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An Introduction to the Renaissance. AVI3M0. The middle ages were so-called because they fell in between two peaks of artistic glory:. Classical Greek and Roman. The Renaissance. The Middle Ages. What is the Renaissance all about?. “Renaissance” = French word for REBIRTH
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The middle ages were so-called because they fell in between two peaks of artistic glory: Classical Greek and Roman The Renaissance The Middle Ages
What is the Renaissance all about? • “Renaissance” = French word for REBIRTH • So what is being reborn? 1. The re-discovery of Greek and Roman ideas, art, architecture, etc.2. To emerge and be “reborn” out of the darkness and loss of intellect of the Medieval Period.
Why is the Renaissance considered one of the greatest historical periods of all time? • This was a period that exploded with historical, social, and economic change and a string of major events that would change the face of the world. • The people of this period took it upon themselves to put all their energies into understanding how the world works and re-creating the beauty and science of it.
Where and When? • Date range: 1400 – 1600 • In 1400, the world woke up from the dark ages and the Renaissance began • It first began in Florence, Italy, and soon spread to Rome and Venice (High Renaissance) • By the 1500s, it had spread to the rest of Europe (Northern Renaissance)
What were the common elements? • Rediscovery of art and literature • New scientific discovery of the body and the natural world. • An intent to reproduce the forms of nature realistically
Top 4 Breakthroughs of the Renaissance • Using oil on stretched canvas • Including linear perspective in images for the first time • Use of light and shadow in paintings (ie. Chiaroscuro) • Changing the composition to a pyramid configuration (the focal point becomes the figure’s head)
Important terms to know Humanism: The belief that human ideas, dignity, and capabilities are of central importance. The fate is in your hands. Iconography: The study of visual symbols which usually have a literary or religious basis. Annunciation: The angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus.
Patron: Someone who supports, protects, or encourages someone/ something like an artist, an event, a charity, etc. For the fine arts, patrons are often merchants, leaders of aristocracy or the Catholic church. • Merchant: a professional who deals with trade dealing with items they don’t produce themselves in order to make a profit.
Early renaissanceThis marks the transition between the Medieval period and the Renaissance TERMS TO KNOW Quattrocento: the 15th century; 1400-1500. This is often referred to the Early Renaissance period when talking about art and literature. Fresco: a method of painting on wet plaster. Linear Perspective: a system of drawing or painting in which artists attempt to create the illusion of depth on a two-dimensional surface. Chiaroscuro (The Understanding of Light and Tonality) : the artistic technique of showing gradations of value to create the illusion of rounded 3-D forms. WHEREDID IT ALL TAKE PLACE? • Individual city-states (Rome, Florence, Siena, Venice, etc.) had different styles to create their art. • Florence was the most successful city-state in the Italian Renaissance • WHY WAS FLORENCE THE FORERUNNER? • It was influenced by the major excavations of ruins in ancient sites, hillsides, and backyards. The ability for a lot of the public to see the excavated Greek and Roman ruins had a great impact on their lives. • A new breed of patrons emerged! Wealthy merchants wanted art to reflect their city’s superiority and their own personal prestige.
The Holy Trinity By Masaccio Date: 1425-28 Media: Fresco • This depicts God the Father supporting the cross that holding his crucified son while the Virgin Mary and the Apostle John and two donors attend. • He created the illusion of extending the viewers space as if there was an actual chapel to walk into by using the laws of linear perspective and the painting affect called trompe l’oeil. • He includes the image of a chapel to house a variety of figures and help create a sense of depth.
The Birth of Venus By Sando Botticelli Date: 1486 Media: Tempera on Canvas
David By Donatello Date: 1408 Media: Bronze • Donatello was one of the first to combine Classicism and Realism in the Renaissance • “David” is the first life-size nude since the Classic period. He was able to show two styles by combining a very real image of an Italian peasant boy in a Classic nude figure. • He represents the intellectual side of “David” from his battle with Goliath. Donatello didn’t show an athletic body which over came a giant but a young boy whose intellect, faith, and courage allowed him to be victorious. His fate was in his hands. This was one of the ideals of the Renaissance man.
