Renaissance Art

AP European History
Welcome Back! Bell Ringer
 What city was the center of  Agenda and Objectives:
Renaissance art in the Through notes and
quattrocento? discussion, and written
 What city was the center of analysis students will
Renaissance in the identify characteristics of
cinquecento? Renaissance Art.
Patronage
 Florence was the leader in  also came from local
Renaissance art especially churches who increasingly
in the quattrocento (1400s) saw Renaissance art as a
means of glorifying God
 Massive patronage for the
 Rome became the center of
arts came from wealthy Renaissance art in the
merchant-families (such as 1500s (cinquecento)
the Medicis) who  Pope Alexander VI (r. 1492-
commissioned countless 1503): most notorious of
works from the great artists. the Renaissance popes;
spent huge sums on art
patronage
Comparison in Art..
Terms: New Techniques in Painting
 Perspective: 3-D effects on  Sfumato developed by
a 2-dimensional surface Leonardo da Vinci ; a
 Chiaroscuro: use of dark technique of blurring or
and light colors to create the softening sharp outlines
illusion of depth
 Faces of subjects expressed
unique individual
characteristics (embodied
Renaissance ideal of
“individualism”)
 more emotion was shown on
human faces
Sculpture
 was often free-standing,  Many sculptures glorified
designed to be seen in the human body and many
the round portrayed nude figures (like
 Heavily influenced by works in ancient Greece
ancient Greek and Roman and Rome)
sculpture  Like Renaissance painting,
many Renaissance
sculptures glorified the
individual
  Simplicity, symmetry and
balance.
 Contrasted sharply with the
Architecture highly-ornamented gothic
style of the middle ages of
 Utilized ancient Greek and pointed arches, columns
Roman forms such as Greek below
temple architecture, Greek
columns, Roman arches and
domes.
Characteristics
Activity: Art Analysis Paper
 1. Realism & Expression

Expulsion from
the Garden
Masaccio
1427
First nudes since
classical times.
2. Perspective

First use
of linear
perspective!

The Trinity
Masaccio
1427
3. Classicism

Greco-Roman
influence.
Secularism.
Humanism.
Individualism  free
standing figures.
Symmetry/Balance
The “Classical Pose”
Medici “Venus”
 4. Emphasis on Individualism
Batista Sforza &
Federico de Montefeltre:
The Duke & Dutchess of
Urbino
Piero della Francesca, 1465-
1466.
 5. Geometrical Arrangement of
figures

The Dreyfus
Madonna
with the
Pomegranate
Leonardo da Vinci
1469
The figure as
architecture!
6. Artists as Personalities/Celebrities

Lives of the Most

Excellent Painters,
Sculptors, and
Architects

Giorgio Vasari

1550
Review! Six characteristics of
Renaissance Art?
The Artists
 The Florentines
 Giotto (1266-1336)
 considered perhaps the
first Renaissance painter;
use of chiaroscuro (light
and shadows)
 THE WEDDING AT CANA FRESCO
SCROVEGNI
Giotto.
Flight into
Egypt, from
the Arena
Chapel
(Padua),
1305-6
Giotto.
Massacre of
the
Innocents,
from the
Arena
Chapel
(Padua),
1305-6
Giotto.
Raising of
Lazarus,
from the
Arena
Chapel
(Padua),
1305-6
Giotto.
Entry into
Jerusalemf
rom the
Arena
Chapel
(Padua),
1305-6

bottom
level
Giotto. Kiss
of Judas,
from the
Arena
Chapel
(Padua),
1305-6
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446)
 Il Duomo a top Santa Maria
del Fiore (1420-34) was the
largest dome in Europe at
the time of its construction
 Considered the “father” of
perspective
 Other Famous Domes

Il Duomo St. Peter’s St. Paul’s US capital

(Florence) (Rome) (London) (Washington)
 Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455)
 Won a contest in 1403
against Brunelleschi that
earned him the
commission to sculpt the
bronze doors for Florentine
baptistery
 Michelangelo called his
2nd set of bronze doors
the “gates of paradise”
Lorenzo
Ghiberti.
Genesis, showing the
Creation of Adam, the
Creation of Eve, the
Temptation, and the
Expulsion from the Gates of
Paradise

