Renaissance Artists Gabriel Grove
Essential Question What inspired artists during the Renaissance? “David” - Michelangelo “Giant Crossbow” - Leonardo Da Vinci “Hare I” - Albrecht Dürer
Artists The three artists that I will be taking an in-depth look at will be Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Albrecht Dürer. These artists combined have over 1500 completed works. Their art is still viewed and renounced in the world today. These three artists are a huge inspiration for other artists.
“Mona Lisa” - Leonardo Da Vinci Renounced throughout Europe as not only an artist but also a scientist, mathematician, inventor, anatomist , and much more. Leonardo had ideas for machines such as tanks, helicopters, solar power, and even a theory of plate tectonics. Da Vinci was also in the military… as an architect and engineer. “Mona Lisa” - Leonardo Da Vinci
Inspiration for Leonardo Da Vinci I believe Leonardo Da Vinci’s inspiration came from similar to that of many artists, especially during The Renaissance. Leonardo was inspired by knowledge. Still today he is considered one of the most intellectually capable men in the world. He drew detailed machines that were impossible to build in his time period. Da Vinci painted, what some people believe to be the most beautiful art of all times.
Da Vinci’s Inspiration Continued Leonardo Da Vinci was also inspired by nature. The nature of man and the world around him. You can see that Leonardo finds inspiration in nature from his anatomical works such as the Vitruvian Man, drawings of a woman’s torso, and his studies of skulls and embryo’s. The nature of the world inspired studies of plate tectonics. Da Vinci was one of the only artists to depict Christ with nails through his wrists and not his hands. This was because of his extensive anatomy research.
Michelangelo Buonarroti Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome and designed the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. Michelangelo studied anatomy on corpses in the Church of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito. At the age of 21 Michelangelo left for Rome where he spent most of his remaining life andafted a statue of Bacchus, the Roman wine God. “Creation of Adam” - Michelangelo
Michelangelo’s Inspiration Michelangelo believed that inspiration for his art came from his inner feeling and also from culture. He was very detailed oriented and never satisfied with his work. Each piece though so realistic seemed to be disconnected from nature. His belief was that each stone he sculpted had a sculpture within it already and his purpose was to bring that sculpture out of the stone.
Michelangelo Continued Another inspiration for Michelangelo was the physical beauty of man. Michelangelo paints men so elegantly that his sexuality was questioned. This struggle with sexual orientation contributed to his frustration with himself. This supposed homoerotic fantasy of Michelangelo’s also seemed to inspire a lot of writing for a friend, Cecchino dei Bracci, who passed. Michelangelo’s writings seemed to leave hints that him and his friend may have had a relationship stretching further than friendship.
Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) Although Dürer was born in Germany his art inspired and influenced people all over Europe. One of few Renaissance artists to sculpt with wood and copper instead of marble. Albrecht created over 900 paintings, engravings, and carvings.
Albrecht Dürer’s Inspiration All three of these artists draw religious pieces but I believe the Albrecht Dürer is the only one that truly draws his inspiration from religion. Towards the end of his life, Albrecht painted many religious pieces for his own comfort. He thought it would help him connect to God and put himself at ease. Many of these paintings were unfinished due to Dürer’s declining health but the pieces he did finish are renounced around the world today.
Inspiration During the Renaissance All of these artists had different styles but due to the changes in Europe at this time, they had one source of inspiration in common. Freedom of speech was finally being revered in Europe and these artists finally felt like they could speak their mind. They expressed religion in a new way other than paying the church huge wages. This is the start of practicing religion based on people’s own beliefs and not the beliefs of the church.
Work Cited "Albrecht Durer - The Complete Works." Albrecht Durer - The Complete Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2016 "Leonardo Da Vinci - The Complete Works." Leonardo Da Vinci - The Complete Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2016. "Michelangelo - The Complete Works." Michelangelo - The Complete Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2016.