2. Hubert Van Eyck Flemish The Crucifixion and The Last Judgment Metropolitan Museum, New York circa 1420 22.25” x 7.75”
3. Hubert and Jan Van Eyck Flemish The Adoration of the Lamb (Ghent Altarpiece, Cathedral of St. Bavon, Ghent, Belgium) completed 1432 (one year after the burning of Joan of Arc) oil on wood 53” x 91” lower center panel of altar polyptych
4. Hubert and Jan Van Eyck Flemish The Just Judges and the Knights of Christ (Ghent Altarpiece, Cathedral of St. Bavon, Ghent, Belgium) completed 1432 (one year after the burning of Joan of Arc) oil on wood 54.75” x 20.75”
5. Hubert and Jan Van Eyck Flemish Adam and Eve (Ghent Altarpiece, Cathedral of St. Bavon, Ghent, Belgium) completed 1432 (one year after the burning of Joan of Arc) oil on wood 84.25” x 13”
6. Hubert and Jan Van Eyck Flemish Virgin and Child with the Chancellor Rolin Louvre, Paris circa 1436 egg tempera and oil on wood 26” x 24.5”
7. Hubert and Jan Van Eyck Flemish Virgin and Child with the Chancellor Rolin Louvre, Paris circa 1436 egg tempera and oil on wood detail
8. Hubert and Jan Van Eyck Flemish Virgin and Child with the Chancellor Rolin Louvre, Paris circa 1436 egg tempera and oil on wood detail
9. Jan Van Eyck Flemish Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife National Gallery, London circa 1434 oil on wood 32.25” x 23.5”
10. Jan Van Eyck Flemish Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife National Gallery, London circa 1434 oil on wood detail
19. Andrea Mantegna Italian 1436-1506 Arrival of Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga 1474 Fresco Camera degli Sposi, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua Mantegna “discovered and put into practice the principle of the panoramic curved screen, which is now used in cinemas all over the world for exactly the same reason.” History of Italian Renaissance Art Frederick Hartt
20. Antonello da Messina Italian-Sicilian 1430?-1479 Saint Jerome in his Study 1450-55 oil on panel 18” x 14.125” The Sicilian-born Antonello da Messina changed the course of Venetian painting by introducing the use of oils. He may have learned the technique from Flemish trained Spanish masters.
21. Antonello da Messina Italian-Sicilian 1430?-1479 Portrait of a Man (the Condottieri) 1475 oil on panel Louvre, Paris
22. Botticelli Italian 1444/45-1510 Portrait of a Man with a Medal 1473-74 egg tempera on panel 23” x 17.25”
23. Sandro Botticelli Italian 1444/45-1510 Adoration of the Magi 1476-77 egg tempera on panel 43.5” x 52.75”
24. Botticelli Italian 1444/45-1510 Primavera (Spring) 1478 egg tempera on panel 70” x 123”
25. Botticelli Italian 1444/45-1510 Portrait of a Young Man circa 1482 egg tempera on panel 14.75” x 11” National Gallery, London
26. Filippino Lippi Italian 1444/45-1510 Vision of Saint Bernard 1456/58-1504 egg tempera on panel 6’ 10” x 6’ 5” Son and student of Fra Filippo Lippi and student of Botticelli, influenced by Leonardo da Vinci
28. Leonardo da Vinci The ideal Renaissance man was deemed capable of infinite accomplishments; but there was one caveat. Everything had to be done gracefully and seemingly without effort. According to the writer, intellectual, diplomat and soldier Baldassare Castiglione, a gentleman should be at ease in any situation without ever appearing perturbed in the slightest. Needless to say, such behavior required gargantuan patience and an equally gargantuan attention span. Aside from having been a bastard and a commoner, Leonardo da Vinci came as close to achieving the Renaissance ideal as any man in history. He was a painter, sculptor, architect, athlete, engineer, botanist, anatomist, musician, set designer, geologist and proto evolutionist. He anticipated Darwin by nearly five centuries in grasping that the Biblical account could not explain the development of geological phenomena, much less life. He studied the motion of birds’ wings and almost succeeded in understanding the principle of lift and aerodynamics. He trusted his eyes above all theories, hypotheses and beliefs. His voluminous writings and scientific detachment imply atheism or, at the very least, skepticism. It is believed that his only faith was in nature. Leonardo was a master draftsman who worked with his left hand at a time when left-handed people were considered “sinister” and potentially evil. His journals and sketchbooks were filled with “mirror” writing: backward script written from right to left. It may have been a result of his left-handedness, or he may have done it out of fear of persecution by the ignorant and superstitious authorities of his day.
29. Although Leonardo loved animals, hated violence and by all accounts acted with great kindness, he had no qualms about designing weapons that were centuries ahead of their time. He invented submarines, tanks, machine guns and all manner of exploding shells. He worked as a military engineer for Lodovico Sforza, duke of Milan, and Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI. His willingness to serve the arts of war reflected his lack of emotional commitment to others. He did not hate, but apparently did not love either. There is speculation that this may have been a result of his childhood as well as the danger of being homosexual at a time when it was punishable by death. In retrospect, he seemed resigned to the stupidity and ignorance of men and saw nothing wrong in helping them destroy themselves. If there was any tragedy in his life, it was only in having had to live among lesser humans. Leonardo spent his final years in France protected by his friend and admirer King Francis I. The bastard country boy died in the care of a king on May 2, 1519. He was the senior partner in the trinity that constituted the High Renaissance. The other two were Michelangelo and Raphael.
34. Leonardo da Vinci Italian 1452-1519 Madonna of the Rocks Begun 1483 oil on panel transferred to canvas 78.5” x 48” Louvre, Paris
35. Leonardo da Vinci Italian 1452-1519 Madonna and Saint Anne Circa 1508-13? oil on panel 66.25” x 51.25” Louvre, Paris
36. Leonardo da Vinci Italian 1452-1519 Cecilia Gallerani circa 1483 oil on panel Mistress of Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan known as il Moro
37. Leonardo da Vinci Italian 1452-1519 Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua Circa 1500 charcoal and chalk on paper One of the most highly educated women of her day, Isabella d’Este was the ideal Renaissance woman, “the first lady of the world.” She chronicled the most important events of her day in over 300 letters. Her intellectual abilities paved the way for the French salonni ères of the 1700s.
39. Fra Luca Pacioli Student of Alberti and Piero della Francesca Writer, professor, friend of da Vinci and monastery abbot Published an important work on mathematic and geometry in 1494
40. Hieronymus Bosch 1450?-1516 The Garden of Earthly Delights late 1400s oil on wood 86.75” x 76.75” center panel 86.75” x 38.25” side panels Museo del Prado, Madrid