Humanism and the Allure of Antiquity:

Cinquecento* Italian Art

ART ID 121 | Study of Western Arts
Slide concept by William V. Ganis, PhD NYIT Center for Teaching and Learning with Technology

With modifications by Arch. Edeliza V. Macalandag, UAP *15th Century

FLORENCE
A new artistic culture emerged and expanded in Italy in the 15th century - the Renaissance.
The spread of humanism and the growing interest in classical antiquity contributed significantly to the remarkable growth and expansion of artistic culture in 15th-century Italy. Also important were political and economic changes that contributed to the rise of a new class of wealthy patrons who fostered art and learning on a lavish scale.

The spread of humanism:

Humanism flourished in the 15th century. Emphasis was placed on education and every form of knowledge, the exploration of individual potential and a desire to excel, and a commitment to civic responsibility and moral duty.

Recognizing achievement:
Humanism also fostered a belief in individual potential and encouraged individual achievement along with civic responsibility. Achieving and excelling through hard work became moral imperatives. Humanism also encouraged citizens to participate in the social, political, and economic life of their communities.

Of wealth and power:

Shifting power relations among the numerous Italian city-states fostered the rise of princely courts and control of cities by despots.
Princely courts emerged as cultural and artistic centers. Their patronage contributed to the formation and character of Renaissance art. Among the best known high-level patrons of this time was the Medici family, which acquired its vast fortune from banking. Renaissance Italy experienced major shifts in artistic models, such as increased interest in perspective and illusionism.

Sculpture and Civic Pride in the Early Renaissance

The republic of Florentine cultivated civic pride and responsibility in its citizens, which resulted in projects to embellish the city's buildings.
The competitive and public nature of these projects, which were usually sponsored by civic or lay-religious organizations, promoted innovation and served to signal official approval of the new, classically inspired style. The emulation of antique models, however, was also supplemented by a growing interest in the anatomical structure of the human body (though often classically idealized) and the desire to show a naturalistic illusion of space (which resulted in the development of linear perspective). Human life and experience was acutely observed by artists such as the sculptor Donatello, who sought to convey through gesture, pose, and facial expression the personality and inner psychological condition of his figures.

Influences:

Classical texts, lost to European scholars for centuries, became available. These included Philosophy, Prose, Poetry, Drama, Science, a thesis on the Arts and Eultanarly Christian Theology.
Simultaneously, Europe gained access to advanced mathematics which had its provenance in the works of Islamic scholars. The advent of movable type printing in the 15th century meant that ideas could be disseminated easily, and an increasing number of books were written for a broad public.

Influences:
The establishment of the Medici Bank and the subsequent trade it generated brought unprecedented wealth to a single Italian city, Florence. Cosimo de' Medici set a new standard for patronage of the arts, not associated with the church or monarchy. Humanist philosophy meant that man's relationship with humanity, the universe and with God was no longer the exclusive province of the Church.

Influences:

A revived interest in the Classics brought about the first archaeological study of Roman remains by the architect Brunelleschi and sculptor Donatello. The revival of a style of architecture based on classical precedents inspired a corresponding classicism in painting and sculpture, which manifested itself as early as the 1420s in the paintings of Masaccio and Uccello. The improvement of oil paint and developments in oilpainting technique by Netherlandish artists such as Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden and Hugo van der Goes led to its adoption in Italy from about 1475 and had ultimately lasting effects on painting practices, worldwide.

Influences:

The serendipitous presence within the region of Florence in the early 15th century of certain individuals of artistic genius, most notably Masaccio, Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Piero della Francesca, Donatello and Michelozzo formed an ethos out of which sprang the great masters of the High Renaissance, as well as supporting and encouraging many lesser artists to achieve work of extraordinary quality. A similar heritage of artistic achievement occurred in Venice through the talented Bellini family, their influential in-law Mantegna, Giorgione, Titian and Tintoretto. The publication of two treatises by Leone Battista Alberti, De Pitura (On Painting), 1435, and De re aedificatoria (Ten Books on Architecture), 1452.

Influences:
An artistic transition The transition from the Medieval to the Renaissance period occurred in the 14th century. The medieval preoccupation with otherworldly values was gradually modified to include a new interest in the natural world. This was coupled with a revival of interest in the art of classical antiquity (ancient Roman sculpture and architecture), examples of which were available for artists to study. The result was a new more naturalistic art in which both figures and their surroundings are made to appear more as they might in the real world.

