Renaissance Visual Art

1. Renaissance Visual Art

2. The Rise of Humanism • The rediscovery of the culture of Ancient Greece & Rome. • Belief that Man is the potential master of all things. • Change of focus from the afterlife to the current life. • Savonarola – “Bon-fire of the vanities”

3. The Quest for Virtu • Virtu ≠ Virtue • One who embraces skill in many fields, exceptional intelligence, physical daring and courage, and whose actions display these characteristics • “Renaissance Man”

4. Technology • 1440s – Moveable Type Printing • Decreased illiteracy – people read more than the Bible • Gunpowder imported from China • End of Feudal Age. • Prince Henry the Navigator (Portugal) • Improved Compass & Astrolabe • All discoveries influence the arts – people experience exotic cultures and more freedom

7. Martin Luther &The Reformation • Catholic Priests sold indulgences to absolve people of sins. • Luther believed that faith alone led to salvation. • 95 theses on the door of Castle Church (Schlosskirche).

8. Rebirth of Greek & Roman Architecture • Roman Atrium style house • Arches/columns • Domes • Vaults & Ribbing – to build churches very tall • Façade – “false fronts” of buildings

9. The Great Artists of the Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci & Michelangelo

10. Da Vinci (1452-1519) • 1 of 15 children – grew up in a 3 room farmhouse • Illegitimate and uneducated • Taught himself to speak Latin and to be ambidextrous and to write backwards

11. Florence • Moved to the city at 14 • Apprenticed under Andrea Barochio • Earliest dated work in 1473 (21) • Works show love of nature (grew up in the country)

12. Painting • Fascinated by flight – birds wings • Preferred new idea of oil paint • Sfumato – light haze/foggy look • Chiaroscuro – play of light and dark/shadow to create contrast and emphasis

13. Inventiveness • Painting, sculpture, architecture, engineering, military science, botany, geology, anatomy, aerodynamics, and optics • Science – weapons inventor, parachute, helicopter, Waterwheel • Math – loved Geometry (triangles) • Planned to write a book on Anatomy but was never able (dissected at least 30 people)

14. Earliest known work by da Vinci – Study of a Tuscan Landscape (c. 1473)

15. Adoration of the Magi circa 1481-1482

16. Annunciation Date: circa 1473-1475

17. Study of horse c. 1490

18. Madonna of the Rocks 1503-1506

19. The Last Supper, (showing Jesus, at the center, saying to his disciples, "One of you shall betray me“) 1495-1498

20. Mona Lisa (1503–1505/1507)

21. The Virgin and Child with St. Anne and St. John the Baptist (c. 1499–1500)

22. Vitruvian Man c. 1485

23. Vitruvian Man • Based on correlations of ideal human proportions with geometry describedby ancient Roman architect Vitruvius • a palm is four fingers • a foot is four palms • a cubit is six palms • four cubits make a man • a pace is four cubits • a man is 24 palms

24. Vitruvian Man • the length of the outspread arms is equal to the height of a man • from the hairline to the bottom of the chin is one-tenth of the height of a man • from below the chin to the top of the head is one-eighth of the height of a man • from above the chest to the top of the head is one-sixth of the height of a man • from above the chest to the hairline is one-seventh of the height of a man • the maximum width of the shoulders is a quarter of the height of a man • from the breasts to the top of the head is a quarter of the height of a man • the distance from the elbow to the tip of the hand is a quarter of the height of a man • the distance from the elbow to the armpit is one-eighth of the height of a man • the length of the hand is one-tenth of the height of a man • the root of the penis is at half the height of a man • the foot is one-seventh of the height of a man • from below the foot to below the knee is a quarter of the height of a man • from below the knee to the root of the penis is a quarter of the height of a man • the distances from the below the chin to the nose and the eyebrows and the hairline are equal to the ears and to one-third of the face

25. Studies of Embryos c. 1510

26. Da Vinci Helicopter

27. Da Vinci Parachute

28. Da Vinci Tank

29. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) • Lived most of his life in Florence • Summoned to Medici house at 14 • Studied the statuary in their gardens • Focused on creating movement in his art

30. Sculpture • First great work in Rome – Pieta • The “giant” – David • Like Ancient Greeks and Romans, he idealized beauty and perfect human form • Contraposto – twisted shoulders while the hips remain frontal

31. Painting • Robust energy • Influenced by his sculpture • Humans feel 3-D • Looks more like a carving than painting

32. Architecture • Dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica of Rome • Inspiration for the dome of our Capitol Building • Façade for basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence

33. Madonna of the Stairs1490-92

34. Battlec. 1492

35. Bacchus1496-1497

36. Pieta c. 1499

37. David c. 1504

38. Madonna and Child1501-05

39. DoniTondo - The Holy Family with St. John the Baptist. c.1504-1506

40. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel c. 1508-1512

41. Basilique San Pietro in Vincoli c. 1513-1515

42. Moses1515

43. Tomb of Giuliano de' Medici 1526-1531

44. The Last Judgment c. 1534-1541

45. St. Peter's Basilica in Rome c. 1546