2. Renaissance Art appeared
in the Italian Peninsula in
the 15th
century and
spread to the rest of
Europe.
Two stages:
− Quattrocento
(15th
Century):
most important
city is Florence
and the Medicis.
− Cinquecento
(16th
Century):
most important
city is Rome and
the Popes.
3. In Medieval Ages Italy was the center of trade in
Europe and Florence had the largest bank.
4. Renaissance Art Features:
Artists inspired in
the Ancient Greece
and Rome.
Artists rejected the
decoration of the
Gothic Art.
Representing the
ideal beauty.
Study of nature and
the human body.
5. Patrons of the Arts.
Rich members of
the bourgeoisie
patronized many
works of Art. It was
seen as a sign of
social prestige.
Lorenzo de Medici.
6. Architecture.
Features:
− Use of simple
and classical
elements.
− Proportioned
buildings,
adapted to
human scale.
− Search for
harmony and
order.
− Austere
decoration.
Medici-Riccardi Palace, Florence, Leon
Battista Alberti.
8. In 1418 the council of
Florence finally addressed
the problem they had been
ignoring for decades: the
enormous hole in the roof
of their cathedral. Season
after season, the winter
rains flooded Saint Mary of
the Flowers altar.
In 1296 Florence begun
the construction of a new
cathedral to show the status
of Florence as one of
Europe’s economic and
cultural capitals, grown
rich on high finance and
the wool and silk trades.
9. For decades nobody knew
how to build such a huge
dome.
In 1418 Florence
announced a contest for
the dome design.
Brunelleschi had spent
several years in Rome
studying the ancient Rome
monuments.
His dome consists on two
concentric shells. The base
of the dome is tensioned
by horizontal chains of
iron and wood. The dome
contains over 4 million
bricks!!!
Pantheon, Rome.
11. Brunelleschi: Saint Lawrence.
Saint Lawerence is one of
the largest churches of
Florence and the burial
place of all the principal
members of the Medici
family.
In 1419, Giovanni de
Medici offered to finance a
new church to replace the
11th-century Romanesque
rebuilding. Filippo
Brunelleschi was
commissioned to design it.
12. Medici Chapel: Saint Lawrence.
Giuliano de Medici Chapel.
Sculptures: left Night, right Day.
Lorenzo de Medici Chapel.
Sculptures: left Dusk, right Dawn.
13. The project of building a family mausoleum
was conceived in 1520, when Michelangelo
began work on the New Sacristy upon the
request of Cardinal Giulio de Medici, the
future Pope Clemens VII, who expressed a
desire to erect the mausoleum for some
members of his family: Lorenzo the
Magnificent and his brother Giuliano.
14. Brunelleschi: Pazzi Chapel.
In one side of Santa
Croce church
Brunelleschi
designed a building
based on a central
dome inside
rectangular base
chapel.
The Pazzi were the
second wealthy
family in Florence.
15.
16. Filippo Brunelleschi
Statue of Filippo
Brunelleschi found
to the right of the
cathedral. The
statue looks up
towards the dome,
to eternally show
him contemplating
his masterpiece.
17. Leon Batista Alberti: Saint Mary
Novella.
The church was called
Novella (New) because it
was built on the site of the
9th-century oratory. When
the site was assigned to
Dominican Order in 1221,
they decided to build a new
church and an adjoining
cloister.
The upper facade was
constructed by Alberti
employing the polychrome
marble typical of
Florentine churches.
18. Bramante: Saint Peter in
Montorio Temple
The Church of San Pietro in
Montorio was built on the site
of an earlier 9th-century
church dedicated to Saint
Peter. According to tradition,
it was the site of his
crucifixion.The temple is a
small commemorative tomb
(martyrium) built in 1502, in
the courtyard the church. The
temple was patronized by
Ferdinand and Isabella of
Spain.
Bramante was inspired by the
temple of Vesta in Rome.
20. Bramante: Spiral Vatican
Staircase.
