Rogier Van Der Weyden's Descent From The Cross

The Renaissance was a time of turmoil, change, and strong beliefs. The term renaissance itself means “rebirth”. Art was a significant and one of the only ways of expressing beliefs during that time period, but many people had different views on what art was worth and what exactly it was supposed to achieve. Some said that art is a commodity and a price should be put on a piece, while others believed that art is art; it doesn’t need a theme or meaning behind it whatsoever. However, throughout the course of this class, I have observed art’s progression throughout the renaissance and believe that art is a foreshadowing mirror to large society; it either points out a current way of life, or presents a challenging idea of what a new way of life …show more content…
For example, the crucifixion of Jesus is one of the most painted events during that time period (Harbison). While I find the majority of those pieces extremely moving, I was extremely moved by Rogier Van Der Weyden’s “Descent from the cross” which depicts Jesus being lowered from the cross shortly after His death while being surrounded by His disciples and loved ones. While many of the works during this time depicted these deep and sorrowful events, Weyden portrayed the emotion of this event in a very strong manner that differs from the art at that time. Many artists still made everyone look beautiful, idealized and like heroes, no matter their situation or circumstance, but Weyden captured the raw emotion and unfortunate reality of this event. Weyden’s attempt at realism is also evident by the heavy detail in the facial expressions of characters and the way Jesus’ body is distorted and the facial expressions of those around Him are not glorified. Although the characteristics such as the almond shaped eyes show that Jesus and His loved ones were still being depicted in the wrong setting, each person has a distinct facial expression that holds so much emotion. I think the most powerful figure in this piece is Mary; because she looks so faint and full of sorrow, yet she is still clothed in the royal blue robe. We also see the northern influence of the painting by the detail and wrinkles of the clothes of the characters in this painting. Also, Mary and Jesus’ poses are almost identical, which I believe shows the common notion of how important her role is in the Bible and in the salvation of mankind that is being portrayed in this piece (Van). Although this painting mirrors techniques that were often used throughout the early Renaissance, through the emotional and realistic mood of the