This painting was completed by Titian, a Venetian artist around the year 1550. What do you notice about the painting?
You might be thinking, she looks young, wearing an elegant dress and holding an apple. An untrained eye may also think this painting is an accurate depiction of how this lady looked back in 1550. But is this really the case?
In this video, I’ll be sharing images from a shoot I did with Holly who has worked with the incredible Lindsay Adler!
I had a wonderful opportunity to shoot some classical renaissance style images with her which was incredible. I’ll be taking you through some of the images while reflecting on renaissance art work and seeing what we can learn from this genre of artwork.
Renaissance simply means ‘rebirth’. Today it is more commonly understood as revival or innovation. In fact, there is certainly merit for believing that we are going through somewhat of a renaissance today with the leaps of advances in photographic technology.
I have often heard that to be a successful artist you have to live a life in poverty. Contrary to popular belief artists in the past were not social outcasts or rebels. They were hired often through a guild for wealthy patrons.
It was because of their skill and ability to create works of art to the specifications of their patrons that made them so valuable. Certainly this is something that hasn’t changed much today although the key difference is that access to create images is far more available to the average person than ever before.
Interestingly portraiture during the renaissance was not considered to be a commission of much importance. The focus and indeed recognition for an artist came for religious works of art. Its purpose was to illuminate sacred texts to help readers and viewers visualise and memorise them.
On portraiture, Michelangelo famously commented on a sculpted image of a duke that ‘in a thousand years, no one would care about the man’s appearance, whereas all would marvel at the artist who had so skilfully carved his statue.’
Beginning in the 1400s, portraiture became increasingly popular amongst women, merchants, as well as artists. It could be argued that this was the beginning of the original selfie! Often portraits would include a high level of detail of the subject but also the objects, fabrics and spaces themselves. (Insert image of duchess Mary of burgundy)
At the start of the video I showed you this image. Contrary to untrained eyes these paintings were not a real representation of what the person looked like. Portraits were often commissioned by patrons male and female and the instructions given to the artist would be to paint the subject surrounded by objects which held visual and symbolic meaning.
Let’s have a look at another two paintings by Titian which are currently housed in the Uffizi gallery in Florence, Italy.
This is the Duke of Urbino painted in 1537. In the painting he portrayed a mature man wearing his full military armour. You can see batons in the back right which represent his achievements. The dark backdrop helps to demonstrate the Duke as projecting authority and wisdom.
This is in stark contrast to Titian’s painting of his wife, Eleonora Gonzaga in the same year. She is depicted as being much more relaxed and is wearing an elegant dress and jewellery. The embroidered cap represents her elevated status while the dog is a traditional symbol of marital faithfulness.
Both paintings demonstrate their visual and symbolic importance. It is what they want the world to see them as. This is quite a consistent theme in all portraiture work from the renaissance.
Now let’s have a look at Queen Elizabeth the first. She had a small number of pre-approved templates which artists could only use when painting a portrait of her. Here she is literally standing on a map of England, reflecting her father Henry VIII's powerful presence but at the same she is looking chaste and youthful. At the time of the painting she was 59 years old!
Portraits therefore were not just about making women look youthful and chaste, or men look mature and wise but also they played an important role in economic, political and social aspirations for the individuals themselves. It was the early equivalent of the business portrait!
If you are going to have your portrait taken by a world leading photographer today, you will be paying some serious money for the skill and expertise they have shown consistently over a long period of time.
Looking through the images I captured with Holly, I focused on a range of different looks. Having reflected on renaissance imagery, I focused not just on creating a beautiful portrait but also on more finer details by focusing on taking shots close up as well as using an apple in hand.
Creating the lighting for such scenarios is fundamental to be able to recreate from works gone by. Thankfully, I didn’t have to chisel marble out from the side of a mountain and drag it back to my workshop to create these images. I am grateful for the countless hours people have spent refining and creating devices that make capturing images that much easier.
The challenges are different now, it's about mastering how you control or use light in a studio setting.
In these images, I was using a giant softbox overhead and a fill light from below. Knowing how to set up these technical aspects allows you to then shoot with much more ease. I love the detail and depth in the images that I have taken here.
The other element for recreating styled work such as this is taking the time to think about what you will be shooting, try and create some narrative. An apple has historically been symbolised to signify love, wisdom and death.
I really enjoyed thinking about how to capture the details in this shoot, particularly with Holly holding the apple. The shots have come out well although there is always room for improvement!
As you have seen, from the renaissance art work, there is a lot of emphasis with female portraits to have details on the foreground with the jewellery or other family possessions as well as what was occurring in the background.
Those elements convey a sense of importance for the subject to the viewer. Adding this to the narrative of the images being shot would certainly add an extra level of depth.
Today artists are judged on their ability to innovate and create something unique. Often the ones that get noticed the most are the ones that create outrageous pieces of art. Take Damien Hirst's work for example. The skill and challenge levels are different.
Imagine how difficult it must have been back 3-400 years ago when artists didn’t have access to paper, electricity or even photography! The amount of physical work going to gather the materials and then making something from was in itself quite a feat.
Geraldine Johnson, in her book Renaissance Art, states that there are two important questions to consider:
1. Did it develop a new sense of individuality?
2. Did it consciously display preference for revival, change and progress?
In both questions she positions an affirmative No! Ultimately it didn’t change or even influence the lives of the average person at the time.
Reading about Renaissance Art has opened my eyes to how we as humans want to be perceived by others. Perhaps images don't say a thousand words and say considerably less. Certainly the values of the past were rooted in religious symbolism or conveying commitment or faithfulness to each other.
What are the values that underpin photography or art today? The difference between today and four hundred years ago is that people from all walks of life have access to creating images. There is such a wide range of work being created every second every day it’s impossible to keep a track of it all.
Is photography giving individuals a new sense of individuality or helping in revival, change and progress in society today? What are your thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments below.
The shoot with Holly was a particularly enjoyable one. Recreating images in photography reflecting on paintings gone by is not easy. Certainly this can only be done well by someone with a passion and look for it. This is a fabulous book you should definitely check out, who knows how it might influence your photography! In the meantime here’s another video to help you on your photographic adventures!