renaissance art booklet

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THE HUMANISTIC REVIVALOF CLASSICAL ART,

ARCHITECTURE, LITERATURE & LEARNING

Renaissance


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THE HUMANISTIC REVIVALOF CLASSICAL ART,ARCHITECTURE, LITERATURE & LEARNING

Frances ChenOxford University Press

Renaissance


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Great Clarendon Street, Oxford

Published in the United States

by Oxford University Press Inc., New York

Copyright Frances Chen 2012

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in

any form or by any means, without prior permission.

ISBN 0-19-280354-9

EAN 978-0-19-280354-2

Typeset by Frances Chen

Printed in Los Angeles by

USC Roski, Los Angeles, California

OXFORDUniversity Press

The Rape ofSabine Women, 1574GiambolognaRome, Italy


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introduction

timeline concepts anatomy michelangelo da vinci

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SISTINE MODONNA, 1514Raphael

Germany


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INTRODUCTIONThe Renaissance began in Italy

because of its location in the

middle of the Mediterranean Sea.Italy was home to many wealthy

families, willing to finance

education. The Medici family

ruled Florence and advocated the

arts and sciences. These aristocrats

would pay people to learn

and create for them, spreading

knowledge into the lower classes.

With this rebirth of intellect camethe greater interest in Ancient

Greek and Roman culture that

inspired the revival of Classicism.

Renaissance art placed a large

emphasis on the importance of

the Madonna in art. During this

period, the gap dividing other

creative thinkers such as poets,

Madonna delle Arpie, 1517Andrea del Sarto

Florence, ItalyDying Slave, 1516MichelangeloParis, France


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Introduc

Feast in the House of Levi, 1573 Paolo VeroneseVenice, Italy

inspired the revival of Classicism.

Renaissance art placed a large emphasis

on the importance of the Madonna in

art. Perspective and attention to light

became important to artists, as well as

architectural accuracy in backgrounds.

Popular subject matter included

Biblical characters and subjects from

Greek and Roman mythology. The

gap dividing other creative thinkers

such as poets, essayists, philosophers

and scientists from artists began to

decrease. All of the people were seen

as visionaries and began to share ideas

and learn from each other.


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RENAISSANCE ORIGINS (1300-1400)

The origins of Renaissance art can be traced to Italy

in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. During this

so-called proto-Renaissance period, Italian scholars

and artists saw themselves as reawakening to the

ideals and achievements of classical Roman culture.

The Florentine painter Giotto (1267?-1337), themost famous artist of the proto-Renaissance, made

enormous advances in the technique of representing

the human body realistically.

EARLY RENAISSANCE (1401-1490s)

The proto-Renaissance was stifled by plague and

war, and its influences did not emerge again until the

first years of the next century. The end of the Early

Renaissance in Italian art is marked by a particular

commission that drew artists together. The treatment of

the elements of perspective and light in painting was ofparticular concern. Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino,

Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli are all

noteworthy artists of this period.

BIRTH OF VENUS, 1486Sandro Botticelli

Uffizi, Florence

NAVITIVITY, 1320Giotto

Italy


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HIGH RENAISSANCE (1401-1490s)

Three great mastersLeonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo

and Raphaeldominated the period known as the High

Renaissance. Leonardo was the ultimate Renaissance

man for the breadth of his intellect, interest and talent

and his expression of humanist and classical values.

Michelangelo drew on the human body for inspirationand created works on a vast scale as the dominant sculptor

of the High Renaissance. Raphael Sanzio, the youngest of

the masters, learned from both da Vinci and Michelangelo.

THE LAST SUPPER, 1498Leonardo da Vinci

Milan, Italy

Galatea, detail of putto, 1506Raphael

Rome, Italy

TIMELINE

RENAISSANCE IN FLORENCE

Though the Catholic Church remained a major

patron of the arts during the Renaissancefrom

popes and other prelates to convents, monasteries

and other religious organizationsworks of art were

increasingly commissioned by civil government,

courts and wealthy individuals. Much of theart produced during the early Renaissance was

commissioned by the wealthy merchant families of

Florence, most notably the Medici.


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PROPORTIONS OF THE HEAD, 1489Leonardo da VinciItaly

School of Athens, 1510RaphaelVatican City

PROPORTION

The Renaissance tried to extract and codify the system

of proportions in the orders as used by the ancients,

believing that with analysis a mathematically absolute

ideal of beauty would emerge. The Renaissance artists

used the Golden Mean extensively in their paintings

and sculptures to achieve balance and beauty. Oftenfound in nature in the shape of a leaf or the spiral of a

shell, the golden mean is thought to add harmonious

composition to buildings and other structures.

