Art in the Renaissance 1400 – 1600

Overview Italian/Early 1400-1490 Italian/High 1500-1600 Northern/Late 1500-1600 one can argue about dates: 1300 – 1520 1400 – 1600

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Renaissance 1st period to name itself and say nasty things about earlier times: “Gothic” & “Dark Ages” Term means “Rebirth” Looking back to Classical culture – Ancient Greece and Rome Names! Artists known by name – 1st contemporary art historian (1550); Individuality celebrated in this era

Renaissance Church is still the biggest power structure Beginning of banking Private fortunes & power Starts in Italy – specifically Florence

Man loves himself once again The Return of Humanism Man loves himself once again

from Pico della Mirandola's Oration on the Dignity of Man (1486) . . . I feel that I have come to some understanding of why man is the most fortunate of living things and, consequently, deserving of all admiration; of what may be the condition in the hierarchy of beings assigned to him, which draws upon him the envy, not of the brutes alone, but of the astral beings and of the very intelligences which dwell beyond the confines of the world. see also p. 190

Donatello, David, 1432 p. 203

Donatello, David, 1432 Tuscan hat p. 203

Donatello,David, 1432 Goliath’s head detail Style of helmet & art symbolic reference to other Italian city-states Love of texture

1st free-standing, life size nude sculpture since antiquity! Donatello, David, 1432 1st free-standing, life size nude sculpture since antiquity! contrapposto; but not just an imitation of past models for private collection David = underdog = Florence Goliath = giant = Milan & other central Italian cities in league against Florence Inscription: “The victor is whoever defends the fatherland. God crushes the wrath of an enormous foe. Behold - a boy overcame a great tyrant! Conquer, O citizens! Kingdoms fall through luxury, cities rise through virtues. Behold the neck of pride, severed by the hand of humility

Donatello, David, 1432 p. 203 Inscription: “The victor is whoever defends the fatherland. God crushes the wrath of an enormous foe. Behold - a boy overcame a great tyrant! Conquer, O citizens! Kingdoms fall through luxury, cities rise through virtues. Behold the neck of pride, severed by the hand of humility.” Inscription: “The victor is whoever defends the fatherland. God crushes the wrath of an enormous foe. Behold - a boy overcame a great tyrant! Conquer, O citizens! Kingdoms fall through luxury, cities rise through virtues. Behold the neck of pride, severed by the hand of humility p. 203

An earlier Donatello David (c.1410)

Florence Cathedral Brunelleschi dome CONFIDENCE REDISCOVERED! Jürgen Reichmann http://www.structurae.de/en/photos/img1780.php p. 193-197 Florence Cathedral Brunelleschi dome

Florence Cathedral Brunelleschi dome inside view

Tower designed by Giotto, 1334

View of Duomo from Pitti Palace (across the river)

Pitti Palace Uffizzi View from the Duomo

Pazzi Chapel Post & lintel returns; GEOMETRY

Pazzi Chapel p. 198

Pitti Palace

Alberti (façade architect), Santa Maria Novella, Florence, 1470 By the numbers: 2:1 3:1 4:1 Alberti's design has various geometrical relationships; for example, the height to the top of the pediment is equal to the width and the upper temple with its pediment is one-fourth the size of the main square. Alberti (façade architect), Santa Maria Novella, Florence, 1470 not in text

p. 202

1st use of linear perspective Masaccio Trinity 1427-28 Fresco 21' 10 1/2" x 10' 4 Santa Maria Novella, Florence Masaccio Trinity 1427-28 Fresco 21' 10 1/2" x 10' 4 7/8" (6.67 x 3.17 m) Santa Maria Novella, Florence not in text

Masaccio, Tribute Money, c. 1427 p. 199 Masaccio, Tribute Money, c. 1427

Tribute Money, detail Note use of chiaroscuro (light and dark shading) to create volume in the clothes.

Ghiberti, Lorenzo The Gates of Paradise 1425-52 Bronze with gilding

Ghiberti, Lorenzo The Gates of Paradise 1425-52 Bronze with gilding

Ghiberti, Lorenzo The Gates of Paradise 1425-52 Bronze with gilding

Ghiberti, Lorenzo The Gates of Paradise 1425-52 Bronze with gilding

Ghiberti, Lorenzo Detail from the Gates of Paradise The story of Joseph 1425-52 Bronze with gilding 80 x 80 cm Baptistery, Florence not in text

In the second half of the fifteenth century, much of the solidity of form favored in the figurative style of earlier Renaissance painters had given way to a preference for a more linear style. Figures in painted compositions gave an illusion of depth more like relief sculpture than that of solid figures in the round. This can be observed in the work of Botticelli. A sense of movement is conveyed by Botticelli's mythological figures in his Birth of Venus (c. 1480) (Jones, p.126). According to Classical myth, Venus was born when the severed genitals of Uranus were cast into the sea. Botticelli's Venus floats ashore on a scallop shell, gently blown by a male wind god and a female breeze. On the right, a woman, perhaps a personification of spring, rushes to cover Venus with a pink floral cloak. As a goddess of love and fertility Venus is appropriately surrounded by flowers (Adams, p.260). Modeling in lights and darks is de-emphasized and the figures' forms are defined more through contour line (Jones, p.126). Botticelli's Venus is somewhat elongated, elegant, even languid -- as if just waking up. Her flowing hair, echoing the elegant drapery curves and translucent waves, conveys a linear quality characteristic of Botticelli's distinctive style (Adams, p.260). The mythological theme was an important issue at this time, reflecting a new philosophy called Neoplatonism (which was strongly affecting humanist circles in Florence). According to this philosophy, all human thought, Christian or pagan, was regarded as divinely inspired. This permitted Botticelli to paint the subject of a life-size nude Venus, although the theme derived from Roman mythology and was therefore pagan. Another interpretation of the theme is as an allusion to Christian equivalent subject matter. For example, Venus might be seen as the pagan equivalent of the Virgin. Prior to Botticelli's time, themes outside of straightforward Christian subject matter would have been unthinkable. Even in Botticelli's day pagan themes were still controversial outside of humanist circles (Jones, p.126). BOTTICELLI, Sandro The birth of Venus c. 1485, Tempera on canvas (67 7/8 x 109 5/8 in.) NOT IN TEXT

BOTTICELLI, Sandro Primavera c. 1482. Tempera on wood 203 x 314 cm Reads right to left BOTTICELLI, Sandro Primavera c. 1482. Tempera on wood 203 x 314 cm p. 199

BOTTICELLI, Sandro Primavera c. 1482. Tempera on wood 203 x 314 cm Reads right to left

BOTTICELLI, Sandro Venus and Mars c. 1485 BOTTICELLI, Sandro Venus and Mars c. 1485. Egg tempera and oil on poplar 69 x 173.5 cm NOT BIBLICAL! not in text

KEY IMAGE PERIOD: PLACE: ARTIST: TITLE: DATE: p. 203 Early Renaissance Florence Donatello David 1432 p. 203

La Primavera (Birth of Spring) KEY IMAGE PERIOD: ARTIST: TITLE: Renaissance Botticelli p. 199 La Primavera (Birth of Spring)

KEY IMAGE Pazzi Chapel p. 198

Summary – Italian Renaissance POLITICS – Italian city-states; power from money EARLY RENAISSANCE – Florence HIGH RENAISSANCE – ART – Classical ideals revived IDEAS – Humanism returns MUSIC –