How representative are early modern paintings of the daily lives of ordinary people?

Modern Paintings and Ordinary People

Plato once said that the idea of something was actually more real than the thing itself, presenting an interesting challenge when considering the reality of a painting and the image portrayed in that visual artistic medium. Yet, it is in recent years that the idea of art as a historical marker and guide of human history has emerged as a means for increasing one's understanding about the social, political, and cultural environment of past periods in human history. As such, visual culture can be defined as a means of using a visual image like a piece of art work and attempting to use it as a learning device that can inform about the social, culture, philosophical and political environment from that time period in which the visual image was created (Dikovitskaya 2005; Howells & Matson 2009). It is important because it offers a way to look at both art and history simultaneously and consider how the artistic medium was a way that people from a particular time period could put their interpretation on daily life and society, often making a political statement or emphasizing a certain aspect to make a point.

The visual medium has been a tool that people have used for centuries to communicate and express themselves as it relates to their culture and belief systems (Burke 2001). From the dawn of civilization, there have been cave paintings and hand prints to buildings, murals, tapestries and more that have illustrated some scene or event in human history and life, providing a cultural thumbprint of what was happening in that time period and illustrating how cultures have developed and changed. And, whilst these have provided a glimpse, it has never been truly known if visual culture can verify the actual events portrayed in these visual images. Yet, because these are always perspective-related by the person who created these visual images, it is history or culture as seen through the eyes of the creator. As such, it is not necessarily assumed that what the visual images that have been left from history entirely present an accurate portrayal of life and culture during that time period as it is the artist's rendering or interpretation just as today's media and visual culture platforms present a spin on what they believe should be representative of mainstream society (Elkins 2003; Adams, 2006).

Hence, it can be wondered then how representative early modern paintings were of the daily lives of ordinary people, especially when considering the current use of the media and other modern platforms that are so often skewed a certain way to gain sympathy or influence people's perspectives. In the case of art history, it has become the history of art or art as a visual history for those that view it. This essay looks specifically at the early modern paintings of Italy, Venice, and Spain to assess and compare how representative these paintings were at defining the reality of daily lives of ordinary people. Specific examples of paintings are explored as the basis for this assessment and critique on the true representation of ordinary people, which includes using Caravaggio as the analysis of an Italian painter who captured ordinary people, the focus on naturalism and spirituality of Tintoretto and Veronese, and Spanish painters during the Baroque period that were focused on painting the harsh realities that they saw inherent in the daily lives of ordinary people.

Early Modern Paintings of Italian Life

In first turning one's attention to Italian life during the second half of the fifteenth century, this was a time period that was certainly focused on society but not necessarily on ordinary people per se because it was the Renaissance and the focal point was on nobility, scholars, and intellectualism - areas far removed from what the ordinary person was connected to in their daily existence (Ajmar-Wollheim & Dennis, 2006). Primarily, this period was also known for an idealised view of society and tended to not focus on ordinary life of ordinary people (Ajmar-Wollheim & Dennis, 2006). Primarily, the understanding about life and society in Italy at that time was left to artists and intellectuals that wrote about society, philosophy, and culture of the day but from the somewhat limited perspective of just those fortunate enough to be part of that class (Campbell, 1999). Visually, too, these artists provided some insights into their culture through buildings, books, illustrations, sculptures and even paintings but primarily these were laden with very spiritual images and religious renderings versus many that actually showed any part of what life was typically like for these groups of Italians (Clark, 2007).

Caravaggio's Focus on the Real, Not the Ideal

However, despite this somewhat elitist attitude among the artists of this time period in Italy, there were some artists like Caravaggio that were interested and did create seemingly realistic paintings of ordinary life (Frojmovic, 2002). As such, his work provides an interesting insight into examining the realistic portray of the visual culture found among early modern paintings in Italy (Fantoni et al., 2003). Of all the painters in Italy that came before him and that were present at the same time, none had designated themselves as the painter of the people in terms of focusing on presenting a realistic portrayal of ordinary people and life as the focus had always been on the nobility and intellectual focus as the thematic intent.

