Outstanding Italian artists (English version)

2. Filippo Brunelleschi
Leonardo Da Vinci
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Caravaggio – Michelangelo Merisi

3. FILIPPO BRUNELLESCHIFILIPPO BRUNELLESCHI
Born : Florence, 1377
Died: Florence, April 15,1446.

4. Short biographyShort biography
Friend of Donatello and Masaccio, together they were the great
innovators of the 15th century, each in its own field. He was an
architect. He went several times to Rome to study closely the old
works of the Romans: floor plans, construction techniques, building
systems. Brunelleschi was also the first artist to discover geometric
perspective representation rules. In his buildings always uses the
same modules (circle, square, rectangle), which order, balance and
elegance to everything. He also created elegant relationships
between full and empty, vertical and horizontal.

5. Works of artWorks of art
 First work of art: “Spedale degli Innocenti” (Florence 1419-1444)
 Most important work of art: “Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore -
Florence Cathedral (1420-1436) . The big innovation lies in having
created a self-supporting dome with ribbed vaults, divided into
segments. The dome was impressive, big and tall and couldn't be built
with old techniques. It is made up of two shells, separated by a wooden
skeleton that supports and creates a cavity, which gives lightness and
through which workers could move around in order to be able to work.
 “Old sacresty - Chiesa di San Lorenzo” (Firenze1422-1428)
 “Pazzi chapel” ( Florence 1430-1461, partly built posthumously)
 “Basilica of Santo Spirito” (Florence 1428-1434)
 Projet of “Pitti Palace” (built posthumously , Florence)

6. ““Spedale degli InnocentiSpedale degli Innocenti” Florence” Florence (1419-1444)(1419-1444)

7. Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore-Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore-
Florence CathedralFlorence Cathedral (1420-1436)(1420-1436)

8. ““Old sOld sacristy – Chiesa di San Lorenzo”acristy – Chiesa di San Lorenzo”
(Florence 1422-1428)(Florence 1422-1428)

9. ““Pazzi Chaopel”Pazzi Chaopel” (Florence 1430-1461)(Florence 1430-1461)

10. ““Basilica of Santo Spirito”Basilica of Santo Spirito” (Florence 1428-1434)(Florence 1428-1434)

11. Project of “Project of “Pitti PalacePitti Palace””
(built posthumously Florence)(built posthumously Florence)

12. LEONARDO DA VINCILEONARDO DA VINCI
Born : Anchiano – Vinci (Florence), April 15, 1452
Died: Amboise, May 2, 1519

13. Short biographyShort biography
 He was an engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, architect, writer
of treatises. You can basically say that he turned his interests to
each field of study possible, becoming an absolute genius of
mankind.
Despite his father opposition to his desire to investigate the arts,
Leonardo entered the workshop of the Florentine Andrea
Verdicchio, who became his mentor and teacher.
He immediately showed interest in landscape studies through aerial
photographs - his famous bird's-eye-view studies, in which aimed
at an authentic description of the natural world. He invented a new
rendering of unified atmospheric space, using the technique of
sfumato. He applied the same technique to draw the human body,
which he analyzed through the surgical practice.
His treatises and writings show the importance of direct observation
in order to fully understand the movements of the human body and
the natural phenomena ( knowing how to see).
An almost obsessive curiosity took the spirit of Leonardo to many
fields of action, thus he became inventor of innovative and
unthinkable prototypes for the time in which he lived, such as the
helicopter and the bycicle.

14. Le opereLe opere
 “Annunciation” oil on panel (Uffizi Gallery , Florence 1472-1475)
 “Adoration of the magi” oil on panel (Uffizi Gallery , Florence 1481-
1482)
 “Vitruvian Man” pencil and ink on paper (Galleria dell’Accademia,
Venice 1490 ca.)
 “Last supper” oil on the wall ( Refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie,
Milan 1494-1498)
 “Mona Lisa” oil on canvas (Musée du Louvre, Paris 1503-1514)
 Study of the head :he was the first to study Anatomy on coarpses; his studies were
initially scientific in nature, but at a later stage they were used for the artistic representation..:
o “Female head” stone, pen ink brush (Gabinetto disegni e stampe
degli Uffizi, Florence 1475 ca.)
o “ Two views of the skull” drawing pen , indian ink and charcoal on
paper (Windsor Castle, Royal Library1489ca)
 “Study of hands ”, drawing silver tip (Windsor Castle, 1474)
 Inventions : “Aerial screw” Codex Atlanticus, sheet 83 v.,
(Bibiloteca Ambrosiana, Milan 1483-1486). Amongst the flying
machines designed by Leonardo, the aerial screw constitutes an
alternative to swing wing models.

