"Medici Holy Family" by Andrea del Sarto
The piece of art that I chose to analyze and study is called Medici Holy Family. According to Franco Cesati in The Medici: Story of a European Dynasty, it was commissioned by Pope Leo XI, who’s given name was Alessandro Ottaviano de’ Medici. I found this painting in a book, The Medici: Story of a European Dynasty, that I brought back from my trip to Florence in the summer of 2008. What caught my eye in this painting and drew my attention was the contrast between the dark background and the bright highlights and colors in the dress of the women in the foreground. I had a difficult time finding any specific information on this piece of art, however I did find information on the connection between the artist, Andrea del Sarto, and the Medici family. As his reputation as an artist grew, so did his connections with the Medici family. On the Britannica’s online site, it is stated that Sarto was commissioned to paint portions of the frescos in the Vila Medici near Florence. He painted a small fragment but never finished because the project was cut off when its patron Pope Leo X died. According to the Britannica, it is now incorporated into other frescos. Now that there is a background established for the artist, let’s return the focus painting of this entry. I enjoy how the body lines and positions of the subjects in this painting are smooth and natural. However, my favorite part of the painting is the dress and shall or sash of the woman in the foreground. The detail of the folds in the dress and the was the color shows perfect highlight is beautiful. I do not know why, but it is the reason I chose this painting, it caught my eye and I could not stop looking at it. According to the book I bought in Florence, this painting was completed in the late years of Sarto’s life. When I searched for information on the painting I found that it was painted in 1529, which is the year before he died. I belive it was painted in Florence, it is now housed in Uffizi.
Good job on your research on the artist’s background, it is unfortunate that you were unable to find factual information concerning the painting, because it would have been interesting to know the significance of the women in the pink dress. She definitely stands out with the bright dress contrasted by the dark background, and now I cannot help but wonder what it was that the artist wanted us to see in her.
First off, good job on making the painting’s name stand out and mentioning the artist. I found the painting rather interesting and perhaps the lack of information on the painting bring about a little mystery with it. I also agree that contrast in colors defiantly grabs your attention: as the black sky clashes with the pink dress. It is amazing the connections that can be found in these paintings, as you stated with the Medici Family, and the times in which they were painted.
You did a good job in substantiating your claims, as well as providing examples; however, you mentioned the britannica encyclopedia a lot within a couple sentences. Overall, very good blog, it definitely opened my eyes to other areas of work, rather than one specific area.
Lovely painting, and so typical of the naturalism found in the Renaissance. Did you notice how much white is used in the painting. The addition of white to hues; such as blue; creates a tint. This manipulation of color values creates the illusion of depth on a flat surface.
This is a beautiful painting and I can see how it caught your attention. I like how you described the formal aspects of the artwork. The shading and brightness of color add depth and dimension to the artwork. I think this technique is called chiaroscuro. It definitely is connected to the humanist theme because of the attention to small details and shading that gives it realism and naturalism. I understand that it was difficult to find information about the content of the art work and was curious whether the title of the work be giving a hint. The title is “The Holy Medici Family” which might suggest that Del Sarto believes that the Medici’s are saintlike? He could think this because of their their patronage to the arts that have a religious theme, morality, or power? Overall I enjoyed your blog and am glad you chose this art work.
It is hard to find background information on some art works, so good work on finding the information that you did. It’s a great blog and representation of renaissance art. The dress is also my favorite part of this painting. It has almost a two or three dimensional feel to it. Especially with the shadowing.
I as well could not find very much background information on this painting. Your book from Florence probably had the most factual information we could find, what a great opportunity to have access to so many more paintings then the internet has to offer! Your detail of why you liked this work was very interesting. It was not the actions of what was going on but instead of the actual artist technique. I usually don’t look at that as closely so it was a nice eye opener to not only look at what the painting is representing but also how it was painted. The relation to the Medici family made it more interesting to me because they are so far one of my favorite families that we have learned about. I enjoyed this blog very much and it makes me wonder if you are an artist yourself?
You did a great job stating all factual information – artist name, time, place. You did a good job stating why you this piece was the one you used. Great job connecting the piece of art to the Medici family, rather than just letting the name of the piece do that for you. Your claims were for the most part very well substained, but it’s unfortunate that there wasn’t very much information on this particular piece of art – it’s beautiful.
My personal reaction to what you wrote overall is great job. This is a very relevant piece of artwork that ties very well into the Renaissance, I can see why you chose this piece, the contrast of color between her dress and the background does indeed catch the eye. Many artworks are hard to find info for, you did well on finding as much information as possible and substained any claims you did make.
You seem like you have a very large background in art, is there something underlying this? Do you have a love for the arts? Or a background in them? You spoke of a trip to Florence in 2008, and this could indicate that maybe you were previously interested in this area of the Renaissance?