Visual Analysis: The Early Renaissance Period Of Flemish Painting

Student`s Name Professor`s Name Course Code and Name Date Visual Analysis The early Renaissance period of Flemish painting took place between the 15th and the 17th century. It became distinct from the other paintings of the other low countries such as the northern Netherlands. In the 16th century, the Italian Renaissance painting had a huge influence on the Flemish painters. Pieter Brueghel was among the top painters who avoided the Italian influence. During this period, the northern European areas were controlled by the Dukes of Burgundy. This included the areas encompassing some parts of the modern FR, Belgium, Germany, and Holland. Therefore, the political influences in such areas resulted in a similarity in many things such as the continued domination of the Flemish painting. Unlike other types of paintings used across different parts of the world during this time, the Flemish painting was associated with the upper middle class due to the cost of the high-quality materials required for the painting. The urban middle class had developed as a result of the recovery from the Bubonic plague which forced people to make new investments in order to boost their ways of living. The improved standard of living had a huge impact on the prosperity of the merchants and craft workers because they could afford the quality of materials necessary for the Flemish painting. Also, the Renaissance error involved growth in independent of artistic culture which influenced the kind of paintings that the artists were making. The world of painting had private patrons who played a substantial role in overseeing the rights and well-being of the artists. The unique aspect of the Flemish painting is that it emphasized on light and shadow and involved natural figures. Most of the paintings revealed various common themes such as religion, contemporary life, and the daily routine. Therefore, this paper will compare one of Van Eyck's famous painting known as the wedding portrait with the Vanni Madonna and child enthroned painting. Both paintings present the theme of the contemporary daily life of human beings. The wedding portrait is a representation of the life of a common human being that they have to go through in order to survive. The paintings show a prosperous Italian banker who had settled in Bruges. During the period when the painting was made, people were in the process of adapting the industrial revolution and learning how to work hard in order to earn a living. The portrait has various items that depict that the banker had accumulated wealth in his years of working. Among such items are the rosary beads, St. Margaret, candles, fruits, a dog and a convex mirror. The items are also a depiction of the religious believers of the family presented in the portrait. In addition to being a successful banker, the painting has a pregnant woman who is most likely his wife. In a normal life setting, a person`s life would not be completed by having a successful career, but would also a family to work for. Therefore, this is an indication that the couple was in the process of following the human’s being's contemporary life of a good career and a family. As well, the Vanni Madonna and child enthroned portrait is also a depiction of the contemporary life of human bei...