Ito ang website ng site na kinuhaan ko ng pictures http://www.italian-renaissance-art.com so yan!

Yang lumabas dto sa Microsoft word na pictures yan lng nilagay ko sa slide so yung wala dto pero andun sa site hndi ko na sinali lastly, kung di ka satisfied sa description na nilagay ko dto punta ka sa website then click the picture mas i-wlaborate nila dun. Sorry kung hndi sunod2 ha, sakit kasi sa mata. The Renaissance, the rebirth of Art Science. This represents the pinnacle of artistic achievement, revived and confidently executed after a thousand years in the wilderness. The site aims to encourage viewers to go and look at art in the flesh. Some works have a scale and power that can only be fully realised by seeing them live. Books (and websites) are fine, but it is live art that really fires the imagination. The inovations of the Renaissance in Italy eventually expanded to include artists working in Northern Europe. Contemporary painters from the North include Durer, Bosch, Van Eyck, Van der Weydenand Gruenwald and articles on a selection of Northern artists are included on the site. After the Renaissance period, and the artistic movement known as Mannerism, the begining of the seventeenth century saw the dawn of the Baroque era. The artistsCaravaggio and Peter Paul Rubens feature here as examples of the Baroque style, highlighting the influences from their Italian and Northern predecessors on their work. We admire and marvel at reproductions of great works of art be it a painting, or sculpture or a building. However, to stand before these works and witness their awe inspiring power is truly an unforgettable experience. I will give my personal opinions of the works I have seen from Florence, Rome, Venice and the Vatican city and attempt to describe some of the emotion I felt when viewing these masterpieces.

Masaccio. The Work of a Renaissance Master. Thommaso Cassai, also known as Masaccio, was another great Florentine artist who emerged at the beginning of the fifteenth century. He was born in 1401 and lived with his younger brother and his widowed mother. The family lived in great poverty but the financial situation seems to have eased on the remarriage of his mother. Florence was under the control of Cosmo the Elder and the Medici had become the first family of the city both artistically and politically, and the city itself was enjoying a period of calm and prosperity. Masaccio was accepted into the guild of painters in Florence in 1422 he became friends with Donatelloand Brunelleschi and was influenced by their work. Giotto was also a major source of inspiration for the painter, and he embraced Giotto's example in a rejection of the International Gothic style of the time. He is one of the first artists to use a vanishing point in his work employing the use of scientific perspective in his paintings. The first work attributed to him is the San Giovenale Triptych in the church of Cascia di Reggello near Florence.

The San Giovenale Triptych 1422, Panel Cascia di Reggello (w)

"Crucifixion," circa 1426 83 63 cm Museo di Capodimonte, Naples (w)

The expulsion of Adam and Eve. The Brancacci Chapel His two major works are a polyptych, painted for the Carmelite church in Pisa, and his frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel in Florence painted in or around 1425/6.

The Holly Trinity, Florence. (1425-27/28) - Fresco, Santa Maria Novella, Florence (w) In 1427 Masaccio painted his Holly Trinity for the Santa Maria Novella church in Florence. This fresco is considered to be one of his finest masterpieces and was rediscovered in 1861 after being hidden by a stone altarpiece in the sixteenth century. In about 1428 the artist left Florence and traveled to Rome where he died at the age of 27. During his short life he did not enjoy the popular esteem given to some of his contemporaries, his fame was confined to other painters, but his influence on successive generations of artists is profound. It is said that all the Florentine artists studied his work, including Michelangelo. His legacy was to direct Italian Painting way from the Gothic style and towards a more realistic and natural interpretation of the world. Masaccio's early demise has meant that very few works exist that are entirely attributed to him. Collaborations with other artists include the Madonna and Child with St Anne, painted in collaboration with Masolino, and Madonna and Child and Angels, painted with his brother Giovanni.

"Madonna with Child and Angels"1426 Wood 135,5 75 cm National Gallery, London (w)
http://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Masaccio.html

Filippino Lippi The illegitimate son of Fra Filipo Lippi and the nun Lucrezia Buti, Filippino was born in 1457/8. He was trained as a painter by his father, but later was apprenticed to Botticelli. His first works show the influence of Botticelli but he soon developed his own style. In 1483/84 he was asked to complete the decoration of the Brancacci Chapel, a work left unfinished by Masaccio in 1428.

Self Portrait, Brancacci Chapel. (w) Filippino Lippi worked on the Sala degli Otto di Pratica, in the Palazzo Vecchio in 1486 and Lippi's Apparition of the Virgin to St. Bernard, painted around the same time, is his most popular painting.

"Apparition of the Virgin to St. Bernard" (w) (1486) Oil on panel, 210 x 195 cm Church of Badia, Florence.

Madonna with Child and Saints, (w) oil on panel 160 180 cm 1490-1493 Santo Spirito, Florence. This work shows Tanai de' Nerli and his wife Nanna, kneeling at each side of the picture. It was common practise to have the patrons who commissioned the work included in the paintings. Filippino worked in Rome decorating the Carafa Chapel at Santa Maria sopra Minerva, but returned to Florence by about 1492. He completed a work for the church of San Donato, The Adoration of the Magi, in 1496.

"The Adoration of the Magi" (w) Oil on panel 258 243 cm Uffizi, Florence.

Allegory of Music" 1500. (w) Tempera on panel, 61 51 cm. Gemaldegalerie, Berlin, Germany. Filippino Lippi died in April 1504.

