Italian Renaissance - Jean Bordner Portfolio

Italian Renaissance * At the beginning of the 15th Century there was a

renewal of interest in the classical arts and literature of ancient Greece and Rome.

* The interest began in Italy * Scholars and artists began to use non-religious subject matter for their inspiration. * This period in time was called the “Renaissance” * The word Renaissance means “Rebirth”

Italian Renaissance Italian Renaissance Emerges 1) 15th Century was a time of great growth and discovery: a) Commerce spread b) Wealth increased c) Knowledge increased d) Artists flourished 2) Florence was one of many cities in Italy that grew in trading and industrial centers. 3) Florence became the capital of cloth trade and had the richest banking house in Europe. 4) The Medici family were the ones who controlled this banking empire and became general patrons of the fine arts.

Italian Renaissance What Shaped the Renaissance

1) During this time, artists and scholars developed an interest in the art and literature of ancient Greece and Rome. 2) The interest in the classics was called Humanism. 3) Those who followed the beliefs of Humanism were Humanists. 4) Humanists embraced the Greco-Roman belief that each individual has dignity and worth. 5) Artists really admired the realistic (or) lifelike appearance of classical works and wanted to capture that same quality in their work.

Italian Renaissance

What Shaped the Renaissance

6) To achieve this they studied nature and the remaining sculptures that survived through the years. 7) During the 15th Century the printing press was invented by a German printer named Johannes Gutenberg. 8) This invention was one of the most important contributions of the Renaissance. 9) This invention lead to mass-production of books, poetry and prose of Greek and Roman writers allowing artists and scholars to study to this work, to perfect their own.

Italian Renaissance http://www.history.com/topics/italianrenaissance/videos#the-book-thatchanged-the-world

Italian Renaissance Masaccio (1401-1428) 1) He was a young carefree painter from Florence who brought about a revolution in art. 2) He is given the credit as the first notable artist of the Italian Renaissance. 3) He developed a style that became the trademark of the Italian Renaissance. 4) It was a style that was similar to the fresco technique. 5) One of his greatest works of art is The Holy Trinity.

Italian Renaissance The Holy Trinity (1428, Fresco) 1) This was a fresco created by Masaccio which is located in the Florentine church of Santa Maria Novella. 2) This was one of his greatest works. 3) His focus and attention for this painting was on mass and depth. 4) He wanted his figures to look solid and real so he modeled them in light and shadow. 5) To really highlight the different distances from the viewer he overlapped his figures.

Italian Renaissance The Holy Trinity (1428, Fresco) 6) To make his painting appear more lifelike he created an illusion of a small chapel. 7) In the chapel, he painted the Holy Trinity, St. John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary. 8) The 2 figures in the lower left and right hand corners are members of the wealthy family who commissioned Masaccio to paint this art piece. 9) These 2 figures are life-size which is another technique to highlight the depth and dimension.

Italian Renaissance The Holy Trinity (1428, Fresco)

Italian Renaissance Linear Perspective 1) An architect by the name of Fillippo Brunelleschi made the discovery of linear perspective. 2) Linear Perspective: A graphic system that showed artists how to create the illusion of depth and volume on a flat surface. 3) This new discovery allowed artists to paint figures and objects so that they seem to move deeper into a work rather than across it. 4) Using the concept of a horizon line and vanishing point was how this technique worked.

Italian Renaissance The Tribute Money(1427, Fresco) 1) Masaccio worked on this painting after painting The Holy Trinity, which is also a fresco located in another Florentine church. 2) This particular painting is a group of 3 scenes to tell a story from the life of St. Peter. 3) In the center of the painting is Christ who tells Peter that he will find a coin in the mouth of a fish. He is to use this coin to pay a tax collector. 4) The tax collector is located to the right with his back showing. 5) Off in the distance to the left, you see St. Peter kneeling down to remove the coin from the fish’s mouth. 6) Located to the far right of the painting is St. Peter giving the coin to the tax collector.

Italian Renaissance The Tribute Money(1427, Fresco)

Italian Renaissance Aerial Perspective 1) Aerial Perspective=uses hues, value and intensity to show distance in a painting.

2) Aerial Perspective was clearly used in Masaccio’s The Tribute Money and he did NOT use it in his painting The Holy Trinity instead he clearly used linear perspective. 3) The use of aerial perspective helped Masaccio to create an impression of endless space.

