renaissance revision

Renaissance ArtRenaissance Art

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Renaissance ArchitectureRenaissance Architecture

Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, in which there was a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Classical Greek and Roman thought and material culture.The Renaissance style places emphasis on symmetry, proportion, geometry and the regularity of parts as they are demonstrated in the architecture of Classical antiquity and in particular, the architecture of Ancient Rome, of which many examples remained. Orderly arrangements of columns, pilasters and lintels, as well as the use of semicircular arches, hemispherical domes, niches and aedicules replaced the more complex proportional systems and irregular profiles of medieval buildings


Historians often use the following designations:

Renaissance (ca. 1400–1500); also known as the Quattrocento and sometimes Early Renaissance High Renaissance (ca.1500–1525) Mannerism (ca. 1520–1600)


QuattrocentoIn the Quattrocento, concepts of architectural order were explored and rules were formulated. The study of classical antiquity led in particular to the adoption of Classical detail and ornamentation.Space, as an element of architecture, was utilised differently to the way it had been in the Middle Ages. Space was organised by proportional logic, its form and rhythm subject to geometry, rather than being created by intuition as in Medieval buildings. The prime example of this is the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence by Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446


High RenaissanceDuring the High Renaissance, concepts derived from classical antiquity were developed and used with greater surety. The most representative architect is Bramante (1444–1514) who expanded the applicability of classical architecture to contemporary buildings. His San Pietro in Montorio (1503) was directly inspired by circular Roman temples. He was, however, hardly a slave to the classical forms and it was his style that was to dominate Italian architecture in the 16th century


MannerismDuring the Mannerist period, architects experimented with using architectural forms to emphasize solid and spatial relationships. The Renaissance ideal of harmony gave way to freer and more imaginative rhythms. The best known architect associated with the Mannerist style was Michelangelo (1475–1564), who is credited with inventing the giant order, a large pilaster that stretches from the bottom to the top of a facade. He used this in his design for the Campidoglio in Rome.Prior to the 20th century, the term Mannerism had negative connotations, but it is now used to describe the historical period in more general non-judgemental terms


Characteristics of Renaissance architecture:The obvious distinguishing features of Classical Roman architecture were adopted by Renaissance architects. However, the forms and purposes of buildings had changed over time. So had the structure of cities. Among the earliest buildings of the reborn Classicism were churches of a type that the Romans had never constructed. Neither were there models for the type of large city dwellings required by wealthy merchants of the 15th century. Conversely, there was no call for enormous sporting fixtures and public bath houses such as the Romans had built. The ancient orders were analysed and reconstructed to serve new purposes


Elements: PlanThe plans of Renaissance buildings have a square, symmetrical appearance in which proportions are usually based on a module. Within a church the module is often the width of an aisle.The need to integrate the design of the plan with the façade was introduced as an issue in the work of Filippo Brunelleschi, but he was never able to carry this aspect of his work into fruition. The first building to demonstrate this was St. Andrea in Mantua by Alberti. The development of the plan in secular architecture was to take place in the 16th century and culminated with the work of Palladio


Elements: FacadeFaçades are symmetrical around their vertical axis. Church facades are generally surmounted by a pediment and organized by a system of pilasters, arches and entablatures. The columns and windows show a progression towards the centre. Domestic buildings are often surmounted by a cornice. There is a regular repetition of openings on each floor, and the centrally placed door is marked by a feature such as a balcony, or rusticated surround. An early and much copied prototype was the façade for the Palazzo Rucellai (1446 and 1451) in Florence with its three registers of pilasters


Elements: Columns and PilastersThe Roman orders of columns are used:- Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite. The orders can either be structural, supporting an arcade or architrave, or purely decorative, set against a wall in the form of pilasters. During the Renaissance, architects aimed to use columns, pilasters, and entablatures as an integrated system.


Elements: ArchesArches are semi-circular or (in the Mannerist style) segmental. Arches are often used in arcades, supported on piers or columns with capitals. There may be a section of entablature between the capital and the springing of the arch. Vaults

Elements: VaultsVaults do not have ribs. They are semi-circular or segmental and on a square plan, unlike the Gothic vault which is frequently rectangular. The barrel vault, is returned to architectural vocabulary.


