Cultural Artifacts
There are two artifacts that I am going to be analyzing. One of the artifacts I have chosen is “The Lamentation” by Giotto di Bondone who was an Italian. This painting was done around the year 1305 around the 15th Century and placed in the Scrovegni Chapel, Padua Italy. The Scrovegni Chapel has 39 sequential scenes pictorializing the life of Virgin Many and Jesus Christ the son. At the entrance of the Scrovegni Chapel are other paintings with the last judgement which is not out point of focus on this paper. The original “Lamentation” painting had a dimension of 6′ 6.75″ × 6′ 0.75″. There are other versions of the “Lamentation” by Annibale Carracci found in the National Gallery, London, which have been recreated by other artists which is not what I am going to be looking at. Most of the recreated “Lamentation” was done after Giotto original paintings.
The second work that I have chosen is “ The Adoration of the Magi” which is painting done by Sandro Botticelli which is now located in Uffizi Gallery, Florence Italy. The “Adoration of the Magi” is Sandro Botticelli’s illustration of a celebrated scene, where the three Magi, or kings, bring gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to lay before a baby Jesus. The story of three wise men is popular among Christians for many centuries. The three kings or the Three Magi have been depicted in countless works of arts. But only one out of the four gospels in the bible mentions the story. The Adoration of the Magi was prevalent among Renaissance painters in the 15th Century. It was created in 1475 and its original painting had dimension of 3′ 8″ × 4′ 5″. Also it should be noted that there more versions of the “The Adoration of the Magi” painted by Leonardo Da Vinci; this is not the painting I am going to be analyzing.
Common Theme
A common theme that could possibly be shared by the two arts works that I have chosen is “Christian Redemption”. Redemption according to website https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-redemption-700693 means the buying back or paying a price to return to possession of something. The reason for this theme is because chapels were intended to correct the sins accumulated by families who made their way to the chapel. The Scrovegni family was one of those families involved in moneylending activities considered as sinners. Both of these paintings was used so Christians could come, pray in front of the paintings and expect to be cleaned by the time they leave the chapel. That is the reason why both paintings were originally done in chapels using biblical figures. Both paintings can be seen widely used nowadays in other chapels around the world having been recreated in many forms. Christians believe that when we born it should be celebrated and once we die we should also be celebrated as can be seen by both art works.
Personal Experience
There are certain values that Christians believes in which backs in the days Jesus Christ spent on earth. The values are either considered sacred on one which if followed strictly can guarantee life after death with special place in “heaven” with all “good things”. The theme of “Christian Redemption” can widely be seen both in life or ordinary people and those of Christians. Most people would agree that once we sin which could be hurt someone, lie about someone, betray someone, cheat on someone, kill someone, steal from someone, cross dressing, a man sleeping with another man and a woman sleeping with another woman we seek ways to paying a price to return to something to our possession which could be their love or trust we had before.
With lovers you will see men buying flowers or gifts to show how they are sorry with hope regain the trust of the other partner. We say we are sorry to one another in an attempt to ask for forgiveness and try to get that trust back. This is same thing Christians do when they guilty of sins they have this pray and ask for forgiveness from God. Personally I feel that if someone has hurt, stole, cheated they should have a punishment equal to what they have done.
Whether it is Christians or non-Christians alike I do like the fact that fearing of God can guide us towards treating people fairly with lots of regards to human beings. This is where I feel that sometimes there is no right or wrong way in treating people. So whether we are in pain as the “Lamentation” art work shows or celebrating as “The Adoration by Magi” shows we have to celebrate life and learn to come together for common good as both art works show. In beaches especially in summer you see families travelling together to renew their commitment to one another which can a way of paying a price to return to the love of one another they once had which might have faced challenges in past years.
That is personal experience that can be likened to “Christian Redemption” when they sin and make like prayers to be clean in front of the eyes of God. This is personal to me because I know the life style I choose to live is not in the eye of Christians way of living. I am have chosen to marry a woman and live my live with a woman. Now me being born and raised in the Christian sitting I was not to do this because this is a sin and now I am blocking my blessings because I have chosen to live outside the Christian way.
Profession
Redemption is a context that most of us whether Christians or non-Christians practice widely by sacrificing in one way or the other to get back to a position where we once occupied. If you have to join the military you definitely need sacrificing family time in order to serve the nation abroad in remote or hostile environments. If you have to be a politician like President Mr. Barack Obama, you have to sacrifice privacy for as public figure is had to have privacy you might need. If you have to be a student in SNHU you have to sacrifice going old with friends and sometimes even family because you have assignments that you have to do.
