Italian Renaissance A revival or rebirth of cultural

Italian Renaissance – A revival or rebirth of cultural awareness and learning that took place during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, particularly in Italy, but also in Germany and other European countries. The period was characterized by a renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman art and design and included an emphasis on human beings, their environment, science, and philosophy.

Giotto born in 1267, died in 1337. Painted the Life of St. Francis of Assisi which is identified as one of his earlier works. Though an artist of the medieval period, he influenced such greats as Michelangelo and Raphael because he introduced some of the earliest solutions to creating the illusion of threedimensionality in paintings and because his way of composing his paintings so effectively conveyed the subject he was painting. Besides his work as an artist, he is famous for designing the Campanile (tower) of the Florence Duomo

GIOTTO di Bondone Last Judgement (detail) 1306 Fresco Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

GIOTTO di Bondone, Crucifixion, 1310 s

Tribute Money In 1422, Masaccio was appointed master of the Florentine Guild. From 1424, he worked with his older colleague Masolino on the decoration of the Brancacci Chapel, which was dedicated to St. Peter. Masaccio, applying the laws of perspective, achieved a considerable optical illusion of depth in the painting of architectural constructions and landscapes. Some art historians believe that he launched the new style of Early Renaissance practically singlehandedly, he was only 21 years old at the time and he died 6 years later, leaving to others to develop his discoveries Expulsion from Paradise

Paolo Uccello (born Paolo di Dono) (Italian, 1397 -1475), Perspective Study of a Chalice, pen and ink on paper, 29 x 24. 5 cm, Gabinetto dei Disegni, Uffizi, Florence.

Donatello’s David dated about 1440

Donatello St John the Evangelist 1410 -11 Marble, height: 210 cm Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence

Lamentation over the Dead Christ Donatello, before 1456 Bronze, 33, 5 x 41, 5 cm Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Andrea Mantegna The Lamentation over the Dead Christ c. 1490 Tempera on canvas, 68 x 81 cm Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

ANDREA MANTEGNA : "OCULUSOFTHE CAMERA PICTA" 1473; fresco; Camera degli Sposi, Castello di San Giorgio, Mantua, Italy. http: //www. all-art. org/history 214 -6. html The oculus is in the centre of the ribbed vault of the Camera degli Sposi, a room 8 metres (26 feet) long, rebuilt to allow Mantegna's sequence of frescos to unfold. The paintings celebrate and glorify the family of the Marquis of Mantua, Ludovico Gonzaga II (1447 -78). The space is transformed into a pavilion, with a series of pilasters appearing to support the dome. The oculus, or painted opening, shows a summer sky. The painted architecture and the iconography, in which traditions of courtly painting, antiquarian decoration, and experimentation have been combined, make this room an undisputed Renaissance masterpiece. The oculus is about one-quarter of the size of the room and is surrounded by a foreshortened marble balcony, with a decorative garland below.

Domenico Ghirlandaio (b Florence, 1448– 9; d Florence, Jan 1494). Coronation of the Virgin 1486 Pinacoteca Comunale, Citta di Castello

Domenico Ghirlandaio (b Florence, 1448– 9; d Florence, Jan 1494). Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints c. 1479 Duomo San Martino, Lucca

Domenico Ghirlandaio Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints c. 1483 Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Ercole de’ Roberti (b Ferrara, c. 1455– 6; d 18 May– 1 July 1496). Portrait of Giovanni II Bentivoglio c. 1480 National Gallery of Art, Washington Portrait of Ginevra Bentivoglio c. 1480 National Gallery of Art, Washington

Francesco del Cossa (b Ferrara, c. 1435; d Bologna, 1476– 7). St Florian (Griffoni Polyptych) 1473 National Gallery of Art, Washington

Verrocchio. Italian sculptor, painter, draughtsman and goldsmith. He was the leading sculptor in Florence in the second half of the 15 th century, and his highly successful workshop, in which Leonardo da Vinci trained, had a far-reaching impact on younger generations. A wide range of patrons, including the Medici family, the Venetian State and the city council of Pistoia, commissioned works from him. Exceptionally versatile, Verrocchio was talented both as a sculptor—of monumental bronzes, silver figurines and marble reliefs—and as a painter of altarpieces. He was inspired by the contemporary interest in the Antique and in the study of nature, yet, approaching almost every project as a new challenge, developed new conceptions that often defied both traditional aesthetics and conventional techniques. His fountains, portrait busts and equestrian sculpture are indebted to an iconographic tradition rooted in the early 15 th century and yet they are transformed by his original outlook. His funerary ensembles are unique, so that, despite the great admiration they inspired, they had no imitators. Though a highly important artist in his own right, Verrocchio has often had the misfortune of being seen as in the shadow of his pupil Leonardo.

