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The Italian
Renaissance
Art of and Emerging Modern Europe
The Early Renaissance
Centered in Italy, 15th Century
The Renaissance was a period of great creative and intellectual activity, during
which artists broke away from the restrictions of Byzantine Art. Throughout the
15th century, artists studied the natural world in order to perfect their
understanding of such subjects as anatomy and perspective.
Among the many great artists of this period were Sandro Botticelli, Domenico
Ghirlandaio, Paolo Uccello and Piero della Francesca.
During this period there was a related advancement of Gothic Art centered in
Germany and the Netherlands, known as the Northern Renaissance.
The Early Renaissance was succeeded by the mature High Renaissance
period, which began circa 1500.
The High Renaissance
Centered in Italy, Early 16th Century
The High Renaissance was the culmination of the artistic developments of the Early
Renaissance, and one of the great explosions of creative genius in history. It is
notable for three of the greatest artists in history: Michelangelo Buonarroti, Raphael
Sanzio and Leonardo da Vinci.
Also active at this time were such masters as Giorgione, Titian and Giovanni Bellini.
By about the 1520s, High Renaissance art had become exaggerated into the style
known as Mannerism.
Around 1400 a dramatic change began to
take place in Italy and Western Europe.
As people became
more involved in
society, government
and business, they
no longer focused all
their attention on
religious matters.
•
Raphael,The School of Athens:1509-11
AD. Socrates, Xenophon, Eschines and
Alcibiades
After centuries of symbolic religious images, artists looked
to nature for inspiration, creating works that mirrored the
people, places and events of the real world.
•
Raphael,The School of Athens:1509-11
Renaissance=Rebirth
The Middle Ages are so called because they fall between twin peaks of artistic
glory.
The Renaissance
The Classical Period
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome
The Middle Ages
While art hardly died in the middle ages, what was reborn in
the Renaissance was lifelike art.
Influences that shaped the
Renaissance.
During this period, artists and scholars developed an interest in the art of
ancient Greece and Rome.
This interest was called humanism.
Humanists embraced the Greco-Roman belief that each
individual has dignity and worth.
Artists of the Renaissance greatly admired the lifelike appearances of
classical works and longed to capture the same quality in their own
works.
Influences
Roman to Renaissance
Here is an example of the use
of contraposto, which emerged
Polyclitus,Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)
in antiquity.
Roman copy after Polyclitus, c.450-440 BCE
Lifesize
Donatello, St. George,
1416 BCE, Marble
210 cm
4 Major
breakthroughs
Oil on stretched
canvas
Perspective
Chiaroscuro
Pyramid configuration
Oil on stretched canvas
In painting, more
and more artists
turned their attention
to creating depth
and form to replace
the flat, twodimensional
surfaces that
characterized
medieval pictures.
St.George’s Battle with the Dragon
VITALE DA BOLOGNA
around 1350
Tempera on wood, 80 x 70 cm
Pinacoteca Nazioznale, Bologna
before oil on canvas
VITALE DA BOLOGNA
St.George’s Battle with the Dragon
Oil on canvas became the medium of choice during the renaissance as it
provided a greater range of rich colours with smooth gradations of tone. This
allowed artists to represent textures and simulate three dimensional form.
VITALE DA BOLOGNA
St.George’s Battle with the Dragon
Raphael,St. George Fighting the Dragon
1504-06 (220 kB); Oil on wood, 28.5 x 21.5 cm
“While we may term other works paintings, those of Raphael are living things; the flesh palpitates, the breath
comes and goes, every organ lives, life pulsates everywhere.”
-- Vasari, Lives of the Artists
Raphael,St. George
Fighting the Dragon
1504-06 (220 kB); Oil on
wood, 28.5 x 21.5 cm
Perspective
One of the most significant discoveries in the history of art was the
method for creating the illusion of depth on a flat surface, called
perspective. Perspective became a foundation of European painting for
the next 500 years.
