ITALIAN RENAISSANCE ART

God, Man, and Money

ITALIAN RENAISSANCE ART

• During the 14th to 16th centuries, the traditions and techniques of art

and architecture in Western Europe underwent significant changes

• Rise in secular subjects → individual portraits

• Depiction of pre-Christian themes and ideas, without apology to the Church

• Depiction of the human form → anatomy studies → AUTOPSIES (da Vinci and

Michelangelo, in particular)

• Problems of linear perspective and composition addressed in new ways

• New techniques and materials (fresco, oil paints, chiaroscuro)

• Artists’ status as celebrities and cultural heroes increase

• Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael

THE NORTHERN RENAISSANCE

Similarities and differences.

• Spread of Renaissance ideas and practices north from Italy (1400 -1500s)

• Primarily involved:

• German states (HRE)

• France

• England

• Netherlands (Dutch areas)

• Increase of trade and commerce → presence of printing press → rapid spread of

humanism, secularism, and individualism

• Occurred simultaneously with the Protestant Reformation

NORTHERN RENAISSANCE

• Artistic expression in the Northern Renaissances differed from the Italian

Renaissance, because of:

• Reliance on woodcuts and printmaking (Durer)

• Emphasis on tiny, realistic details and symbolism

• Widespread use of oil paints, not acrylic or fresco work

• Very little sculpture

• Interest in depicting light v. dark

ITALIAN V. NORTHERN