Leonardo da Vinci “Annunciation”
“Annunciation” is the depiction of the announcement of the birth of Christ to Mary that reveals the human nature of Christ in contrast to divine nature of Christ in Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling. Leonardo da Vinci tends to use a lot of symbols again that is the characteristic of his works. At this point, Leonardo da Vinci is quite different from Michelangelo, who also used symbols but still Michelangelo was more direct in the expression of his ideas and sending the message to his audience. For instance, Leonardo da Vinci uses the flower, lily, as a symbol of purity of Mary. The angel, who is sent by God, presents the flower to Mary to show her purity, which is very important in regard to the birth of Jesus. In such a way, Leonardo da Vinci gives implications to the divine birth of Jesus.
At the same time, in spite of seeming purity of Mary, Leonardo da Vinci shows that she is human and even the angel looks like a human, if not his wings on his back. Leonardo da Vinci preserves the Renaissance style and, even though images he depicts are close to the real life, they are still less naturalistic than those of Michelangelo. Nevertheless, the message of Leonardo da Vicni implies the human nature of Mary and Jesus Christ. This trend was really new for the Renaissance art and marked the shift from religious themes of the medieval art, when divine issues remained untouched and unchallengeable, whereas Jesus was viewed as being absolutely superior to humans as well as his mother, Mary.
Michelangelo the Statue of David
Michelangelo was a renowned proponent of the classical, ancient Roman art. In this regard, it is possible to refer to his statue of David. The Statue of David is the manifestation of beauty of human body. Michelangelo skillfully depicts in details the human body and depicts the male beauty. The statue of David is the personification of the natural beauty of human body which is intentionally unhidden from the eye of the audience. It seems as if Michelangelo wants to show off the natural beauty of David.
At the same time, this statue marks the revival of the classical, ancient Roman art. The Statue of David became one of the prominent points in the revival of classical art that had had a considerable impact on the development of Italian and European art. In fact, the impact of the classical, ancient art was very strong in the Renaissance era and Michelangelo had managed to reveal the full potential of the classical art and the power of its natural beauty. Michelangelo shaped the ideal vision of the male beauty in his David. This statue became very close to the real life and naturalistic depicting ideal forms of human body, as Michelangelo saw it. In this regard, the statue of David was very progressive for his time and revealed the new direction in the development of European art.