Italian Renaissance Masaccio VS. Reality 1) He modeled his figures so they seemed to be as solid statues. To accomplish this effect, he used strong light and of shadows as well. 2) He always placed his figures in front of a dim background, which helped his subjects appear much closer to the viewer. 3) His figures are very large in relation to the rest of the painting. 4) In Tribute Money he shows the importance of natural and lifelike gestures and poses apparent when he painted the apostles. 5) St. Peter’s expression and gestures also show Masaccio’s use of realism. 6) All of these uses makes Masaccio’s paintings lifelike and realistic.

Italian Renaissance Fra Angelico(1400-1455) ** During this time, some artists still used a blend of both Renaissance style as well as Gothic. One artist in particular was the painter Fra Angelico.

1) He was an excellent painter and a monk. 2) He was a very holy man and always said a prayer before he began a painting. 3) He was also well known for NEVER retouching or improving one of his paintings once it was completed in that he felt if he did so, it would tamper with God’s will.

Italian Renaissance The Annunciation (1440-1445) 1) This particular painting was painted by Fra Angelico a few years after Masaccio’s death. 2) This painting is of the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she is to be the mother of the Savior. 3) Fra used some of Masaccio’s Renaissance style in this particular painting, in that he uses only 2 figures placing them in a modest, realistic and architectural setting.

Italian Renaissance The Annunciation (1440-1445)

4) Fra only used some perspective because he wasn’t seriously interested in creating an illusion of deep space in his paintings. For Example: a) Mary and the angel do not overlap like the figures in Masaccio’s paintings do. b) Fra’s figures are separated and placed within a limited area marked off by arches. c) Fra doesn’t use Masaccio’s modeling techniques to make his figures look round and solid because there is little to suggest that real people exist beneath the garments he paints.

Italian Renaissance The Annunciation (1440-1445) 5) The gestures and facial expressions are easy to read in that he used the Gothic style of making this religious story understood. 6) Telling the story was more important to Fra than making his picture seem true to life.

Italian Renaissance Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455) 1) Similar to Fra Angelico, Ghiberti combined elements of both the new Renaissance style and the earlier Gothic style. 2) Ghiberti was a sculptor who was most famously known for his works that he created for the Baptistery of the Florence Cathedral.

Italian Renaissance Compare/Contrast Renaissance to Gothic in Bronze ** The transition from Gothic to Renaissance style is very apparent in the bronze relief sculptures created by Filippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti. Both artists created the scene “The Sacrifice of Isaac”. Filippo Brunelleschi, “Sacrifice of Isaac”

Lorenzo Ghiberti, “Sacrifice of Isaac”

Italian Renaissance Compare/Contrast Renaissance to Gothic in Bronze Filippo Brunelleschi

1) His panel shows the Gothic Style of flatness in that each Object is formed separately And the figures do NOT relate other. 2) His panel can be divided Horizontally into 3 layers that Are placed one on top of the other To preserve the Gothic Style.

Lorenzo Ghiberti

1) His work forms a more unified whole. Objects overlap in a more natural way which reflects the Renaissance style. There’s To each Obvious Glances and gestures. 2) His panel can be divided vertically into 2 scenes that each Tell part of the story. This arrangement strongly reflects the Renaissance style=balance/harmony

Italian Renaissance Compare/Contrast Renaissance to Gothic in Bronze

1) These 2 particular art pieces being compared were part of a competition/contest. All the panels submitted had to utilize the same Gothic frame used by Pisano on another set of doors within the same church. 2) Although at a quick glance both panels created by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti look like pictures from medieval manuscripts, only one panel shows the true Gothic style. 3) Ghiberti was declared the winner of the contest and he spent the next 21 years of his life completing the 28 bronze panels used on the doors of the Baptistry.

Italian Renaissance The Gates of Paradise (1425-1452, Gilt Bronze) 1) This was Ghiberti’s 2nd set of doors he worked on for the Baptistry. 2) He used more of a Renaissance style on these set of doors. 3) This particular art piece/door scene is of the Old Testament. 4) Ghiberti did away with the use of the Gothic frame style and instead made the individual reliefs square. 5) He also began to use linear perspective which gave a greater feeling of space. 6) The figures in EACH panel stand out so much they seem fully 3D. 7) Michelangelo was so impressed, he stated, ” These doors were worthy of being used as the gates of heaven.”

