The Deposition, created by Raphael in 1507, depicts the carrying of Jesus from his Cross to the grave. At roughly six foot by five foot, it took up all the space on the wall it occupied in the Galleria Borghese. The face of the Virgin Mary is actually a portrait of the woman who commissioned this painting, in memory of her murdered son, whose portrait is the face of Jesus.
As with much of Raphael’s art, his painting demonstrates the human achievement of the renaissance painters. The figures all look incredibly lifelike, with their faces all showing anguish after the death of their beloved Christ. Raphael also masterfully uses lines in this picture to accentuate certain parts of the painting. The living people in the painting form the letter v, with the bottom being Jesus. Also, upon following the right arm of the v takes the eyes to Calvary, the place of Jesus’ death. The description of this painting as a masterpiece is by no means an overstatement of the beauty of this painting. Throughout this painting, Raphael also expertly uses the element of color to display emotion. When looking at the complexion of the different people depicted, the color scheme on two looks especially pale: Jesus and Mary. Their lighter skin tone exemplifies their current conditions, Jesus being dead, and Mary quite literally being faint as her Son is deposited in the tomb. While only a minute change, this helps to realistically depict both Jesus’ actual death and Mary’s distraught suffering. A final principle of artistic design present in this painting is the use of contrast. Continuing off of Jesus’ pale skin tone in this painting, this makes in contrast even more so with the blackness of the tomb that is present on the left part of the canvas. Jesus, pure, innocent, and light, is now being taken into the darkness of death. Altogether, these aspects of the painting work together to communicate the message of the painting more clearly, while in the process speaking to the great human achievement that was Renaissance artwork.
This painting also touches on the important renaissance value of humanism. While this is first off and foremost a religious piece, it is also a glorification of the human beings that purchased it. All art of this time period was connected with social prestige, and whoever had the most expensive paintings, sculptures, or other, would have appear to have a higher social position. Additionally, the commissioner and her son are portrayed as the two most important people in Western Culture at this point in time: Jesus and the Virgin Mary. In any circumstance, to equate one’s self with the Divine requires a large amount of pride. All in all, this piece glorifies the human beings in the painting, as well as those who caused it.
For all this piece does in promoting renaissance humanism, it also criticizes the renaissance value of violence as a means to an end. The painting, given its beauty, could easily move its viewer to tears. Given the cause of this piece, the murder of the commissioner’s son, it also critiques the use of violence. The pain and sorrow on Mary’s face is so real to the viewer that it cannot be ignored and calls the viewer to action. All those who see this piece are affected by Mary’s grief, and by portraying it so vividly, Raphael aims to discourage the viewer from enacting anything like this again.
These same ideas can be found in the readings assigned for this course. In referring to renaissance humanism, author J.H. Plumb quotes Mirandola, a renaissance man, as saying “O highest and marvelous felicity of man. To him it is granted to have whatever he chooses, to be whatever he wills” (118). This view of mankind sees each person as the master of their own destiny. As such, whatever actions can be done to glorify one’s self all the more are acceptable in this society. This self-glorification led straight into the violence of that era. In the Renaissance, men would do whatever it took to further their own social status. As Plumb states, men would not hesitate “to kill before being killed” (123) in their pursuits of greatness. This desire most likely fueled the clash that killed the young man in the painting. For all the glory of the renaissance, self-indulgence and violence left many scarred throughout the age.
In regards with Christian identity, this painting demonstrates the complicated relationship between authentic Christianity and the values of the age. While recognizing the human as the hallmark of God’s creation, an overemphasis on this value led to pride. From there, pride-filled ambition caused violence between competing parties, resulting in the sad circumstances that caused Raphael’s The Deposition to be.
Photo Credit for The Deposition goes to Sailko of www.aiwaz.net
As with much of Raphael’s art, his painting demonstrates the human achievement of the renaissance painters. The figures all look incredibly lifelike, with their faces all showing anguish after the death of their beloved Christ. Raphael also masterfully uses lines in this picture to accentuate certain parts of the painting. The living people in the painting form the letter v, with the bottom being Jesus. Also, upon following the right arm of the v takes the eyes to Calvary, the place of Jesus’ death. The description of this painting as a masterpiece is by no means an overstatement of the beauty of this painting. Throughout this painting, Raphael also expertly uses the element of color to display emotion. When looking at the complexion of the different people depicted, the color scheme on two looks especially pale: Jesus and Mary. Their lighter skin tone exemplifies their current conditions, Jesus being dead, and Mary quite literally being faint as her Son is deposited in the tomb. While only a minute change, this helps to realistically depict both Jesus’ actual death and Mary’s distraught suffering. A final principle of artistic design present in this painting is the use of contrast. Continuing off of Jesus’ pale skin tone in this painting, this makes in contrast even more so with the blackness of the tomb that is present on the left part of the canvas. Jesus, pure, innocent, and light, is now being taken into the darkness of death. Altogether, these aspects of the painting work together to communicate the message of the painting more clearly, while in the process speaking to the great human achievement that was Renaissance artwork.
This painting also touches on the important renaissance value of humanism. While this is first off and foremost a religious piece, it is also a glorification of the human beings that purchased it. All art of this time period was connected with social prestige, and whoever had the most expensive paintings, sculptures, or other, would have appear to have a higher social position. Additionally, the commissioner and her son are portrayed as the two most important people in Western Culture at this point in time: Jesus and the Virgin Mary. In any circumstance, to equate one’s self with the Divine requires a large amount of pride. All in all, this piece glorifies the human beings in the painting, as well as those who caused it.
For all this piece does in promoting renaissance humanism, it also criticizes the renaissance value of violence as a means to an end. The painting, given its beauty, could easily move its viewer to tears. Given the cause of this piece, the murder of the commissioner’s son, it also critiques the use of violence. The pain and sorrow on Mary’s face is so real to the viewer that it cannot be ignored and calls the viewer to action. All those who see this piece are affected by Mary’s grief, and by portraying it so vividly, Raphael aims to discourage the viewer from enacting anything like this again.
These same ideas can be found in the readings assigned for this course. In referring to renaissance humanism, author J.H. Plumb quotes Mirandola, a renaissance man, as saying “O highest and marvelous felicity of man. To him it is granted to have whatever he chooses, to be whatever he wills” (118). This view of mankind sees each person as the master of their own destiny. As such, whatever actions can be done to glorify one’s self all the more are acceptable in this society. This self-glorification led straight into the violence of that era. In the Renaissance, men would do whatever it took to further their own social status. As Plumb states, men would not hesitate “to kill before being killed” (123) in their pursuits of greatness. This desire most likely fueled the clash that killed the young man in the painting. For all the glory of the renaissance, self-indulgence and violence left many scarred throughout the age.
In regards with Christian identity, this painting demonstrates the complicated relationship between authentic Christianity and the values of the age. While recognizing the human as the hallmark of God’s creation, an overemphasis on this value led to pride. From there, pride-filled ambition caused violence between competing parties, resulting in the sad circumstances that caused Raphael’s The Deposition to be.
Photo Credit for The Deposition goes to Sailko of www.aiwaz.net