Art of The Renaissance
Some of the pieces in the Renaissance were made to communicate specific themes. One of those major themes being religion, especially since many of the famous artworks ( like Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel ) are based around biblical stories.
This set of murals was grand on purpose. It communicates the wealth and pride the Church had at the time. It was very prominent and a large part of many peoples' lives. The Church wanted to communicate and demonstrate their power through this art. The art itself, depicts biblical stories like the painting of Adam and God in the Sistine Chapel.
The juxtaposition of Adam being less graceful compared to God's figure here was done on purpose, making God graceful and divine, and had Adam on the other side. The angels are behind God ( on the right ) and their hands almost meet in the middle. The side of God is more detailed than Adams', once again contrasting the two heavily. Despite the heavy contrast, their hands meet in the middle.
It is believed to be representative of God giving Adam life, and how Adam despite being different from God in many ways was made in his image. An interesting detail about this piece is that the cloak behind God looks to be in the shape of a human brain. It's interesting, because of course at this time the human brain was not meticulously studied, or analyzed like it is today.
But of course, not all art of this time was religious in nature. Of course, there was art revolving around other things, one of those being love. Raphael had a painting of his lover, called 'La Fornarina'.
The painting here is of Raphael's lover, a baker's daughter. It doesn't seem to have any hidden meaning behind it, but is quite a beautiful painting. The woman's name is Margherite Luti, and the painting was completed in 1520.
Another extremely famous piece is the Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci. The painting is of the famed biblical story by the same name. The story revolves around Jesus and his 12 disciples. This is his last meal before his crucifixion in Jerusalem. His 13th apostle, betraying him the day beforehand, he spends his meal with wine and bread famously declaring,"This is my body, which is for you: do this in remembrance of me", as he broke the bread, now known as the Eucharist in Catholic churches, and are eaten every mass.
