Artists
• Renaissance painters, sculptors, and architects
drew inspiration from the classical Greek and
Roman artists rather than their medieval
predecessors
• Artists used the technique of linear
perspective to represent the three dimensions
of real life on flat, two dimensional surfaces
Difference in Painting
Medieval
Renaissance (The Virgin and
Child with Saint Anne by da
Vinci, 1510)
Difference in Painting
Medieval
Renaissance (Pope
Julius II by Raphael)
I. Self-Portrait -- da Vinci, 1512
 Artist
 Sculptor
 Architect
 Scientist
 Engineer
 Inventor
1452 - 1519
Leonardo, the Artist:
From hisNotebooks of over 5000 pages (1508-1519)
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
• A great artist, but
more than any other
person of his age,
personified the idea
of the “Renaissance
man”
– Someone of broad
interests who is
accomplished in both
the arts and sciences
Mona Lisa uses light and shadow and
perspective to make the figures fully
human, enigmatic, and mysterious
The Last Supper captures the emotions of each of Jesus’
disciples at the exact moment of their learning one will betray
Him
The Last Supper - da Vinci, 1498
& Geometry
vertical
The Last Supper - da Vinci, 1498
horizontal
Perspective!
Leonardo da Vinci
da Vinci’s study of the
proportions of the human body
da Vinci’s plans for a helicopter
Leonardo, the Scientist (Biology):
Pages from his Notebook
An example of
the humanist
desire to unlock
the secrets of
nature.
Leonardo, the Scientist (Anatomy):
Pages from his Notebook
Giotto di Bondone (1266-1337)
• Overcame the
obstacle of flat
forms by skillfully
contrasting light
and shadow to
create an illusion
of depth that
made human
figures look solid
and round
“The Mourning of Christ,”
painted c.1305
Masaccio (Tomassco Guidi) (1401-1428)
• Used atmospheric
perspective to show
objects receding into a
background and to
make figures appear
round and truly three
dimensional
Trinity 1425-28 Fresco
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos)
(1541-1614)
• Used severe colors and
elongated features to
express Spanish
religious zeal in
powerful and emotional
paintings
The Burial of Count Orgaz
conveys the Catholic spirit of
communion among God,
saints, and humans
Sculptors
• Sculptors depicted their subjects in natural
poses that reflected the actual workings of
human muscles rather than the awkward and
rigid poses often found in earlier sculptures
II. Michelangelo Buonorrati
 1475 – 1564
 He represented
the body in
three
dimensions of
sculpture.
Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475-1564)
• Considered
himself a
sculptor first
and painted
with a
sculptor’s
eye
• Made the
muscular
masculine
figure his
ideal beauty
Michelangelo’s David and
Moses show dramatic and
emotional postures and
expressions
 David
 Michelangelo
Buonarotti
 1504
 Marble
The Popes as Patrons of the Arts
The Pieta
Michelangelo
Buonarroti
1499
marble
The Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo
Buonarroti
1508 - 1512
Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo’s frescos covering the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel in the Vatican are perhaps the single greatest
achievement in Renaissance art
The Sistine Chapel Details
The
Creation
of the
Heavens
III. Donatello (Donato di Niccoli di Betto)
(1386-1466)
• Traveled to Rome to study the
classics of antiquity
• Employed models and created
studies of anatomy and the
human body
Donatello’s David was the first nude statue
of the Renaissance and is known for its
grace, proportionality, and balance
IV. Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520)
Self-Portrait, 1506
Portrait of the Artist with
a Friend, 1518
Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520)
• Excelled in composition and use of soft colors
Raphael is famous for his warm, pious,
and graceful Madonnas such as The
Small Cowper Madonna, c. 1505
St. George Fighting the
Dragon, 1505
Raphael’s Madonnas (1)
Sistine Madonna
Cowpepper Madonna
The School at Athens by Raphael
The School of Athens – Raphael, 1510 -11

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
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

One point perspective.
All of the important Greek philosophers and
thinkers are included all of the great
personalities of the Seven Liberal Arts!
A great variety of poses.
Located in the papal apartments library.
Raphael worked on this commission
simultaneously as Michelangelo was doing
the Sistine Chapel.
No Christian themes here.
The School of Athens – Raphael, details
Plato:
looks to the
heavens [or
the IDEAL
realm].
Aristotle:
looks to this
earth [the
here and
now].
The School at Athens, with lines to
show perspective
The School of Athens – Raphael, 1510 -11
Da Vinci
Raphael
Michelangelo
Portrait of Pope Julius II
by Raphael, 1511-1512
 More concerned with
politics than with
theology.
 The “Warrior Pope.”
 Great patron of
Renaissance artists,
especially Raphael &
Michelangelo.
 Died in 1513
Birth of Venus – Botticelli, 1485
An attempt to depict perfect beauty.