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CK_5_TH_VA_P325_368.QXD 2/10/06 7:47 AM Page 330 I. Art of the Renaissance Cross-curricular Connections continued Mathematics Science Computation Measurement Geometry The Human Body • The Vitruvian Man At a Glance The most important ideas for you are: ◗ The Italian Renaissance revived the ideals, learning, and styles of ancient Greece and Rome. ◗ Both the Christian Church and wealthy and powerful patrons from the independent city-states of Italy commissioned art in order to broadcast their power and wealth. ◗ Italian Renaissance art included religious, mythological, and historical themes as well as portraits of the elite. ◗ Renaissance painting and sculpture aimed to reproduce the world around them. This style became known as realism. ◗ Precise observation of the natural world pervaded the northern Renaissance style. ◗ The Renaissance produced some of the most famous artists the world has ever known. What Teachers Need to Know Background What exactly was “reborn” during the European Renaissance? The Renaissance, which is generally said to have lasted from around 1400 to 1600, was a “rebirth” of learning, art, and awareness, based largely on classical Greek and Roman art and literature. The ancients saw beauty in the world and tried to capture it in their artwork. They made beautiful sculptures, buildings, and other works of art. However, the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome both declined, and the latter was replaced by the dominance of the Church during the period we call the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, some classical texts and many classical works of art were lost or forgotten. New styles emerged in art and architecture, such as the Gothic style, which students in Core Knowledge schools should have studied in Grade 4. The humanists and artists of the Renaissance defined themselves in opposition to the Gothic style. Instead of gargoyles and stained glass, they wished to return to classical elements and styles—to pillars, domes and friezes. Even when they built a cathedral, they wanted to build it with Greek and Roman 330 Grade 5 Handbook CK_5_TH_VA_P325_368.QXD 2/10/06 7:47 AM Page 331 elements. The influence of classical styles eventually proved to be very fruitful, and the Renaissance developed into one of the greatest ages for art and artists in the history of the world. Spurred by trade, the growth of cities, and a renewed interest in the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome, great advances were made in literature, scholarship, navigation, astronomy, engineering, philosophy, education, and art. Note that the topics in this section are closely connected with the Renaissance topics in the World History and Geography section “The Renaissance and the Reformation,” (pp. 164–188), as well as with certain topics in the Music and Language Arts sections. We suggest that you teach this unit on Renaissance art in tandem with your study of other aspects of the Renaissance. Your students’ understanding of the works discussed below will be much increased if they are able to connect the artists and artworks described in this section to the humanists, patrons, and city-states described in the history section. Note: The descriptions and activities in the main text below are intended to help you become familiar with the artworks before presenting them to students; however, some of the activities might be adapted for classroom use. Activities intended specifically for students can be found in the Teaching Idea sidebars. The Looking Questions given below are also printed on the reverse side of the Art Resources, and have been written with students in mind, so that they might be used as a rough plan for class discussion. You should feel free to use these questions or develop questions of your own. Be sure students have time to look at the reproductions carefully before asking the Looking Questions. Developments in Art Patronage The Roman Catholic Church remained a significant patron of the arts during the period of the Renaissance, as it had been in the Middle Ages. The popes commissioned artists like Raphael and Michelangelo to decorate cathedrals and other church buildings. However, wealthy merchant families (such as the Medici) and independent city-states (such as Florence, Pisa, Bologna, etc.) also commissioned works of art that announced their wealth and power. Wealthy persons or institutions who supported artists and commissioned works were (and still are) known as patrons. Patrons generally dictated subject matter, which might include religious, historical, or mythological scenes, as well as portraits of patrons and their families. You can read more about the Medici as patrons of art in the World History and Geography section “The Renaissance and the Reformation,” pp. 164–188. The Increasing Status of Artists During the Renaissance, the modern concept of artists as individuals with creative genius emerged. Previously, artists were generally considered mere artisans and manual laborers of a trade. From the earliest times, they had worked in workshops producing art that was often more functional than decorative. During the Renaissance, many continued to work collaboratively. An expert painter might be assisted by a handful of apprentices who were learning the trade. However, at the same time, a number of individual artists became well known. One sign of the new status of art and the artist was that many painters began to Teaching Idea Pair students, and have one “commission” the other for a particular type of art, just as patrons would have done during the Renaissance. The “patrons” should give specific instructions about the work’s scene, story, and mood. Have pairs switch roles, so the “artists” become the “patrons” and vice versa. Afterward, have students write journal entries about what it was like to have to create art according to another person’s dictates. What are