15. ““Annunciation” (Annunciation” (Uffizi Gallery, FlorenceUffizi Gallery, Florence
1472-1475)1472-1475)

16. ““Adoration of magiAdoration of magi” (Uffizi Gallery, Florence 1481-” (Uffizi Gallery, Florence 1481-
1482)1482)

17. ““Last supper”Last supper” (Refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie,(Refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie,
Milan 1494-1498)Milan 1494-1498)

18. ““Mona Lisa” (Mona Lisa” (Musée duMusée du
Louvre, Paris 1503-1514)Louvre, Paris 1503-1514)

19. ““VVitruvian Man ” (itruvian Man ” (Galleria dell’Accademia, VeniceGalleria dell’Accademia, Venice
1490 ca.)1490 ca.)

20. Study of the headStudy of the head
“Female head”
(Gabinetto disegni e stampe
degli Uffizi, Florence 1475 ca.)
“Two views of skull” (Windsor
Castle, Royal Library 1489ca)

21. ““Study of handsStudy of hands” (Windsor Castle 1474)” (Windsor Castle 1474)

22. ““Aerial Screw”Aerial Screw” Codex Atlanticus, sheet 83 v.Codex Atlanticus, sheet 83 v.
(Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan 1483-1486)(Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan 1483-1486)

23. MICHELANGELOMICHELANGELO
BUONARROTIBUONARROTI
Born : Caprese (Arezzo), March 6,1475
Died: Rome, February 18, 1564

24. Short biographyShort biography
He was one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance. Sculptor, painter,
architect and poet, he created one of the most known, appreciated and famous
works of art in the world. He was so ingenious and innovative in his art that he
influenced succeeding generations which created an artistic movement motivated
by his manner: Mannerism.
The first formation of Michelangelo Buonarroti's took place in Florence, with the
artist Ghirlandaio. He studied carefully the rules of classical art and was passionate
about the works of the great innovators of Florentine art: Giotto, Masaccio,
Donatello.
Noticed by Lorenzo the magnificent, Michelangelo is welcomed to his palace
where, in contact with the great thinkers, he was able to enrich its own culture. At
the Court of the Medici he produced his first sculptures, the Battle of the Centaurs
and the Madonna della Scala. He lived in Florence, Rome, Venice and Bologna.
In Florence between 1501 and 1505, under some suggestion of Leonardo he
produced a series of masterpieces including Doni Tondo and David.
The art form he prefers is sculpture. About sculpture, Michelangelo asserted that
the idea was already present inside the block of marble: the artist just had to free
her from the raw material. Sculpture is seen as the expression of the rise from a
material condition to a more spiritual one. An anecdotereports that, in an effort to
synthesize the best idea in the matter, he went in person to Carrara to choose the
marble block.

25. Works of artWorks of art
• “Madonna della scala”,marble bas-rilief (Buonarroti’s home , Florence,
1491 ca.)
•“Pietà vaticana”, marble sculpture (Saint Peter’s Basilica ,Vatican,
Rome, 1497-1499)
• “David” white marble sculpture (Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence,
1501-1504)
• “Tondo Doni”, tempera on panel (Uffizi Gallery, Florence 1503 -1504)
• “The Sistine Chapel” frescoes (Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum,Vatican,
Rome, 1508 – 1512)
• “ Last judgment” fresco (Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum , Vatican,
Rome, 1536, 1541)
• “Mosè”marble sculpture (Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome 1513 –
1515 ca. e 1542)
• “Pietà Rondanini” marble sculpture (Castello Sforzesco, Milan 1552 -
1564):it is a kind of testament of the author who, according to sources, worked on
it until a few days before he died.

26. ““Madonna della scala” (Madonna della scala” (Buonarroti’s home, Florence, 1491 ca.)Buonarroti’s home, Florence, 1491 ca.)

