Class presentation with captions

1. The Role of the Artist in the
Renaissance

2. Nanni di Banco, Sculptors at Work, from the predella of Quattro Santi Coronati, Or San Michele, c. 1408-1415
This carved relief was made by Nanni di Banco, one of the leading sculptors of the Early
Renaissance

3. Nanni di Banco, Sculptors at Work, from the predella of Quattro Santi Coronati, Or San Michele, c. 1408-1415
It was commissioned by the Guild of Stoneworkers and Woodcutters to decorate the
church of Or San Michele, and it provides insights into the changing status of the artist in
the Renaissance

4. Nanni di Banco, Sculptors at Work, from the predella of Quattro Santi Coronati, Or San Michele, c. 1408-1415
On the left, we see stone workers carving a spiral column and measuring a capital, and
on the right we see sculptors at work on a small statue of baby — perhaps a putto (an
angel based on antique figures of Cupid), or the Christ Child

5. Nanni di Banco, Sculptors at Work, from the predella of Quattro Santi Coronati, Or San Michele, c. 1408-1415
Working side by side, there is no distinction between the “manual labor” of the stone
workers, and the “creative” work of the sculptors

6. Nanni di Banco, Sculptors at Work, from the predella of Quattro Santi Coronati, Or San Michele, c. 1408-1415
While these professions are considered to be very different today, they were not
regarded this way in the centuries before the Renaissance

7. Jean Fouquet: The Building of a Cathedral (c. 1465); Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris
In the Middle Ages, the artist was considered a craftsman, no different from a carpenter
or bricklayer

8. They worked with large teams in workshops, rather than alone, and they were valued for
their skill rather than their intellect or creativity

9. As artisans, their social status was similar to other skilled laborers, and they rarely
achieved the celebrity status that artists enjoy today

10. Moreover, works of art were commissioned by wealthy patrons, who expected their
employers to follow orders, rather than express their own creative vision

11. Creativity was neither expected nor valued

12. Bargilla, Petrarch, c. 1450
But things began to change in the Renaissance

13. With the rediscovery of classical art, and new techniques such as the use of oil paint and
perspective, increasing value was placed on artistic innovation and creativity

14. Artists began to believe that their profession deserved a higher status because it
involved intellectual work rather than mere manual skill

15. After all, artists in the Renaissance had to know mathematics and geometry; they
studied anatomy, classical culture, theology, and philosophy

16. All of this contributed to the idea that painting, sculpture, and architecture should be
considered one of the “liberal arts,” rather than a menial trade

17. With this new recognition came a new appreciation for artistic creativity. Patrons began
to seek out artists precisely because of their unique style or approach, and in 1568
Giorgio Vasari published The Lives of the Painters — one of the first works of art history

18. Vasari’s book was largely biographical in approach, and ensured that the artist’s of his
day would enjoy the fame he felt they deserved

19. Michelangelo in his Studio Visited by Pope Julius II | Alexandre Cabanel 1823 – 1889 |
This new appreciation for creativity and artistic “genius” was fully manifested in the High
Renaissance, when superstars like Michelangelo and Leonardo were treated as near
equals to the Popes and Kings that employed them.

20. Albrecht Dürer, Self Portrait, 1498
Prado Museum
Artists began to acknowledge their importance through self portraits

21. Albrecht Dürer, Self Portrait, 1498
Prado Museum
In this painting by Albrecht Dürer, the artist portrays himself as a gentleman, dressed in
fine clothes and wearing expensive doeskin gloves

22. Albrecht Dürer, Self Portrait, 1498
Prado Museum
The painting expresses a sense of personal pride and self-worth that reflects the
changing status of the artist

23. Johannes Vermeer, The Art
of Painting, 1670-1675.
Kunsthistorisches Museum,
Vienna
The new ideas about the role of the artist is summed up in this painting by Jan Vermeer,
a Dutch painter of the 17th century

24. The picture takes place in an artist’s studio. It is a well appointed interior, signifying
status and wealth

25. The artist is dressed as a gentleman, rather than a worker, and he is painting a model
posed as Clio, the muse of history

26. She wears a laurel wreath and holds a trumpet — emblems of the “fame” that history will
bestow upon the artist who records her likeness

27. Fame, genius, and creativity are key components of our modern definition of the artist,
and it all began with the artist’s self-discovery in the Renaissance!