Domenico Ghirlandaio. Florentine Fresco Painter. Domenico Ghirlandaio was born in 1449 under the birth name of Domenico di Thommaso di Currado Bigordi (quite a mouthful). His father traded as a goldsmith and was given the name "Ghirlandaio" orgarland-maker in honor of a specific fashion he started. Domenico was apprenticed to a goldsmith and then to Alessio Baldovinetti to study painting. He painted a large number of frescoes in various Florentine churches and 1481 he was one of several painters summoned to Rome with the task of decorating the Sistine Chapel. He painted his "Vocation of Peter and Andrew" on the right wall of the Chapel. The artist was very skilled in the art of fresco painting and it was in his workshop that the young Michelangelo was taught the technique of painting and draughsmanship. Ghirlandaio depicted sacred scenes in a pleasant manner as if they had just happened among the rich and famous of Florentine society. Eventually he became so overwhelmed with commissions that he could only complete his works with the help of assistants from his formidable workshop. These works mirrored the life of the period and also pleased his Medici patrons. He painted a life-size Last Supper in the refectory of the Church of Ognissanti in Florence and also Saint Jerome in His Study both in 1480.

Saint Jerome in his Study, 1480. Church of Ognissanti, Florence. (w)

The Last Supper. (detail) (s) Works in the Sassetti Chapel, Florence. The banker Francesco Sassetti commissioned Ghirlandaio to paint frescoes in the Sassetti chapel in the church of Santa Trinita in Florence. This is considered to be the artists masterwork. The theme is the life of St Francis.

The Confirmation of the Franciscan Rule. (w) This picture contains several of the artists patrons, and includes:- On the right, in the foreground, are Sassetti's brother-in-law, the Gonfaloniere di Giustizia Antonio Pucci; Sassetti's employer, Lorenzo de' Medici; Francesco Sassetti himself and his son Federico.

The Chapel Altar. (s) In this multiple scene, the "Adoration of the Shepherds" (shown below) can be seen in the lower center of the Altar. The top center image is "The Confirmation of the Franciscan Rule" (as seen above). The kneeling figure in the red robe is the patron, Francesco Sassetti.

The Stigmata of St. Francis. (w)

The Death of St. Francis. (w)

The Adoration of the Shepherds. (s) This is the altarpiece and is one of the artist's greatest works, it is also my personal favourite. The shepherd on the right in the red clothing is a self-portrait of the artist. Works in the Santa Maria Novella, Florence. (1486-1490) The subject of his work was predominantly religious with portraits of the donor and his family and friends. Examples of this type of work can be seen in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence.

The Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple. (w)

Nativity of Mary. (w)

The Birth of the Virgin (Nativity) detail. (s) In contrast to the usual Biblical depictions The Birth of the Virgin takes place in a typically grand Renaissance household set against a finely painted architectural backdrop. A maid cradles the child as a young woman pours water into a wash pot. The central figure, shown kneeling with one hand on the young Mary, is the work's patron Ludovica Tornabuoni. The religious subject seems to fade into the background as Ghirlandaio delights in the splendor of his decorative, contemporary, everyday Florentine masterpiece. Ghirlandaio died (probably of a fever) on January 11th 1494. He is buried in Santa Maria Novella.

Paolo Uccello. The Battle of San Romano. Paolo Uccello was born in Florence in 1397. He was apprenticed to the sculptor and metalworker Lorenzo Ghilberti and was admitted to the painters guild in 1414. Paolo was also a life long friend of Donatello. He married Tomassa Malifici in 1453 and a son, Donato was born in the same year. By 1456 the couple had also produced a daughter, Antonia. Uccello was fascinated by the new science of perspective and spent nights and days drawing objects in foreshortening. when his wife called him to come to bed he would say: "Oh what a lovely thing this perspective is!" His most famous work is The Battle of San Romano . The Battle of San Romano was fought in 1432 between the troops of Florence, commanded by Niccol da Tolentino, and Siena, under Francesco Piccinino There are three panels, one in the National Gallery in London, one in the Uffizi in Florence and the final panel is in the Louvre, Paris.

The Battle of San Romano (probably about 1438-1440) Egg tempera with walnut oil and linseed oil on poplar, 181.6 x 320 cm National Gallery, London.(w) This is probably Uccello's best preserved picture and it clearly shows his fascination with perspective. The broken lances on the ground all point to a common vanishing point as does the fallen soldier who is foreshortened in one of the earliest examples of this type of painting.

Niccol Mauruzi da Tolentino unseats Bernardino della Ciarda at:The Battle of San Romano (w) (about 1435 to 1455), tempera on wood, 182 x 220 cm,(Galleria degli Uffizi) (w)

The Counterattack of Michelotto da Cotignola at:The Battle of San Romano by Paolo Ucello (w) Muse du Louvre, Paris.(about 1455), wood panel, 182 x 317 cm.

St George and the Dragon (w) 55.6 74.2 cm 1456 National gallery London. (w) This work has quite a Gothic feel with it's stylized pageantry taking president over the realism being pioneered by other artists of the period.

The Hunt in the Forest. 1470. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England. (w) This is Uccello's last known painting. It shows how well he understood perspective, with the hunters, dogs and horses all disappearing into the forest in the distance. A lasting testament to a great artist. In his Florentine tax return of August 1469 Uccello declared: I find myself old and ailing, my wife is ill, and I can no longer work. He died on 10th December 1475 aged 78.

Donatello The Great Florentine sculptor. Born in 1386 Donatello was the greatest Florentine sculptor of his age,and had worked in the studio of Lorenzo Ghiberti. In his early years he worked in Rome with Fillipo Brunelleschi, escavating and studying in the ancient city. The lessons that these two artistic giants learned in Rome became important for the future development of Italian art. Ghiberti is famous for winning the competition to design the doors for the Baptistery in Florence. The artist assisted Gilberti with some of the work on these doors and had also received artistic training in a goldsmith's workshop. In fact Donatello had earned a living during his time in Rome by working in goldsmiths shops. The statue of St George, made in about 1420, is one of the most important works in his development. In this work the sculptor had broken with the Gothic style of statues and their solemn rows of saints. St George is totally real, steadfast, and determined in his defiance of any enemy that may approach.