27. ““Pietà vaticana”Pietà vaticana”(Saint Peter’s Basilica ,Vatican, Rome,(Saint Peter’s Basilica ,Vatican, Rome,
1497-1499)1497-1499)

28. ““DavidDavid” (Galleria” (Galleria
dell’Accademia,dell’Accademia,
Florence, 1501-1504)Florence, 1501-1504)

29. ““Tondo DoniTondo Doni”(Uffizi Gallery, Florence 1503 -1504)”(Uffizi Gallery, Florence 1503 -1504)

30. ““ The Sistine ChapelThe Sistine Chapel” (Sistine Chapel,Vatican” (Sistine Chapel,Vatican
Museum,Vatican, Rome, 1508 – 1512)Museum,Vatican, Rome, 1508 – 1512)
Detail of Chapel:
“Creation of Adam”

31. ““ Last judgmentLast judgment”( Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum,”( Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum,
Vatican, Rome, 1536, 1541)Vatican, Rome, 1536, 1541)

32. ““MosèMosè” (Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome 1513 –” (Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome 1513 –
1515 ca. e 15421515 ca. e 1542))

33. ““Pietà RondaniniPietà Rondanini” (Castello Sforzesco, Milan 1552 - 1564)” (Castello Sforzesco, Milan 1552 - 1564)

34. CARAVAGGIOCARAVAGGIO
Michelangelo MerisiMichelangelo Merisi
Born : Milan, September 29, 1571
Died: Porto Ercole (Grosseto), July 18, 1610

35. Short BiographyShort Biography
He grew between between Milan and Venice, and was active in Rome,
Naples, Malta and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. Caravaggio is one
of the most important painters of Italian art history; a landmark for
many artists of the European Baroque. Caravaggio's revolution lies in
the naturalism of his work, expressed in the subjects of his paintings
and in its atmospheres. In fact the artist manages to regulate the
balance between light and shadow with an innovative technique for
the time. To achieve this effect, the artist carefully placed lamps and
candles in the study where models laid, bringing out from a dark
background only specific parts of the painted scene (chiaroscuro). In
fact there are few paintings where the background is painted, this
actually goes into the background compared to the subjects. Subjects
were taken from the people to highlight the drama in the faces. This
caused him many troubles especially when characters were sacred, i.e.
In the Death of the Virgin, where he used the face of a prostitute to
portray the Madonna.

36. Work of artWork of art
 “Boy bitten by a lizard” oil on canvas (Longhi Fondation Florence,
1595-1596 second version)
 “Judith and Holofernes” oil on canvas (National Gallery , Palazzo
Barberini, Rome, 1599)
 “Calling of Saint Matthew” oil on canvas (Contarelli Chapel, Chiesa di
San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, 1599- 1600 )
 “The incredulity of Saint Thomas” oil on canvas (Bildergalerie,
Potsdam, 1600-1601 )
 “Death of the Virgin” oil on canvas (Mosée du Louvre, Paris,1604)
 “David e Goliath” oil of canvas (Borghese Gallery, Rome, 1610
second version)

37. ““Boy bitten by lizard”Boy bitten by lizard” (Longhi Fondation Florence, 1595-(Longhi Fondation Florence, 1595-
1596 second version )1596 second version )

38. ““Judith and Holofernes”Judith and Holofernes” (Nazional Gallery, Palazzo(Nazional Gallery, Palazzo
Barberini, Rome, 1599Barberini, Rome, 1599 ))

39. ““Calling of Saint MatthewCalling of Saint Matthew”” (Contarelli Chapel, Chiesa di(Contarelli Chapel, Chiesa di
San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, 1599- 1600 )San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, 1599- 1600 )

40. ““The incredulity of Saint Thomas”The incredulity of Saint Thomas” (Bildergalerie, Potsdam,(Bildergalerie, Potsdam,
1600-1601)1600-1601)

41. ““Death of Virgin”Death of Virgin” (Mosée du Louvre, Paris,1604 )(Mosée du Louvre, Paris,1604 )

42. ““David and GoliathDavid and Goliath” (Borghese Gallery, Rome, 1610” (Borghese Gallery, Rome, 1610
second version)second version)

43. Istituto Comprensivo SarzanaIstituto Comprensivo Sarzana
ItalyItaly