Renaissance Art.

Renaissance art is characterized by naturalism, the use of expressive gesture, linear perspective, atmospheric perspective, and chiaroscuro. In painting, figures are placed in a three-dimensional, believable space, and their posture and gesture. The main characteristics of the Renaissance Art are realism, expressionism, perspective, emphasis on individualism, geometrical arrangement of figures and light and shadowing. Renaissance art plays a great role in the world of arts. It is amazing to know how Renaissance artists work on their arts. How they apply their technique to beautify their works. Many Renaissance artists develop their own original styles. Leonardo da Vinci as one of the greatest artists in Renaissance period, clearly understands linear perspective as well as the importance of light as the unified light source in the painting is related to the real light source. In terms of expression in Renaissance art, it is important to remember that this was a time when art was being brought back to life. Renaissance period made a great impact in the world of art. That make artists now a days more detailed in making their artworks. Artists now a days adopt the techniques of Renaissance period, like the way they use chiaroscuro effect. Renaissance art sought to capture the experience of the individual and the beauty and mystery of the natural world. Artists studied the effect of light out­of­doors and how the eye perceives all the diverse elements in nature. They developed aerial perspective, in which objects become increasingly less distinct and less sharply colored as they recede from the eye of the viewer. The Renaissance period in art history corresponds to the beginning of the great Western age of discovery and exploration, when a general desire developed to examine all aspects of nature and the world. The Renaissance helped in the philosophy, Bruno and other thinkers threw off the chains of cramped intellectual masters for the sake of gaining a free, ancient but pagan viewpoint. This new position proved unsuitable in the end, but it served at the time as a means of escape, a necessary step in the direction of modern philosophy. The Renaissance gradually reached all parts of Europe and finally modified all phases of social life. It developed new arts such as printing, new conceptions of our earth through geographic discoveries, new national policies as in the cultivation of trade by sea, new church life through the Reformation. It brought inspiration, light and joy to those who delighted in art, learning and adventure. However, the neglected masses of peasants were long in gaining any relief from their miseries. Our growth of knowledge was held back by the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance period helped us learn that knowledge with a great speed indeed.

BAROQUE ART!

Baroque art is generally associated with the 17th century. Characterized by a focus on asymmetry, mass and space, Baroque art also uses light and color in a new, dramatic way. While in the 16th century there was a balance between the part and the whole, now there is a sense of unity, where the part is submerged in the whole. Art theory develops during this time, initially in Italy, and promotes ideas of order and organization as well as instinctive immediate emotions. The word "baroque" was first applied to the art of period from the late 1500s to the late 1700s, by critics in the late nineteen century. Baroque covers a wide range of styles and artists. Baroque could be the last stage of Renaissance art or it could be the beginning of a new period of painting. If it is a new style it must be distinguished from theRenaissance style having a clear set of stylistic principles. LIGHT, REALISM AND NATURALISM and LINES are some of the characteristics of Baroque art. Baroque art is characterized by great drama, rich color, and intense light and dark shadows. As opposed to Renaissance art, which usually showed the moment before an event took place, Baroque artists chose the most dramatic point, the moment when the action was occurring: Michelangelo, working in the High Renaissance, shows his David composed and still before he battles Goliath; Bernini's baroque David is caught in the act of hurling the stone at the giant. Baroque art was meant to evoke emotion and passion instead of the calm rationality that had been prized during the Renaissance. The Baroque style of art was a dramatic change from the Renaissance style that came before it. During the Renaissance, artists tried to show perfect people and classical themes. Renaissance artists liked the art of ancient Greece with its symmetry and grace. But by the 1500s, artists wanted to relax a little. Baroque artists painted real people with all of their warts, wrinkles, and bumps. They enjoyed the down-to-earth art of ancient Rome. Baroque art itself had a bumpy start, but after a while it gained the respect of the artistic world. People began to like the realistic detail and intense emotions they saw in Baroque drawings and paintings.

Christian Arts...

"Christian art" is a term which, while it always applies to the fine arts and their creations only, is nevertheless used in more than one meaning which we must distinguish in this encyclopedia. Most frequently we designate by Christian art, the arts in as much as we find them in the service of the Church. So far as they serve either to construct or to embellish houses of worship, the homes of the consecrated servants of God, monasteries, convents, the last resting-places of the faithful.In this sense, Christian art is also called ecclesiastical art, and we find it convenient to treat this subject under the title ECCLESIASTICAL ART. But Christian art is sometimes also used to denote the fine arts and their creations, in as much as they are in harmony with Christian ideals and principles. In this regard Christian art will be treated under the several special headings into which its divisions naturally fall.

Here in the Philippines, there are Churches like the one above, the Lipa Cathedral Church that are considered a heritage and historical in our history. It was built in Romanesque tradition with a circular dome, massive walls and balconies. It is the center of worship in the historic town of Lipa, Batangas. Lipa Cathedral was originally built to honor St. Sebastian. Its first grand concept was completed in 1865 but, after the devastation of World War II, it underwent massive reconstruction. This beautiful church has an architecture in which columns and light play. The domes of the church and the bell tower have intricate moldings and arched stained-glass windows.

Christian art hasn't affected me in terms of doing illustrations. Now I can somehow adapt ideas that I have learned about the different styles and perceptions of the artists that contributed lots of artworks from this era. I am now familiar with the Christian artworks such as their churches, sculptures and their paintings, I can tell myself that every people has different beliefs that they practiced on their daily lives.