1. The Renaissance

2. Renaissance defined:
Used to describe a movement that sought to imitate and understand the culture of antiquity (the time period before the Middle Ages)
“rebirth” of Greek and Roman classics
Applies to art, politics, and science
Praises individual achievement

3. Background/ Possible causes
Emerged in central Italy in the 14th century
No exact beginning or ending date
Florence
The Medici Family
Wealthy and influential Florentine family
Patronage allowed for the advancement of artwork

4. Possible causes (continued)
The Great Man argument
Leans on the belief that the Ren grew out of the intelligence great men
Debatable argument

5. Possible causes (cont.)
The Black Death theory
The breakdown of trust in the Church led people to think more about life rather than the afterlife
Invention of the printing press
Gutenberg (1450s)

6. Characteristics Classicalism Humanism
Admiration and imitation of the Classical Age (Greece and Rome)
Shown in architecture, literature, art
Humanism
Faith in human intelligence and rationality
Reverence for inherent human beauty
Shown by the idealization of the human body

7. Characteristics (cont.)
Individualism
Appreciation of the individual worth of each human being
Shown in the detail given to each individual in artwork
Secularism
Celebration in the everyday life
Shown in art placing importance on fine clothing, money or anything acquired through wealth

8. Characteristics (cont.)
Realism
Attention to detail made through observance of the real world
Shown through the use of new art techniques and the attention to detail
Rationalism
Development and use of the human mind
Shown through references to learning

9. Italian Renaissance vs. Northern Renaissance
attempted to merge the pagan Classical Age with the Christian Middle Ages
Emphasizes Greece and Rome
Emphasizes wealthy upper class
Religious and mythological
Portraits are formal and reserved
Base art on theory

10. Italian Renaissance vs. Northern Renaissance
Art is more infused with religion and religious piety (devotion)
Focuses on early Christianity in Rome and Greece
Emphasized the life of commoners and the rising middle class
Appreciation of nature
Oil paint used more = brighter colors

11. Early Renaissance in Italy
Began in Florence soon after 1400
Main artists: Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Masaccio
Main task: to merge Classical form with Christian content in creating a new style

12. Sculpture: Donatello’s David
Bronze
First free standing nude statue since before the Middle Ages
Notice Goliath’s helmet: connection to Roman gods
Lowered gaze = modesty and virtue (Classical characteristics)

13. Architecture Influenced greatly by Filippo Brunellechi
Studied Roman architect: domes instead of Gothic spires
Utilized a new style called linear, or scientific perspective
Vanishing point
Allowed for three dimensional space

14. Painting: Masaccio Utilizes linear/scientific perspective
The Holy Trinity

15. Painting: Masaccio (cont.)
The Expulsion from Paradise
Religious theme
Displays human body in motion, as well as human emotion

16. Central and Northern Italy 1450-1500
Built upon the practices of early Ren artists
Intermingles classical themes with religion
Botticelli, Primavera. c. 1482

17. High Renaissance Culmination of the Early Renaissance
Early Ren. = imitated nature
High Ren. = interpreted nature
Key artists:
Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael
Centered in Rome

18. Leonardo da Vinci 1452-1519 Trained in Florence
Contributed to the idea that an artist is an original thinker and a scientist in one
A true “Renaissance Man”

19. Leonardo da Vinci: Mona Lisa. c. 1503-1505
Who is she?
Why is she smiling?
What do you notice about the landscape?
Wife of a Florentine merchant

20. Raphael (1483-1520) School of Athens, 1510-1511
Famous Greek philosophers gather around Plato and Aristotle
Careful attention to symmetry, motion, precision

21. Comparison: Gothic Art (1140-1550) vs. Renaissance Art
Giotto. Madonna Enthroned. 1310
Raphael. Sistine Madonna. c. 1500s

22. Michelangelo (1475-1564) Sistine Chapel. 1508-1512 & 1534-1541
Scenes depict the early history and the coming of Jesus
Creation, destruction, and the salvation of humanity

23. The Ceiling

24. The Creation of Adam

25. The Last Judgment

27. Diagram of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling

28. More Renaissance Artwork

30. Pieter Brueghel: Battle Between Carnival and Lent, 1559

33. Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper. c. 1495-1498

36. Raphael. Sistine Madonna. Dresden, Germany