Vlil. The Renaissance in Italy and Northern Europe (1400-1600)
The Renaissance (naissance = birth, hence "rebirth") begins c. 1400 in the Italian city of Florence
and spreads rapidly throughout northern Europe. Throughout this period Italy remains the cultural
center of the Renaissance because it is the site of the ancient Roman Empire, the home of the
papacy, and an international center for commerce, banking, and trade.
The Renaissance is an era of reawakened interest in ( 1 ) the art and cultures of classical Greece
and Rome, (2) scientific naturalism, and (3) humanism, the idea that "Man is the measure of all
things" (from Protagoras, 48>411B.C.). Artists rediscover the world as a source of artistic
inspiration; some masters, like da Vinci and Michelangelo, improved their knowledge of human
anatomy by performing cadaver dissections. During this period artists become known as
important personalities in their own right. This is in direct contrast to the medieval en during which
anonymous artists worked only for the glorification of God. Renaissance artists' signatures often
include Latin inscriptions such as Victor (painter), fictor (sculptor), orfecit (he made it).
The principal sources of artistic patronage during this period were the clergy and the nobility.
Especially notable as patrons of the arts were Lorenzo de'Medici, (1449-1492) head of the
powerful Medici banking family; Pope Julius II, patron of Michelangelo; and the Duke of Milan,
Ludovico Sforza (called n Moro, "the Moor," 1451-1508) the principal patron of Leonardo da Vinci.
Artistic themes are, consequently, varied exhibiting an unusual mixture of religious subjects,
episodes from pagan mythology, portraiture, and intellectual allegories, in roughly that order of
popularity. Strangely enough, there is relatively little interest in realistic historical subjects during
this historically-conscious era.
The hallmark of the ITALIANRENAISSANCE style is its emulation of the artistic works of classical
Greece and Rome. (An apocryphal legend has it that young Michelangelo even buried one of his
own sculptures—a sleeping cupid—in order to pass it off as a "Roman antique," thereby
increasing its value.)
The Renaissance era in art traditionally dates from the
sculptural competition to design the bronze doors of the Florentine Baptistry (1401), won by
painter-sculptor-goldsmith Lorenzo Ghiberti. Another contender, the sculptor Filippo Brunelleschi,
was so disheartened by his loss that he abandoned sculpture and left
• Florence for Rome. He later became the most respected architect of the Renaissance. The art
of the Italian Renaissance is dominated by many great personalities. During this period artists
came to be recognized as something more than simple craftsmen and were accorded the same
status as writers and other intellectuals. A selection of the most representative artists and
architects follows, grouped by century to reflect their historical order and stylistic affinities.
Prominent Renaissance artists of the 1 4 0 0 s ( t h e Q u a t t r o c e n t o )
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446): Sculpor-turned-architectwhose works freely incorporate
elements from Roman classical architecture in his designs. His PAZZICHAPEL recalls the Roman
PANTHEON. (See Figure 5.67.) Early in his career Brunelleschi lost the sculptural commission for
the doors of the Florentine Baptistry to Ghiberti (1401), a fortuitous defeat which eventually turned
him from sculpture to architecture. Donatello (1386- 1466): Sculptor whose rugged figures exhibit
a naturalistic weight shift or ponderation, recalling the Greek sculptor Praxiteles's fluid style.
Donatello's highly individualistic works exhibit a range of stylistic diversity in a correspondingly
wide variety of media including wood, metal, clay, and stone. See The Repentent Magdalen, as
shown in Figure 5.68. Masaccio (1401 - 1428, Tommaso Guidi, "Big Thomas"): Painter known
primarily for his religious frescoes. While his depictions of anatomy are often awkward and
uncertain (he died at 27), Masaccio used bold chtaroscuro effects (light and shadow) to
emphasize the volume of his figures, making them appear as massive objects in realistic space.
Although frequently an innovator,—he is credited with the invention of atmospheric perspective—
Masaccio also drew upon older medieval techniques, such as simultaneous narrative, the idea of
portraying several episodes in the same painting. See The Tribute Money, as shown in Figure
5.69.