THE MOVEMENT AWAY FROM MEDIEVALISM IN ART

Filippo Brunelleschi's competition panel shows a sturdy and vigorous interpretation of the Sacrifice of Isaac.

Filippo Brunelleschi

Sacrifice of Isaac
1401-1402 gilded bronze relief 1 ft. 9 in. x 1 ft. 5 in.

Filippo Brunelleschi

Sacrifice of Isaac
1401-1402 gilded bronze relief 1 ft. 9 in. x 1 ft. 5 in.

Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise" are comprised of ten gilded bronze relief panels depicting scenes from the Old Testament. In Isaac and His Sons, Ghiberti creates the illusion of space using perspective and sculptural means. Ghiberti also persists in using the medieval narrative method of presenting several episodes within a single frame.

Lorenzo Ghiberti Gates of Paradise Baptistery, Florence Cathedral

1425-1452 gilded bronze relief approximately 17 ft. high

Lorenzo Ghiberti

Gates of Paradise
Isaac and His Sons Baptistery, Florence Cathedral
1425-1452 gilded bronze relief panel approximately 2 ft. 7 1/2 in. x 2 ft. 7 1/2 in.

Lorenzo Ghiberti Isaac and His Sons Baptistery, Florence Cathedral

1425-1452 gilded bronze relief

Donatello
Feast of Herod Baptistery, Siena Cathedral
ca. 1425 gilded bronze relief 1 ft. 11 in. x 1 ft. 11 in.

Donatello Saint George

ca. 1415-1417 marble 6 ft. 10 in. high

Donatello Saint George

ca. 1415-1417 marble 6 ft. 10 in. high

Donatello Saint Mark Or San Michele, Florence, Italy

1411-1413 marble figure 7 ft. 9 in. high

Donatello Saint Mark Or San Michele, Florence, Italy

1411-1413 marble figure 7 ft. 9 in. high

Donatello prophet figure (Zuccone) Florence Cathedral, Florence, Italy

1423-1425 marble figure 6 ft. 5 in. high

In his fresco of the Last Judgment in the church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere in Rome, Pietro Cavallini abandons Byzantine conventions and paints more sculpturally solid figures.

Pietro Cavallini Seated Apostles from the Last Judgment

Santa Cecelia in Trastevere, Rome Italy | ca. 1291

Masaccio Tribute Money Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy
ca. 1427 | fresco | 8 ft. 1 in. x 19 ft. 7 in.

Masaccio
Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy
ca. 1425 fresco 7 ft. x 2 ft. 11 in.

Masaccio Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy
ca. 1425 fresco 7 ft. x 2 ft. 11 in.

Masaccio Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy
ca. 1425 fresco 7 ft. x 2 ft. 11 in.

Masaccio Holy Trinity Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy

ca. 1428 fresco 21 ft. x 10 ft. 5 in.

Masaccio Holy Trinity Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy

ca. 1428 fresco 21 ft. x 10 ft. 5 in.

"IO FUI GIA QUEL CHE VOI SIETE E QUEL CH'IO SONO VOI ANCO SARETE"

(I once was what now you are and what I am, you shall yet be).

Filippo Brunelleschi
dome of Florence Cathedral Florence, Italy
1420-1436

Filippo Brunelleschi
interior of Santo Spirito Florence, Italy
begun ca. 1436

Filippo Brunelleschi plan of Santo Spirito Florence, Italy

begun ca. 1436

planned

constructed

Filippo Brunelleschi interior of Santo Spirito

Florence, Italy
begun ca. 1436

Filippo Brunelleschi Pazzi, Chapel, Santa Croce

Florence, Italy
begun ca. 1440

Filippo Brunelleschi (loggia by Giuliano da Maiano) Pazzi, Chapel, Santa Croce Florence, Italy
begun ca. 1440

Filippo Brunelleschi Pazzi, Chapel, Santa Croce

Florence, Italy
begun ca. 1440

Michelozzo di Bartolommeo Palazzo Medici-Riccardi

Florence, Italy
begun 1444

Michelozzo di Bartolommeo Palazzo Medici-Riccardi Florence, Italy

begun 1444

Paolo Uccello Battle of San Romano

ca. 1455 | tempera on wood | approximately 6 ft. x 10 ft. 5 in.

