Renaissance Art and Artists
Demand for art came from:
•the Catholic Church -- decoration of chapels
and cathedrals; illustration of Bible stories
and teachings
•city-states -- display of civic pride
•middle classes -- display of wealth
New mediums and techniques
PAINTING
•change from watercolor and tempera to oil paints
•perspective -- illusion of 3-dimensional quality
•chiaroscuro -- use of “lighting” effects
SCULPTURE
•return to “free-standing” statues
•larger scales of sculpture and architecture
WOODCUT PRINTS
•allowed fine art to be mass-produced
Subjects of Renaissance art
RELIGION -- interpretations of Bible stories
Madonnas -- images of Mary, mother of Jesus
Pieta (Pity) -- images of the death of Christ
saints and other religious figures
HUMANISM -- Greco-Roman styles and stories
allegories -- symbolic works
portraits -- individual
genre painting -- everyday life
Andrea del Verrochio,
Lorenzo de Medici (1474)
Known as “Il Magnifico”
(“The Magnificent”),
Lorenzo was a major
patron of the arts in his citystate of Florence.
Michelangelo’s art career
really began when he was
invited to stay at the Medici
palace while he practiced
his art.
Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (1485)
Botticelli, A Woman is Received…(1483)
Donatello, St. George (1417)
Donatello is often given credit
for reviving the free-standing
statue as an art form.
Donatello, Gattamelata (1448)
Donatello, David (1452)
•Today considered the artist’s
masterpiece, for its time David was a
very radical work:
•The nude figure recalled classical
Greek sculpture. However, Donatello
doesn’t show David as a classical hero,
but a contemporary shepherd, with the
face and body of a young boy.
•To many, this work represents
Renaissance spirit in showing a
confident, youthful human -- “the
measure of all things” -- ready to face
and conquer any challenge.
Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa
(1504)
Just why is Mona
Lisa smiling?
Just ask Dr. Lillian
Schwartz...
Leonardo da Vinci,The Last Supper (1500)
Raphael, St. George
and the Dragon
(1505)
This work represents
much of the spirit of
the High Renaissance:
•Bright, bold colors
•Man as the measure of
all things
Raphael, La Belle Jardiniere
(1507)
Madonna with the Christ
child and John the
Baptist…how does Raphael
communicate the religious
themes of this picture?
Raphael, The School of Athens (1511)
Raphael, Portrait of
Baldassare Castiglione
(1504)
In what way(s) does this
painting differ from the
other works of Raphael that
we’ve seen?
Jan van Eyck, The
Arnolfini Wedding
Characteristics of Northern
(German, Dutch, Flemish)
Renaissance painting:
•Realism in the extreme
•Attention to details
•Use of symbolism -- images
that represent some other
thing or idea
A Young Hare (watercolor,1502)
Self-Portrait at 28 (1500)
Albrecht Durer
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
(woodcut, 1498)
Albrecht Durer, The Bagpiper
(woodcut, 1514)
(You can see what a Basic Design
class did with this by going
through the hallway to the 200s)
Pieter Breughel, The Peasant Wedding (1528)
Pieter Breughel, Hunters in the Snow (1565)
Pieter Breughel, The Beggars (1568)
Rembrandt van Rijn, Philosopher in Meditation (1632)
Rembrandt van Rijn
Self-Portrait (1630s)
•Earthier tones
(browns, blacks, etc.)
•Realistic portraits
Self-Portrait, 1660s
Rembrandt van Rijn, The Three Crosses (etching,1653)
Hieronymus
Bosch
Death and the
Miser (1485)
The Ship of
Fools
(1490-1500)
Hieronymus Bosch, The Last Judgment (triptych), 1500s