Caravaggio stepped up to the challenge of focusing on the ordinary but painting it in an extraordinary manner. Prime examples include Boy Peeling a Fruit (1593) and Boy with a Basket of Fruit (1593). These appear very simplistic in theme with just a boy and a piece of fruit on a table as well as the other one that also features a boy with a basket of fruit. Yet, the teenage boy offers a look at the common youth of his day in terms of dress and overall appearance when, during this time, the common portrait would clearly include someone of an upper class or nobility with the same type of succulent fruits. It is thought that such fruits were not necessarily a common food item for the ordinary class so that this might mean some type of juxtaposition on Caravaggio's part or could illustrate a boy who was working for someone from the noble class (De La Croix et al., 1991).

Then, Caravaggio also offered a look of the everyday life of musicians and other entertainers of his day. This included a series of paintings that illustrated musicians like Lute Player (1596), The Musicians (1596), The Cardsharps (1596) and The Fortune Teller (1596). Each provides a seemingly realistic glimpse into common activities of everyday people during Caravaggio's day. The Lute Player painting shows a single lutanist who is singing a song and has a carafe of flowers next to them but it is not really clear if it is a man or woman who is playing the lute. The Musicians shows three people in which there is a lutanist and another figure for whom the lute player is performing as well as that of another person in-between sort of linking the two worlds together - from which some believed the central figure was Caravaggio himself in which he saw himself as bridging the two worlds within society (De La Croix et al., 1991).

The next two paintings in this same period also offer the viewer a look at everyday life not seen before. The Cardsharps shows a table that protrudes out and into the spectator's space from which appears a young man studying his cards who is overlooked by a rather sinister-looking middle-aged man. This man is signalling another man to his right who is holding a card behind his back while the left side of the painting shows the pot of money that will be won by the two working together to cheat the young man at cards. The dress and the overall mannerisms suggest a lower class of people; within society again not often seen in paintings during this time period, suggesting that Caravaggio knew intimately what he was painting; otherwise, he would not have been painting these subjects had been of the intellectual set (De La Croix et al., 1991; Clark, 2007). The last one in this series is The Fortune Teller shows a young man who is leaning in close to a gypsy woman and looks very hopeful about what she can do for him, which is another subject not often seen in paintings but one that was quite common along with the card games and musicians among daily life.

And, rather than glorifying any religious themes in his work, he chose to secularise these by turning religious scenes into those of regular human drama that illustrated the harsh realities of ordinary life, including putting those religious scenes into landscapes of fields and dingy streets, portraying the reality of life for most people rather than focusing on life within the Italian court or aristocratic circles (De La Croix et al., 1991; Goethals et al., 2008). In contrast to other artists of his day, it would seem that he was not interested in pursuing the vision of ideal beauty portrayed during the Renaissance. Instead, he appeared to have favoured more realistic depictions of human figures, including not depicting what he saw was a false portrayal of religious figures like the apostles; therefore, he did not paint them with rich robes but opted to put them in common garments that were worn by the common people.

Moving Farther Away from Idealism Toward Realism

A prime example of this movement toward realism versus idealism is The Conversion of St. Paul (1601) in which he portrays St. Paul in a scene with a bearded old man in stables with a horse as the focal point of the picture in some way giving more reverence to the common everyday life found in an Italian horse stable than the actual spiritual nature of Saul being converted into the Apostle Paul. Caravaggio took a similar approach with Death of the Virgin (1605-1606) in which the virgin is laid out in such a common way with limbs that were not composed and uncovered feet, which was viewed as indecent at the time among the elite of his day. In this way, he wanted the commonplace feel of ordinary life to be experienced by others as something that should be seen as just as valuable as that portrayed in the other paintings of the time that focused on nobility and intellectualism.

Caravaggio emphasised the reality of what he was trying to portray through his artistic technique with very stark contrasts between the dark and light aspects to the majority of his paintings (De La Croix et al., 1991). He is intent on getting the viewer of each painting to focus on the reality of it by calling the eye's attention to certain parts of the painting that focused on the most humanistic aspects of it (De La Croix et al., 1991). And, it may be that he could be believed if one is to consider Caravaggio's own life, which was also far removed from that of other painters in his individualistic nature, his brushes with the law that included murder, and his association with the most common or lower class of people. It would seem that he could be seen as painting what he knew, lending a greater credibility to what he did paint.

