The High Renaissance
Man, the measure of all things.

Greek Classicism: The model Action in repose.
A rebirth of humanism.
Man stands alone, prepared
to take the consequences of
his own actions.

From medieval inhibited forms
to free-standing sculpture of
the Early Renaissance.

Late Gothic: Art depicts other
worldly concerns. Flat, hieratic
and dematerialized images in a
heavenly space of gold leaf.
Duccio

The Parthenon, Athens
FLORENCE, the NEW ATHENS
Humanism is reborn as Man asserts
his will in art forms imbued with
Christian meaning.
Brunelleschi’s Duomo

Ghiberti Baptistry Competition Brunelleschi
And the winner is….

Bronze doors of the baptistry.
Humanism imbued with
Christian meaning.
Ghiberti

Baptistry of Florence

Uccelo
Early Renaissance: Exploiting linear perspective.

Mantegna
Pre-occupation with 3D spatial effects.
Masaccio

One point perspective brings spatial harmony in a 3D illusion of reality.

The High Renaissance
A culmination of visual knowledge
and aesthetic groundbreaking.
In the brief span of 25 years, four
great masters produced works
unparalleled in artistic achievement.
Raphael
Da Vinci
Michelangelo
Titian
Leonardo da Vinci

Familiar subject matter realizes its full potential in the hands of Leonardo da Vinci.

Pre-Renaissance depiction
Of the Last Supper.
Pictorial visualization with little
understanding or concern with
the visual realities of this world.

Ghirlandio The Last Supper
Do you get the point? When more is less.

Da Vinci utilizes linear perspective and groupings to organize space.
The viewer is placed in the audience; not as a participant at the table.
Judas is placed in opposition to Christ at a 90 degree angle.

Religious themes infused with…
Idealized participants.
Linear painting technique.
Closed-form and Plane composition.
All forms a re en closed
Figures and landscape
within a p rescribed
are placed parallel to
diagram.
the pictu plane.
re

Unified Compositions:
Perspective serves a greater
cause. The viewer is guided
through a scene of related
elements.

Giotto: A Late Gothic
fresco painter anticipates
the Renaissance.
Figures appear to be
of this world, depicted
as three dimensional,
fully modeled images.
Early evidence of concern
with visual phenomena,
but limited by the lack of
knowledge of linear and
aerial perspective.
The Deposition

Raphael
The Deposition

Raphael
The School
Of Athens

Anticipating the Baroque
Titian The Deposition

Titian
Georgione
Venus
The Venetian School
Pagan art for the wealthy merchant.
Titian

Michelangelo
The Sistine Chapel

Michelangelo’s drawing and completed fresco for the Sistine Chapel.
Just one of 320 life-sized figures painted in four and a half years.

Michelangelo believed the form
was in the stone, waiting for his
mallet and chisel for liberation.

Michelangelo portrays himself with the
spiritual force behind his prolific efforts.

The Last Judgment
An aging Michelangelo’s
last chapter for the west
wall of the Sistine Chapel.

Lorenzo de Medici Dusk & Dawn Giuliano de Medici Night Day
Michelangelo’s Tomb Of The Medici Manneristic Sculpture

MANNERISM transforms “the
calm, balanced grandeur” of the
Renaissance into disquieting
distortion, ambiguity and hidden
meanings.
Pontormo

El Greco: Spanish Mannerism Paramigianino: Italian Mannerism

Story Climax Anti-Climax
Linear Painterly
Time Stopped Time-In-Flux
Reason Passion
Renaissance Baroque
Michelangelo’s David Bernini’s David