Italian Renaissance Development of Renaissance Style 1) The search for salvation gradually changed to a humanist focus based on the classical culture of ancient Greece and Rome. 2) Because of this rebirth, artists gained additional areas of interest to gather their ideas from for their work. 3) Artists began to develop techniques that brought an exciting new energy to their paintings and sculptures.

Italian Renaissance Paolo Uccello (1347-1475) 1) He was an artist who enthusiastically accepted new Renaissance ideas. 2) His concern for perspective is evident when you examine his painting “The Battle of San Romano”

Italian Renaissance The Battle of San Romano(1445, Tempera on wood) 1) Bodies and broken spears are placed in such a way that lead your eye into the picture. 2) There is a fallen figure in the lower left corner. 3) He used a technique in this painting called foreshortening (pg. 362). 4) Even with the depth, this painting doesn’t reflect realism. 5) It looks like a grouping of puppets arranged in a mock battle scene. 6) Because solely focused on perspective Uccello didn’t make his figures and their actions seem lifelike. 7) Uccello created an artificial world that was dedicated almost entirely by the rules of perspective.

Italian Renaissance The Battle of San Romano(1445, Tempera on wood)

Italian Renaissance Innovations in Painting, Sculpture and Architecture

* There was a new emphasis on realism which was inspired by surviving models from classical Greece and Rome. * This new emphasis revealed itself in various practices of visual arts which included: paintings, sculpture and architecture. 1) Painting: a) More artists began to turn their attention to creating depth and form in that these would replace the flat, 2D surfaces that characterized medieval pictures. b) The use of perspective and modeling in light and shade were used to achieve astonishing realistic appearances. 2) Sculptures: a) Donatello and Michelangelo used that same concern for realism in their lifelike figures which seemed to move freely and naturally in space. 3) Architecture: a) Architects began to leave behind the Gothic style and took on a new architectural style. b) This new style traced its origins back in time to the carefully proportioned, balanced and elegant buildings of classical times.

Italian Renaissance Donatello (1386-1466) 1) He began as one of the assistants who helped Ghiberti create the 1st set of doors for the Baptistry of Florence, who would go on to become the greatest sculptor of the early Renaissance. 2) He was close friends with Brunelleschi and he also shared Masaccio’s interest in realism and perspective. 3) When he created sculptures that had to be above eye level in the church he used perspective. 4) To do this, he made the upper part of the bodies longer so that when viewed from below, the sculptures would seem more naturalistic.

Italian Renaissance Compare/Contrast Greek Sculptures to Renaissance Donatello’s “St. George” 1) His sculpture has a lifelike/realistic Quality.

Polyclitus’ “Spear Bearer” 1) His sculpture is of a Greek Athlete.

2) This sculpture is of a knight who Seems to be leaning forward in Anticipation which reflects the use Of Contrapposto

2) Polyclitus introduced the use of Contrappasto with this sculpture

3) This sculpture of St. George is fully Clothed but you can’t mistake that The presence of the human body is underneath

3) His sculpture is nude and not fully clothed.

Italian Renaissance Compare/Contrast Greek Sculptures to Renaissance Donatello’s “St. George”

Polyclitus’ “Spear Bearer”

Italian Renaissance Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446)

1) He was the artist given the credit for discovering linear perspective. 2) He began his art career as a sculptor, but when he lost the Baptistry Doors contest to Ghiberti he abandoned sculpture for a career in architecture. 3) 16 years after the contest, he faced Ghiberti again in a competition in which they had to design a huge dome for the Cathedral of Florence. 4) Many claimed the large dome design could not be done. Brunelleschi disagreed and submitted a design based off the Gothic building techniques and was awarded the task. 5) He used the concept of using 8 Gothic ribs that met at the top of the dome and were joined by horizontal sections around the outside of the dome and its base. 6) This particular design included: the use of bricks, the done was placed on a drum and circular windows were in the drum. 7) It took 16 years to complete the structure and once completed he earned his name as a great architect.

Italian Renaissance Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) 8) His dome was so influenced that later on Michelangelo borrowed his ideas to create the dome for St. Peter’s. 9) Another project he took part in the designing of a Chapel for the Pazzi family, who was one of the Wealthiest and most powerful families in Florence. 10) For the design of this chapel he rejected the Gothic style and instead chose a style based on ancient Roman Buildings.