This made what he did quite revolutionary as it did not adhere to the high art philosophy of other painters during his time whilst, at the same time, it showed a close observance by an artist to everyday people and common objects during a specific point in time, offering that visionary culture that helped other viewers later on get a glimpse of common society in the early modern age (Ajmar-Wollheim & Dennis, 2006; Frojmovic, 2002). His use of common, everyday people like peasants and prostitutes or the common worker or card shark was not something that had been previously attempted in painting because the intent had always been to paint the ideal life, not the realistic life with all its harshness, ugly undersides, and inequalities. This choice also put Caravaggio at risk because of an edict from the Council of Trent that forbade an artist from using or portraying Christian figures in art as ordinary people (De La Croix et al., 1991). This focus on realism became a point of contention as it railed against the conventions of his day (De La Croix et al., 1991). And, perhaps, it could be said that some found his paintings so realistic that he was ordered to repaint certain aspects of them due to crossing what his patrons felt was an unacceptable portrayal of a subject that involved religious themes and was too close to life that they did not want to be the focus of in something the public would see.

The credibility of capturing his cultural life can also be acknowledged in the ability of Caravaggio to express a wide range of people, including those figures that were beautiful, ugly, or just simply average looking - those that were on the street, in the taverns, and among the working class. And, whilst it does have this credibility of showing scenes common to daily life in Italy, it still must be acknowledged that these are still individualised through the eyes of one painter whilst some scenes were also arranged in Caravaggio's studio with the use of models in order to capture a certain angle of light. Because of still being modelled to a certain extent, it cannot be said that they are exact replicas of everyday life as they were not being painted as they were happening but as the artist envisioned that they would be happening based on a previous encounter or image that came to mind for Caravaggio. This has to be acknowledged as a way to reconcile the fact that Caravaggio did some unique techniques with light and dark, including brightly lit areas and dark shadows to set a particular mood to the scene of everyday life (De La Croix et al., 1991). Hence, he was introducing the idea of naturalism and using common scenes, which were two revolutionary ideas whilst offering a cultural vision, it may not have been one hundred accurate in terms of taking a snapshot of an actual everyday moment in time, but it did come close in relation to the subject matter and overall look (Dikovitskaya, 2005). However, as an artist, it was still stylised to a certain degree.

How Realistic was Caravaggio's Real Everyday Life?

Yet, it was a point in art history in which an artist introduced a movement that other artists also took up as their own that focused on a more naturalistic interpretation of both people and objects to create more realistic images and capture a sense of the reality of the time period within an artistic medium (Hauser, 1999; Harris, 2005). Overall, Caravaggio's intent was to create paintings that spoke the truth in their depictions so as to provide society then and in the future with a realistic and natural approach to everyday life (Hauser, 1999). As such, he was making the art more accessible to a larger audience because the art was depicting subjects that the wider audience, including the everyday people within the paintings, could relate to and be interested in. Prior to this, there had not been such a deliberate intent to turn paintings into a visual culture representation for the masses because there had not been the depiction of everyday life prior (Hauser, 1999; Clark, 2007). In direct contrast to those who proceeded and did not paint from everyday life but were more interested in distorting any aspect of life, Caravaggio believed in complete realism in art (Hauser, 1999). As such, he was that painter for the people because his intent was to paint from ordinary life and what he knew, putting him very close in his ability to represent those common aspects of life, turning art toward a realism movement.

As previously mentioned, though, this sense of realism was still balanced against the concept of artistic intent that any artist has, which is the desire to add flourishes and drama to what they create. And, like all other artists, Caravaggio was interested in doing so, which is why he did also paint scenes that involves more dramatic and engaging subjects beyond a boy peeling fruit or a lute player with an instrument in their hand. This dramatic intent, though, also serves the purpose of making the viewer feel engaged with the picture, drawn to it, and perhaps even a part of it. He brings the viewer of the painting up close to the common folk in his paintings even going as far as making the figures look like they are staring out from the canvas whilst surrounding them with still-life details that make if feel naturalistic and realistic. This includes a focus on facial expressions that makes the figures in the painting more realistic, especially as they are all common type people, including pickpockets, card sharks, gypsy women, and other animated figures from the underworld and part of society not ever features as part of a large-scale painted work (Hauser, 1999).