Statue of Donatello outside the Uffizi Florence. (w)

St Mark 1411-1413 Orsanmichele, Florence. (w) The figures of St George, St Mark and St Louis of Toulouse, were commissioned by the various wealthy Florentine guilds, to fill the niches around the church of Orsanmichele in Florence. The statue of Zuccone was created for the decoration of Florence Cathedral. There is a famous story that Donatello kept saying 'speak, speak' as he sculptured it. ( I hope he wasn't too disappointed when the statue failed to 'speak'.)

"St George" 1415-16 marble hight 209 cm. (W)

The Annunciation c.1433 The annunciation is carved from limestone. It is a sensually pleasing work and it's gentleness is in stark contrast to the harshness and brutality of his Feast of Herod and Zuccone figures. This delightful image can be seen in the nave of Santa Croce in Florence. The statue of St Louis was Donatello's first experiment in bronze casting. It was a great success, St Louis is portraid as a bishop with the flowing garments of his rank adding to the solidity of the figure.

St Louis. 1422-25 (s)

Zuccone, 14231425(w) The artist achieved great fame in his own lifetime and was often called upon to work for other Italian cities. In 1427 he was commissioned to make a bronze relief for a font at Sienna. His subject was "The Feast of Herod" a scene from the life of St John the Baptist. This work shows the moment when Salome asks Herod for the head of John as a reward for her dancing, and gets it. The executioner kneels carrying the head of the saint on a platter and the King recoils in horror.

"The Feast of Herod" 1423-7 gilt bronze 60x60 cm (S) In 1443 the sculptor was in Padua and executed his statue of Erasmo on horseback, better known as "Gattamelata" ( the honey cat ). Erasmo of Narni was a famous mercenary soldier who fought for many Italian city-states. He became dictator of the city of Padua in 1437 and died the same year that Donatello completed this work. The Gattamelata was the first equestrian statue to adorn a public place since ancient times and it became the model for future equestrian statues throughout much of Europe.

"Gattamelata" (W) The sculptor's statue of David made in the 1440s was the first male nude statue since classical times, it was also the first freestanding work to be cast in bronze of the Italian Renaissance.

"David" (s) Donatello died 1466 and was buried in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

Lorenzo Ghiberti The Gates of Paradise. Lorenzo Ghiberti was a famous Florentine metalworker and sculptor, he was also trained in the gold trade by his father. Born in 1378 he won a public competition, organized by the Arte dei Mercanti di Calimala, the guild of Florence's greatest merchants, for a pair of new doors to be located in the Baptistery of Florence. The main competitors were Ghiberti, Brunelleschi and Jacobo della Quercia. Both of the trial panels by Ghiberti and Brunelleschi have survived.The theme was the Sacrifice of Abraham and Ghiberti's panel was technically superior with it's smooth modeling and and brilliant surface. The Brunelleschi was made in a number of pieces and linked together later, but the Ghiberti was cast in one piece. Ghiberti started to work on the first pair of doors in 1403 and and completed them in 1424, a period of twenty-one years. They show the great qualities of charm and grace associated with brilliant workmanship. Following the success of these first doors Ghiberti was recognized as a master craftsman and was offered a commission for a second pair of doors, these are his famous "Gates of Paradise". Lorenzo ran a very successful workshop and his most famous apprentices included Donatello and the Florentine painter Paolo Uccello.

This is Ghiberti's winning piece for the competition for the Baptistery doors. (s)

Fillipo Brunelleschi's trail panel. (s) During the years that Ghiberti worked on the first pair of doors he also made two statues for the facade of Orsanmichele in Florence. These works are St John the Baptist, and St Matthew and both have a Gothic influence.

"St John the Baptist" 1405-1417 Bronze, height 255cm, Florence, Orsanmichele. (s)

St Stephen. Orsanmichele, Florence. Commissioned by the Guild of Wool Manufacturers. (w) This is a later statue c. 1428. The Baptistery in Florence, North Door. The first of the doors for the Baptistery were completed in 1336 by the goldsmith and sculptor AndreaPisano. After winning the commission in his competition with Brunelleschi, Ghiberti adhered closely to Pisano's design consisting of twenty-eight quarterfoil panels set into the bronze gilded doors. Ghiberti's doors had been installed in the East side of the building in place of Pisano's earlier work. They were re-located to their present location on the North side after Ghiberti completed his "Gates of Paradise". Pisano's doors are now on the South side of the Baptistery.

The North Door of the Baptistery in Florence. (s)Lorenzo Ghiberti.

Panels from the North Door showing scenes from the Life of Christ (s)

The Baptistery in Florence, East Door. In a continuation of his first commission Ghiberti executed a second pair of doors between 1425 and 1452. Michelangelo famously described these as the "Gates of Paradise", they are divided into ten panels each containing a scene from the Old Testament.

"The Gates of Paradise." East Door. (s)

The story of Adam and Eve. (w)

The story of Joseph. (w) Two details of the panels from the East Door

The story of Abraham. (w) This fantastic detail (left) from the gates of paradise gives us an insight into the skill and craftsmanship displayed by Ghiberti in his creation of these panels.

Self-portrait of Lorenzo Ghiberti in the Gates of Paradise. Donatello was Lorenzo Ghiberti's natural successor and overtook him as the major Florentine Sculptor. Ghiberti died in his native Florence on December 1st 1455, he was seventy-seven years old.