NORTHERN RENAISSANCE • In Northern Renaissance painting, the artists continued to used some of the Medieval Gothic style of illuminated manuscripts. The paintings in these books started to become more detailed and would take up more space on each page. As the text became too small to contain the images, Northern Renaissance artists shifted to painting on wood panels. This became the start of oil painting. • Symbolic meanings were hidden in the paintings. are carefully reproduced in paint and is given religious meaning that would be recognizable to people living during this time.
Northern renaissance TERMS TO KNOW Genre Painting: realistic figure painting that focuses on themes taken in every day life. International Gothic Style: a style of painting in the late 14th characterized by splendid processions, courtly scenes, ornate embellishment and attention to detail. Easel/ Oil Painting: a transition made from painting on paper (illuminated manuscripts) to use paint which is suspended in oil then applied to wood panels WHERE DID IT ALL TAKE PLACE? The other major cultural center of the Renaissance was Flanders, which is present day Belgium and the Netherlands.
The Merode Altarpiece By Robert Campin Date: 1425 Media: Oil on Wood panel
triptych (3 panels of paintings) • Depicts the story of the Annunciation • The architectural setting is of a typical Flemish home during the Renaissance. • Everything looks like it is part of the daily experience of living here despite the powerful event that is happening at the moment. • All of the figures are shown as regular people, including the Angel and Mary (notice, no halos!) • Iconography: • Bronze kettle= virgins body (a vessel) • Spotless room and a vase of lilies= her purity
Arnolfini Wedding Portrait By Jan van Eyck Date: 1434 Media: oil on wood panel • recording of an event: a vow of marriage which makes it a legal act. His name is inscribed on the wall above the mirror saying, “Jan van Eyck was here”. • The reflection in the mirror further proves the legality of the event as the artist himself and another witness is shown.
Iconography: • single candle= bridal candle/ devotional candle • dog= faithfulness, loyalty, love • fruit on window sill and crystal beads= purity/ fertility • carved figure of St. Margaret= patron saint of childbirth • shoes= respect; and the event took place on holy ground • green dress/ white cap= hope of being a mother/ purity • His perfected use of oil paint showed the medium’s ability to transmit light and the flexibility to blend and add many layers of paint to create this illuminated effect. • This painting is tiny!! It is only 32 x 231/2 inches!
Self Portrait, Albrecht Durer, 1500, Oil on Panel • The face of Durer is striking for its resemblance to Christ • He is the first and last artist to paint a self-portrait in Christ’s likeness • He has deliberately positioned his hand as if he was about to give a blessing, and he has changed the colour of his hair to make his appearance more Christ-like • Durer did not see this as a blasphemous act, rather an act of faith, and a way for him to acknowledge that his artistic talents were a God-given gift.
St. Jerome in his StudyBy Albrecht Dürer Date: 1514Media: Engraving • Depicts St. Jerome working in his study (382-405, faithfully translating the Bible from Latin language. He shows the excellence and intellect of man. • Iconography: lion and cardinal= St. Jerome as a man of the church skull=reminder of death crucifix=eternity and salvation • Creates a frame for the image by the step in the foreground and the pillar on the left. • This shows his skill to create the illusion of light coming in from the window and falling on various items in the room which have different textures
High renaissance TERMS TO KNOW Sfumato: In Italian it means “smoky”. It is an Italian painting technique which uses many translucent layers of paint to create a soft perception of depth, volume and form. No clear edge defines contours. Atmospheric Perspective: A hazy effect produced by distance and reproduced in visual art to create the illusion by subtle changes in texture, brightness, colour saturation, and warm and cool colours. Pyrimidal Configuration: a compositional technique used to build the climax at the top and centre of the image. Pope: the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church and the head of Vatican City. Some of them had special relationships with artists which would be both incredibly beneficial and also very volatile. The Medici Family: an incredibly wealthy family of bankers and merchants who were patrons of the most famous works of art.
