Renaissance Art Response the Word Renaissance Means

Renaissance Art Response

The word renaissance means a complete change in modes of art, literature, music, and architecture, as well as an altered sense of morality and ethicality during a given period of time. This change stems from an expansion of thought and with that a new sense of what matters in the world. Every type of art developed and changed throughout the Renaissance period, including literature, music, and visual arts, namely paintings and sculpture. One of the finest artists who came out of the European Renaissance was Rembrandt van Rijn. Rembrandt is unique in all of Renaissance artistry in that he was primarily interested in painting people that he knew rather than historic figures or events although he did also paint Biblical scenes which he felt particularly connected to.

The piece I focused on is a self-portrait of the artist Rembrandt van Rijn, more commonly known as simply Rembrandt, from 1663. It is appropriately entitled Self-Portrait. Rembrandt painted many self-portraits during his career and each ones shows him at a different stage in his life. This particular self-portrait is obviously from when Rembrandt was older, perhaps the end of middle age. His hair has turned grey and some parts are white. The mustache on his face is similarly colored. His neck shows folds, as though his skin is aged and he has put on some middle aged pounds. On the top of his head is a white hat which is floppy. It is there either to keep his head warm or perhaps to hide a receding hairline. Even though he was painting himself, Rembrandt did not bother to look fashionable (Van de Wetering 290). The image appears as though he has just woken up from bed or was lounging about his home and just decided to paint himself as he was dressed. What is most interesting about this painting are Rembrandt's eyes. He looks out from the painting, directly at the viewer. His is not a face of vibrant youth, but of a man who is older and who is tired. From the canvas, he seems to be telling the story of his entire life in a series of colored brushstrokes.

During the Renaissance, painters worked diligently to create new ways to depict the human form on canvas and wood. Before this time, artists showed human figures in very flat, two-dimensional ways. Medieval art all show people who do not look like real fully rendered human beings. During the Renaissance, this changed and artists wanted their human subjects to look like they do in the real world. The intention was to create the most realistic depiction of humanity possible in this two-dimensional medium. If one looks carefully at portraiture from this time period, it is evident that of major importance to the artists is the presentation of the subject's face. This perspective is evident in this Rembrandt painting. Even though the face looks blurred from the way the subject was painted, it still gives the impression of being a real person rather than a representation. Rembrandt himself said that in his work he intended to portray the greatest and most natural moment (Hughes 6). This is clear if you look at some of the other self-portraits that Rembrandt made. None of them are stoic, dignified poses but rather there are self-portraits of the artist wearing fancy costumes or making funny faces which he would have made by looking in a mirror.