THE HIGH RENAISSANCE

It is centered in ROME

1495-1527

The Renaissance combines the arts

with the sciences for the first time

Leonardo da Vinci

MichelangeloRaphaelAre the

superstars

Leonardo da Vinci

MichelangeloRaphaelWere geniuses who broke

through medieval limitations and elevated man with their

pens, brushes, and chisels

During the Renaissance, people learned to value life

on earth as more that a stop on the way to

the afterlife.

Artists began to celebrate man, not

only God

Humanism flourishes

Leonardo was the quintessential “Renaissance Man”

Worked as an apprentice to Verrocchio

Self-Portrait drawing, c. 1512

Leonardo da VinciHe was a

Painter Sculptor ArchitectScientist Engineer Inventor

Leonardo da Vinci

He made far more drawings than paintings

He kept hundreds of notebooks…

Vitruvian ManPen and ink; 14”x 10”c. 1490

Leonardo da Vinci illustrates Vitruvius’ observations about man/ circle

As an apprentice, Leonardo painted the angel on the left…

Andrea Verrocchio, Baptism of Christ, 1470, 70”x 60”

This angel drove Verrocchio to stick with sculpture

Andrea Verrocchio, Baptism of Christ, 1470, 70”x 60”

Aerial Perspective;objects off in the distance appear bluish. They are lighter blue, the farther away

Madonna of the Rocks, 1485. Oil on wood..

Pyramidal form

Mona LisaWorld’s most famous portrait.

It took 3 years to finish it is said to be of Lisa di Antonio Maria Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy Florentine.

Mona Lisa , c. 1503-1505. Oil on wood, approx 2’6” x 1’9”.

Mona LisaIt was his favorite piece –Masterpiece so much so that Leonardo kept it for years.

Mona Lisa

Sfumato:Means “toned down” or “vanished in smoke”.

It helps blend the figures into the background so they don’t look like cut outs.

Mona Lisa , c. 1505. Oil on wood, approx 2’6” x 1’9”.

Sfumato:It creates a misty dreamlike effect…

Leonardo da Vinci

Portrait of Ginerva Benci, Oil on Wood, 1475

chiaroscuro:Means light-dark. It has to do with the gentle shading that makes his figures look so real

Leonardo da Vinci

Last Supper c. 1495. oil and tempera on plaster. 15’x30’

Leonardo da Vinci

One of the most widely recognized images in Western

art

Leonardo da Vinci

Can be found on the wall of a refectory in Milan

Last Supper

most impressive of his works. Subjects seated at table parallel to the picture plan.

Simple setting- not to distract from the story

Leonardo Da Vinci. “Last Supper” ca. 1495-1498. Fresco

window behind Christ serves as a halo. people from real life used as figures for his

painting

RAPHAEL Raffaello Sanzio, born in Urbino, Italy

1483 – 1520

Died of a fever at 37

Supported by The Medici Family and Pope Leo X

Raphael

In contrast to Leonardo and Michelangelo, Raphael’s style is calm and restrained

Madonna of the Meadow, 1505. Oil on panel; $’x3”

Raphael

Raphael

Madonna dell Granduca c. 1505Oil on wood.

At the beginning of his career in Florence, he painted many versions of Madonnas

Raphael

Madonna della Sedia

Raphael

A Madonna “specialist”

Sistine Madonna, c.1514

Raphael

Canagiani Madonna, 1507

He uses the pyramidal form (like da Vinci), but does not use sfumato- mysterious background

Raphael

At 25, he moves to Rome where he paints more religious pictures and

Portraits

Raphael

Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione,c. 1515Oil on canvas

He puts personality in his portraits

Raphael Pope Julius II

commissioned Raphael (25 in 1508) to paint the frescos in his four room apartment. They became known as "The Raphael Stanze" .

Raphael The School of Athens, 1511, Fresco

Raphael

Raphael

Da Vinci as PLATO-he looks to theheavens

ARISTOTLE-looks to this earth [the here and now]

Raphael

Michelangelo is shown as a great Greek philosopher. He painted him in a pose that Michelangelo has used in his work.

Strong, powerful…

Michelangelo

David, Florence, Italy , 1504

Huge block of marble, called “The Giant”

It assured his reputation as an extraordinary talent.

Michelangelo

Caught Pope Julius II’s attention and it lead to major papal commissions.