the advantages and disadvantages as compared to drawing whatever you want? Visual Arts 331 CK_5_TH_VA_P325_368.QXD 2/10/06 7:47 AM Page 332 I. Art of the Renaissance sign their names on the works they created. Before the Renaissance this was much less common. Types of Art Renaissance artists made important advances in many media. There were major frescos painted on walls and ceilings, as well as portraits and everyday scenes painted on canvas. Many great sculptures were also produced, including some that were free standing, rather than attached to a wall or building, as had been the custom in the Middle Ages. Renaissance architecture adapted the geometry and symmetry of classical Greek and Roman buildings such as the Parthenon and Pantheon. Builders used columns, carved or painted scenes, friezes, and pediments. They abandoned the highly ornate Gothic style of the Middle Ages with its vaults, flying buttresses, stained-glass windows, and gargoyles. Growing Realism One important characteristic of Renaissance art is an increased degree of realism. In the Middle Ages, a great deal of beautiful art was created, but much of this art did not put a high premium on realism. Saints and religious figures were often depicted in a way that looks somewhat flat and/or abstract. This was partly because some classical knowledge about how to make flat pictures appear threedimensional had been lost. But it also reflected the priorities of medieval artists and their patrons. The painters and patrons of the medieval period were eager to inspire religious thoughts in the viewer, and this did not always require exact realism. The artists of the Renaissance looked back to classical models. Greek and Roman sculptors had created some very realistic figures, especially in their sculptures, and these became the inspiration for a new emphasis on realism in sculpture and painting. Renaissance artists and scholars also rediscovered specific techniques that allowed them to make more realistic depictions. The rediscovery and development of linear perspective in paintings promoted the illusion of depth as the human eye sees it in the natural world. In linear, or single-point perspective, lines seem to converge on a vanishing point along the horizon line. Artists used this technique not only to foster a sense of depth, but also to focus the viewer’s eye. (For more on perspective, see the discussion of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper on pp. 336–337.) Artists who began this revolutionary change to Renaissance style included Giotto, who painted in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. He painted in a less Byzantine and more naturalistic way, imitating nature and using anatomy, 332 Grade 5 Handbook CK_5_TH_VA_P325_368.QXD 2/10/06 7:47 AM Page 333 perspective, and expressive human detail in his works. Giotto’s works influenced the style of Masaccio, a 15th-century Italian painter who employed perspective, three-dimensionality, and the use of light to create natural and realistic art. Through the works of these and other artists, the Renaissance brought about a slow evolution from medieval, Church-dominated culture to one more “modern” in which the artist could develop his or her individual expression. The increased focus on realism can be seen as one aspect of the gradual growth of scientific observation. Indeed, some of the artists studied in this section—including Leonardo da Vinci—could be considered scientists as well as artists. Leonardo did engineering work as well as painting, and his sketches of the human body were based in part on his examination of cadavers. The Renaissance in Northern Europe The Renaissance began in Italy but eventually spread to other parts of Europe. Artists in 16th-century Netherlands and Germany learned much from Italian painters but also developed distinguishing characteristics of their own. In particular, they strove for precisely accurate depictions. Artists in the north paid enormous attention to detail in their portraits, religious scenes, and genre paintings. Looking at the Included Reproductions 1 Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (c. 1485) Renaissance artists sometimes painted mythological themes, looking back to classical literature for inspiration. One of the best-known mythological paintings of the Renaissance is The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli (1444–1510). Lorenzo de’ Medici, a member of the great Florentine family, commissioned this painting for his villa at Castello. Botticelli himself was born in Florence. As a young man he was apprenticed first to a goldsmith, then to Fra Filippo Lippi (a well-known painter and subject of a poem by Robert Browning) where he worked with Andrea del Verrocchio, in whose shop Leonardo da Vinci later apprenticed. Botticelli did many works for the Medici family. After the 1490s, Botticelli appears to have been heavily influenced by a fiery preacher named Savonarola. Botticelli’s style of painting changed to be less natural and idealized as he became more focused on politics and religion. How does Botticelli indicate that the scene is clearly not of this world? His central figure, Venus, the goddess of love in Roman mythology, stands on an enormous seashell that somehow floats on water whose very waves create a beautiful pattern rather than portraying real ripples. On the left, the wind gods Zephyr and Aura blow Venus toward shore. On the right is one of the three Horae, or goddesses of the seasons, who were attendants of Venus; this hora personifies spring. She is clothed in a billowy gown, ready to drape the newly born (and therefore nude) goddess in a flowered cape. Although the scene derives from classical mythology, in Renaissance times it reflected a Christian meaning as well. Venus’s birth represented the mystery through which God gifts the world with beauty. Thus, in her purity, Venus represents sacred love in an exquisite, divine realm. Visual Arts 333