History of art essay.

HA1004

Differences in the female figure in the 1500s

This essay will be comparing and contrasting two artworks from the 1500s; one from earlier in the
century, one later. The earlier artwork is by Lucas Cranach the Elder, a Viennese artist. The title of
the earlier artwork is Venus and Cupid, painted c.1537 on panel with dimensions of 38.10x27.00cm.
The later artwork is by an Italian artist from Venice named Paolo Veronese (formerly Caliari). Titled
Mars, Venus and Cupid c.1580 the artwork is larger scale on canvas measuring 165.20x126.50cm.
Both artists have different influences, Cranach follows a traditional idealised approach to the female
figure in his artworks whereas Veronese prefers realism and an ideal naturalized figure in his
artworks.

Both artworks feature the figure Venus as the central image but portray her beauty differently.
Cranach displays Venus as a young female with thin and wispy hair and a body that follows classical
ideals. She stands nude in the contrapposto pose holding her child Cupid's hand with her foot raised
as if about to step and her face is still . Veronese depicts Venus as a slightly more mature female
sitting with Mars covering her with a drape, diverging from the classical ideal that Goddesses were
depicted nude. Veronese however depicts Venus in a more natural and realistic figure, not taking her
image from classical ideals and preferring to use a model for his works.

The artworks both feature differently in the amount of movement taking place. Cranach depicts
Venus in the contrapposto pose with little else happening in the scene and as there is a dark
background of the panel there is little else to focus on, creating the feeling that she is stationary.
Veronese has a complex scene. Veronese has all subjects sitting with a distinct diagonal of
movement from the dog feature to the action of Mars covering Venus with a drape. This creates a
lot of movement in the artwork compared to Cranach's smaller sized artwork.

As both artworks are painted with oil similar effects are created in the finished artwork with the
ability to create a more three dimensional image. Veronese achieves this well, making use of oil on
canvas to create complex artwork with a busy scene and detail in every aspect of the work. As there
is little movement in Cranach's work he contrasts the lightness of Venus’ hair with the heavy gold
coloured jewellery she is wearing round her neck. This shows the development of style and also the
development in the technique between when the two artworks were created as the use of oil
painting has expanded and allowed Veronese to create a more realistic artwork with more depth
than Cranach's.

The amount of emotion displayed in the two paintings varies. Cranach depicts Venus standing with a
solemn almost bored look on her face compared to Veronese who shows Venus with a loving gaze
toward her child, Cupid. This shows how Cranach strictly keeps to the classical ideal of the figure and
pose of a woman in artwork or sculpture but Veronese complies more with naturalism and focuses
on conveying the natural and realistic emotions a mother would have for her infant child. This
contrast in depiction of emotion snowshoe the style of each artist varied in the century as Cranach
held onto the classical ideal of the female figure, nude and nearly emotionless, but Veronese focuses
more on creating a realistic and more natural sense of conveying to the looker how his scene
appears.

The placement of Venus varies in both artworks. Cranach places Venus in the centre of the artwork
and this directs our attention to her first and our attention stays with her as there is little else in the
artwork to focus on other than Cupid standing on a box to reach her hand. However in Veronese’s
depiction the subjects are all in a diagonal line leading from the infant Cupid and dog in the bottom
right of the image to the crown of Mars' helmet. Venus is placed between these figures but not in
the centre of the work, this allows us to appreciate the detail Veronese has put into the rest of the
artwork also as our gaze follows the diagonal. This use of the diagonal allows us to view the entire
artwork as well as appreciate Veronese’s use of oil to create a natural and intense artwork.

In conclusion, the two artworks vary in style and technique but still adhere to many of the traditional
ideals set by classical art, Cranach follows these ideals more strongly as it is earlier in the century but
Veronese follows these ideals with more of a naturalist and realist approach to his art. Cranach uses
the dark background to attract our focus to Venus and Cupid whereas Veronese uses high levels of
detail to make his artwork more full and to pull our focus from character to character by use of a
diagonal. Both artists use oil on medium as it was popular at this time but also allowed them to
create a more realistic image with the layering of oils to give different effects. This similarity in style
is what gives these paintings their unique style and appearance.
References:

www.nationalgalleries.org/

Used for details and viewing both Cranach and Veronese artworks with small biography about each,
last updated 2017

www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

Information on Cranach the Elder, last updated 2017

www.art-handbook.com/

Information on oil painting effects on canvas and wood panel

Architecture in Italy 1400-1500 : Revised Edition- Ludwig H. Heydenreich

Information on Luchas Cranach and his artworks

Venus and Cupid, Lucas Cranach the Elder c.1537 Oil on Wood Panel
Mars, Venus and Cupid, Paolo Veronese c.1580 Oil on Canvas