Last Judgment Tympanum

On the 19th day of May 2017, I went to the Timken Art Museum at Balboa Park, San Diego. It was my second time going there. The work of art that somehow reminded me of our class is Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo’s Torment of St. Anthony. It is an oil on panel with a 27-3/8 x 47 inches dimension.This Italian art depicts a man in between a contrasting world of peace and damnation. This work has helped give me a better understanding of why pre-Renaissance Christian art focuses more on the context rather than realism. Starting the museum from the left to right gave me an overall a sense of sadness. I felt that the majority of the art illustrated grief, pain, death, torment and struggle. It was a bit depressing. Perhaps, because I ended with Goya’s War …show more content…
Rather than placing themselves in a different dimension of Mary and Christ, instead, in this case, men are running away from the underworld. This art relates to the work called “Last Judgment Tympanum from St. Lazare” by Gislebertus during the Romanesque period, where there are creatures in the underworld weighing the worthiness of men. These arts depict that not only should men not place themselves in the same worthiness of Mary and Jesus, but also that they should keep away from the going to the underworld. Depicting that should they sin, they will end up in a place of darkness, full of despair and torment. Which clearly depicted on St. Anthony’s …show more content…
Anthony gives great importance to lighting. Just as the emphasis on Lux Nova during Gothic Period, the light, clouded area depicts the closest St. Anthony can get towards a “heavenly location” and away from the blood red destruction on the right side of the painting. In contrast, however, Savoldo’s piece are less cartoony showing a great illustration of techniques in shadowing and depths. More importantly, on the other hand, is the interpretation of the art and the emotion it evokes rather than realism, especially illustrated through the mysterious, and peculiar creatures on the right side of the painting. Savoldo’s placed creatures like a rat with pig’s feet carrying odd creature, a boiling pot containing a head, disproportional bird, cloaked headed figure eating a man and many more to emphasize the symbolism for the damnation of men. In contrast to Mary blaming the death of Jesus to men or the Pentakrator, in which Jesus is angry at men, here shows what will happen to men should they be punished by heaven in view of St. Anthony’s

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