Middle Ages Art

Middle Ages Art St. Francis’ Rule Approved Giotto 1288-92? Tempera on wood and ground gold.

Middle Ages Art The Crucifixion Giotto 1305 Tempera on wood and ground gold.

Renaissance Art Humanism: idea that individuals are important contributors to society and should be respected Classicism: Recreated classical themes such as Greek gods and goddesses (Church did not approve!) Studied Greek and Roman statues to understand proportions and symmetry

Renaissance Art The Body The average adult human figure is about 7 to 7.5 heads tall. The idealized human figure is traditionally represented as being 8 heads tall. The length of the arm is such that the finger tips come down to mid-thigh. The arms wingspan (measured between the tips of the middle fingers) is about equal to the body height. The length of the foot is about equal to the length of the forearm.

Renaissance Art The Head The eyes are at the mid-height of the head. The height of the face is about equal to the length of the hand. The corner of the mouth to the corner of the eye is equal to the height of the ear. The width of the base of the nose is equal to the width of the eye.

Art and Patronage Italians were willing to spend a lot of money on art. Art showed social, political, and spiritual values. Italian merchants and traders had money Public art in Florence was organized and supported by guilds. Art was used as a form of competition for social & political status!

Characteristics of Renaissance Art

1. Perspective First use of linear perspective! Perspective! The Trinity Masaccio 1427 Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! Perspective! First use of linear perspective! What you are, I once was; what I am, you will become.

2. Emphasis on Individualism Batista Sforza & Federico de Montefeltre: The Duke & Dutchess of Urbino Piero della Francesca, 1465-1466.

Isabella d’Este – da Vinci, 1499 1474-1539 “First Lady of the Italian Renaissance.” Great patroness of the arts. Known during her time as “First Lady of the World!”

3. Geometrical Arrangement 4. Religious figures The Dreyfus Madonna with the Pomegranate Leonardo da Vinci 1469 The figure as architecture!

5. Beauty Sfumato Chiaroscuro

Renaissance Florence

Filippo Brunelleschi 1377 - 1436 Architect Cuppolo of St. Maria del Fiore

Filippo Brunelleschi Commissioned to build the cathedral dome. Used unique architectural concepts. He studied the ancient Pantheon in Rome. Used ribs for support.

Comparing Domes

Other Famous Domes Il Duomo St. Peter’s St. Paul’s US capital (Florence) (Rome) (London) (Washington)

The Ideal City Piero della Francesca, 1470

The Renaissance 'Individual'

The Renaissance “Man” Broad knowledge about many things in different fields. Deep knowledge/skill in one area. Able to link information from different areas/disciplines and create new knowledge. The Greek ideal of the “well-rounded man” was at the heart of Renaissance education.

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

Leonardo, the Artist: From hisNotebooks of over 5000 pages (1508-1519)

Mona Lisa – da Vinci, 1503-4 ?

Mona Lisa OR da Vinci??

The Last Supper - da Vinci, 1498 & Geometry

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

A Da Vinci “Code”: St. John or Mary Magdalene?

Leonardo, the Sculptor An Equestrian Statue 1516-1518

Renaissance Rome

2. Michelangelo Buonorrati 1475 – 1564 He represented the body in three dimensions of sculpture.

Baldassare Castiglione by Raphael, 1514-1515 Castiglione represented the humanist “gentleman” as a man of refinement and self-control.

Betrothal of the Virgin Perspective! Betrothal of the Virgin Raphael 1504

Raphael’s Canagiani Madonna, 1507

Comparing Madonnas

The School of Athens – Raphael, 1510 -11 Da Vinci Raphael Michelangelo

Portrait of Pope Julius II by Raphael, 1511-1512 More concerned with politics than with theology. The “Warrior Pope.” Great patron of Renaissance artists, especially Raphael & Michelangelo. Died in 1513