Italian Renaissance –
A revival or rebirth of cultural awareness and learning
that took place during the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, particularly in Italy, but also in Germany and
other European countries. The period was characterized
by a renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman art
and design and included an emphasis on human beings,
their environment, science, and philosophy.
Giotto born in 1267, died in 1337. Painted the Life
of St. Francis of Assisi which is identified as one of
his earlier works. Though an artist of the medieval
period, he influenced such greats as Michelangelo
and Raphael because he introduced some of the
earliest solutions to creating the illusion of threedimensionality in paintings and because his way of
composing his paintings so effectively conveyed the
the subject he was painting. Besides his work as an
artist, he is famous for designing the Campanile
(tower) of the Florence Duomo
GIOTTO di Bondone
Last Judgement (detail)
1306
Fresco
Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel),
Padua
GIOTTO di Bondone, Crucifixion, 1310s
Tribute Money
In 1422, Masaccio was appointed master of the Florentine
Guild. From 1424, he worked with his older colleague
Masolino on the decoration of the Brancacci Chapel, which
was dedicated to St. Peter. Masaccio, applying the laws of
perspective, achieved a considerable optical illusion of
depth in the painting of architectural constructions and
landscapes. Some art historians believe that he launched
the new style of Early Renaissance practically singlehandedly, he was only 21 years old at the time and he died
6 years later, leaving to others to develop his discoveries
Expulsion from Paradise
Paolo Uccello (born Paolo di Dono) (Italian, 1397-1475), Perspective Study of a
Chalice, pen and ink on paper, 29 x 24.5 cm, Gabinetto dei Disegni, Uffizi,
Florence.
Donatello’s David dated about 1440
Donatello
St John the Evangelist
1410-11
Marble, height: 210 cm
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence
Lamentation over the Dead Christ
Donatello, before 1456
Bronze, 33,5 x 41,5 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Andrea Mantegna
The Lamentation over the Dead Christ
c. 1490
Tempera on canvas, 68 x 81 cm Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
ANDREA MANTEGNA : "OCULUSOFTHE
CAMERA PICTA"
1473; fresco; Camera degli Sposi, Castello di
San Giorgio, Mantua, Italy.
http://www.all-art.org/history214-6.html
The oculus is in the centre of the ribbed vault
of the Camera degli Sposi, a room 8 metres (26
feet) long, rebuilt to allow Mantegna's
sequence of frescos to unfold. The paintings
celebrate and glorify the family of the Marquis
of Mantua, Ludovico Gonzaga II (1447-78).
The space is transformed into a pavilion, with
a series of pilasters appearing to support the
dome. The oculus, or painted opening, shows a
summer sky. The painted architecture and the
iconography, in which traditions of courtly
painting, antiquarian decoration, and
experimentation have been combined, make
this room an undisputed Renaissance
masterpiece. The oculus is about one-quarter
of the size of the room and is surrounded by a
foreshortened marble balcony, with a
decorative garland below.
Domenico Ghirlandaio
(b Florence, 1448–9; d Florence,
Jan 1494).
Coronation of the Virgin
1486
Pinacoteca Comunale, Citta di
Castello
Domenico Ghirlandaio
(b Florence, 1448–9; d Florence,
Jan 1494).
Madonna and Child
Enthroned with Saints
c. 1479
Duomo San Martino, Lucca
Domenico Ghirlandaio Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints
c. 1483
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Portrait of Giovanni II Bentivoglio
c. 1480
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Ercole de’ Roberti
(b Ferrara, c. 1455–6;
d 18 May–1 July 1496).
Portrait of Ginevra Bentivoglio
c. 1480
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Francesco del Cossa
(b Ferrara, c. 1435; d
Bologna, 1476–7).
St Florian (Griffoni
Polyptych)
1473
National Gallery of Art,
Washington
VerrocchioItalian sculptor, painter, draughtsman and goldsmith. He was the leading sculptor in
Florence in the second half of the 15th century, and his highly successful workshop, in
which Leonardo da Vinci trained, had a far-reaching impact on younger generations. A
wide range of patrons, including the Medici family, the Venetian State and the city
council of Pistoia, commissioned works from him. Exceptionally versatile, Verrocchio
was talented both as a sculptor—of monumental bronzes, silver figurines and marble
reliefs—and as a painter of altarpieces. He was inspired by the contemporary interest
in the Antique and in the study of nature, yet, approaching almost every project as a
new challenge, developed new conceptions that often defied both traditional aesthetics
and conventional techniques. His fountains, portrait busts and equestrian sculpture
are indebted to an iconographic tradition rooted in the early 15th century and yet they
are transformed by his original outlook. His funerary ensembles are unique, so that,
despite the great admiration they inspired, they had no imitators. Though a highly
important artist in his own right, Verrocchio has often had the misfortune of being
seen as in the shadow of his pupil Leonardo.
