Module 5

• Renaissance


  A fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic "rebirth" following the Middle Ages, generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th century
• Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art
• Major developments of the Renaissance

  • Astronomy
  • Humanist philosophy
  • Printing press
  • Vernacular language in writing
  • Painting and sculpture technique
  • World exploration
  • Shakespeare's works
• Causes of the Renaissance


  • Discovery and translation of Ancient Greek and Roman texts
  • The Crusades
  • Fall of the Byzantine Empire
  • Humanism
  • Invention of the printing press
  • Copernican revolution
  • The Black Death
  • Art patrons
• Renaissance art


  Renaissance artists turned to Greek and Roman sculpture, painting and decorative arts for inspiration, focusing on human beauty and nature. Perspective and light and shadow techniques improved and paintings looked more three-dimensional and realistic.
• Proto-Renaissance


  An important period in Italy in the late 13th and early 14th centuries that drew inspiration from Franciscan radicalism and rejected the formal Scholasticism of the prevailing Christian theology
• Trionfi (The Triumphs)


  A series of allegorical poems by Francesco Petrarch that describes a succession of victories, beginning with Love which is conquered by Chastity, which gives way to Death, which is triumphed over by Fame, Time and Divinity
• Il Canzoniere


  A collection of more than 317 sonnets and almost 50 additional poems by Francesco Petrarch, the main theme being Petrarch's love for a woman named Laura
• Decameron


  A book by Giovanni Boccaccio that begins with the flight of 10 young people from plague-stricken Florence in 1348, who retire to the countryside and spend 10 days telling stories
• Characteristics of Early Renaissance art

  • Radically fresh artistic techniques
  • Emphasized emotions and individualism
  • New subject matter evolved
  • Arts patrons like the Medici family
• Early Renaissance artworks


  • Expulsion from the Garden by Masaccio
  • The Holy Trinity by Masaccio
  • The Dome of Florence Cathedral by Filippo Brunelleschi
  • David by Donatello
  • The Annunciation by Fra Angelico
  • Flagellation of Christ by Piero della Francesca
  • Lamentation over the Dead Christ by Andrea Mantegna
  • La Primavera by Sandro Botticelli
  • Christ Handing the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter by Pietro Perugino
  • The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli
  • Portrait of an Old Man with his Grandson by Domenico Ghirlandaio
• Pace


  Two scenes from the New Testament are depicted behind
• The scene on the left

  • Christ and the disciples paying the tribute money
• The scene on the right

  • Christ escaping from an attempted stoning
• Two identical arches


  • Resembling the Arch of Constantine flank the Temple in the background
• The Birth of Venus

  Seminal, iconic work, inspired by the Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphoses (8 A.D.), focuses on the birth of Venus, the goddess of love, riding her scallop shell as she arrives on land
• To the right


  • A female with billowing dress and hair leans toward Venus holding out a swirling red robe to clothe her
• Flying at a diagonal and also leaning toward Venus


  • Zephyrus, the god of the wind, puffs out his cheeks, blowing her toward the shore, as pink flowers fill the air around them
• Portrait of an Old Man with his Grandson

  Tender portrait vividly evokes a moment of embrace, juxtaposing a man toward the end of his life with a child at his beginning
• The older man


  • Wears a red fur-lined robe
• The younger


  • Wears a red doublet and cap
• Behind them


  • A window that opens onto a landscape of winding roads through fields that lead toward a small church at the bottom of a terraced hill. Next to it, a monolithic rock rises out of a lake
• The golden locks of the boy


  • Echoed in the folds of his doublet, draw the viewer's eye up to the window, which, framed by somber grey and black, evokes a feeling of contrast between the two subjects' phases of existence
• The High Renaissance


  Refers to a thirty-year period exemplified by the groundbreaking, iconic works of art being made in Italy during what was considered a thriving societal prime
• High Renaissance Art


  • A rejuvenation of classical art married with a deep investigation into the humanities spurred artists of unparalleled mastery whose creations were informed by a keen knowledge of science, anatomy, and architecture, and remain today, some of the most awe-inspiring works of excellence in the historical art canon
• Characteristics of High Renaissance Art

  • Continuation of artistic methods (artists continued the use of shallow carving to create atmospheric effect, naturalistic and anatomical detail, and the use of chiaroscuro and trompe l'oeil)
  • Infusing ideals of beauty back into art (the High Renaissance artists' key concerns were to present pieces of visual, symmetrical, and compositional perfection)
  • Sfumato & quadratura initiated by da Vinci (Leonardo created sfumato, a glazing effect that revolutionized the blending of tone and color, and quadratura, or ceiling paintings, were born)
  • Renaissance men (Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and architect Donato Bramante are undoubtedly the period's most notable legends who exemplify the term "Renaissance" man in their proficiency and mastery of multiple subjects and interests)
• Virgin of the Rocks


  This painting focuses on four figures: the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist and Christ as young children, and an angel. The Virgin is the central figure at the top of a pyramidal composition that emphasizes her importance, framed by rocks. Gazing downward, she reaches out her arm in blessing toward Christ but also outward to invite the viewer into this intimate scene. In the foreground, a pool is visible, with plants such as an iris and an aquilegia growing along its edges. The background is a dramatic vista of boulder formations, pinnacles rising up from earth, the shadowy depths of caverns, and an overarching roof of stone and fallen trees. Through the gaps, a sinuous river of blue green water moves toward the misty horizon on the upper left
• The Last Supper