In returning to the painting of the card sharks, there are such details and animated expressions that make the viewer feel as though they are taking part in the painting and watching real action unfold. This includes all the details like the exposed fingers that are feeling for the market card and the gestures and glances that he puts on each of the figures' faces. It makes them all appear more human and, therefore, more real for the viewer. That emotional connection often requires that certain aspects of a picture be embellished or played up by altering the scene or using certain artistic techniques to create more contrasting light and dark. His paintings are all structured in a similar way as though he is letting the viewer peer into a real scene of someone else's life and watch the action and feel as though they are there. Either way and however exactly realistic it was that Caravaggio achieved, there was no doubt that he used painting as a window on ordinary life that others in both his and future generations could look at and get an impression of what life was like. From that point forward, there were many artists that tried to copy that effect and emulate his naturalistic and realistic style and technique, laying the foundation for future art movements that focused on ordinary people, their lives, and their expressions so that viewers could also get a sense of that visual culture that Caravaggio was so effective at creating.

Early Modern Painters of Venice

It could be said that the Venetian painters were a return to the naturalistic setting except to take humanity and place it with a more refined, spiritualistic, and religious visual representation as expressed by Tintoretto and Veronese (Paolo Caliari). Like other artists of the day, these painters sought to add dramatic effect and impact to their pictures, often focusing on spiritual and religious themes yet driven by the Mannerist school and then moving beyond to what would be the Baroque theatrical presentation of humanity (Barzman, 2000; Brown, 2005; Brown, 2004). Unlike Caravaggio, the Venetian painters were not at all focused on everyday life, but they did present the average person as refined, respectful, and spiritual as they were often funded by wealthy patrons from the wealthy monasteries (Brown, 2005; Brown, 2004; Huse & Wolters, 2005). Therefore, the images focused on Christ, his disciples, and his faithful servants rather than looking at what ordinary man went through in their life and pursuit of spirituality. In this, it could be said that there was not a realistic depiction but a return to the ideal representation of humanity that had been seen throughout Italy. Yet, Tintoretto attempted to also link this spirituality with the commonality of mankind by being the first Venetian painter to include crowds of poor people in his paintings as a representation of the public and ordinary person of his day (Brown, 2005; Brown, 2004). Beyond this representation, even the Venetian painters did not focus on the realities of everyday life (Huse & Wolters, 2005; Fumerton & Hunt, 1998).

Interestingly enough, however, Veronese tested those boundaries by adding in some of the more colour and flavour of humanity to his paintings, offering perhaps a somewhat more realistic take on humanity and their connection to the spiritual (Huse & Wolters, 2005; Brown, 2005). For example, in his painting, Christ in the House of Levi (1573), Vernose includes both refined and elegant guests of Christ as well as dwarfs, colourful retainers of the robed guests, clowns and even dogs to provide a more humanistic approach and acknowledgment of life beyond the aristocratic world. It was these inclusions of ordinary life that, like Caravaggio, led to the wrath of the tribunal that had commissioned the piece, noting that these objects and people should not be associated with anything considered holy like Jesus (Brown, 2005). His art was also the first to serve as a somewhat propaganda vehicle that trumped up the city of Venice, such is as seen in The Triumph of Venice (1585). Here, Veronese intended to glorify the state and call attention to the wonders and accomplishments of Venice in terms of art, architecture, power and intellectual capacity (De La Croix et al., 1991). Veronese was interested in pomp and circumstance and dramatic effect, so it is difficult to say that he might have ever provided a realistic picture of everyday life if he was motivated by embellishment, grand size, bright colours and the impact of drawing emotion out of anyone that viewed his work.

In looking at the potential to paint in a more realistic style, one technical difference among the Venetian school of painters was the use of a canvas, which allowed the artists to take their art and materials with them and paint what they saw directly onto the canvas rather than from memory or through the use of artificial lighting and a contrived scene created in a studio. In this way, it could be said that more realism could be potentially added to the paintings, but the focus of the Venetian painters and their thematic intent was far removed from painting ordinary life and continued to be on the high intellectual and spiritual imagery that was the focus of society during that time period (Huse & Wolters, 2005). This was something that other artists would try to emulate as well going forward (Huse & Wolters, 2005).

Early Modern Paintings of Life in Spain

However, one area of the world that was far-removed from focusing on the ideal and chose instead to look at a more realistic set of visuals was the painters that originated from Spain. It could be seen within the painters of Spain during early modern times that there was a societal rejection of everything Italy stood for during the Renaissance, including enlightenment, scientific discovery, and intellectualism (Sureda, 2008; De La Croix et al., 1991). Instead, it would appear that these artists opted to focus on ordinary life but also what would include a harsh perspective on life that was felt during that point in Spain's history. A key figure to focus on to further explore early modern paintings of life in Spain is Diego Velazquez, considered to be one of Spain's greatest painters during the Baroque period (Sureda, 2008). This was an artistic movement that was dedicated to capturing the emotions and realistic mood and setting of the time period (Bass, 2008). Velazquez was particularly noted for his ability to produce lifelike images of people and capture the culture and feel of Spain during his lifetime (De La Croix et al., 1991; Sureda, 2008).