Donatello's bronze statue of David (circa 1440s) is famous as the first unsupported standing work of bronze cast during the Renaissance, and the first freestanding nude male sculpture made since antiquity.

Donatello

David
ca. 1428-1432 bronze 5 ft. 2 1/4 in. high

"Victor est quisquis patriam tuetur/Frangit immanis Deus hostis iras/En puer grandem domuit tiramnum/Vincite cives" (The victor is whoever defends the fatherland. God crushes the wrath of an enormous foe. Behold! A boy overcame a great tyrant. Conquer, o citizens.)

Donatello

David
ca. 1428-1432 bronze 5 ft. 2 1/4 in. high

Andrea del Verrocchio David

ca. 1465-1470 bronze approximately 4 ft. 1 1/2 in. high

Antonio Pollaiuolo

Hercules and Anteus

ca. 1475 bronze approximately 18 in. high

Antonio Pollaiuolo Battle of the Ten Nudes

ca. 1465 engraving approximately 15 x 23 in.

Depicts the goddess Venus, having emerged from the sea as a fully grown woman, arriving at the sea-shore (which is related to the Venus Anadyomene motif)

Sandro Botticelli The Birth of Venus

ca. 1482 tempera on canvas 5 ft. 8 in. x 9 ft. 1 in.

Sandro Botticelli

Adoration of the Magi

ca. 1470 panel 43 3/4 in. x 52 3/4 in.

Also known as Allegory of Spting

Sandro Botticelli

Primavera
c. 1482 Uffizi, Florence Tempera on panel 203 cm 314 cm (80 in 124 in)

Sandro Botticelli

Portrait of a Youth
early 1480s tempera on panel 16 x 12 in.

Bernardo Rossellino Tomb of Leonardo Bruni Santa Croce, Florence, Italy

ca. 1445-1450 marble 20 ft. high

Domenico Ghirlandaio

Giovanna Tornabuoni
1448 oil and tempera on wood approximately 2 ft. 6 in. x 1 ft. 8 in.

Domenico Ghirlandaio Birth of the Virgin Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy
1485-1490 fresco

Domenico Ghirlandaio Nativity of Mary Tornabuoni Chapel, Santa Maria Novella Florence, Italy

The painting depicts a moment of intimacy between an old man and a child, underscored by the placement of the child's hand on the man's chest, and the man's gentle expression. This show of affection endows the picture with emotional qualities beyond those expected from a traditional dynastic portrait. In the words of art historian Bernard Berenson, "There is no more human picture in the entire range of Quattrocento painting, whether in or out of Italy."

Domenico Ghirlandaio A Man with His Grandchild

ca. 1480-90 oil and tempera on wood 24 3/8 in. x 18 1/8 in.

Domenico Ghirlandaio Head of an Old Man. Metalpoint drawing on pink paper, heightened with white. 28.1 cm x 21.5 cm

Donatello Gattamelata (Erasmo da Narni) Piazza del Santo, Padua, Italy

ca. 1445-1450 bronze approximately 11 x 13 ft.

Andrea del Verrocchio Bartolommeo Colleoni Campo dei Santi, Venice Italy
ca. 1483-1488 bronze approximately 13 ft. high

Melozzo da Forli

Pope Sixtus IV, His Nephews and the Librarian Platina

1480-1481 fresco (transferred to canvas) 13 ft. 1 in. x 10 ft. 4 in.

Leon Battista Alberti

Palazzo Rucellai Florence, Italy
ca. 1452-1470

Leon Battista Alberti

West faade of Santa Maria Novella Florence, Italy
ca. 1458-1470

Fra Angelico Annunciation San Marco, Florence, Italy

ca. 1440-1445 fresco 7 ft. 1 in. x 10 ft. 6 in.

Andrea del Castagno Last Supper Refectory monastery of SantApollonia, Florence, Italy
1447 fresco approximately 15 x 32 ft.

The group of Madonna and Child is, unusually for the period, placed in front of an open window beyond which is a landscape inspired to Flemish painting. The Madonna sits on a chair, and has an elaborate hairdo with a soft veil and pearls: this element was re-used in numerous late 15th century works in Florence. Unlike previous similar works, the Child is held not by the Madonna, but by two angels, one of which, in the foreground, smiles towards the observer.

