I was just reading the bio of Queen Elizabeth the first. I always google image search people I am researching to give me a better mental image. I also always wish we had actual photographs of old historical figures. I was just wondering about rennaissance and medieval paintings, however. The people depicted in paintings from these time periods look a bit different from someone an artist would paint another time period, face/body shape wise. I am wondering, are these paintings accurate portrayals of humans, or was it just a painting style?
BIG, topic. At the Renaissance paintings began to take a more "realistic" style. And this is not a coincidence, realistic paintings developed, funny enough, alongside medicine. The more Western civ knew about anatomy (check out Leanardo's notebooks) the more "accurate" painters became. But also, if you take a look at Medieval paintings you will see that a lot of them were restricted by ideological things. Like, painting of women in general was frowned upon. Religious figures were usually painted in larger size, whereas ordinary people were smaller, etc. etc. So, Medieval painters were not only hampered by their lack of knowledge of perspective, anatomy, and lighting, but also by their subject matter and what was accepted by The Church, which was the main patron of the arts at that point. But painting didn't really become FULLY realistic until the Enlightment.
Pretty damn realistic. I just took a British Renaissanse lit class with a very gay and flamboyant teacher, so we talked about art and drama almost as much as we did about religion and politics. Praxis is impresively dead on in everything he said.
I'm not sure. I would imagine all portraits of powerful people were somewhat exhalted and romanticized. Post a pic of the painting you're talking about so we can analyze it.
They're all gonna be posing and looking all funky, but they will probably be pretty accurate unless the person drawn was very ugly and made to be pretty or such... yet all photographs are also partially dedicated to capturing our best looks... you can make a fat person look skinny if you can work your angles.
For instance, Mary Queen of Scots: I feel like the beady eyes, oval/round face with no definition and thin nose and lips are depicted on everyone.
This is pretty realistic. But there are still technical boo-boohs. Look at the awkward left hand and how it's juxtaposed over her dress. It's also a little stiff. I'd say, if she had a wart or some such, the painter would not have depicted it.
Paintings of Elizabeth answer to political andd alegorical conditions. During the time period, minatures acted as tokens of loyalty. The Catholic Church was against Elizabeth I for continuing her Fathers break with Rome; the image portrayed would show loyalty. I remember one image of the Queen her dress covered with ears, showing she hears all. another gripping a rainbow. Did you see Cate Blanchett star in the two Elizabeth I movies?