Italian Renaissance Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) 11) The chapel he designed was a balance between vertical and horizontal movements For Example: a) He used curved, rounded arches b) Dark molding was used c) Pilasters and columns were used to divide and organize the flat, white wall surfaces 12) The overall effect was NOT dramatic or mysterious like Gothic churches but rather it was simple, calm and dignified.

Italian Renaissance Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) Pazzi Chapel

Italian Renaissance Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) 1) He was very influential in that his paintings are now considered among the most admired of the Renaissance period. 2) One of his most famous works is Adoration of the Magi (1481, tempera and oil on wood) a) Its an image of grouping of kneeling people who are surrounding the Holy Family. b) These people include the Magi, 3 kings/wise men and their attendants. c) The Magi is presenting their gifts to Christ the child. 3) Botticelli used a combination of line, proportion and emphasis in his painting. 4) Line: The figures are drawn with crisp, sharp contour lines and their clothing have folds that twist and turn in a decorative pattern. 5) Proportion: A graceful style can be seen in the figure Mary. 6) Emphasis: Line is used to unify the painting and to emphasize the most important parts.

Italian Renaissance Adoration of the Magi (1481, tempera and oil on wood)

Italian Renaissance High Renaissance 1) The thing that represented the Renaissance the most was its great wealth of artistic talent. 2) Between 1495-1527 was considered the High Renaissance and around the time when such artists as Leonard da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael created their timeless masterpieces. 3) All 3 of these well-known artists lived in Italy and were commissioned by the popes of Rome to create ambitious artworks that glorified religious themes. 4) Never before has such amazing art been produced simultaneously on 3 different fronts-paintings, sculpture and architecture.

Italian Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) 1) Leonardo was blessed with many talents starting at a very young age and had a curiosity that drove him to study everything. 2) He studied architecture, mathematics, sculpture, painting, anatomy, poetry, literature, music, geology, botany and hydraulics. 3) It is estimated that he completed 120 notebooks/sketchbooks filled with drawings along with explanations. 4) Leonardo did things such as dissect cadavers to thoroughly analyze arms, legs, eyes and the brain.

Italian Renaissance The Last Supper (Fresco, 1495-1498) * Leonardo was very impatient which caused him to leave many projects unfinished. He was always experimenting and many of experiments ended in failure. One of his “so-called” greatest failures is his version of The Last Supper. 1) This painting was glorious painting but this amazing art piece began to flake off shortly after its completion in that Leonardo used an experimental painting technique. 2) This painting was painted on a wall in the dining hall used by monks in the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. 3) He used linear perspective so he could design his scene to look like the continuation of the dining hall.

Italian Renaissance The Last Supper (Fresco, 1495-1498) 4) Christ is placed in the center of the painting. 5) The apostles are grouped in 3’s and you can clearly see the expression of disbelief of shock on their faces from discovering what Judas just revealed. 6) The 3rd figure on Christ’s right is Judas and he has an expression of anger and defiance. 7) Leonardo’s painting has an unusual feature: All the apostles are crowded together on the far side of the table, this is because Leonardo thought that spreading out the figures would reduce the impact of the painting. 8) Another difference in his painting from pervious paintings of The Last Supper is that he included Judas amongst the apostles.

Italian Renaissance The Last Supper (Fresco, 1495-1498)

Italian Renaissance http://www.history.com/topics/italianrenaissance/videos#life-after-people-thelast-supper

Italian Renaissance Mona Lisa (Oil on Wood, 1503-1506) * As mentioned before, Leonardo’s curiosity kept him from completing many of his works. One of his most famous unfinished works was the Mona Lisa. 1) When Leonardo died, he still had this painting in his possession. 2) He worked on this particular painting for 16 years and he claimed it was still unfinished! 3) This so-called unfinished art piece is one of the most popular art pieces ever painted.

