Italy in the 15th Century
 What
is Perspective?
http://www.wikihow.com/DrawPerspective#Basic_Perspective_Drawing_sub
The Sacrifice of Isaac
•Competition panel for the east doors of the Florence baptistry in 1401.
•Depict a moment when the angel appears just in
time to prevent Abraham from cutting his sons
throat.
•Seven contestants for the doors, but the most important were
these two by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti.
•Ghiberti won
• Reason may have been the casting
•Brunelleschi cast his in several pieces
•Ghiberti cast his in two
Goldsmith
 Sculptor
 Mathematician
 Clock builder
 Architect
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The crowning jewel of the Florentine cityscape
Brunelleschi invented a new way to construct
the dome.
Studied ancient roman buildings and came up
with his own ideas how ancient elements could
be utilized.
Florence Cathedral
Hospital of the
Innocents
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Commissioned to do the final set of doors on
the east side of the baptistery called “The Gates
of Paradise”.
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Emerged as the greatest sculptor of his time
and one of the greatest to ever live.
Worked in marble or bronze
1443 commissioned to sculpt “Gattamelata” an
equestrian statue
Drew his ideas from classic statue Marcus
Aurelius in Rome.
Marcus Aurelius in Rome
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Birth of Venus is 5’ 8 7/8”x 9’
Based on traditional mythology
Venus is the goddess of love and arises from
the sea on a shell
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A polished artist by the age 17
He mastered form and anatomy
Excelled in working with perspective especially
foreshortening
Dead Christ By:
Andrea
Mantegna
The use of perspective to represent a single object extending back in
space at an angle to the picture plane.
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Strong realism and unusual perspective creates
a fascinating image
Look into Christ’s face and at the same time see
the holes in his hands and feet
Illusionistic painting that
deceives the eye with its
appearance of reality.
Vitruvian Man
•Michelangelo and Raphael were influenced by him
•Painted a small number of pictures, but wrote on every aspect of
human endeavor, including the arts and sciences.
•Paired art with science and created many anatomy drawings
Andrea Verrocchio “The Baptism of
Christ”
Leonardo’s first known painting.
•He painted the angel at the far left.
Verrocchio said he could never
emulate that, so he gave up painting
and devoted himself to sculpture.
David by: Verrocchio
A technique of painting on the plaster surface
of a wall or ceiling that is still damp so the
pigments become fused with the plaster as it
dries.
Madonna and child with Saint
Anne
Leonardo used sfumato with
success in this piece- painting
through glazes and producing a
dreamlike effect.
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Known as “the greatest man ever known to the
arts”
Born to a poor family
Knew at an early age he wanted to become an
artist
The Pieta was his earliest “MASTERPIECE”
done in Rome about 1500
Carved from a single block of marble
David
Verrocchio
David
Donatello
David
Michelangelo
A stance of the human body
where one leg bears the weight.
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Beyond imitating nature
Super human size
Expression of anger and defiance
Still holding the stone in his hand
At age 29 Michelangelo was declared the
greatest sculptor in Italy
Lived to be 89 years old
Working on sculptures
until 6 days before he died,
he said on his deathbed, “I
regret that I am dying just
as I am beginning to learn
the alphabet of my
profession.”
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Master of painting balance and harmony
Michelangelo was a solitary genius, and
Raphael enjoyed the social whirl of Rome
Michelangelo and Leonardo were busy with
large commissions to satisfy the wants of
merchants
Raphael was happy to fill the gap
Painted many Madonnas and flattering
portraits
Apostolic Palace, Rome, Vatican City
All the turtles were named after Renaissance artists
•Donatello
•Raphael
•Leonardo
•Michelangelo
The study of the meaning or content
of a larger program to which
individual works of art belong.
Convex mirrors used by shopkeepers because they
reflect a large area.
Considered the “eye” of the owners.
Van Eyck’s mirror has been interpreted as “GODS
EYE” as a witness to the ceremony