Renaissance

Many modern students of art take for granted the endless techniques proven to maximize the effect of painting , such as chiaroscuro and the use of perspective . While such things are taken for granted today centuries ago they were innovations and reflections of genius minds Showing religious iconography and humanistic ideals , low and high society , and life as a human in the fifteenth century , the works of Robert Campin , Fra Angelico , and Leonardo da Vinci , show perspective in such a way that the subjects depict seem to come alive

The painting on the

center panel of the Merode Altarpiece , painted by the Master of Flemalle , otherwise known as Robert Campin around 1425-1428 during the Early Renaissance , shows the adept use of perspective to accentuate the scene . The scene is set in a typical upper-middle-class chamber with soft light flowing inward from the windows . Mary is absorbed in her reading , seemingly not yet aware of the angel Gabriel 's presence . All details seem remarkably realistic and everything falls naturally into its place . Even the conventional haloes are omitted , and the painter has succeeded in representing a supernatural even happening in familiar everyday surroundings . Beneath the surface , however , there seems to exist an extremely subtle symbolic meaning to many of the painting 's different elements . The vase with lilies on the table refers to Mary 's purity . The water jug and the towel on the back wall seem to denote the Virgin as the vessel most clean ' and could also be an allusion to baptism

The painting , Annunciation , by Fra Angelico , painted around 1445 - 1450 , in the later stages of the Early Renaissance is another painting that captures Renaissance ideals . While Angelico seems to paint with the deepest religious sentiment , his figures in the painting appear within the new Renaissance conception of space . The perspective and the 15th-century architectural details are so exact that the event could well be taking place in a corner of any Renaissance locale , and the arches echo the ancient classical ideals . Furthermore , the native Tuscan flowers seen in the garden are observed well enough to satisfy a botanical expert . The lighting , however , is far from the natural illumination of other Renaissance artists , and Angelico makes it seem that the figure of the angel Gabriel and the serene purity of Mary are beheld as if in a vision

While both paintings depict the same event , there are considerable differences that make them unique . Campin 's painting is much heavier in its execution , and the way the clothes drape off the Virgin and Gabriel are much more dramatic and flowing . Also , the perspective of Campin 's painting is less in the Renaissance ideal than that of Angelico , who manages to create a realistic depiction of his setting . While Campin 's annunciation takes place inside , Angelico 's takes place in a portico allowing the distance of the outside background to create a greater sense of natural space . The basic poses of both the angel and Mary are similar , with Mary seated...