Renaissance Dates

• 1439 - The Gutenberg Press and movable type/printmaking

• 1453 – Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans

• 1490’s – Savonarola in Florence

• 1517 – Martin Luther nails his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg

• 1527 – Sack of Rome by troops of Charles V

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519):

• Trained in Florence.

• Is best known as a painter, but did absolutely everything else as well.

• Studied human anatomy, via dissection (completely illegal, unless one was a physician), and used the knowledge of such to glorify man.

• Believed only in that which he could observe.

• Had a Duke (of Milan) as his first patron.

• Painted beautiful women, most of whom seemed to be enjoying delicious secrets.

• Disliked Michelangelo, but was somewhat of a mentor (albeit unseen) to Raphael.

• Worked in Rome from 1513 to 1516.

• Spent Last years of his life working for Francis I in France

Source: http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/high_ren_2.htm

High Renaissance Art

Leonardo, Last Supper• Only remaining work in situ, painted on a

wall of the monks’ dining room• Oil, tempera, fresco technique on a damp

wall made the fresco flake• Captures the moment when Christ says,

“One of you will betray me”• Christ appears calm amid the storm of

animated gestures• Various psychological portraits in the

reactions of the apostles: surprise, anger, fear, denial, etc.

• Rhythmic groupings of three, Christ at center in open-armed pose of serene acceptance

• Perspective beams of the ceiling, floor and tapestries on walls point to Christ

• Fictional space advances real space of room

• Pyramidical shape of Christ’s body, a favorite High Renaissance form

• Subtle halo of the rounded pediment above his head

• Three windows symbolize the Trinity

• Judas obscured by darkness falls back, clutching his bag of coins

Leonardo’s Last Supper• Located in Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie,

Milan. Patron - Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan

• 1495-98

• Exceptional technical proficiency in perspective and treatment of space

• Focus on drama and human reaction at a specific moment

• An experimental painting technique that failed

High Renaissance Art

Leonardo, Virgin of the Rocks• Visionary, mystical feeling• No traditional haloes• Tradition of mountain opening up miraculously to

shelter the Holy Family• Water running is a symbol of baptism• Ivy in background symbolizes fidelity and

continuity• Angel Uriel’s expression: to whom is it directed?• Unusual pattern of hands, forms a cross of Jesus’

head?• Chiaroscuro, sfumato, atmospheric perspective• Botanist’s and geologist’s attention to the

foreground plants and the mysterious setting of the mist-shrouded cave

High Renaissance Art

Leonardo, Mona Lisa• Pyramid form with hands at base• She is not smiling, but gives the illusion• Psychological insight, coupled with enticing

inaccessibility• Aerial perspective: she sits in a window box

with a fantasy background• Picture cut down later on three sides, we see

only the base of the columns in the window box or balcony

• 26 or 27 years old, likely the wife of a Florentine silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo

• ¾ view, more of the body shown, gentle contrapposto suggested

• Unity of figure and landscape

High Renaissance ArchitectureBramante, Tempietto, Rome• Circular shrine, spot where Saint Peter

crucified• Cylindrical shape, dome ribbed on outside• Proportions simple, harmonious, unified• Alternating masses and voids• No exterior decoration• Circle as a symbol of the perfection of the

world, used in the Pantheon• Combination of humanist ideas of pagan and

Christian background• Underground crypt symbolizes the

underworld where Saint Peter’s cross was planted

• Main body is a temple, looking like a tabernacle

• Upper body represents the Church triumphant

Bramante, Saint Peter’s, Rome• Greek cross, four sides equal• Exact hemisphere of a dome,

planned like the Pantheon• Bell towers frame main dome;

drum added for height• Interior: coupled pilasters, one

giant story as in Sant’Andrea• Never finished according to

Bramante’s plan• Smaller domes accent main dome

High Renaissance Architecture

Sangallo, Palazzo Farnese, Rome• Broad front, huge rectangle• “Kneeling” windows suspended from a

stringcourse• Second floor alternating triangular with

circular pediments• Heavy cornice tops building• Strongly articulated stringcourses define

horizontal stories• Rusticated doorway and corners• Projecting window casements give a solid

feel to the façade• First floor has a darker color, indicating a

solid firm base

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)• Trained in Florence.

• Is best known as a painter and sculptor, but worked in architecture and wrote poetry as well.

• Studied human anatomy, via dissection (completely illegal, unless one was a physician), and used the knowledge of such to glorify God.

• Believed deeply and devoutly in God.

• Had a Medici (Lorenzo) as his first patron.

• Painted women who looked a lot like men with breasts slapped on.

