Name Three Important Renaissance Artists and One of Their Works of Art

The Italian Renaissance

Learning Objectives

The art of the Italian Renaissance was influential throughout Europe for centuries.

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• The Florence school of painting became the dominant way during the Renaissance. Renaissance artworks depicted more than secular discipline thing than previous artistic movements.
• Michelangelo, da Vinci, and Rafael are among the all-time known painters of the High Renaissance.
• The High Renaissance was followed past the Mannerist movement, known for elongated figures.

Key Terms

• fresco: A type of wall painting in which colour pigments are mixed with h2o and applied to wet plaster. As the plaster and pigments dry, they fuse together and the painting becomes a function of the wall itself.
• Mannerism: A manner of art developed at the end of the High Renaissance, characterized past the deliberate baloney and exaggeration of perspective, especially the elongation of figures.

The Renaissance began during the 14th century and remained the dominate fashion in Italy, and in much of Europe, until the 16th century. The term "renaissance" was developed during the 19th century in order to draw this period of time and its accompanying artistic style. However, people who were living during the Renaissance did see themselves every bit unlike from their Medieval predecessors. Through a diversity of texts that survive, we know that people living during the Renaissance saw themselves as different largely because they were deliberately trying to imitate the Ancients in art and architecture.

Florence and the Renaissance

When y'all hear the term "Renaissance" and movie a manner of art, you are probably picturing the Renaissance style that was developed in Florence, which became the dominate style of art during the Renaissance. During the Heart Ages and the Renaissance, Italy was divided into a number of different city states. Each metropolis state had its own authorities, culture, economic system, and creative fashion. There were many different styles of art and architecture that were developed in Italy during the Renaissance. Siena, which was a political ally of France, for example, retained a Gothic element to its art for much of the Renaissance.

Sure conditions aided the development of the Renaissance way in Florence during this time period. In the 15th century, Florence became a major mercantile center. The production of cloth collection their economy and a merchant class emerged. Humanism, which had developed during the 14th century, remained an important intellectual motion that impacted art production as well.

Early Renaissance

During the Early Renaissance, artists began to reject the Byzantine style of religious painting and strove to create realism in their depiction of the human form and space. This aim toward realism began with Cimabue and Giotto, and reached its peak in the art of the "Perfect" artists, such as Andrea Mantegna and Paolo Uccello, who created works that employed one point perspective and played with perspective for their educated, art knowledgeable viewer.

During the Early on Renaissance we also see important developments in subject affair, in addition to style. While faith was an important element in the daily life of people living during the Renaissance, and remained a driving factor behind artistic production, we also see a new artery open up to panting—mythological subject thing. Many scholars indicate to Botticelli's Nascency of Venus as the very showtime console painting of a mythological scene. While the tradition itself likely arose from cassone painting, which typically featured scenes from mythology and romantic texts, the development of mythological panel painting would open a earth for artistic patronage, product, and themes.

Nativity of Venus: Botticelli's Birth of Venus was amongst the nearly important works of the early Renaissance.

High Renaissance

The flow known as the High Renaissance represents the culmination of the goals of the Early on Renaissance, namely the realistic representation of figures in space rendered with credible move and in an appropriately decorous way. The about well known artists from this stage are Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, and Michelangelo. Their paintings and frescoes are among the most widely known works of fine art in the world. Da Vinci'south Last Supper, Raphael's The School of Athens and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling paintings are the masterpieces of this menstruation and embody the elements of the High Renaissance.

Matrimony of the Virgin, by Raphael: The painting depicts a union ceremony between Mary and Joseph.

Mannerism

Loftier Renaissance painting evolved into Mannerism in Florence. Mannerist artists, who consciously rebelled against the principles of High Renaissance, tended to represent elongated figures in illogical spaces. Modern scholarship has recognized the capacity of Mannerist art to convey potent, often religious, emotion where the High Renaissance failed to practice so. Some of the main artists of this period are Pontormo, Bronzino, Rosso Fiorentino, Parmigianino and Raphael's pupil, Giulio Romano.

Art and Patronage

The Medici family used their vast fortune to control the Florentine political system and sponsor a series of artistic accomplishments.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the human relationship between fine art, patronage, and politics during the Renaissance

Central Takeaways

Key Points

• Although the Renaissance was underway before the Medici family came to ability in Florence, their patronage and political back up of the arts helped catalyze the Renaissance into a fully fledged cultural movement.
• The Medici wealth and influence initially derived from the cloth trade guided past the guild of the Arte della Lana; through financial superiority, the Medici dominated their city's authorities.
• Medici patronage was responsible for the majority of Florentine art during their reign, equally artists generally only made their works when they received commissions in advance.
• Although none of the Medici themselves were scientists, the family is well known to have been the patrons of the famous Galileo Galilei, who tutored multiple generations of Medici children.

