ART HISTORY
Renaissance
through Contemporary
Core Content 4.1
Renaissance Period 1400-1600
Reconciles Christian faith and reason.
Promotes ‘rebirth’ of the classical ideal (of
ancient Greece and Rome)
Allows new freedom of thought.
Humanism – emphasis on intellect,
education, the importance of the thinking
breathing human being!
Renaissance
Artists begin to blend religious and
secular (non-religious) subjects
Artists developed linear perspective that
created a greater look of space/depth
Key artists: Michelangelo, da Vinci,
Donatello, Raphael (The Ninja Turtles)
Michelangelo
He was a sculptor, painter, architect
He preferred sculpting
Famous sculptures: Pieta (Mary holding
dying Jesus), David
Famous Paintings: the frescos of the
Sistine Chapel
He blended religion and Humanistic
elements in his works
Michelangelo
Pieta
Michelangelo - David
Sistine Chapel
Leonardo da Vinci
Painter, sculptor,
architect, engineer,
inventor,
mathematician,
astronomer… the
Renaissance Man
Famous paintings:
Mona Lisa, Last
Supper
Use of sfumato
da Vinci
The Baroque Period
Rejects the limits of the previous styles
Restores the power of monarchy and
church.
Art is characterized by excess,
ornamentation, contrasts, energy, tensions
Artists used dramatic lighting that created
a spotlight effect on their subjects –
chiaroscuro or tenebroso
The Baroque Period
Chiaroscuro – use of light and shade to
create a 3-D effect
Tenebroso – Italian meaning “in a dark
manner”. Artists used contrast of
theatrical lighting against dark shadows in
their work
Subjects included both religious and
secular pieces – rise in personal portraits
and landscapes in the Netherlands
Rembrandt van Rijn
Dutch painter
Master of chiaroscuro
Painted over 65 selfportraits
Subjects had ‘light’ on
face and dark
background
Rembrandt van Rijn
Caravaggio
Led a rebellious life.
Prone to drinking and
fights… carried over into
artwork.
The church often refused
his paintings because
they were too violent or
showed saints behaving
as common people (ex
Jesus in a Roman bar)
Master of tenebroso
Caravaggio’s work
Neo-Classical Period
Reacts to the excesses of the monarchy
and the ornamentation of the Baroque
Returns to order, reason and structural
clarity (of the Classic Greek and Roman
styles – hence the name ‘Neo-Classicism’)
Artists incorporated clean, clear lines in
both painting and architecture –
composers similarly placed emphasis on
clear prominent melody lines…
Jaques-Louis David
French painter
Painted the aristocracy
and then Napoleon
during the Revolution
Depicted Napoleon in
best manner – brave, and
regal – art used as
propaganda to depict
strong leader
Subjects are simple with
clear lines, very orderly
appearance
Jaques-Louis David
Thomas Jefferson
American President
Traveled through Europe and
brought back architecture of
Greece and Rome
Blended styles for formal
government buildings – known
as Federalist Style
Very orderly, symmetrical,
dignified
Roman arches, Greek
pediments
Monticello – TJ’s home
Farmington home in Louisville
Thomas Jefferson
Monticello –
Jefferson’s home
Used triangular Greek
pediment, Roman
arches and dome
structure
Orderly, clear lines,
logic of design
apparent
Thomas Jefferson influence
Romantic Period 1760-1870
Revolts against neo-classical order and reason
Returns to nature/imagination: freedom,
emotion, sentimentality, interest in the exotic and
the supernatural
Romantics painted emotional scenes with loose
brush strokes and brilliant color
Paintings became more personal, emotional
Scenes were more dynamic and interesting than
in real life hence “Romanticising” them
Francisco Goya
Spanish Romantic artist – went through 3
‘phases’ of artwork
Royal painter – earned a respectable living
painting the Spanish royal family
Political Commentary – He witnessed
Napoleon’s troops invade Spain and painted the
harsh reality of warfare
Mental Illness (Black Period) – he drew
nightmarish, monster-like figures – some on the
walls of his home.
Goya -- Royal Family
Goya – Politics
John Constable
British Romantic painter
Concerned with forces of nature so
painted landscapes
Had the incredible ability to capture the
warmth of sunlight, the coldness in
shadows and the motion of clouds
His strong brush strokes and interest on
the effects of light paved the way for the
Impressionists
John Constable
John Constable
Realism 1820-1920
Speaks the truth. Finds beauty in the
commonplace (everyday scenes).
Focuses on the Industrial revolution and
the conditions of the working class
Moved away from royalty as subject
matter and painted peasants, working men
and women
Found the ordinary to be interesting
Gustave Courbet
Painted everyday
workers – very
controversial
His “The Stone
Breakers” and Burial
at Ornans” were
reviled – who would
want a painting of
people working or at a
funeral !?
Gustave Courbet - Realism
Eduard Manet
He transitioned
between Realism and
Impressionism
He went from crisp
clean lines to blurred
edges
His subjects remained
common – people on
a picnic or waiting for
a train
Eduard Manet
Impressionism 1850-1920
Started as a rebellion against Realism
Artists tried to capture a moment in time - a
snapshot (Camera invented at this time)
Tried to show the effects of light and
atmospheric conditions
Often painted the same scene at different times
of the day to capture the colors
Were the first artists to paint outside because of
the inventions of portable easels and paint in
tubes
Claude Monet
Quintessential
impressionist
Known for ‘waterlily’
series, Japanese
Bridge
Painted haystacks,
Rouen Cathedral
repeatedly but with
differing color
schemes
Claude Monet
Waterlilies - Monet
Mary Cassatt
American, female painter
Studied in France with Degas, Monet,
Manet, etc – The ‘great’ impressionists
Her subjects usually included domestic
scenes of women and children
Used soft pastel colors or bright, happy
hues in her work
Influenced by Japanese work in using dark
outlines of subjects
Mary Cassatt
Auguste Rodin
Impressionist sculptor
Tried to capture a
moment in time
Sculpted movement
and action in his
figures
Created ‘fragmentary’
sculptures at the end
of his career
Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin