RENAISSANCE ART IN SIXTEENTH CENTURY EUROPE
CHAPTER 18
Pages 714-720, 746-747 will not be covered until Survey II.
16th Century Italy:
Perfection is achieved in all areas listed above. Idealism, symmetry, the artist as a creative genius, and perfection in nature exemplify the high ideals of the Italian Renaissance. Artists were supported by rich patrons and the Pope (Catholic Church). The most prevalent subjects are religion, portraits, mythology and allegories. The major artists that I have included on the slide review exemplify these characteristics. Information on these giants of the Italian Renaissance can be found on the Web Museum site.
Leonardo was known as "the universal man" because he was interested in all things: engineer, inventor, painter, sculptor, architect, science, botany, etc. I have tried to give you an example of his genius in The Last Supper, Mona Lisa, and The Virgin of the Rocks. He used symmetrical balance in his compositions, grouped his figures in a pyramid (thought to be perfect and balanced), painted using chiaroscuro and spumato techniques, observed nature closely, and understood anatomy and perspective. Some of his anatomical drawings are still used to illustrate medical textbooks today. In his notebooks he wrote in "mirror image". He was really an extraordinary and brilliant man!
Additional Sites:
Leonardo, Scientist, Inventor, Artist (move your mouse around and watch Leonardo's eyes)
The Sketches of a Renaissance Man
Why is Mona Smiling? A discussion about Dr. Lillian Schwartz's theory that the Mona Lisa is a self portrait of Leonardo.
More Leonardo Links
Leonardo's Home Town
Michelangelo was a giant in sculpture, painting, architecture and poetry. Compare his early Pieta with the Pieta with Self-Portrait. They are very different and illustrate the difference in his later style from his early one. Michelangelo never wanted to paint--his love was sculpture. But he couldn't turn down the Pope when he was commanded to paint the Sistine Ceiling. Four years went into this mammoth undertaking, and Michelangelo was mentally and physically drained upon its completion. It wouldn't be until 1537 that he would return to painting and the Sistine Chapel. The end product is his Last Judgment which covered the wall directly behind the main altar. The painting style here is mannerism. Other examples of his mannerist style can be found in the sculpture and design of the Medici Chapel. The tombs of Giuliano de' Medici and Lorenzo de' Medici were designed by Michelangelo. An A & E Biography on Michelangelo is a wonderful video about his life, and I highly recommend it. I have one copy that I could put on reserve in the AV area if you would notify me. It might also be found through the Public Library system or at one of the video stores. Our LRC has a video that you can view in the AV area about the restoration of the Sistine Ceiling. It is called "Return to Glory". Later in his life, Michelangelo will explore his deep religious feelings and emotions. My two favorite sculptures are his Pieta with Self-Portrait and the Rondonini Pieta. These two sculptures are very "expressionistic". In the Pieta with Self-Portrait, his subject is "the death of Christ." The subject of the Rondonini Pieta is "the resurrection of Christ." The subject of his early Pieta that he sculpted in his early 20's was "Mary's love for her son."
More information on Michelangelo by Carol L. Gerten
Michelangelo's Architecture
Raphael, too, was versatile and accomplished in many areas. Some art history books place him on the same artistic level as Michelangelo and Leonardo. However, I feel much of his painting style imitates these great painters. His last painting, The Transfiguration, shows the true maturity of Raphael. The use of dramatic lighting and psychological play of drama in the scene sets him apart from Michelangelo and Leonardo. If he hadn't died suddenly at the age of 37, we might have seen him surpass these legends. He is known as the absolute best of the "Madonna and Child" painters (Madonna of the Goldfinch, Alba Madonna, La Bella Jardiniere). No other artist before him exemplifies the true classical spirit of this subject, nor able to capture the emotional sensitivity and quiet tenderness of the subject. In 1508, Raphael was commissioned by the Pope Jullius II to produce works for various rooms in the Vatican. One of the best known was the School of Athens, one of four frescoes found in the library. It stands alongside other depictions of the great passions of the age: law, poetry, and theology. It is a homage to the Classical philosophical tradition, anchored by the towering figures of Plato and Aristole, who stand together in the center of the composition. Both the scene and the figures are heroic, with Raphael's skill as a draftsman and an imaginative thinker evident. His use of one-point perspective is one of the most convincing of any coming out of the age.
The artist during the Renaissance was not only educated in their craft, but they were educated in philosophy and the sciences. Most of the subjects that were painted in Rome and Florence were primarily portraits, and religious, and there were some pagan sujects, like Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Michelangelo's Bacchas. In Venice it was entirely different. Pagan subjects of Venus, Cupid, love and sensuality were very popular. I guess since they were a little further removed from Rome and the Vatican, they were freer to portray these subjects. They also like the intellectual stimulation of allegories (Giorgionne's Pastorial Symphony). Titian's portraits are wonderful. I feel like they speak to me and are very alive, even today! He painted other subjects, also: mythology, religious, and allegories. He paints directly on his canvas with gesture-like strokes with his paint brush. The colors are very vivid, since he uses oil paint like Van Eyck had done in the 15th century. Michelangelo was offended by this type of painting and thought very little of Titian as an artist. Maybe this was professional jealousy--who knows. I, for one, love his paintings. He will influence many of the artists in the 17th century with his colors, compositions and emotional content.
If any of you are interested in women artists, Sofonishba Anguissola was considered the most important woman artist of the Italian Renaissance. She was born in 1532 and died in 1625.
Words to know: Humanism, triptych, polyptych, tempera paint, fresco, buon fresco, sinopia, cartoons, oil paint, atmospheric perspective, intuitive perspective (sight perspective), linear perspective, vanishing point, foreshortening, tondo, tapestry, trompe l'oeil, sacred art, secular art, neoplatonism, stigmata, woodcut, engraving, block books, movable-type printing, cross-hatching, watercolor
Important people to know: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Pope Clement VII, Pope Leo X, Pope Julius II, Pope Paul III, The Inquisition, Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, Martin Luther, King Henry VIII.
Artists to be covered in class: Bramante, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Giorgionne, Titian, Bosch, Grunewald, Durer, Altdorfer, Cranach, Holbein.
Updated 11-22-99