Art and Artists in the Italian Renaissance

The 1400s (known as the Quattrocento) and the 1500s (known as the Cinquecento) were periods of dazzling creativity in

painting, architecture, and sculpture in Italy.

The Revolution in Painting, Sculpture, and Architiecture

Much can be traced back to three men in Florence (the center of the Renaissance during the Quattrocento). All three knew each

other and are sometimes referred to as the “three friends”

*all three wanted to apply humanist lessons to art and even go beyond the humanist lessons. They didn’t want to just

imitate the ancients…they wanted to bring art to life

*all three went to Rome in the 1420s to observe and study ancient masterpieces in order to recreate qualities so they

could fulfill the humanist goal of reviving the spirit of classical times

*they measured; took notes; and calculated the sizes and proportions in works of art and architecture. With this

information, they were able to transform the styles and purposes of art

1. Masaccio (1401-1428?) painter

His new emphasis was on nature, on three dimensionality (of the people in his works), and on the use of perspective

He painted numerous frescoes in several of the churches in Florence. By using perspective, he was able to add depth

to his works. Also note the use of rounded arches (in the old Roman style)in the background, rather than the pointed

arches that were indicative of the Medieval Gothic style of architecture. The churches that contained his works became

popular with others studying art who sought to adopt his style

2. Donatello (1386-1466) sculptor

His sculpted figures had the same 3-dimensional qualities that Masaccio’s paintings had. He sculpted free-standing

works (instead of the sculptures that were sculpted on the walls of the cathedrals in medieval times). Like the ancients,

he focused on the beauty of the body—his reason for his focus of sculpting nudes. His bronze statue of a David

contemplating his triumph over Goliath was the first free-standing nude statue since antiquity

3. Brunelleschi (1377-1446) architect

The Florentines had been working on a new cathedral for years (they planned for it to be the greatest in Europe—to

mirror the greatness of Florence), and the plan called for a large dome to be built but no one knew how to build one

in western Europe at the time. The city held a competition to find someone with a plan to build a dome. Brunelleschi

went to Rome and studied and measured the Pantheon there in great detail. His plan for building the dome in Florence

won the competition. He built a dome in rings without using scaffolding, and that dome became the hallmark of the

Renaissance in Florence. His work inspired the Renaissance architects who came after him.

**All three of these men imitated ancient Roman styles. Therefore, their works show a distinctive break with the more

immediate medieval past.

Remainder of the Quattrocento

A succession of artists…not just in Florence but all over Italy (although Florence was still the center)…built on the pioneers.

They experimented with perspective and made close observations of nature (realism in art became a central goal). Sculptors

created monumental figures (a popular type was men on horseback in the Roman imperial style) and architects perfected the use

of rounded arches and symmetrical forms. The subject matter of art changed…an increasing number of portraits of

contemporaries (regular folks…of this world) were made. Some artwork depicted stories out of Greek/Roman mythology.

However, plenty of works still had religious themes too (but in the Middle Ages virtually all work had religious themes)

The High Renaissance—the Cinquecento (in the 1500s)

During this time period, Rome became the center of the artistic Renaissance in Italy. During this period the influence of

Neoplatonism can be seen in much of the artwork. After achieving the ultimate realism in artwork, many artists instead sought to

portray the ideal (like Plato’s ideal forms). Four artists brought the movement to its peak during this period:

1. Leonardo da Vinci—a man of many talents, his artistic pieces were marvels of technical skill utilizing difficult angles, tricks

of perspective and bizarre geological formations. Later he tried to bring psychology to art…to show what his subjects were

feeling and thinking

2. Raphael—used perspective and ancient styles to create works of harmony, balance, and serenity.

3. Michelangelo—painter, architect, and sculptor (among other things) He is sometimes seen as the embodiment of his age. He

was always seeking new effects; and always conveyed a sense of latent strength and striving in his figures (these were hallmarks

of his works. His Creation of Adam and David are really good examples of the idealized form

4. Titian—a Venetian…where art took a different turn…humanism was not so central…Venice was a down to earth city.

Titian’s art fit Venice.

He was one of the most sought after portraitists in Europe.

Status and Perception of Art and Artists

Before the Renaissance (and even into the early Renaissance) artists were viewed as craftsmen…no better than a mason or

carpenter, etc. They belonged to guilds and went to through an apprenticeship(Ex. Michelangelo was trained as a fresco painter,

Donatello and Brunelleschi were trained as goldsmiths) like other craftsmen and had to follow the rules that governed their

craft…if they broke those rules they were punished by the guild.

Art was important but no one really considered that artists deserved special respect …all that changed with the coming of

humanism and the new emphasis on art and the artist. Changes included:

1. humanists recognized that the most convincing recreations of the achievements of the ancients were in art

letters/writing was not so vivid…so art was much more important…so were artists

2. humanists had a new interest in personal fame (seeking glory in this life was OK…not so in MA). Nobles won fame

as warriors in MA now nobles could win fame as patrons of the greatest artists…it was a way for your fame to

live on forever.

*Humanists later believed that truly moral people must balance the vita contempletiva with the vita activa…

that came to include cultivating the fine arts in addition to cultivating the martial arts—another reason for

nobles (and wealthy middle class merchants) to become patrons of the arts. It became a competition—to

be the best patron (supporting the greatest artists)…even women competed (Ex. Isabella D’Este-see text)

*Now it was OK for artists to seek personal fame and glory too…in the MA artists did not sign

their works…supposed to be for the glory of God…in the Renaissance they usually did sign their works…

could be for the glory of God and for individual glory. Wealthy patrons made it possible for artists to perfect

their skills

**the end result was that this new attitude transformed the status of artists—they became like celebrities. Artists were highly

prized at the courts of the aristocrats…EX. The Medici court…which was envied by the wealthy throughout Europe and when

two of the Medicis became pope during the 1500s, they brought Michelangelo and Raphael to Rome to do their work. With the

patronage of the papacy, Rome became the leading center of Renaissance art in Italy (and the Church became a leading patron)

The Advent of Art History

Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) was a leading protégé of the Medicis—he had designed, built and decorated the Uffizi (a Medici

palace…now a famous Renaissance art museum) in Florence. He wanted to understand how and why artists were showered with

privileges (as they were by the 1500s when he lived) because he wanted to understand his own good fortune (a little vita

contempletiva!) As a result, he studied the development of art and ended up writing the first major work of what became a new

field of study---ART HISTORY

Vasari claimed that some artists were filled with a special spirit…an artistic genius that set them apart from others…and the

people with this artistic genius had received a new status in society that was richly deserved. He believed that it was only right

that they were accepted into high levels of society.

In the later Renaissance, artists had become independent wealthy men in their own right…members of the upper class that were

no longer just attached to the court of a noble