The double helix staircase shown in the photo here
was designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932. He was
inspired in 16th
century masterpiece designed by
Donato Bramante. Main entrance to Vatican
Museums.
Belvedere Palace, Vatican.
21. Vatican Facade.
By the end of the 15th
century, having been
abandoned for decades,
the old basilica was in bad
repair. In 1505 Julius
made a decision to
demolish the ancient
basilica and replace it with
a monumental structure.
One method employed to
finance the building of St.
Peter's Basilica was the
granting of indulgences in
return for contributions.
22. Pope Julius' scheme for the grandest
building in Christendom was design by
Donato Bramante. The foundation stone
was laid in 1506.
23. Vatican Dome: Michelangelo.
The dome of St. Peter's
rises to a total height of
136.57 metres.
It is the tallest dome in
the world. Its internal
diameter is 41.47
metres.
The dome, like that of
Florence, is constructed
of two shells of brick.
24. Sculpture.
- Artists represented
proportioned bodies
and human beauty.
- Artists inspired in
Greek and Roman
sculptures.
- Differente types of
sculptures: busts,
portraits, tombs,
equestrian statues.
Giuliano de
Medici.
Verrocchio.
Lorenzo de
Medici.
Verrocchio.
25. Verrocchio: Equestrian Statue.
In 1475 the Condottiero
Colleoni, a former
Captain General of the
Republic of Venice, died
and by his will left a
substantial part of his
estate to the Republic on
condition that a statue of
himself should be
commissioned and set up
in the Piazza San Marco.
26. Florence, year 1400.
- In 1400 a return of the
plague killed thousands
in Florence. Also, the city
was at war against Milan.
- In 1401 to celebrate the
victory over Milan a
competiton was held for
the sculptures on the
doors of the Baptistery.
Each competitor had to
provide a panel showing
the Old Testament scene
of the Sacrifice of Isaac.
Brunelleschi
Lorenzo
Ghiberti
28. Gates of the Baptistery: Gates of
the Paradise. Lorenzo ghiberti.
Each wing of the Gates
of Paradise contains
five large rectangular
reliefs of scenes from
the Old Testament.
The door was named
the Gates of Paradise
by Michelangelo
because of its striking
beauty.
31. David, Donatello
It is well documented that
Donatello was not religious,
so the inspiration for David
likely came from another
source; perhaps it was simply
Donatello's desire to craft a
graceful youth in a stance of
celebration and triumph.
Donatello may also have
wanted to experiment with
bronze. David was the first
freestanding bronze statue in
the Western art world.
David, Donatello.
32. The Bible tells us that the King of
Nineveh sent his general,
Holofernes, to subdue his enemies,
the Jews. The Jews are besieged and
lose all hope of victory. Famine
undermines their courage and they
begin considering surrender. Judith
was a beautiful widow. She
overhears plans for surrender and
decided to go to the Assyrian camp,
seduces Holofernes with her
captivating beauty, waits until he is
drunk, and cuts off his head.
She returns to her people victorious,
holding up the severed head as a
trophy. The Jews regain their
courage, raided the Assyrian camp
and expelled the enemy. Judith and Holofernes, Donatello.
33. David, Michelangelo
The sculpture was inspired
by the story of the young
shepherd boy who chose to
fight a far stronger
adversary in order to save
his people from invasion.
Wearing no armor, with a
sling as his only weapon,
David defeats Goliath using
superior skill and courage.
34. Michelangelo chose to show
David not in victory, but at
that point in time before
victory: in that instance
between conscious choice
and conscious action, that
moment when an individual
makes a choice and commits
to act on that choice.
35. Pieta, Michelangelo
The scene of the Pieta shows the Virgin
Mary holding the dead body of
Christ after his crucifixion, death,
and removal from the cross, but
before he was placed in the tomb.
