HUM1002 Week 1 Changes in The Human Figure in Art Paper

HUM1002 Week 1 Changes in The Human Figure in Art Paper

Changes in the Human Figure in Art Over the years, humans have evolved, and with evolution, they have become fascinated by the human form, an aspect they have extensively explored in many ways. The use of art is one way that the human form has been displayed over the years with almost all artists exploring the complexity and beauty of the human figure. Portraiture was the most popular way of displaying human forms with wealthy people commissioning the immortalization of their likeness on canvas. Portraiture developed to painting which has been able to not only display the image but also tell its story from the Romanticism of the 18th century to the surrealism and expressionism of the 20th century (Mitchell, 2015). The paper seeks to identify and discuss artistic works from early renaissance, north European, and Italian Renaissance, identify the artists of the works, the title, the date created, materials used, and where the work is located as well as identify important historical facts, and a description of how the human figure has been depicted. Early Renaissance (14th Century, 1300 – 1399) Annunciation to the shepherds is an early renaissance by Taddeo Gaddi, an Italian painter who worked for over twenty years with his Godfather giving him adequate skills and experience to create valuable arts. In this scene, the supernatural glow of the angels descending from heaven as they announce to the shepherds is displayed in a golden yellow color surrounding the angel. The artist was keen on studying light and especially the solar eclipse, an aspect captured in the painting showing Taddeo’s personal interest in the phenomenon of light (Olson & Pasachoff, 2002).