Key Terms

• Lorenzo de' Medici: An Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Democracy, who was one of the near powerful and enthusiastic patrons of the Renaissance.
• patronage: The back up, encouragement, privilege, or financial help that an organization or private bestows on another, especially in the arts.

Overview

It has long been a matter of contend why the Renaissance began in Florence, and not elsewhere in Italy. Scholars take noted several features unique to Florentine cultural life that may have caused such a cultural move. Many take emphasized the office played past the Medici, a banking family and later ducal ruling house, in patronizing and stimulating the arts. Lorenzo de' Medici (1449–1492) was the catalyst for an enormous amount of arts patronage, encouraging his countrymen to commission works from the leading artists of Florence, including Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Michelangelo Buonarroti. Works past Neri di Bicci, Botticelli, da Vinci, and Filippino Lippi had been commissioned additionally by the convent di San Donato agli Scopeti of the Augustinians order in Florence.

The Medici Business firm Patronage

The Business firm of Medici was an Italian banking family unit, political dynasty, and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Democracy of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. Their wealth and influence initially derived from the textile trade guided past the guild of the Arte della Lana. Like other signore families, they dominated their city'south government, they were able to bring Florence nether their family's power, and they created an environment where fine art and Humanism could flourish. They, forth with other families of Italia, such as the Visconti and Sforza of Milan, the Este of Ferrara, and the Gonzaga of Mantua, fostered and inspired the nascency of the Italian Renaissance.

The biggest accomplishments of the Medici were in the sponsorship of fine art and architecture, mainly early and High Renaissance art and architecture. The Medici were responsible for the bulk of Florentine fine art during their reign. Their money was significant because during this menses, artists generally only made their works when they received commissions in accelerate. Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, the first patron of the arts in the family unit, aided Masaccio and commissioned Brunelleschi for the reconstruction of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, in 1419. Cosimo the Elder's notable creative associates were Donatello and Fra Angelico. The about significant addition to the list over the years was Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564), who produced piece of work for a number of Medici, beginning with Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was said to be extremely fond of the immature Michelangelo, inviting him to study the family unit collection of antiquarian sculpture. Lorenzo also served as patron of Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) for seven years. Indeed, Lorenzo was an artist in his ain right, and an author of poetry and song; his support of the arts and letters is seen equally a high point in Medici patronage.

The Medici Business firm: Medici family members placed allegorically in the entourage of a king from the Three Wise Men in the Tuscan countryside in a Benozzo Gozzoli fresco, c. 1459.

In architecture, the Medici are responsible for some notable features of Florence, including the Uffizi Gallery, the Boboli Gardens, the Belvedere, the Medici Chapel, and the Palazzo Medici. Later, in Rome, the Medici Popes connected in the family tradition by patronizing artists in Rome. Pope Leo Ten would chiefly commission works from Raphael. Pope Clement Seven commissioned Michelangelo to pigment the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel only before the pontiff's decease in 1534. Eleanor of Toledo, princess of Spain and wife of Cosimo I the Great, purchased the Pitti Palace from Buonaccorso Pitti in 1550. Cosimo in turn patronized Vasari, who erected the Uffizi Gallery in 1560 and founded the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno ("Academy of the Arts of Drawing") in 1563. Marie de' Medici, widow of Henry 4 of France and female parent of Louis XIII, is the subject of a commissioned cycle of paintings known as the Marie de' Medici cycle, painted for the Grand duchy of luxembourg Palace by courtroom painter Peter Paul Rubens in 1622–1623.

Although none of the Medici themselves were scientists, the family is well known to accept been the patrons of the famous Galileo Galilei, who tutored multiple generations of Medici children and was an important figurehead for his patron'due south quest for ability. Galileo'southward patronage was somewhen abandoned by Ferdinando II when the Inquisition accused Galileo of heresy. However, the Medici family did afford the scientist a condom oasis for many years. Galileo named the four largest moons of Jupiter subsequently four Medici children he tutored, although the names Galileo used are not the names currently used.

Leonardo da Vinci

While Leonardo da Vinci is admired equally a scientist, an academic, and an inventor, he is virtually famous for his achievements as the painter of several Renaissance masterpieces.