Knowledge of perspective greatly enhances your perception and understanding of light and space, and attunes
you to spatial recession as the power line of visual design. It is a powerful guide to drawing in all situations, and
a fascinating case study of the ways that a painting is shaped by purely conceptual considerations. It is also
indispensable in understanding the design problems that inspired and challenged artists of the past.
In the beginning...
‘Jesus Before the Caïf’, by Giotto (1305). The ceiling rafters show Giotto’s introduction of
convergent perspective. B. Detailed analysis, however, reveals that the ceiling has an
inconsistent vanishing point and that the Caïf’s dais is in parallel perspective, with no vanishing
point.
Filipo Brunelleschi (1377-1446)
Brunelleschi was an architect who is credited
with discovering linear perspective. This
system enabled an artist to paint figures and
objects so that they seem to move deeper into
a work rather than across it.
Linear perspective created the optical effect of objects receding in the
distance through lines that appear to converge at a single point in the
picture known as the vanishing point.
Artists also reduced the size of objects, diminution, and muted colours or
blurred details as objects got farther away, aerial perspective.
The Duomo of Florence, dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore is one of the largest
and most beautiful cathedrals in the world. It was started in 1296 by the
Sienese architect Arnolfi di Cambio, but took another 150 years to complete.
The two architects who designed the Duomo were Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo
Brunelleschi. This beautiful cathedral dominates the skyline of Florence.
‘The Disputation of St Stephen’ by Carpaccio (1514)
‘The School of Athens’ by Raphael (1518)
Masaccio (1401-1428)
Shortly after Brunelleschi made the discovery
of linear perspective, Masaccio painted The
Holy
Trinity. How might have viewers reacted
when they saw this type of realism in a
painting?
1.
In this fresco of the "Holy Trinity", where the barrel vaulted ceiling is incredible in
its complex, mathematical use of perspective.
2.
Lines following Masaccio's actual geometric framework are overlaid to make clear
the structure of the perspective itself.
3.
From the geometry it is actually possible to work backwards to reconstruct the full
volume in measured accuracy of the 3-dimensional space Masaccio depicts.
Not long after finishing the Holy trinity, Masaccio painted The Tribute
Money. Notice how he has used linear and aerial or atmospheric
technique to heighten the illusion of deep space.
Masaccio
1426-27
Fresco, 255 x 598 cm
Cappella Brancacci, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence
Chiaroscuro
The use of light and shadow
Chiaroscuro is a method for applying value to a two-dimensional piece of artwork to create the
illusion of a three-dimensional solid form. This way of working was devised during the Italian
Renaissance and was used by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. In this system, if
light is coming in from one predetermined direction, then light and shadow will conform to a set of
rules.
An element in art, chiaroscuro (Italian for lightdark) is
defined as a bold contrast between light and dark.
Caravaggio, 1599-1600; Oil on canvas, 10' 7 1/2" X 11' 2";
Contarelli Chapel, Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome
The Virgin of the Rocks
LEONARDO da Vinci
1452 - 1519
Full title: The Virgin of the Rocks (The Virgin with
the Infant Saint John adoring the Infant Christ
accompanied by an Angel)
about 1491-1508
Pyramid Configuration
Rigid profile portraits and grouping of figures on a horizontal grid in the picture’s
foreground gave way to a more three dimensional “pyramid configuration”.
Illuminated manuscript 10th Century
The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne
1510 (200 Kb); Oil on wood, 168 x 130 cm
Musee du Louvre, Paris
This symmetrical style of composition built to a climax in Leonardo’s
Mona Lisa, where the focal point is the figure’s head.
Portrait of Mona Lisa (1479-1528), also known as La Gioconda, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo;
1503-06 (150 Kb); Oil on wood, 77 x 53 cm (30 x 20 7/8 in); Musee du Louvre, Paris
Leonardo da Vinci The Last Supper 1498
after cleaning
Tempera on plaster
460 x 880 cm (15 x 29 ft.)
Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie
(Refectory), Milan
Describe how the illusion of depth is created.
Artists of the Early Renaissance
Paulo Uccello
(1397-1475)
It was said of Uccello that the
discovery of perspective had
so impressed him that he
spent nights and days
drawing objects in
foreshortening, and setting
himself ever new problems.
It is precisely because the
painter was so fascinated
by the new possibilities of
his art that he did
everything to make his
figures stand out in space
as if they were carved and
not painted.
Saint George and the Dragon
DETAIL of St George
c. 1455-60
Tempera on canvas
56.5 x 74 cm
National Gallery, London
UCCELLO, Paolo
Saint George and the Dragon c. 1455-60
Tempera on canvas
56.5 x 74 cm
National Gallery, London
This was a first!
UCCELLO, Paolo
The Rout of San Romano c. 1456
National Gallery, London
Sandro Botticelli
(Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi)
c. 1445-1510
Italian painter. Botticelli was
Florentine and extremely
successful at the peak of his
career, with a highly
individual and graceful style
founded on the rhythmic
capabilities of outline. With
the emergence of the High
Renaissance style at the turn
of the 16th century, he fell
out of fashion, died in
obscurity and was only
returned to his position as
one of the best-loved
quattrocento painters
through the interest of
Ruskin and the PreRaphaelites.
Botticelli, Sandro,
St. Augustine 1480
Fresco (transferred to canvas) 185 x 123 cm
Ognissanti, Florence
Botticelli, Sandro
Portrait of a Young Man c. 1480-85
Wood, 37.5 x 28.2 cm
National Gallery, London
Botticelli, Sandro Primavera c.1482
Tempera on wood 203 x 314 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Botticelli, Sandro
The birth of Venus c.1485
Tempera on canvas 172.5 x 278.5 cm
Uffizi, Florence
Domenico Ghirlandio
(1449-94)
Domenico Ghirlandaio trained as a
goldsmith. In 1490, the Duke of
Milan received a report that
described a handful of good artists
available for work in one region. Of
Domenico Ghirlandaio it was
suggested that he was a notable
painter of panels and a master of
fresco. It went on to commend his
work and to describe him as an
efficient and prolific artist.
Ghirlandaio employed hordes of
assistants - one of whom was
Michelangelo - in his prosperous,
family-run business. Ghirlandaio is
best known for his frescoes, in which
he often set religious subjects in a
secular setting and in which he
included recognizable portraits.
Ghirlandaio, Domenico
Adoration of the Shepherds 1485
167 x 167 cm Wood
Santa Trinita, Sassetti Chapel, Florence
Ghirlandaio, Domenico The Visitation
Wood 67 1/2 x 65 in. (172 x 165 cm)
Musee du Louvre, Paris
Artists of the High Renaissance
Donatello (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi)
1386 - 1466
Donatello was the son of Nicolo di Betto
Bardi, a member of the Florentine
Woolcombers Guild, and was born in
Florence, probably in 1386. Donatello was
educated in the house of the Martelli family.
However, he received his first training
(according to the custom of the period) in a
goldsmith’s workshop, and that he worked for
a short time in Lorenzo Ghiberti's studio.
While pursuing their studies on classic soil,
the two young men made a living by working
at the goldsmiths' shops. This Roman sojourn
was decisive for the entire development of
Italian art in the 15th century, for it was during
this period that Brunelleschi undertook his
measurements of the Pantheon dome and of
other Roman buildings. Brunelleschi's
buildings and Donatello's monuments are the
supreme expression of the spirit of this era in
architecture and sculpture and exercised a
potent influence upon the painters of that age.
St George, (c.1415) Florence
Mary Magdalen, (c.1455), wood, Florence
Donatello has placed the head of Goliath at David’s
feet.
