Renaissance Art

Pick one or two paintings (those on display at the National Gallery might be the most useful because seeing the actual painting tells you more than a reproduction). One of the motives of many of the paintings we have looked at is to capture a reality that has three or four dimensions in only two dimensions. This demands selection by the artist of the various elements of reality – focusing on some and ignoring others. The assignment is to compare the ‘reality’ of two works. What is real for the artist? This may be the items selected for inclusion, it may be more a matter of attitude – (what, for example, makes the difference between a picture of a nude women and a pornographic picture?). It may be qualities that are apparent in the production of the painting, technical things such as choice of colours, the kind of perspective, rationality or sensuality. The second part of the task is putting your responses and recognitions into words – and supporting your arguments with reference to specific detail in the paintings.