Learning Objectives

Depict the works of Leonardo da Vinci that demonstrate his most innovative techniques as an artist

Fundamental Takeaways

Primal Points

• Among the qualities that make da Vinci's work unique are the innovative techniques that he used in laying on the paint, his detailed knowledge of anatomy, his innovative utilize of the human grade in figurative composition, and his apply of sfumato.
• Amid the most famous works created by da Vinci is the small portrait titled the Mona Lisa, known for the elusive smile on the adult female'south face up, brought about by the fact that da Vinci subtly shadowed the corners of the mouth and eyes so that the exact nature of the smile cannot be determined.
• Despite his famous paintings, da Vinci was not a prolific painter; he was a prolific draftsman, keeping journals full of modest sketches and detailed drawings recording all manner of things that interested him.

Central Terms

• sfumato: In painting, the application of subtle layers of translucent pigment so that in that location is no visible transition between colors, tones, and frequently objects.

While Leonardo da Vinci is greatly admired as a scientist, an academic, and an inventor, he is near famous for his achievements as the painter of several Renaissance masterpieces. His paintings were groundbreaking for a diversity of reasons and his works accept been imitated by students and discussed at slap-up length past connoisseurs and critics.

Among the qualities that make da Vinci'south work unique are the innovative techniques that he used in laying on the paint, his detailed noesis of anatomy, his employ of the human form in figurative composition, and his use of sfumato. All of these qualities are present in his nearly celebrated works, the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and the Virgin of the Rocks.

The Virgin of the Rocks, Leonardo da Vinci, 1483–1486: This painting shows the Madonna and Child Jesus with the infant John the Baptist and an affections, in a rocky setting.

The Last Supper

Da Vinci'south most historic painting of the 1490s is The Last Supper, which was painted for the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan. The painting depicts the terminal meal shared by Jesus and the 12 Apostles where he announces that one of the them volition betray him. When finished, the painting was acclaimed equally a masterpiece of design. This work demonstrates something that da Vinci did very well: taking a very traditional subject thing, such as the Final Supper, and completely re-inventing it.

Prior to this moment in art history, every representation of the Last Supper followed the same visual tradition: Jesus and the Apostles seated at a tabular array. Judas is placed on the opposite side of the table of everyone else and is effortlessly identified by the viewer. When da Vinci painted The Last Supper he placed Judas on the aforementioned side of the table as Christ and the Apostles, who are shown reacting to Jesus every bit he announces that one of them volition betray him. They are depicted as alarmed, upset, and trying to determine who will commit the act. The viewer also has to make up one's mind which figure is Judas, who will beguile Christ. By depicting the scene in this mode, da Vinci has infused psychology into the piece of work.

Unfortunately, this masterpiece of the Renaissance began to deteriorate immediately subsequently da Vinci finished painting, due largely to the painting technique that he had called. Instead of using the technique of fresco, da Vinci had used tempera over a ground that was mainly gesso in an attempt to bring the subtle effects of oil pigment to fresco. His new technique was non successful, and resulted in a surface that was subject to mold and flaking.

The Terminal Supper: Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, although much deteriorated, demonstrates the painter'southward mastery of the human form in figurative composition.

Mona Lisa

Among the works created by da Vinci in the 16th century is the pocket-size portrait known as the Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda, "the laughing 1." In the present era it is arguably the nigh famous painting in the earth. Its fame rests, in item, on the elusive grinning on the woman's face—its mysterious quality brought nigh perhaps by the fact that the creative person has subtly shadowed the corners of the mouth and eyes so that the verbal nature of the smile cannot exist determined.

The shadowy quality for which the work is renowned came to be called sfumato, the awarding of subtle layers of translucent pigment then that there is no visible transition betwixt colors, tones, and oft objects. Other characteristics found in this work are the unadorned dress, in which the eyes and easily accept no contest from other details; the dramatic landscape background, in which the globe seems to be in a country of flux; the subdued coloring; and the extremely smooth nature of the painterly technique, employing oils, but practical much like tempera and composite on the surface so that the brushstrokes are duplicate. And again, da Vinci is innovating upon a type of painting here. Portraits were very common in the Renaissance. Notwithstanding, portraits of women were always in contour, which was seen every bit proper and modest. Here, da Vinci nowadays a portrait of a woman who non simply faces the viewer but follows them with her eyes.

Mona Lisa: In the Mona Lisa, da Vinci incorporates his sfumato technique to create a shadowy quality.

Virgin and Child with St. Anne

In the painting Virgin and Kid with St. Anne, da Vinci'southward composition again picks up the theme of figures in a landscape. What makes this painting unusual is that there are two obliquely set figures superimposed. Mary is seated on the knee of her mother, St. Anne. She leans forward to restrain the Christ Kid as he plays roughly with a lamb, the sign of his own impending cede. This painting influenced many contemporaries, including Michelangelo, Raphael, and Andrea del Sarto. The trends in its composition were adopted in particular by the Venetian painters Tintoretto and Veronese.

