Early Renaissance Art in Italy
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Transcript of Early Renaissance Art in Italy
Early Renaissance in Italy(1400’s / 15th Century)
“An explosion of creativity and learning in Europe in the 15th and 16th Centuries.”
Historical Reasons for Renaissance
• People were ready for change after 14th Century Wars, the plague, and social upheaval
• Change in Political power – the new “monarchs” exerted and expanded their authority, including spending money on art
• Emerging capitalism – trade, new credit, and exchange systems created a network of enterprising European cities
• The Pope makes Rome him home again
The birthplace of the Renaissance was Italy
The Renaissance quickly spread to other parts of Europe.
Humanism
Revival of classical learning and literature (interest in Ancient Greek and Roman cultures)
Focus on Human Beings
• education that perfected humans through the study of past models of civic and personal virtue
• value system that emphasized personal effort and responsibility
• physically and intellectually active life that was directed at a common good as well as individual nobility
Renaissance art influenced by Ancient Greek and Roman Art
Ancient Greek Sculpture
Renaissance Sculpture
Nude figures
• Renaissance artists often depicted nude figures
• The beauty of the human body
• Based on Classical Greek Art
• No shame in showing nude human figure (freedom of expression)
Donatello, David, 1432, Bronze
sculpture, 5’2”. Florence, Italy
• Donatello studied ancient sculpture in Rome
• David is a character from the Bible. In the story, he fights the giant (Goliath) and wins
• First life-sized nude sculpture since Ancient Greek and Roman times (Nude wasn’t shown in Middle Ages – considered indecent)
• Tribute to “male beauty”
• Contrapposto – the way he’s standing
The main subject matter in Renaissance Art was Religion. The main religion in Europe at that time was Christianity. Art included depictions of stories from the Bible, stories about the life of Christ and the Holy Family, etc.
Composition during the Renaissance
(Composition is the organization of the elements to form a unified whole in an artwork)
Renaissance artists carefully planned their artworks, making many sketches and plans in advance of the final work
Shapes were used as a way to organize a composition
The triangle shape is symbolic in Chrisitianity
“The holy trinity”
Engraving, a printmaking technique was invented in 15th Century
The process involves using a tool to carve lines into a metal or wood plate, adding ink,
and printing copies from the plate
Antonio Pollaiuolo, Battle of the Ten Nudes, 1465, Engraving
Visual Movement
Hatching – Technique of using a series of parallel lines to create the image
Hatching was used in Italian style engravingAntonio Pollaiuolo, Battle of the
Ten Nudes
Fresco Painting
Wall paintings / Part of the architecture
Popular Medium in Italy in Renaissance
Fresco means “Fresh” in Italian, the word refers to the process
Buon Fresco (“True Fresh”) – technique of painting on wet plaster where you have to work quickly
Masaccio, Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden, 1425, Fresco
Masaccio, Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden
Adam and Eve (first man and woman according to the Bible) stumble blindly led by angel
Expulsion – forced to leave
Eden – “Paradise”
Feeling of Despair / Deep Sadness
Strong Light and Shadow
Simple Composition with eloquent message
Fra Angelico, Annunciation, 1440 – 1445, Fresco
Painted by a monk
Series of Paintings of stories in a Monastery in Italy
Annunciation is the story of angel Gabriel telling the Virgin Mary that she will have a baby (Jesus)
Frescos illustrate a 13th Century Text
Simple and Humble Character
Fra Angelico, Annunciation
Perspective
Depicting the illusion of three-dimensional space on a flat 2-D surface
Renaissance artists discovered ways to show space that looked more real (one and two-point perspective)
Andrea Mantegna, Dead Christ, 1501, Tempera on Canvas
Andrea Mantegna, Dead Christ
Perspective / Foreshortening of the human figure
Size of feet reduced to look smaller
Overwhelming emotion
Two mourning figures on the left added later by Mantegna’s students
Mantegna’s style and sense of human emotion influenced other artists
Masaccio, Holy Trinity, 1428, Fresco
Masaccio, Holy Trinity
Masaccio leading innovator in 15th Century Art
Painting based on Observation (looking at real humans as a model)
“Calm monumental style”
Perspective – looking up and looking down at tomb of Christ
Virgin Mary on the left, St. John on Right, portraits of patrons kneeling on left and right (patron = person who gives money for art)
Classical Greek and Roman Themes in Renaissance Art
Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1482, Tempera on Canvas
Botticelli, Birth of Venus
Venus – Roman Goddess of Love and Beauty
Zephyrus – God of Wind with his lover, Chloris
Pomona – Nymph greeting Venus with a robe
• Painting inspired by a poem by Angelo Poliziano, an Italian Humanist
• Commissioned by the Medici for the Medici family, a powerful wealthy Italian family
• From a series of paintings based on Classical themes
Italian Renaissance Architecture
Filippo Brunelleschi, Dome of Florence Cathedral, 1420 – 1436 (Florence, Italy)
Brunelleschi, Dome of Florence Cathedral
Bruneslleschi designed the dome – the building stood unfinished for almost 100 years
He devised new building methods and invented new machinery for architecture
Problem was the huge span (140 feet wide)
Brunelleschi made the dome taller and created a pointed dome / used a thin shell to support the weight
Lorenzo Ghiberti, Sacrifice of Isaac, 1401 – 1402, Gilded Bronze relief
Lorenzo Ghiberti, Sacrifice of Isaac
Relief sculpture – figures protruding from a flat background
Spatial Illusion
Won a Design Competition to design the east doors of Florence Baptistry (Part of Florence Cathedral)
Ghiberti designed 28 door panels, depicting scenes from The Old Testament of the Bible