Schiacciato developed by
Donatello
Lorenzo Ghiberti.
Meeting of
Solomon and
Sheba, from the
Gates of Paradise

Solomon and the

Queen of Sheba
Lorenzo
Ghiberti.
Jacob and
Esau, from
the Gates
of Paradise
Lorenzo Ghiberti. Detail of
Scenes from the life of
Joseph from the Gates of
Paradise
Lorenzo
Ghiberti. The
Baptism of
Christ, from the
Gates of
Paradise
Donatello (1386-1466)

 His bronze statue of David

(1408-09) was the first
since antiquity.
 First Renaissance artist to
utilize a nude figure in
sculpture
 contrapposto
 a symbol of Florence/ the
Medici/ the effeminate male
as a hero and an object of
beauty
Donatello. Mary
Magdalene,
c. 1454-1455, wood

Mary Magdalene/
Donatello’s varied
approaches to sculpting/
heightened expression
favored over classical
beauty
Masaccio (1401-1428)
 first Renaissance painter to
portray real, nude human
figures in 3-D
 Expulsion of Adam and Eve
(1427): fresco shows
tremendous emotion; both
figures are nude
 Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510)
 good example of
humanism as the subject
is Venus, the Roman
goddess of love.
 Venus’ stands in
contrapposto
High Renaissance Artists
 centered in Rome (16th  Characteristics: classical
century) balance, harmony, restraint
 The worldly “Renaissance
Popes”—Alexander VI,
Julius II and Leo X—
provided tremendous
patronage to the arts
 Principal architect of the
rebuilt St. Peter’s cathedral,
although some of his plans
were altered after his death

 Tempietto (San Pietro in

Montorio) marked the
beginning of the High
Renaissance in Rome

Bramante
 Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
 The quintessential
“Renaissance Man”  Mona Lisa (1503-1507)
 Painter, sculptor, architect,  Considered one of the great
engineer, writer, scientist masterpieces in all of art
history
 Leonardo developed the
technique of sfumato
Home of Da Vinci, Amboise
The Last Supper
Emotions
Response
 A Da Vinci “Code”:
St. John or Mary Magdalene?
The Last Supper (1498)
Da Vinci
Mona Lisa (1503-06)

Perspective,
Anatomy,
Composition
Chiaroscuri (light and
shadows)
Sfumato (softening of the
edges)
Cultural icon
Raphael (Rafaello Sanzio)(1483-1520)

 One of the giants of the High

Renaissance
 Is best known for charming
paintings of angels and
Madonnas.
 Master draftsman with elegant,
refined line.
 Defines characteristic features of
the High Renaissance style
 Clear primary and secondary
colors.
 Stable pyramidal compositions
 Awareness that how the subject is
depicted affects how the observer
perceives the image. Form shapes
content.

Small Cowper Madonna (1505)

Frescoes of the Stanza della
Segnatura , Vatican Palace, Rome
 Created numerous
“Madonna and Child”
paintings
 School of Athens (1510-
11) is a quintessential
example of humanism
 Greco-Roman architecture
is prominent
 Plato & Aristotle are in the
center of the painting
 Sculptures are painted in
contrapposto stance
Raphael
School of Athens 1510
 Da Vinci

Raphael

Michelangelo
 Plato:
looks to the
heavens [or
Aristotle:
the IDEAL
looks to this
realm]
earth [the
here and
now]
Pythagoras
 Ptolemy

Euclid
Portrait of Pope Julius II
by Raphael, 1511-1512

 More concerned with

politics than with
theology.
 The “Warrior Pope.”
 Great patron of
Renaissance artists,
especially Raphael &
Michelangelo.
 Died in 1513
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Michelangelo Buonorrati

 1475 – 1564

 He represented
the body in three
dimensions of
sculpture.
The Pieta
 David
 Michelangelo
Buonarotti
 1504
 Marble
 15c
What

difference

century

makes!
16c 
The Sistine
Chapel

Michelangelo
Buonarroti

1508 - 1512
The Sistine Chapel’s Ceiling
Michelangelo Buonarroti
1508 - 1512
Plan of the Sistine
Ceiling
 The Sistine Chapel Details