The battle is over, David is the victor.
David
DETAIL of head
c. 1444-46 BCE
Bronze
Height 158 cm
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence
Leonardo da Vinci
(1452-1519)
LEONARDO: RENAISSANCE
POLYMATH
"There has never been an artist who
was more fittingly, and without
qualification, described as a genius.
Like Shakespeare, Leonardo came
from an insignificant background and
rose to universal acclaim. Leonardo
was the illegitimate son of a local
lawyer in the small town of Vinci in the
Tuscan region. His father
acknowledged him and paid for his
training, but we may wonder whether
the strangely self-sufficient tone of
Leonardo's mind was not perhaps
affected by his early ambiguity of
status. The definitive polymath, he had
almost too many gifts, including
superlative male beauty, a splendid
singing voice, magnificent physique,
mathematical excellence, scientific
daring ... the list is endless. This
overabundance of talents caused him
to treat his artistry lightly, seldom
finishing a picture, and sometimes
making rash technical experiments.
1568
Woodcut
La Giaconda
1503-1506
Oil on wood
77 x 53 cm (30 x 20 7/8 in.)
Louvre, Paris
The Last Supper
1498
Tempera on plaster 460x880cm
Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie
(Refectory), Milan
Leonardo da Vinci, Study of the Human Body
Leonardo da Vinci, Isabella d'Este
Lady with an Ermine
1483-90 (150 Kb); Oil on wood, 53.4 x 39.3 cm (21 x 15 1/2 in); Czartoryski Museum, Cracow
Leda
MICHELANGELO
1475-1564
In full MICHELANGELO DI
LODOVICO BUONARROTI
SIMONI (b. March 6, 1475,
Caprese, Republic of Florence
[Italy]--d. Feb. 18, 1564,
Rome), Italian Renaissance
sculptor, painter, architect,
and poet who exerted an
unparalleled influence on the
development of Western art.
Michelangelo. The Fall of Man and the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden. 1508-1512. Fresco. Sistine Chapel, Vatican
The Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo painted the
ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel from 1508 to
1512, commissioned by
Pope Julius II. On
becoming pope in 1503,
Julius II reasserted papal
authority over the
Roman barons and
successfully backed the
restauration of the
Medici in Florence. He
was a liberal patron of
the arts, commissioning
Bramante to build St
Peter's Church,
Michelangelo to paint the
Sistine Chapel, and
Raphael to decorate the
Vatican apartments.
Sybille de Cummes
Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City
Sibyls were female seers of ancient Greece and Rome. They were also known as oracles. Like the Jewish
prophets of the Old Testament, many sibyls had their sayings recorded in books. Jewish prophets spoke
unbidden, whereas sibyls tended to speak only if consulted on specific questions. They sometimes answered in
riddles or rhetorical questions.
Michelangelo : Genesis
The Creation of Adam
The Temptation of Adam and Eve
The Creation of Eve
The Separation of Light and Darkness
Creation of the Sun and Moon
Michelangelo’s David
Michelangelo has shown David just
before battle, or is it the moment
David decides he will fight Goliath?
David
Michelangelo, 1504
Marble, height 517 cm
Galleria dell'Accademia
Raffaelo Sanzio
(1483-1520)
"Raffaelo Sanzio was the
youngest of the three giants of
the High Renaissance. He was
born in Urbino in 1483 and
received his first instruction in
the techniques of painting from
his father, Giovanni Santi, a
minor artist. Urbino, where
Raphael spent his youth, was
also the seat of the warfaring but
art-loving condottiere Federico
11 da Montefeltro. At Federico's
court, Raphael was introduced to
the works of such artists as
Paolo Uccello, Luca Signorelli,
Melozzo da Forlí and Francesco
di Giorgio, as well as the Flemish
artists Hieronymus Bosch and
joos van Gent. At the age of
seventeen, his father sent him to
Perugia to become an apprentice
under the highly-regarded
Raphael
Perugino.
