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High Renaissance, Italy
The High Renaissance is the climax of Renaissance art and it lasted from 15001525. This was the period when painting reached its peak of technical mastery.
Almost every great High Renaissance artist went to Rome either to work on
some project for the popes or the nobility. The High Renaissance artists
achieved the ideal of harmony and balance used by the classical Greek and
Roman artists. The most notable artists of the High Renaissance are Leonardo
da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
High Renaissance
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo is the perfect example of the "Renaissance man" because he was an
expert in many different subjects: literature, science, mathematics, art,
architecture, engineering, and anatomy to name a few.
His paintings, particularly The Last Supper, the Mona Lisa, and The Madonna of
the Rocks, have made him famous. The unique way he handled light and
shadow(chiaroscuro) is one of the characteristics that made these paintings so
famous. His genius as an artist and inventor continues to inspire artists and
scientists alike centuries after his death.
Leonardo Da Vinci the renaissance man
and one of the most famous artists in the
world was also an incredible inventor.
Eight Barrelled Machine Gun
The ornithopter flying machine was never actually
created. It was a design that Leonardo DaVinci
made to show how man could fly. Some experts
say that the modern day helicopter was inspired
by this design.
Armoured Car
High Renaissance
Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa,
1503-1506, Oil on panel
High Renaissance
Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa,
1503-1506, Oil on panel
Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, 1503-1506, oil on panel
High
Renaissance
Mona Lisa is the most famous portrait of all time. It is
believed to be Lisa, wife of Francesco del Giocondo.
Mystery surrounds this painting
There are no hard lines (a technique of painting known
as sfumato—"smoke"), a soft light or haze seem to cover
the painting.
 The most striking feature of the painting is the sitter's
ambiguous half smile.
She looks directly at the viewer, but her arms, torso,
and head each twist slightly in a different direction,
conveying a sense of movement.
Leonardo explores the possibilities of oil paint in the
soft folds of the drapery, texture of skin, and contrasting
light and dark (chiaroscuro).
The deeply receding background, with its winding
rivers and rock formations, is an example of Leonardo's
personal view of the natural world: one in which
everything is filled with movement and energy.
Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, 1503-1506, oil on panel
Leonardo made a scientific study of light and
shadow in nature. It dawned on him that objects
were not comprised of outlines, but were
actually three-dimensional bodies defined by
light and shadow.
Known as chiaroscuro, this technique gave his
paintings the soft, lifelike quality that made
older paintings look cartoony and flat. He also
saw that an object's detail and color changed as
it receded in the distance.
Lady with an Ermin
Leonardo da Vinci
1483-1490.
Ideal Proportions
Leonardo studied nature and anatomy which was evident from his
stunningly realistic paintings. He dissected the human body to
create remarkably accurate figures. He was the first artist to study
the physical proportions of men, women and children and to use
these studies to determine the "ideal” human figure.
Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa,"
on display at Paris' Louvre
Leonardo, Vitruvian Man, c. 1490, Ink
Ideal Proportions
High
Renaissance
Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper
1495–1498, tempera wall mural
High
Renaissance
Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper
1495–1498, tempera wall mural
Leonardo's Last Supper was painted on the wall of the of Santa Maria delle
Grazie in Milan.
Despite its ruined state, the painting is extraordinarily impressive in both
form and emotion.
Christ and the apostles are celebrating Passover.
The painting shows the moment just after Christ tells his apostles that one of
them will betray him. The intense shock and emotion is clearly visible.
Christ's head is at the center of the composition, framed by a halo-like
architectural opening. His head is also the vanishing point toward which all
lines of the architectural setting converge.
David Lachapelle. Last Supper (Jesus is my Homeboy), 2003
High Renaissance
Michelangelo
Michelangelo was recognized by his contemporaries as “the greatest man ever
known to the arts,” Michelangelo dominated the High Renaissance. In
sculpture, architecture, and painting he was so outstanding that he was called
divine. He became fascinated with the problems of representing the human
body, and he devoted himself completely to mastering them.
High
Renaissance
Michelangelo, David, marble, 1501-04, 14’
High Renaissance
Michelangelo, David, marble, 1501-04
Michelangelo sculpted David from an enormous
block of marble.
Michelangelo’s David stands 14 feet tall
Huge in size and superhuman in muscular perfection
The heroic David’s head is turned with a stern
expression and he holds a stone in his large hand ready
for Goliath
Michelangelo clearly influenced by the classical
nude-admired Greek/Roman statues
Compare and
Contrast
Donatello,
David, 1430-1432,
Bronze, 62¼“
Michelangelo,
David, 1501-04,
marble, 14’
Compare and Contrast
Unlike Donatello’s David,
Michelangelo portrayed David
before the battle with Goliath, as he
sternly watches his gigantic foe
Michelangelo’s David is showing
emotion and is about to move into
action much like the Hellenistic
sculptures of ancient Greece.