Figure S.67 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE Pazzi Chapel (west facade), Santa Croce, Florence (c
1440) by Filippo Brunelleschi. Compare to Roman PANTHEON. (AlinariArt Resource, NY)
Figure S.68 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE The Repentent Magdalen (c 14SS) by Donatello. Wood
(approximately 6 feet). Baptistry, Florence. The flamelike contours of the repentent prostitute's
gamment suggest the purifying spiritual fires that bum within her. (Photo: Kunstgeschichte in
Bildem 111)
Figure S.69 RENAISSANCE The Tribute Money (1427) by Masaccio. Fresco (approximately 20' X
8'). Brancacd Chapel, Church of Santa Maria del Cammine, Florence. The scene illustrates a New
Testament mirade; Christ (center) directs St Peter to catch a fish from whose mouth he extracts a
coin (left) to pay the tax collector (at right). Unlike the highly tentative medieval illustrations,
Masacdo's figures appear as massive, solid fomms in realistic space. Note the painter's use of
one-point perspective in building at right (Photo: Almari Art Resource, NY.)
FigureS.73 LArE RENAISSANCE St Peter s Basilica, Rome (1546-1564) by Michelangelo.
Michelangela's onginal design, a simplified version of the plan proposed by the architect
Bramante, called for a hemispherical rather than a tapered dome. The Sistine Chapel roof is just
visible to the right of St Peter's. Forecourt designed by baroque sculptor Gionlorenzo Bemini
(Photo: Kunstgeschichte in Bildem 111)
Figure 5.74 LATE RENAISSANCE Creation of Adam from the Sistine Chapel ceiling (1508-1512)
by Michelangelo. Fresco, (detail approximately 7' X 14') (Photo: Kunstgeschichte in Bildem 111)
Figure S. 7S RENAISSANCE. Madonna with the Goldfinch by Raphael Sanzio. The goldfinch,
which builds its nest among thoms, is a metaphor for Christ's passion. (Photo: Kunstgeschichte in
Bildem 111)
Figure S. 76 RENAISSANCE The Tempietto ("little temple"), Rome (1508) by Bramante.
(Illustration: Geschichte der Bildenden Kunste)
simplified Bramante s original plan for ST. PETER S BASILICA. See also David (p. 23), and the
Pieta' (p. 108) See here Figures 5.73 and 5.74.
Raphael (Raphael Sanzio, (1483-1520): Portraitist also known for his tenderly beautiful Madonnas
and large-scale wall frescoes painted in the papal apartments of the Vatican Palace. See
Madonna with the Goldfinch (Figure 5.75) and The School of Athens (p. 107).
Bramante (Donato d'Angelo, 11214 1514): Famous scholar-architect and associate of Leonardo
da Vinci. Bramante's TEMPIETTO ("Little Temple", 1504) in Rome marks the spot where St. Peter
is believed to have been crucified. Its well-reasoned simplicity served as an inspiration for all later
domed neoclassical structures. His original plans for ST. PETER S BASILICA (partly inspired by
the Pantheon) were later revised by Michelangelo, who consolidated its complex arrangement of
interior masses with a few simplifying penstrokes.
Andrea Palladio (1508-1580): One of the most popular architects of the Venetian Renaissance
(although his best works are concentrated in and around Vicenza). In particular, Palladio is known
for his composite neoclassical churches (Doric and Ionic) and villas modeled after Roman
prototypes. Author of The Four Books of Architecture ( I 5 70) . See VILLA ROTUNDA shown in
Figure 5.77.
Flgure S. 77 LATE
R~SSANZ WBa Roomdo
(C l570) near I4ncMza,
a, bAndrea Palbdb;
COrnpare to die Pwrnan
PANTHEON, p. 14S (Pnotz
lXnstpesOidrte in Bildern 111)
The Northern Renaissance
Miniatures were especially popular in the northern tradition and many painters began their careers
as miniaturists, thus the NORTHERN RENAISSANCE style exhibits an extraordinary realism and
attention to details which rivals modern scientific illustration. This is a radical departure from
earlier medieval styles which shunned the practice of drawing "from life." But something of the
medieval period is also preserved in the art of the North, particularly its preoccupation with
complex religious symbolism and at times grotesque Gothic imagery. Quasi-sciences such as
alchemy (which sought to convert base metals into gold) created a strange admixture of science
and mysticism which inspired the imagery of artists like Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516).
Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights (1505-1510) combines abstruse alchemical symbols, as well
as nightmarish scenes reminiscent of the twentieth-century SURREALISTS, in a three-panel
painting depicting the creation, sensuality, and destruction of the world. (See Figure 5.78.)