The small Cowper Madonna
c. 1505 Oil on wood
(59.5 x 44 cm)
Raphael
The School of Athens
1510-11 Fresco
Vatican, Stanza della Segnatura, Rome
Raphael
Madonna and Child Enthroned, with Saints
1504-05
Tempera, oil, and gold on wood
Main panel 66 7/8 x 67 7/8 in. (169.9 x 172.4 cm)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Raphael, The Alba Madonna 1511 Oil on canvas, diameter 98 cmNational Gallery of Art, Washington
The first quarter of the 16th century is generally termed the 'High
Renaissance'. It is the period when the leading artists had sufficient
technical expertise to achieve virtually any naturalistic effect they
wished, coupled with a controlling, Classically-based intelligence which
imposed visual harmony and compositional balance while eliminating
gratuitous detail. Although most of the leading protagonists were
Florentine - Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael - the centre of
production had shifted to Rome (where these three men worked) and to
Venice, where Bellini, Giorgione and Titian were creating their own High
Renaissance style.
Giovani Bellini
(c. 1430-1516)
"Brother of Gentile and
son of Jacopo, Giovanni
Bellini was probably the
greatest of the Bellini
dynasty. He was the preeminent teacher of his
generation, with a
sizeable workshop staffed
by pupils and assistants,
among whom were
Giorgione and Titian. Like
his brother, he became
chief painter to the State,
although Titian tried
desperately to usurp him.
Bellini, Giovanni Giovanni Emo
c. 1475-83 Oil on wood
19 1/4 x 13 7/8 in. (49 x 35 cm)
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Bellini, Giovanni
The Feast of the Gods
1514 Oil on canvas
67 x 74 in. (170 x 188 cm)
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Giorgione
(1478?-1510)
"If the classical painters of central Italy
had achieved the new complete harmony
within their pictures by means of perfect
design and balanced arrangement, it was
only natural that the painters of Venice
should follow the lead of Giovanni
Bellini, who made such happy use of
colour and light to unify his pictures. It
was in this sphere that the painter
Giorgione achieved the most
revolutionary results. Very little is known
of this artist; scarcely five paintings can
be ascribed with absolute certainty to his
hand. Yet these suffice to secure him a
fame nearly as great as that of the great
leaders of the new movement. Strangely
enough, even these pictures contain
something of a puzzle.
Giorgione
The tempest c. 1508 Oil on canvas
82 x 73 cm (32 1/4 x 28 3/4 in.)
Accademia, Venice
Giorgione, Giorgio da Castelfranco
Venus Asleep c. 1510 Oil on canvas
108 x 175 cm
Gemaeldegallerie Alte Meister, Dresden
Titian (Tiziano Vicelio)
(1485-1576)
"Almost sixty years separate
Titian's Portrait of a Man (the socalled Ariosto) in the National
Gallery, London, and his Jacopo
Strada, now in Vienna, dated
1568. This broad span of time
frames Titian's career as a
portrait painter. About one
hundred portraits are extant,
making it possible to follow both
the stylistic and human progress
of the artist (the development of
his art, but also the events,
meetings and successes of his
life) as well as the course of
Italian and European history in
the sixteenth century, exemplified
through the images of the
protagonists of political, religious
and cultural power.
Giorgione/Titian
Pastoral Scene (Fete Champetre)1508
Oil on canvas 105 x 136 cm
Musee du Louvre, Paris
Titian
The Concert c. 1510
Oil on canvas 86.5 x 123.5 cm
Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti, Florence
Titian
Sacred and Profane Love 1514
118 x 279 cm
Borghese Gallery, Rome
Titian
Diana and Callisto 1559
Oil on canvas 187 x 205 cm
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Titian
Venus and Adonis
c. 1555 Oil on canvas
42 x 53 1/2 in. (106.8 x 136 cm)
National Gallery of Art, Washington