Title: Moses Striking water from Rock
Date: 1560-1572
Artist: Durante Alberti and assistants
Location: Villa D’Este, Tivoli
Medium: Fresco
Dimensions: 130 cm * 180 cm
Numbers 20: 11 “Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, and water gushed out.” (3)
Mannerism developed in the sixteenth century with Michelangelo’s liberation from the classical idealism of the High Renaissance. As one of the most respected artists of the time, Michelangelo inspired many younger artists of this time to follow his example and engage in the mannerist movement.
Michelangelo differentiated his mannerist art from his earlier works by venturing away from classical ideals of perfection in human form and instead took the artistic license to distort figures and portray them with a new level of complexity. Later artists took these stylistic changes and continued to develop the mannerist art style, which resulted in highly sophisticated works of art that only the affluent could truly understand possessing other features such as; visual energy, stylized artificial elegance, and crowded, entangled figures.
By 1560, when the renovation of Villa d’Este began, Mannerism was the chief artistic style in practice, and many of the “stars” of late Roman Mannerism were enlisted in the decoration of the villa’s interior. This fresco of Moses striking water from the rock found in the “Moses Room” of the villa painted by Durante Alberti and his assistants exhibits several key mannerist characteristics.
While this fresco is not entirely complex and difficult to understand in its depiction of the scene, there is still some complexity. The fresco does not simply depict Moses striking the rock observed by a crowd of clones reacting in one accord. The crowd watching Moses contains many different characters who are reacting to the spectacle in various fashions; some are looking with wonder, others are whispering to their companions, and still others are preparing to catch some of the water in jars. All of these actions of the crowd display great movement and action, therefore exhibiting the characteristic of visual energy. One of the most interesting aspects of this fresco is the fact that while the crowd displays much energy, Moses, the one who was supposedly angrily striking water from the rock has the least energy of anyone in the scene, calmly standing there, barely scratching the rock with his stick.
This unrealistic depiction of an angry Moses exhibit’s the mannerist characteristic of artificial stylized elegance. Moses probably was not an elegant person especially when he was angry and yet in this scene, he maintains a stoic, composed stance. This artificial elegance is can be seen in the garb of Moses and the crowd as well. Their flowing, colorful robes appear much more elegant than one would expect from people who had been wandering in the desert for years. Even the scenery is artificially elegant; if there was enough water for the trees and grass to be green, the Israelites probably could have found water without having to strike it from a rock. These elements only serve to make the scene more elegant. One last instance of the distortion of the natural in favor of elegance is the camels in the upper right corner, if you can even call them camels. In mannerist fashion they have elongated, curvaceous necks that more resemble that of a swan than camel.
Other mannerist characteristics of this painting are the crowded feel of the scene and how the people are almost entangled with each other. The people watching the spectacle are so crowded and entangled in this scene that you see cannot see any their entire bodies, except for the one man on the left. There is always another person blocking the view, giving the fresco this crowded and entangled aesthetic.
While this fresco may not be the very essence of mannerism, the mannerist characteristics contained within it reveal the heavy influence mannerism had on the art of this time.
Bibliography
(2) Wilkins, David G. Schultz, J. Bernard. Linduff, Katheryn M. 2001. Art Past Art Present 4th Edition. Prentice Hall.
(3) The Holy Bibile. New Living Translation. 2nd Edition. 2004. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Steam, IL.
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