Gestures and Hands in Art

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Gestures and Hands in Art

• Some were better than others!

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Rudolph Wittkowers definitions of gesture in art

• "We may perhaps differentiate between three
  pictorial types of gestures, namely between
  descriptive, symbolic, rhetorical.
• "Descriptive gestures, like pointing, elucidate a
  story or narrative and are therefore needed when
  painting or sculpture have to deal with a
  literary theme.
• "Rhetorical gestures reflect and illuminate
  emotional conditions.
• "Symbolic gestures belong mainly to
  pre-Renaissance art from the 15th century on
  they are, as a rule, confined to such attitudes
  as blessing. I call this symbolic gesture
  because, in contrast to the rhetorical ones, we
  are faced with a code which must be known in
  order to be understood."
• Rudolf Wittkower, Allegory and the Migration of
  Symbols (New York Thames and Hudson, 1977) 148.

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Gestures in Art

• 16th century Mannerist art and 17th century
  Baroque art depict figures whose gestures are
  active, even vigorous, and often communicate
  strong emotions. The lively gestures of the
  figures in Mannerist and Baroque art contrast
  with gestures of figures in Renaissance art of
  the previous 15th and early 16th centuries, whose
  bodies are posed to tend to be composed with more
  order and harmony.
• Look at Mannerist and Baroque works by El Greco,
  Alessandro Vittoria, Bronzino, and Peter Paul
  Rubens

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Introducing Hand Gestures

• Speaking with our hands is something most of us
  do without even thinking it just happens!
• Hand gestures can mean so many different things
  to different people in different situations.
• Think about a simple wave of the hand what
  could that mean? Of course, the meaning differs
  depending on the speech which accompanies it,
  body language and facial expressions and also,
  importantly, the cultural, social, geographical
  and historical context of the gesture.

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Hands in Art

• Throughout the history of art hands in particular
  have played an important role in communicating
  meaning within paintings. The symbolism and
  gestures have changed their meaning as time has
  gone on, so sometimes there are messages buried
  within paintings which we need certain knowledge
  to understand, but which people long ago would
  have known immediately.

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Hands in Renaissance Art

• Leonardo da Vinci employed specific symbolism
  within the hand gestures in his paintings. This
  symbolism would have been easily understood by
  people in the 15th Century. Much of his work
  portrayed religious stories, because that was the
  tradition at the time and most art would have
  been commissioned by the church.

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The Virgin of the Rocksby Leonardo da Vinci

• In this painting, hand gestures give lots of
  information about the figures. The Virgin Marys
  outstretched hand protects the young baby John
  the Baptist, while his hands are closed in the
  form of a blessing towards the young baby Jesus,
  whose raised finger shows him blessing John in
  return. Marys left hand hovers protectively
  above Jesus and the angel points at John. The
  relationships and symbolism of each member of the
  group is clearly communicated through their hand
  gestures, some of which we instantly recognise
  and others may take a little more knowledge. For
  example, did you know that Jesuss finger gesture
  symbolised a blessing?.

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Raphael Madonna and Child Paintings

• Raphaels art came to represent an ideal of
  perfection, the very definition of easy grace and
  harmonious balance. In his many paintings of the
  Madonna with the Baby Jesus, he intertwines the
  two figures with their mutual gestures suggesting
  the bond, respect and interdependence between the
  two figures. Hand gestures are combined with
  directional glances and postures to focus the
  attention of the viewer onto specific parts of
  his paintings.

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Hand Gestures in Baroque Art

• Hand gestures in Baroque Art at times have very
  specific meaning. For example, in the work of
  Giorgione (one of the most prominent Baroque
  artists) we see portraits of women shown with one
  hand resting on her belly, whose rounded contours
  also suggest that she is expecting a child.
  However, it is possible that the symbolic gesture
  of a hand laid on the belly does not indicate
  that the sitter is pregnant, but rather predicts,
  or promises, a fertile marriage blessed with a
  large number of children.

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Some who werent so good!

• Even the most famous and sought-after artists had
  their weaknesses. Have you ever wondered why some
  portraits show people wearing gloves or have
  their hands hidden in pockets or waistcoats? Have
  a good look at some of the hands in paintings by
  Thomas Hudson and Rembrandt youll soon spot
  why they werent always a main part of the
  painting.

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Batonis Hands and Posture

• Batoni, on the other hand(!), had really mastered
  the tricky business of painting hands and used
  them to add movement, meaning and feeling to his
  portraits. His portraits aimed to make the
  sitters look grand and truly at home in the
  splendour of Rome. His use of hand gestures and
  postures helped this. The term Swagger
  portraiture sums this up look at the confidence
  which this pose expresses (see next slide) the
  hand on hip and open stance tells us the sitter
  feels very much in charge and at ease. Imagine
  the type of posture that would make the sitter
  look threatened and anxious is it the opposite
  of the swagger posture?
• In the portrait of John Rolle Walter, the hands
  are open and wide apart (see next slide) what
  do you think that represents?

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