Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The Renaissance Aesthetic

There are many reasons why the Renaissance aesthetic has remained poplar and I think one of the main reasons is because of the many developments in art of that time. Artists were working with light and shadow and more importantly creating a more realistic perspective. Suddenly we were seeing huge advancements in the arts. I would say that the Catholic Church has had a lot to do with its popularity as well. Considering that it was the Catholic Church that commissioned many of the large scale paintings that we are all so familiar with. Portraiture which was pretty uncommon before the Renaissance began to emerge as well. On top of all of this there were some important historical moments recorded through the arts during this time. One thing I do appreciate about many of the Renaissance artists is their ability to become a jack of all trades. There were so many of the “masters” who were a combination of painters, sculptors, architects, and inventors. That in itself is pretty amazing and they definitely deserve props for that. I would have to say that although I do enjoy much of the art that came from the renaissance I am moved much more by more modern artists. This probably has a lot to do with the variation in subject matter. In my opinion modern artists are free to explore so many different subjects and use many different mediums. The possibilities are endless and there isn’t as much pressure to fit into a particular mold or a need to censor your work. You don’t have to worry about offending the church or anyone for that matter.

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