2. Historical and
Cultural Context
• Occurred in Florence, Italy from
1400-1479.
• A return to learning based on
Classical (Ancient Greek and
Roman) texts.
• Fueled by the ideas of
Humanism.
• Most works of art were
generally commissioned and
paid for by private buyers.
3. Humanism
• Humanists studied ancient
Greek and Roman (Classical)
texts.
• Focused on five humanities:
poetry, grammar, history, moral
philosophy and rhetoric.
• Emphasized the importance of
human values instead of
religious beliefs.
• Focused on using reason and
logic to understand people and
nature.
4. The Medici family, wealthy bankers in Florence, helped to fund the artists of the Renaissance.
5. Linear Perspective
• Developed during the Early
Renaissance.
• A method for representing
objects in depth on a flat
surface by means of using a
single vanishing point.
6. Masters of the Early
Renaissance
• Lorenzo Ghiberti
• Filippo Brunelleschi
• Masaccio
• Donatello
7. Lorenzo Ghiberti
• 1378-1455
• Won a competition to create
the doors to the baptistry of the
Florence Cathedral (The
Duomo).
• His work earned him a second
commission, to create another
set of doors, which were a
tribute to Humanism.
Michelangelo called them “The
Gates of Paradise.”
8. Filippo Brunelleschi
• 1377-1446
• Architect - created the dome of
the Florence Cathedral (The
Duomo).
• Created the Renaissance style
which copied and improved on
classical forms.
• Father of linear perspective.
10. Linear Perspective Demonstration
The first Baptistery panel was constructed with a hole drilled through the vanishing
point. Brunelleschi intended that it be observed by the viewer holding the unpainted
back of the picture against his/her eye with one hand, and a mirror in the other hand
facing and reflecting the painted side.
11. Masaccio
• 1401-1428
• 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
• One of the first to use linear
perspective in his painting,
employing techniques such as
vanishing point in art for the
first time
The Distribution of Alms and
Death of Ananias.
12. Masaccio’s
Holy Trinity (1427)
• Earliest surviving painting to
use systematic linear
perspective.
• In Santa Maria Novella,
Florence.
13. Donatello
• 1386-1466
• Assisted Lorenzo Ghiberti with
the statues of prophets for the
north door of the Florence
Baptistery.
• Traveled to Rome with
Brunelleschi to study the
ancient ruins.
14. Donatello’s
The David (1430)
• Commissioned by Cosimo de'
Medici.
• The first major work of
Renaissance sculpture.
• Marked a move toward
naturalism and the rendering of
human feelings in the human
figure.