No matter the profession you find yourself there are sacrifices one must make in order to get to somewhere which is what redemption means “paying a price to return to something we once hard or hope to have in future”. In professional setting most, professionals would testify that daily they have to sacrifice either their time or knowledge to help others either in their jobsite or elsewhere. For instance, when I am at work with my colleagues we all have issues with the way our department is being ran and how they want some much from us but still don’t give us the things we need in order to make sure we can do our job.
Humanity Resources
The first source I would use for analysis of “The Lamentation” is by Giotto, 1266?-1337. (1305). Arena Chapel: North Wall: Lamentation over the dead Christ. The second source will be Cesare Gnudi’s monograph, in English, Giotto (1958), is considered the standard modern work. The third source is an analysis of the fresco method used in Assisi sees Millard Meiss and Leonetto Tintori, The Painting of the Life of St. Francis in Assisi, with Notes on the Arena Chapel (1962). Chosen my sources entailed careful selection of variety of sources and screening. There are just many sources out there on the internet with different interpretation. Finding credible sources with in-depth analysis was not easy to come by as most of sources that I googled only lead to pictures in museums with not much explanations. However, some of museum sources had links to other sources that had brief overviews. So, a combination of various brief summaries led rich combination of analysis.
Historical Content
The historical content of “Lamentation” depicts the mourning of Christ which was done around the period of the beginning of the Renaissance. Around the 1300s the renaissance was in the way people think about the world, the past, themselves and their relationship with God. He changed the style of painting to spiritual which Giotto was commissioned by famous money lender son Enrico who build the chapel had it decorated by Giotto to apologize for the sin of his father who charged interests on loans. Paying for paintings to be drawn on walls of churches was seen as ways of doing “good works” which was presumed to could one’s way into Heaven. So, it was some sought of asking for forgiveness which is what most of us Christians or non-Christians may do when we hurt people or love ones.
The Adoration of the Magi by Botticelli was commissioned by an Italian banker, Gaspare di Zanobi del Lama. He needed the painting for a chapel located in Florence. But presently the chapel where the “Adoration of the Magi” once rested is now destroyed, and the painting is now in the Uffizi, a famous art museum in Florence, Italy. The Adoration of Magi is visit of wise men (The Magi) to baby Jesus when he was born in Bethlehem according to Old Testament of King James Version of Bible. This painting is also good illustration of the Italian renaissance as it was done around that period and full of rich charming colors that make the painting look like a portrayal of that period.
Similarities and Differences
Both paintings were done by Italians in the Renaissance period. That period changed the style of painting from mere piece of work of arts meant for admiration to more spiritual as can be seen by the “Lamentation” and emotional “The Adoration of the Magi” by Sandro Botticelli. Both paintings were meant originally for chapel and commissioned by wealthy individuals that time to show signs of “good work”. In the “Lamentation” by Giotto you could see angels painted watching Mary Magdalene and others holding Jesus Christ. Pictures of angels nowadays bring or introduce a sense of presence of spirits. In the “Lamentation” the emotions of the mourners are expressed largely through their hands and faces, particularly their mouths which seems to shiver with unhappiness. Their bowed heads and huddled bodies add to the inclusive impression of mourning.
The human figures are given greater three-dimensionality than normal. It also creates convincing impressions of space which adds more sense of reality to the entire picture. Once these three factors – 1) the naturalness of Giotto’s faces and expressions; 2) the sculptural nature of his figures; and 3) the “depth” he creates in his pictures – marked a revolutionary turning-point in 15th Century paintings. Consequently, Giotto’s innovations provided huge inspiration for Proto-Renaissance artists in Italy and France at that time and formed the foundation for the Florentine Renaissance which ultimately spread throughout Europe making it very symbolic.
On the other hand, “The Adoration of the Magi” by Sandro Botticelli is emotional with joy as oppose to the “Lamentation” as individuals and families gather for the birth of Jesus Christs. A glance at the many paintings with The Three Magi as subject matter reveals them all showing the three kings in adoration before the child and Mary. In most cases Joseph is not always shown. Both images are used by Christians worldwide to remember the life of Christ on earth from his birth to his death. That is why Christmas is celebrated as birth of Christ and Easter is celebrated after we are presumed to have gone through repentance of our sins then we rise with Christ as indicated by Easter holidays. Both days are celebrated by most nations worldwide.
Both paintings although shows stages of life of Christ, have differences associated with it. One shows the birth of Christ which is assumed joyous and the other the death of Christ which you can clearly see the figures in the paintings expressing sad emotions. After we are born “The Adoration of the Magi” we sin and needs forgiveness. Then comes the “Lamentation” by Giotto where we die so that our sins die with us and can be forgiven while we hope to return again after having paid for our sins with death hence called “Christian Redemption”.
