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Early-Middle Renaissance
Background to this art piece:
“Adoration of the Magi” by
Fabriano, 1400 Florence, Italy
• Triptych alter screen divided
into three arched spaces
• Figures were crowded together
“standing over each other’s
heads,” because there was a
fear of empty spaces
• Halos not in perspective
• Natural scene in background
• Elegant, fancy figures
• Illusion of three dimensions in a
two-dimensional space
• Artists worked from observation
and rules of perspective
“Tribute Money” by Masaccio,
1427 Florence, Italy
• Is a piece of wall art (aka
fresco) inside a chapel
• The folds in the clothes are well
defined
• First use of grid for perspective
• Everything lit from the same
light source
• Drama in faces
• Halos no longer a circle but a
disc
• Group of figures set in
landscape
“Annunciation” by Angelico,
1440 Florence, Italy
• The architectural setting uses
the principles of perspective. But
there are problems with relating
the figures to the space (the
figures appear too large)
• Natural detail in the garden
background
• No shadows made from
figures, making them appear flat
• The folds in the clothes are well
defined
“Resurrection”, by Francesca,
1460, Italy
Stresses the front of things –
the Christ figure is parallel to the
picture plane
Detailed trees become smaller
but are too clear – they also float
in mid-air.
The tomb becomes the altar
Use of the Golden Section
Questions
1. Describe the scene.
2. If you had to describe this composition in
one word, what would it be?
3. What things in the painting led you to
choose that word?
4. What is not realistic about the painting?
1. How does the painter make a group of
figures look different and simple while still
making the figure of Jesus the centre of
attention?
1. Composition means the way parts of a
picture are organized. Do you think this
picture has good composition or bad
composition? Explain why.
1. Do you think these bodies look realistic?
Why or why not?
High Renaissance
Background to this art piece:
“The Madonna of the Rocks”
Leonardo da Vinci, 1483,
London

Leonardo uses the pyramid
shape to bring together his main
characters
Note the use of chiaroscuro
(the use of light and dark) as a
way to show mass and volume
Mary, Jesus, St. John, and
angel in grotto
Each figure is in proportion.
This means their body had
correct size, volume and mass.
“The Last Supper”, Leonardo
da Vinci, 1495, Milan
Questions:
1. Why do you think the triangular composition
is working so well in this picture? (hint: Look at
the bodies of all the characters)
1. Examine how the picture is divided. How
many parts do you think Leonardo divided it
into? Why?
Simple one-point perspective –
all the lines lead to the Christ
figure
Jesus and disciples at the
2. What do you think the story is behind this
Passover dinner
picture?
The figures form a mini drama
or tableau scene
“School of Athens”, 1508,
Raphael, Rome
1. See if you can find the part of the picture
where everything disappears. You can do this
by drawing in the lines of perspective.
Raphael designed his
composition to feature both the
two main characters and the
larger group of mathematicians,
scientists, and philosophers.
Raphael used the rules of one
point perspective in his
composition
Art History Fun Fact:
Ever heard of the Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles? Well the man who created
them liked art history so much, that he
decided to name all of his main
characters after famous Renaissance
artists. Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael,
Donatello and Michelangelo.