To compare the two artworks, The Burial of Count Orgaz by El Greco (Fig. 18-29) and The School of Athens by Raphael (Fig. 18-9) we must first understand the difference between two styles: Mannerism and Renaissance. It is important to remember that a few of the key differences between Mannerism and Renaissance is that, Mannerism focused on imbalance and the artist ability to be an individual. Thus, making it easy to distinguish the difference from Renaissance which is focused on naturalism and classic, perfect beauty.
The School of Athens, depicts the gathering of the ancient world’s greatest philosophers and scientists. Raphael, ensured the painting was balanced using a term called radial balance. This means everything radiates out from a central point; this point being the two center figures Plato and Aristotle. These two figures also serve another purpose called the vanishing point, much like Leonardo did in The Last Supper by using linear perspective by placing Christ in the center. This technique makes the space seem deeper and three
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What we see depicted is a burial in one portion of the painting and then heaven – with a small representation of Christ, on the upper portion. Thus, suggesting we have two focal points creating an unbalanced feeling. This, unlike the High Renaissance, was a goal of Mannerist art. With the lower ensemble, we see realism being used when drawing the figure; however, the figures in the upper portion of the image are very elongated. An example of this would-be Saint Peters hand (behind the virgin Mary); visually the hand looks long, and droopy. Also, we can compare the colors used in the painting. The colors used in The Burial of Count Orgaz, are bright and gaudy – unlike in the School of Athens, where the colors blend well together and do not