Elements: Domes The dome is used frequently, both as a very large structural feature that is visible from the exterior, and also as a means of roofing smaller spaces where they are only visible internally. Domes had been used only rarely in the Middle Ages, but after the success of the dome in Brunelleschi’s design for the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore and its use in Bramante’s plan for St. Peter's Basilica (1506) in Rome, the dome became an indispensable element in church architecture and later even for secular architecture, such as Palladio's Villa Rotonda.[12]

Elements: CeilingsRoofs are fitted with flat or coffered ceilings. They are not left open as in Medieval architecture. They are frequently painted or decorated.


Elements: DoorsDoor usually have square lintels. They may be set within an arch or surmounted by a triangular or segmental pediment. Openings that do not have doors are usually arched and frequently have a large or decorative keystone.

Elements: WindowsWindows may be paired and set within a semi-circular arch. They may have square lintels and triangular or segmental pediments, which are often used alternately. Windows are used to bring light into the building and in domestic architecture, to give views. Stained glass, although sometimes present, is not a feature.

Renaissance ArchitectureRenaissance ArchitectureElements: Walls

External walls are generally of highly-finished ashlar masonry, laid in straight courses. The corners of buildings are often emphasised by rusticated “quoins”. Basements and ground floors were often rusticated. Internal walls are smoothly plastered and surfaced with white-chalk paint. For more formal spaces, internal surfaces are decorated with frescoes.

Elements: DetailsCourses, mouldings and all decorative details are carved with great precision. Studying and mastering the details of the ancient Romans was one of the important aspects of Renaissance theory. The different orders each required different sets of details. Mouldings stand out around doors and windows rather than being recessed, as in Gothic Architecture. Sculptured figures may be set in niches or placed on plinths. They are not integral to the building as in Medieval architecture


Influences of the Italian Renaissance:Italy never fully adopted Gothic style.Independent cities influenced in the movement of artists.Cities had a prosperous trade.The return of the Pope to Rome gave new impetus to religiosity.The development of printing made possible the expansion of ideas and the desire of acquiring knowledge.Humanism made of the man the centre of Univers.Patronage made possible artists’ work.


Quattocento: BrunelleschiThe underlying feature of the work of Brunelleschi was "order".The buildings remaining among the ruins of ancient Rome appeared to respect a simple mathematical order in the way that Gothic buildings did not. One incontrovertible rule governed all Ancient Roman architecture—a semi-circular arch is exactly twice as wide as it is high. From the observation of the architecture of Rome came a desire for symmetry and careful proportion in which the form and composition of the building as a whole and all its subsidiary details have fixed relationships, each section in proportion to the next, and the architectural features serving to define exactly what those rules of proportion are.Works: Florencia’s Cathedral dome, Hospital degli Innocenti, San Lorenzo


Quattrocento: MichelozzoHe was an architect under the patronage of the Medici family, his most famous work being the Palazzo Medici Riccardi. A decade later he built the Villa Medici at Fiesole. He was one of the first architects to work in the Renaissance style outside Italy.The Palazzo Medici Riccardi is Classical in the details of its pedimented window and recessed doors, but, unlike the works of Brunelleschi and Alberti, there are no orders of columns in evidence. Instead, Michelozzo has respected the Florentine liking for rusticated stone. He has seemingly created three orders out of the three defined rusticated levels, the whole being surmounted by an enormous Roman-style cornice which juts out over the street by 2.5 meters.


Quattrocento: AlbertiAlberti perceived the architect as a person with great social responsibilities.He designed a number of buildings, but unlike Brunelleschi, he did not see himself as a builder in a practical sense and so left the supervision of the work Dynamic buildings.Triumphal façades marked by extreme contrasts. Projection of the order of pilasters that define the architectural elements.The light and shade play dramatically over the surface of the building. Works: San Andres of Mantua, Palazzo Rucellai and Santa Maria Novella.


High Renaissance: BramanteIn Rome Bramante created what has been described as "a perfect architectural gem", the Tempietto in the Cloister of San Pietro in Montorio. This small circular temple marks the spot where St Peter was martyred. The building adapts the style apparent in the remains of the Temple of Vesta, the most sacred site of Ancient Rome. It is enclosed by and in spatial contrast with the cloister which surrounds it. Bramante went on to work at the Vatican where he designed the impressive Cortili of St. Damaso and of the Belvedere. In 1506 Bramante’s design for Pope Julius II’s rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica was selected, and the foundation stone laid. Works: San Pietro in Montorio, Santa Maria delle Grazie


High Renaissance: SangalloHis fame rests upon his association with the Farnese Palace, “the grandest palace of this period”, started in 1530. The impression of grandness lies in part in its sheer size, (56 m long by 29.5 meters high) and in its lofty location overlooking a broad piazza. It is also a building of beautiful proportion, unusual for such a large and luxurious house of the date in having been built principally of stuccoed brick, rather than of stone. Against the smooth pink-washed walls the stone quoins of the corners, the massive rusticated portal and the stately repetition of finely-detailed windows give a powerful effect, setting a new standard of elegance in palace-building.


