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Renaissance Art
Giotto di Bondone (b. 1267- d.1337)
Giotto is mentioned by name in Dante’s inferno
(Dante feared history would forget Giotto. Not
so! Modern artists often seek inspiration from
Giotto)
 In common with other artists of his day, Giotto
lacked the technical knowledge of anatomy
and perspective that later painters learned.
 But, he possessed a grasp of human emotion
and what was significant in human life
 He created compelling pictures of people
under stress, of people caught up in crises and
soul searching decisions.

Giotto
(1267-1337)
Crucifix
* Christ is depicted
as a real man and in
a more natural pose.
* Use of chiaroscuro
(technique of using
light and shad)
Donatello (b. 1386- d.1466)
Master of sculpture in bronze and marble
 Patrons often found him hard to deal with
because he demanded a measure of
artistic freedom in a day when artists’
working conditions were regulated by
guild rules
 He was a connoisseur of ancient art

Donatello
David and
Goliath
(1440s)
* 62.5 inches tall
* The first unsupported
standing work in bronze cast
since classical times
* This statue originally
belonged to Cosimo de Medici
* Created a sensation due to
its portrayal of a nude young
male
* The effeminately depicted
David has a mysterious smile
on his face.
Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510)
* Early Renaissance painter
* Worked for the great families of
Florence, especially the de Medicis
* Tried to reconcile classical and
Christian views in his works
* With the expulsion of the de Medicis from
Florence in the 1490s by the fanatic monk
Savonarola, his works reflected an intense
religious devotion.
Botticelli: Adoration of the Magi
Contains the likenesses of the Medici family
(though not commissioned by the Medicis)
 The scene is a ruined classical temple
building
 It was considered to be the symbol of the
destruction of the heathen world by Christ’s
arrival

Botticelli: Birth of Venus
Venus was the Roman Goddess of Love
 Based on the myth that Venus was born of
the waves of the sea
 Pagan in nature, at a time when most
artworks depicted Roman Catholic themes
 Surprising that this painting escaped the
flames of Savonarola’s bonfires – when
other works of Botticelli perished.

Botticelli:
Birth of Venus
Botticelli:
Birth of
Venus
Botticelli: Madonna of the
Pomegranate
Note the similarity between the face of the
Virgin in this painting, and the face of Venus in
Birth of Venus.
 Meaning of Pomegranate: the wealth of seeds
convey the fullness of Christ’s suffering
 The beginning of the prayer of the rosary – a
prayer created in the 15th c. – is embroidered on
the angel’s sleeve. Ave Grazia Plena (Hail Mary,
full of grace)

Botticelli:
Madonna of
the
Pomegranate
Raphael

Master painter and architect of the Italian
High Renaissance

Best known for his Madonnas and his
large figure compositions in the Vatican
Raphael
(14831520)
Madonna
di Foligno
Raphael: School of Athens
* A depiction of philosophy
* Figures represent each subject that must be
mastered in order to hold a true philosophic
debate (astronomy, geometry, arithmetic)
* Plato and Aristotle are at the top steps
* Man leaning on the block is Michelangelo
(who Raphael added later after viewing the
Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel)
* Raphael painted himself into the artwork
* A fresco
Massacio
(c. 1401-1427)
First great painter of the Italian Renaissance
 His innovations in the use of scientific
perspective inaugurated the modern era in
painting.
 Was influenced by Giotto, but more strongly
influenced by Brunelleschi and Donatello, two
of his contemporaries.

Massacio:
The Holy Trinity
* A fresco
* Executed in
perfect perspective
Leonard da Vinci (b. 1452 – d. 1519)
Considered to be one of the greatest
painters of all time
 Has been described as the archetype of
the “Renaissance man”
 He was an artist, engineer, anatomist,
physiologist, and more
 He conceived of ideas vastly ahead of his
own time

Leonardo da
Vinci
Lady with an
Ermine
* Uses geometric
proportions
* Ermine is a symbol
of chastity
* Ironic that the
subject was a
mistress to the Duke
of Milan
Leonardo da Vinci: Last Supper
Da Vinci:
Mona Lisa
Michelangelo Buonarroti
(b. 1475 – d. 1564)
Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter,
architect and poet.
 Like da Vinci, his rival and fellow
Florentine, he is a contender for the title
of archetypal Renaissance man.
 Sculpted David as a model of heroic
courage in the hope that Florentines
would be alert and mobilize to confront
outside threats

Michelangelo
(1475-1564)
David
* Marble
* 14.24 ft tall
Michelangelo:
Sistine Chapel
* He was reluctant
to do it because his
passion was
sculpting and he
did not consider
himself a painter
Michelangelo: Sistine Chapel
Creation of Adam
Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516)
The Garden of Earthly Delights
* A Dutch painter
* Many of his works depict sin and human
moral failings
* His works contain complex, highly original,
imaginative, and dense use of symbolic
figures and iconography.
* He is said to have been an inspiration to
the surrealist movement of the 20th century
Bosch:
Ship of Fools
* Bosch is
imagining that
we are all fools
traveling the
seas of time on
a ship
El Greco (b. 1541 – d. 1614)

From Crete (El Greco means “The Greek”)

Painter, sculptor and architect who settled
in Spain and is regarded as the first great
genius of the Spanish School.
El Greco
Adoration of
the Shepherds
* Places great
emphasis on the
expression of
emotions and
gestures
* Makes
remarkable use of
light
Jan Van Eyck (b. 1385 – d. 1441)
Flemish (Belgian) painter
 Achieved new and remarkable effects in oil
painting
 Van Eyck, like most painters, signed and
dated his paintings on the frames – as the
two were painted at the same time.
 An exception to the above rule is his
celebrated Arnolfini Portrait – one of his
masterpieces.

Jan Van Eyck
Arnolfino
Wedding
* He signed his
name above the
mirror in this
portrait – “Jan Van
Eyck was here”
* Small dog is a
symbol of fertility
* Mirror reflects the
witnesses
* Lighting
Van Eyck:
The
Madonna of
Chancellor
Rolin
Holbein the Younger
(b. 1497 – d. 1543)
German painter, draftsman and designer
renowned for the precise rendering of his
drawings and the compelling realism of his
portraits – particularly those recording the
court of King Henry VIII of England.
 His The Ambassadors was presented as a
“picture with a secret” – in line with a
custom that was to become common,
especially in Germany.

Holbein the
Younger
Amassadors
* The objects
and details
depict the
private and
political career
of the
subjects.
* Do you see
the secret?
Pieter Bruegel the Younger
(b. 1497 – d. 1543)

Flemish artist

Concentrated on scenes from peasant life

A kind of “wedding crasher” in his day.
Pieter Bruegel the Younger:
Peasant Wedding