Andrea del Verrocchio
(b Florence, 1435;
d Venice, ?30 June 1488).
Head of a Girl
Drawing
British Museum, London
Andrea del Verrocchio
Tobias and the Angel
1470-80
Egg tempera on poplar
National Gallery, London
Verrocchio
Saint Monica
Panel
S. Spirito, Florence
Andrea del Verrocchio
The Baptism of Christ
1472-75
Oil on wood, 177 x 151 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Giovanni Bellini
Venetian painter, founder of the Venetian school of painting,
Giovanni Bellini raised Venice to a center of Renaissance art that
rivaled Florence and Rome. He brought to painting a new degree
of realism, a new wealth of subject-matter, and a new sensuousness
in form and color.
Dead Christ Supported by Two Angels
c. 1460
Tempera on panel, 74 x 50 cm
Museo Correr, Venice
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/b/bellini/giovanni/index.html
Giovanni Bellini
Head of the Baptist
1464-68
Tempera 0n wood,
diameter 28 cm
Musei Civici, Pesaro
Giovanni Bellini
Madonna degli Alberetti
1487
Oil on panel, 74 x 58 cm
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice
Sacred Conversation
c. 1490
Oil on wood, 58 x 107 cm
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice
Bellini's Sacred Conversation (Madonna with Child and Saints Catherine and
Magdalene) is one of the loftiest expression of this frequently painted theme
Sandro Botticelli
Madonna and Child with an Angel
c. 1470
Tempera on wood, 84 x 65 cm
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum,
Boston
The Trials and Calling of Moses (detail)
1481-82
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican
Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli
Primavera
c. 1482
Tempera on panel, 203 x 314 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Sandro Botticelli
The Birth of Venus
c. 1485
Tempera on canvas, 172.5 x 278.5 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Sandro Botticelli
Inferno, Canto XVIII, 1480s
Coloured drawing on parchment, 320 x 470 mmStaatliche Museen, Berlin
Leonardo da Vinci , born 1452, died 1519. His most famous works
are the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper which are works in oil. He
had a nature that was careful and precise, so that he never hurried
to finish a work. He developed what are regarded as technical,
manual skills that were so excellent that few artists in history have
rivaled his ability. He had an exceptional intellect and fascination
with the world around him. Besides his paintings, he left us a
legacy of detailed drawings of the human anatomy, plans for a
tank, helicopter, ideas on the construction of multi-level canal and
road systems. Because he was an artist and a scientist at a time
when both art and science, he has come to characterize the
ultimate "Renaissance Man."
Leonardo da Vinci , born 1452, died 1519
Leonardo da Vinci
Vitruvian Man
1492
About the Artwork
The archetypal Renaissance Man, Leonardo da
Vinci (1452-1519) was single-handedly
responsible for the extraordinary
advancements which propelled society
forward. His artistic genious was matched by
his equally astounding and prolific
breakthroughs in a multitude of scientific
fields.
Da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" is his stunning
correlation of the symmetry of the human
body with the symmetry of the universe.
Crafted in pen and ink on paper, he further
emphasized this concept by symbolizing the
material existence with a square and the
spiritual plane with a circle. This revolutionary
work is also an intricate anatomical study
which actually contains 16 different poses.
The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci, 1495–1498
Painting Title: Mona Lisa, 1503 / 1506
Leonardo da Vinci
Famous Italian Artist - Renaissance
Raphael or Raffaello
(Urbino, April 6, 1483 Rome, April 6, 1520), also
called Raffaello Sanzio,
Raffaello Santi or Rafael
Sanzio de Urbino, was a
painter and architect of the
Florentine school in the
Italian High Renaissance.
