During the Renaissance, art was commissioned by powerful groups and individuals to glorify themselves and promote particular religious doctrines. Subject matter became more secular over time, depicting myths and portraits that displayed wealth and physical uniqueness. Artists gained more social status and signed their works, seeing themselves as divine creators on par with God. The culture of the Renaissance mainly affected the educated elite and mercantile class.

1. The Art of the Renaissance

2. Art and Power Powerful groups commissioned works of art Represented merchants’ dominant influence in community i.e. Florentine gov’t hires Michelangelo Despots and Oligarchs began sponsoring works of art A way to glorify themselves or their families, show wealth Subject matter remained religious Intended to spread a particular doctrine, act as a profession of faith, or recall sinners to a moral way of life

3. Art and Power (cont) As the 15 th Century moved on, subject matter becomes more secular Pagan gods/goddesses in paintings increased People were conscious of physical uniqueness and wanted it immortalized Paintings displayed wealth The individual portrait emerged as a distinct genre The rich had themselves painted in a scene of romantic chivalry or courtly society

4. Art and Power (cont) Narrative artists – depicted the body in more scientific/natural manner Female  sensual and voluptuous Male  strong and heroic

5. The State of the Artist During the Renaissance, the social status of the artist improved Reputation depended on the support of powerful patrons Usually worked for commission from a prince or family They did not produce works for the public Could mean loss of status Artists received a practical education from a master artist

6. The State of the Artist (cont) Most artists began to sign their works whereas medieval artists rarely did Some even painted themselves into the painting Renaissance artists and humanists came to think that a work of art was the deliberate creation of a new divine personality Artist shared powers of God

7. The State of the Artist (cont) The Renaissance maintained the gap between the learned minority and the uneducated majority The culture of the Renaissance for the mercantile elite did not affect the middle class

8. Characteristics of Renaissance Art

9. 1. Realism & Expression Expulsion from the Garden Masaccio 1427 First nudes since classical times .

10. 2. Perspective Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! First use of linear perspective! Perspective! Perspective! The Trinity Masaccio 1427 What you are, I once was; what I am, you will become.

11. See the difference???

12. 3. Classicism Greco-Roman influence. Secularism. Humanism. Individualism  free standing figures. Symmetry/Balance The “Classical Pose” Medici “Venus” (1c)

13. 4. Emphasis on Individualism Batista Sforza & Federico de Montefeltre: The Duke & Dutchess of Urbino Piero della Francesca, 1465-1466.

14. 5. Geometrical Arrangement of Figures The Dreyfus Madonna with the Pomegranate Leonardo da Vinci 1469 The figure as architecture!

15. 6. Light & Shadowing/Softening Edges Chiaroscuro Contrast b/w light and dark Sfumato Layers of color promote depth

16. 7. Artists as Personalities/Celebrities Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects Giorgio Vasari 1550

17. Renaissance Florence

18. Renaissance Florence The Wool Factory by Mirabello Cavalori, 1570 1252 – first gold florins minted Florentine lion: symbol of St. Mark

19. Lorenzo the Magnificent 1478 - 1521 Cosimo de Medici 1517 - 1574

20. Florence Under the Medici Medici Chapel The Medici Palace

21. Filippo Brunelleschi Commissioned to build the cathedral dome. Used unique architectural concepts. He studied the ancient Pantheon in Rome. Used ribs for support.

22. Dome Comparisons Il Duomo St. Peter’s St. Paul’s US Capital (Florence) (Rome) (London) (Washington)

23. Ghiberti – Gates of Paradise Baptistry Door, Florence – 1425 - 1452

24. David by Donatello 1430 First free-form bronze since Roman times! The Liberation of Sculpture

25. The Renaissance 'Individual'

26. Vitruvian Man Leonardo da Vinci 1492 The L’uomo universale

27. The Renaissance “Man” Broad knowledge about many things in different fields. Deep knowledge/skill in one area. Able to link information from different areas/disciplines and create new knowledge. The Greek ideal of the “well-rounded man” was at the heart of Renaissance education.

28. 1. Self-Portrait -- da Vinci, 1512 1452 - 1519 Artist Sculptor Architect Scientist Engineer Inventor

29. Leonardo, the Artist The Virgin of the Rocks Leonardo da Vinci 1483-1486

30. Mona Lisa – da Vinci, 1503-4

31. Mona Lisa OR da Vinci??

32. The Last Supper - da Vinci, 1498 & Geometry

33. horizontal vertical Perspective! The Last Supper - da Vinci, 1498

34. Detail of Jesus The Last Supper Leonardo da Vinci 1498 Deterioration

35. A Da Vinci “Code”: St. John or Mary Magdalene?

36. Leonardo, the Sculptor An Equestrian Statue 1516-1518

37. Leonardo, the Architect: Pages from his Notebook Plan of the city of Imola, 1502.

38. Leonardo, the Scientist (Biology): Pages from his Notebook An example of the humanist desire to unlock the secrets of nature.

39. Leonardo, the Scientist (Anatomy): Pages from his Notebook

40. Leonardo, the Inventor: Pages from his Notebook

41. Man Can Fly?

42. A study of siege defenses. Studies of water-lifting devices. Leonardo, the Engineer: Pages from his Notebook

43. Renaissance Rome

44. Comparing Domes

45. 2. Michelangelo Buonorrati 1475 – 1564 He represented the body in three dimensions of sculpture.

46. David Michelangelo Buonarotti 1504 Marble

47.  15c 16c  What a difference a century makes!

