The Arnolfini Wedding vs. Madonna and Child

The Arnolfini Wedding -Kiera Goddu

By: Jan van Eyck The Netherlands 1434

This painting by Jan van Eyck is a great example of Renaissance art because the detail in the painting is far beyond any previous paintings of the Middle Ages. The painting also illustrates a very precise portrayal of the human body which is very common in the Renaissance style. The artist enraptures such a real looking scene that the one looking at it almost feels engulfed in what is going on. The very humanist themes of the painting centered around two people who are getting married and focusing on their lives instead of a religious or natural landscape like most Medieval art had been before. The extreme detail in this painting includes the light coming from the window, the reflection of the painting in the mirror, the ornate chandelier, and the detail of the clothing of the subjects. The precision, the themes, and the perspective of the painting make this work the epitome of Renaissance Art.

Madonna and Child -Zach Troidle

By: Giotto di Bondone Florence, Italy 1310

This painting is called Madonna and Child, or Ognissanti Madonna, by Giotto di Bondone. It currently resides in the Ufizzi Gallery in Florence, Italy. It is dated around 1310. Sticking with medieval art themes, it contains very heavy religious influence, depicting the Virgin Mary and her child, Christ. The pieces also keeps with medieval patterns with the flat dimensions and haloed heads. The bodies are also not realistically proportioned in any way. However, this specific piece demonstrates interesting effects in the fabric of the clothing worn. It shows more environmental effects on the clothing than other medieval artwork, similar to renaissance.  Also, unlike Unicorn Defends Himself, it demonstrates real space and a single plane. Every person in the painting is on the same level except for Mary and Christ, who are elevated upon the throne.

Compare and Contrast-Kiera Goddu

These works are almost polar opposites. The detail and humanist themes of the Arnolfini Wedding and the overwhelmingly religious themes and two dimensional aspects of the Madonna and Child epitomizes the difference between the Renaissance and the Middle Ages. The differences are evident at face value with the correctly proportional and life like figures of the wedding piece and the disproportioned, blank, and colorless figures in the Madonna and Child. Madonna and Child also centers around religion which was a big part of life in the Middle Ages but as the church was being questioned in the Renaissance the themes also changed as evident in the new humanist themes of The Arnolfini Wedding.