Renaissance Art 15th- 16th Centuries.

David, MichelangeloThe Birth of Venus, Botticelli.

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.

In Medieval Ages Italy was the center of trade in Europe and Florence had the largest bank.

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.

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.

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.

Filippo Brunelleschi (Dome of Saint Mary of the Flowers,

Florence).

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.

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.

Sixteenth century artist Giorgio Vasari envisioned painting the dome’s internal frescoes with an elaborate portrayal of the Last Judgment.

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.

Medici Chapel: Saint Lawrence.

Giuliano de Medici Chapel.Sculptures: left Night, right Day.

Lorenzo de Medici Chapel.Sculptures: left Dusk, right Dawn.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Vesta Temple, Ancient Rome.

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.

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.

Pope Julius' scheme for the grandest building in Christendom was design by Donato Bramante. The foundation stone was laid in 1506.

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.

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.

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.

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

Lorenzo Ghiberti: Sacrifice of Isaac.

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.

Ghiberti, Adam and Eva.

Ghiberti, David slays Goliath.

Moses receives the Ten Commandments.

Ghiberti, The Walls of Jericho.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Roof, Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo.

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.

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.

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.

Charon took the condemned souls to Hell's Mouth.

Detail of the Boatman Charon, Final Judgment, Sistine Chapel.