Two Classic Paintings

Paper Summary:

The paper describes the older painting of the two masterpieces, which is by Agnolo Bronzino, officially called "Portrait of Ugolino Martelli", in which the painter captures the essence of the young man in the courtyard of the Martelli's villa; the arrangement of the right hand, face and left hand are almost a geometric proportion. The author points out that Rembrandt's "Aristotle" is a darker than Bronzino's portrait, the geographical difference between a sunnier Italy and a gloomier Holland; Bronzino's wonderful portrait, a masterpiece of its time, is of a real person; whereas, Rembrandt's painting is a more thoughtful work, a true "think piece" about the dead philosopher. The paper concludes that the greatness of these two painting is in the beholder's continued ability to see things as well as ideas and focus in the paintings, which is far more evident in "Aristotle".

From the Paper:

"There is no hint of accuracy in the dark background. Does the bust of Homer sit on a pedestal in front of stairs leading to where? The Agora, the lecture hall? Unlike Bronzino, Rembrandt's attention is solely on the bust and the man. And, just to verify that this is indeed a model, one need to look at the rough hands perhaps a perfect portraiture of the model posing, perhaps a farmer or tradesman from the village. They are not, despite the ring, the hands of what one would consider a philosopher, someone absorbed in thought, in writing and speaking, without doing any handiwork."

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