The study of the works of previous figures is of particular interest. Considering how artists worked, what they used for their drawings, and what topics they wrote can give a large amount of information for understanding earlier eras. Two works were selected for analysis in this scientific work- The Last Supper (1325-30) by Ugolino da Siena and The Adoration of the Magi (1390) by Bartolo di Fredi. These works of art were written at about the same time and on a religious theme. However, despite this, they have their own characteristic features that distinguish them from each other. Thus, the primary purpose of this work is to examine two works of art as an example of differences and similarities for a better understanding of what art is and how artists of that time saw religious images.
To begin with, it is worth noting that both artists belonged to the Sienese school of painting; however, they still had their characteristic distinctive features. This division had many standard features with Florentine art (Greer 229). The artists who worked at that time sought to enclose a part of the three-dimensional world in a single closed picture. The main goal for the leaders of the Moscow art became the knowledge of man and his essence, which is why religious motives were widely spread. Additionally, representatives of the Sienese school paid more attention to details, to the expression of the mental state of the characters in the paintings.
Furthermore, the paintings of that period have a certain seriousness and pomposity with the introduction of the highest level of spirituality, which was read on the faces of the people depicted in the paintings. Religious painting prevailed, and all the characters were usually serious, taking somewhat formal and tense poses and facial expressions. The color palette was dominated by burgundy and gold, which were depicted with maximum nobility, juiciness, density, and harmony of shades. All these characteristics of the Sienese school can be easily traced in both works of art under study.
Jesus Christ and themes related to biblical motifs were some of the most popular themes for illumination in the paintings of ancient painters. Thus, many painters tried to capture his images (Harries 29). Some followed the goal of elevating their spirituality, while others wanted to inspire the followers of Christ by creating a visual connection with him through paintings. Therefore, now humanity has many examples of how artists created visually vivid and timeless works based on events related to Christ and religion.
The plot related to the events of the last week of Christ on earth in Italian painting was prevalent. This is due to the fact that what happened during these Passions could be depicted as more gloomy, which is inherent in the Gothic style developing at that time. Moreover, artists increasingly showed such painful emotions as feelings of pity and grief. In this way, they sought to convey the whole gamut of complex and long-suffering feelings of a person and to comprehend his essence more and more.
The first work of art worth mentioning is Ugolino di Nerio’s The Last Supper. Research shows that “the event of The Last Supper of Jesus Christ has always been considered as one of the most important events in Christianity” (Bahreynian et al. 33). This picture, first of all, attracts attention with a certain warmth emanating from it. It is made in a warm tone palette, making it pleasant for a long review. A rather dark background, made in predominantly gray color, gives even more volume to the figures depicted in the picture. De Nerio’s painting presents to the viewer the scene of the Last Supper of Jesus with his apostles. It was part of the predella, the lowest horizontal part of the dismembered altar. It is at this moment that Christ, sitting at the head of the table, informs his followers that one of them will betray him. The artist perfectly conveys the various emotions of the participants in the conversation, giving each of them its own emotional colorings, such as misunderstanding, confusion, or indignation.
The second work that is considered in this scientific paper is a work of art by Bartolo di Fredi The Adoration of the Magi. This artist was one of the most popular in Siena in the fourteenth century. He owns the creation of many different impressive altars and cycles of frescoes. Like Nerio, he was inspired by Gothic; however, later, he created his style, in which he worked all his creativity. The characteristic features of this artist are a certain lack of harmony and connectedness, while the extraordinary simplicity of the works and the transfer of human appearance in the works.
It is also worth emphasizing how Bartolo di Fredi develops a second plan. Despite the fact that there was no such thing as perspective yet, the artist makes an attempt to build it if not yet. Thus, there is still a golden background at work, which does not make it possible to make a linear perspective, but at the same time, reduces the figures. Thus, the artist shows that there is a lot of space between the first and second plans, despite the convergence of these plans.
