series, shows the different formal elements that this artist was known for. However, despite having a small following of initial support, Uccello was a pioneering artist in this sense.

Response to “Northern Renaissance: The Supreme Art.”

Joseph Leo Koerner argues that the Renaissance in Northern Europe laid foundations for modern art, calling the Italian influence during this time a "counterpart". Although both regions had significant influence within the emerging Renaissance, artists in Northern Europe tended to focus on a slightly different artistic style. Artists of the North were interested in the natural world and their works depicted plant and animal life with great detail. Focusing on details of light and shadow, pieces expressed an authentic feeling of three dimensionality within them. Other devices also used by artists in fifteenth century Northern Europe were intuitive perspective and aerial perspective.

Intuitive perspective was achieved by scaling certain aspects within a work of art, creating extremely accurate spatial representations. Aerial perspective was used by these artists as well, and specifically so in landscape portrayals. These artists were known to have highly developed this perspective, also called an atmospheric perpective, which reappears throughout many works of fifteenth century Northern Europe. Portrait artists of this time led the style into a new direction never before seen, developing a highly realistic style of portraiture.

For example, German painter Albrecht Durer would “lavish extreme attention” within his self-portraits, mostly concentrating on hair quality. So much so that when Koerner looks at Durer’s preserved hair, he claims right away how he recognizes the color from Durer’s works. Koerner also goes on to explain why Durer’s self portrait idealizes Christ, using a symmetrical and frontal view, rather then a pose where the head is at an angle. Although the painting is directed at the viewer, it is also directed inward toward “the self”. There was a large influence of Christ and the portrayal of Christ in portraits that went into Durer’s self-portrait.

Durer was the first known artist to accomplish many different styles of self-portraiture. He was also the first to publish and illustrate his own book, “ the definitive portrayal of the end of the world and a new beginning for art”. In which he is most famously known for, these drawings depict such exact detail and imaginative imagery. He also made woodcut prints, and was also the first artist to do so in this medium. Albrecht Durer was just one of many great artists of the fifteenth century Renaissance in Northern Europe. Jan Van Eyck and Hieronymus Bosch were other great artists that emerged from this time period.

Art 236 Blog Introduction Post #1

Hello All! My name is Patrick Mahoney and I am a Studio Art major here at Central. I enjoy outdoors, sports, and the occasional Call of Duty session. Often you can find my roommates and I riding a mini ramp we built in our garage this past summer. I am also a member of the CWU Wake Team which is currently ranked 16th in the Nation! Recently a group of us just started up the CWU Ski and Snowboard Club and already have had a solid turnout of members for our first few meetings. I like doing new things and figure out different ways to create, especially within artistic mediums. I myself enjoy shooting photographs and using media such as video and music to create pieces of art. I guess you could say I am a fan of the general notion of progressiveness, and within art there has been so much development throughout different mediums in recent centuries. However, the Renaissance period of the 15th and 16th centuries paved the way for this progressiveness and variation throughout art. With the progression of art and art mediums, nowadays you can go into a museum and an empty shoebox could be the main exhibit. Works of paintings and sculptures of Renaissance artists have set a core basis for art guidelines and although those guidelines have evolved immensely, it was classic pieces from artists like Michelangelo and Raphael that more or less defined this notion of real art. I think a huge reason why our culture focuses on “big name” artists is because people are aware of this notion of modern art losing it’s artistic aesthetic. When anything could be considered art these days, classic works from the 15th and 16th century hold a static foundational status within the Art World. Also people tend to focus on those works because we always have, the Renaissance Period was a pivotal time in the World where new ideas of not only physical art works but philosophy, sciences, literature and music emerged. These ideas have developed into many of the modern processes we use today, and still continue to influence new ones. Relating back to progressiveness, the 15th and 16th centuries emerged with advancements within mathematics, type printing, and new ideals such as the emergence of a humanist philosophy. Also this time period sparked an interest in past artists, and works like that of sculptor Donatello and thus further influenced artistic works. This was a period where for the first time different works influenced each other, between architecture, and paintings, and sculptures; many works of this Renaissance period were influenced by artists developing broad mediums of art. Although I am an advocate of progression and overall development of new trends throughout art mediums, I still find it critically important as an artist to at least be aware of these works. In a world with so many different cultures and ideas emerging, it’s a scary thought to think that emerging artists these days may not be aware of this history of art.