Andrea del Verrocchio (b Florence, 1435; d Venice, ? 30 June 1488). Head of a Girl Drawing British Museum, London

Andrea del Verrocchio Tobias and the Angel 1470 -80 Egg tempera on poplar National Gallery, London

Verrocchio Saint Monica Panel S. Spirito, Florence

Andrea del Verrocchio The Baptism of Christ 1472 -75 Oil on wood, 177 x 151 cm Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Giovanni Bellini Venetian painter, founder of the Venetian school of painting, Giovanni Bellini raised Venice to a center of Renaissance art that rivaled Florence and Rome. He brought to painting a new degree of realism, a new wealth of subject-matter, and a new sensuousness in form and color. Dead Christ Supported by Two Angels c. 1460 Tempera on panel, 74 x 50 cm Museo Correr, Venice http: //www. wga. hu/frames-e. html? /html/b/bellini/giovanni/index. html

Giovanni Bellini Head of the Baptist 1464 -68 Tempera 0 n wood, diameter 28 cm Musei Civici, Pesaro

Giovanni Bellini Madonna degli Alberetti 1487 Oil on panel, 74 x 58 cm Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice

Sacred Conversation c. 1490 Oil on wood, 58 x 107 cm Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice Bellini's Sacred Conversation (Madonna with Child and Saints Catherine and Magdalene) is one of the loftiest expression of this frequently painted theme

Sandro Botticelli Madonna and Child with an Angel c. 1470 Tempera on wood, 84 x 65 cm Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

The Trials and Calling of Moses (detail) 1481 -82 Fresco Cappella Sistina, Vatican Sandro Botticelli

Sandro Botticelli Primavera c. 1482 Tempera on panel, 203 x 314 cm Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Sandro Botticelli The Birth of Venus c. 1485 Tempera on canvas, 172. 5 x 278. 5 cm Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Sandro Botticelli Inferno, Canto XVIII, 1480 s Coloured drawing on parchment, 320 x 470 mm. Staatliche Museen, Berlin

Leonardo da Vinci , born 1452, died 1519. His most famous works are the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper which are works in oil. He had a nature that was careful and precise, so that he never hurried to finish a work. He developed what are regarded as technical, manual skills that were so excellent that few artists in history have rivaled his ability. He had an exceptional intellect and fascination with the world around him. Besides his paintings, he left us a legacy of detailed drawings of the human anatomy, plans for a tank, helicopter, ideas on the construction of multi-level canal and road systems. Because he was an artist and a scientist at a time when both art and science, he has come to characterize the ultimate "Renaissance Man. "

Leonardo da Vinci , born 1452, died 1519

Leonardo da Vinci Vitruvian Man 1492 About the Artwork The archetypal Renaissance Man, Leonardo da Vinci (1452 -1519) was single-handedly responsible for the extraordinary advancements which propelled society forward. His artistic genious was matched by his equally astounding and prolific breakthroughs in a multitude of scientific fields. Da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" is his stunning correlation of the symmetry of the human body with the symmetry of the universe. Crafted in pen and ink on paper, he further emphasized this concept by symbolizing the material existence with a square and the spiritual plane with a circle. This revolutionary work is also an intricate anatomical study which actually contains 16 different poses.

