Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints and Feast of Achelous - Essay Example

Section/# Art Critique The first piece of artwork which this brief paper will seek to critique is that of Raphael’s “Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints”. This painting is of particular importance for a number of reasons. One of the first and foremost of these is the incredible juxtaposition of complexity and succinctness with which the artist engages the viewer. Whereas many forms of religious art during such a time were lavishly decorative while at the same time exhibiting a corresponding high level of artistic complexity, this particular piece of Raphael exhibits historical nuances that he untrained eye would not necessarily be able to pick up upon.

1 For instance, whereas almost all of the religious iconography and paintings of the time and long before had pictured Christ as a naked baby, this particular piece was one of the first artistic expressions of Christ in a clothed state while still a baby. Many historians have attributed this to the fact that the nuns of the convent which commissioned Raphael to create the artwork had played a strong role in seeking to censor his style and demanded that a modest representation of the male form be rendered.

Moreover, the painting itself allows for some foreshadowing of the ways that Raphael’s career would develop. One need only consider the use and choice of colors that Raphael engages with, representation of the clean lines, and the minimalism and life figure portrayal of both the Madonna as well as Christ to seek to draw a level of inference onto the means by which his career would progress and mirror many of these artistic ideals.2 Likewise, the second painting that this brief analysis will consider is that of Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Bruenghel the Elder "Feast of Achelous".

As such, this painting ultimately was able to capture many of the thematic elements that have become famous with regards to early Catholic Baroque artwork. For instance, the artists use wide brush strokes that contain no vanish point.3 In this way, the scenes are depicted as if to jump off the canvas and directly engage the viewer with whatever image, action, or emotion is engendered; rather than risking the subject matter being lost in or distracted by the background. What is further interesting is the fact that the scene itself is depicted as Greek; thereby borrowing named elements of early Greek Orthodoxy from the fact that the background itself is minimized by seeking to enliven the foreground and engage this first and foremost with the viewer.

4 It is of further note that Ruben’s own style was cultivated as a result of his appreciation for and study of Raphael and other artists works prior to Ruben going into art school himself.5 Likewise, although the thematic elements of the images are far removed, many of the same nuanced techniques are utilized in both and help to engage the viewer with an understanding that one or both of these artists have been influenced by the other. References Bruce, Donald. 2004. "RAPHAEL AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY.

" Contemporary Review 285, no. 1667: 346-351. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed March 7, 2013). Grassi, Marco. 2009. "A Raphael "Madonna" restored." New Criterion 27, no. 10: 23-27. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed March 7, 2013). Heuer, Christopher P. 2006. "Peter Paul Rubens: The Drawings / Drawn by the Brush: Oil Sketches of Peter Paul Rubens." Sixteenth Century Journal 37, no. 3: 945-947. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed March 7, 2013). Jacobs, Lynn F. 2009. "Rubens and the Northern Past: The Michielsen Triptych and the Thresholds of Modernity.

" Art Bulletin 91, no. 3: 302-324. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed March 7, 2013). Logan, Anne-Marie. 1981. "The Oil Sketches of Peter Paul Rubens (Book Review)." Art Bulletin 63, no. 3: 512. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed March 7, 2013).