Mannerism: MichelangeloMichelangelo’s dome of Saint Peter was a masterpiece of design using two masonry shells, one within the other and crowned by a massive lantern supported, as at Florence, on ribs. For the exterior of the building he designed a giant order which defines every external bay, the whole lot being held together by a wide cornice which runs unbroken like a rippling ribbon around the entire building.Laurentian library: It is a long low building with an ornate wooden ceiling, a matching floor and crowded with corrals. But it is a light room, the natural lighting streaming through a long row of windows that appear positively crammed between the order of pilasters that march along the wall. The vestibule, on the other hand, is tall, taller than it is wide and is crowded by a large staircase that pours out of the library, and bursts in three directions when it meets the balustrade of the landing. It is an intimidating staircase, made all the more so because the rise of the stairs at the centre is steeper than at the two sides, fitting only eight steps into the space of nine.


Mannerism: PalladioPalladio was to transform the architectural style of both palaces and churches by taking a different perspective on the notion of Classicism.When he used the “triumphal arch” motif of a large arched opening with lower square-topped opening on either side, he invariably applied it on a small scale, such as windows. This Ancient Roman motif is often referred to as the Palladian Arch.Works: Villa Capra, San Giorgio Maggiore.


Geography: FranceDuring the early years of the 16th century the French were involved in wars in northern Italy, bringing back to France not just the Renaissance art treasures as their war booty, but also stylistic ideas. In the Loire Valley a wave of building was carried and many Renaissance chateaux appeared at this time, the earliest example being the Château d'Amboise (c. 1495) in which Leonardo da Vinci spent his last years. The style became dominant under Francis I .


Geography: NetherlandsAs in painting, Renaissance architecture took some time to reach the Netherlands and did not entirely supplant the Gothic elements. In the early 17th century developed the Amsterdam Renaissance style, not slavishly following the classical style but incorporating many decorative elements, and giving a result that could also be categorized as Mannerism. Local characteristics include the prevalence of tall narrow town-houses, the "trapgevel" or Dutch gable and the employment of decorative triangular pediments over doors and windows in which the apex rises much more steeply than in most other Renaissance architecture, but in keeping with the profile of the gable.


Geography: EnglandRenaissance architecture arrived in England during the reign of Elizabeth I, having first spread through the Low countries where among other features it acquired versions of the Dutch gable, and Flemish strap work in geometric designs adorning the walls. The new style tended to manifest itself in large square tall houses such as Longleat House.The first great exponent of Renaissance architecture in England was Inigo Jones (1573–1652), who had studied architecture in Italy where the influence of Palladio was very strong. He began to design such buildings as the Queen's House at Greenwich and the Banqueting House at Whitehall. These works, with their clean lines, and symmetry were revolutionary in a country still enamoured with mullion windows, crenelations and turrets


Geography: SpainIn Spain, Renaissance began to be grafted to Gothic forms in the last decades of the 15th century. The new style is called Plateresque, because of the extremely decorated facades, that brought to the mind the decorative motifs of the intricately detailed work of silversmiths, the “Plateros”. Classical orders and candelabra motifs (a candelieri) combined freely into symmetrical wholes.From the mid-sixteenth century, under such architects as Pedro Machuca, Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera there was a closer adherence to the art of ancient Rome, sometimes anticipating Manierism, examples of which include the palace of Charles V in Granada and the Escorial.

Renaissance SculptureRenaissance Sculpture

The discovery of the nature and the human body were more important than the imitation of Antiquity.The polychromes, the gilding and the various techniques employed emphasize the pictorial quality of the works. An innovation was that the artist was no longer content to be a mere craftsman, but he had the mission of adorn.Sculpture and painting are going to be together many times.Projects were important in cities such as Florence were competitions were hold when they had to command an important work, as in the case of the Doors of the Baptistery.


During the Quattrocento there is an intention to define an idealized, perfect bur naturalistic representation of the human body.The novelty is the concept of beauty embodied by youth, whereas the gerontocracy in power strove to relegate the young and adolescent to the sidelines of social life.The sculptures have three characteristics:

Gothic traditionRenewal of AntiquityResource to the single point of view that underlines frontality.