  Created between the years 1495 and 1498 for the refectory of the Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan, this fresco made use of the experimental technique of oil and tempera on plaster – it has faded horribly; however, it is one of the best and most loved pieces of all time
• Tempietto


  Considered by many scholars to be the premier example of High Renaissance architecture. With its perfect proportions, harmony of its parts, and direct references to ancient architecture, the Tempietto embodies the Renaissance. This structure has been described as Bramante's "calling card" to Pope Julius II, the important Renaissance patron of the arts who would then employ Bramante in the historic design of the new St. Peter's Basilica
• David


  Michelangelo's version of David is colossal, standing at 17 feet, with extremely large hands: the reason for this is because it is meant to be placed up high so that viewers have to look up – the proper way to view it, making him appear superhuman. While still a young man – age 16 – this David has a strong body, making him appear slightly older than his 16 years, and with his sling resting on his shoulder, he has not yet gone to battle
• Mona Lisa


  Among the works created by da Vinci in the 16th century is the small portrait known as the Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda, "the laughing one." In the present era it is arguably the most famous painting in the world. Its fame rests, in particular, on the elusive smile on the woman's face—its mysterious quality brought about perhaps by the fact that the artist has subtly shadowed the corners of the mouth and eyes so that the exact nature of the smile cannot be determined
• The Alba Madonna


  This painting shows the Virgin Mary with child versions of Christ and John the Baptist in an Italian landscape. The facial expressions and body language, conveyed with a fluid and precise naturalism, are both remarkably human and spiritually expressive. The Virgin's gaze, as her right arm reaches out to touch John comfortingly on the shoulder, is portent with awareness of future events. He returns her look with understanding while his left hand grips the base of the wooden cross
• Virgin and Child with St. Anne


  In the painting, da Vinci's composition again picks up the theme of figures in a landscape. What makes this painting unusual is that there are two obliquely set figures superimposed. Mary is seated on the knee of her mother, St. Anne. She leans forward to restrain the Christ Child as he plays roughly with a lamb, the sign of his own impending sacrifice. This painting influenced many contemporaries, including Michelangelo, Raphael, and Andrea del Sarto. The trends in its composition were adopted in particular by the Venetian painters Tintoretto and Veronese
• The School of Athens


  This fresco, depicting a gathering of classical Greek philosophers, noted contemporary scholars, and artists, uses perspective to draw the viewer's gaze toward the central figures of Plato on the left and Aristotle on the right, walking as they discuss philosophical matters under the replicating arches. The scene is animated, as groups in discussion cluster on both the left and right, creating a contrast with other individual figures that sit in solitary reflection. A statue of Apollo, god of music and art, stands on the left, while a statue of Athena, goddess of reason and wisdom stands on the right, symbolizing the division between Plato's philosophy of ideal forms and Aristotle's emphasis on logic and empirical knowledge
• The Creation of Adam

  This legendary painting, part of the vast masterpiece that adorns the Sistine Chapel, shows Adam as a muscular classical nude, reclining on the left, as he extends his hand toward God who fills the right half of the painting. God rushes toward him, his haste conveyed by his white flaring robe and the energetic movements of his body. God is surrounded by angels and cherubim, all encased within a red cloud, while a feminine figure thought to be Eve or Sophia, symbol of wisdom, peers out with curious interest from underneath Adam's arm
• The Ceiling of Sistine Chapel

  Michelangelo, created the magnificent Sistine Chapel Ceiling – an epic High Renaissance work that is sure to take your breath away. Commissioned by Pope Julius II, the ceiling features stories from the Old Testament separated by painted-on architectural elements. The frescoes are brightly colored and make use of chiaroscuro, and the figures are very sculptural in form. Some of the stories represented include The Creation of Adam and Eve, Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and Noah and the Great Flood, plus there are various Sibyls, prophets, and ignudi, or nude youths, dotted throughout
• The Sistine Madonna


  The Sistine Madonna presents a serene, self-possessed Virgin Mary with the Christ child, a woman of ideal maternal splendor and beauty. She stands on the clouds front and center, robes flowing, with curtains drawn on either side of her to emphasize her importance. The view behind her opens into heaven, as the faces of the souls of unborn children or angels throng in the clouds. Two third-century martyrs, patron saints of the church of San Sisto, meet her. On her left, Pope Sixtus II, kneels to gaze up at her, his left hand above his heart, and his right hand inviting the viewer forward. On the right, Saint Barbara kneels, her face turned toward the viewer and downward toward the two impish cherubim staring up from the bottom
• Moses


  A sculpture by Michelangelo, Moses was created for Pope Julius II's tomb – it was common in those times for rulers to commission a tomb before their deaths. The tomb was meant to be a marble three-story edifice; however, the Pope died before Michelangelo could finish, so they made it work with what was already done. The sculpture is unique in that Moses features horns, and all due to a misinterpretation. When Saint Jerome was translating the Bible, he mistook the word rays – when it's explained that God's light radiated out of Moses – for horns, so now, this Moses will always have horns
• The Last Judgement


  The Last Judgment is another massive masterpiece by Michelangelo located in the Sistine Chapel. Commissioned by Pope Paul III, this glorious work features over 300 figures, most of which are muscular (some over the top) and nude, with colorful pieces of cloth here and there. Christ is, of course, at the center of the fresco, along with his Mother, and is surrounded by various saints, including St. Bartholomew, who was flayed alive; he, indeed, is shown holding skin with a caricature of Michelangelo's face on it. While the majority of the work displays Heaven on a celestial blue background, the bottom of the work takes a terrifying turn as many of those people will not be floating up but rather pulled to Hell