So What’s the big deal? • Marks the climax of the Renaissance intelligence, creativity, and innovation when the greatest artists were creating the most stimulating masterpieces. • While the artists continue to look back to Classic art for inspiration, to copy and learn from as an educational resource, like the Laocoon Group and the Nike of Samothrace, it is in this period, they actually surpass the beauty and skill of the Greek art and create works that are still known today around the world.
This period established the fact that in Italy, and artist was no longer simply a craftsman but an independent creator, a person equal to a poet, a person that fully represented true intellect and the ideals of Humanism. This fame and distinction was not only on his craft and skill but also on his invenzione (invention and imagination) that allowed him to take on the most challenging projects. • THE CONCEPT OF THE ARTIST AS A GENIUS WAS BORN!
Status of the artist • The artist was considered to be a “Jack of all Trades”. He was not only an artist but an inventor, composer, architect, scientist, philosopher, writer, musician, etc. • He was a Universal Man who could do almost anything he set his mind to. • With the ultimate patron by his side, his fame to create works of art that was so unbelievably spectacular, and to be the “Universal Man”, the three artists featured were considered to be awe-inspiring.
Where was the main cultural centre and who was the main Patron? • While the Medici Family were incredibly powerful in Florence and great patrons to many artists including the most famous, Rome suddenly became the place to be in and the whichever Pope was in power would assume the grand role of being the ultimate patron. When did it end? The Renaissance approximately with the death of the last of the youngest powerful three artists, Raphael. Who are the major players: Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael
Mona LisaDate: 1503-506Media: Oil on CanvasStyle: High Renaissance • Subject matter: Depiction of the wife of a Florentine merchant. Her name was Lisa Giacondo • Da Vinci shows is use of perspective as all the orthogonal lines converge to just behind her head. • He used a triangular composition again to stabilize and show the importance of geometry in painting
This was a ground breaking portrait as he: • Used a relaxed ¾ pose instead of a severe looking profile pose • Perfected the sfumato technique to show the depth, haziness and smokiness of the background and the chiaroscuro technique to model her features without using lines • One of the first easel paintings to be framed and hung on a wall • Most well-known for her mysterious smile.
The Last Supper, Date: 1495Media: Tempera on wet plasterStyle: High Renaissance
Subject Matter: Depicts the moment in which Jesus announces that someone at that table will betray him. All of the apostles lean back in shock thinking, “Lord is it I?” • One of the most popular religious paintings. • Use of orthagonals that converge at Christ’s head. • Jesus Christ is at the top of the pyramidal arrangement • Da Vinci accurately captured the emotion and psychological state of each person at the table.
Title: Da Vinci’s Notebooks, Date: ongoing during his lifetime Medium: various types of papers • Demonstrate his interest in anatomy, engineering, astronomy, mathematics, natural history, music, sculpture, architecture, and painting • Although his notes were unknown to later scientists, he anticipated many major discoveries and inventions of succeeding centuries.
He developed the circulatory system 100 years earlier by studying blood vessels. • His sketch of the growth of a fetus in the womb were so accurate they could teach embryology to medical students today. • Why did he write backwards? • He didn’t want to get in trouble with the Pope for researching and experimenting with things that were not approved by the church • He didn’t want anyone to steal his ideas. • As a left handed person it would have been easier to write from right to left
PiétaDate: 1498-1500Media: MarbleStyle: High Renaissance • Subject matter: depicts Mary as a young woman carrying the body of her dead son, Jesus Christ • Carved from a single block of marble • Exhibits pyramidal arrangement
The calmness and beauty of Mary shows the strong influence of the Ancient Greek approach to sculpture (ie. Order, beauty, rational thinking, etc) • The accuracy of Jesus’ body is due to Michelangelo’s dissection of cadavers • This is the only artwork Michelangelo ever signed. His signature is located on Mary’s sash
DavidDate: 1501-1504Media: MarbleStyle: High Renaissance • Subject matter: David from the biblical story of David and Goliath. This depicts David before conquering his enemy with the stone in one hand and the sling over his shoulder • 13 ½ feet tall • Carved from a single block of marble
