Renaissance Art Notes

Renaissance characteristics• Secularism• Dealing with non-religious subject

matter. • The philosophy, literature, and art

of the Renaissance began to include non-religious themes. • Shakespeare, for example, wrote

plays that investigated very human topics like jealousy, love, revenge, and political power.

• Humanism• Studying topics related to humans,

their accomplishments, and their potential. • Among the most important topics

in this return to classical education were history, literature, and philosophy. All of these are very “human” topics. • Together, we refer to these topics

today as the “humanities.”

• Individualism• Belief in the unique and valuable

qualities of each person in society.

• This idea emphasized the worth of all people and celebrated the things that made them different from others, including their physical appearance, personalities, talents, and skills

• Classicism• Having an interest in the art and

learning of the Greeks and Romans.

• Renaissance artists borrowed the Greek and Roman styles of sculpture and architecture. People also began studying long-forgotten books written during the classical age.

• This borrowing from the past helped shape the Renaissance view of what was important

RENAISSANCE CHARACTERISTICS

The heart of the Italian Renaissance was humanism.

• Although most Renaissance humanists were devoutly religious, they focused on worldly issues rather than religion.

• They believed education should stimulate creativity.

• They emphasized study of the humanities, such as grammar, rhetoric, poetry, and history.

Humanists studied the works of Greece and Rome to learn about their own culture.

• Donatello created a life-size soldier on horseback, the first sculpture of this size since ancient times.

• In The School of Athens, Raphael painted a gathering of Greek and Roman scholars that included the faces of Michelangelo, Leonardo, and himself.

Artists continued to portray religious themes, but they did so against classic Greek and Roman backgrounds.

•Middle Ages: Art and learning focused on the church and religion•Renaissance: People became less interested in thinking

about God, heaven and the saints, and more interested in thinking about themselves, their surroundings and their everyday lives.

How was Art and Science in the Renaissance different from the Middle Ages?

Humanism can be seen in paintings created by Renaissance artists.

We will be learning how to tell the difference between paintings from the Renaissance and earlier works of art, just by looking for evidence in the paintings themselves.

Works of art created in the Renaissance are primary sources of information about how people lived in Renaissance Europe. We will be looking for specific clues to make judgments about whether a painting is a Renaissance painting or not.

Jacopa di Cione, Madonna and Child in Glory1360-1365, Tempera and gold on panel

This a very early example of Renaissance painting, containing many of the characteristics of paintings from the Middle Ages.

Halos- shows that they are residents of heaven.

Hieratic scale- making the most important figures in a work of art larger than less important figures.

Franconian School, Miraculous Mass of St. Martin of ToursAbout 1440, Tempera and gold on canvas on panel

Compare the background of this painting with the one we just looked at.

In the Middle Ages, it was common for artists to use gold backgrounds to symbolize the holy atmosphere of heaven.

Renaissance artists were less interested in heaven and much more interested in what the world around them looked like.

Does St. Martin of Tours wear a halo?

Does this artist use hieratic scale? Where? Why?

Where are the figures in this painting?

Do their surroundings look true to life? Why or why not?

Guiliano Bugiardini. Madonna and Child with St. John1523-1525, Oil on panel

Do these figures wear halos? How do they differ from the halos in the first painting? What is the landscape around these figures like? Is it heavenly or earthly?

Landscape- as Renaissance interests changed from studying religion to studying natural sciences and human nature, the paintings created during the Renaissance changed too.

In this painting, the holy family of the Madonna and baby Jesus with St. John live in the same world as ordinary people.

Oil paint- invented during the Renaissance.

Oil paint allowed artists to build up layers of paint that light could shine through, and allowed artists to represent light in a more believable way.

How do the paintings differ in how the artist painted faces, folds of cloth, and hair?

Giovanni Agostino da Lodi, Adoration of the Shepherds1510

This painting was created a little later than the others. It shows the holy family of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, with shepherds on each side of the painting and an angel playing a lute at the center.

Did this artist use hieratic scale? Why or why not?

Can you see any halos?

Do you think this painting is made with tempera paint or oil paint? How can you tell?

The Kress Monnogrammist, The Adoration of the Magi. About 1550/1560, Oil on oak panel

Look at the buildings in the background very carefully. Do they look true to life? Why or why not?

Perspective- mathematical formulas that allowed artists to represent space in paintings in a very believable way were invented during the Renaissance.

Compare the perspective in this painting with the perspective from the second painting. Which looks more true to life? Why?

Renaissance artists represented the interests in the culture they worked in and the saints, heaven and the church began to be a part of everyday life, quite literally as this painting shows.

Can you find any halos in the Adoration of the Magi painting?

Is there any hieratic scale at work?

Where is there landscape in this painting?

Did the artist use oil paint or tempera? Can you tell which figures are ordinary people in this painting and which are saints?

This painting was made later in the Renaissance than any of the others we have seen.

While religious subjects remained popular during the Renaissance, for the first time in art history ordinary people also became worthy subjects for works of art.

Can you tell if the man in the painting is a saint?

Is this painting an oil painting? How can you tell?

Annibale Carracci, The Bean Eater1582-1583, Oil on canvas

The revival of trade in Europe helped bring an end to the Middle Ages & gave rise to the Renaissance

Increased trade gave rise to Italian city-states &

a wealthy middle class of bankers & merchants

Wealthy bankers & merchants wanted to show off their new status by commissioning art

The rise of cities brought artists together which led

to new techniques & styles of art

The most important Italian city-state was Florence; In this wealthy trade city, the Renaissance began

Florence was home to

the Medici family, the wealthiest & most

powerful bankers in Europe

The Medici used their wealth to commission art for themselves & to beautify Florence

The Medici family of merchants and bankers controlled Florence after 1434.

• Lorenzo de' Medici invited poets, philosophers, and artists to the city.

• Florence became a leader, with numerous gifted artists, poets, architects, and scientists.

Ordinary people began to appreciate art outside of the Church.

They returned from the stylized forms of the medieval period to the realism of classic Greece and Rome.

They used new techniques to represent both humans and landscapes.

Renaissance artists used new techniques, leading to greater realism.

One new technique was perspective, credited to Filippo Brunelleschi.

Distant objects appeared smaller.

Perspective allowed for more realistic art.

• Objects were portrayed in a three-dimensional fashion.

• Painters studied human anatomy and drew from observing models, resulting in more accuracy.

Artists also used new oil paints that reflected light, and used shading techniques to make objects look more real.

Leonardo da Vinci was an artist and inventor. He studied botany, optics, anatomy, architecture, and engineering.

His sketchbooks are full of ideas for inventions, such as flying machines and submarines.

The mysterious smile of the woman in his painting Mona Lisa has intrigued viewers for centuries.

Michelangelo Buonarroti was a sculptor, engineer, painter, architect, and poet.

• He is best known for sculptures such as David and for painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

• He also designed the dome for St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome.

Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince was a guide for rulers to gain and maintain power.

• Rather than discuss high ideals, he stressed that the ends justify the means.

• The term Machiavellian has come to refer to the use of deceit in politics.

• Critics saw Machiavelli as cynical, but others said he was simply providing a realistic look at politics.

Writing Practice- 1 paragraph

Which piece of art from the gallery walk is the most clear example of Renaissance art?