Filippo Brunelleschi Italian Renaissance architect. In the early years of the fifteenth century Filippo Brunelleschi was the young architect at the forefront of Italian Renaissance architecture. He was the leader of a group of young Italian Renaissance artists who became intent on creating a new art and to break with the ideas of the past. He was born in 1377 in Florence and trained as a goldsmith and metalworker. Filippo had been educated with the intention of following in his father's footsteps as a lawyer and he studied Mathematics and literature. His artistic inclination saw him enter a competition to design a new set of bronze doors for the baptistery in Florence. Another young goldsmith, Lorenzo Ghiberti, was Brunelleschi's main rival for this work and in 1403 Ghiberti was announced the winner. Ghiberti's technical skill was superior and his test bronze had been completed in one piece, Brunelleschi's effort had been cast in several pieces and then bolted together. Brunelleschi was so influenced by ancient Roman ruins that he and his friend, Donatello, traveled to Rome to study them completing many measurements and drawings on their journey. The young artists drew inspiration from these classical Roman buildings without being slavishly bound by them. In 1419 Filippo was given the task of completing the dome for the Cathedral of Florence. This work occupied a great deal of Brunelleschi's life and the challenge was enormous, no dome of that size had been built since antiquity. The dome became not only an architectural problem, but also demanded great engineering skill and Filippo invented, and patented, a new hoisting machine for raising the masonry required for the dome. Work began in 1420 and was completed in 1436.

The Dome of Florence Cathedral (s) The dome contains over 4 million bricks and the structure rests on a drum not on the roof itself, this allowed the dome to be built without the need for scaffolding from the ground. The two shells of the dome are supported by ribbed reinforcements and are joined by horizontal and vertical struts through which the staircase weaves it's way to the top of the structure. The base of the dome is tensioned by horizontal chains of iron and wood. (The elders of Florence had forbidden the use of external buttresses, and this was a part of the architect's solution to the problem). The cathedral dome still dominates the skyline of Florence today, it remains as a lasting testament to a great architect. Visit if you can Florence is a magnificent city. If you look at the cupola (below left) it's just possible to see the visitors at the top of the dome this gives some idea of the huge scale of the building.

The Cupola

Section of the Dome. Loggia of Ospedale degli innocenti. Brunelleschi increasingly turned his attention away from the trade of the goldsmith to concentrate exclusively on architecture. The Loggia of Ospedale degli innocenti was to be his first major commission. The "hospital of the innocents" was originally an orphanage overseen by the powerful Silk Guild of Florence. Fillipo based his design on Classical Roman and Gothic architecture and certainly a building such as this had never before been seen in crowded Florence. The Loggia fronts the building it's balance and elegance is captured in it's slim columns with Corinthian capitals supporting arched arcades. The arcade spandrels are decorated with blue-coloured terracotta medallions created by the sculptor Andrea della Robbia.

Loggia of Ospedale degli innocenti 1419. (s)

This view of the Loggia highlights the clean, classical lines in addition to the vaulted structure of the building . The Capella dei Pazzi. The Capella dei Pazzi in Florence is an early Renaissance church built by Filippo for the powerful Pazzi family. Although the building was completed in 1470 long after Brunilleschi's death, it is considered to be a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture.

Capella dei Pazzi 1430 (s)

Pazzi Chapel Interior. (s)

View of Florence with Brunelleschi's Dome of Florence Cathedral. (s) Brunelleschi died on April 15th 1446 and is buried in Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence Cathedral) his legacy is that for five hundred years architects from America and Europe followed in his footsteps.

High Renaissance (1490s - 1550s) High Renaissance art is characterized by self-confident Humanism. Here we see artists admiring classical art and architecture as a way to show off their classical knowledge or for a patron who commissioned these works to seem more knowledgeable about the world and its history. With the invention and use of the printing press, there was a greater spread of ideas, and artists could sell prints of their work. Travel also increased during the High Renaissance; therefore, art became more international. Michelangelo prescribed to Neo-Platonism, which says God put the sculpture within the rock and that the artist must uncover it, good art comes from divine inspiration and beauty is a path to salvation. Leonardo, another High Renaissance artist, began to create deep paintings with spatial illusions, which will be more prevalent in the Baroque period. Characteristics: -halos gone -more naturalism -definite light source (shadows, three-dimensional) -sense of stability and order (static compositions) -commissions from private sources increased (no longer as dependant on the Church/royalty) http://academics.smcvt.edu/awerbel/survey%20of%20art%20history%20ii/high%20renaissance.htm The 'birth' of new interest in Classical Greco-Latin world, that artistic revolution of the Early Renaissance matured to what is now known as the High Renaissance. There has never been growth as lovely as that of painting in Florence and Rome, of the end of 15th and early 16th centuries. High Renaissance in Italy is the climax of Renaissance art, from 1500-1525. It is also considered as a sort of natural evolution of Italian Humanism (Umanesimo. It has been characterized by explosion of creative genius. Painting especially reached its peak of technical competence, rich artistic imagination and heroic composition. The main characteristics of High Renaissance painting are harmony and balance in construction. Italian High Renaissance artists achieved ideal of harmony and balance comparable with the works of ancient Greece or Rome. Renaissance Classicism was a form of art that removed the extraneous detail and showed the world as it was. Forms, colors and proportions, light and shade effects, spatial harmony, composition, perspective, anatomy - all are handled with total control and a level of accomplishment for which there are no real precedents. http://www.artinthepicture.com/styles/High-Renaissance/

