Nov 17 2009
Saint Anthony and his Demonic buddies
A question that often surfaces when it comes to Michelangelo’s First Painting is its authenticity. Critics feel that this creation should not be wholly credited to Michelangelo because it was based on the work of another artist at the time- Martin Schongauer’s “Saint Anthony tormented by demons”. A closer analysis of these two individual paintings will reveal a much more intricate and astonishing revelation.
Michelangelo is not normally known for his paintings but rather for his sculpturing. This disparity helps create a unique sense to his first painting because of this popular conception. My first encounter with these two similar paintings led to a confusing experience: at first I couldn’t tell which painting was whose and that led me to believe that maybe I had walked into the wrong exhibit. However, a closer observation revealed to me just how fascinating Michelangelo was able to recreate this piece of work. Starting with the fact that Michelangelo’s creation is an oil painting helps separate his work from that of Martin Schongauer’s. This may seem like an obvious difference, however it also creates a sense of originality in Michelangel’s painting because the essence of color adds a new dimension to Schongauer’s original work. This “new dimension” gives the subjects in the painting greater life. Through the addition of color, we are able to witness the individuality of these demons that are harassing St Anthony. Because these demons consist of a different blend of color shades, it is more apparent that St Anthony is being attacked by multiple entities as opposed to a conglomeration of demons that are tangled up in a mess with St Anthony in Schongauer’s engraving. The addition of color also meant that Michelangelo had to use different artistic techniques in his creation. Because Schongauer’s engraving was in black and white, techniques such as shading, contouring and texturing were accomplished in a very different means. Michelangelo’s oil painting was based more on the varying degrees of colors and shades to help accomplish the fine details in his painting.
I also couldn’t help but notice the amount of detail when it came to the fish demon. The scales were counted with a thick amount of paint to outline its rich texture (the skin looks so shiny and glossy that it’s almost surreal). The thick buildup of paint blends quite nicely with the fish’s sharp outline.
Another form of emphasis in Michelangelo’s painting is the mixture of color that contrasts one another. For example one demon has a tremendous amount of red coloring while another demon on top of it contains a bland tone of dirt mixtures. Once again, these contrasting colors help give demons more of an individual identity because of their noticeable physical differences.
The addition of a background scenery in Michelangelo’s First Painting provides a feeling of relief in a sense because it helps take away some of the focus from the main subjects and adds more of a contrast to an otherwise intimidating artwork. All these fine details prove that Michelangelo’s First Painting is truly an authentic creation. Forget the fact that he used the composition from Schogauer’s work. Michelangelo’s masterpiece deserves all the merits associated with any piece of authentic artwork. His painting feels original because of the different techniques he utilized, imaginative because of the way he designed this painting and of course most importantly, this painting feels truly unique in the sense that he was able to blend all these artistic elements into the total package. I just cannot help but marvel at how he accomplished all of this at such a young age.
Angela, technique aside I think we should also consider how much went into the thought behind creating this work. The side panel told us how Michelangelo even went to local fish markets to look at scales before doing his piece. That’s dedication.
It’s true that the details and the specificity that existed in the original engraving lacked in Michelangelo’s adaptation. Further the use of colors in his adaptation did not succeed in matching the fierceness of the demons or the agony of St. Anthony as the original engraving.
Michelangelo’s painting may have been more interesting because of the color, but the labor put into a painting isn’t as much as the labor put into an engraving. It takes so much time to scratch the plate, then soak it in acid. The final copy only comes out perfectly of the ink is applied on right; if there’s too much, the lines will be thick and inelegant and if there’s too little, it might not print at all. So when comparing technique, Schongauer wins this round.
Th background and colors are what make the painting authentic to Michelangelo. I think that he really conveyed several emotions and feelings without making any major changes. He made it his own and I could tell what the differences were and know that he wanted to tell a different story than the original did.