Slides on Early Renaissance

The Renaissance
Based on Gardner
Chapter 9
Leonardo da Vinci
• From a small town in Tuscany near Florence
called Vinci
• The genius of the Renaissance
– His art work was only surpasses by his dreams
– His Notebooks contained problems he wanted to
solve, what he observed and his dreams
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Helicopters, submarines, turbines, elevators, ideal city
Vast knowledge of anatomy, geology, botany, math
A searching mind that wanted to understand the world
A deep respect for nature and a love of beauty.
The Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci
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Fresco – Milan – 1498 – 14.5’ x 28’
Mathematically, one of the most perfect paintings
Also a very emotional piece
The time captured is the moment of betrayal
Apostles are arranged in 4 distinct groups
Christ is the central figure
– Emphasis on him by the look or gestures of the Apostles
– Christ is haloed by the central window behind him
– All lines in the room converge there
Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
Mona Lisa
By Leonardo da Vinci
1505’Oil on wood
30” x 21”
Paris
Madonna of the Rocks by da Vinci
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Very expressive
Protection of Christ Child and St. John the Baptist
Exquisite Angel points the scene
Cavern like scene behind reminds us of the cave
in Bethlehem and the cave of burial for Christ
• Mystery of light comes from beyond the caves
• Beautifully rendered people (humanity)
surrounded by mysterious nature.
Madonna of the Rocks
By Leonardo da Vinci
1483
Panel transferred to canvas
6.5’ x 4’
Paris
Leonardo Da Vinci
Embryo in the Womb
1510
Pen and ink on paper
Popes and Patronage
• As Medici political power and patronage of
the arts declined, the Catholic Church became
the center of wealth and stability and the
Popes the patrons of the arts.
• High Renaissance has an exact starting date –
1503 – Pope Julius II (il papa terribile) called
Raphael and Michelangelo to Rome
Raphael Sanzio 1483-1520
• Known for numerous Madonnas in a style that
has become synonymous with his name
• Madonna of the Meadows
– Figures arranged in a pyramidal configuration
• Geometrical device creates balance and space
– Renaissance preoccupation with an ordered composition
– Also used by Leonardo da Vinci
– Beautiful modeling of the human figures
• Sweetness and warmth conveyed
• Playful moods
Madonna of the Meadows
Raphael
1508
Vienna
School of Athens by Raphael
• Painting defines the meaning of 16c.
Renaissance in Rome
• Large fresco in an office in the Vatican Palace
– Office which required the Pope’s signature
• Symbolic homage to philosophy
– Room also has frescoes here symbolizing poetry,
law and theology.
• Great philosophers of antiquity in a Roman
architectural setting
School of Athens….
 Receding lines of architecture bring the eye to
Plato and Aristotle
◦ Each holds a copy of their written works
 One points to heaven – the ideal realm – Plato
 One points to the earth – empirical observations – Aristotle
◦ Other great philosophers surround them: Ptolemy, Euclid,
Pythagoras
 Architectural framework
 Very Roman – barrel vaulting, coffered ceiling, arches,
columns
 Color, form, intellectual clarity – Renaissance ideas!
The Cowper Madonna
Raphael
1505
Washington D.C.
Entombment
Raphael
1507
Rome
Transfiguration
By Raphael
-unfinished at his death
Michelangelo Buonarroti
• Genius of the 15c. 1476-1564
• Earlier works are as a Sculptor
• Madonna of the Stairs 1489
– Done at age 13!!
– Cameo carving (low relief) on marble
• Pieta 1498
– Incredible advance in technique
– Deep sensitivity, beauty & idealism in Virgin’s face
Madonna of the Stairs
By Michelangelo
22” x 16”
Florence
Low relief – marble
Pieta
By Michelangelo
1499
5’9” high
Rome
David by Michelangelo
• Sculpture that is synonymous with Florence
and Michelangelo
• 1501-4 carved from a massive piece of marble
• Idealized beauty from its realistic musculature
and great size
• Placed outside the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence
to symbolize the cities power
David
By Michelangelo
1501-1504
18’ height
Marble
Florence
Michelangelo 1475-1564
• Called to Rome to create a tomb for Pope Julius II
– 5 conceptual changes meant it was never finished
• Moses
– Bulk physicality
– Very modeled musculature, drapery, hair
– Inspired look on face of Moses – after seeing God
• Divine light and Divine fury
– Michelangelo wanted to overwhelm the viewer with
an awesomeness – “terribilta”
Moses
Michelangelo
1513-1515
8’4” Height
Rome
-horns are the rays of light
Sistine Chapel 1508-1511
• Commanded by Pope Julius to fresco the
ceiling of the “private” chapel
• Michelangelo resisted invitation and fled
Rome
– Brought back by Papal edict
– Considered himself a sculptor not a painter
• Technical problems with the shape of the ceiling
• Signed the work “Michelangelo, Sculptor” to remind
Julius of his reluctance and true vocation
Last Judgment
Michelangelo
Sistine Chapel
1534-1541
Artist self-portrait
Michelangelo is held by
St. Bartholomew
Before and After Restorations
Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo
Rome
Organization of Ceiling:
-4 large triangles and corners
-8 triangular spaces on outer border
-central series of figures in 9 panels
-all are bound together by architectural motifs and nude male figures
Themes: Old Testament figures, Biblical ancestors of Jesus, Book of Genesis,
Sistine Chapel Elements
• 1) Neo-Platonic interest
– Manipulation of Light and dark
• Progression of darkness to light from outer border to center
• Geometrical illusions in triads (3 popular in Plato)
• 2) Christian understanding of Old Testament
– Pagan prophets and OT prophets predicted Christ
• 3) Complex Tree Symbolism
– Appears in 7 of 9 panels – tree of Genesis, tree of the Cross…..
