Painting Analysis & Reflection (ANSWERED)

QUESTION

Required Resources

Read/review the following resources for this activity:

Textbook: Chapter 4
Lesson
Minimum of 3 scholarly sources (in addition to the textbook)

Instructions

As part of the discussion this week, you made a brief exploration of a work of art to understand its subject, meaning, and intent. In this assignment, you will explore an artwork in more depth to consider the context in which it was created. Choose any painting, and address the following:

Explain the artistic movement associated with the work of art.
Describe the style of the artist (How is the artist unique within the movement?)
Examine in some depth the influences that shaped the work. Address at least 2 of the following:
- Stylistic influences
- Subject/content influences
- Cross-disciplinary influences such as literature, philosophy, music, science, technology, etc.
- Historical influences
- Political influences
Reflect on your learning.
- How did your research enhance your appreciation of the artwork?
- How does understanding the context of a work help in interpreting it?

Include the following in your paper:

Name of the painting
Name of the artist
Date created
Image of the painting

Writing Requirements (APA format)

Length: 1.5-2 pages (not including title page, references page, image, or caption for artwork)
1-inch margins
Double spaced
12-point Times New Roman font
Title page
References page (minimum of 3 scholarly sources)

ANSWER

Painting Analysis & Reflection

Image of the painting

Artist: Leonardo Da Vinci| Leonardo Da Vinci| Circa 1495-1498

Art Movement and Artist’s Style

The movement associated with this painting is the Renaissance Movement. Renaissance art was characterized by realism and expression, individualism, perspective, classical humanism, and the geometrical arrangement of figures. Leonardo’s adherence to humanism methods- science and art- demonstrates that his work was heavily influenced by the Renaissance period (“Leonardo Da Vinci,” n.d.). Works such as Mona Lisa and the Last Supper focus on realism and expression as Leonardo successfully highlighted a realistic depiction of emotions in his paintings’ figures. His “Vitruvian Man” drawing depicted a man superimposed in two positions and tried to illustrate the relationship between geometry and the ideal human proportion (Leonardo Da Vinci, n.d.). Leonardo also included ancient classical writings in the Vitruvian man drawing, demonstrating his art interests and outlining the drawing’s humanistic aspects. Leonardo’s work is nearly unparalleled because his style naturalized his paintings.

The influences that shaped the work.

Historical influences

Leonardo’s painting features Jesus’ last meal with his Disciples as depicted in the Gospel (the subject of the painting). The painting shows the Apostle’s reaction to the announcement and heavily uses symbolic references to identify them. After the announcement, the Gospel indicates that Apostle Philip asked, “Lord, is it I?” and Jesus replied, “He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me” (Matthew 26). In the painting, you can see Judas and Jesus simultaneously reaching toward a plate between them, marking Judas as the culprit. The painting also shows Judas holding a clutch in his arm, possibly containing the reward for betraying Jesus. Peter, positioned behind Jesus, is holding a knife, foreshadowing that he will cut off a soldier’s ear to protect Jesus.

Leonardo’s imagination and skill is also apparent in the painting. Many of the painting’s elements: the apostles’ gestures and position at the dinner table, their emotional states, the setting, coloring, etc., are born merely out of his imagination and skills.

Stylistic influences

Renaissance artists made their paintings using fresco paint, oil paint, and tempera paint. Leonardo used the experimental technique to create his painting. Instead of fresco, a popular painting technique, Leonardo combined the tempera technique with an organic binder and panel (Sârbu, 2019). Although the experimental technique allowed precision and chromatic brilliance, it was also subject to a few problems. This technique’s disadvantage is that it made the painting incompatible with the wall, making it vulnerable to humidity. The moisture caused constant peeling and allowed mold to grow on the painting. Nonetheless, Leonardo used oil and tempera on plaster as his medium and a painting technique that marked Renaissance art.

The painting also contains some humanistic elements, e.g., the geometrical details in the painting. Inspired by the trinity concept, Leonardo groups the disciples into three. Martin and Jacobus (2019) indicate that diagramming the disciples creates triangular shapes, while the figure depicting Jesus is also a perfect triangle. The integration of these geometric proportions demonstrates humanistic influences in Leonardo’s work. Humanism was an integral element in humanism.

Reflection

I am familiar with the Last Supper painting, but this paper allowed me to better understand its meaning. The Research helped me understand that the painting is not just a simple depiction of a Biblical event. It is exceptionally intricate artwork, consisting of complex symbolism, psychological analysis, and dramatic focus, elements I had never noticed before. Understanding context provides meaning to the details of the artwork. It also helps to appreciate the narrative and clarify the intended message of the painting.

References

Sârbu, C. (2019). The Transfiguration of the Visible. Leonardo’s ‘Last Supper’. Studies in Visual Arts and Communication, 6(1), 51-56. https://journalonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/SVACij-Vol6_No1-2019_Sarbu_The_Transfiguration_of_the_Visible.pdf

Martin, F. D., & Jacobus, L. (2019). Humanities through the Arts. McGraw-Hill Education