Angelika Rinnhofer: Menschenkunde

Angelika Rinnhofer: Menschenkunde. "...Angelika Rinnhofer’s photographic series Menschenkunde beautifully captures the lighting and composition reminiscent of Renaissance portrait paintings. Rinnhofer’s inspiration comes from Albrecht Dürer, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Vermeer, painters famous for linking beauty and psychological insight. Her most recent projects in the series include Seelensucht and Felsenfest, which have greatly been shaped by a trip to her hometown Nuremberg. She found great inspiration in the Gothic and Baroque churches but particularly within statues and paintings of Christian martyrs of the Renaissance period. She has explored the manner in which Christian martyrs have been portrayed in Renaissance art, quite unique from other religious ideologies and martyrs of differing societies. Portraiture of Christian martyrs quit often depicts tortured saints shown during the extreme moment of agony inflicted upon them to merit their saintly stature. Likewise, the martyr may be depicted in a calm moment after having endured pain and death and are now safe in 'heaven' and suggest martyrdom by using props such as carrying a palm frond or the torture device used to inflict their saintly death." From Works by Angelika Rinnhofer at Paul Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.