November 9, 2009
RENAISSANCE ART, 1350-1550
JUST DO IT!
WHICH OF THESE IMAGES IS FROM THE RENAISSANCE?
LIPPI, MADONNA AND CHILD
PRE-RENAISANCE STUFF

Around 1350 A.D., art and architecture still
dominated by Medieval styles and church
 the
Gothic Style
 lack
of perspective: vanishing point: problem
solving the two dimensional aspect
MARCUS AURELIUS
THE EMPEROR JUSTINIAN
CHARLEMAGNE’S COURT SCHOOL
BENEDICTIONAL OF ST. ÆTHALWOOD
AFRICAN ART, THE KING’S HEAD, 13TH
CENTURY
MOHAMED, C. 1315
THE RENAISSANCE “REBIRTH”
Two Questions:
Why Italy?
Why after 1350?
Hint: Art imitates life.
WHY ITALY?

The right conditions…of course
 Geography:
Italy was ideally situated on the
Mediterranean—on trade routes and Roman ruins
 Politics:
competition between leaders of many proximate
city-states; by 1350, 1 in 7 Italians lived in cities as
compared to 1 in 10 throughout western Europe
WHY AFTER 1350?

Socioeconomic: the Bubonic plague continually returned,
resulting in greater work opportunities and greater
concentrations of wealth—conspicuous consumption and
noblesse oblige—10% of the families controlled 90% of the
wealth
Religion: the church more tolerant than previous
RENAISSANCE STYLES




Remember that Artists captured the social mood
Few artists limited themselves to one area of artistic
expression
Surviving Roman and Hellenic statues influenced revival of
classical art, as well as surviving classical texts
Use of linear perspective along with shading of light and
shadow created the illusion of three dimensions on a flat
surface—themes of Nature, Classicism, and Humanism
MASACCIO, BANISHMENT FROM THE
GARDEN OF EDEN
BOTTICELLI, THE BIRTH OF VENUS
Artist
Last Supper
Virgin of the Rocks
Mona Lisa
Inventor
Designed a tank and an
airplane
Scientist
An accomplished
botanist
Vitruvian Man
LEONARDO DA VINCI, 1452-1519, A TRUE RENAISSANCE MAN
DA VINCI, THE LAST SUPPER
LEONARDO DA VINCI, THE VIRGIN OF THE
ROCKS
LEONARDO DA VINCI, THE VITRUVIAN
MAN
LEONARDO DA VINCI, THE MONA LISA
-The Mond Crucifixion
-The Sistine Madonna
-The Betrothal of the
Virgin
-The School of Athens
-Disputa
-The Transfiguration
RAPHAEL, 1483-1520
RAPHAEL, THE MOND CRUCIFIXION
RAFAEL, THE SISTINE MADONNA
RAPHAEL, THE BETROTHAL OF THE VIRGIN
RAPHAEL, THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS
RAPHAEL, THE DISPUTATION OF THE
SACRAMENTS
RAPHAEL, THE TRANSFIGURATION
-Ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel
-La Pieta
-David
MICHELANGELO, 1475-1564
MICHELANGELO, THE CREATION OF ADAM
MICHELANGELO, THE CEILING OF THE
SISTINE CHAPEL
MICHELANGELO, LA PIETA
MICHELANGELO, DAVID
REMBRANDT, SELF PORTRAIT, 1658
CATHERINE THE GREAT
PEALE, RACHAEL WEEPING, 1772
MOHAMED PREACHING, C. 1850
PICASSO, GUERNICA, 1937
-Written in 1550 A.D.
-Still referenced by
historians
-Considered both a
primary and secondary
source
GIORGIO VASARI, THE LIVES OF THE PAINTERS, SCULPTORS, AND
ARCHITECTS
GUIDING QUESTIONS…

Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy after 1350?

What were the artistic ideas of the Renaissance?

…Thanks!!!