Giorgione: the Adoration of the Shepherds Essay -- Italian Art Paintin

Artist Giorgione (*1477/1478 25.10.1510)Title The idolisation of the ShepherdsThe Adoration of the Shepherd about 1505, oil on panel, 35 4/5 x 43 4/5 (91 x 111cm) National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USAThis essay attempts to describe analyze and evaluate the famous painting The Adoration of the Shepherd by Giorgione (originally Giorgio Barbarelli). In the following essay there will be three main sections1Inventory - (WHAT?)2Formal depth psychology - (HOW?)3Interpretation/Meaning (WHY?)The Inventory (I) will entanglea.)subject matterb.)function/intentionc.)descriptionThe Formal Analysis (II) will includea.)Pictorial Elementsi.Lineii.Form and shapeiii.Colouriv.Spaceb.)Pictorial Elementsi.Balanceii.Emphasisiii.Contrastiv.PatternThe Interpretation/Meaning (III) will be written without any guideline points, the aim of this breach will be to determine what the painter wanted to express with his baste of work and what it tells us in a symbolic or not instantly clear direction. Thi s part will also handle why the artist drew the painting the way he did it and why he chose various techniques or tools.1. About the PainterGiorgione or Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco was born in 1477 or 1478, the exact date is not known, in Castelfranco. Even though there were no more than about twenty paintings officially associated with him, of which only about six are attributed to him without doubt, his originality was so justly that these few works have come to represent not only the first stage in the Venice High Renaissance, but a new form in Italian art as well. Surviving documentation of his life and work is sparse.Giorgione d... ...aw the background so detailed?Giorgione loved to paint landscapes. Especially in The Adoration of the shepherds you can see how much effort he invested in painting a detailed background in form of a piece of coast and part of a village. When isolated this part takes on a life of its own (If concentrating you can see tiny details such as two persons standing at the edge of the coast.Why is there a cow in the back of the cave?This cave is a stable and deliveryman was born in a stable. This is the place where the messiahs saw daylight for the very first time in his life. The houses in the background are probably part of Bethlehem.Whats the meaning of the completely blue sky in the background?Blue is the colour of hope and the birth of Jesus is the beginning of hope.BibliographyDiscovering Art History Gerald F. Brommer Davis Publications, Inc.