• 4) Relationship of Human Wisdom to God’s revelation
– Sibyls (female prophetess - oracles) vs. OT prophets
Creation of Adam Adam prefigures Christ
Sistine Chapel
God holds Eve and her children
Michelangelo
-Eve prefigures the Virgin
8’x9’
Sistine Chapel – Before and after restoration (1984)
The Prophet Daniel
High Renaissance in Venice
• Most Renaissance art activity was in Florence
& Rome
– Fresco, sculpture, architecture
• Venice as a port city developed rapidly
– Developed easel painting & excelled in oil painting
• due to damp atmosphere
– Emphasis on brilliant color and subtle light
Giorgio di Castelfranco
“Giorgione”
• Most celebrated in 16c. Venice
• Typical paintings were not religious & had no
recognizable story line or narrative
• Example: Le Concert Champetre
– Unfinished work completed by Titian
– Storm vs. serene pastoral setting
– Naked women vs. richly clothed men
– What does the painting mean???
• A secular homage to the joy of life?
The Tempest
By Giorgione
Sleeping Venus by Giorgione
Tiziano Vecelli - Titian
• Long and productive life
– Favorite of Emperor Charles V
• Major color in all works
• His work was appreciated much more later by Baroque
painters: Rubens and Velazquez
• Assumption of the Virgin
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Swirling color
Subtle shading
Dramatic gestures
Upward movement
Triangular composition with 3 distinct levels
Assumption of the Virgin
Titian
1518
Venice
Venus of Urbino
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1538 Florence
Great contrast with earlier Assumption work
Homage to feminine beauty
Architectural background divides light from dark
Lushness of the female body and the richness of
life: clothes, flowers, dog, maids
• Love of the human body painted for the
aristocracy
Mannerism
• Late Renaissance – Pre-Baroque
• Intellectual Sophistication but Artificial
Qualities
• Elongated Forms
• Precarious balanced figures
• Anti-classical
Jacopo Da Pontormo
Descent from the Cross
1525-1528
Florence
Sofonisba Anguissola – Portrait of the Artist’s Sisters and Bothers – 1555
Self-Portrait
Albrecht Durer
1500
25” x 19”
Munich
-his signature with date
-Christ like
-seriousness of his calling
-complex use of lines
-limited use of color
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Albrecht Durer
Woodcut
15”x11”
London
1498
-intensity of subject matter
-simplistic form
-height of expression
-good vs. evil reflects the times
-church discontent
Pieter Bruegel
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1525-1569
Pessimistic view of human nature
Use of satire to express the pessimism
Crowded scenes of grotesque activity
Love of nature as well as prevalence of sin
– There is an order to the world – beautiful nature
• Triumph of Death
– 1564 4’x5’ Madrid
– Death comes to all-rich & poor, powerful & hopeless
– No hope for anyone?
Peasant Wedding
Pieter Bruegel
1567 4’x5’ Vienna - Earthly delights
Hunters in the Snow
Pieter Bruegel 1565
-World landscape (Alps) and microcosm of humans
English Renaissance Painting
• Sprit of nationalism in England
• Rejection of outside ideas and art suffered
• Hans Holbein the Younger
– only foreign painter to work in England
• Nicholas Hilliard
– Only English painter of note in 16c.
– Best known for miniatures
Henry VIII in Wedding Dress
Hans Holbein the Younger
1540
Rome
-English portraiture
-Nationalism
-Henry sent Holbein to paint
prospective wives
Anne of Cleves
(4th wife of Henry VIII)
Hans Holbein the Younger
1540
Paris
Queen Elizabeth
Nicholas Hilliard
1585
-ermine is symbol of virginity
-Elizabeth demanded regal,
imposing portraits over
realism
Portrait of a Youth
Nicholas Hilliard
1590
London