Leonardo da Vinci. The Renaissance Man. Leonardo da Vinci was regarded as an astonishing virtuoso, even by his contemporaries of the time. Born in 1452 he was at work long before Michelangelo and Raphael who are considered to be the two other great masters of High Renaissance Art. Little is known about his early life, da Vinci simply means, of the town of Vinci, a town in the territory of Florence. He was actually born at Anchiano, a village close to Vinci, the son of Ser Piero and a peasant girl Caterina. The legend of Leonardo's physical beauty has been chronicled by Vasari, and since there is no description or portrait of him, we assume that Vasari's writings are based on fact. His schooling was basic and followed the traditional educational teachings of the time. This lack of higher education was apparent in his struggle to understand Latin. Many classical documents were written in Latin, and it was with a source frustration that he had to resort to reading translations of scientific subjects rather than the original papers. Leonardo was a vegetarian who loved animals and by 1469 he was living with his father on the Piaszza San Firenze in Florence. His early apprentership began at the age of fourteen, in the workshop of painter and sculptor Verrocchio. Verrocchio was one of the most renowned artists of his day and other painters with conections to his workshop include Botticelli and Ghirlandaio, however Leonardo Da Vinci is the artist who is mostly associated with Verrocchio.

Leonardo da Vinci.Self Portrait?

Ginevra de'Benci. In this workshop the young Leonardo would have learned many skills and was introduced to metalwork, perspective, plaster casting, carpentry and mechanics, in addition to painting and drawing.

Benois Madonna

St Jerome. The Baptism of Christ, 1474-1475, Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci. (w) The first account of Leonardo's genius is seen in the painting of The Baptism of Christ, the angel on the left of the picture is attributed to him. This painting, executed mainly be the hand of Verrocchio, is now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It has been suggested that Verrocchio thought Leonardo's work to be so superior than his own, that he vowed never to paint again. Leonardo became a Master in the Guild of Painters in 1472 and had his own workshop in Florence. His Annunciation was painted in 1473 and at the time he was still living in Verrocchio's house. Other works from this early Florentine period include, the Portrait of Ginevra de'Benci, theBenois Madonna, and his unfinished picture of St Jerome. In 1476 he, and three others, were anonymously accused of sodomy with a teenage male prostitute. The crime of homosexual activity was widespread in Florence, and homosexuality was common place. He was acquitted of the charge, re-charged and again acquited, but there is no record of further work by him until 1478. The question of Leonardo's sexuality has been a matter of speculation, but it is generaly thought that he was homsexual or bisexual. The fact remains that although we have documented details of his employers and movements, details of his private live are very sparce. Da Vinci was commissioned to paint an altarpiece, The adoration of the Magi, for a monastery just outside Florence. The work (about eight feet square) is unfinished, probably because Leonardo had left Florence for Milan.

Milan. The reasons for Leonardo's departure from Florence are unclear. Some say that it was his lack of recognition by Lorenzo de Medici, also the artist had been overlooked for the decoration of the walls of the Sistine Chapel. Pope Sixtus IV had summoned the finest artists in Tuscany to work on the Chapel. The Medici recommended Botticelli, Ghirlandaio Among Leonards notebooks is a letter to the Duke of Milan, claiming that he could do almost anything, from engineering for the military through to acting as architect, sculptor and painter. Two of Leonard da Vinci's most famous works were commissioned in Milan,The Virgin of the Rocks (two versions exist, one in the Louvre and one in the National Gallery in London) and, "The Last Supper".

he Virgin of the Rocks.

Leonardo da Vinci last supper. In Milan Leonardo worked on various projects for Ludovico il Moro Sforza (The Duke of Milan) including modelling huge clay horse intended to be cast in bronze. Like much of his work, this project was never completed and was eventually destroyed by the French who invaded Milan in 1499. Da Vinci was accepted into the Sforza court and enjoyed a comfortable surroundings, in return he completed designs for war machines. and was listed as an engineer by the Sforza family. It would seem that Leonardo became quite the court painter within the Sforza circle. Notably he completed portraits of two of the Duke's mistress' Cecilia Gallerani, entitled The Lady with an Ermine. The second portrait is of Ludovico Sforza's mistress Lucrezia Crivelli, known as La Belle Ferroniere.

La Belle Ferroniere The Vitruvian Man.

Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous drawing is The Vitruvian Man, the figure of a naked man placed within a circle and a square. The arms and legs are shown in two positions superimposed on one another, it was made as a study of the proportions of the human body. On the French invasion Leonardo fled to Venice and was employed as an engineer and worked on methods of defending the city from naval attack. He had many scientific plans with concepts far ahead of their time, these included plans for a flying machine (he had observed and studied the flight of birds). Leonardo also studied anatomy and was given permission to dissect corpses and, as his anatomical drawingsshow, he was one of the first to explore the growth of a child in the womb.

The Lady with an Ermine The second period in Florence.