The
Creation
of the
Heavens
 The Sistine Chapel Details

Creation of Man
The Sistine Chapel Details

The Fall
from
Grace
The Sistine Chapel Details

The Last Judgment

Titian (c. 1485-1576)

 Greatest painter of the

Venetian school
 Use of vivid color and
movement, in contrast to
more subtle colors and
static figures of the
Florentine style
 Holy Family with Shepherd
Paolo Veronese. Christ in the House of Levi,
1573, oil on canvas
 El Greco (1541-1614)
 Toledo
 Mannerism
 Reaction against the
Renaissance ideals of balance,
symmetry, simplicity and
realistic use of color
 High Renaissance had taken
art to perfection; there was
little that could be done to
improve it; thus, mannerists
rebelled against it
 Works often used unnatural
colors while shapes were
elongated or otherwise
exaggerated

Laocoon
Welcome Back!

 Italian Renaissance art can 1. a revolt against the classical

style and the advancement of a
be most appropriately new artistic standard based on
described as? humanism.
2. NeoClassicism in which the
traditional characteristics of
harmony and symmetry were
valued
3. characterized by the spectacular
and the deliberately
nonsymmetrical.
4. romantic idealism predicated
upon notions of secular fantasy.
5. the triumph of symbolism.
 Mannerist art was characterized
by?
 1. formality, balance,  4. distorted human figures
restraint. and unnatural lighting
 2. emphasis on decorative effects.
design.  5. simplicity in human
 3. extravagant use of bright figures similar to Gothic
colors and abstract design. sculpture
Northern Renaissance Art
 Objective: Through notes and discussion students will
identify differences between Italian and Northern
Renaissance Artists.
Flemish style
 Heavily influenced by the Italian Renaissance
 More detail throughout paintings (especially the background)
than the Italian Renaissance
 Use of oil paints (in contrast to Italian Renaissance that used
tempera)
 More emotional than the Italian style
 Works often preoccupied with death
Welcome Back!
 Bell Ringer…  What are the 6
characteristics of
 Art quiz….Wednesday Renaissance Painting?
 Monday: chart on Northern  Agenda and Objective:
v. Italian Renaissance Through notes and
discussion students will
identify artists and technical
styles of the Italian and
Northern Renaissance.
Jan Van Eyck (c. 1339- c. 1441)

 Most famous and

innovative Flemish painter
of the 15th century
 Perfected oil painting
 Naturalistic wood panel
paintings used much
religious symbolism.
 Arnolfini and his Wife
(1434) is perhaps his most
famous work.
Disguised symbolism (fruit, beads, candle,
shoes, dog, whisk broom, etc…)
Jan van Eyck’s
signature
Jan van Eyck. Madonna with Canon
van der Paele, 1436, oil on wood
Bosch (c. 1450-1516)

 Death and the Miser (c. 1490)

 Master of symbolism and
fantasy
 His art often looks
surrealistic (like Dali of the
20th century) and focused
often on death and the
torments of Hell.
 Works reflect confusion and
anguish that people felt in
the Later Middle Ages
Garden of Earthly Delights
Germans
 Albrecht Dürer (1471-
1528)
 Foremost northern
Renaissance artist.
 First northerner artist to
master Italian
Renaissance techniques of
proportion, perspective
Albrecht Durer. The Four
Horsemen, from the
Apocalypse series,
c. 1498, woodcut
 Young Hare, Watercolor,
1502
Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-
1543)

 Premier portrait artist of his

era: painted Erasmus,
More, numerous portraits of
King Henry VIII and also his
family members
Hans Holbein.
Erasmus of
Rotterdam, c.
1523, oil on
panel
Hans Holbein.
The French
Ambassadors,
1533, oil and
tempera on wood
Hans Holbein the
Younger. Portrait of Henry
VIII, 1539-40, oil on panel
Hans Holbein the Younger.
Sir Thomas More, 1527, oil on panel
Some terms/individuals to
remember…
 Mannerism  Michelangelo
 Contrapposto  Leonardo Da Vinci
 Sfumato  Masaccio
 Chiaroscuro  Durer
 Characteristics of  Differences between Italian
Renaissance Painting and Northern Renaissance
 Giotto Artists
 Botticelli  Raphael
 Van Eyck