Changes in Art Movements

In briefly addressing the general Baroque movement, this is a seventeenth century art movement that grew out of sixteenth century Italy and followed the Mannerist tradition, which occurred at what was known as the end of the Late Renaissance period. The main intent of this movement was to evoke an emotional response in the viewer of the art through creating a sensory experience from which the viewer relates and feels a level of connection to what they are viewing (De La Croix et al., 1991). With its origins in Rome, the Baroque movement was thought to be an offshoot of Catholic beliefs that was based on reverence, emotions, and spirituality. Techniques used to create this effect were the use of scenes chiaroscuro, known as the dramatic contrast between light and dark portions of the painting, which was thought to add the necessary dramatic effect and invoke an emotional response. It was during this time that Mannerism also impacted the focus on emotion, movement, and reality (Hauser, 1999).

Velazquez: A Convincing Realist

Throughout his life, Velazquez was influenced by this artistic backdrop and philosophy (Sureda, 2008). With this as his perceived set of influences, it could be said that he became dedicated to the concept of naturalism and intent on capturing exactly what he saw in his paintings so he could provide a realistic image of the world for others. His subject matter on early paintings and throughout the balance of his career do offer glimpses of ordinary life, including The Water Carrier of Seville (1619), which features a young boy and an older water carrier that, similar to Caravaggio's style, make the viewer feel that the figures are going to leap from the painting. The works that involved everyday subjects and also incorporate still life were known as bodegn, but he also painted religious scenes and portraits of mostly royal subjects (Sureda, 2008; Harris, 2005). Even for his religious works, though, he was known, like Caravaggio, to use ordinary people as the models to portray the religious figures of his paintings (Harris, 2005; Hauser, 1999, Sureda, 2008). Other examples of this style show a kitchen scene with a prominent still life, entitled Old Woman Frying Eggs whilst others incorporated some religious figures and imagery but in the same bodegn style.

Overall, his intent was to be the realist of realists, creating his own principles of art so as not to be too influenced by other external forces but present a balanced and unbiased view of the world around him (De La Croix et al., 1991; Seruda, 2008). This would appear to have included the people and events of daily life and the visualisation of one's spirituality and belief system (Sureda, 2008). To build credibility that he was presenting as realistic visual image of his day as possible, Velazquez was intent on putting as much expression and action into his figures - human and animal - as possible (De La Croix et al., 1991. His craft was dedicated to a focus on everything from flowers, fruit, and animals to the tools of the trade among country people and peasants (De La Croix et al., 1991). Velazquez, like the painters of Spain of his day, railed against the idea of high art and focus on the refined subject matter (Seruda, 2008). He desired to capture the essence of common things and found more interest in the character of the human faces of common people, particularly in capturing their real expressions and share that with the viewers of his paintings (Seruda, 2008).

A prime example is Los Barrachos (The Drinkers) (1628) where Velazquez was commissioned to paint Bacchus, the god of wine. The result was that he decided to paint Bacchus as an ivy-crowned young boy who crowns another drinker and is surrounded by tavern drinkers of the common everyday variety. Yet, instead of how other painters have done when addressing ordinary people and doing so in a way that makes them appear all the same, Velazquez takes the time to paint each person as an individual with their own unique physical and expressive qualities, illustrating the individualistic spirit of Spain even among the peasants (Seruda, 2008). This was his way of insisting that what he produced was as real as each person's personality and expression that he captured within his painting (De La Croix et al., 1991). In available information left about the artist by those who knew him, it was thought that Velazquez took much time with his painting, reposing models and looking at those that he was painting from many angles and perspectives in order to create the most lifelike and natural portrayal as possible (Seruda, 2008; De La Croix et al., 1991).

