The Italian Renaissance

Art of and Emerging Modern Europe

The Early RenaissanceCentered 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 RenaissanceCentered 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.

• Raphael,The School of Athens:1509-11 AD. Socrates, Xenophon, Eschines and Alcibiades

As people became more involved in society, government and business, they no longer focused all their attention on religious matters.

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=RebirthThe Middle Ages are so called because they fall between twin peaks of

artistic glory.

The Classical PeriodThe Renaissance

The Middle AgesAncient Greece Ancient Rome

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.

InfluencesRoman to Renaissance

Polyclitus,Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)Roman copy after Polyclitus, c.450-440 BCE

Lifesize

Donatello, St. George,1416 BCE, Marble

210 cm

Here is an example of the use of contraposto, which emerged

in antiquity.

4 Major breakthroughsOil on stretched

canvasPerspectiveChiaroscuroPyramid configuration

In painting, more and more artists turned their attention to creating depth and form to replace the flat, two-dimensional surfaces that characterized medieval pictures.

Oil on stretched canvas

St.George’s Battle with the Dragon VITALE DA BOLOGNA

around 1350Tempera on wood, 80 x 70 cmPinacoteca 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.

“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

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

PerspectiveOne 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.

‘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.

In the beginning...

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.

1426-27Fresco, 255 x 598 cmCappella Brancacci, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence

Masaccio

ChiaroscuroThe 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 RocksLEONARDO da Vinci1452 - 1519Full 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 ConfigurationRigid 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 cleaningTempera on plaster460 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 DragonDETAIL of St Georgec. 1455-60Tempera on canvas56.5 x 74 cmNational Gallery, London

UCCELLO, PaoloSaint George and the Dragon c. 1455-60Tempera on canvas56.5 x 74 cmNational Gallery, London

UCCELLO, PaoloThe Rout of San Romano c. 1456National Gallery, London

This was a first!

Sandro Botticelli

(Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi)c. 1445-1510Italian 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 Pre-Raphaelites.

Botticelli, Sandro,St. Augustine 1480Fresco (transferred to canvas) 185 x 123 cmOgnissanti, Florence

Botticelli, SandroPortrait of a Young Man c. 1480-85Wood, 37.5 x 28.2 cmNational Gallery, London

Botticelli, Sandro Primavera c.1482Tempera on wood 203 x 314 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Botticelli, SandroThe birth of Venus c.1485Tempera on canvas 172.5 x 278.5 cm Uffizi, Florence

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.

Domenico Ghirlandio(1449-94)

Ghirlandaio, DomenicoAdoration of the Shepherds 1485167 x 167 cm WoodSanta Trinita, Sassetti Chapel, Florence

Ghirlandaio, Domenico The VisitationWood 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.

DavidDETAIL of headc. 1444-46 BCEBronzeHeight 158 cmMuseo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence

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.

Leonardo da VinciLeonardo da Vinci(1452-1519)

1568

Woodcut

La Giaconda1503-1506Oil on wood77 x 53 cm (30 x 20 7/8 in.)Louvre, Paris

The Last Supper1498Tempera on plaster 460x880cmConvent of Santa Maria delle Grazie(Refectory), Milan

Leonardo da Vinci, Isabella d'Este

Leonardo da Vinci, Study of the Human Body

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

MICHELANGELO1475-1564

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

David

Michelangelo, 1504

Marble, height 517 cm

Galleria dell'Accademia

Michelangelo has shown David just before battle, or is it the

moment David decides he will fight Goliath?

"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 Perugino.

Raffaelo Sanzio(1483-1520)

RaphaelThe small Cowper Madonnac. 1505 Oil on wood(59.5 x 44 cm)

RaphaelThe School of Athens1510-11 FrescoVatican, Stanza della Segnatura, Rome

RaphaelMadonna and Child Enthroned, with Saints1504-05Tempera, oil, and gold on woodMain 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.

"Brother of Gentile and son of Jacopo, Giovanni Bellini was probably the greatest of the Bellini dynasty. He was the pre-eminent 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.

      

(c. 1430-1516)

Giovani Bellini

Bellini, Giovanni Giovanni Emoc. 1475-83 Oil on wood19 1/4 x 13 7/8 in. (49 x 35 cm)National Gallery of Art, Washington

Bellini, GiovanniThe Feast of the Gods1514 Oil on canvas67 x 74 in. (170 x 188 cm)National Gallery of Art, Washington

"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(1478?-1510)

GiorgioneThe tempest c. 1508 Oil on canvas82 x 73 cm (32 1/4 x 28 3/4 in.)Accademia, Venice

Giorgione, Giorgio da CastelfrancoVenus Asleep c. 1510 Oil on canvas108 x 175 cmGemaeldegallerie Alte Meister, Dresden

Titian (Tiziano Vicelio)(1485-1576)"Almost sixty years separate Titian's Portrait of a Man (the so-called 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/TitianPastoral Scene (Fete Champetre)1508Oil on canvas 105 x 136 cmMusee du Louvre, Paris

TitianThe Concert c. 1510Oil on canvas 86.5 x 123.5 cmGalleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti, Florence

TitianSacred and Profane Love 1514118 x 279 cmBorghese Gallery, Rome

TitianDiana and Callisto 1559Oil on canvas 187 x 205 cmNational Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

TitianVenus and Adonisc. 1555 Oil on canvas42 x 53 1/2 in. (106.8 x 136 cm)National Gallery of Art, Washington