Prominent artists of the Northern Renaissance
Jan Van Eyck (c. 1390-1441): Trained as a miniaturist, Van Eyck is commonly held to be the
inventor of oil painting (it was actually developed sometime in the twelfth century). His portrait of
Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride is rich in symbolism (Figure 5.79). The dog symbolizes loyalty
(fi~lo = faithful one), the single lit candle alludes to the Divine Presence, as well as the cast-off
shoes (always removed on sacred ground). Albrecht Durer (1471 - 1528): German printmaker and
one of the first international European art celebrities known mainly for his precisely detailed
woodcuts and engravings. (See Figure 5.80.) Matthias Grunewald (c. 1480-1528): German painter
and contemporary of Durer known for his complex Isenheim Altarpiece, a richly symbolic
polyptych (many-paneled painting) which, as tradition has it, alludes to the sufferings of the
amputees being treated for ergot poisoning at Isenheim's monastic hospital. (The painted panels
of the altarpiece, when opened, cause the limbs of Christ to be ablated.) Grunewald is
Figure S. 78 NORTHERN RENAISSANCE The Alchemical Man from right panel of The Garden of
Earthly Delights (1505-1510) byHieronymus sOSch. of on wood, (center panel approximately 7' X
7'). (Mueso del Prado, Madrid; Photo: Almari Art Resource, N))
Figure S.80 NORTHERN RENAISSANCE Melencolia I (Melancholy, 151 4), by Albrecht Durer.
Engraving, 9.5" X 7.5". Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge Massachusetts
(bequest of Francis Calley Gray).
Figure S.79 NORTHERN RENAISSANCE Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride (1434) by Jan Van
Eyck OD and tempera on wood; approximately 32 ' X 22 '. (National Gallery, London) (Photo:
Almari Art Resource, NY.)
a master realist and depicted Christ's wounds with brutal, clinical precision. (See Figure 5.81.)
Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525-1569): Painter nicknamed Meter the Droll" due to his gift for
satiric caricature plainly evident in his group portraits. Also an accomplished landscape painter,
his genre images afford us a glimpse into northern life during the midsixteenth century. See
Hunters in the Snow (Figure 5.82).
El Greco (Domenicos Theotocopoulos, "The Greek," c. 1547-1614): Painter (born on Crete, but
lived in Spain) known for his highly individual and expressive stylistic elongations of his figures.
Although commissioned by Phillip II to design an altarpiece for the chapel at the ESCORIAL
PAISCE, El Greco's masterpiece is 7Xe Burial of Count Orgaz depicting the ascent of a man's
soul into heaven, which ironically El Greco painted for his own modest parish church. (See Figure
5.83.) El Greco's unusual, expressive compositions anticipate the emerging Baroque style in
painting.
Figure S.83 NORTHERN RENAISSANCE Burial of Count Orgaz (1586) by El Greco. Oil on
canvas, approximately 16'X 12'. (Church of Sonto Tome, Toledo, Spain; Photo: Giraudon Art
Resource, NY.)
Mannerism (Sixteenth Century)
During the last decades of the 1500s, artists sought to capture the stylistic essences of the great
Renaissance masters by distilling their painting techniques into simple artistic formulas, thus
allowing any artist to paint in the manner of Leonardo or in the manner of Raphael; hence, artists
who followed this style were called Mannerists. Once regarded as followers of a decadent style,
Mannerists like Antonio da Correggio (c. 1489-1534) are now appreciated for their own unique
characteristics, rather than for their ability to emulate Leonardo's or Raphael's techniques.
The Renaissance is portrayed as a time of great cultural achievement, but it was also a violent era
marked by political and religious conflicts, such as the Protestant Reformation begun by Martin
Luther in 1517. This atmosphere of disquietude is portrayed in no uncertain terms in Leonard da
Vinci's famous letter of introduction to his prospective patron 11 Moro (Ludovico Sforza). Here
Leonardo presents his credentials, somewhat in the manner of a resume, by mentioning first his
expertise as a designer of fortifications, military bridges, siege mortars, and other instruments of
warfare. Only at the very end of the letter does Leonardo mention, almost as an afterthought, that
he also dabbles in sculpture and architecture and can paint as well as any man "be he whom he
may."5 Similarly, it is known that the great Renaissance patron of the arts Lorenzo de'Medici
seldom appeared in public without an entourage of armed guards who carried their swords drawn,
ready for a surprise attack. (Lorenzo's younger brother Giuliano had been stabbed to death,
during a celebration of Holy Mass no less, by members of a rival banking family acting in league
with the Archbishop of Pisa!) The fact that so much significant art emerged from so brutal a period
remains one of the great ironies of history
The Renaissance biographer Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) presents many fascinating details of the
period in his famous Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects ( 1550).
5 J. P. Richter and 1. A. Richter, The Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci j2 volumes j (London:
Oxford Unrversity Press, 1939), pp. 325-327 cited in A Documentary History of Art volume 11 by
ed. Elizabeth G. Hod (New York: Doubleday/Anchor Books, 1957), pp. 273-274.