The extent that the greek mythology and art affected renaissance artists

Most of their sculptors were nude because they believed in humanism, exhibiting human beings in some exterior light. These paintings and sculptures were perfectly chiseled and done with expertise. On the other hand, the Renaissance period stands for the time of rebirth when people began bringing back the old concepts in their daily activities. Part of these ideas includes the use of Greek mythology and their art. The Greek art and mythology had hugely influenced Renaissance artists like Caravaggio, Raffaello Sanzio, and Leonardo da Vinci as discussed in this article. 3 The Madonna Portrait 9 4. 4 Rafaela’s Self Portrait 10 4. 5 The Portrait of the Athenian School 11 4. 2 Caravaggio 12 4. 1 The Portrait of a young Kid bitten by a Lizard 12 4. 4 Leonardo da Vinci’s Self Portrait 22 4. 5 Virgin of the Rocks Painting 23 5.

0 Conclusion 24 Works Cited 25 The Extent that the Greek Mythology and art affected Renaissance Artists 1. 0 Introduction The Greek art included architecture, pottery, sculpturing, and painting. Most Greek artists liked modeling humanism sculptures and pictures because they wanted to concentrate on the beauty and importance of the human body. The first mythology that heavily influenced the Renaissance art is the story of Achilles, who was a Greek hero and people believed he was the greatest warrior because Homer’s narrative says that Achilles’ mother took him as a baby to River Styx and bathed him there. However, Achilles’ heel did not touch the water, and it remained mortal while the entire body became immortal (Clark 97). During the war between Spartans and Trojans, Achilles is killed by an arrow that pierced his mortal heel.

The myth has inspired many artists, especially in the Renaissance period. The Renaissance sculptors and painters got inspired by the mythology to give youthful appearances to saints, divine figures, and other significant people in the society. The third myth is the Prometheus story. According to the story of Prometheus, the character stole some fire from Mount Olympus and decided to offer it to man. Other versions of the myth describe how Titan created the first man using clay and provided him with metalwork skill (Campbell 148). Zeus decided to chain Prometheus to a large rock as a form of punishment since he stole fire and gave it to a human being. An eagle kept on going to where Prometheus was chained and ate his liver, but his liver kept on growing every night.

Daedalus warns his son not to fly higher because of the heat from the sun that might melt the wax, but his new found freedom blinded the young man. He fell and died, making them myth a warning to those who are over-ambitious or living a reckless life. The story has also inspired many artists in the world. Some artists who lived during the Renaissance time used the expression seen on the statue of Icarus to show emotion in their paintings and drawings. These artists also learnt about the inclusion of posture and proportionality of images as required by art. Most artists would make figures of athletes, and they feared to establish personality cults that are why they did not make individualized portraits.

They only concentrated on idealized features and physique of these athletes. 2 Nude Statues and Paintings The Greek athletic competitions focused on the human body during festivals. The males were the favorites for these artists. The reason why these sculptors were nude was that the athletes participated without clothes. 1 Raffaello Sanzio’s Art Raffaello Sanzio was an Italian artist who was born in 1483 and later died while he was only 37. He became one of the best painters during the Renaissance period. It is believed that Raphael was more creative than Michelangelo and Leonardo combined. The following are some of the sample paintings made by Raphael: 4. 1 The La Belle Jardinière Portrait The La Belle Jardinière Portrait was of a woman holding two naked babies.

However, the two cherubs appearing below the canvas are the items that proved how skillful Rafaela was in painting, making the portrait to become famous (Clark212). The babies had a bored look and were generally sulky, allowing them to stand out. Picture 3: The Madonna Portrait 4. 4 Rafaela’s Self Portrait The self-portrait was also a masterpiece, with mournful eyes staring at its viewer. The head of the image is youthful, and Rafaela ensured that the model had a baby-face since he was still a youth. Caravaggio lived with a certain painter in the city of Milan after being orphaned as a young boy. After some time, he went to live in Rome and started his career as an artist. The artist used shadow in depicting the lighter regions of his portraits.

Caravaggio’s career as an artist was cut short when he got himself in a conflict with a person, and he ended up killing him then ran away from Rome. He died in 1610 (Clark 71). However, there are some ways that the artist tried to subvert from the Venetian genre so that there should not be any traditional reading. For example, the portrait shows a music concert rehearsal instead of the main concert. Caravaggio has also used classical dressing in the picture, and there is a winged cupid as the viewers of the portrait focus at the upper left part. The use of the matchmaker is to bring about love, wine, and music. The method of wine is applicable because the cupid has a bunch of grapes in hand.

The model has a stationary pose, which does not show the effects of festivity and wine drinking, but Caravaggio’s over-indulgence and its impact. One can see the withering head and the shriveling grapes in hand. Picture 8: Bacchus 4. 4 Medusa Portrait Medusa was a Greek monster derived from one of their myths. She had her hair turn into venomous snakes, and whenever Medusa gazed at people, they would turn into rocks. 5 St. Matthew’s Calling Portrait The image is part of Caravaggio’s initial projects, which was a commission art required to be placed on the Contarelli Church wall. The painting had other pieces accompanying it, including the portrait of St. Matthew’s martyrdom. Caravaggio shows how Jesus called St. The picture depicts mourners who are carrying the body of Jesus Christ as they escort it to the tomb for burial.

Evangelist John is dressed in a red cloak as he supports the torso of the body. On the other hand, Nicodemus is holding the legs of Christ. Virgin Mary is bowing while Mary Magdalene and Mary of Clopas are weeping (Potter 137). The image has brown and red tones to indicate the religious significance that the artist tried to show. Many visitors and foreigners visited the Louvre Museum to see the fantastic art done by Leonard da Vinci. The figure is of a woman with an enigmatic smile and a mysterious look. The portrait might look ordinary when a person looks at it for the first time since the lady is dressed in a thin and modest veil with dull colors. The woman is also not wearing any jewelry.

Some viewers might ask about what makes the painting to be famous or a masterpiece. After that, Jesus launched the Eucharist. Leonardo understood how the character of a person could be seen in their gesture, posture, and expression and he used such knowledge to show how each apostle reacted to Jesus’ declaration. The disciples seem to be grieving, consulting, debating, and whispering as their postures fall, rise, and extend. The artist used oil and paint to experiment on a preparatory ground with two layers. Da Vinci has skillfully exhibited human emotions in the portrait, similar to most paintings done by the Greek artists. Many people in the modern world now assume Da Vinci looked exactly like that. However, some philosophers have argued that with the age that Da Vinci had reached, he could not have been that old.

The figure in the picture has downcast eyes and furrowed brow. Leonardo passed on when he was 67 years old (Engel 117). It is perceived that the picture might not be his self-portrait, but one of his numerous sketches he made of people with unique appearance. Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, and Raffaello Sanzio were some of the artists who got their artistic concepts from the Greek arts and mythology in the Renaissance period. These artists used ancient concepts like harmony, realism, physical perfection, and symmetry. These Renaissance artists learned from many of the best statues designed by Greek artists. Works Cited Campbell, Joseph.  Primitive mythology. Teachers College Press, 2017. Engel, William E. , Rory Loughnane, and Grant Williams, eds.  The Memory Arts in Renaissance England: A Critical Anthology.