He chose to depict David sternly watching for his approaching foe. He is tense with gathering power

Michelangelo

He worked for the Medici family in Florence

Taught himself to carve by studying the Medici collection of classical statues

Michelangelo

Larger than life David. Over 13 feet tall. Sculpted in

perspective (top heavy), so if viewed from below the figure looks proportional. Contrapposto…

Michelangelo

Pope Julius II gave the reluctant artist the commission to paint the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel.

Faced enormous difficulties: relative inexperience in fresco, size, height

Rome, 1508-1512

Over 300 images

Old Testament figures

It took 4 years to complete

Creation of Man

Michelangelo

The Last Judgment

FrescoSistine Chapel,

Italy1541

Painted in 1541, almost 30 years after he finished the ceiling

Michelangelo

The Last Judgment

DETAIL, FrescoSistine Chapel,

Italy1541

Michelangelo

, Pietà, from Old St. Peter’s c. 1500, Marble, height 6’

Michelangelo

, Pietà, from Old St. Peter’s c. 1500, Marble, height 6’

Pietà = Mary holding and mourning dead Christ

Italian for “compassion” (think pity)

Made when he was 24

Michelangelo

Michelangelo

, Pietà, from Old St. Peter’s c. 1500, Marble, height 6’

Only major work that has Michelangelo’s signature on it (on the strap across her chest)

ArchitectureCentrally planned churches=

ideal.

Comes from ancient notion that the circle is the ideal shape-

associated with divinity.

ArchitectureCentrally planned churches=

ideal.

Tempietto, by Bromante. 1502. Rome

ArchitectureTempietto, by Bromante. 1502. Romea small shrine to mark the site of St. Peter’s crucifixion. Bramante chose to design a circular temple.

Tempietto = “little temple”

Architecture

Saint Peter’s,

Rome

Architecture Bramante

= leading architect in RomeHe was

Raphael’s mentor

Architecture

St. Peter’s was over 1,000 years old and need to be rebuilt.

In 1506, Bramante was in charge, but he died early on.

He chose Raphael to be his successor- but he died shortly after…

Michelangelo takes over in 1546 and simplified Bramante’s complex design.

Architecture Saint Peter’s, Rome

Interior- Saint Peter’s, Rome

Architecture St. Peter’s has a

central Greek cross plan, but a long nave was added to form a Latin cross.

Developments in

VENICE

VENICEVenetian artists were all about

COLORTEXTUREMOOD

Developments in VENICE

BelliniGiorgione

Titian

Developments in VENICE

Bellini had a great influence

onGiorgione

Titian

Bellini St. Francis in Ecstasy, 1485. Panel; 48”x 55”

His work is influenced by work from the Northern Renaissance, centered in Flanders

BelliniDoge Leonardo Loredan, 1500. oil on wood; 24”x 18”His portraits also share the strict attention to surface detail (texture)found in the Netherlands

Bellini Doge Leonardo Loredan, 1500. oil on wood; 24”x 18”

surface detail-Texture of clothing

GiorgioneTempest, c. 1510. oil on canvas; 31” x 28”

His work is like a link between Bellini and Titian

He liked to paint soft muted landscapes

Giorgione

Old Woman, early 1500’s. Oil on canvas; 26”x 23”

He died young- not many works…

This is a study in the ravishes of time and its psychological effect

“col Tempo” (with time)

Titian

Penitent Mary Magdalen 1560s, Oil on canvas.

had a creative career during which he produced religious, mythological, and portrait paintings, in an original way

He used vivid color and

movement

Titian

Assumption of the Virgin 1516, oil on panel. 22’x 12’

Titian is famous for his intense colors- especially RED

TitianHe started by painting his canvas with red

Then figures and background with vivid

Then tone down with at least 30 layers of glazes

Titian

Assumption of the Virgin 1516, oil on panel. 22’x 12’

Titian is famous for his use of light and dark

His work is filled

with energy

Titian Off center,

asymmetrical architecture- more daring composition than artists in Rome

The Pesaro Altarpiece, 1525, canvas, 16’x9’. Venice

TitianRape of Europa, 1560. Oil on canvas; 73”x81”

He is interested in mythological subject matter

TitianRape of Europa, 1560. Oil on canvas; 73”x81”

He is interested in mythological subject matter

Titian

He was responsible for making the use of canvas more popular than painting on wood panel

The High Renaissance had reached the peak of perfection and harmony.

What next?

…a new effort for artists

to be original, because no one could top the Renaissance Men

In the next chapter, the Mannerists will

exaggerate ideal beauty and will seek

instability instead of equilibrium