• Intensely disliked Leonardo, but was somewhat of a reluctant mentor to Raphael.

• Worked in Rome 1496-1501, 1505, 1508-1516 and from 1534 until his death in 1564.

• Was commissioned by Popes Julius II, Leo X, Clement VII, Paul III Farnese, Clement VIII and Pius III.

Source: http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/high_ren_2.htm

Sistine Chapel Ceiling 1508 - 1512

Sistine Chapel Ceiling• Commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1508 – originally to

paint the 12 apostles and a trompe-l’oeil coffered ceiling• Fresco (done with 9 pigments)• Dirt and debris from candle soot, past cleanings,

pollution• Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor, not a

painter• Expressive and incredibly complex program of scenes

and images which transforms the architectural space

• Consists of nine narrative scenes from Genesis – starting with the Separation of Light from Darkness (located above the altar) and ending with the Drunkenness of Noah

• First 3 scenes are of Creation• 3 scenes of Adam and Eve (creation of Adam, Eve,

and Temptation)• 3 scenes from Noah (sacrifice, flood and drunkenness)

– symbolically a statement on Free Will and a second Fall from grace

4 Large Panels

• Creation of Sun and Moon

• Creation of Adam

• The Fall of Man

• The Flood

•Screen divides area

•Larger area is the Sacred area

•Smaller is for the Laity

•Scene immediately after the screen is the Fall of Man

Michelangelo, Sistine Ceiling, Rome

• 4 years to paint, 300 figures, no two of which are in the same pose; 70 feet from floor

• Nine main episodes from the book of Genesis, opening book of the Bible

• Done at the behest of Pope Julius II

5 smaller panels

• Separation of Light from darkness

• Separation of Land and Water

• Creation of Eve

• The Sacrifice of Noah

• The Drunkenness of Noah

Separation of Light from Darkness

The Ignudi

•Located at the four corners of every other scene

•Unprecedented in Sacred decoration

•Derived from secular sculpture of antiquty

• Idealization of the male body connected to the Renaissance sense of the dignity and potential of man, and in the Christian sense, of man created in the image of God.

Michelangelo, Creation of Adam• Fourth scene on the vault of the

Sistine Ceiling• Monumental forms, solid figures• God creates Adam in “his image and

likeness”• Center: two hands do not touch,

there is a distance between them• God the Father is awesome in his

power of love, his kindness to create• Adam modeled on an ancient Roman

river god• Two great forms: Adam as earth and

God as sky• Essentially separate units

High Renaissance ArtMichelangelo, David• Terribilità• First colossal nude since the ancient world• Challenging figure: calm, tense, concentrating

on the enemy• Optimum vantage point is from the front and

below, not meant to be seen from the back• Slight contrapposto• Monumentality, simplicity• Undercutting of brow, piercing eyes• Sense of alertness, awareness• Holds slingshot over shoulder, rock in hand• Placed in front of city hall of Florence• Came to symbolize victorious Florence against

larger enemies

Michelangelo, Moses• Designed for the tomb of Pope

Julius II• Central piece, although meant

to be placed on the second floor of the original tomb

• Meant to be seen from a low angle

• Awe-inspiring, majestic, solid• Julius as an enlightened

lawgiver, as was Moses• Same face as God the Father

on the Sistine Ceiling• Few negative spaces• Tense coiled feeling

High Renaissance Art

Michelangelo, Tomb of Giuliano de’Medici• Lying atop a sarcophagus, two figures of

Day and Night • Night: female, restless, tense, between

the legs is an owl (symbolic of night, watchfulness), she rests on a mask

• Day: twisted, looking over his shoulder, massive muscularity

• Giuliano: a heroic type, classical, dressed in Roman armor, idealized, not an actual portrait

• Neoplatonic ideals expressed in vigorous Giuliano and more contemplative Lorenzo

Giuliano’s Tomb Lorenzo’s Tomb

High Renaissance Art

Michelangelo, Last Judgment

• Beginnings of Mannerism seen here: distortion of the figures, elongation• Apollo-like Christ comes to bring the saved to heaven and condemn the lost

to Hell• No weighing of souls, he passes judgment with a movement of his hands• Christ defiantly swings away the evil souls, gently lifts the blessed• He is surrounded by the martyrs and saints of the church• On the skin held by Saint Bartholomew is a self-portrait of Michelangelo• Charon ferries the damned into Hell at bottom right• A serpent wrapped around his torso, Minos awaits to place the damned• Twisting, complex, and convoluted composition• Composition organized in horizontal layers

High Renaissance Art

Michelangelo, Saint Peter’s, Rome • Many architects worked on Saint Peter’s before

Michelangelo• Respected Bramante’s plan, and revived

portions of it• Used a double dome as at Florence• One hundred feet taller than the dome of

Florence Cathedral• Building has monumental pilasters and columns

that extend from the ground to the roof without interruption

• Enormous windows make interior light• Surmounted by a lantern• After Michelangelo’s death, the building was

completed by Giacomo della Porta, who redesigned the dome to make it more pointed instead of round

Raphael (1483-1520):• Trained in Umbria, but studied in Florence (where he picked up his draftsmanship

and compositional skills by studying Leonardo and Michelangelo's works).

