Renaissance and Modern Art

During my second time visiting the museum, I looked at paintings from the 15th and 19th centuries. Two of the art works that I choose is "The Story of Joseph" from the Renaissance period and "The Marketplace" from the modern art period. Both of these paintings were from different time periods but they were also very similar in content and style.

The first pieces that I choose were from the Renaissance period. It is titled "The Story of Joseph" by Biagio d' Antonio. The card states that it is Italian, Florentine, active by 1472. The artist, Antonio died in 1516.

The location of the artwork was located on the 2nd floor of the museum. It was kind of difficult to find as it is not listed on the map. The painting is framed and placed near the corner of the entrance to another room. The artwork measured about 3 feet by 6 feet. It is placed near paintings of portraits. This was one of the reasons why I choose this painting. As soon as I walked into the room, it caught my eyes right away as not only was it different from the other artwork in the room but it also consisted of many colors in the paintings. It was also one of the biggest artwork in the room. The room itself was fairly large. There was enough lighting to get a good look at the art work but much dimmer compare to the other rooms. The lighting fits perfectly with the period. Every artwork in the room was spread out evenly with enough spacing between them. There were about 2 artworks near the center of the room but most of the artworks were hung up against the wall.

The painting "The Story of Joseph" by Biagio d' Antonio is made of tempura on wood. "The tempura techniques of previous centuries had already used oil as a binder, although other non-transparent substances, such as fig-tree juice and egg yolk, were more common, such binder produced a color that was absolutely opaque." (Wundram, 17) In the paintings, it shows various events going on almost like a storyboard. The people in the paintings are going about their business, talking, trading, and fishing. The painting tells the story of Joseph who is the favorite son of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob. (Genesis 37, 39, 42-27). Throughout the paintings, there are various inscriptions painted on the artwork. "GVSEPPO" is repeated throughout the painting. The other words that are inscribed are JACOB (joseph), MERCATANT (Jacob merchants), PVLTIER (Potiphar), MOGIE DIPVLTIER (Potiphar's wife), and FARAGON (Pharoah). Each of the inscriptions represents who the people in the paintings are. On the left side of the paintings, it shows Joseph being sold to Potiphar, Joseph fleeing from Potipar's wife and his imprisonment. It also has Joseph greeting his father and kinsmen on their arrival in Egypt. On the right is the dream of Pharaoh and Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's dream. There are buildings and structures along with the type of clothing that was wore at that time. Each one is painted with plenty of details to get a sense of what the buildings was like at that time and the fashion. The buildings and other structures consist of arch shaped windows. "From the beginning of the fourteenth century the representational arts in Italy were linked, on the one hand with the heritage of Roman art, particularly sculpture, and on the other hand with the dramatic possibilities inherent in Christian subject-matter." (Murray, 17) There are also plenty of animals in it, from horses to camels and dogs. It shows how animals played a major role at that time as it was the means of travel, trade and companionship. The one thing that I noticed about the paintings is the expressions on each of the people's faces. It is dark and gloomy. They all looked sad. This painting was originally engaged in the wainscoting of a bedroom and dated about 1482. "Painting rose to a position of primacy amongst its fellow disciplines for the first time in the history of western art. A new relationship was born between the work of art and the spectator: the painting no longer sought merely to fulfill a function, but issued its own challenge to the person before it."(Wundram, 9)

If I was the curator, I would not change a thing except maybe add more lighting. I think the reason why it is not as bright as the other rooms is maybe too much lighting will damage the artwork.

The reason why I choose this work is due to the size of the painting and amount of the things going on in it. I noticed it right away as soon as I walked into the room. The painting was placed next to other paintings of portraits. Looking at the artwork was like watching a movie. There are various things going in the life of Joseph. The paintings also consisted of many different colors. It is well painted and detailed and you can clearly view the emotions on each of their faces. From looking at the painting, you can tell the artist's hand motions with the brushes.

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