ART HISTORYRenaissance

through Contemporary

Core Content 4.1

Renaissance Period 1400-1600

Reconciles Christian faith and reason.

Promotes ‘rebirth’ of the classical ideal (of ancient Greece and Rome)

Allows new freedom of thought.

Humanism – emphasis on intellect, education, the importance of the thinking breathing human being!

Renaissance

Artists begin to blend religious and secular (non-religious) subjects

Artists developed linear perspective that created a greater look of space/depth

Key artists: Michelangelo, da Vinci, Donatello, Raphael (The Ninja Turtles)

Michelangelo

He was a sculptor, painter, architect

He preferred sculpting

Famous sculptures: Pieta (Mary holding dying Jesus), David

Famous Paintings: the frescos of the Sistine Chapel

He blended religion and Humanistic elements in his works

Michelangelo

Pieta

Michelangelo - David

Sistine Chapel

Leonardo da Vinci

Painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, inventor, mathematician, astronomer… the Renaissance Man

Famous paintings: Mona Lisa, Last Supper

Use of sfumato

da Vinci

The Baroque Period

Rejects the limits of the previous styles

Restores the power of monarchy and church.

Art is characterized by excess, ornamentation, contrasts, energy, tensions

Artists used dramatic lighting that created a spotlight effect on their subjects – chiaroscuro or tenebroso

The Baroque Period

Chiaroscuro – use of light and shade to create a 3-D effectTenebroso – Italian meaning “in a dark manner”. Artists used contrast of theatrical lighting against dark shadows in their workSubjects included both religious and secular pieces – rise in personal portraits and landscapes in the Netherlands

Rembrandt van Rijn

Dutch painter

Master of chiaroscuro

Painted over 65 self-portraits

Subjects had ‘light’ on face and dark background

Rembrandt van Rijn

Caravaggio

Led a rebellious life. Prone to drinking and fights… carried over into artwork.

The church often refused his paintings because they were too violent or showed saints behaving as common people (ex Jesus in a Roman bar)

Master of tenebroso

Caravaggio’s work

Neo-Classical Period

Reacts to the excesses of the monarchy and the ornamentation of the BaroqueReturns to order, reason and structural clarity (of the Classic Greek and Roman styles – hence the name ‘Neo-Classicism’)Artists incorporated clean, clear lines in both painting and architecture – composers similarly placed emphasis on clear prominent melody lines…

Jaques-Louis David

French painterPainted the aristocracy and then Napoleon during the RevolutionDepicted Napoleon in best manner – brave, and regal – art used as propaganda to depict strong leaderSubjects are simple with clear lines, very orderly appearance

Jaques-Louis David

Thomas Jefferson

American President Traveled through Europe and brought back architecture of Greece and RomeBlended styles for formal government buildings – known as Federalist Style Very orderly, symmetrical, dignified Roman arches, Greek pedimentsMonticello – TJ’s homeFarmington home in Louisville

Thomas Jefferson

Monticello – Jefferson’s home

Used triangular Greek pediment, Roman arches and dome structure

Orderly, clear lines, logic of design apparent

Thomas Jefferson influence

Romantic Period 1760-1870

Revolts against neo-classical order and reason

Returns to nature/imagination: freedom, emotion, sentimentality, interest in the exotic and the supernatural

Romantics painted emotional scenes with loose brush strokes and brilliant color

Paintings became more personal, emotional

Scenes were more dynamic and interesting than in real life hence “Romanticising” them

Francisco Goya

Spanish Romantic artist – went through 3 ‘phases’ of artwork Royal painter – earned a respectable living painting the Spanish royal familyPolitical Commentary – He witnessed Napoleon’s troops invade Spain and painted the harsh reality of warfareMental Illness (Black Period) – he drew nightmarish, monster-like figures – some on the walls of his home.

Goya -- Royal Family

Goya – Politics

John Constable

British Romantic painterConcerned with forces of nature so painted landscapesHad the incredible ability to capture the warmth of sunlight, the coldness in shadows and the motion of cloudsHis strong brush strokes and interest on the effects of light paved the way for the Impressionists

John Constable

John Constable

Realism 1820-1920

Speaks the truth. Finds beauty in the commonplace (everyday scenes).

Focuses on the Industrial revolution and the conditions of the working class

Moved away from royalty as subject matter and painted peasants, working men and women

Found the ordinary to be interesting

Gustave Courbet

Painted everyday workers – very controversial

His “The Stone Breakers” and Burial at Ornans” were reviled – who would want a painting of people working or at a funeral !?

Gustave Courbet - Realism

Eduard Manet

He transitioned between Realism and Impressionism

He went from crisp clean lines to blurred edges

His subjects remained common – people on a picnic or waiting for a train

Eduard Manet

Impressionism 1850-1920

Started as a rebellion against RealismArtists tried to capture a moment in time - a snapshot (Camera invented at this time)Tried to show the effects of light and atmospheric conditionsOften painted the same scene at different times of the day to capture the colorsWere the first artists to paint outside because of the inventions of portable easels and paint in tubes

Claude Monet

Quintessential impressionist

Known for ‘waterlily’ series, Japanese Bridge

Painted haystacks, Rouen Cathedral repeatedly but with differing color schemes

Claude Monet

Waterlilies - Monet

Mary Cassatt

American, female painterStudied in France with Degas, Monet, Manet, etc – The ‘great’ impressionistsHer subjects usually included domestic scenes of women and childrenUsed soft pastel colors or bright, happy hues in her workInfluenced by Japanese work in using dark outlines of subjects

Mary Cassatt

Auguste Rodin

Impressionist sculptor

Tried to capture a moment in time

Sculpted movement and action in his figures

Created ‘fragmentary’ sculptures at the end of his career

Auguste Rodin

Auguste Rodin