Comparing Late Medieval Crucifixion Versus Renaissance

Duccio di Buoninsegna and his workshop differ from Joos van Cleve in numerous ways. Both artists were influenced by the different works of their time. For instance Duccio lived and worked during the time between Late Medieval art and Pre-Renaissance, which emphasized a change from merely concealing the figures to making them more realistic than previous works of art. Joos van Cleve resided in the Renaissance period, which was later than Duccio by over two hundred years, where the act of making figures more lifelike with an increased amount of depth had been perfected. These differences and similarities can be most clearly seen with Duccios Triptych: the Crucifixion; the Redeemer with Angels; Saint Nicholas; Saint Gregory†¦show more content†¦The subject focuses on Christs crucifixion, but figures exist beyond Christ performing their daily modern activities in a semi countryside landscape and urban setting. Mary and John both stand in contrapposto, balancing the majority of t heir weight on one leg (Figure 6). At the foot of the cross, bones lie to represent death (Figure 7). There is balance in the picture with each side reflecting each other symmetrically in scale. For instance, the tree in the midground on the left side is the same height as the outcropping of stone on the right side. Mary and John are also a larger scale than Christ and the figures in the midground and background. This involves the use of linear perspective, where objects farther away seem smaller to the eye. The outlines of the figures are less blunt and more realistic in this painting. A viewer can see this in the form of the drapery, which shows the forms of the figures with a slight illusion of motion from an unknown source of wind. Christs loin cloth seems to flutter in the wind from both sides. The tension in Johns drapery emphasizes his agitation, while the thick folds of Marys drapery demonstrates her grief over the loss of her son (MFA Label). This can be seen through Johns eyes looking up toward the body of Christ on the cross, and Mary looking down at the bones at the base of the cross, which represent death. Joos van Cleve emphasized the use of colors in place of atmospheric perspective, which makes