The two David's

     In the late 16th century and into the early 17th century, a new artistic style emerged. While the Baroque style was partially based on standards discussed at the Council of Trent, it also incorporated Renaissance ideals as well. To see some of these features, one can look at two statues of biblical figure David, one from the Renaissance and one from the Baroque period.
    Michelangelo’s David is perhaps the more well known of the two. David stands tall and proud, almost pensive, looking off into the distance. He is standing still, with no real hint of movement or action. This piece was finished in 1504, during the High Renaissance period. This David captures what the “rebirth” was all about. While he is a biblical figure, he is portrayed according to Greek classical form. This is an ideal man in all his glory. He also has a position similar to Greek and Roman statues, such as his bent left arm and left leg.
    During the early 17th century, there was a move to bring people back to the church. As such, it was mandated that art existed to give people knowledge of biblical acts and struggles. This also meant that a lot of commissioned art was for the church.
    In contrast to Michelangelo, Bernini’s David is in movement. He is twisting his body in preparation for action, giving some dramatic diagonals from his left leg going back and his arms reaching for his sling. This use of strong diagonals is meant to bring the viewer into the work of art, to become part of it. A significant difference between Renaissance and Baroque art is that the Baroque style emits a high amount of drama and emotion. We do not see the subjects in quiet contemplation, but rather in the midst of deed or struggle. Emotion is also seen on David’s face. He is grimacing, a look of concentration and battle.
     Another characteristic of Baroque art is dramatic contrasts of dark and light. In painting, this is achieved by showing a light source, either inside the painting itself, or by some outside source. This can also be noticed in Bernini’s David. The angles of the body project dark dramatic shadows onto the floor or pieces of the statue itself, and can change throughout the day depending on where the light is coming from. The movement portrayed in this piece also allows it to be viewed from many different sides and angles, something not really achieved by Michelangelo’s David. Viewing Bernini’s from different positions will also change light and dark contrasts the diagonals of the body give.
    While Bernini’s David is clearly a Baroque piece, there are some classical influences that still remain. For example, he is an idealized man, although perhaps not to the degree of Michelangelo’s David. There is also still some fascination with anatomy as show by the detail with which David’s body is sculpted. However, in accordance with the
Counter Reformation, there is a piece of drapery covering David’s groin area as during this time, art needed to be appropriate and modest.

Madonna with the Long Neck and Allegory with Venus and Cupid

The Late Renaissance began around 1520 with the death of the artist Raphael. It was during this period that the Mannerist style emerged and became popular. A Mannered piece of art can be defined as “having an artificial or stilted character”. Mannered art is more stylized with figures having unrealistic bodies or positions and compositions that feel unstable. Two famous paintings from this era are Madonna with the Long Neck and Allegory with Venus and Cupid.

Madonna with the Long Neck by Parmigianino is a beautiful example of Mannerist art, although it is unfinished due to the artist’s early death. The subject of the piece comes from Christianity; Mary holding a sleeping Christ. She has unnatural body proportions indicative of the Mannerist style. Her long neck (hence the name of the painting) matches the slenderness of her fingers trailing across her chest. She has a large lower body in contrast to a narrow upper body. This makes for Mary being a very large and dominant figure. In contrast to this, we can see a very small St. Jerome in the bottom right corner. Christ himself is also of a large nature in the painting.

In keeping with the “visual joke” aspect of Mannerism, Mary is in a position that gives the impression she is seated although there is no chair in the painting. Her right foot is resting atop two pillows in such a way that makes the position her body is in virtually impossible without some sort of sitting apparatus.

Allegory with Venus and Cupid by Bronzino is another example of Mannerist painting. Just like Parmigianino, Bronzino draws on religion for his subject matter, although in this case, it is Greek mythology that is portrayed. Also, like in Madonna with the Long Neck, this piece shows a mother with her child, although in a very different manner. In the previous painting, Mary lovingly holds her son while he sleeps, while in Bronzino’s painting, Venus is being kissed and caressed by her son.

The scene we see is uncomfortable owing to the seemingly passionate and inappropriate position we find Venus and Cupid in and perhaps being encouraged by the sauntering figure at the right who is getting ready to shower the couple in rose petals. This could have been some sort of joke that viewers understood when the piece was created that we don’t understand today.

 Cupid is in a strange half-standing, half-kneeling stance beside his mother. In my own opinion, Cupid’s face does not quite match his body. His face seems extremely youthful while his body looks more like that of a young man. There is another figure in the painting whose head doesn’t match the body, and that would be the strange serpent on the right. The body is scaly and reptilian while the face is that of a beautiful young girl. Her face is flatter and has less definition than the other figures in the composition.

Unlike Parmigianino’s piece with the large, deep background, Bronzino’s work is given a claustrophobic feeling with all the figures squished so close together and with the cloth held by Chronos and Night in the back pushing everything forward into the same plane instead of having a distinctive foreground and background.

Both of these painting are fantastic examples of the Mannerist style that broke away from the precision and perfection of the earlier Renaissance years.