Unlike most artists of the time,
Michelangelo did not want to sculpt a
face for Christ that showed his pain
and suffering. He chose instead to
give him a serene, calm face. The
Christ in this sculpture is not a
symbol of death, but of hope for
mankind, gained through sacrifice.
Mary’s face is also different from the
way many artists chose to portray
her at the time. Michelangelo
sculpted her face to appear young, a
symbol of incorruptible and eternal
beauty.
36. Painting.
New techniques in
painting, such as
incorporating more
light and color.
Naturalism, the use of
expressive gesture.
Perspective.
Mythological and
religious themes.
The Tribute Money, Masaccio.
37. BOTTICELLI
Born in 1445, Sandro
Botticelli was an important
painter during the Italian
Renaissance.
Botticelli painted a lot of
religious figures and scenes
as well as mythological. He
even painted some panels
for the Sistine Chapel.
Botticelli did not paint as
much in his old age and
after he died in 1510 he was
mostly forgotten.
Botticelli, self portrait.
38. Botticelli, The birth of Venus
The painting shows Venus
the goddess of love and
beauty coming out of the
sea as if she was coming
into the human world as
a beautiful woman. The
figures on the left are
blowing wind out of their
mouths bringing a breeze
to Venus that will move
her from her shell to
shores of land showing
her birth into the human
world.
39. Botticelli, Spring.
On the right Zephyrus (the
blue faced young man)
chases Flora and fecundates
her with a breath. Flora
turns into Spring, the elegant
woman scattering her
flowers over the world.
Venus, in the middle,
represents the “Humanitas”
(the benevolence), which
protects men. On the left the
three Graces dance and
Mercury dissipates the
clouds.
40. Botticelli, Rebellion against the
Laws of Moses.The painting depicts the
rebellion by the Hebrews against
Moses and Aaron. On the right
the rebels attempt to stone
Moses after becoming
disenchanted by their trials on
their emigration from Egypt. On
the left the rebels group together
waiting to receive God's
punishment.
The message is clear, no one should
doubt the authority of the Pope
over the Church. The power of the
papacy was constantly being
questioned at the time. This
painting serves as a reminder that
the Pope's leadership was granted
by God when he gave Peter the keys
to the kingdom of heaven.
41. LEONARDO DA VINCI
Leonardo was born in the town of
Vinci (1452). About the age of 14 he
became an apprentice to a famous
artist named Verrocchio. Leonardo da
Vinci is regarded as one of the greatest
artists in history. Leonardo excelled in
many areas including drawing,
painting, and sculpture. Although we
don't have a lot of his paintings today.
Many of da Vinci's drawings and
journals were made in his pursuit of
scientific knowledge and inventions.
His journals were filled with over
13,000 pages of his observations of the
world (helicopters, war machines,
musical instruments, human anatomy,
animals, etc).
Da Vinci, self portrait.
42.
43. If we look closely we can see
that Leonardo grouped the
figures together within a
geometric shape of a
pyramid. The figures are
gesturing to each other and
looking at each other. The
subject of the two paintings
is the adoration of the
Christ Child by the infant
John the Baptist. John the
Baptist is the patron saint
of Florence and has often
been depicted in the art of
that city.
Virgin of the Rocks, Da Vinci.
44. It is difficult to tell whether
she is smiling or not.
Leonardo invented a new
painting technique,
Sfumato. It can be
described as using soft
shadows to describe
complex objects. As we
focus our eyes on a picture
painted in this fashion, our
brain fails to make a
conclusive representation
of the object's shape.
Mona Lisa, Da Vinci.
This is the most recognized portrait-painting in the world. Leonardo
started painting it in 1503 or 1504 in Florence, Italy. Leonardo has
continued to work on the painting after moving to France and finally
finished it shortly until he died in 1519. This means that it can be
speculated that Leonardo has worked on the painting for
approximately 12 to 15 years.
45. The painting illustrates thirteen men sitting behind a table. The
man in the middle of the painting is Jesus Christ. He sits with
his eyes closed, hands on the table and he doesn't have an
expression on his face. The twelve disciples surround Jesus,
with six of them on each side.
