Should you judge a book by its cover?-La Chute d’Icare by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

"One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”-Neil Armstrong

‘Why?’ - The question that unlocked tremendous advancements in science, art, religion and the general attitudes of the generations to follow since the Renaissance. The first clock, printing press, and microscope all came during this period of high enlightenment. Similarly, paintings went through a tremendous transformation and there are certain characteristics with which one can tell which era a painting came from. Facets of Renaissance art such as the revival of Greek and Roman art, its incorporation of depth, and humanism are clearly reflected in La Chute d’Icare or the Fall of Icarus by Bruegel and because of these tell signs, one can identify its era without researching.

After the protestant reformation, people paused social conformity to stop and ask “why?”, initiating the birth of the Renaissance (1300 – 1600 A.D). The catholic church prior to the reformation held that research and studying into astronomy and art in any form (that wasn’t about God) as heresy and several inventors including Galileo were excommunicated from the church. The Renaissance, meaning rebirth, was the period of enlightenment so crucial to the development of knowledge across the board. This led to modern discoveries and inventions: we learned from Galileo Galilei that the Sun is in the center of our solar system, not the earth. We got from Leonardo Da Vinci's designs for the first-ever parachute, let alone numerous pieces of art, including the Mona Lisa, some that sell for up to $450 million (Salvador Mundi). The attention shifted from God and penance to natural beauty and science. The Fall of Icarus perfectly captures the growth of societal attitudes in the painting.

Renaissance art and architecture revive Greek and Roman art. An example of this is the famous Palazzo Rucellai (insert 1) in Florence Italy with its towering Roman windows. Similarly, Bruegel revives an old Greek myth of Icarus. In his painting, several elements of the story are shown including Icarus drowning in the water after falling, the shepherd and his dog looking up at the sky, and his cousin who is in the form of a partridge. Looking at this piece of art and knowing the story, the painting checks the revival of Greek and Roman art box of the Renaissance art checklist.

A key characteristic of Renaissance art is its incorporation of depth or perspective. In this painting, Bruegel shows the horizon is further away, the city or the top right and left of the painting are smaller and unclear to show the distance between the front of the picture with the horse and the back of the picture near the horizon. Raphael was one of the first artists to introduce depth in his paintings, making it more realistic. In a pre-renaissance painting like Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets by Cimabue (insert 2), there lacks perspective, making it an unrealistic 2D painting.

After the reformation, people strayed from their devotion to god to more relatable, worldly themes. As seen in the painting, there are no gods and the scene is set on the earth with pastoral countryside imagery of the sea and the farmlands. The people in the painting do not have halos, a key characteristic of pre-renaissance art, as seen in insert 2. Humanism and realism were themes that emerged during the renaissance that focused around the glorification of the human. As compared to the pre-renaissance painting, the people look more real and aren’t painted in a pose but in their natural states; like the fisherman is fishing with his back toward us rather than facing us.

Although this Bruegel painting reflects the scientific advancements that came out of that time period such as attention to real detail of the human anatomy, and depth, he fails to properly pay attention to shadows and the perspective of the sun as seen against the ships on the sea. This strikes the viewer as odd coming from an age of scientific enlightenment. That said, while comparing painting from different eras, it is clear that renaissance paintings are a mature step in a more realistic direction because of its precision to detail.

  

     

Insert 1: Palazzo Rucellai in Florence Italy. The windows reflect Roman-style windows, a trait of the Renaissance era to revive Greek and Roman art and architecture.

Insert 2: Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets by Cimabue. The halo shows pre-renaissance, heavenly centered art.