Blast from the past

Madonnna with the Long Neck, Parmigianino
Oil on Wood, 1535-40



Sara as the Madonna with the Long Neck
2:0 light ratio






           The Madonna with the Long neck is an oil on wood painting during the 16th century, also known as, "The Renaissance."  The renaissance occured between the 14th-17th century (1301-1801) in Italy and spanned across Europe during the Middle Ages.  During this time period, "Humanism"-which is the belief of creating a universal man who consisted of intelligence and physical excellence along with the capability to function in any given situation.  This is shown commonly as god-like figures or sculptures like Greek and Roman ancient art.  Paintings in this era commonly include nature, extreme realistic-style paintings, human anatomy (it is common to have subjects in the nude), and pillar/columned buildings.  This architecture influenced Italian art prior to European literature (ie. the leaning tower of Piza).

          This painting is represented as the virgin Mary holding baby Jesus.  Six angels are seen to be looking over Mary to see the baby.  Parmigianino created a new style of painting when he added the Prophet at the bottom right corner- just  under Mary's knee.  This inproportion was the beginning of realistic paintings with an unrealistic twist. The abnormally large size of Mary and the baby Jesus are guessed to provide the perfect inharmony to the picture which was uncommon in the 16th century.
          Lastly, I adjusted my lighting to meet the same lighting as the painting by having two studio lights: both on the left side of Sara's face.  This created the perfect shadow just on the outer-left side by her chin and her cheek bones.  The right side is extremely bright, giving the perfect luminescence of Mary's angelic face, which goes the same way for Sara.  All in all, a combination of studio lights and photoshop have created a good replication of a renaissance painting.