Art History
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Unit2_Presentation.pdf
ART102 Art History II
Unit 2 LectureThe Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Donatello: St. Mark
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Linear Perspective
Dome of the Florence Cathedral
Ghiberti: The Story of Jacob and Esau
Fra Angelico: The Annunciation
Donatello: David
The Birth of Venus
The Delivery of the Keys
The city of Florence became the center stage for the Renaissance, due to the high population of humanists, as well as the city’s programs to beautify the city through artistic competitions.
The Early Renaissance artists continue to challenge the Christian dogma that empowered Europe for centuries, and instead turned to philosophic ideas, human achievements and the natural world.
Artists are establishing personal styles, where their work can be recognizable to their talent. In the 15th century, artists are becoming famous for their skills, and it is the first time in history where artistic ability is seen as a gift from God.
Italian artists hold a high rank in society, and they believe they are the key to creating a new world based on the ancient ideals.
The art itself, like St. Mark by Donatello, exemplifies the desire to re-create life itself through art. We see a high level of representational accuracy, where figures appear alive, in motion, in thought. This art has emotional and technical power.
Donatello St. Mark Ca. 1411-1413
Marble
Museo di Or San Michele, Florence
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Brunelleschi and Ghiberti were two artists competing for the commission of creating bronze doors for the Baptistery. The goal was narrative clarity, technical mastery, artistic innovation, and emotional power. Ghiberti won the competition and the commission.
Filippo Brunelleschi Lorenzo Ghiberti The Sacrifice of Isaac Ca. 1401-1403
Gilt bronze relief panel
Lorenzo Ghiberti
Filippo Brunelleschi
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Donatello: St. Mark
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Linear Perspective
Dome of the Florence Cathedral
Ghiberti: The Story of Jacob and Esau
Fra Angelico: The Annunciation
Donatello: David
The Birth of Venus
The Delivery of the Keys
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
After his defeat for the commission of the Baptistery doors, Brunelleschi began studying ancient architecture. He carefully created measured drawings of buildings around the Mediterranean, in order to discover their architectural secrets.
Through these careful drawings, he discovered linear perspective, a technique for making a two-dimensional surface appear to have three- dimensional space.
Linear perspective has three key elements in order to make the technique successful: a horizon line, a vanishing point, and lines at that point.
All Renaissance artists employed linear perspective in their paintings in order to create spatial depth. Keep an eye out for it!
Thanks to this study, Brunelleschi was commissioned to complete the Florence Cathedral, which began construction 200 years prior.
Linear Perspective
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Donatello: St. Mark
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Linear Perspective
Dome of the Florence Cathedral
Ghiberti: The Story of Jacob and Esau
Fra Angelico: The Annunciation
Donatello: David
The Birth of Venus
The Delivery of the Keys
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Creating a dome of this size was an unprecedented feat for Brunelleschi. He accomplished this by creating two shells, and interior and an exterior, supported by a rib system. The small cupola on the top (seen on the outside) locks all the ribs together This dome is 140 feet wide by 295 feet tall.
Filippo Brunelleschi Dome of the Florence Cathedral Ca. 1420-1436
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Donatello: St. Mark
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Linear Perspective
Dome of the Florence Cathedral
Ghiberti: The Story of Jacob and Esau
Fra Angelico: The Annunciation
Donatello: David
The Birth of Venus
The Delivery of the Keys
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Lorenzo Ghiberti The Story of Jacob and Esau Ca. 1435
Despite the competitive nature of earning artistic commissions, the artists themselves were friends, oftentimes collaborating on new ideas and techniques. Ghiberti spent 22 years completing the first set of Baptistery doors, then was asked to create another. These took him 27 years to complete. You can see the elements of linear perspective being used in his gilt bronze panels.
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Donatello: St. Mark
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Linear Perspective
Dome of the Florence Cathedral
Ghiberti: The Story of Jacob and Esau
Fra Angelico: The Annunciation
Donatello: David
The Birth of Venus
The Delivery of the Keys
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Fra Angelico The Annunciation Ca. 1440–1445
Here we see Fra Angelico, a monk working as an artist, employ linear perspective to create a balanced, peaceful scene of the Annunciation, the moment Mary was told by the Angel Gabriel she would give birth to the Son of God. Fra Angelico is also known for moving away from the complex, abundant compositions of previous altarpieces in favor of one panel, arranged simply yet accurately.
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Donatello: St. Mark
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Linear Perspective
Dome of the Florence Cathedral
Ghiberti: The Story of Jacob and Esau
Fra Angelico: The Annunciation
Donatello: David
The Birth of Venus
The Delivery of the Keys
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
The Biblical hero David has been a patron of Florence for centuries, and identified as the defender of the city.
Donatello created this version of David for the Medici family, a powerful merchant family from Florence.