Velazquez was also so intent on ensuring reality that the symbol and use of the mirror in his paintings became a central focus so as to say that he was the mirror on his world (De La Croix et al., 1991). He did this by using the reality of a canvas image as well as a device in the painting as an optical image to show an additional side of the figures in the painting that he could not otherwise do because of the canvas being flat. This was his way of showing and proving that it was realistic and fully captured the real people and environment of his time (De La Croix et al., 1991). This sense of his ability to put a mirror onto reality with his paintings is vividly seen in Las Meninas (The Maids of Honour) (1656). Despite featuring the children of the new queen of Spain, the picture also interestingly enough provides a glimpse into the world of Velazquez as he is painting because he has included his version of reality by including himself in the painting as he is painting that particular painting of the queen's children, her ladies-in-waiting, the court dwarf and the dog. In this example of his work, Velazquez appears to have been able to combine his ability of authentic portraiture with a narrative expression that had not been previously accomplished by a painter.

Even in his more formal and higher art subjects that involve his royal patrons, Velazquez included more commonplace people as these afforded him the ability to add a more realistic touch. This was in contrast to the preferred embellishment he was to give to the royal family when they were presented in paintings (Seruda, 2008). For example, any of the portraits he did of court dwarfs offered his same impartial, discerning approach by painting them with every deformity and unique detail as well as giving them the unique expressions that revealed their individual personalities rather than turning them into a caricature (Seruda, 2008). The Lady with a Fan is another example of how the focuses on the personality and charm of the real person so that the viewer of the painting gets a sense of what that person really was rather than perhaps who the painter or patron wanted the viewer to see as some type of ideal representation (Seruda, 2008).

The primary classification for Velazquez paintings have often fallen under the category of portraiture because of the royal patronage he was provided throughout his career (De La Croix et al., 1991). However, what he has been most commended for were his paintings of what could be termed less formal subjects, including commoners, court subjects, and servants, which were also captured in informal settings that could be described as everyday environments (De La Croix et al., 1991). As such, Velazquez's paintings appeared to most closely meet the guidelines for using painting as a visual culture methodology because it included a credible level of expression, emotion, informality and individuality that could be said to portray the true life of everyday living during early modern times in Spain (Seruda, 2008).

De Ribera's Spotlight on Everyday Life

Another painter from Spain that could be included in this discussion, in order to provide a more comprehensive look at how and if painters from the early modern age were able to capture the real essence of everyday life, would be to look at Jose De Ribera, a Spanish painter who emigrated to Naples, Italy. This combination of backgrounds provided him with a unique perspective about life and society (Seruda, 2008). Like Velazquez, he was influenced by the work of Caravaggio in terms of artistic technique and style as well as thematic intent and the drive for visual realism. Considered to be much harsher in his look, feel, and message about life, De Ribera provides viewers of his work with a greater understanding of the pain and resistance to this pain during the Counter-Reformation period (De La Croix et al., 1991). However, it can be said that he did adhere to the similar philosophies of Caravaggio as well as Velazquez in abhorring any use of idealism in the portrayal of people or life within his paintings (Seruda, 2008).

Although the paintings can be considered quite gruesome and the thought could be that he might have embellished these for dramatic effect, the scenes are reminiscent about what is known to have happened to the Spanish people during this historical event. However, not everything De Ribera did focused on the horrors of everyday life for some Spaniards. Much of his work also focused on more commonplace people like Velazquez and Caravaggio as well as incorporated techniques of the Venetian school (Seruda, 2008). Some prime examples of his seemingly realistic portrayal of everyday life can be seen in such works that depicted beggars and everyday people, including Girl with a Tambourine, The Muscatel Drinker, The Bearded Lady, The Happy Drinker, and The Philosophers.

Like the other painters mentioned in this essay, De Ribera strove for originality and realism in his approach to every person and scene he painted or recreated as a visual culture representation (Seruda, 2008). Despite being trained as a draftsman by trade, which would have seemed to have wanted to make him into something more scientific and less artistic, he was actually interested in humanising every subject and figure he painted as a social commentary on the human condition of ordinary people and the resolve that the Spanish had in dealing with oppressive historical situations that impacted their ability to live and feel safe (Seruda, 2008). Of those painters covered within this essay, De Ribera is most closely tied with a visual culture representation that had some type of underlying socio-political message in terms of survival and equality whilst, at the same time, not over-dramatising the message but simply letting the horrors of reality during that time and place speak for themselves in dramatic uses of light and dark effects and very individualised human representations throughout his body of work.

