Painting

The Birth of the Virgin Wiki Commons

Domenico Ghirlandaio’s Tornabuoni Chapel in Santa Maria Novella is truly a wonderful example of an exquisite fresco cycle. Using classical pilasters and entablatures, Ghirlandaio divided the two enormous walls under the wall rib in this Gothic chapel into six horizontally rectangular picture fields. In this particular piece, The Birth of the Virgin, set in a 15^th century Florentine Palazzo, the Tornabouni family are active participants in the piece, crowding around the bed of Mary’s mother. The painting is a truly a fresco as seen in the texture of the piece. Unlike oil and tempera, fresco is rougher and lends more to the shape of the pigments that the binding agent. The fresco also lacks the vibrancy of color that oil and tempera can achieve as seen in the blue cloaks of the 3^rd and 6^th women from the right. Also typical of fresco’s, The Birth of the Virgin, has seen better days. The lower right hand corner has loss o pigment and crumbling plaster.

Descent from the Cross Wiki Commons

Fra Angelico’s move into San Marco in Florence was beneficial for both parties, as Angelico had a peaceful place to work on and further develop his art and the church and cloister gained a collection of art that has placed it on the map. In Angelico’s 1440 triptych tempera, Descent form the Cross, the artists development of space and lines is evident. This early Renaissance piece is the quintessential tempera. The bright colors in the shades of red in the work are due to the vibrancy that came from the mixture o the pigments and egg yolk, something that was lost with fresco paintings.  There are few gradations of tone, seen in the figure to the far left, a quality that would have easily been achieved with oil.

The Holy Family with Saint Agnes, Wiki Commons

Fra Paolino’s oil painting, The Holy Family with Saint Agnes done in 1525 and hanging in San Marco, is a beautiful example of a High Renaissance oil painting. It is evident that this piece is an oil painting due to the overall sheen of the painting. Unlike frescos, which appear matte, and tempera, which have more of an eggshell appearance, oil paintings have a decidedly shiny appearance due to the glazes that an artist applies over time. When areas such as Mary’s blue mantle and the dress of the angel are examined, one can see the blending of the paint, something that is achieved quite easily with the slow-drying medium.