Art and Architecture of the Renaissance

1. Art and Architecture of the Renaissance

2. School of Athens

3. A Money Changer and His Wife

4. Proportional Study . . .

5. Erasmus

6. Summer

7. Art and Patronage • Italians willing to spend a lot of money on art. • Italian bankers and merchants had money • Art = social, political, and spiritual values • Art = form of competition for social and political status.

8. Characteristics of Renaissance Art

9. Characteristics of Renaissance Art and Architecture • Reason • Objectivity • Discipline Emphasizes Greek and Roman characteristics • - Order • Balance • Restraint These characteristics can be summed up in one term: Harmony

10. The essential conditions that encourage art are: -- Pride in the past-- Peace in the present -- Confidence in the future

11. Specific Features of Renaissance Art • Realism • Perspective • Classicism: harmony and symmetry • Especially architecture • Emphasis on the Individual • Accomplishments, intelligence, uniqueness, beauty • Geometrical Arrangement of figures • Use of Light vs. Dark, Shadowing • Human expression, emotions

12. Realism & Expression • Expulsion fromthe Garden • Masaccio • 1427 • First nudes sinceclassical times.

13. Perspective • The Trinity • Masaccio • 1427 First use of linear perspective

14. Classicism • Greco-Roman influence. • Secularism. • Humanism. • Individualism  free standing figures. • Symmetry/Balance The “Classical Pose”Medici “Venus” (1c)

15. Emphasis on Individualism • The Duke & Duchess of Urbino • Piero della Francesca, 1465-1466. • Portraits in profile are inspired by Roman coins

16. An extraordinary individual: Isabella d’Este • 1474-1539 • “First Lady of the Italian Renaissance.” • This was drawn by da Vinci in 1499

17. Biography of Isabella d’Este • Exception to the “Renaissance Woman” • Born 1474 into the ruling family of Ferrara. • Classical Education. • School for young women • Over two thousand letters, commenting on politics, war

18. Geometrical Arrangement of Figures • The Dreyfus Madonna with the Pomegranate • Leonardo da Vinci • 1469 • The figure as architecture

19. Light and Shadowing/Softening Edges Sfumato is the process of blending lines to create a smoky, smudged, seamless appearance Chiaroscuro is the bold contrast between light and dark

20. Artists as Personalities/Celebrities • “Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, andArchitects” • Published by Giorgio Vasari in 1550

21. Renaissance Florence

22. Filippo Brunelleschi1377 - 1436 • Architect: Duomo in Florence (St. Maria del Fiore, constructed between 1420-1436)

23. The Church’s Facade

24. A Contest to Decorate the Cathedral: Sacrifice of Isaac Panels Brunelleschi Ghiberti

25. Ghiberti – Gates of ParadiseBaptistry Door, Florence – 1425 - 1452

26. Dome Comparisons Once mastered, the dome because the standard for classical architecture Il Duomo St. Peter’s St. Paul’s US capital (Florence) (Rome) (London) (Washington) 1850s 1675-1708 1420-1436 1546-1593

27. The Ideal CityPiero della Francesca, 1470 Harmony of all parts Symmetry and order Geometric proportions Classical architectural elements

28. Andrea Palladio 1508-1580 • Man of the century • Emphasized balance and geometrical symmetry. • Made private houses should be grand because . . . • Wealthy and powerful are the center of civic life just as churches were centers of medieval life

30. Renaissance Architecture • Architecture symbolized “rebirth” more than the other arts. • Renaissance architecture emphasized: • Roman Architecture • Symmetry • mathematical proportions • geometrically-perfect designs • regularity of parts. • Orderly arrangements of columns and lintels • regularly divided surfaces • semicircular arches and hemispherical domes

31. Renaissance Sculpture • Medieval sculpture religious, highly stylized • Italian sculpture re-creates Classic tradition • 15th c. = mastery of stonecutting techniques • Humanism and nurturing environment of the arts allows sculpture to become highly developed

32. The Liberation of Sculpture • David by Donatello -- 1430 • Greatest achievement • First free-form nude statue since Roman times • First major Renaissance sculpture • What do you think?

33. Characteristics of Renaissance Sculpture • Contrapposto: the head and shoulders face in a different direction from the hips and legs -- a spiral twist • Systematic study of anatomy • Finest form, mimics a divine creation • Free-standing, large statues

34. DavidVerrocchio 1473 - 1475 Youthful “Bragging” pose Suggests man’s power, strength Accurate, but still somewhat stylized

35. David • MichelangeloBuonarotti • 1504 • Marble • Extremely detailed VERY Greek

36. The Baptism of ChristVerrocchio, 1472 - 1475 Leonardo da Vinci

37. The Renaissance 'Individual'

38. Leonardo daVinci is the enduring example of TheL’uomouniversale (the “universal man”)

39. The Renaissance “Man” • Broad knowledge about many different fields. • Deep knowledge/skill in one area. • Link information from different areas/disciplines to create new knowledge. • The Greek ideal of the “well-rounded man” = heart of Renaissance education.

40. Self-Portrait -- da Vinci, 1512 • Artist • Sculptor • Architect • Scientist • Engineer • Inventor 1452 - 1519

41. Leonardo, the Artist • The Virgin of the Rocks • Leonardo daVinci • 1483-1486

42. Leonardo, the Artist:From Notebooks of over5000 pages (1508-1519)

43. Mona Lisa – da Vinci, 1503-4 Notice the use ofsfumato and chiaroscuro.

44. A Picasso Mona

45. An Andy Warhol Mona

46. The Last Supper and Geometry- da Vinci, 1498

47. The Last Supper - da Vinci, 1498 vertical horizontal Perspective!

48. Leonardo, the Scientist (Biology):Pages from his Notebook • An example of the humanist desire to unlock the secrets of nature.

49. Leonardo, the Engineer: Pages from his Notebook Studies of water-lifting devices. A study of siege defenses.

50. Renaissance Rome