Comparing and Contrasting Realist Artists

The key challenge with art is that it has always been said about art is in the eye of the beholder and therefore readily open to any interpretation. This is especially the case when one also considers that the viewer is being provided with a visual representation of what the artist sees as reality. And, very often, it is believed that the artist does not live in the same reality as the masses but is guided by a more transient and obscure view of reality. Therefore, they may be far removed from what the actual reality of everyday life could really be like. This could be said for many of the painters during the Renaissance period in which they were focused on intellectual pursuits that provided them with an idealised reality of the world, the environment around them, and the people that surrounded them. Also, they were primarily funded by those that did not necessarily represent the majority or common people. Taken altogether, this meant a somewhat skewed reality that often looked and felt more like a dream, making it hard for a viewer of a painting centuries after it was made to get any perspective about what real life was like during that time period.

Yet, for those painters studied within the framework of this essay, it could be readily possible that there were some artists that understood that painting and art in general could form the basis for visual culture, providing both those that viewed the art when it was made as well as for those that experienced it centuries later. Hence, they opted to focus on making as real a representation of life and culture as they could through their artistic endeavours. Albeit, it has to be understood that for any visual medium, there will always be the individual perspective of the artist inherent in the "reality" of what is being presented. But, for the artists mentioned here, which encompassed Italy, Venice, Spain and even a transplanted Spanish painter who honed his craft in Italy, realism and naturalism was the primary objective. This was something that all these painters shared along with their accompanying abhorrence for any type of art that was focused on being idealistic in its intent.

In comparing and contrasting the three areas of art and cultures that were attached to them along with the accompanying artists that were studied in this essay, there are definitive places where they were similar and also places where they diverged in their approach, theme, and realistic credibility. All of these painters were intent on trying to be as realistic as possible and, to the, that all meant focusing on objects and figures that were more ordinary and represented society in general rather than opting for what so many painters had done, which was to create an ideal representation of society as high art and intellectual endeavours. Instead, all of these painters wanted to represent the common person and provide them with a basis for having a role to play within society whether they were peasants or whether they were society's cast-offs like prostitutes, servants, or card-playing rogues.

All clearly thought this was more what life and society was like for most people versus the intellectual pursuits that the elite and royals were focused on attaining to. For these painters, their social commentary was that that this idealism was false and perhaps even hypercritical when it came to claiming a special level of spiritual transcendence over the common people. Instead, artists like Caravaggio suggested that even the lowest people in society were spiritual and transcend their station in life. All did this by mixing religious and mythological themes and juxtaposing real - and usually, common - people in place of known spiritual figures. It was believed that their work would be more authentic if they focused on what they saw and delivered that to the viewer rather than stylising and re-interpreting it with embellished symbols and abstract forms. Therefore, it would feel more like it was truly representing the realistic experiences of that time period rather than fixating what would be ideal. These artists all shared the desire to create something that was organic and accessible to the masses.

Additionally, besides the similarity in subjects and themes, comparison can also be drawn between these artists on the level of attaining to credibility of realism through their technical and artistic skills and methodologies. For example, these artists focused on perspective and attempted to make the figures in the paintings appear three-dimensional and make it seem as though the people in the paintings were looking directly at the viewer or were going to walk right off the painted surface. Artists like Velazquez even used optical illusions to create a three-dimensional perspective, incorporating mirrors in the paintings that would show a painted part of the figure not seen by the viewer otherwise due to the two-dimensional nature of the painting. The painters all incorporated lighting techniques of light and dark contrasts to add depth and enhance some of the realistic effect as well as add motion and individualistic details of human expressions and interaction. This was thought to further humanise the effect and connect the viewer with the painting for the desired emotional connection that then draws the conclusion of credibility and realism in the visual effect.

Despite this focus on ordinary people and everyday objects as the focus on the vitality of the material world over the intellectual world as well as using similar artistic techniques, each artist still had their own approach, especially in terms of moving from Renaissance to Mannerism to Baroque to something beyond Baroque, especially for the Spanish painters that tended to want to move away from being linked directly with these artistic movements. Other artists were somewhat at the mercy of their benefactors and many often were censored or warned to take a step back with their efforts to make their visuals as naturalistic and real as possible. This is because they were often in direct conflict with those that purported to uphold the need for idealism and intellectual transcendence as part of an elite movement, which showed disregard for everyday life and the common folk that lived in that mundane existence.

