Bell Ringer
• Who was the most famous painter during the
time of The Renaissance?
The Renaissance
1400-1600
Introduction
• Renaissance- means “rebirth” and refers to the
revival of Greek and Roman culture
• Painters were considered skilled crafts workers
on the level with goldsmiths, carpenters, and
other trades people.
• Artists became interested in observing the
natural world, and wanted to reproduce it as
accurately as possible.
Early and High Renaissance in Italy
• Donatello- finest sculptor during this time
• Ex. St. Mark- made from marble
Lorenzo Ghiberti
• Donatello’s teacher
• The story of Jacob and Esau- bronze sculpture
that was done on a set of doors
Linear Perspective
• A graphic system that showed artists how to
create the illusion of volume on a flat surface.
Masaccio
• Fresco painting at the age of 24
• Trinity with the Virgin, St. John the Evangelist,
and Donors
Leon Battista Alberti
• Sant’ Andrea was his latest work
• 1472
• Composed of geometric volumes that relates to
Roman examples such as the Pantheon
Renaissance cont’d…
• In addition to Christian themes, Renaissance
artists also turned to Greek and Roman gods and
goddesses for subject matter; as did many poets.
• Botticelli- tempera (favorite medium of medieval
and early Renaissance artists)
• Ex. Birth of Venus
• Ex. Giovanni Bellini- St. Francis in the Desert
High Renaissance 1500-1525
• Brief and glorious time in art
• Leonardo da Vinci- painter, inventor, sculptor,
architect, engineer, scientist, musician and allaround intellectual (Renaissance Man- good at all
things)
• Many people considered him to be the greatest
genius who ever lived
• Ex. Madonna and the Child with St. Anne (explain)
• Sfumato- Italian word for “smoke”- technique where
layer on layer of translucent glazes produce a hazy
atmosphere, soft contours, and shadows.
The eyes are the windows to the mind
Study of Human Proportions
Michelangelo
• The Greeks knew how the body looked on the
outside, but Michelangelo knew how they looked on
the inside
• Painter, sculptor, poet, architect-incomparably
gifted at all
• Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome- forced to do this by
Pope Julius II
• St. Peter’s Basilica
• Fresco
• Scaffold 68 feet high, 128 feet long and 44 feet wide
• Depict Old Testament stories of the creation of the
world, some Greek and Roman mythology
The Creation of Adam
Rafael
• Used soft colors, simple circular forms, shading,
and gentle landscapes in his paintings
 Symbolism was used in many of the paintings
during this time.
• Ex. The School of Athens, The Alba Madonna
Renaissance in the North
• Artist’s during this time focused on the different
details of the visible world
• Ex. Limbourg Brothers- Tres Riches Heures
• Calendar
• Seasonal activity
Robert Campin
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One of the first to use oil paint
Used Geometric perspective
Ex. Merode Altarpiece- the Annunciation
Most of the symbols are referring to Mary’s
purity
Oil Paints
• Slowed down drying time so that the artist could
work slower and add more details
Rogier van der Weyden
• Details and emotional impact of the subject
matter
• Triptych- a painting on 3 hinged panels that can
be folded together
• Ex. Descent from the Cross
Emotionalism over Realism
• Hugo van der Goes used details and added
emotion to his paintings
• He also used proportion and movement in his
work as well Ex. The Adoration of the
Shepherds
• Also used expression