LINEAR PERSPECTIVE

Brunellesco (1377-1446), sculptor, architect, and

artisan-engineer, is given credit for the invention of

linear perspective. Almost all Renaissance artists turned

to the use of perspective to enhance their compositions,

notably Masaccio and Leonardo. The Renaissance

use of perspective reached its apogee at around 1500,as represented by the incandescent work of Raphael.

Almost all Renaissance examples relied on the simple

one-point perspective scheme.


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Parnassus, 1497Andrea MantegnaParis, France

PRIMAVERA, 1482Sandro BotticelliUffizi, Florence

CONCEPTS

CHIAROSCHURO

Careful use of light and shadow (called chiaroscuro)

made figures appear full and real. The Renaissance

new way of seeing the world introduced a

revolutionary interpretation of the reality, making

painting more real by introducing the notion of

perspective, obtained by using shadows. Renaissancepainters not only portrayed objects with more

realism, they often filled their canvases with more

objects, all carefully and accurately depicted.

REALISM

Realism broke away both from the crude Medieval (and

often cartoon-like) art and the Roman idealist art. It was

the point at which people began turning from religion

and toward science. Renaissance artists that used realism

often focused on their subjects individual personality

and physical traits, which ushered in the new acceptanceof the importance of the individual human. Realism was

an important tool for the newly discovered scientific

method.


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Taking inspiration from classical Roman

and Greek art, Renaissance artist were also

interested in the human body, particularlythe nude. They attempted to idealize the

human form and were shown in physical

perfection and purity with expression and

unique personality. Italian Renaissance

artists became anatomists by necessity,

as they attempted to refine a more

lifelike, sculptural portrayal of the

human figure. Their investigations

surpassed much of the knowledgeof anatomy that was taught at the

universities. Opportunities for direct

anatomical dissection were very

restricted dur ing the Renaissance.

Antonio Pollaiuolo (1431/321498)

was the first master to skin many

human bodies in order to investigate

the muscles and understand the nude in a

more modern way. The later

VITRUVIAN MAN, 1490Leonardo da Vinci

Venice, Italy

STUDIES OF SHOULDERS, 1509Leonardo da Vinci

Venice, Italy


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innovators in the field, Leonardo da

Vinci and Michelangelo, who are

known to have undertaken detailedanatomical dissections at various

points in their long careers, set a

new standard in their portrayals

of the human figure (Studies for

the Libyan Sibyl, 24.197.2). The

patrons commissioning art in this

period also came to expect such

anatomical mastery. In the words

of the Florentine sculptor BaccioBandinelli, I will show you that

I know how to dissect the brain,

and also living men, as I have

dissected dead ones to learn my art

(The Academy of Baccio Bandinelli,

17.50.16-35). Circumstantial evidence

suggests that a number of other artists

also attempted direct dissections.

VIEW OF A SKULL, 1489Leonardo da VinciVenice, Italy

ANATOMY


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MICHELANGELOwas born in 1475 in Florence

and died 1564 in Rome. He was an

Italian sculptor, painter, architect,and poet. He served a brief

apprenticeship with Domenico

Ghirlandaio in Florence

before beginning the first

of several sculptures for

Lorenzo deMedici. After

Lorenzos death in 1492,

he left for Bologna and then for

Rome. There his Bacchus (149697)established his fame and led to a

commission for the Piet (now in

St. Peters Basilica), the masterpiece

of his early years, in which he

demonstrated his unique ability to

extract two distinct figures from

one marble block.

SELF PORTRAIT, 1482MichelangeloFlorence, Italy

David, 1501MichelangeloFlorence, Italy

The true work of art is but

a shadow of the divine perfection


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His David (150104), commissioned for the cathedral

of Florence, is still considered the prime example of

the Renaissance ideal of perfect humanity. On the

side, he produced several Madonnas for private

patrons and his only universally

accepted easel painting, The Holy

Family (known as the Doni

Tondo). Attracted to ambitious

sculptural projects, which he

did not always complete,

he reluctantly agreed to

paint the ceiling of theSistine Chapel (150812).