Conclusions

And, some painters even went as far within the Venetian school to create paintings that might have passed for the first signs of propaganda in getting people stirred up about their homeland and civic pride. Others like those from the Spanish school decided to use their realistic approach as a social commentary about equalising and recognising the common, everyday people and giving them a more respectable place within society. As such, some artists like Caravaggio tended to be more rebellious whilst others maintained some refinements by staying true to other painting styles and offering those to patrons and royalty that oversaw their funding. As such, each had their own approach that illustrated how realistic and naturalistic paintings can still be varied in their look, feel, and aesthetic experience, suggesting the idea that it may be possible to have multiple realities based on the idea that it is the idea of the thing that is real rather than the thing as Plato suggested.

This is because art is all about perspective and individualistic expression. Whilst one Spanish artist might have taken a harsher or more brutal approach to their everyday scene but still acknowledges that they were influenced or studied another Italian artist who attempted the same philosophy to their art, that original Italian or Venetian artist could have employed more colour or added some greater expression to the figures in the painting. Yet, they presented a similar scene of a person with a bowl of fruit or a group of people drinking. However, one may have employed more dramatic effect or was intent on invoking some other emotional response from the viewer. They are not the same and one is not more authentic than the other; both are real in their own way. It was really both an evolution in reality as well as a multi-faceted perspective of that reality.

Even further is the idea that each viewer of each painting will take away their own understanding of what they believe the inherent reality was within that painting. That means realities related to the visual culture is forever changing and evolving as each person considers and interprets that vision of that particular culture. Even if the work has been embellished or the artist has decided to use certain effects to somehow manipulate the viewer, this does not take away from the fact that there could be something very realistic about the ability of these early modern painters to recreate what they have seen. This is even if the artists like these had to manipulate the light source or rely on their memories to capture every facial expression, movement, and mood to the scene that they were trying to capture. Even if the artists transposed real people into Biblical, religious, or mythological scenes, it could still be said that there was an authenticity to the realism and naturalism effect that could illustrate visual culture modalities.

This is because these mixed real people with the belief systems that they all shared in terms of the religious stories and practices that every person from that time period believed in - elite or common - and those motifs were an important way to understand the foundational principles of the culture in Italy and Spain during that time period. And, in the case of Spanish painters, this juxtaposition may also have helped viewers understand more about the values and beliefs as seen by putting common people in scenes tied to historical battles and oppressive environments. Although brutal, this did accurately reflect the experiences of Spanish people during that time and offered a way to emotionally connect and understand what that particular culture was experiencing. Therefore, these were realistic cultural impressions that were being visually created to connect the viewer to the event.

And, because viewers very often did make this emotional connection, it furthered the idea that what these artists created was indeed a valid representation of everyday life during that time period. Yet, having said this and in thinking about how art has continued to influence society through its representation of life and humanity as well as how the visual arts has also expanded to include other visual culture modalities like video, television, and film, there is a greater understanding of how reality can be manipulated, challenged, and further put into multiple versions of the same reality for different people or even the same people but at different points in time. This again returns to the thoughts of Plato and his notion that reality is in the idea of the thing rather than the thing due to the transient nature of reality and ongoing evolution of what reality is and how that reality is perceived.

Together, these artists illustrate the changes, movements, and influences that have happened over time on both an artistic and technical level as well as on a cultural and philosophical level, leading to other vital visual culture representations that come later on in history like that of impressionism and the modern art movement. The type and style of painting define a period in time and illustrate patterns of beliefs and thoughts around a specific type of aesthetic criteria. That alone provides a sense of realism to what is seen in terms of perception of the portrayal of those in the scenes. This also provides a way to peer into the belief system or the culture of the time period as people, objects, events and environments were portrayed a certain way within the paintings as was seen by those mentioned in this essay where many attempted the same intent of realism and naturalism but did not necessarily replicate it exactly as the other artist had. Just like history and written accounts of events, the visual culture will be an interpretation of what happened and what life was like back in that time period.

Whether it is liked or understood, art is a definitive shaper of human existence, showing people where they have come from and how people's thoughts and actions have changed or been previously perceived. It can upset and it can invoke good feelings, but it most definitely can inform in many ways as an expression of humanity. And, art perhaps offers those ideas about humanity and presents them in a way that others can connect with and understand on multiple levels as the artist has and will continue to be inspired to react to what they see around them and attempt to capture this on a canvas, a video screen, or some other visual medium in order to translate and interpret a visual culture for current and future generations. Therefore, painting and other visual arts - even the advent of tattooing - will help the viewer think differently as well as connect on an emotional level to something that invokes a certain feeling and belief about one's culture as well as one's place within the human community.

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