Virgin and Child with Saint Anne: Virgin and Child with St. Anne (c. 1510) past Leonardo da Vinci, Louvre Museum.

Michelangelo

Michelangelo was a 16th century Florentine creative person renowned for his masterpieces in sculpture, painting, and architectural design.

Learning Objectives

Discuss Michelangelo'south achievements in sculpture, painting, and architecture

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• Michelangelo created his colossal marble statue, the David, out of a unmarried block of marble, which established his prominence as a sculptor of boggling technical skill and forcefulness of symbolic imagination.
• In painting, Michelangelo is renowned for the ceiling and The Last Judgement of the Sistine Chapel, where he depicted a complex scheme representing Creation, the Downfall of Homo, the Salvation of Man, and the Genealogy of Christ.
• Michelangelo's master contribution to Saint Peter'south Basilica was the use of a Greek Cantankerous course and an external masonry of massive proportions, with every corner filled in by a stairwell or minor vestry. The consequence is a continuous wall-surface that appears fractured or folded at unlike angles.

Fundamental Terms

• contrapposto: The standing position of a human figure where almost of the weight is placed on i foot, and the other leg is relaxed.  The effect of contrapposto in art makes figures look very naturalistic.
• Sistine Chapel: The all-time-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace.

Michelangelo was a 16th century Florentine artist renowned for his masterpieces in sculpture, painting, and architectural design. His almost well known works are the David, the Final Judgment, and the Basilica of Saint Peter's in the Vatican.

Sculpture: David

In 1504, Michelangelo was commissioned to create a colossal marble statue portraying David equally a symbol of Florentine liberty. The subsequent masterpiece, David, established the creative person's prominence equally a sculptor of extraordinary technical skill and strength of symbolic imagination. David was created out of a single marble block, and stands larger than life, as it was originally intended to beautify the Florence Cathedral. The piece of work differs from previous representations in that the Biblical hero is non depicted with the head of the slain Goliath, every bit he is in Donatello's and Verrocchio's statues; both had represented the hero standing victorious over the head of Goliath. No earlier Florentine creative person had omitted the behemothic altogether. Instead of actualization victorious over a foe, David's face up looks tense and fix for gainsay. The tendons in his cervix stand up out tautly, his brow is furrowed, and his eyes seem to focus intently on something in the distance. Veins bulge out of his lowered right hand, simply his trunk is in a relaxed contrapposto pose, and he carries his sling casually thrown over his left shoulder. In the Renaissance, contrapposto poses were idea of as a distinctive feature of antique sculpture.

The David by Michelangelo, 1504: Michelangelo'southward David stands in contrapposto pose.

The sculpture was intended to be placed on the exterior of the Duomo, and has get one of the nearly recognized works of Renaissance sculpture.

Painting: The Concluding Sentence

In painting, Michelangelo is renowned for his piece of work in the Sistine Chapel. He was originally deputed to paint tromp-l'oeil coffers later the original ceiling developed a crack. Michelangelo lobbied for a different and more circuitous scheme, representing Creation, the Downfall of Man, the Promise of Salvation through the prophets, and the Genealogy of Christ. The work is role of a larger scheme of decoration within the chapel that represents much of the doctrine of the Catholic Church.

The composition eventually independent over 300 figures, and had at its center nine episodes from the Book of Genesis, divided into three groups: God's Cosmos of the Globe, God's Creation of Humankind, and their fall from God'due south grace, and lastly, the state of Humanity as represented past Noah and his family unit. Twelve men and women who prophesied the coming of the Jesus are painted on the pendentives supporting the ceiling. Among the well-nigh famous paintings on the ceiling are The Creation of Adam, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the Great Flood, the Prophet Isaiah and the Cumaean Sibyl. The ancestors of Christ  are painted effectually the windows.

The fresco of The Concluding Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel was commissioned by Pope Clement Seven, and Michelangelo labored on the project from 1536–1541. The piece of work is located on the chantry wall of the Sistine Chapel, which is not a traditional placement for the subject. Typically, last judgement scenes were placed on the leave wall of churches every bit a fashion to remind the viewer of eternal punishments as they left worship. The Last Judgment is a depiction of the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse; where the souls of humanity rising and are assigned to their various fates, equally judged by Christ, surrounded past the Saints. In contrast to the before figures Michelangelo painted on the ceiling, the figures in The Last Judgement are heavily muscled and are in much more artificial poses, demonstrating how this piece of work is in the Mannerist mode.

