The Tempest

 

Giorgione’s The Tempest is vital for art history. It set the stage for the artistic conventions following the Renaissance. It set the stage of the division of space, it was the first time we saw a river splitting a painting into two parts, and a bridge dividing the top and bottom halves. He framed the piece with trees. The piece is extremely balanced because it was created during the Renaissance. As far as the narrative goes, we have a walking soldier, a women in the nude with her child that is also nude. He represents the turmoil occurring in Italy during the period, while she represents man‘s permanence. The bridge is symbolic because it is linking the old and new. Lastly, the clouds weren’t depicted as white, but rather gray and stormy because it’s representative of the problems that are yet to come.

This piece was selected for my collection because of the general balance and harmony. I also find the piece interesting because there is symbolism in the piece which is unique for Italian art. The division of space was revolutionary for his time. It’s my favorite piece because it influenced a variety of pieces from other movements.