• Is best known as a painter, but worked in architecture as well.

• Studied human anatomy only to the extent that his figures were proportionately correct.

• Believed in God, but didn't alienate the Humanists or Neo-Platonists.

• Had, as his first patrons, those who actually wanted either Leonardo or Michelangelo (whose time, respectively, was being monopolized by their patrons), but settled for Raphael.

• Painted beautiful, gentle, calm women in a courteous manner.

• Idolized Leonardo and managed to get along with Michelangelo (no mean feat, that).

• Worked in Rome from 1508 until his death in 1520.

• Was commissioned by Popes Julius II and Leo X.

E.H. Gombrich, "The Story of Art":

"It was for this achievement that Raphael has remained famousthroughout the centuries. Perhaps those who connect his name only with beautiful Madonnas and idealized figures from the classical world may even be surprised to see Raphael's portrait of his great patron Pope Leo X of the Medici family, in the company of two cardinals. There is nothing idealized in the slightly puffed head of the near- sighted Pope, who has just examined an old manuscript (somewhat similar in style and period to the Queen Mary's Psalter. The velvets and damasks in their various rich tones add to the atmosphere of pomp and power, but one can well imagine that these men are not at ease. These were troubled times, for we remember that at the very period when this portrait was painted Luther had attacked the Pope for the way he raised money for the new St Peter's. It so happens that it was Raphael himself whom Leo X had put in charge of this building enterprise after Bramante had died in 1514, and thus he had also become an architect, designing churches, villas and palaces and studying the ruins of ancient Rome. Unlike his great rival Michelangelo, though, he got on well with people and could keep a busy workshop going. Thanks to his sociable qualities the scholars and dignitaries of the papal court made him their companion. There was even talk of his being made a cardinal when he died on his thirty-seventh birthday, almost as young as Mozart, having crammed into his brief life an astonishing diversity of artistic achievements."

High Renaissance Art

Raphael, School of Athens• Painted for Pope Julius II’s library/study• Greek philosophers of ancient world in muted conversation• No dominant colors, weaving of various hues• Clear, open piazza-like structure• Perspective points to two central figures under a barrel vault that resembles Saint

Peter’s by Bramante• Plato and Aristotle in center as greatest of philosophers• Plato has Leonardo’s features• Plato points up revealing his philosophy of another ideal world• Aristotle points outward to indicate that this material world is the only world• Bramante as Euclid, balding, in lower right• Raphael second from the far right, among the scientists, mathematicians and

astronomers• Michelangelo, as Heraclitus, composing a sonnet in the front foreground painted in

his own style

Plato – holds his Timaeus

Aristotle – holds his Ethics

Combining knowledge of ideas, and learning from the world thereby increasing happiness through intellectual activity

Pythagorus – taking notes on his ideas of harmony and the musical scale

Euclid (Bramante)

Diogenes

Epicurus

Socrates- with Alcibiades,

Xenophon, Alexander

Stanza della Segnatura

• Patron – Julius II

• A world as beautiful (poetry)

• A world as good (law and justice)

• A world as true (philosophy and theology)

High Renaissance Art

Raphael, Madonna in the Meadow

• Triangular composition echoing Leonardo

• Atmospheric perspective, sun-drenched landscape

• Clear, ordered and deceptively simple composition, but poses complex

• Tenderness and love expressed• Graceful, tender expressions• Strong diagonals control

composition

Raphael, Galatea

• Galatea pursued by Polyphemus

• Galatea’s head turns left, arms right, hips left, legs frontal

• Triangular compositional elements

• Twisting bodies seem natural but are highly complex

• Suggests wheeling movement and spontaneity

High Renaissance

• Exceptional knowledge of anatomy• Emphasis on knowledge gained from the natural

world• Illusionistic space – a window into the world• A revaluation and reintroduction of classical forms

and ideas melded with Christianity• Subtlety and sophistication in painting and sculpture

and architecture• Heavy use of symbolism and drama