48. The Sistine Chapel Michelangelo Buonarroti 1508 - 1512

49. The Sistine Chapel’s Ceiling Michelangelo Buonarroti 1508 - 1512

50. The Sistine Chapel Details The Creation of the Heavens

51. The Sistine Chapel Details Creation of Man

52. The Sistine Chapel Details The Fall from Grace

53. The Sistine Chapel Details The Last Judgment

54. 3. Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520) Self-Portrait , 1506 Portrait of the Artist with a Friend , 1518

55. Perspective! Betrothal of the Virgin Raphael 1504

56. The School of Athens – Raphael, 1510 -11 One point perspective. All of the important Greek philosophers and thinkers are included  all of the great personalities of the Seven Liberal Arts ! A great variety of poses. Located in the papal apartments library. Raphael worked on this commission simultaneously as Michelangelo was doing the Sistine Chapel. No Christian themes here.

57. The School of Athens – Raphael, 1510 -11 Raphael Da Vinci Michelangelo

58. Aristotle : looks to this earth [the here and now]. Plato : looks to the heavens [or the IDEAL realm]. The School of Athens – Raphael, details

59. Averroes Hypatia Pythagoras

60. Zoroaster Ptolemy Euclid

61. Raphael!!!

62. The Liberation of St. Peter by Raphael, 1514

63. A Portrait of Savonarola By Fra Bartolomeo, 1498. Dominican friar who decried money and power. Anti-humanist  he saw humanism as too secular, hedonistic, and corrupting. The “Bonfire of the Vanities,” 1497. Burned books, artwork, jewelry, and other luxury goods in public. Even Botticelli put some of his paintings on the fire!!

64. Pope Leo X with Cardinal Giulio deMedici and Luigi De Rossi by Raphael, 1518-1519 A Medici Pope. He went through the Vatican treasury in a year! His extravagances offended even some cardinals [ as well as Martin Luther !]. Started selling indulgences .

65. Birth of Venus – Botticelli, 1485 An attempt to depict perfect beauty.

66. and now for something completely different…..

67. Sandro Botticelli The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti, 1483

68. Sandro Botticelli The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti (without people) by Jose Manuel Ballester

69. The Northern Renaissance

70. Renaissance Art in Northern Europe Should not be considered an appendage to Italian art. But, Italian influence was strong. Painting in OIL, developed in Flanders, was widely adopted in Italy . The differences between the two cultures: Italy  change was inspired by humanism with its emphasis on the revival of the values of classical antiquity. No. Europe  change was driven by religious reform, the return to Christian values, and the revolt against the authority of the Church. More princes & kings were patrons of artists.

71. Characteristics of Northern Renaissance Art The continuation of late medieval attention to details. Tendency toward realism & naturalism [less emphasis on the “classical ideal”]. Interest in landscapes. More emphasis on middle-class and peasant life. Details of domestic interiors. Great skill in portraiture.

72. Flemish Realism

73. Hubert Van Eyck - Adoration of the Lamb , Ghent Altarpiece, 1432

74. Jan Van Eyck – Portrait of a Man in a Turban, 1433

75. Rogier van der Weyden (1399-1464) The Deposition 1435

76. van der Weyden’s Deposition (details)

77. Pieter Paul Rubens – Prometheus Bound, 1618

78. The Low Countries

79. Hieronymus Bosch The Garden of Earthy Delights 1500

80. Bosch’s “Garden” without people or animals by Jose Manuel Ballester

81. Bruegel’s, Tower of Babel , 1563

82. Bruegel’s Winter Landscape, 1621

83. Bruegel’s Winter Landscape ( without people) by Jose Manuel Ballester

84. Germany

85. Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) The greatest of German artists. A scholar as well as an artist. His patron was the Emperor Maximilian I. Also a scientist Wrote books on geometry, fortifications, and human proportions. Self-conscious individualism of the Renaissance is seen in his portraits.  Self-Portrait at 26 , 1498.

86. Dürer – Self-Portrait in Fur-Collared Robe , 1500

87. Durer – The Triumphal Arch , 1515-1517

88. The Triumphal Arch , details

89. The Triumphal Arch , details

90. Dürer Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse woodcut, 1498

91. England

92. Hans Holbein, the Younger (1497-1543) One of the great German artists who did most of his work in England. While in Basel, he befriended Erasmus. Erasmus Writing , 1523  Henry VIII was his patron from 1536. Great portraitist noted for: Objectivity & detachment. Doesn’t conceal the weaknesses of his subjects.

93. Artist to the Tudors Henry VIII (left), 1540 and the future Edward VI (above), 1543.

94. The English Were More Interested in Architecture than Painting Hardwick Hall, designed by Robert Smythson in the 1590s, for the Duchess of Shrewsbury [more medieval in style].

95. Burghley House for William Cecil The largest & grandest house of the early Elizabethan era.

96. Mentmore Tower, Buckinhamshire This was built in 1855 but is modeled after the Renaissance style of architecture you’ve just seen

97. Spain

98. Domenikos Theotokopoulos (El Greco) The most important Spanish artist of this period was Greek. 1541 – 1614. He deliberately distorts & elongates his figures, and seats them in a lurid, unearthly atmosphere. He uses an agitated, flickering light. He ignores the rules of perspective, and heightens the effect by areas of brilliant color. His works were a fitting expression of the Spanish Counter-Reformation.

99. El Greco – The Disrobing of Christ, 1577-1579