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THE RENAISSANCE
EARLY RENAISSANCE
During the 14th century the cultural movement of the Renaissance began in Italy before moving on to the rest of
Europe. The movement was aided by the increased availability of paper and the invention of metal movable type
that helped disseminate ideas more rapidly. The movement inspired a revival of interest in classical learning and the
values of ancient Rome and Greece. The returned value on knowledge led to the innovations of Linear
Perspective and advancements in the understanding of human anatomy. The increased understanding of the human
form brought with it a transition from static, passive icons to realistic figures filled with emotion.
Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337), a painter from the late Middle Ages is considered the “father of the renaissance”
because he was the first of many artists to make great contributions to the movement such as the use of approximate
perspective. Filippo Brunelleschi (1337-1446), a Florentine architect and engineer carried out a series of optical
experiments that created the mathematical theory of perspective. Brunelleschi may have devised the method for use
in architecture but the later publishing of the theory in 1435 by Leon Battista Alberti converted the principles to the
depiction of three-dimensional space in the arts. Masaccio (1401-1428) would be one of the first artists to employ
linear perspective in his fresco of the Holy Trinity. Piero della Francesca (1416-1492) took the use of perspective
in his art to an obsession.
Another Renaissance artist, Piero della Francesca
(1416-1492) took the use of perspective in his art to
an obsession. The use of perspective during the
period would also lead to the use of other threedimensional rendering techniques such as
Foreshortening. Andrea Mantegna (1430-1506)
used unique vanishing points from below the figure
like in his 1466 painting Lamentation of the Dead
Christ. Mantegna’s use of extreme foreshortening
created the sense that the viewer was directly in the
scene, adding to the empathy the viewer has for the
dead Christ.
IMAGE 1:
Masaccio
The Holy Trinity
Fresco
IMAGE 2:
Andrea Mantegna
Lamentation of the Dead Christ
Tempera on Canvas
1466
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The Renaissance also brought with it a return to sculpture in the round. Donatello di Niccolŏ di Betto Bardi
(1386-1466) is an Italian artist and sculptor known primarily for his statue of David that features the classical
Contraposto stance. Donatello’s David is also believed to be the first full-scale nude statue since ancient times.
NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
The Renaissance movement altered as it moved north, focusing more on the meticulous rendering of details and less
on the classical ideal of figures. The lack of interest in the classical ideal of figures might be in part due to a lack of
access to Greek and Roman statues. The classical influence in replaced in the north with a clearly Gothic
influence. The north also continued the Middle Ages use of Triptychs, or paintings comprised of three hinged
panels that the outer portions could close in over the middle portion. Northern paintings were loaded with symbolic
meanings just as Robert Campin’s The Merode Altarpiece from 1426 depicted in IMAGE 3.
IMAGE 3:
Robert Campin
The Merode Altarpiece
Triptych
1426
The Northern Renaissance was also responsible for
innovations in the arts, one such innovation being the
use of a new medium, Oil Paints and Oil-Glazing
Technique by Jan Van Eyck. Van Eyck was a
master of Composition and detail as demonstrated in
his most famous work The Marriage of Giovanni
Arnolfini depicted in IMAGE 4. By far the second
most famous northern Renaissance artist is
Hieronymus Bosch, a Netherlands artist who filled
his work with enormous amounts of information and
detail.
IMAGE 4:
Jan Van Eyck
The Arnolfini Wedding
Oil on Oak
1434
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HIGH RENAISSANCE
The Renaissance movement reached an apex in late 15th century that we refer to as the High Renaissance. The
High Renaissance begins with Leonardo da Vinci's painting of The Last Supper in Milan and the death of
Lorenzo de'Medici, a huge patron of the arts in Florence, and ends in 1527 with the Charles V.'s sacking of
Rome. The Last Supper was commissioned by Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess Beatrice d'Este. The
mural depicts the last supper from Jesus' final days as told in the Gospel of John, where Jesus announces that one of
his twelve disciples would betray him. The fifteen feet by twenty nine feet mural covers a wall of Santa Maria
delle Grazie monastery dining hall, was completed by Leonardo in 1498.
IMAGE 5:
Leonardo da Vinci
The Last Supper
Fresco
1498
Leonardo da Vinci is also renowned for his painting
The Mona Lisa, which is a prime example of one of
the four canonical painting modes of the
Renaissance, Sfumato. The figure contains no harsh
outlines and areas blend together. The Mona Lisa is
thought to be a portrait of Francesco del Giocondo's
wife Lisa Gheradini. Leonardo employed a
pyramid design to build a calm sense, framed in the
lit up face with dark elements to draw the viewer's
attention to gaze of the figure, and placed the figure
in front of an imaginary landscape featuring aerial
perspective. Leonardo was one of the first painters
to use Aerial Perspective to create a sense of depth.
The piece was bought from Leonardo's assistant
Salai by King Francois I. Salai had inherited the
unfinished piece after Leonardo's death. Late in his
life Leonardo is said to have regretted "never having
completed a single work."
IMAGE 6:
Leonardo da Vinci
The Mona Lisa
Oil on Poplar
1519
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IMAGE 7:
Michelangelo
Pietà
Marble
1499
Leonardo's most famous contemporary,
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni; was
an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and
engineer. Two of Michelangelo's best known works,
the Pietà and David were completed before he turned
thirty years old. Both of these sculptures are
characterized by an ideal balance of stillness and
movement. Michelangelo also created one of the
most influential works in Fresco despite his low
opinion of painting when he depicted scenes from
Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in
Rome. Michelangelo employed one of the four
canonical painting modes of the Renaissance,
Cangiante in his work on the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
He changed to lighter hues when the original hue
could not be made light enough and to darker dues
when the original hue could not be made dark
enough. The use of cangiante allowed Michelangelo
to depict shadows and highlights with more pure
colors that didn't dull like the original hue when
white or black were added. Michelangelo was the
greatest practitioner of this technique. The fresco
painting on the chapel ceiling was just part of
Michelangelo's work in the chapel commissioned by
Pope Julius II.
IMAGE 8:
Michelangelo
Sistine Chapel
Fresco
1511
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The last great artist of the Renaissance movement, Raffaeloo Sanzio da Urbino, more commonly known as
Raphael was an Italian painter and architect. Raphael unlike Leonardo was far more productive as an artist,
completing a large body of work despite his death at age thirty seven. Raphael is associated with the canonical
painting style of the Renaissance known as Chiaroscuro, an Italian term that literally means 'light-dark'; that refers
to clear tonal contrasts which suggest volume and modeling of the subject.
IMAGE 9:
Raphael
The Deposition of Christ
Oil on Wood
1507
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