Tomb sculpture.The wall tomb was the favourite framework used by the Renaissance sculpture.The backed tombs were contaminated by the successive forms taken by altarpieces: the recess was surrounded by statuette aligned vertically on the pilasters.Artists adopted a tripartite structure, contrasting the central arcade, which emphasized the image of the deceased with lateral niches containing statues of saints or virtues.The development of the representation of the dead denoted a new conception of the portrait. Depiction of faces was often dictated by the concept of the ideal


Revival of the equestrian statueLife-size representation of a horse and rider was and attractive subject for sculptors but did not become possible until the second half of the century, due to the cost of execution and technical problems to cast the bronze.The monuments were reserved to the representation of the civic and secular virtues of illustrious men and took as a model the Marcus Aurelius.Previously other models in short-lived materials were used.The best examples are the Condottiero Gattamelata made by Donatello, and the Condottiero Colleoni, work of Verrochio.


The portrait The art of medallist developed They tended to specify and define the natural features of an individual, with attention to physiognomy and its psychological bearing, and without forgetting the course of the time.Female portraits implied a searching focus on the beauty of woman, and inspired the artist to a celebration of beauty, with a softer and more tender treatment.


Nude There is a predominance of male nudes. They follow the Gothic tradition.Female nudes appear in small bronze statues, imitating the antique statuary.Male nude kept the workshops especially busy.Some of the models are those made by Michelangelo: Bacchus and, later on, David.


Mannerism Works oscillated between the fantastic and the maniera (following the example of Michelangelo)Sometimes the ideal took preferencePowerful images opposed to elongated weightless onesUndulating spirals animated groups and twisted sinuous bodiesExaggerated expression to the point of morbidity and the bizarre was preferredInstead of being a sign of decadence, the diversity shows an art in search of itself.


Materials and techniqueBronze substituted other precious materials. It was casted and finished by chisel. At the beginning it was not highly polishedExtensive use of marble and fine calcareous stonesDetails of images are sometimes gildedBackgrounds can be coloured


Authors and examples:Ghiberti: Doors of the Baptistery in Florence (East Doors and Paradise Doors)Donatello: David, Condottiero GattamelataMichelangelo: (Terribilita) Pieties, David, Medici’s TombsMannerism:• Cellini: Perseus• Berruguete: Toledo’s Choir stalls• Leoni: Charles V’s portraits


Mannerism:Materials: stucco, a mix of plaster, lime and sometimes powdered marble is well suited for modelling.The search for effect was often concentrate on polychrome sculpture.Fountains appear combining sculpture with the effects of water.In tombs marble and bronze are the main materials.Artists were itinerant, attracted by rulers to their courts.

Renaissance PaintingRenaissance Painting

Naturalism: people must be represented as they areobservation is essential

Rationalism:Things are represented following the reasonUse of perspective and backgrounds

Universalism:Subjects general for any cultureRelated to human beings


Idealisation:Characters are idealisedThey do not have deformations

Order, proportion and harmony:Things transmit calm and serenity

Perfection:Works perfectly finishedAttention to the small detail


SupportsWall painting was frequent in Italy; mosaic left way to mural painting in VeniceEven if the canvas advanced, wood was of frequent usePoliptics were common in Spain and Northern Europe whereas in Italy they used an only panel.


Techniques:In Italy the fresco continuedBook illumination lost importance with the printed booksEngraving on wood and on copper developedDrawing became more importantTemple was replaced by oil systematically


Themes:Religious continued being important, mainly in Northern Europe and Spain.In Italy mythology was more importantPortrait developed Landscape, without being independent, acquired more importance in the paintings


Composition:Space was rationalised with the resource to lineal and atmospheric perspectiveThe organization of the painting put more attention in the centre than in the peripherySometimes the shapes are organised following simple shapes.The background used traditional motives or architectures of Roman inspiration.


Drawing, colour and brushstroke:Gold disappeared, the same as light colours in the strategic areas of the paintingPalette diversified, being commonly lightOil painting permitted the use of delicate nuances (transparencies, luminosity)Triumph of the sfumato.


Images:Faces are full of a new realismBodies must be convinced by the imitation of real forms.Worry for idealization, especially in nudes, using canons of beautyThe normalisation of beauty led to the apparition of their antagonists, with grotesque or caricaturized images.