The Adoration of the Magi was originally created to order for the Siena Cathedral. The plot of the painting is well known to many and depicts a total of nine people, including a baby. Thus, the artist depicts a story from the Bible, where three wise men from the East followed the guiding star that led them to the divine Infant (Lidova 214; Williamson 23). This Baby was born with a mission to make a redemptive sacrifice and save humanity. Hence, the wise men bowed down before the Baby and handed him their gifts. This picture differs from the first one because it has more movement dynamics in it, which occurs both in the foreground and in the background. Therefore, three kings with an escort directed their attention to the Mary with an infant, against the background where the convoys are going in an unvarnished direction. The only motionless figure here is Mary sitting with the child. Such a spread gives even greater incoherence to the main and secondary plan of the picture, but this does not disrupt the dynamics of the work.
The main difference between this painting and the Bartolo di Fredi painting is that it is painted according to the canons of the Sienese school of painting. This is due to the fact that de Niro was a follower of Duccio di Buoninsegna. Moreover, the striking aspect is that at the Last Supper, the artist is already attempting to create a perspective, which did not yet exist as an integral part of the artistic work. Separately, it is worth depicting the image of halos around the heads of each follower and Christ himself. They are made in a relatively bright golden yellow color, which attracts attention. Their clothes are pretty simple, as befits the clergy, and the table is not particularly abundant.
The painting depicts thirteen people, which is not the most straightforward task for the artist. Each individual has his special features and depicts a unique emotion, a reaction to the words of Christ that one of his followers will turn out to be his traitor. However, it is worth noting that di Fredi’s work also includes an image of several people, which is their similarity. Further, it should be emphasized that most works of religious biblical themes show more than two persons.
In addition, it is worth moving on to a more detailed analysis of the visual means of paintings under study. Hence, the Last Supper was written in tempera and gold on wood. On closer inspection, viewers can notice a lot of small cracks that permeate the whole picture. As already mentioned, the work is dominated mainly by warm shades such as red, orange, copper, and yellow. On the other hand, the artist uses a sufficient number of green and blue shades to balance the color palette and make the picture more pleasant to perceive. This technique works exceptionally well since the orange and red colors are on the opposite side of the blue and green on the color wheel.
The similarity of both works of art is not only one period of writing but also the use of a color palette. Stokley, therefore, underlines that “humans never truly perceive colors as they physically are, the color humans perceive is based on surrounding colors, lighting, and other external factors” (29). That is why people cannot see the true colors of the work and only perceive what they see in certain conditions. In the painting The Adoration of the Magi, yellow, red, and orange shades from the color wheel prevail. The bright part that immediately catches the eye when people first view the picture is the figure of Mary. It is painted in a deep blue-green robe, which gives her grace and elevates her before the worshippers. Moreover, both paintings are made of tempera and gold on wood, allowing us to conclude that these materials were particularly popular at the end of the fourth century.
Thus, this work considered two paintings presented at the Metropolitan Museum of Art- The Last Supper (1325-30) by Ugolino da Siena and The Adoration of the Magi (1390) by Bartolo di Fredi. During the analysis, it was concluded that both paintings have more similarities than differences, despite the apparent differences at first glance. Firstly, both paintings can be characterized by warm tones, as they have a prevailing red, orange, and yellow color palette and hues. However, in the work of da Siena, these colors are balanced with green and blue shades, in accordance with the color wheel. Secondly, both artists painted paintings on religious themes and were representatives of the same Sienese school. Thirdly, both paintings are painted in tempera and gold on wood, which is typical for the artistic works of that time. The main difference is that the di Fendi painting has more dynamism and attracts the attention of the audience more since the presence of extensive details also characterizes it. Thus, we can say that works of art can give much helpful information about the painting of earlier times.
Works Cited
Bahreynian, Mahsa Sadat, Iman Zakariaee Kermani, and Ehsan Aqababaee. “Representation of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci in the Postmodern Era Using the Abstract-Minimalism Approach.” The Monthly Scientific Journal of Bagh-E Nazar, vol. 14, no. 51, 2017, pp. 33-44.
Greer, Elena J. Collaboration and Resistance. Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2021.
Harries, Richard. The Passion in Art. Routledge, 2019.
Lidova, Maria. “Virgin Mary and the Adoration of the Magi: From Iconic Space to Icon in Space.” Icons of Space, 2021, pp. 214-238.
Stokley, Steele R. Historic Look on Color Theory. Johnson & Wales University, 2018.
Williamson, Beth. “Matter and Materiality in an Italian Reliquary Triptych.” Gesta, vol. 57, no. 1, 2018, pp. 23-42.