In 1500 Leonardo was back in Florence, and around 1502 painted the wife of a Florentine official, theMona Lisa, destined to become the most famous image in art. During this Florentine period he produced designs for a fresco intended for the Grand Council Hall of the Palazza Signoria. Leonardo da Vinci was in direct competition with Michelangelo who had also been commissioned to produce a design. Michelangelo's chosen subject was the Battle of Cascina, taken from the wars between Pisa and Florence. Leonardo's choice was the Battle of Anghiari, in which Florentine forces triumphed over Milanese mercenaries in 1440. Details of this unfinished work exist only as copies by later artists (such as Rubens) based on Leonardo's detailed records. Also in 1502 he was employed by Cesare Borgia as a military engineer and architect, and travelled throughout Italy with this notorious adventurer. "The Mona Lisa" oil on wood, 77x53cm, Louvre, Paris. Leonardo da Vinci. (w) Back to Milan. Milan was now governed by Charles d' Ambrose in the name of his master Louis XII of France. Charles requested Leonardo's presence in the city, and by May 1506 he was once again working in Milan. The nobleman Gian Giacomo Trivulzio set Leonardo the task of creating a monumental tomb to be located in the church of San Nazaro. Da Vinci was once again working on a large-scale commission that drew comparisons to his doomed equestrian statue for Francesco Sforza some years earlier. This period saw a marked increase in Leonardo's botanical studies once again highlighting the diverse nature of his intelect. Like the Sfofza statue the Trivulzio monument was never completed, mainly due to fears of war against the French occupancy of Milan. In 1512 the French were finally driven out of Milan by an alliance between the Pope, Spain and Venice led by Massimliano Sforza, the son of Ludovico. So Da Vinci had worked for the Sforza family during his first period in Milan, fled when the French invaded, then changed his alligance and worked for the occupying French. This did not endear him to the returning Sforza family and Leonardo, once again, decided to leave Milan. Rome and France. By September of 1513 Leonardo Da Vinci was in Rome. He was valued as an engineer rather than a painter, and was given the task of draining the Pontine Marshes around the city. Most of

the commissions for paintings had been given to Michelangelo and Raphael, artists who seemed to be preferred by the Pope. However, Leonardo was given a special dispensation allowing him to disect bodies and continue his anatomical studies. The papacy had banned disections, but it was believed that Leonardo was searching for the seat of the soul, seen as a worthy project by the church. Unfortunatly roumors were being spread that Leonardo was a sorcerer, these roumors led to the Pope banning all further disections.

In 1516 King Francis 1st of France, offered Da Vinci a pension and a small chateau at Cloux on the Loire river. Leonardo was given the title of Foremost Painter and Engineer and Architect to the King of France and Technician to the State of France. He was a celebrity, admired and visited by the young King in his studio. The artists health began to fail and he dictated his last will and testiment on 23rd April 1519, Leonardo da Vinci died on May 2nd of the same year aged sixty-seven.

St John c.1509 (s) Louvre. Paris.

Salvator Mundi 1513. Leonardo da Vinci. (s)

Raphael. High Renaissance Painter and Architect. Raphael Sanzio was born in 1483 in the province of Umbria and received provincial training in the workshop of Pietro Perugino. At the age of seventeen he proved himself to be one of the most promising of the younger painters but was still much influenced by Perugino's work. This can be seen in his early painting "Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin" and in "The Crucifixion" now in the National Gallery, London. Both of these paintings were completed when the artist was about twenty. Arriving in Florence the young artist soon realized the limitations of his apprentership in Umbria. He was faced with the daunting challenge presented by the work of Leonardo and Michelangelo and set out to study and learn from their paintings and sculptures. Raphael lacked the depth of knowledge of a Leonardo and could not match Michelangelo'spower, he was a likable and even tempered artist, virtues that made him a favorite with potential patrons. His two great predecessors and rivals could both be difficult to get on with and proved to be unpredictable when carrying out their commissions, and so the young artist was able to compete despite the reputations of the two great masters. At this time the artist was also influenced by the painter Fra Bortolommeo from Tuscany and the two remained on friendly terms, but the influence of Leonardo was apparent in "The Madonna of the Meadow" 1506.

"Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin"

Crucifixion. c.1502

St Catherine. 1507

Julius II. 1512.

Portrait of Bindo Altoviti. 1514.

Sistine Madonna. 1513-1514 (detail)

"The Madonna of the Meadow" (w

Raphael arrived in Rome in 1508 and Pope Julius II soon found work for the young artist. He was asked to decorate the Pope's private library in a selection of rooms known as the Stanze. The paintings include "The School of Athens", "Disputation of the Sacrament" and "Parnassus", all

housed in the signature room. These remain among the most famous images produced by the painter. The Vatican Masterclass

"The School of Athens" The Signature Room, The Vatican, Rome. (w)

The Triumph of Galatea 1512. (s) Galatea was painted for the merchant and banker Agosto Chigi who possibly the most wealthy man in Rome at the time that the painting was commissioned. The work was placed in Chigi's villa on the banks of the Tiber (now named the Villa Farnesina) and was intended to highlight Chigi's position as a major patron of the arts. In 1514 he was named architect of St Peter's and for a while was the most important architect in Rome. He designed several buildings including the Chigi Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, but his work on St Peter's was demolished when Michelangelo's design became accepted. Pope Leo X succeeded Julius II on his death, he was a member of the Medici family and continued to act as patron to the artist. Raphael painted the Pope's portrait in 1518.

Pope Leo X Oil on wood, 154 x 119 cm, Uffizi, Florence (s)

The Vision of Ezekiel 1518. Oil on Panel, Palazzo Pitti, Florence. Raphael Biography. Raffaelo (Raphael) son of the painter Giovanni Santi and his wife Magia Ciarla was born on the 28th March or the 6th April 1483. His father Giovanni Santi was a competent painter and was highly regarded in Urbino, a province that housed one of the most glittering courts in Italy. Raphael died on April 6th 1520 at the age of 37 and, such was his fame, that the leading scholar of the age, Cardinal Bembo, wrote the epitaph for his tomb.

Giovanni Bellini. An artistic dynasty of Venice. The Bellini family were a well known artistic dynasty from the city of Venice. Giovanni is the most well known, but both his brother Gentile and his father Jacopo were also well regarded as painters. Jacopo was one of the founders of the renaissance style of painting. Born in c.1400 many of his most important works have disappeared but his workshop was the most productive in Venice. Gentile was born in c.1429 and has been rather overshadowed by his brother Giovanni, however in his lifetime he was famous as one of the foremost painters in Venice. He was also the official portrait artist for the Doges of Venice.

