Italian Renaissance Art Renaissance artists were motivated by

Italian Renaissance Art “Renaissance artists were motivated by the idea of progress. To them the artist was like a scientist. . . to experiment with solutions to problems. . To make a science of painting. ” Instant Art History

Early Renaissance based in Florence

Giotto (c. 1266 -1337) Lamentation over Christ (c. 1305 -06) Figures appear in 3 D, rather than flat, and possess bulk, movement & expression

The Adoration Of the Magi (1304 -06)

Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378 -1455) Gates of Paradise (1425 -52) Doors to the Baptistery in the Florence Cathedral. Depict scenes from the Old Testament. Named the “Gates of Paradise” by Michelangelo

Detail from the Gates of Paradise The Story of Joseph

Masaccio (1401 -28) St. Peter distributing Alms & the Death of Ananias (1425 -26)

The Tribute Money (c. 1427) - painted figures as linear columns. Also important is his three-dimensional portrayal of the human figure.

This is Masaccio’s masterpiece, The Holy Trinity (1427), probably his last work, since he died the next year at the age of 28. The other great work of Massacio is The Explusion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden (which I don’t have a slide of. )

Another example of perspective is Mantegna’s The Dead Christ (c. 1506) which uses foreshortening, giving the impression of a 3 -D body on a flat surface.

Donatello (1386 -1466) David (1425) The first free standing sculpture since ancient Greek & Roman sculpture (and he’s naked too! Get over it!)

Detail of Donatello’s David

Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445 - 1510) Two famous works Primavera (c. 1482) The Birth of Venus (c. 1485) Notice that the subject of these works is not religion, but mythological figures

An example of Renaissance architecture - the dome of the Florence Cathedral, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. (1377? 1446) He lost out to Ghiberti in the competition to design the Baptistery doors. Doing the dome was his consulation prize. He was also a painter, who introduced perspective to art.

The High Renaissance (1490 -1530) Still based in Florence, but the center was gradually moving to Rome

Leonardo di Vinci (1452 -1519) A master of many things (that’s why he’s called a “Renaissance Man”)

Virgin & Child with St. Anne (1510)

The Last Supper (1495 -98) Each figure has distinctive psychological character. It is located in the church of Santa Maris delle Grazie. A door was cut thru the painting after Leonardo’s death. (No respect for art!)

The Mona Lisa (Actually it’s called La Gioconda and was done in 1507. ) It uses a technique called sfumato (“like smoke”) in which different areas of color and form are merged together (IAH) And why does she have that stupid smile?

Leonardo was one of the first artists to actually study human anatomy by dissecting human bodies. His notebooks reveal his sketches from his studies. These sketches show the muscle structure of an adult male. (And Leonardo got in trouble with the Church because it did not support the violation of a dead person. Leo had to steal the corpses. )

Leonardo’s famous study showing proportions. Notice the geometric designs. To protect his work, he wrote his notes backward, so they have to be read in a mirror.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 -1564) Like Leonardo, another “Renaissance Man”, who was not just a sculptor, but also a painter (and he also wrote poetry and was an architect. )

The Pieta (c. 1498 -99)

Michelangelo’s version of David (1501 -04) - it’s carved from a solid block of marble, 18 feet in height. As compared to Donatello’s version, this one is much more detailed (notice how buff he is!)

A detail of Michelangelo’s David (there’s more info on this in the video

Michelangelo’s masterpiece is the Sistine Chapel ceiling, done between 1508 and 1512, by order of Pope Julius II. Michelangelo was working on the Pope’s tomb (before he was even dead!) and did not want to do the ceiling. He argued that he was a sculptor, not a painter, but Julius insisted. Michelangelo suspended work on the tomb (and its massive sculpture of Moses) to paint the ceiling. Here are four views of the ceiling, moving from the left side to the right.

Perhaps the most famous panel from the ceiling - God giving life to Adam.

The Last Judgement, from the altar of the Sistine Chapel (painted after the ceiling) The central figure is Christ. Notice the size and distortion of proportion. )

Ghirlandaio An Old Man and his Grandson (1480) This is a good example of how Renaissance art reflected the pursuit of realism - the old man is shown realistically, “warts and all”.

Raphael (1438 -1520) The favorite subject of Raphael was Madonnas. This example is called Madonna & Child Enthroned, with Saints (1504 -05)

Raphael’s School of Athens (1510 -11)

Eventually, Raphael moved on to portraiture. This is Pope Leo X (the Medici Pope) with two Cardinals (1518)

Titian (1477 -1576) Titian is considered the last of the Italian Renaissance artists (maybe because he lived to be 99 years old!) He was a High Renaissance artist of the Venetian School. His two famous works are Venus and Adonis (c. 1555) and the Rape of Europa (1559 -62). Notice, again, the use of mythological figures, not religious.

Venus and Adonis

And that’s some examples of Italian Renaissance art Later we will check out the Northern Renaissance artists, and there aren’t as many of them.