Raphael, born 1483, died 1520. Popular with the
popes of the period, Raphael decorated the papal
apartments of Julius II, continued to do so under
Leo X and, following Bramante, served as
architect of St. Peter's. He is credited with
revolutionizing portrait painting because of the
style he used in the portrait of Julius II. He also
designed the "cartoons" that are on the tapestries
of the Sistine Chapel. A tour of the Vatican
Museums should include the Raphael Rooms
where you can see some of the artist's works
(though Raphael died suddenly on Good Friday,
1520, before all the work was completed and
much of it was finished by his students). In his
painting The School of Athens, he reflected the
classical influence upon Renaissance art, but he
also paid tribute to the men who inspired him by
using the faces of da Vinci, Bramante and
Michelangelo as philosophers participating in the
debate between Plato and Aristotle.
Raphael’s School of Athens (1509–1511).
http://www.newbanner.com/AboutPic/athena/raphael/nbi_ath4.html
Raphael
St. Sebastian. 1502-1503. Oil on panel.
Pinacoteca dell'Accademia Carrara,
Bergamo, Italy
Raphael
Poetry
(ceiling tondo).
1509-1511.
Fresco.
Vaticano,
Stanza della
Segnatura,
Rome
Michelangelo Buonarroti, born 1475,died 1564. In the 89 years that he lived, Michelangelo
created many of the works of art that we think of when we think of the Renaissance. A
skilled painter who spent many years completing the frescoes that adorn the Sistine Chapel,
Michelangelo had trained as a sculptor and created two of the world's greatest statues--the
enormous David and the emotional Pieta.
The Last Judgment
http://library.thinkquest.org/2838/artgal.htm
St Bartholomew displaying his
flayed skin (a self-portrait by
Michelangelo) in The Last
Judgment
Michelangelo’s David,
1501, Florence
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Interior of the Sistine Chapel
1475-83, 1508-12, 1535-41
Frescoes
Cappella Sistina, Vatican
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Creation of Adam
1510
Fresco, 280 x 570 cm
Cappella Sistina, Vatican
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Brunelleschi, born in 1377, died in 1446.
Architect in Florence that made the cupola of
the Florence cathedral. The Duomo of Florence
has become the symbol of Florence, is its
tallest building and is a symbol of the wealth
and civic pride of the affluent families of the
city during the Renaissance. The church, on
which construction began in 1299, is crowned
by the massive dome designed by Brunelleschi
almost two centuries later. This building did
not have a roof for 175 years because it posed a
major architectural challenge with the large
area the dome had to span. You can climb 463
steps up the dome and view the city below.
Seven of the great artists of Florence,
including Brunelleschi and Donatello,
competed for the opportunity to make these
doors (and earn the stipend for the work).
Beyond his abilities as an architect,
Brunelleschi was recognized for using
geometric principles in creating perspective and
influencing both Masaccio and Donatello to
follow that style.
A distinctive feature of Florence's skyline is
the dome of the cathedral (Duomo), Santa
Maria del Fiore. The building itself, located
due north of the Piazza della Signoria, was
begun by the sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio in
1296. Numerous local artists continued to
work on it during the following century and a
half. The painter Giotto designed its sturdy
bell tower (campanile) in 1334. Yet, the
massive octagonal cupola (1420-36) that truly
dominates both the church and the city was
the proud achievement of Filippo
Brunelleschi, master architect and sculptor.
Duomo, Florence
Titian born in c. 1487, died in 1576. The most famous painter from Venice at the
start of the 16th century. Trained by Giovanni Bellini, He was noted for use of
color and for the use of thick, dramatic brush strokes. Among his famous paintings
is Bacchus and Ariadne
Bacchus and Ariadne
1523-24
Oil on canvas, 175 x 190 cm
National Gallery, London
Titian
Sacred and Profane Love
1514
Oil on canvas, 118 x 279 cm
Galleria Borghese, Rome
Titian, The Venus of Urbino,1538, Oil on canvas, 119 x 165 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Caravaggio, born in 1573, died in 1610 A notable painting is his Death of the Virgin
displayed in the Louvre, with the dramatic quality that was found in most of his works.
He used foreshortening, shadowing and detail to portray scenes that drew out the
emotions of the viewers. Caravaggio is often given credit for inspiring the Renaissance
painters of northern Europe including Rembrandt.
CARAVAGGIO
Amor Victorious
1602-03
Oil on canvas, 156 x 113 cm
CARAVAGGIO
David
1609-0
Oil on canvas, 125 x 101 cm
Galleria Borghese, Rome