Ambrogio Lorenzetti is one of the painters whose contribution significantly influenced the pictorial realism that was predominant in Italy, around the 14th-century. One of his most outstanding and best-selling works of arts is the painting of the Peaceful Town. The piece earned the Italian artist a lot of fame, not only in Italy, but also I the global phase (Campbell 240). The Peaceful Town is one of the outrageously noble and classic statues of the J. Paul Getty Museum of art. This painting was made in the 14th century by one of the most prominent painter of Italian origin, Ambrogio Lorenzetti. The 14th century fresco cycle which adorns and surround the perimeter enclosure of the Sala Della Pace in Palazzo Pubblico. Siena, the main town in the painting, is a representation of a pax holding a branch, preferably an olive branch, while rigorously reclining upon a couch. In her central position, the pax gazes eastwards (Campbell 249). This presentation comes out as depiction of the peaceful city together with its peaceful countryside, which traditionally was thought to be a result of good government. However, pax position of leisure repose is to some extent regarded as deceptive (Tarr 388).
Upon closer look of the painting, a lot of sinister reveals itself; under the cushion upon which Pax is leaning reclines the arms of a warship that are barely concealed. The Peaceful City is regarded as one of the most powerful images of the century that encapsulates a terrible reality neatly as is evident in the later medieval Tuscan society (Gardner, Helen and Kleiner 341). The legitimacy of Lorenzetti’s Peaceful City is intricate as it’s a revelation of the political or socio-economic aspects thus providing a combination of uncharacteristic features. As revealed by a number of literary reviews, the Peaceful City is a panoramic outlook of Sierra together with its clustering palaces, towers, streets, ancient churches, markets, and walls. As shown in the painting, the city traffic moves so peacefully as guild members ply their crafts and trade, and several maidens perform graceful cyclic dances. Lorenzetti combined both futurist and cubist movements, leaving many scholars in a state dilemma (Gardner, Helen and Kleiner 346).
In his great painting of the Peaceful town, Ambrogio Lorenzetti employs an unusual naturalistic style of design and drawing. This is evidenced as he tries to set his drawing in a modern Siena perspective, although it a sample portray of things as they used to be at the time of painting. Since the artist had initially worked in Florence as well as Siena painters’ school, he was so conversant with the architecture and the outline of the Siena city. For this reason, the artist it a naturalistic and epic view, but in a painting. There is an overwhelming sense of movement and space throughout the vicinity of the painting. To be more particular, the movement is common by the citizens as they depict with sense of gesture and random postures (Gardner, Helen and Kleiner 350).
A chronological account of the Peaceful City statue that is a configuration of the face of Sierra art as presented in the 14th century. In fact, this picture of sierra couldn’t be confused with a perspective of Germany, French, Italy and English city of the 14th century. Italian arts and architecture stood apart from the north Alps development. This made a number of historians question whether the term gothic should be used in order to refer to the Italian late buildings (Campbell 258). The rose windows, the pointed gables over the doorway, and the large pinnacles all represent some of the materials derived from the French architecture. Giving an example of the Orvieto Cathedral, most buildings in the sierra town are merely a Gothic overlay that masks timber roof types of building which is unique to the French architecture alone. Most of the observers who frequently visit the museum consider the Peaceful City as the most reprehensible work of all. Lorenzetti, through his artistic skills, successfully portrays his subject in an aerial view. The painting has attracted innumerable visitors and observers not only from America, but from the entire world. The Lorenzetti’s painting marked a new era in American modern art (Kleiner 139).
In this piece of art, Lorenzetti successfully develops complex geometrical elements in a skeptically and intrusive way. The picture is dominated with a number of motions as dominated by the different colors, ranging from green to ochre to pale brown. The Peaceful City, in terms of style, appears quite busy as portrayed in the busy town whose streets are flocked with activities (Kleiner 148). The busy town portrays the figure as a masterwork striving to deliver 3D Figure appearance. Consequently, due to the blurred nature of the piece, the town, to some extent, flops to achieve the geometrical architecture of the city and its occupants. As presented in the figure, the torso, frontal and back sections of the exposed picture are relatively graphic and flat. Color of the painting is not only oddly dull, but also floury hence limiting the translucency that’s expected in most paintings, especially the J. Paul Getty art collections (Tarr 388).
Lorenzetti denotes that the portage was done to make known the message of “replete” to the whole world. A replete is an aristocratically perfect meaning of both physical and esthetic beauty. The busy nature of the town elements can also be taken as a representation of beauty. Just like other forms of Kouroi arts, Lorenzetti’s painting was purposed to epitomize the ancient and affluent city of Sienna but in a modern manner. Upon focus on the portrayal of the main J. Paul Getty pieces of art at that time, it’s true that the portage of the Peaceful City has successfully resembled the ancient period. A number of scholars reveal that the painting represents a heroic artist who broke the rules that tied up the archaic American sculpture to broaden them towards democracy and freedom in a socio-economic context (Kleiner 150).
Lorenzetti argues that Irony was one of his outstanding themes in this piece of work about the peaceful city of sienna. He further expounds that his painting was not only a representation of the vision of social reputation and despicability, but also to glamorize the diverse social, economic and political ills that surrounded Italy and other countries. Duchamp, through his system of delivering a motion in a picture, project how a number of people are on the verge of striving to achieve self-success in different sectors of the life. Particularly as shown in with the busy state of the town. This traditional symbolic painting addresses the fight that was shown by different classes of the town’s residents in pursuit of self-success (Kleiner 158). The artist broke the figure apart to signify the numerous centuries the residents have gone through so as to succeed in their desire of success and empowerment. The Italian manages to educate both the traditional and the contemporary world on the need of self-reliance, good governance, and productive economy. Such approach has made much of his works, and more so this one on the Peaceful city, to mark some of the plain themes of the modern time. Today as we speak, almost all the states and nations, both regionally and globally, are attaining Lorenzetti’s outstanding aspiration on the collection (Tarr 390).
In conclusion, it is noticeably clear that Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s masterwork of the Peaceful Town has succeeded to focus on its principal themes to the latter. The painting has addressed both the futurist and cubist movements that are not only imperative, but also fundamental in any piece of artwork. The revelations of the assorted themes depicted on the art, however, still continue to persist in the mind of the observer. Unfortunately, since the masterwork is viewed from internet and books, it’s hard to close determine the brush strokes of the picture. Therefore, the assumption is made that smooth brush work was used. Without prior knowledge, the feeling of happiness, prosperity, and peace is evident in the picture. Lorenzetti successfully achieves his intention of promoting the effects of good government, not only in Siena, but in the world at large (Tarr 395).
Works Cited
Campbell, C. J. (2001). The city's new clothes: Ambrogio Lorenzetti and the poetics of peace. The Art Bulletin, 83(2), 240-258. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/222964026?accountid=1611
Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Concise Global History. Australia: 341-350 Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
Kleiner, F. S. (2009). Gardner's art through the ages: A global history. Boston, MA: 128-148Thomson.
Tarr, R. (January 01, 1990). A note on the light in Ambrogio Lorenzetti's "Peaceful city" fresco. Art History, 388-395
