1. Italian Renaissance Art
“Renaissance artists were motivated by the idea of progress. To them the artist was like a scientist . . .to experiment with solutions to problems To make a science of painting.”
Instant Art History

2. Early Renaissance based in Florence

3. Giotto (c )
Lamentation over
Christ
(c )
Figures appear in 3-D,
rather than flat,
and possess bulk,
movement & expression

4. The Adoration
Of the Magi
( )

5. Lorenzo Ghiberti
( )
Gates of Paradise
( )
Doors to the
Baptistery in the
Florence Cathedral.
Depict scenes from the
Old Testament. Named
the “Gates of Paradise”
by Michelangelo

6. Detail from the
Gates of Paradise -
The Story of Joseph

7. Masaccio
( )
St. Peter
distributing Alms
& the Death of
Ananias ( )

8. The Tribute Money (c. 1427) - painted figures as linear columns.
Also important is his three-dimensional portrayal of the human figure.

9. This is Masaccio’s masterpiece,
The Holy Trinity (1427), probably his
last work, since he died the next year at the
age of 28. The other great work of Massacio
is The Explusion of Adam and Eve from
the Garden of Eden (which I don’t have a
slide of.)

10. Another example of perspective is Mantegna’s The Dead Christ
(c. 1506) which uses foreshortening, giving the impression of a 3-D
body on a flat surface.

11. Donatello ( )
David (1425)
The first free standing sculpture since
ancient Greek & Roman sculpture
(and he’s naked too! Get over it!)

12. Detail of Donatello’s
David

13. Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445 - 1510)
Two famous works
Primavera (c. 1482)
The Birth of Venus (c. 1485)
Notice that the subject of these works is not religion, but mythological figures

16. An example of
Renaissance
architecture - the dome
of the Florence
Cathedral, designed by
Filippo
Brunelleschi. (1377? -
1446) He lost
out to Ghiberti in the
competition to design
the Baptistery doors.
Doing the dome was his
consulation prize. He was also a painter, who introduced perspective to art.

17. The High Renaissance ( ) Still based in Florence, but the center was gradually moving to Rome

18. A master of many things (that’s why he’s called a “Renaissance Man”)
Leonardo di Vinci ( )
A master of many things (that’s why he’s called a “Renaissance Man”)

19. Virgin & Child with
St. Anne (1510)

20. The Last Supper ( )
Each figure has distinctive psychological character. It is located in the church of Santa Maris delle Grazie. A door was cut thru the painting after Leonardo’s death. (No respect for art!)

21. The Mona Lisa
(Actually it’s called
La Gioconda and was done
in 1507.) It uses a technique
called sfumato (“like smoke”)
in which different areas of
color and form are merged
together (IAH)
And why does she have that
stupid smile?

22. Leonardo was one of the first
artists to actually study human
anatomy by dissecting human
bodies. His notebooks reveal
his sketches from his studies.
These sketches show the
muscle structure of an adult
male. (And Leonardo got in
trouble with the Church be-
cause it did not support the
violation of a dead person. Leo
had to steal the corpses.)

23. Leonardo’s famous study
showing proportions. Notice
the geometric designs. To
protect his work, he wrote
his notes backward, so they
have to be read in a mirror.

24. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
Like Leonardo, another “Renaissance Man”, who was not just a sculptor, but also a painter (and he also wrote poetry and was an architect.)

25. The Pieta (c )

26. Michelangelo’s version of David
( ) - it’s carved from a solid block
of marble, 18 feet in height. As compared
to Donatello’s version, this one is much
more detailed (notice how buff he is!)

27. A detail of Michel-
angelo’s David
(there’s more info
on this in the video

28. Michelangelo’s masterpiece is the Sistine Chapel ceiling, done between 1508 and 1512, by order of Pope Julius II. Michelangelo was working on the Pope’s tomb (before he was even dead!) and did not want to do the ceiling. He argued that he was a sculptor, not a painter, but Julius insisted. Michelangelo suspended work on the tomb (and its massive sculpture of Moses) to paint the ceiling. Here are four views of the ceiling, moving from the left side to the right.

33. Perhaps the most famous panel from the ceiling - God giving life to
Adam.

34. The Last Judgement, from
the altar of the Sistine Chapel
(painted after the ceiling)
The central figure is Christ.
Notice the size and distortion
of proportion.)

35. Ghirlandaio
An Old Man and his
Grandson (1480)
This is a good example of how
Renaissance art reflected the
pursuit of realism - the old
man is shown realistically,
“warts and all”.

36. Raphael ( )
The favorite subject of
Raphael was Madonnas.
This example is called
Madonna & Child
Enthroned, with Saints
( )

37. Raphael’s School of Athens (1510-11)

38. Eventually, Raphael moved on
to portraiture. This is Pope
Leo X (the Medici Pope) with
two Cardinals (1518)

39. Titian ( )
Titian is considered the last of the Italian Renaissance artists (maybe because he lived to be 99 years old!)
He was a High Renaissance artist of the Venetian School. His two famous works are Venus and Adonis (c. 1555) and the Rape of Europa ( ). Notice, again, the use of mythological figures, not religious.

40. Venus and Adonis

42. And that’s some examples of Italian Renaissance art
Later we will check out the Northern Renaissance artists, and there aren’t as many of them.