Art Analysis
Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons
For my analysis, have chosen an art piece from one of the greatest engravers of the 14 hundred, Martin Schongauer.
It is called "Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons" and it was engraved into a wooden block. It was created in Colmar, which is now a town in France, but used to be a part of Germany between 1470 and 1475. I love this so much because of the details he was able to create, and it just appeals to me for some unknown reason. One reason might be, because I am German and just love the European history, especially the renaissance times and anything before this period.
First, a little bit more about the artist, Martin Schongauer, who was a German artist and lived from 1450 to 1491. He was, like I already mentioned, considered to be the greatest engraver to this times, before the great Albrecht Durer, which is a little more well known, but was not born until 1471. Obviously, they still had to wait for him to get out of his diapers, as if they had diapers to those times.
But back to the relevant topic. This work of art was so influential, that even Michelangelo made a color painting of the work at the age of thirteen, which I think is very impressive and worth mentioning.
I do still prefer the original piece from Schongauer over the colorful copy. To create this much detail onto a wooden block cannot be easy and here are some examples of what I mean:
The dragon like creatures’ head to the right, seems to have an Asian touch to it and reminds me very much of the Chinese dragons. Some of the others come close to it as well and for some reason, I would not have thought that this work was this old, if I would not know better. Some of the demons look like they are from more modern comic books.
The main character, Saint Anthony was a catholic priest from Portugal
and lived from 1195 to 1231. It is said that the devil spoke to him, and demons
aggravated him, but he ignored them and instead of listening, he prayed and
preached. I believe that this work of art is about this, and you can clearly
see how the demon’s bug, beat, and pull on him, while he is ignoring it.
Michelangelo added landscape and color to his version of the art piece. The colors are very dark, and it all seems to be a little too much and too crowded in my eyes. I personally like the simpler style of the original engravement work, which allows us to see the details clearer compared to the copy.
I would love to own a print of this piece of art, but I do not think that our house would be a good place to display it, since I have two small children who are naturally curious. I am sure they would come up with a lot of questions about the existent nudity. It is clearly fantasy based, however, it could possibly be a cause of nightmares for such little busy brains.
Thank you for reading and stay safe,
Sylvia
Works cited:
Dr. Kylie Fisher. “Printmaking in Europe, C. 1400−1800 – Smarthistory.” Smarthistory.org, 2016, smarthistory.org/printmaking-europe-1400%E2%88%921800/.
Dr. Kylie Fisher. “Printmaking in Europe, C. 1400−1800 – Smarthistory.” Smarthistory.org, 2016, smarthistory.org/printmaking-europe-1400%E2%88%921800/.
“Albrecht Durer Paintings, Prints & Artwork.” Albrechtdurer.org, 2019, www.albrechtdurer.org/.
Schongauer, Martin, and Martino D'. Martin Schongauer.
This piece is incredible and I don't think I've ever seen it. The line work is so minutely expressive. Thank you for sharing Sylvia.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Michelangelo's version doesn't stack up. The landscape background is exquisite but almost detracts focus from the main subjects and imbalances the composition. I feel like Schongauer understood the value of negative space while Michelangelo (at 13) just thought more is better. And the demons simply aren't as grotesque and threatening in color.
The amount of detail he was able to carve into the wooden block is astonishing! The texture he was able to achieve and how there is lot of elements going on, it is still very readable. I agree Michelangelo's version, while impressive, doesn't give off the same feeling and some of the details get lost.
ReplyDeleteI love that engraving. I really like the original copies that lack the color as well. I think it brings more attention and even more emotion to the engraving. I am also glad you did this artist, because, I didn't come across him that much when I was doing my research. I like the fact that you were able to find all the information and explain it Maybe his name will get out there more now. It's amazing all the dedication and work that went into engraving and how amazing he was at it.
ReplyDeleteGreat job!