Good and Evil in Art

There are many famous and well known art works all around the world. Most of these art works are very ancient and have a story behind them, or a reason for its creation, mostly for the time period in which it was created, and what influences that time period had on the artist. There are many well known artists that have composed famous art works, one of the most world famous art works, was made by Leonardo Da Vinci, the Mona Lisa. Some other well known and successful paintings are     Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder,  Pieta by Michelangelo, Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali, The Gates of Hell by Rodin, The Condemned in Hell by Luca Signorelli, Christ the King - Orthodox icon, The Temptation of Christ on the Mountain by Duccio and Jesus Trampling down the dead - Orthodox icon. All of these paintings have effects of good and evil and are influenced by either good or evil in ways that the artist painted it. Most of the paintings contain of both good and evil and tell a story. Even if the painting looks happy and bright, it could have the darkest story, and even tho a painting could be dark and gloomy, the story could be something happy. 

Each of the paintings are very different , which makes them so famous and unique. Pieta by Michelangelo is not a painting, but a sculpture. Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the High Renaissance. This sculpture and many others were created in the time period of the renaissance, and influenced Michelangelo on the development of Western art. Michelangelo sculpted this artwork in  1498–1499 and called it Pieta. This famous work of art depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary, sitting on the rock of Golgotha after the Crucifixion. It is made of marble, and measures 174 cm by 195 cm and is the only work he ever signed. Michelangelo’s sculptor shows the “religious vision of abandonment and a serene face of the son”, as he didn't want his version of it to represent death. His painting represented the connection between man and god, through Christ. The connection between Jesus and Mary is evident in the artwork, it is representing death and life at the same time ( good and evil ) this artworks religion was made to be Christian. as this sculptor represents life and the reincarnation of Christ, it also relates to death, but in a good and bad way. He died but came back to life, he didn't go to heaven or hell, he was always meant by god to come back alive. The sculptures main focus is the connect between Mary and Jesus these two figures are carved so as to appear in a unified composition which forms the shape of a pyramid , In the sculpture  Mary’s body is larger than Christs body, so large that if she stood up she would tower over her son, If her body was made smaller it would be awkward as it would look like an adult on her lap, but Jesus was her son, and she holds him gracefully in the sculpture, just as a mother would.  Michelangelo did this because it represented the connection between Mary and her son, she was mothering him, and it was so she could support her son on her lap. Pieta the sculpture, balances the Renaissance ideals of classical beauty with naturalism, and is one of the most highly finished works of Michelangelo. At the time, Michelangelo’s sculpture of Mary with the dead Christ was a unique addition to Italian sculpture, though there were some painted depictions in Florentine art. In my opinion i think that the theme wasn't very well presented as it is meant to display a sweet tenderness despite the very tragic nature of this scene, the scene creates good and evil at the same time (happy and sad) the sad part of it is the moment when the Virgin is confronted with the reality of the death of her son. 

The gates of hell is a sculpture created by Auguste Rodin, the name of it describing the exact meaning  of the sculpture, "The gates of hell", Hell describing evil and the gates representing the welcoming of hell. The sculpture clearly represents evil, as hell is a sign of evil and is ruled by the devil. Evil is represented in this sculpture in many ways, representing the evilness of hell and the gates leading to it. Gates usually represent a welcoming into a place, which is tempting to go in, but it deceives you as hell is evil and a very bad place that no one wants to go. This theme is represented as there are several little sculptures of people sad and helping each other, the gates seem crowed, and full of people that have sinned. It looks as if they are trying to escape from hell, helping each other out and pushing each other up, to get out of hell. At the top of the sculpture there are three humans putting there hands together as if they are in a team. In the sculpture it contains of many little people, forming together as a team, looking like a crowded hell. In my opinion the theme represents both, good and evil. The gates of hell sounds as if it is meant to represent evil, but the people in the sculpture look like they are helping each other. The theme isn't necessarily representing all evil, as despite its name, it represents some good. 

·    Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali is a painting that creates a very sad and grief mood. This painting is of Jesus dieing on the cross. Jesus is now known as one of the most powerful men to ever walk the earth, and is worshiped by Christians, although, back when Jesus was alive everyone thought he was crazy and didn't believe he was the son of god despite the miracles he performed. There were people who believed in him but there were much more that thought he was an impostor and wanted him dead. The town beat him up, stripped him naked and nailed him to the cross, to die a slow and painful death, but god wanted this to happen in order to show them that he is the real son of god and days after, he came back to life. This event is definitely evil, but the people at the time considered it the right thing. The artist of this painting, painted with feelings and showed the loneliness and sadness of Jesus. The paintings main focus is Jesus, it is painting to make it as if Jesus was floating into heaven, to then be resurrected. The people beside the boat are derived from a picture by Le Nain and from a drawing by Velazquex for The Surrender of Breda. This painting depicts the crucifixion of Christ, and is painted in a unique angle, almost as if it is the angle of gods view. I think the theme has been presented clearly, it shows gods view on the world and on Jesus, raising his son from the dead. It shows sorrow and sadness, but can also relate to something happy as it depicts the new life of Christ.

dOne theme that is mainly influenced by artists is evilness. A lot of these paintings have the purpose the represent evil. This one painting displays a symbol of good (Jesus) and Evil (black angel), it is like they are versing each other, but in a peaceful way, because it is called , The Temptation of Christ on the Mountain, because he is tempted to fight the evil, but he knows that, that would be wrong.