Renaissance Mashup

                

             The Renaissance was an incredible period in history where culture, especially literature and art, flourished beautifully. Some of the world’s most renowned paintings, such as the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, were created during this time. The European Renaissance began in Italy during the fourteenth century and spanned to the seventeenth century, leading into Early Modern Europe. The term Renaissance literally means “rebirth” in French, which is an accurate way to describe the flowering of culture that occurred during this time period. In terms of art, during this time paintings began to become more realistic, with artists using new perspective techniques to capture three dimensions and bring more life to their artwork. The human body began to be depicted more proportionally accurate than it was in previous times. Painters such as Leonardo da Vinci also experimented with light and darkness to enhance paintings. Sculpture also became a lot more realistic during the Renaissance, with new dynamic poses and subject matter. Among other aspects of culture that developed during this time were music, politics, philosophy and poetry.

The artist who painted the portrait I used for this assignment is named Sandro Botticelli. He is an Italian painter who was active during the European Renaissance. One of his most famous works is The Birth of Venus, which depicts the goddess Venus standing on a seashell. When I think of the Renaissance that is one of the first pictures that comes to mind, so to me Botticelli is one of the people who defined the Renaissance. Many of Botticelli’s paintings were influenced by gothic realism, which was characterized by more animated/realistic poses and facial expressions and a lot of ornamental detailing. His work is very representative of the grace that transcended into many early Renaissance paintings. For a long time after his death, Botticelli was essentially unknown. It wasn't until the nineteenth century that he was rediscovered, causing some of his artwork to become world renowned. Most of his paintings depict his own family members or religious figures, as well as people from Greek and Roman mythology. Another fact about Botticelli that I thought was pretty neat is that he is one of the artists who helped paint the Sistine Chapel, which, in my opinion, is one of the greatest masterpieces in the entire world.

                The portrait I chose to recreate is called Portrait of a Young Woman and was painted by Botticelli in 1480. What makes this painting so interesting to me is that it is thought to be a portrait of Simonetta Vespucci, who was an Italian noblewoman during the Renaissance, believed to be the most beautiful woman of her era. There is a story that Botticelli was deeply in love with Simonetta, but she never returned the sentiment. She is also thought to be the model for a vast number of his paintings, including The Birth of Venus. For his entire life he was tormented by this unrequited love, to the point where he asked to be buried at her feet when he died. This request was eventually granted when he died; Botticelli is buried in Florence at the feet of Simonetta Vespucci. I love when works of art have stories behind them; I think they make them so much more interesting to analyze and gives you the ability to imagine what the artist was thinking when they created it. One think that I especially like about the Renaissance was the fashions that women wore; I am completely entranced by the beautiful dresses and elaborate hair. One of the reasons that I chose this portrait was because it showcases those aspects of the Renaissance so nicely. The subject has the most beautiful hair in the world, with tons of braids and waves cascading everywhere. I love the light that is shining on her face from the back of the picture, casting the left side of her face in soft, gentle shadows. She looks so elegant and proper, a perfect depiction of the Renaissance. I knew that the painting was going to be kind of difficult to recreate, but I am very happy with the end result.

               

                  My version of Portrait of a Young Woman was taken with a Nikon D3100 DSLR camera and a 18.55mm lens. To recreate the lighting in the original painting, I used a softbox positioned directly in front of Olivia to illuminate the entire picture and a smaller light coming from the back left corner of the photo to illuminate the right half of her face, just like in the painting. This caused the side of her face that is facing the camera to be cast in subtle shadows that soften the facial features a bit and make the photo look more Renaissancey, just like in the original painting. I used a shutter speed of 1/13 and an aperture of f14 to achieve this photo. Once I had the right lighting I used photoshop to paste Olivia's face onto Portrait of a Young Woman and adjusted the colouring of her head so it blended into the painting seamlessly. Finally, I added a film grain filter to make the photograph look more like a painting. I think that Olivia looks very elegant and serene, just like the woman in the original painting. Though this project was definitely one of the most challenging in the studio lighting unit, I am extremely happy with the end result :)