L'art c'est quoi?

(Tintoretto)

CLASSIFICATION:

Name of the work: Christ before Pilate.

Name of the author: Jacopo Tintoretto.

Period: High Renaissance.

Place where the work is at: In The Scuola di San Rocco, Venice, Italy.

Technique: Oil on canvas.

ANALYSIS:

The colors are tertiary principally, but there is red used in the robes and blue in the sky, so it has primary colors too. The Paleta is warm, because most of the colors come from red and yellow, which are warm colors. The application is flat. The composition is balanced, it has specific sections. The type of line is linear. The perspective is by planes, the first one being the main scene, in the front, where the act is happening; the second one being the crowd, and the buildings; and the third the sky at the very bottom. The lighting is gradual; it is decreasing little by little. The theme is religious, although it’s historical too, because it is showing a scene that happened. The principles are emphasis and asymmetrical proportion.

What is so especial and unique about this work of art?

One of the things that make this artwork especial is the way it is represented. Jesus stands in the middle, in white robes, and taller than anyone. (Kren and Marx) It shows divinity on Jesus Christ, the way he appears. And yet, he has a calm, sad look on his face, by looking on what’s going on.

What was the prevailing atmosphere of the period? What was the cause of it?

It was painted in the High Renaissance. It was here when the climax of the art occurred. The Church was still very powerful and influent. Although now not all the art was focused on Religion, still a great part of it was focused on it.

What were the predominant political, religious and artistic ideologies?

The predominant political ideology was the monarchy, although the bourgeoisies had practically the power. The one with the money was the one with the power; still, there were still kings who were born with the power. The religious ideology was, of course, the Christianity. The Catholic Church ruled, and those who were not catholic, where protestants, or another variety of the Christianity. And, as for the artistic ideologies, I would say it was the humanism. The human as the center of the universe; they even humanized the religion. Everything was centralized on the human being.

What scientific and technological advances made an impact in the period? In which way?

Science was at its full. In this period, there were a lot of discovering and inventions. The people started to try to find a logical explanation to everything. The people were very curious, and were experimenting with a lot of different things, creating new ones. The printing press was invented, thus the knowledge was approached to the people. The world was extended because of the discovering of America.

Is this work of art reflecting the atmosphere of the period? I which way?

Of course it is. The theme of the painting is Jesus Christ, and the atmosphere of the time was very religious. The religion was no longer everything in the world, but it was most of it, still. It totally reflects the atmosphere of the period.

Is this work of art reflecting the predominant ideologies of the period? I which way?

It does represent some of the predominant ideologies. As I said, Christianity was the center of the religion, and the religion the center of the ideologies. Although the ideologies were trying to separate themselves from the Church, it was not totally done, merely partially. So, as part of the religion, it does represent the predominant ideology.

Is the impact of the technological and scientific advances reflected on this work of art? In which way?

I don’t think it does. I don’t see where could the painting represent the technological and scientific advances. It is situated in the year 33, so it shows what used to be then.

What are the aspects of the period that you identify yourself with? Why?

I am a very religious person. Thus, I like this kind of themes. Maybe in that period, at least to me, they had a wrong ideology about the religion, and about Christianity; yet, they were praying to the same God I do, and they adored the same Messiah I do. I identify myself inside this context by the love and devotion to religion.

Geographic location of the origin of the work:

(Venice)

In my opinion, this is a great painting. I really like the way everything is represented. I quite like this Biblical part, where Jesus is taken before Pilate. He didn’t want to crucifix Jesus, because there was no proof that he committed any crime; but the whole crowd was asking for its crucifixion. Pilate, because of the circunstances, offers the crowd a choice: They could choose to free Jesus, and crucifix Barabbas, a murderer, or to free Barabbas and crucifix Jesus. The crowd chooses to crucifix Jesus Christ. Seeing this, Pilate washes his hands with water, and says his famous quote: “I am innocent of this man’s blood”. Actually, is this specific part what we can see in the painting; we can see Pilate washing his hands, as Jesus looks with sadness the whole scene.

Anyway, I like how the painting shows the divinity of Jesus, in his white robes and his aura, in the very center of the painting. It really gets your attention from the beginning, and shows its divinity quite well.

Finally, to conclude the whole part of the painting, I wanted to post this scene from the play Jesus Christ superstar. It is the same scene that we can appreciate in the painting. Enjoy:

Bibliography:

Bruno, “Art in the picture”. Consulted on October 6, 2009: Link.

Segregation in World cities, “Venice quick facts”. Consulted in October 6, 2009: Link.

Emil Kren and Daniel Marx, “Christ before Pilate”. Consulted on October 6, 2009: Link.

Wikipedia, “Scuola di San Rocco”. Consulted on October 6, 2009: Link.

Artlex, “Art dictionary”. Consulted on October 6, 2009: Link.