Mannerist PaintingMannerist Painting

Technique and support:Are the same as those of the RenaissanceFormat of paintings:

• Big in churches and palaces• Small for stamps

Themes:Religious were frequentMythology and allegory depiction improvedPortrait developed more

Mannerist PaintingMannerist Painting

Composition, drawing, colour and brushstrokes:

Everything tried to create surpriseCompositions are not centred Colours are not commonImages are numerous

Images:They try to surpriseDeformations and complicated lines

Renaissance PaintersRenaissance Painters

Massacio:Material characters with power and dignityPerfection of detailSense of tactile valuesHe painted frescoesWorks: Brancaci Chapel


Ucello:Famous for his paintings that remain medieval periodInterested in perspectiveFigures appeared solid and realHe did not know how to use light and shadePreocupation with applied geometryWorks: San Romano’s Battle


Filippo Lippi:Author of crowded fresco scenesMadonnas and saints holy, sereneHis works were more naturalistic with the time.He used tempera.Work of precision, depth and fluidityWorks: Madonna


Fra Angelico:He used a simple style, sacrificing perspective to it.He produced many frescoesHis works are elegant and delicateWorks: Annunciation, frescoes at San Marco’s convent.


Piero della FrancescaPerspective and geometry are dominant in his worksHe liked to organise large, plain masses of colour in patters which suggest and underlyin geometrical schemeLight paletteLarge areas of white or near-whiteWorks: The Baptism of Christ, The Nativity.


BotticelliIndividual and graceful stylePure visual poetryDenial of rational spatial construction and no attempt to model solid-looking figuresFigures float on the forward plane, agains a decorative landscapeForm outlinedPersonal type of femenine beautyWorks: The Spring, The Birth of Venus


MantegnaMastery of perspectiveAdapt the scene to low viewpointScorzoWorks: Death Christ

BelliniFamous for his portraitsLarge-scale narrative paintingsWorks: Portrait of the Dux


LeonardoDelicate treatment of the characters portrayedLack of rigidity in the contoursSfumato or special way of changing colours, covering them with shadowsDirect gazes of enigmatic meaningVariety of techniques not always successfulWorks: Mona Lisa, The Virgin of the Rocks, Saint John


RaphaelClear organization of the compositionAvoidance of excessive detailExpansive style of composition which presented itself as a homogeneous and easily intellegible wholePainting was no longer to be a portrayal of an event but an interpretation of its subject-matterHe adopted the innovations of Leonardo and MichelangeloWorks: The Athens School, Madonna Sixtina, The Weddings of the Virgin.


MichelangeloHis characters are depicted in an sculptoric way, with an important entityImages are full of movement Characteristic terribilitáRichness of colours, light in generalWorks: Ceiling of the Sixtine Chapel, Panel of the Last Judgement, Tondo Doni


GiorgioneThe landscape is more that just the backgroundImages depicted without detailWork: The Tempest

TitianHistory paintingsPortraits with high level of felicityWorks: Charles V at Mülbherg, Baccanal

VeroneseRegular volumesStrong colours and great contrastsConventionalised figuresWorks: marriage at Cana


DürerThe greatest artist of Northern RenaissanceFirst author who painted self-portraitsWoodcuts and engravingsAuthor of magnificent altarpieces and powerful portraitsDiversity of subjects in his watercoloursWorks: Adan and Eve, Self-portrait


GrünewaldReligious paintings of visionary expressivenessIntense colours and agitated linesWork: The Isenheim Altarpiece

Holbeing the YoungerExcellent portratistPortraits do not reveal the personalityTaste for illusionist effectsWorks: Henry VIII , The Ambassadors

Cranach the ElderPortraits and female nudesWorks: Luther, Duke Henry of Saxony


Yañez de la AlmedinaIntroduced the High Renaissance in Spain

MasipCombined Italian and Netherlandish influences

Juan de JuanesIdeal Counter-Reformation imagesInfluences of Leonardo and RaphaelSfumato effects

Mannerist PaintersMannerist Painters

CorregioConscious elegance, soft sfumato and gestures of captivating charmSensuous mythologies, as his Venuses

TintorettoFigures full of heathEffects of light and shadowColossal conception of the human but with elegance

Mannerist PaintersMannerist Painters

MoralesDevotional images influenced by Leonardo

Sanchez CoelloPioneer of the Spanish portrait paintingEase of pose and execution, dignity and sobriety and warmth of colouring

El GrecoInfluenced by the mysticism of Counter-ReformationElongated figuresIntense and unusual colourArdour and energy

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