RENAISSANCE ART

RENAISSANCE ART ERA

• Arts of the Renaissance Period covers artworks produced
during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries in Europe. The word
“renaissance” comes from the word, “renaitre”, which
means, “rebirth.” It pertains to arts, particularly in Italy, such
as sculptures, paintings, music, architecture, and literature.
The most common subject of this period is human
philosophy.
• A time for individual freedom.
 RENAISSANCE ART

• It is the period of rebirth – Ideas, philosophy and

culture.
• During this time, there was a real move into an era of
literary, intellectual and artistic development.
• The cultural and art movement such as painting,
sculpture and decorative art began in Italy and
spread throughout Europe between 1400- 1700. It
was seen the “rebirth” of art style.
 FEATURES OF RENAISSANCE ART
• Christian focus
• Moved from frescoes to easel or detached painting on canvass.
• Highly realistic figures
• Development of perspective
• Mastered the use of light or shadow
• Scientific – Human Anatomy
• Depicted the beauty of Nature
• The art of oil painting was evident.
MICHELANGELO DI LODOVICO
BUONARROTI SIMONI

“The greatest danger for

most of us is not that aim too
high and we miss it, but that
is too low and we reach it.”
 MICHELANGELO DI LODOVICO
BUONARROTI SIMONI (1475-1564)
• was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet. He was considered the
greatest living artist in his lifetime, and since then he was considered as one
of the greatest artists of all time. A number of his works in paintings, sculpture,
and architecture rank among the famous in existence
• Born to a family of moderate means in the banking business, Michelangelo
became an apprentice to a painter before studying in the sculpture
gardens of the powerful Medici family. What followed was a remarkable
career as an artist, recognized in his own time for his artistic virtuosity.
Although he always considered himself a Florentine, Michelangelo lived most
of his life in Rome, where he died at age 88.
after Michelangelo's move to Rome in 1498, the cardinal Jean
Bilhères de Lagraulas, a representative of the French King
"Pieta," a
PIETA
Charles VIII to the pope, commissioned
sculpture of Mary holding the dead Jesus
across her lap. Michelangelo, who was just 25 years old
at the time, finished his work in less than one year, and the
statue was erected in the church of the cardinal's tomb. At 6
feet wide and nearly as tall, the statue has been moved five
times since, to its present place of prominence St. Peter's Basilica
in Vatican City.

Carved from a single piece of Carrara marble, the fluidity of the

fabric, positions of the subjects, and "movement" of the skin of
the Piet — meaning "pity" or "compassion" — created awe for its
early spectators. It is the only work to bear Michelangelo’s
name: Legend has it that he overheard pilgrims attribute the
work to another sculptor, so he boldly carved his signature in the
sash across Mary's chest. Today, the "Pieta" remains an incredibly
revered work.
Between 1501 and 1504, Michelangelo
took over a commission for a statue of DAVID
"David," which two prior sculptors had
previously attempted and abandoned,
and turned the 17-foot piece of marble
into a dominating figure. The strength
of the statue's sinews, vulnerability of its
nakedness, humanity of expression and
overall courage made the "David" a
prized representative of the city of
Florence. Originally commissioned for
the cathedral of Florence, the
Florentine government instead installed
the statue in front of the Palazzo
Vecchio. It now lives in Florence’s
OTHER ART WORKS
LEONARDO DI SER PIERO DA VINCI
(1452- 1519)
 DA VINCI
• Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 to May 2, 1519) was a painter,
sculptor, architect, inventor, military engineer and draftsman —
the epitome of a “Renaissance man.” With a curious mind and
keen intellect, da Vinci studied the laws of science and nature,
which greatly informed his work. His ideas and body of work have
influenced countless artists and made da Vinci a leading light of
the Italian Renaissance.
• Leonardo Da Vinci was a painter, architect, scientist, and
mathematician. He was popularized in present times through the
novel and movie, “Da Vinci Code.” He was known as the
ultimate “Renaissance man” because of his intellect, interest,
talent and his expression of humanist and classical values. He
was also considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time
and perhaps the most diversely talented person to have ever
lived.
 THE LAST SUPPER
Around 1495, Ludovico Sforza, then the Duke of Milan, commissioned
da Vinci to paint “The Last Supper” on the back wall of the dining
hall inside the monastery of Milan’s Santa Maria delle Grazie. The
masterpiece, which took approximately three years to complete,
captures the drama of the moment when Jesus informs the Twelve
Apostles gathered for Passover dinner that one of them would soon
betray him. The range of facial expressions and the body language
of the figures around the table bring the masterful composition to life.

The decision by da Vinci to paint with tempera and oil on dried

plaster instead of painting a fresco on fresh plaster led to the quick
deterioration and flaking of “The Last Supper.” Although an improper
restoration caused further damage to the mural, it has now been
stabilized using modern conservation techniques.
 MONA LISA
in 1503, da Vinci started working on
what would become his most well known
painting — and arguably the most
famous painting in the world —the
“Mona Lisa.” The privately commissioned
work is characterized by the enigmatic
smile of the woman in the half-portrait,
which derives from da Vinci’s stumato
technique.
 MONA LISA
Adding to the allure of the “Mona Lisa” is the mystery
surrounding the identity of the subject. Princess Isabella of Naples,
an unnamed courtesan and da Vinci’s own mother have all been
put forth as potential sitters for the masterpiece. It has even been
speculated that the subject wasn’t a female at all but da Vinci’s
longtime apprentice Salai dressed in women’s clothing. Based on
accounts from an early biographer, however, the "Mona Lisa" is a
picture of Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy Florentine silk
merchant. The painting’s original Italian name — “La Gioconda”
— supports the theory, but it’s far from certain. Some art historians
believe the merchant commissioned the portrait to celebrate the
pending birth of the couple’s next child, which means the subject
could have been pregnant at the time of the painting.
OTHER ART WORKS
RAFFAELLO SANZIO DA URBINO
(RAPHAEL) (1483-1520)
 RAPHAEL
• Raphael was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance
period. His work was admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition
and for its visual achievement of interpreting the Divine and incorporating
Christian doctrines. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he
formed the traditional trinity of great masters of that period.
• Raphael was born on April 6, 1483, in Urbino, Italy. He became Perugino's
apprentice in 1504. Living in Florence from 1504 to 1507, he began painting a
series of "Madonnas." In Rome from 1509 to 1511, he painted the Stanza della
Segnatura ("Room of the Signatura") frescoes located in the Palace of the
Vatican. He later painted another fresco cycle for the Vatican, in the Stanza
d'Eliodoro ("Room of Heliodorus"). In 1514, Pope Julius II hired Raphael as his
chief architect. Around the same time, he completed his last work in his
series of the "Madonnas," an oil painting called the Sistine Madonna.
Raphael died in Rome on April 6, 1520.
THE SCHOOL OF TRANSFIGURATION MADONNA
ATHENS