David is depicted as an ancient Greek God, as the traditional idealized youth. This suggests that a youthful, perfected human form is a gift from God.
He stands at rest, after the battle with Goliath and his victory. His foot rests on the severed head of Goliath, and he casually hold his sling shot in his left hand. His natural, relaxed stance is called contraposto.
This may have been the first life-sized, free-standing (without support) nude sculpture created since antiquity.
Donatello David Ca. 1420s-1460s
Bronze
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Donatello: St. Mark
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Linear Perspective
Dome of the Florence Cathedral
Ghiberti: The Story of Jacob and Esau
Fra Angelico: The Annunciation
Donatello: David
The Birth of Venus
The Delivery of the Keys
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Botticelli became the favorite painter for the Medici family. The central image is Venus, born of the sea. She drifts ashore by the aid of the wind gods on the left, into the robes held by a woman on the right. Botticelli’s figures seem weightless, as if they are floating.
Sandro Botticelli The Birth of Venus Ca. 1485
Tempera on panel
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Donatello: St. Mark
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Linear Perspective
Dome of the Florence Cathedral
Ghiberti: The Story of Jacob and Esau
Fra Angelico: The Annunciation
Donatello: David
The Birth of Venus
The Delivery of the Keys
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
By the end of the 15th century, Rome was becoming a major artistic center. They turned to the Florentine artists to create empowering images of the Christian doctrine within the Vatican. The popes wished to create a grand collection of art that surpassed the art of their pagan past. Perugino’s symmetrical design weighs heavily on the use of linear perspective.
Pietro Perugino The Delivery of the Keys Ca. 1482
Fresco
Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Donatello: St. Mark
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Linear Perspective
Dome of the Florence Cathedral
Ghiberti: The Story of Jacob and Esau
Fra Angelico: The Annunciation
Donatello: David
The Birth of Venus
The Delivery of the Keys
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
In this brief, 25-year time period known as the High Renaissance, history has seen a surge of artistic creation that “surpass the age of the ancients” (Giorgio Vasari).
Notable artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian achieve fame in their lifetime, dubbed “genius” or “divine” by their followers, and respected as intellectuals within society.
Each artist created a unique style, but all carried the same guidelines:
• A high level of technical skill
• An understanding of natural forms of antiquity
• Balance and clarity in their compositions
• Emotional power conveyed through the human forms
Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, found in one of his many notebooks, has become the visual epitome of the High Renaissance and its accomplishments.
Using the symmetrical shapes of the square and circle, da Vinci visualizes the perfected proportions of the human being through careful observation.
Leonardo da Vinci Vitruvian Man Ca. 1487
Pen and ink
Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Vitruvian Man
The Last Supper
The Mona Lisa
The Pieta
David
The Creation of Adam
The School of Athens
Assumption of the Virgin
Venus of Urbino
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Leonardo da Vinci created this fresco in the dining hall of a monastery. Inventive by nature, da Vinci experimented with the traditional fresco painting technique. Unfortunately, his efforts made this masterpiece incredibly fragile.
The composition is perfectly symmetrical, centering the vanishing point behind the head of Jesus, so that everything in the painting points to Him, to show his importance.
The scene is full of emotional drama, the apostles look like they are reacting to something that just happened.
Rather than seeing an image of the supper, we are witnessing the moment after Jesus declares “one of you will betray me”. This reactionary scene lends to the emotional impact.
All the elements of this piece are careful observations of nature. The light pouring into the room behind the head of Jesus serves as a halo. Artists stop using the Medieval gold halo, in favor of creating accurately life-like imagery.
Leonardo da Vinci The Last Supper Ca. 1495-1498
Oil and Tempera on plaster
Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Vitruvian Man
The Last Supper
The Mona Lisa
The Pieta
David
The Creation of Adam
The School of Athens
Assumption of the Virgin
Venus of Urbino
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Leonardo da Vinci created this portrait of a young woman, Lisa di Gherardo. This Mona (Madonna) Lisa, stayed with da Vinci for the rest of his life. He died in France, upon which the King of France claimed it for his collection. It has been in Paris ever since. The infamy of this painting comes from its history as much as its technical skill, and has become an icon of art history.
Why is she so important? In historical perspective, da Vinci was the first of his Italian artists to create a formal portrait of a person in such a natural style. No expensive clothing or jewelry to symbolize her wealth and station in society, she is simply dressed and surrounded by a simple landscape.
She sits in three-quarter pose, sits in a relaxed position with her hands casually draped on her lap. The colors were achieved by painting in thin layers, slowly built up so that the surface appears to glow from within.
She appears to be washed in light, with lightness touching her features while the rest lie in shadows. This light to dark technique is called chiaroscuro.
