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Jimmy Powell
Mrs. Lucarelli
Comp Civ
14 January 2016
Museum Visit

Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness

Annibale Carracci

Christ Bearing the Cross

Van Eyck

Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness

Francesco Granacci

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Upon visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art many I saw many paintings which truly
capture the Renaissance style. The three I selected are Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness by
Annibale Carracci, Christ Bearing the Cross by Van Eyck, and Saint John the Baptist Bearing
Witness by Francesco Granacci.
One way each of these paintings portray the style of the Renaissance is through their
combination of realism and religion. Prior to the time of the Renaissance, during the middle ages
religious figures were often displayed as much larger than ordinary humans. However, in all
three paintings the religious figure whether it be Jesus or Saint John the Baptist remain in proper
proportion with fellow people or with the environment around them. This removes the feeling
that religious figures are supreme to everyone and begins to break away from the hieratic scale.
However, although faint, some halos still appear in paintings such as in Saint John the Baptist
Bearing Witness by Annibale Carracci.
Another example of how these paintings display traits of the Renaissance is through the
use of perspective. Through the use of perspective, the artists are able to create a painting that
appears as if it has depth. This is especially relevant in Christ Bearing the Cross as the building
throughout the city appear to becoming smaller until they hit the mountains which act as the
vanishing point of the painting. In Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness, Annibale Carracci
uses perspective exceptionally well as he makes the figure of Jesus appear proportionate with the
environment around him as well as to John the Baptist who appears far in front of him.
The final way these painting illustrate the styles of the Renaissance is through their
landscape backgrounds. Throughout the dark ages when depicting a religious figure, they were
almost always placed in a surrounding that seemed heavenly. However, in a Renaissance style
painting the background will be earthly even if there are religious characters in it. This is seen

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within all three paintings. For both paintings of Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness the
background contains trees, grass, and a large body of water. While in Christ Bearing the Cross
the background contains many buildings followed by a mountain in the distance.