Italian Renaissance Mona Lisa (Oil on Wood, 1503-1506)

Italian Renaissance http://www.history.com/topics/italianrenaissance/videos#leonardos-deluge

Italian Renaissance Michelangelo (1475-1564) 1) He was ranked alongside Leonardo as one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance. 2) Michelangelo was also very gifted. He could paint, sculpt and wrote poetry. 3) One of his first famous pieces is his sculpture, Pieta (Marble, 1500)

Italian Renaissance Pieta (Marble, 1500) 1) Pieta: Is a work showing Mary mourning over the body of Christ. 2) This sculpture is larger than life-size and it’s of Mary seated at the foot of the cross mourning the death of her son, Christ. 3) Michelangelo made Mary much larger that Christ in that he wanted Mary to support with ease the heavy body of her son. 4) Michelangelo also wanted the viewer to focus more on the message rather than whether Mary could support Christ’s body.

Italian Renaissance The Sistine Chapel (Fresco, 1508-1512) 1) Everything Michelangelo did everything on a grand scale and the Sistine Chapel is a prime example of this. 2) He was asked to paint this grand task by Pope Julius II. The Pope originally asked him to design a tomb for him but soon after changed his mind and instead asked him to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. 3) The chapel was about 40 ft wide and about 133 ft long and had a rounded ceiling. 4) Michelangelo protested at first because it looked tedious, timeconsuming and ceiling paintings were considered less important than wall paintings so he felt his pride and reputation would be hurt by doing this project. He also considered himself more a sculptor rather than a painter. 5) The walls had already been painted by other well-known artists so he didn’t have a choice in the matter.

Italian Renaissance The Sistine Chapel (Fresco, 1508-1512)

6) He built a large scaffold stretching the length of the chapel. 7) He refused to have assistants as aids, so day after day he bent over backward to work on his masterpiece. 8) The ceiling was divided into 9 main sections and each section contained the story of humanity from the Creation to the Flood. 9) You can clearly see the sculptural side of Michelangelo coming through in this masterpiece in that all his figures are highly modeled in light and shad to look solid and 3D. They also are shown in constant movement, twisting and turning as if they are coming out of their niches and out of the frames.

Italian Renaissance The Sistine Chapel (Fresco, 1508-1512)

Italian Renaissance Raphael (1483-1520) 1) Raphael was successful, wealthy and admired throughout his brief but brilliant career. 2) He started out by doing an apprenticeship with a respected artist and there he learned to use soft colors, simple circular forms and gentle landscapes in his paintings. 3) When he was young, he traveled to Florence to study the works of artists who leading the way during that time period. 4) He learned from Leonardo how to use shading as an illusion of 3D form and he learned from Michelangelo how to add vitality and energy to his figures. 5) From those artists and their knowledge he was able to use their ideas along with his own to create a new unique style which in turn he became the most distinctive artist of the Renaissance.

Italian Renaissance School of Athens (Fresco, 1509-1510) 1) At the same time when Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel, Raphael was commissioned by Pope Julius II to decorate a series of rooms in the Vatican Palace. 2) In the first of these room is where he painted his famous painting, “School of Athens”. 3) This painting was a tribute to the 4 domains of learning: Theology, philosophy, law and the arts. 4) This painting has the title “school” in it in that Raphael was referring to 2 opposing schools of thought represented by the 2 great classical philosophers Plato and Aristotle.

Italian Renaissance School of Athens (Fresco, 1509-1510) 5) These 2 figures are placed below an archway in the center of the painting to signify their importance. 6) On the side in which Plato resides (Left) consists of the ancient philosophers who were involved with the metaphysical-the mysteries that go beyond here and now. 7) On the side in which Aristotle resides (Right) consists of philosophers and scientists interested in nature and the affairs of humankind. 8) Plato is pointing to the sky to indicate and symbolize his concern with an idealistic world whereas Aristotle makes a gesture towards the earth the indicate his interest in the real and practical world. 9) Above Plato’s right is a statue of Apollo who is the patron of poetry and above Aristotle’s left is a statue of Athena who is the goddess of reason.

Italian Renaissance School of Athens (Fresco, 1509-1510) 10) Raphael painted an ages Leonardo to play the role as Plato and Michelangelo is portrayed by the philosopher Heraclitus. 11) Raphael painted himself in the lower right hand corner as a young man amongst the mathematicians which symbolizes t he Renaissance belief that geometry and art were strongly linked and that a knowledge of mathmatics was essential to an artist’s development.

Italian Renaissance School of Athens (Fresco, 1509-1510)

Italian Renaissance School of Athens (Fresco, 1509-1510)

Italian Renaissance http://www.history.com/topics/italianrenaissance/videos#the-renaissance