Richard Ceballos
February 10, 2009
Unit 16-Early Renaissance
Early Renaissance Italy 1400 to 1500
 When talking about Early Renaissance: Florence
 No Renaissance without Florence
 Part of humanism, looking back in time, Romans and Greeks, Classicalism
Goals
 Understand the social, religious, and political influences of 15th century Italian art
 Discuss the increased popularity of Humanism
 Observe the influence of classical art and architecture in the painting and
architecture of Renaissance Italy.
 Discuss the role of wealthy and powerful families
 Cite and understand art and architectural terms in relation to this historical period
 Analyze visual aspects of art and architecture
 Identify various artists of the period and their stylistic accomplishments
 Discuss the various roles of commemorative portraits
15th century Italy (1400-1500)
 Quattrocentro-15th Century
 Being awesome, individual excellence, fame
 Important Artistic Elements to Observe
 Attention to the human form including the return of classical nudity and
contrapposto
 Perspective to create the illusion of three-dimensional space,
 Use of single light source --- greater realism
 Paintings that have balanced, symmetrical compositions, often using pyramidal
composition
 Classical forms are incorporated more into architecture (triumphal arches, domes,
coffers, harmonious geometric relationships)
 Specific light source
 Symmetrical compositions
 Return to triumphal arches, domes, coiffeur
I. FLORENCE: Sculpture
 Brunelleschi
 Ghiberti
 Nanni Di Banco
 Donatello
 Pollaiuolo
Baptistery Doors Competition
 Brunelleschi
 Ghiberti
 Competition to see who could design the most creative doors
 Cathedral, baptistery for the entire city
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This competition really brings in the new era, year to make them
Figure 21-2, FILIPPO BRUNELLESCHI, Sacrifice of Isaac, competition panel
for east doors, baptistery, Florence, Italy, 1401–1402.
 Had to be bronze and in this shape
 This artist was one of the finalists
 It’s about action, angels physically touching Abraham, chunky
 Figure 21-3, LORENZO GHIBERTI, Sacrifice of Isaac, competition panel for
east doors, baptistery, Florence, Italy, 1401–1402.
 Winner of competition, made artist famous
 Isaac is naked, idealized nude
 The elements flow, overlapping, more elegant
 20 years to actually complete the door
 Carving on box similar to earlier sarcophagi
Niches of Or San Michele
 Nanni Di Banco
 Donatello
 All about civic pride, 2nd major Florentine project
 Figure 21-4, NANNI DI BANCO, Four Crowned Saints, Or San Michele,
Florence, Italy, ca. 1410–1416
 Life-sized, marble, meant to be white (that is what they thought)
 Martyred for their religious beliefs (story)
 Figural interaction, debating, “should we compromise our religious beliefs or
should we stand up for ourselves?”
 Looks like a simplistic conversation
 Other portrait sculptures, modeled by Roman and Greek sculptures
 Figure 21-5, DONATELLO, Saint Mark, Or San Michele, Florence, Italy, 1411–
1413.
 Lining weather guild pays for the sculpture, focus of fabric
 Not a Gothic style, contropposto
 Harmony of opposite sides
 Drapery curves with body, emphasis on body
 Very similar to classical figures
 Got hired to build another niche at that location
 The most important sculptor of the quattrocentro period
 Figure 21-8, DONATELLO, Feast of Herod, panel on the baptismal font of Siena
Cathedral, Siena, Italy, 1423–1427.
 Commissioned by Siena
 Spatial illusionism
 Credited with spatial illusionism from paintings
Perspective: Brunelleschi
 Linear Perspective
-Vanishing point
-One-point perspective
-Two-point perspective
-Orthogonals
 Atmospheric Perspective
 Its about finding a system, mathematical, proportional, Canon
 Art gets a little less weird
 All math, all based on a system
 Idea of a picture being a window to another world
 Figure 12-10, LORENZO GHIBERTI, east doors (Gates of Paradise), baptistery,
Florence, Italy, 1425–1452.
 Gates of Paradise, now they are called
 Commissioned him to create this
 27 more years to create these doors, actual doors (Old Testament scenes)
 Figure 21-11, LORENZO GHIBERTI, Isaac and His Sons (detail of FIG. 21-10),
(Gates of Paradise), baptistery, Florence, Italy, 1425–1452.
 Tiles on the floor, orthogonals, making up the tiles
 One point perspective, linear perspective
 Trick with reliefs (closer-higher) (further-lower)
 The guy who lost later created linear perspective
 Classical elements (architecture), brand new element (perspective)
The Medici
 Cosimo Medici
 Piero Medici
 Lorenzo the Magnificent
 The rich banking family
 Spent money on humanistic activities and projects
 There the ones only commissioning the work
 Churches, guilds
 One can say they paid for the Renaissance
 The most influential and wealthy family
 Figure 21-12, DONATELLO, David, late 1440–1460.
 First freestanding nude statue since antiquity
 Notice the contrapposto
 Nudity used to portray a Biblical hero rather than as an allegory for sinfulness
(Medieval mentality)
 Life-size free standing statue
 Has no clothes on (not realistic)
 Blending of religion and classical
 Too feminine
 Figure 21-13, ANDREA DEL VERROCCHIO, David, ca. 1465–1470.
 More realistic than (Figure 21-12)
 Kind of realism with the narrative
 Donotello much more classical