Depositon and Lamentation and naturalism

Depositon and Lamentation and naturalism

In the work of both Giotto and Rogier, a moment in the story of Christ's passion is shown. These artists demonstrated their ability to portray these religious scenes with a great level of naturalism that we can almost fell the emotions expressed by the people in these images. Each artist, however, had their own way of representing this subject.
Giotto's fresco is named Lamentation (1304-1305). He created a dramatic and realistic scene with the placement of each person and the emotions they express individually. With every person facing in different directions, Giotto created the illusion of space. The figures also look somewhat three dimensional with their own gestures and expressions. For example: As Mary cradles her son, she expresses grief through the gentle position of her hand on his chest and through her facial expression as she stares closely into his face. We can also see such delicateness from the women holding up Christ's body through the placement of their hands. The young man on the other hand, who is said to be St. John, shows a much stronger emotion in the way he throws his arms back as though his pain is that great. Such emotion is also seen through the faces of the 10 angels above. What we also see in Giotto's work is how naturally the garments of each person falls with the use of shadowing and light. The clothing almost seems real in its form as it is shaped with each person's body and movement.
In Rogier van der Weyden's painting, Deposition (1435-1438), we see some similar qualities from that of Giotto's Lamentation. The people in this painting are also shown three dimensionally with the shadowing of each person and their clothes. The overall feeling you come across as you see into this painting is pain. Like Giotto's work, Rogier had created a piece that had various forms of sadness with each person having their own motion and gestures. Mary is collapsed on the floor, taking the same shape as her sons with wrinkles on her forehead and...

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