In this piece of work Michelangelo has rejected the orderly delineation of the final judgement every bit established by Medieval tradition in favor of a swirling scene of chaos as each soul is judged. When the painting was revealed it was heavily criticized for its inclusion of classical imagery likewise every bit for the amount of nude figures in somewhat suggestive poses. The ill reception that the work received may be tied to the Counter Reformation and the Council of Trent, which lead to a preference for more than bourgeois religious art devoid of classical references. Although a number of figures were made more modest with the addition of drapery, the changes were non fabricated until afterwards the death of Michelangelo, demonstrating the respect and admiration that was afforded to him during his lifetime.

The Last Judgement: The fresco of The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel was commissioned by Pope Clement Vii. Michelangelo worked on the project from 1534–1541.

Architecture: St. Peter's Basilica

Finally, although other architects were involved, Michelangelo is given credit for designing St. Peter'due south Basilica. Michelangelo's principal contribution was the use of a symmetrical programme of a Greek Cantankerous form and an external masonry of massive proportions, with every corner filled in past a stairwell or pocket-size vestry. The effect is of a continuous wall surface that is folded or fractured at different angles, lacking the right angles that commonly define change of direction at the corners of a building. This exterior is surrounded by a behemothic order of Corinthian pilasters all set at slightly different angles to each other, in keeping with the always-changing angles of the wall'southward surface. Above them the huge cornice ripples in a continuous band, giving the appearance of keeping the whole edifice in a state of compression.

St. Peter's Basillica: Michelangelo designed the dome of St. Peter's Basilica on or before 1564, although it was unfinished when he died.

Mannerism

Mannerist artists began to refuse the harmony and ideal proportions of the Renaissance in favor of irrational settings, bogus colors, unclear subject field matters, and elongated forms.

Learning Objectives

Describe the Mannerist style, how it differs from the Renaissance, and reasons why it emerged.

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• Mannerism came after the High Renaissance and before the Baroque.
• The artists who came a generation afterwards Raphael and Michelangelo had a dilemma. They could non surpass the great works that had already been created past Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo. This is when nosotros showtime to see Mannerism emerge.
• Jacopo da Pontormo (1494–1557) represents the shift from the Renaissance to the Mannerist style.

Key Terms

• Mannerism: Style of fine art in Europe from c. 1520–1600. Mannerism came later the High Renaissance and earlier the Baroque. Not every artist painting during this menses is considered a Mannerist artist.

Mannerism is the proper name given to a manner of art in Europe from c. 1520–1600. Mannerism came after the Loftier Renaissance and before the Bizarre. Not every creative person painting during this period is considered a Mannerist artist, however, and there is much debate among scholars over whether Mannerism should be considered a split up motion from the Loftier Renaissance, or a stylistic phase of the High Renaissance. Mannerism will be treated as a split up art motion here as there are many differences between the High Renaissance and the Mannerist styles.

Way

What makes a piece of work of art Mannerist? First we must understand the ideals and goals of the Renaissance. During the Renaissance artists were engaging with classical antiquity in a new way. In addition, they developed theories on perspective, and in all ways strived to create works of art that were perfect, harmonious, and showed ideal depictions of the natural globe. Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo are considered the artists who reached the greatest achievements in art during the Renaissance.

The Renaissance stressed harmony and beauty and no one could create more beautiful works than the great three artists listed above. The artists who came a generation subsequently had a dilemma; they could not surpass the peachy works that had already been created past da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo. This is when nosotros start to see Mannerism emerge. Younger artists trying to do something new and different began to reject harmony and platonic proportions in favor of irrational settings, artificial colors, unclear subject matters, and elongated forms.

Jacopo da Pontormo

Jacopo da Pontormo (1494–1557) represents the shift from the Renaissance to the Mannerist style. Take for instance his Degradation from the Cantankerous, an altarpiece that was painted for a chapel in the Church of Santa Felicita, Florence. The figures of Mary and Jesus appear to exist a direct reference to Michelangelo'due south Pieta. Although the work is called a "Deposition," at that place is no cantankerous. Scholars also refer to this work every bit the "Entombment" simply in that location is no tomb. This lack of clarity on subject matter is a authentication of Mannerist painting. In addition, the setting is irrational, nearly as if it is non in this world, and the colors are far from naturalistic. This work could not have been produced by a Renaissance artist. The Mannerist movement stresses dissimilar goals and this work of art past Pontormo demonstrates this new, and dissimilar style.

Pontormo, Deposition from the Cantankerous, 1525-1528, Church of Santa Felicita, Florence: This work of art by Pontormo demonstrates the hallmarks of the Mannerist manner: unclear subject thing, irrational setting, and artificial colors.