The Virgin of Humility. Jacopo Bellini. 1440 (w)

Doge Giovanni Mocenigo, c. 1478 Gentile Bellini. (w)

This is possibly Gentile's most famous painting and is part of a ten painting cycle by Gentile in collaboration with various artists of the day. Giovanni was born in about 1431 and grew up with his brother in his fathers house in Venice. His brother-in-law was Andrea Mantegna and Andrea's influence is apparent in "The Agony in the Garden" painted in 1459-1465.

The Agony in the Garden (w) Giovanni was appointed as conservator of the paintings in the ducal palace in Venice and was paid a fixed annual pension for his work. He was at the head of a famous workshop and his pupils included Giorgione and Titian. His mastery of the oil painting medium, newly introduced to Venice in the 1470's, had a profound influence on his famous apprentices.

Most of his work in the Doge's Palace was destroyed by fire in 1577 but some of his official portraits of the Doges survive, such as "The Doge Leonardo Loredan" of 1502.

"The Doge Leonardo Loredan" (w) On the death of his brother Gentile, Giovanni became the most prominent artist in Venice, but was deluged with more commissions than he could complete and had difficulty in delivering the various works on time. In his old age Giovanni painted "The Feast of the Gods", a work regarded as a Renaissance masterpiece, but Giovanni died in 1516. The picture was finished by his former pupil Titian.

"The Feast of the Gods" 1514. (w) Bellini and Titian. National Gallery of Art. Washington.

Lady combing her hair. 1515. (s) This painting is one of the artist's final works and was painted when he was eighty five years old. Almost all of his art had been preoccupied with religious subjects but this is a refreshing and charming late change that mirrored the evolving Venetian style.

The San Giobbe Altarpiece. Giovanni Bellini 1487. Oil on Panel

Giovanni . San Zaccaria Altarpiece. 1505. oil on canvas

Giorgione. of the Venetian High Renaissance. The Venetian painter Giorgione was born in 1485 in the town of Castelfranco Veneto, just outside of Venice. Very little is known about this artist and no more than six paintings have been entirely attributed to him. He served his apprenticeship in the workshop of Giovanni Bellini and met Titian who was also apprenticed to Bellini. One of the works definitely attributed to him is the "Madonna and Saints" of 1503.

"Madonna and Saints" This is a very calm composition, painted with very little drawing, note the contrast of the warm red robe against the Madonna's cool green dress. The artist was a distinguished and charming person and also a great lover of music. He was also becoming recognized for his painting abilities in or around 1502, when he was about twenty five years old. His painting "The Tempest" was reputed to be the first landscape of Western painting and was completed in 1508.

"The Tempest" (w) "The Concert Champtre" (or Pastoral Concert) is a prime example of the difficulty in the attribution of his work. This painting has been attributed to both Giorgione and later Titian.

"The Concert Champtre" (w) It is clear that Titian did have a hand in finishing some of Giorgione's paintings after his premature death in 1510. The "Sleeping Venus" was almost certainly completed by Titian and the pose was copied by him in one of his later paintings.

"Sleeping Venus" (w) The great artist died, probably of the plague, in 1510 but his art conveyed a feeling of light and air with his trees, figures, and clouds set within nature. His landscapes are part of the whole composition and not just there to support his human subjects, and this had a lasting influence on future generations of artists.

Titian. The Venetian master of colour. Titian, his birth name was Tiziano Vecelli, was born between 1485-1490 in Cadore in the southern Alps, and was rumored to be over ninety years old when he died of the plague in 1576. The eldest of four sons he was known as Da Cadore, after his place of birth and the family were well known in the area. At the age of about twelve he was apprenticed to the studios of Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, the leading artists in Venice, and it was here that he met Giorgione, an artist who exercised a great influence on his painting style, and who he later joined as an assistant. Some of the work between Giorgione and Titian has been the subject of controversy, and attributing paintings to one artist or the other remains a contentious issue. He was not the great architect or sculptor like Michelangelo, or the inventor and scientist that wasLeonardo's gift, he was just a painter, but a painter who fully utilized colour in his work. Titian's style did alter throughout his long life but his interest in colour never diminished. His use of paint and brushwork made him the foremost painter in Venice and his execution of both landscapes and portraits brought him great fame in his own lifetime. Titian seems to have left very few drawings, his work was done on the canvass, altering and modifying as he worked with total control over his medium. His early self portrait of 1510 shows his great skill and handling of paint, and the swollen blue shirt sleeve is a fine example of his genius.

Sacred and Profane Love c.1515. Galleria Berghese, Rome. (w) This famous painting is thought to be the image of a bride alongside the invisible nude Venus. It represents the joys of marriage and clearly owes much to the influence of Giorgione. The Venus is just one example of the eroticism that permeates Titians rather fleshy works, images the artist clearly enjoyed painting.

"Assumption of the Virgin" 1516-1518. 690360 cm (w)

"Pesaro Madonna" Oil on canvas. 4.88 m2.69 m. Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice (w)

In 1518 he painted his "Assumption of the Virgin" the altarpiece for the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice. Also in the same church but painted in 1519-1528, his "Pesaro Madonna" is unusual in that it places the Holy Virgin out of the center of the picture, this was unheard of at the time.

