Renaissance Art & Artists: Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper by Eleftherios Kelaidis, B2

Renaissance Art & Artists: Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa by Maria - Emmanouela Chompi (B4)

Art & Artists: Salvador Dalí by Emmanouela Kanderaki (B1)

Art & Artists

Vincent Van Gogh: Starry Night

by Evangelia Kynigou (B2)

Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1829) is a Dutch post-impressionist painter and one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western Art. During his career, which was not successful, he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 paintings.

Starry Night is an oil on canvas painted in June 1889 and is exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City today. This particular piece of art, which depicts the view from the window of the artist’s room during his confinement in an asylum at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence just before sunrise with the addition of a village, has gained popularity over the years. Its intriguing design in combination with the “stroke” technique Van Gogh has used, make this painting a masterpiece.

Without doubt, Starry Night is one of the most famous paintings in the history of Western Culture and is regarded as a remarkable piece of art by contemporary artists.

Renaissance Arts & Artists: The Birth of Venus

One of the most beautiful and important paintings of all time

by Maria - Alexandra Berki (B2)

What is your favourite painting? Mine is definitely The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli created during the Early Renaissance. Botticelli is known as a humanist painter who loved to show mythological and religious scenes and also captured beauty and virtue through his works. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, is the perfect representative of these qualities.

In the specific painting, we can all see Venus standing naked on a seashell on the surface of the sea. On her left wind, depicted as a young man embracing the sea breeze, is gently blowing at her hair spreading roses, while the goddess is trying to cover her nakedness out of shame.  On the right, a maid is patiently waiting to dress her. The meadow on the side is covered with a few violets which are a symbol of modesty and were often used in love potions.

This important masterpiece has become a landmark of XV century Italian Art and is rich in meaning and allegorical references to antiquity. It shows the goddess of love and beauty, known as Venus to the Romans and Aphrodite to the Greeks, tall and naked, standing in the centre and looking ethereal and luminous. She seems to draw all the attention to herself and is a symbol of both physical and spiritual beauty. To this day, the painting remains beautiful and unique to its style and still inspires many poets and painters.

Renaissance Arts & Artists: Mona Lisa 2

The most famous painting worldwide

by Konstantinos Koufakis (Β2) 

 

Mona Lisa bears the title of the best-known painting of all time and no refined person would wonder why. The painting's characteristics which make it intriguing are unique, and, while there is an official explanation about the person it depicts, the painting's peculiarity leaves space for numerous theories about its nature.

Mona Lisa or La Gioconda is an oil painting on a poplar wood panel depicting a woman in a half-body portrait with a distant landscape as a background. The portrait was painted by the Renaissance artist and scientist Leonardo Da Vinci during the period 1503-1519 and it is considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance. Looking at Leonardo's painting, it is clear that the artist has used a wide range of pale colours for the creation of the portrait, which is now exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The depicted woman is said to be Lisa Gherardini, a Florentine merchant's wife, but, as it has already been mentioned, the depicted person's identity remains uncertain to this day.        

Summing up, Mona Lisa is one of the world's most intriguing paintings and many art critics also consider it to be the most famous one. The sitter's mysterious smile, as well as her unproven identity, have made the painting a source of ongoing investigation and fascination for more than five centuries.

 

 

 

 

 

Renaissance Arts & Artists: Mona Lisa 1

Mona Lisa

by Georgia Kourti (Β2)

 

One of the most famous pieces of art of all time is Mona Lisa, also known as La Gioconda, painted by Leonardo da Vinci in about 1503. The painting is not only known for its artistic value, but also for the mystery behind it.  

Da Vinci lived in Florence, Italy,  thus Mona Lisa belongs to the Italian Early Renaissance. The fact that Da Vinci also worked as a sculptor, engineer and inventor makes his work more impressing. The technique of the specific painting is really interesting. DaVinci used dark colour in order to create depth and an enigmatic atmosphere. In particular, behind the sitting woman, there is a landscape which demonstrates DaVinci's competence to give his portraits’ perspective. In addition, due to Mona Lisa's three-quarter view, it seems that she is turning toward the viewer. Another peculiar detail is that her eyes have neither eyelashes nor eyebrows.

As it has already been mentioned, Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the whole world. Nonetheless, the identity of the depicted woman remains unknown. Several theories have been developed and some of them want Da Vinci to be the person in the portrait. However, the most amazing fact is that the painting was not really recognized until it had been stolen in 1911! It was then that Mona Lisa captured the attention of the public and became a real thrill, especially for her intriguing smile. 

As such, Mona Lisa has set the standard for all future portraits and it is studied by artists all over the world. The painting now belongs to the French government and it is exhibited in The Museum of Louvre in Paris.