Leonardo da Vinci The Mona Lisa Ca. 1503-1505
Oil on panel
Musee du Louvre, Paris
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Vitruvian Man
The Last Supper
The Mona Lisa
The Pieta
David
The Creation of Adam
The School of Athens
Assumption of the Virgin
Venus of Urbino
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Michelangelo The Pieta Ca. 1498
Marble
St. Peter’s, Rome
Michelangelo was acclaimed by his peers, and the most influential artist in all of art history. The man was a genius when looking at his technical skill and emotional sophistication.
The Pieta is a sculpture he created when he was 24 years old, and he lived into his 80’s. Michelangelo believed that the true vehicle of expression is the human form itself, and he spent a lifetime refining his ability to create life out of paint and marble.
The Pieta, the moment Jesus is taken down from the cross and placed in his mother’s lap, was usually depicted with elements of agony and remorse. Michelangelo instead creates a moment of calmness and tranquility, transcendence.
The composition of this larger-than-life sculpture is balanced and stable, and although Mary appears delicate and young, she easily supports the weight of Jesus.
The attention to carefully observed detail in this piece assured his fame throughout Europe.
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Vitruvian Man
The Last Supper
The Mona Lisa
The Pieta
David
The Creation of Adam
The School of Athens
Assumption of the Virgin
Venus of Urbino
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Michelangelo David Ca. 1501-1504
Marble
Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence
Like Donatello before him, Michelangelo was commissioned to create a sculpture of David, but this was for the city of Florence itself.
Originally this stood outside of the Florentine government building (seen in Unit 1: go back and you can see a replica of this statue in the picture!). He orginally had a gilt bronze sash of yes, fig leaves, around his hips, as well as a crown on his head.
This statue has a great deal of power: this David is not victorious, he is pensive. He waits, as if ready to attack. There is energy in this work, because it is the moment before something is going to happen.
David is portrayed as a nude male youth, a tradition the Renaissance artists used from the Ancient tradition of created gods and goddesses in similar fashion.
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Vitruvian Man
The Last Supper
The Mona Lisa
The Pieta
David
The Creation of Adam
The School of Athens
Assumption of the Virgin
Venus of Urbino
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Michelangelo The Creation of Adam Ca. 1508-1512
Fresco
Portion of the Sistine Chapel ceiling
Vatican, Rome
The Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings are what Michelangelo is most known for. Here again, as in all of his work, he creates a moment of anticipation. This time, it is the moment God is about to give Adam life, through a single touch. As you can see, they aren’t touching yet. This heightened sense of anticipation, of something that’s about to happen, with its implied energy, is what gives his work such power.
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Vitruvian Man
The Last Supper
The Mona Lisa
The Pieta
David
The Creation of Adam
The School of Athens
Assumption of the Virgin
Venus of Urbino
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Raphael was a contemporary of Michelangelo, and he was working on this fresco while Michelangelo was working on the Sistine ceiling. It is believed that Raphael was inspired by the variety of poses Michelangelo used in the ceiling, and Raphael used that inspiration to create a group of dynamic philosophers that epitomizes the knowledge of the ancient world. The setting is modern architecture, constructed with linear perspective in a balanced composition, in typical High Renaissance fashion.
Raphael The School of Athens Ca. 1508-1511
Fresco
Stanza della Segnatura
Vatican, Rome
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Vitruvian Man
The Last Supper
The Mona Lisa
The Pieta
David
The Creation of Adam
The School of Athens
Assumption of the Virgin
Venus of Urbino
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Titian Assumption of the Virgin Ca. 1516-1518
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice
Meanwhile in Venice, Titian was a notable artist who achieved fame in his lifetime just like da Vinci and the other Florentine / Roman High Renaissance artists.
Titan created highly dramatic images by using dynamic compositions, bright colors, and bold brushstrokes.
The figures are all twisting and gesturing with a high level of drama and a heightened sense of activity.
The colors are strong, rich bright oranges and deep blues, and the sky seems alight with fire. Combined with the dark shadows that are almost black, this contributes to the dramatic effect.
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Vitruvian Man
The Last Supper
The Mona Lisa
The Pieta
David
The Creation of Adam
The School of Athens
Assumption of the Virgin
Venus of Urbino
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
Titian was known for pushing the boundaries of subject matter, color and technique, and this painting is certainly no exception. Instead of looking at an idealized image of a nude goddess, we see a naked woman. She is perfectly comfortable with herself, as she meets our gaze with confidence. The composition is off-centered, and the colors are bold. It was a controversial painting in its time, and has become the piece Titian is most famous for.
Titian Venus of Urbino Ca. 1538
Oil on canvas
Gallerie degli Uffizi, Florence
The High Renaissance in Italy 1495-1520
Vitruvian Man
The Last Supper
The Mona Lisa
The Pieta
David
The Creation of Adam
The School of Athens
Assumption of the Virgin
Venus of Urbino
The Early Renaissance in Italy 15th Century
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