"The Fall and Expulsion", a panel on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, by Michelangelo is a painting portraying a story. The story is of Adam and Eve receiving the apple from Temptation and then being expelled from the beautiful Garden of Eden. Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" (1642) on the other hand, is not a biblical story, it's not really a story at all it's just a painting showing a gathering of military importance. .
Michelangelo's payment for his work came from the pockets of the Catholic Church unlike Rembrandt who's pay came from the pockets of the wealthy men whom he painted in this work. Michelangelo painted a story where the characters have appeared more than once in the painting and made it a closed composition meaning that the whole story is contained in the frame and all the action is happening in the painting, not giving you the feeling that it continues out of the painting. Rembrandt's work, however, is an open composition because there is action happening outside the painting for example someone is looking out of the frame, another is pointing out and this gives you the feeling that there is something happening out of the picture. .
Both Rembrandt and Michelangelo did a lot of research to become as great as they both are. Michelangelo tried to learn the secrets of the ancient sculptors who knew how to represent the beautiful human body in motion, with all its muscle sinews and soon there was no movement or posture that he could not draw. Rembrandt also researched books for visual information about army uniforms and the use of weapons. He has used great skill in handling light and shadow to create atmosphere and the appearance of depth. Pools of light create visual interest and a focal point which are the two officers in the center foreground and the young, highlighted woman to their left. The presence of the girl is a contradiction to the way Rembrandt usually paints his characters.
Art, it's everywhere you look. From the billboards you see every day to the pictures you take with your camera. It exists on every continent and every country. Art has been around sense the beginning of time and still thrives today. This essay is to inform and highlight some of the most importan...