Download Notes 09/13/2013 The Renaissance The Renaissance begins in

Notes 09/13/2013
The Renaissance
The Renaissance begins in Italy in the 1300’s. People are reminded of the greatness
of Rome and this sparks curiosity.
Italy is also the home of the Catholic Church and has lots of artifacts from Ancient
Greece and Rome.
The Renaissance is a rebirth of culture. Aspects of culture include art, science,
mathematics, language, writing, food etc.
Italy is a peninsula and surrounded on three sides by water. Italy escaped many of
the horrors of Middle Ages life that other European countries experienced.
Art: How did art differ from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance?
Middle Ages art: Depiction of knights and bloody wars or religion. Middle Age art is
not as realistic. It is missing perspective. Perspective is a way to show distant
objects using depth. The use of shadowing is also prevalent in Renaissance art as is
mixing of paints.
What was the Renaissance? (1300-1600) Rebirth of Greek and Roman learning in
art, engineering, literature, architecture, science, history, politics
Renaissance man: Good at a wide variety of things
Who was Johan Gutenberg? (1450) Printer and blacksmith. Responsible for the
creation of the printing press. He prints the first Bible and it is distributed far and
wide. This decreases the price and many more people were able to purchase the
Bible.
The printing and distribution of the Bible creates questioning of the church. People
are angered that they were being sold indulgences, but this was nowhere to be
found in the Bible.
Who was Leonardo Da Vinci? (1452-1519) He was a prominent artist. He was
mainly a painter. He was also an architect, inventor and sculptor. He used
perspective in his painting. Most famous works were The Last Supper and Mona Lisa.
Da Vinci was also studied the human body.
Who was William Shakespeare? (1590-1613) English poet and playwright. He
produced 37 plays. His well-known works or Romeo and Juliet, Orthello, Hamlet,
Macbeth, and Julius Caesar. Introduced over 1,700 words to the English language.
Who was Michelangelo? (1475-1564) He was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect,
and engineer. He was also an inventor, astronomer, and a Renaissance man who was
good at everything! Some of his famous works are the sculptors David and the Pieta.
He also painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and created the dome at St. Peter’s
Basilica.
Who was Nicolo Machiavelli? (1513) He was an Italian historian, diplomat,
politician, and author. He had many influential friends. He writes a book called The
Prince. This book explained to leaders how to take and maintain power.
Who was Albrecht Durer? (1494) He spreads the Renaissance to Germany. He goes
to Italy to study and then brings it to Germany and the rest of Northern Europe.
They called him the German Leonardo.
Notes 9/17/13
Art of the Early Renaissance
- 1300’s - 1600’s
- Renaissance = rebirth of culture and learning
- Europe’s economic recovery
- renewed study of ancient Greece and Rome
Humanism
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humanism and ideal that focused on the world of mankind as much as a
concern for the hereafter
rejected medieval view of humanity and focused on the goodness of mankind
began in Florence, Italy
ideal setting for Renaissance to begin with wealthy patrons
humanism began in 1400
Early Renaissance
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period from 1300-1500
artist viewed as a craftsman
art created by commission (someone hired to do a job)
art was produced through imitation
Workshop system
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collaboration of masters and apprentices
family-based
run like a business
apprentices would seek out a master to learn from the best
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apprenticeship started in the early teen years and lasted for several years
at times apprentices would pass the master
Products of the workshop system
Michelangelo
Master: Domenico Ghirlandaio
Leonardo da Vinci
Master: Andrea del Verocchio
Innovations
-
frescoes were art created on damp plastic
oil paints
realistic portrayal of human nature
Chiaroscurro: use of shadows to show balance dark and light
Science was renewed
Perspective: allowed artist to represent objects in relative size
Giotto
-
father of the Renaissance
very influential on Renaissance paintings
Notes- 9/19/2013
Filippo Bruneleschi (1377-1446)
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adds a geometric perspective to art
his method of perspective had a dramatic impact on 3 dimensional space in
the arts
Masaccio (1401-1428)
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one of the first artists to apply the new method of linear perspective in the
fresco of the Holy Trinity
used a barrel vaulted ceiling to imitate with precision the true appearance of
architectural space
figures depict accurate human anatomy
Pierro della Francesca (1416-1492)
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expressed an obsession with perspective
carefully analyzed architectural spaces and sensitivity to geometric purity of
shapes
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wrote several books on perspective and geometry
Donatello (1386-1466)
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new sense of naturalism in sculpture
use of classical contrapposto stance (relaxed not rigid)
statue of David in bronze considered first full scale nude since ancient times
Andrea Mantegna (1430-1506)
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created unusual vantage points
looking at figures from below
Lamentation of the Dead Christ the viewer is looking from the feet of the
subject
Deep foreshortening
Effectively places the viewer at the scene
Used unusual vantage points
Sandra Boticelli (1445-1510)
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First artist to paint a full length female nude
In Birth of Venus the figure occupies the center of the work, which was
traditionally reserved for the Virgin. This work is possibly the most pagan
image of the entire Renaissance