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Renaissance
The Renaissance began in Italy between 1400-1600 and saw a revival of art, architecture, and learning that was inspired by ancient Greek and Roman forms and ideals. Key characteristics included more realistic and lifelike depictions of figures and use of perspective. Famous early Renaissance artists included Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo. The invention of the printing press in 1450 helped spread Renaissance ideas more widely. Renaissance architecture featured more symmetrical designs and classical orders of columns while painting placed more emphasis on realism, nature, and secular subjects over religious ones alone.
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Renaissance
- 1. 1 Introduction During the twohundred years between 1400 and 1600, Europe witnessed an astonishing revival of drawing, fine art painting, sculpture and architecture centred on Italy, which we now refer to as the Renaissance (rinascimento). It was given this name (French for 'rebirth') as a result of La Renaissance - a famous volume of history written by the historian Jules Michelet (1798-1874) in 1855 - and was better understood after the publication in 1860 of the landmark book "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy" (Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italien), by Jacob Burckhardt (1818-97), Professor of Art History at the University of Basel. the Renaissance was a period when scholars and artists began to investigate what they believed to be a revival of classical learning, literature and art. For example, the followers of the 14th-century author Petrarch began to study texts from Greece and Rome for their moral content and literary style. Having its roots in the medieval university, this study called Humanism centered on rhetoric, literature, history and moral philosophy. Characteristics of the Renaissance From the early 14th century, in their search for a new set of artistic values and a response to the courtly International Gothic style, Italian artists and thinkers became inspired by the ideas and forms of ancient Greece and Rome. This was perfectly in tune with their desire to create a universal, even noble, form of art which could express the new and more confidant mood of the times. - Artists showed religious and nonreligious scenes -Art reflected a great interest in nature - Figures were lifelike and three-dimensional -Bodies looked active and were shown moving -Scenes showed real people doing everyday tasks
- 2. 2 -Faces expressed whatpeople were thinking -Paintings were often symmetrical -Full backgrounds showed perspective ORIGINS OF RENAISSANCE ART The origins of Renaissance art can be traced to Italy in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. During this so-called “proto-Renaissance” period (1280-1400), Italian scholars and artists saw themselves as reawakening to the ideals and achievements of classical Roman culture. Writers such as Petrarch (1304-1374) and Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) looked back to ancient Greece and Rome and sought to revive the languages, values and intellectual traditions of those cultures after the long period of stagnation that had followed the fall of the Roman Empire in the sixth century. EARLY RENAISSANCE ART (1401-1490S) Early Renaissance pieces focused on Humanism, a 15th century idea produced by the Renaissance, or “rebirth of ideas,” where everyday people could be the subject matter or could be placed alongside famous religious figures. Humanism itself is the revival of classical learning with a focus on human beings and their personal virtue. This form of learning intended to create a value system that emphasized which took people out of the “dark” Middle Ages. In the Early Renaissance, one can see the beginning of perspective. Artists followed imaginary lines, orthogonals, which met at a single vanishing point on the horizon. Using these guides, artists could distort or foreshorten objects; making things appear smaller and closer together the farther away they are from the viewer. Characteristics: -figures have depth and reality -naturalistic details -naturalistic light source
- 3. 3 Early RenaissanceArt inthe North: -generally painted with oil -oil on wood – thin layers of oil create a luminescent surface with depth and glow -iconography – objects in the piece help to tell its story -more complex compositions with many objects – little space Early RenaissancePainting and Sculpture in Italy: -generally painted in frescoes -very little depth and pigment (due to the medium) -lighter colors -more interested in architecture and space versus objects reflecting the story – less cluttered HIGH RENAISSANCE ART (1490S-1527) High Renaissance art, which flourished for about 35 years, from the early 1490s to 1527, when Rome was sacked by imperial troops, revolves around three towering figures: Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519),Michelangelo (1475–1564), and Raphael (1483–1520). Each of the three embodies an important aspect of the period: Leonardo was the ultimate Renaissance man, a solitary genius to whom no branch of study was foreign; Michelangelo emanated creative power, conceiving vast projects that drew for inspiration on the human body as the ultimate vehicle for emotional expression; Raphael created works that perfectly expressed the classical spirit— harmonious, beautiful, and serene. Although Leonardo was recognized in his own time as a great artist, his restless researches into anatomy, the nature of flight, and the structure of plant and animal life left him little time to paint. His fame rests mainly on a few completed paintings; among them are the Mona Lisa (1503–05, Louvre), The Virgin of the Rocks (1483–86, Louvre), and the sadly deteriorated fresco The Last Supper (1495–98; restored 1978–99; Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan).
- 4. 4 FOCUSED ON SELF-CONFIDENTHUMANISM .WITH THE INVENTION AND USE OF THE PRINTING PRESS, THERE WAS A GREATER SPREAD OF IDEAS, AND ARTISTS COULD SELL PRINTS OF THEIR WORK. TRAVEL ALSO INCREASED DURING THE HIGH RENAISSANCE; THEREFORE, ART BECAME MORE INTERNATIONAL. CHARACTERISTICS: HALOS GONE MORE NATURALISM DEFINITE LIGHT SOURCE (SHADOWS, THREE-DIMENSIONAL) SENSE OF STABILITY AND ORDER (STATIC COMPOSITIONS) COMMISSIONS FROM PRIVATE SOURCES Renaissance Architecture The Renaissance began after the plague in the 14th and 15th centuries and was fueled by soldiers returning from the Crusades. There was renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman art. Human beings were included in artwork. Artwork was no longer just depictions of holy topics. There was new interest in science, the environment and philosophy. The Printing Press — The “Grand Invention” Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1445. This invention changed the lives of people in Europe and all over the world. Prior to its invention, books were made by hand. Words were copied and illustrations were all drawn on parchment paper and animal skins that were dried and scraped until they were smooth. This made books very expensive. The printing press could produce books very quickly with little effort. Books were therefore much less expensive and many more people could afford them. With the knowledge imparted in the books, many more people were empowered and as a result many changes began to occur.
- 5. 5 Architecture In the MiddleAges, churches were no longer shaped like crosses. They used the circle to represent the perfection of God. Symmetry became important. In homes, some of the features of the period were courtyards, columns as support structures and domed roofs (a very difficult architectural task). Painting Renaissance painters used more realistic depictions than artists in the Middle Ages. The human figure was drawn as realistically as possible, often with backgrounds of nature. There was less emphasis on religious art. Gone were the pictures that had people arranged freely and in came symmetrical groupings. Science helped artists understand the concept of perspective, where objects that were drawn smaller actually looked as if they were farther away. Use of light made figures look real. Famous artists of the time include these men: Botticelli was a member of the famous Medici family in Florence, Italy. He became very rich as both a goldsmith and an artist, but died penniless. He painted three frescos in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. Fresco is the art or technique of painting on a moist plaster surface with colors ground up in water or a limewater mixture. Leonardo da Vinci is considered to have one of the greatest minds of all times. He was an architect, musician, engineer, scientist, mathematician, botanist and inventor. He invented the first parachute, helicopter, airplane, tank, repeating rifle, swing bridge, paddleboat and motorcar. He painted the famous “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper.” Michelangelo is considered by some to be the greatest artist and sculptor who ever lived. He was a great leader of the Italian Renaissance. His most famous work and his greatest glory was painting the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in Rome. It took him four years to do this. The ceiling shows the history of the Old Testament and includes more than 300 figures. He set the standards for sculpting, painting, poetry and architecture.
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