The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci, 1495– 1498

Painting Title: Mona Lisa, 1503 / 1506 Leonardo da Vinci Famous Italian Artist - Renaissance

Raphael or Raffaello (Urbino, April 6, 1483 - Rome, April 6, 1520), also called Raffaello Sanzio, Raffaello Santi or Rafael Sanzio de Urbino, was a painter and architect of the Florentine school in the Italian High Renaissance. Raphael, born 1483, died 1520. Popular with the popes of the period, Raphael decorated the papal apartments of Julius II, continued to do so under Leo X and, following Bramante, served as architect of St. Peter's. He is credited with revolutionizing portrait painting because of the style he used in the portrait of Julius II. He also designed the "cartoons" that are on the tapestries of the Sistine Chapel. A tour of the Vatican Museums should include the Raphael Rooms where you can see some of the artist's works (though Raphael died suddenly on Good Friday, 1520, before all the work was completed and much of it was finished by his students). In his painting The School of Athens, he reflected the classical influence upon Renaissance art, but he also paid tribute to the men who inspired him by using the faces of da Vinci, Bramante and Michelangelo as philosophers participating in the debate between Plato and Aristotle.

Raphael’s School of Athens (1509– 1511). http: //www. newbanner. com/About. Pic/athena/raphael/nbi_ath 4. html

Raphael St. Sebastian. 1502 -1503. Oil on panel. Pinacoteca dell'Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, Italy

Raphael Poetry (ceiling tondo). 15091511. Fresco. Vaticano, Stanza della Segnatura, Rome

Michelangelo Buonarroti, born 1475, died 1564. In the 89 years that he lived, Michelangelo created many of the works of art that we think of when we think of the Renaissance. A skilled painter who spent many years completing the frescoes that adorn the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo had trained as a sculptor and created two of the world's greatest statues--the enormous David and the emotional Pieta. The Last Judgment http: //library. thinkquest. org/2838/artgal. htm St Bartholomew displaying his flayed skin (a self-portrait by Michelangelo) in The Last Judgment

Michelangelo’s David, 1501, Florence

Michelangelo Buonarroti Interior of the Sistine Chapel 1475 -83, 1508 -12, 1535 -41 Frescoes Cappella Sistina, Vatican

Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo Buonarroti

Creation of Adam 1510 Fresco, 280 x 570 cm Cappella Sistina, Vatican Michelangelo Buonarroti

Brunelleschi, born in 1377, died in 1446. Architect in Florence that made the cupola of the Florence cathedral. The Duomo of Florence has become the symbol of Florence, is its tallest building and is a symbol of the wealth and civic pride of the affluent families of the city during the Renaissance. The church, on which construction began in 1299, is crowned by the massive dome designed by Brunelleschi almost two centuries later. This building did not have a roof for 175 years because it posed a major architectural challenge with the large area the dome had to span. You can climb 463 steps up the dome and view the city below. Seven of the great artists of Florence, including Brunelleschi and Donatello, competed for the opportunity to make these doors (and earn the stipend for the work). Beyond his abilities as an architect, Brunelleschi was recognized for using geometric principles in creating perspective and influencing both Masaccio and Donatello to follow that style.

A distinctive feature of Florence's skyline is the dome of the cathedral (Duomo), Santa Maria del Fiore. The building itself, located due north of the Piazza della Signoria, was begun by the sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296. Numerous local artists continued to work on it during the following century and a half. The painter Giotto designed its sturdy bell tower (campanile) in 1334. Yet, the massive octagonal cupola (142036) that truly dominates both the church and the city was the proud achievement of Filippo Brunelleschi, master architect and sculptor. Duomo, Florence

Titian born in c. 1487, died in 1576. The most famous painter from Venice at the start of the 16 th century. Trained by Giovanni Bellini, He was noted for use of color and for the use of thick, dramatic brush strokes. Among his famous paintings is Bacchus and Ariadne 1523 -24 Oil on canvas, 175 x 190 cm National Gallery, London

Titian Sacred and Profane Love 1514 Oil on canvas, 118 x 279 cm Galleria Borghese, Rome

Titian, The Venus of Urbino, 1538, Oil on canvas, 119 x 165 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Caravaggio, born in 1573, died in 1610 A notable painting is his Death of the Virgin displayed in the Louvre, with the dramatic quality that was found in most of his works. He used foreshortening, shadowing and detail to portray scenes that drew out the emotions of the viewers. Caravaggio is often given credit for inspiring the Renaissance painters of northern Europe including Rembrandt.

CARAVAGGIO Amor Victorious 1602 -03 Oil on canvas, 156 x 113 cm

CARAVAGGIO David 1609 -0 Oil on canvas, 125 x 101 cm Galleria Borghese, Rome