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Shadow of Christ (Part 1)

Every art historian in Poland, probably read a well-known text by Michael Baxandall on the "baptism of Christ," Piero della Francesca. It's one of those articles (incidentally, extremely affordable and easily written, but about the difficult academic texts) through which the reader may refer to one of the funkcjonalniejszych methods used in contemporary art history. In Poznan, for example, the translation of the text " Truth and other cultures. "Baptism of Christ," Piero della Francesca "has already become familiar in the introduction to art history students the first year. And in contrast to Seldmayra, Brotjego whether feminists just in this text is usually not complaints ... This is what we will be interested in today is one of thought, who died three years ago, British scientist posted in his book "Patterns of Intention", focused primarily on analysis process of "production" of works, for reasons which determined the formation and their final appearance. Researcher interested in this famous fresco, some elements, such as the specificity of the angels and their role, but also the transparency of the water under the feet of Christ. About this entry will be present, although personally I do not feel overly entitled to criticize (or even complement), one of the greatest art historians of recent decades.

But all in all not a criticism was at stake, and an interesting problem, which personally I am not able to solve in order to fully myself and probably many readers persuade. This is the question that is variously dated illustration of the image array from the years around 1440-1450, and probably the end of the decade (roughly around 1448-1450), which can be viewed at the National Gallery in London. Would seem to be anything special, the usual baptism of Christ in the manner shown as "sztampowy. Jesus is undergoing this gesture, which is not worthy of him solve the thong sandals, which for obvious reasons, the lack of illustrations. In the background the landscape (that's the time when the background starts to play an increasingly important role in religious painting), causing researchers argue that if it is a birthplace of the painter, and so Borgo San Sepolcro. These angels are here the most intriguing. The painting of the fifteenth century, they are usually keen interest in the main stage, and sometimes holding a dress or other fabric, in which Jesus was dressed after his baptism, or perhaps wipe. Piero and made them relatively independent of the main stage, as if it deliberately emphasizing their separation by means of a slender tree. Moreover, we have three angels in contrast to the most popular option two, which Baxandall explains as a reference to the then popular concept of three types of baptism: the water (and thus releasing the original sin), from blood (baptismus sanguinis), which allows for the salvation of such martyrs for the faith who have not been baptized or niewiniątkom Bethlehem, and the spirit (baptismus flaminis, also called the baptism of desire) whose base is based on perfect love and desire for acceptance of baptism. Finally
Baxandall reached that the specificity of the whole picture shows the artist focus on the primary role of fine painting, the visual can say "played." However, before he became curious about one thing that let To quote: "The water around the feet of Christ christened is transparent, as a result of material causes a symbol of baptism by water. As Saint Paul says. Anthony: "Water is a clear, transparent body sensitive to light, so baptism gives the light of faith and that is why it is called the sacrament of faith" . "(Source: M. Bryl, P. Juszkiewicz, P. Piotrowski, W. Suchocki, Prospects contemporary art history. anthology of translations of "Artium Quastiones" , Poznan 2009, p. 47). So we have a problem and its iconographic explanation, which is apparently quite shallow and therefore, neither Baxandall, nor I am not convinced. Then, of course, researchers looked at the artistic tradition, but the water is a little speech. So, where to look for solutions, why Christ is on the border between dry land and Jordan?

begin with the characters in Piero della Francesca rarely cast shadows. This seems very strange, especially since as you can see (and as you know on the basis of the few surviving information about Feathers) belonged to the avant-garde artists of Italy in the fifteenth century, If you look at the painting from London, is actually none of the characters does not leave their shadow, but only in the background in the water bounce off the colorful garments of unspecified male (according to Baxandall is a reference to the concept of union between the various Christian churches.) While in the case of angels, you can understand this and assume that they have until the end of physical bodies, and for Jesus to explain it kadrażem, that's for John the Baptist has no such excuse. And when we look at other works by Pier, it turns out that, despite the championship in manipulating color and composition, the chiaroscuro did not pay much attention. Mural shown above ie the famous "Flagellation" from around 1455, located in Gallerii Nazionale della Marche in Urbino already reveals a change in this regard. Shadows cast on the foreground characters (especially the man in the maroon robe and his fellow dressed in red), and flagellants if Christ is not. If we add similar solution in the "resurrection" of Pier, where the normally sleepy soldier in the foreground, casts a shadow, and the triumphant Savior is devoid of shadow, we see that there is something in this.

course, the same shadow that is not yet a basis for telling far-reaching conclusions. With difficulty for example, you can find Italian Late Medieval and early-Renaissance works, where Jesus sheds shadow during the transfiguration on Mount Tabor. Even such great works as "Transfiguration" Fra Angelica from the sixth row of the convent of St. Mark in Florence, overlooks something so obvious, like a shadow, as depicted in the fresco. On the one hand, we have so u Piero paintings, where there is no shade at all, as in "Birth of Jesus" (1470-1475), which also can be seen at London's National Gallery, on the other formed a dozen years earlier works, where they seem to be aware of show the presence of shadow (see: "Elevation of the Holy Cross" in its finding in a fresco in the church of San Francesco in Arezzo, years 1452-1466).

presented next illustration is a painting in tempera, and so the same technique is applied Piero, located in a private collection. Little work by the Florentine artist late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries mariotto di Nardo (przedrenesansowe last generation, because he died just when his first outstanding work began to create Masaccio), I show the fullness of the medieval concept that quickly changed. Influenced by artists such as Piero decided even less of Christ immersed in water (even in Giotto's Jesus is a stranger, but after the water reaches his waist), and finally just get wet feet.
Masaccio in one of his murals has applied a different solution, much more plastic and less schematic. In "The Baptism of converts," located in the Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence (1426-1427) Christian kneeling figure is shown to the viewer side, his body is very artistically presented, drawing the viewer's attention on the three-dimensional images. Lap sash before dealing with almost all will form (as presented This piece outfit after Piero) shall be reduced in the Florentine painter only to something like a contemporary panty. However, we are primarily interested in the relationship should be between the water and forms. Almost all (except a few very insignificant in the background) cast a shadow that even dispersed in water in which they plunge into neophytes. Also St. Peter casts a shadow, which is contained in another fresco in the same chapel, we know that he had therapeutic effects. Ultimately, mastery Masaccia reveals that it was placed on the water, even bubbles that do not end when their vision can be seen from below, but only when the viewer looks in front of "Baptism of converts" (which is not easy, because the recipient would have to be at least the size of Yao Ming as the "Baptism" was placed in the top batch of paintings).
In comparison with the work Masaccia, Piero solution seems so anachronistic and visually rather static. But it fits a pattern of presentation of Christ's baptism, in which more important is a kind of artistic convention of extracts hand John the Baptist, Jesus and centrally located on the sides of the angels. That's what makes the artists has created a problem as the water year, which required solution as it passes the border of the picture, I think, is the basis for understanding the issues zauważonego by Baxandall. To try to convince readers, sprouting in my Little Brain thinks in the next entry I will take you to the next little visual tour of Italy, including to Siena.