Donatello,
David, 1430-1432,
Bronze, 62¼“
Michelangelo,
David, 1501-04,
marble, 14’
Banksy
Michelangelo's David (suicide bomber)
High
Renaissance
Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel ceiling, Rome,
1508-12, Fresco
High
Renaissance
Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel ceiling, Rome,
1508-12, Fresco
High
Renaissance
Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel ceiling, Rome,
1508-12, Fresco
The Libyan Sibyl, a
mythological being who
could see into the future
High
Renaissance
Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel ceiling, Rome,
1508-12, Fresco
Prophet Ezekiel from
the fresco on the
Sistine Chapel.
High
Renaissance
Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel ceiling, Rome,
1508-12, Fresco
Michelangelo was chosen by Pope Julius II to
paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in St.
Peter's.
Michelangelo protested at first, saying that he
was a sculptor, not a painter. He finally began the
project and worked on it feverishly.
He had many challenges to face: the curved
ceiling is 5, 800 sq feet and 70’ above the ground
Michelangelo constructed a unique
scaffolding system to paint the ceiling. The
scaffolding curved at its top, Michelangelo often
had to bend backwards and paint over his head an awkward position which made his neck and
back ache, his arms burn painfully and, according
to him, permanently screwed up his vision.
High
Renaissance
Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel ceiling, Rome,
1508-12, Fresco
It took Michelangelo 4 years to finish the
fresco.
The overpowering 300 figures on the
Sistine ceiling tell the story of man from his
creation to his fall according to the Bible.
The ceiling is considered by many to be the
greatest single work of art ever created by
one man.
The completion of the ceiling and its
thousands of details was a superhuman
achievement
Michelangelo focuses on the beauty,
power, and spirituality of the human form.
His painted figures have a sculptural
quality
High
Renaissance
Michelangelo, Creation of Adam, detail of
the Sistine Chapel ceiling, Rome, 1511-12,
Fresco
High Renaissance
Raphael
The spirit of the High Renaissance reached its peak in the work of Raphael.
Raphael’s paintings are masterpieces of balance and harmony. They
combine the sculptural quality of Michelangelo, and the grace and feeling of
Leonardo.
Raphael’s many paintings of the Madonna and Child display his characteristic
human warmth, serenity, and sublimely perfect figures.
High
Renaissance
Raphael, School of Athens 15101511, Fresco, Rome
High
Renaissance
Raphael, School of Athens 15101511, Fresco, Rome
The "School of Athens" is 1 of a group of 4 fresco
paintings on the walls of Pope Julius II‘s library. The
frescoes depict themes of knowledge. The figures
exemplify Philosophy, Poetry, Law and Theology. The
School of Athens represents Philosophy.
High
Renaissance
Raphael, School of Athens
1510-1511, Fresco, Rome
Raphael’s School of Athens perfectly embodies the spirit of the High
Renaissance
The scene takes place in classical times (ancient Greece)
The painting is a gathering of the great thinkers, philosophers, and
scientists
The School of Athens represents the truth acquired through reason.
All the philosophers shown worked hard to understand knowledge and its
causes.
This masterpiece was painted by Raphael when he was only 27 yrs old
High
Renaissance
Raphael, School of Athens
1510-1511, Fresco, Rome
The two main figures, Plato (Leonardo da Vinci) and Aristotle, are deep in
conversation in the center
Some of the ancient philosophers have the faces of Raphael's fellow artists.
Leonardo is shown as Plato. Michelangelo, sitting on the stairs and is
represented as Heraclitus.
Raphael includes himself at the extreme right, with a dark hat
High
Renaissance
Raphael, School of Athens 15101511, Fresco, Rome
The sculptural quality, individual poses and the grouping of the figures
in an architectural setting are influences of Michelangelo who was
painting his ceiling only a few yards away.
High
Renaissance
Raphael, School of Athens
The balance and composition are reminiscent of Leonardo’s Last Supper.
High
Renaissance
Raphael, School of Athens 15101511, Fresco, Rome
The architectural perspective leads the viewer’s eyes to a vanishing point
between the heads of Plato and Aristotle
High
Renaissance
Raphael, The Alba Madonna 1510, Oil
High
Renaissance
Raphael, The Alba Madonna 1510, Oil
Leonardo da Vinci