The first scenes, depicting

the story of Noah, are

relatively stable and on

a small scale, but his

confidence grew as

he proceeded, and the

later scenes evince

boldness and complexity. His figures for the tombs

in Florences Medici Chapel (151933), which he

designed, are among his most accomplished

creations. He devoted his last 30 years

largely to the Last Judgment fresco in

the Sistine Chapel, to writing poetry

(he left more than 300 sonnets and

madrigals), and to architecture. He

was commissioned to complete

St. Peters Basilica, begun in

1506 and little advanced

since 1514. Though itwas not quite finished

at Michelangelos death,

its exterior owes more

to him than to any

other architect. He

is regarded today

as among the most

exalted of artists.

PIETA, 1499MichelangeloVatican City

Michelan


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LEONARDO DA VINCILeonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was

a painter, architect, inventor, and

student of all things scientific. Hisnatural genius crossed so many

disciplines that he epitomized the

term Renaissance man. Today

he remains best known for his art,

including two paintings that remain

among the worlds most famous and

admired, Mona Lisa and The Last

Supper. Art, da Vinci believed, was

indisputably connected with scienceand nature. Largely self-educated, he

filled dozens of secret notebooks with

inventions, observations and theories

about pursuits from aeronautics to

anatomy. But the rest of the world was

just beginning to share knowledge

in books made with moveable type,

SELF PORTRAIT, 1512Leonardo da Vinci

Turin, Italy

Male Nude, 1506Leonardo da Vinci

Turin, Italy

The noblest pleasure isthe joy of understanding.


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da Vinci

and the concepts expressed in his notebooks

were often difficult to interpret. As a result,

though he was lauded in his time as a great

artist, his contemporaries often did not fully

appreciate his geniusthe combination of

intellect and imagination that allowed him to

create, at least on paper, such inventions as the

bicycle, the helicopter and an airplane based on

the physiology and flying capability of a bat.

Neck & Shoulders

Study of a Man, 1510Leonardo da VinciWindsor, Windsor Castle

Saint John the Baptist, 1515Leonardo da VinciMilan, Italy

Mona Lisa, 1506Leonardo da VinciParis, France


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BIBLIOGRAPHYTEXT SOURCES

BOOKS Nret, Gilles. Michelangelo, 1475-1564. Kln: Taschen, 2000. Print.

Zollner, Frank. Leonardo Da Vinci, 1452-1519. Kln: Taschen, 2000. Print.

WEBSITES Calter, Paul. The Origins of Perspective. Geometry in Art & Architecture

Unit 11. Dartmouth College, 1998. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. .

Michelangelo (di Lodovico Buonarroti). Answers.com Encyclopedia.Answers, 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. .

Parveen, Nikhat. Golden Ratio During Renaissance Period. RenaissancePeriod. University of Georgia, 2002. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. .

Realism & The Renaissance. Chiff: Renaissance History. Chiff, 2012. Web.04 Dec. 2012. .

Renaissance Art. History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 01Dec. 2012. .

Renaissance Artists, Artworks and Biographies. Renaissance Art. WorldWide Arts Resources, 22 Sept. 2009. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. .

Tyler, Christopher. Perspective: The Rise of Renaissance Perspective.

Renaissance Art. Rockefeller Foundation, July 2004. Web. 04 Dec. 2012..

PHOTO SOURCES

BOOKS Emison, Patricia A. Leonardo. London: Phaidon, 2011. Print.

Jones, Roger, and Nicholas Penny. Raphael. New Haven: Yale UP, 1983.Print.

OReilly, Wenda Brewster., and Erin Kravitz. The Renaissance Art Book.Palo Alto, CA: Birdcage, 2000. Print.

Toman, Rolf. The Art of the Italian Renaissance. San Diego, CA: ThunderBay, 1995. Print.

WEBSITES Chaos. The Creation of Adam, Michelangelos Mysterious Fresco. Art

History. Free Scoop, 22 Aug. 2012. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. .

Niyazi, Hasan. The Enigma of Authenticity. Raphaels Lady with aUnicorn. 3 Pipe Problem, 12 Feb. 2012. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. .

Raphael. Galatea, Detail of Putto. 1506. Villa Farnesina, Rome, Italy. Raphael.WikiPaintings, 2006. Web. 04 Dec. 2012. .

Reuteler, David. The Drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci. The Drawings ofLeonardo Da Vinci. David Reuteler, 1 Nov. 2012. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. .


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