Renaissance Painting Analysis: The Adoration of the Shepherds and Feast of the Gods

The students are analyzing and teaching each other about some of the beautiful Renaissance paintings that we'll see when we visit the National Gallery of Art.

Here are some of the comments about The Adoration of the Shepherds, by Giorgione:

Dylan, Parker and Nicole: The people in this painting are outdoors, in nature. This is a major characteristic of Renaissance art. There are many features of nature like the mountains, the water, the detailed rocks, the trees, bushes, cave, and animals.

Also, the people in this painting are very detailed (another big characteristic of Renaissance art.) Baby Jesus has toenails on each toe! Mary has a pointed nose and closed eyes (you can see each individual eyelash). One of the shepherds has curled hair in the back and a very realistic hair color.

Jack A., Liam B., Reese and Cabria: The detail of Mary’s robe, and the curves on it, make the painting look very realistic.

Also, there are many vivid colors on the people's clothes -- like the crimson red on the shepherd's sleeve and Mary's cobalt blue outfit.

But the angels are a little scary… maybe the artist could have made them a bit happier? We feel like they hurt the peaceful vibe of the painting.

And here's some analysis of The Feast of the Gods, by Bellini and Titian:

Octavia, Trey, Chloe M. and Jack M.: We noticed lots of Renaissance elements in this painting. For example, the artists used atmospheric perspective on the mountain and trees in the background, which helps the scene to feel realistic.

The details of the painting are extremely intricate -- you can see every leaf in the trees!

The gods and goddesses have strong expressions, and it creates a powerful scene, because by judging their expressions, you can sense their emotions.

Carter, James B., Marin and Courtney: There are several items that are group admires about this painting We really like the way the artists layered the paint, which created ripples in the gods' clothing. Also, the head ornaments, with nature included in them, are a unique feature, and the realistic facial expressions give a hint of how the gods are feeling.

But our group also has some critiques of the painting. Not all of the features in this painting are realistic. For example, the donkey’s face lots a little bit animated -- its nose is too low! Also, the trees in the background look quite flat.