Fra Filippo Lippi

Madonna and Child with Angels

ca. 1455 tempera on wood approximately 3 ft. x 2 ft. 1 in.

Luca della Robbia Madonna and Child Or San Michele, Florence, Italy
ca. 1455-1460 terracotta with polychrome glaze diameter approximately 6 ft.

Perugino
Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to Saint Peter Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome, Italy
1481-1483 fresco 11 ft. 5 1/2 in. x 18 ft. 8 1/2 in.

Leon Battista Alberti faade of SantAndrea Mantua, Italy

designed ca. 1470

Andrea Mantegna

Camera degli Sposi

Palazzo Ducale, Mantua, Italy
1474 fresco

Andrea Mantegna Camera degli Sposi ceiling Palazzo Ducale, Mantua, Italy
1474 fresco 8 ft. 9 in. diameter

Andrea Mantegna Camera degli Sposi ceiling Palazzo Ducale, Mantua, Italy
1474 fresco 8 ft. 9 in. diameter

Andrea Mantegna Saint James Lead to Martyrdom Ovetari Chapel, Church of the Eremitani, Padua, Italy
ca. 1455 fresco 10 ft. 9 in. wide

Mantegna presented both a harrowing study of a strongly foreshortened cadaver and an intensely poignant depiction of a biblical tragedy. This painting is one of many examples of the artist's mastery of perspective. At first glance, the painting seems to be a strikingly realistic study in foreshortening . However, careful scrutiny reveals that Mantegna reduced the size of the figure's feet, which, as he must have known, would cover much of the body if properly represented. Andrea Mantegna

Dead Christ
ca. 1501 tempera on canvas 2 ft. 2 3/4 in. x 2 ft. 7 7/8 in.

Piero della Francesca

Finding of the True Cross, Proving of the True Cross San Francesco, Arezzo, Italy
ca. 1455 fresco 11 ft. 8 3/8 in. x 6 ft. 4 in.

Piero della Francesca Resurrection Palazzo Comunale, Borgo San Sepolcro, Italy
ca. 1463 fresco 7 ft. 5 in. x 6 ft. 6 1/2 in.

Brera Madonna

Piero della Francesca

Enthroned Madonna and Saints Adored by Federico de Montefeltro

ca. 1472-1474 oil on panel 8 ft. 2 in. x 5 ft. 7 in.

Luca Signorelli
Damned Cast into Hell San Brizio Chapel, Orvietto Cathedral, Orvietto, Italy
1499-1504 fresco approximately 23 ft. wide

Cinquecento Artists

Donato di Niccol di Betto Bardi (circa 1386 December 13, 1466), also known as Donatello, was an early Renaissance Italian artist and sculptor from Florence. He is, in part, known for his work in bas-relief, a form of shallow relief sculpture that, in Donatello's case, incorporated significant 15th century developments in perspectival illusionism.

Donatello

Domenico Ghirlandaio (Italian pronunciation: [domeniko irlandajo]; 1449 11 January 1494) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Among his many apprentices was Michelangelo.

Domenico Ghirlandaio

Masaccio (December 21, 1401 autumn 1428), born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was the first great painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaissance. According to Vasari, Masaccio was the best painter of his generation because of his skill at recreating lifelike figures and movements as well as a convincing sense of three-dimensionality. Masaccio died at twenty-six and little is known about the exact circumstances of his death

Masaccio

Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445 May 17, 1510) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. He belonged to the Florentine school under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, a movement that Giorgio Vasari would characterize less than a hundred years later as a "golden age", a thought, suitably enough, he expressed at the head of his Vita of Botticelli. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century; since then his work has been seen to represent the linear grace of Early Renaissance painting. Among his best known works are The Birth of Venus and Primavera.

Sandro Botticelli

Fra' Filippo Lippi (c. 1406 8 October 1469), also called Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Italian Quattrocento (15th century).

Fra Filippo Lippi

Sources http://websites.swlearning.com/cgiwadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&product_isbn_issn=0155 050907&discipline_number=436 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_art Art Through the Ages, 12th/11th ed., Gardner