46. Some have identified the person to Jesus' right not as
John the Apostle, but a woman: Mary Magdalene.
Judas holds a bag of silver in his hand which
symbolizes a bribe he was given to betray Jesus. Peter
leans over and clenches a knife.
Giampietrino, Last Supper.
47. RAPHAEL
Raphael studied the works of the
great masters such as Leonardo da
Vinci and Michelangelo. He
absorbed a lot of their style and
techniques, but maintained his own
unique style. Raphael was
considered a friendly and social
artist. People liked him and enjoyed
his company.
By 1508 Raphael's fame had spread
to Rome. He was invited to decorate
some of the rooms in the Vatican. By
the time he had completed the
rooms, he was considered one of the
great artists of Italy.
He died in 1570, aged only 37.
Raphael, self portrait.
48. The three figures, Mary,
Christ and the young John
the Baptist, fit into a
geometrical design. Though
the positions of the three
bodies are natural, together
they form an almost
regular triangle. The
Madonna is shown young
and beautiful. She is also
clothed in red and blue,
also typical, for red
signifies the passion of
Christ and blue was used to
signify the church.
Virgin of the Goldfinch.
49. The School of Athens represents all the greatest mathematicians,
philosophers and scientists from classical antiquity gathered together
sharing their ideas and learning from each other. These figures all
lived at different times, but here they are gathered together .
The School of Athens, Raphael.
50. The two thinkers in the center,
Aristotle (on the right) and Plato
(on the left, pointing up) have
been important to Western
thinking and in different ways,
their different philosophies were
incoporated into Christianity.
Plato points up because in his
philosophy the changing world
that we see around us is just a
shadow of a higher, truer reality
that is eternal and unchanging
(and include things like goodness
and beauty).
Aristotle holds his hand down,
because in his philosophy, the
only reality is the reality that we
can see and experience by sight
and touch.
51. It is a fresco completed about
1514. Galatea appears
surrounded by other sea
creatures: the bright colors and
decoration are supposed to be
inspired by ancient Roman
painting. At the left, a Triton
(partly man, partly fish) abducts
a sea nymph; behind them,
another Triton uses a shell as a
trumpet. Galatea rides a shell-
chariot drawn by two dolphins.
Raphael, The triumph of Galatea.
52. MICHELANGELO
For several generations, his family
had worked as bankers in Florence.
Michelangelo's father prepared
young Michelangelo for a career in
business. Michelangelo, however,
showed no interest in his schooling.
He preferred to copy paintings
from churches. At age thirteen,
Michelangelo followed his interest
in the arts. Michelangelo's decision
to defy his father and risk his
family's social standing in Florence
created a distance between he and
his family. He studied sculpture and
anatomy at the school in the Medici
gardens.
Detail of Michelangelo, The School of Athens,
Raphael.
54. Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo.
In 1505 Michelangelo was
commissioned by the Pope in
1508 to paint the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo
considered himself to be a
sculptor, but agreed to paint
the Sistine Chapel for the
Pope. He worked for four
years, painting upside down
on a scaffold in order to finish
the painting. The painting
contained nine scenes and
contained over 300 people.The creation of the Sun and Moon,
Michelangelo.
55. The most famous
of all the scenes is
The Creation of
Adam. At the
center of the scene,
God's hand and
Adam's hand
nearly touch.
The creation of Adam, ceiling Sistine Chapel.
56. Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel,
Vatican.
In 1536 he painted Last
Judgment commisioned by
Pope Paul III. The original
subject of the mural was
the resurrection, but Pope
Paul III, felt the Last
Judgment was a more
fitting subject for 1530s
Rome and the Counter-
Reformation against the
Reformation of Luther
and Calvine.
Christ, Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel.
57.
58. Charon took the
condemned souls
to Hell's Mouth.
Detail of the Boatman Charon, Final Judgment, Sistine
Chapel.
