Northern Renaissance
The piece I chose for this week’s
blog is Adam and Eve by Albrecht Durer. As I was researching artists and
their artworks from the Northern Renaissance, I kept going back to this piece.
I believe, because of its inevitable detail, it continued to standout, and it
forced me to keep searching for all the hidden pieces within it.
From first
glance, the viewer is drawn to only Adam and Eve as they are the brightest figures
in the print. The curvature of each muscle, the defined shadowing to portray
the body as if it was caught in mid movement, and the immense detail used to
capture their faces and hair, are all parts that call out to the viewer. In
this Khan
Academy article, the author discusses how Durer shows his appreciation to Humanism
within this artwork. The style of Renaissance Humanism is to explore and show
gratitude to what it means to be human, and more specifically in terms of the
Renaissance, it was to revitalize the beauty of the classical world. In Durer’s
Adam and Eve, he does just that by taking consideration of Vitruvian
ideologies of classical art, he creates a piece that embodies Humanism values. It
can further be argued that he takes Humanism into thought while he creates the
other characters in this piece. For example, the parrot, cat, goat, cow, and
other creatures are portrayed in likeness to real life animals.
The Khan Academy article that I
list above discusses the themes and symbols represented in this piece, I highly
suggest reading it if you have the time. Something I found very fascinating is
Durer created this piece with the thought to portray, through motifs, himself,
Germany, and the Renaissance, instead of relying on themes from the biblical
text. Overall, this piece is truly unique!
I would enjoy owning a copy of Durer’s
Adam and Eve because it would be very interesting to hear and see the
reactions of my friends and family members as they view it in my home.
What do you see right away when
looking at this piece?
Noble, Dr. Bonnie. n.d. Durer, Adam and Eve.
Khan
Academy - Durer, Adam and Eve
I really agree with you on the attention to detail in the Artwork, Adam and Eve are both extremely defined through great shading of the muscles, facial features and hair. Humanism is very much seen as a theme in this Art, Adam & Eve are both portrayed in a way to show gratitude for what it means to be human which you perfectly explained. Humanism is also shown through the realism of animals and how the picture looks like it was shot as a photo during a lot of motion. I really like how Durer created this piece through unique themes and not repetitive themes such as themes from the biblical text.
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