Medium
Looking at the “The Adoration of the Magi” one can almost guest the meaning. You see people gathered in front of woman carrying a baby. You can see them approaching humble with some people even kneeling. The birth of any baby whether he or she is special like the case of Jesus Christ brings together a lot of people. It brings families, well-wishers, neighbors, to celebrate not only the successful delivery of the baby but in most nations considered something sacred. Thus, birth or Christ or good news general draws people for all works of life. The “Lamentation” by Giotto can be seen as sacred too with very selected members of family. It is very important as it shows no matter what we do on earth one day we will die. When people are at that stage in life it brings a lot of emotions on most part spiritual as can be seen by the angels on the paintings of Lamentation by Giotto. Both paintings whether its original version or permitted recreated version can be seen reproduced in many religious books or museums or places of worships to show the stages of life of Christ and the sacrifices he made which is sacred to most Christians.
Thesis Statement
The two paintings are highly used by religious institutions around the world to teach the stages involved in life of Christ and how they can try to live like him as life is too short with death being inevitable. The Adoration by Magi shows the visitation of Jesus Christ by wise men while the “Lamentation” shows the period towards the death of Jesus Christs which are two periods in his life that is highly recognized by most religious groups around the world. These shows sacrifice we must make as in the “Lamentation” to return back to our original possessions which are called “Christian Redemption”. Most Christians will tell you if you see you must do something to be forgiven or be clean back as before which is what non-Christians do if they hurt people.
Audience
Choosing the audience to present a presentation like these can be very tricky. The audience I have choosing for such presentation would be any one who is interested in known how the life of Christ can be reflected in our daily commitments to success which involves sacrifices. My presentation may also be interesting to people who want to know how the teachings of Christ can make us humble as there are certain things like ‘death’ which is inevitable. Also, those who have never believed in the power of family or group coming to your aid when in trouble can see clearly from the two paintings how important families can be to us whether in times of joy or sadness. Sacrifices in life are necessary if we intend to achieve as Christ teaches us that.
Message
In order to adapt my presentation in relation to chosen audience and make it worth listen or reading, I would try to bring the aspect of sacrifices we must make in life in order to achieve in most cases. For example, politicians given up their privacy to serve us in the Senate. Another example is that a single mother has to give up her dreams and goals to raise a child on her own, so she makes the sacrifices to see to that her child has everything. When the flint water crises broke we saw how when groups of people come together in crisis which are sad moments like in the paintings of “Lamentation” we can achieve a lot or the hurricane that struck Texas and Florida.
I would also consider the fact that not everybody is interested in the teachings of Jesus Christ and be cautious while I present the paintings and not get into conflict with audience about Religious beliefs like the Kentucky Clerk, Kimberly Jean Davis that refused to unite marriages that included same sex couples. Focusing on the interpretation of the two paintings and message we can learn from can be done without offending non-Christians which is what I will be very cautious about so that all audiences can find it relatable to daily life and learn from it and not feel as though I am pushing them to believe in something that don’t feel that should believe in.
Conclusion
The images of “Lamentation” by Giotto and “The Adoration of the Magi” by Sandro Botticelli can be seen in various versions used by different Christian or non-Christians, Artists, Poets, etc all over the world either to signify something special or for analysis of ancient days works of Arts. The images have either been modified or repainted to suit various scenes depending on which religious group that is using it to align with their believes of the birth or period towards the death of Jesus Christs. The Catholics for example have various images included in string of their prayers which are being recited at certain periods of the year to signify their deep commitment to their religious beliefs. These paintings were done around the Renaissance period in Florence Italy. If the Renaissance in Florence would not have happened during the 15th Century and so artists in Rome and Venice would not have probably developed as they did.
Meaning the history of art would therefore have evolved quite differently. These two paintings appeared to have shifted attention once again to being human. Giotto definitely began a study that would laid the foundation for the soon-to-follow Italian Renaissance. He also did influenced an artistic shift away from 2D figures floating on the surface of the painting, lined up and facing forward, to 3D figures overlapping one another.
In both paintings all eyes are intent on the face of baby Jesus Christ in “The Adoration by Magi” and the dead of Christ in the “Lamentation” by Giotto. With some figures kneeling, others standing and some even sitting facing us, maybe inviting us to join the scenes of joy “The Adoration by Magi” or tears “The Lamentation”. Both paintings have its religious aspects stressed in each figure with expressions of devotedness and is being continuously used to depicted the stages of Jesus’s Christs life on earth which most Christians try to align the religious beliefs to.
