The Renaissance occurred between the 14th century and the 17th century beginning in Italy in the 14th century, emerging and growing as a distinct style along with other areas in culture such as philosophy, literature, music and science. Renaissance art was the beginning of a manner of art that had perspective, that could show the difference between things that are close and things that are far, to make the paintings more lifelike and to make them seem more "3D". There was new emphasis on the realism of the painting or sculpture by using new forms of 'light and shade'. The renaissance happened because artists wished to distinguish themselves from the low rung on the social ladder that being an artist had always immediately placed them. Artists in the renaissance used mathematical perspective, geometry, optics and anatomy to show and prove that painting actually took intellectual ability which caused them too break away from being known as mere craftsman into a higher level of society where their paintings and work were recognized, and sometimes even praised. Renaissance artists used a range of new techniques such as; foreshortening - shortening lines in a drawing to create the illusion of depth, sfumato - blurring or softening sharp edges by gradually blending tones into each other to create three-dimensionality, chiaroscuro - using strong contrast between light and dark to create dimension (opposite of sfumato), perspective as I have already spoken about and also balance and proportion - to make sure everything was properly sized to create a more life like and realistic piece of artwork. These techniques plus many more that were developed in the Renaissance built the foundation for a lot of art leading up to and including modern art. The Renaissance was the transformation of art being known as a lowly craft into a lifestyle and a form of beauty that should be treasure and taught.
Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio was a very well known artist during the renaissance, not only for his paintings but also for his out of the ordinary temperament. Born in 1571 in Milan as a mason's son, he soon moved to Caravaggio to avoid the plage where he showed his talent for painting at the young age of 16 while apprenticing for Titian in Milan. Soon after this he moved to Rome where his temperament became quite noticeable due to many run ins with the police and public brawls. His work was very well known for its extensive realism, almost theatrical use of chiaroscuro, and his use of co-extensive space. His work was often dismissed by his fellow peers or society because it was too detailed and 'vulgar' to represent sacred parsonages. Although painters at the time were trying to become more realistic with their work, Caravaggio often went beyond this, painting dirty fingernails, dirty bottoms of feet, and bruises and worm holes in apples. People thought that these details were not fitting to represent religious scenes of such clout and were apparently "lacking reverence . Caravaggio was also known as a master of the chiaroscuro technique for his ability to use intensely dark and often somber backgrounds and then painting the main subjects in rays of light to highlight the emotions, physical attributes and details of the painting which made his paintings come to life. His paintings were often recognizable for his intense and stark difference between the light and dark areas with little in between value. This style is now called 'Tenebrism'. Another style unique to Caravaggio was his ability to make it seem like the light was coming from outside the painting, basically extending the composition into the viewer's space making the viewer feel like he was actually another member of the painting. Another phenomenal thing about Caravaggio was that he made no preliminary sketches before doing his painting, he just started it there and then, always managing to capture that moment and emotion in such vividness. Despite his being very famous while he lived, Caravaggio was almost forgotten immediately after his death until his influence on western art was rediscovered in the 20th century. He did however, have significant influence on the Baroque style of painting and modern day art and is still known as one of the most influential Italian painters of all time.
Carvaggio actually painted two versions of the "Head of Medusa" one in 1956 and the other is presumably 1957. The 2nd painting was actually a ceremonial shield commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, Caravaggio's patron, to be presented to the Grand Duke of Tuscany for his courage in defeating his enemies. Medusa in the 16th century was said to symbolize the triumph of reason over senses which is why this was a suitable gift for the occasion. Some say this painting was directly related to a piece of work by Leonardo da Vinci, who had once had a shield in the Duke's armoury depicting medusa but had long since been missing. Medusa had always been associated with a disturbing power, that of a gaze that turns people into stone. In Greek mythology, Medusa had always thought of herself as invincible. This painting is the said to represent the moment that she recognizes she is not invincible as she has just been decapitated and her facial expression depicts just that through her mouth being frozen in a scream and her brow furrowed, like she couldn't believe it was happening. This painting was about art and power, and Caravaggio unleashed his imagination and techniques on this war-made object to produce an image that conveyed a disturbing power. Decapitation was a reoccurring subject in Caravaggio's paintings, making an appearance in paintings such as Judith beheading Holofernes and The Beheading of St John The Baptist. This reoccurring theme may have influence Caravaggio to use this image of the shield.In this painting, Caravaggio once again demonstrates his love and talent for depicting realism and detail of the emotion and subject in the painting. He paints everything in complete detail, from every single snake to the inside of Medusa's mouth. He also managed to complete a milestone in the name of perspective by using his infamous chiaroscuro techniques; he manages to first of all make a convex shield look concave and secondly to make it seem like the head is being projected out of the shield and makes it seem like the blood from the head is going to drop on the floor. All in all, another phenomenal piece of artwork by Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio.
Original Painting: The Head Of Medusa (1957)