After the death of Giorgione and Giovanni Bellini, Titian became the foremost painter in Venice. His work is varied and includes portraits, mythological works, and altarpieces (as seen in the examples above) Only Michelangelo's fame was greater among the artists of sixteenth century Italy. In 1523 the great artist was at the height of his fame and painted his Bacchus and Ariadne, part of his mythological series for Alfonso d'Este the Duke of Ferrara. He became acquainted with the playwright and poet Pietro Aretino and painted his portrait several times.

"Bacchus and Ariadne" oil on canvas 176.5191 cm. National Gallery, London (w)

"Pietro Aretino" 1512 Galleria Palatina in Palazzo Pitti in Florence. (w) And Right, As an older man painted in 1545. Aretino was a writer who scandalised Italy with his outspoken comments on the political and social life at the time. He is regarded as the first pornographic journalist but was also a great champion of Titian's painting and praised the artist's work for it's depiction of reality and colour. Titian was married in 1525 to "Cecilia" and the couple had three or possibly four children one, Orazio, became the artist's assistant. The Venus of Urbino of 1538, now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, shows the naked figure reclining on a bed and the pose is based on Giorgione's sleeping Venus.

"The Venus of Urbino" 1538 Oil on canvas. 119165 cm Uffizi, Florence (w) The artist was extremely successful and was even given the freedom of the city of Rome during a visit in 1546. The last twenty-five years of Titian's life were spent mainly as a portrait-painter and in the service of Philip II of Spain. He had painted Philip's portrait in 1550 and had also painted Philip's father The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.

The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. 1548 (s)

Philip II of Spain.

Annunciation c. 1560

The artist's later paintings are executed with great freedom. He was so comfortable with his medium that one of his pupils, who had watched him work, stated that he finished the pictures 'more with his fingers than his brush'. Titian's influence is extensive and his legacy is his use of rich colour and artists such as Rubens, Rembrandt, and Manet have taken inspiration from his work.

Diana and Callisto, 1556-1559, Oil on canvas. 187 cm 204.5 cm (74 in 80.5 in) Jointly purchased by the National Galleries of London and Edinburgh. (w)

Diana and Actaeon, 1556-1559. Oil on Canvas. 185 cm 202 cm (73 in 80 in) National Gallery London. (w)

The Death of Actaeon (1562) National Gallery, London. (w)

Veronese. The Venetian artist Paolo Cagliari, known as Veronese after his birthplace in the city of Verona, was born in 1528. His father Gabriele was a stonecutter by trade and by the age of fourteen Veronese was apprenticed to a local artist Antonio Badile. The talented young Paolo began to develop his own style including a lighter and more colourful palette. He left Badile's workshop in 1543. The artist then moved to the city of Mantua in the province of Lombardy and completed frescoes in the city's cathedral. He arrived in Venice in 1552/53 and it is in Venice and the surrounding regions that he created his most memorable works. Works in Venice. Titian was the established master in Venice but his later contemporaries included Tintoretto and of course, Veronese. Paolo decorated the Sala dei Cosiglio dei Dieci and the Sala dei Tre Capi del Consiglio. His ceiling paintings for the Doge's Palace and the Marciana Library established him as a master of Venetian painting. He was even awarded a prize for his work by the famous Titian.

The architect Andrea Palladio had completed a villa for the Barbaro family in Maser, and Paolo was invited to decorate the villa with frescoes. The decoration included portraits of the Barbaro family, with the ceilings painted with mythological figures, the work is the artist's most important fresco cycle and was a great success for both artist and architect.

Between 1565 and 1570 Veronese painted another of his monumentally large works.Alexander and the family of Darius depicts the Persian king Darius before Alexander the Great after the battle of Issus. The painting is once again rich in colour but is more decorative than The Cana work with less depth. This is emphasized by the parallel column of architecture that forms the background to the work.

Alexander and the family of Darius. 1570. National Gallery London. (s) He married Elena Badile in 1565. She was the daughter of his first master Antonio Badile and it would seem that the artists personal life was a happy one the union produced four sons and a daughter. His painting for the Basilica di Santi Giovanni e Paolo, The Last Supper, contained not only the Biblical scene, but exotic dwarves and soldiers in addition to an array of animals. This was typical of the narrative quality associated with his paintings. The work was completed in 1573. However the inquisition summoned Paolo to explain his inclusion of the exotic within the context of a religious picture. The artists solution to this tricky problem was to simply rename the painting and it is now known as the Feast in the House of Levi.

Feast in the House of Levi. 1573. (w) Veronese died in Venice on April 9th 1588 . He left behind a productive family workshop headed by himself and including his brother Benedetto and two of his sons Carlo and Gabrielle. The workshop continued to flourish after the the artist's death.

Marriage of St Catherine. 1575. (s)

Correggio The Renaissance Artist of Parma Antonio Allegri more commonly known as Correggio was born in this northern Italian town in 1489. It is not known how much influence ( if any) other major artists from Rome or Venice had on his work. He was influenced by Mantegna's work in Mantua but, according to the great art historian Vasari, he never visited Rome. Details of his life are sparse but his major works were executed in Parma a world away from his southern contemporaries. We know that he married a a lady from his home town, Girolama Francesca di Braghetis, and had at least one son, Pomponio Allegri, who was also a painter. His first major commission was in 1519 for the convent of St Paul, the Camera di San Paolo in Parma. He painted a scene of marble images and playful cherubs and also an image of Diana. His next work was the Vision of St. John on Patmos (1520-21) painted for the dome of the church of San Giovanni Evangelista. in Parma. Between 1526-1530 he decorated the dome of Parma Cathedral with his great masterpieceThe Assumption of the Virgin. The painting is crowded with figures receding upwards and gives the illusion of an open sky as the Virgin ascends into heaven.

Assumption of the Virgin

Holy Night

Venus and Cupid with a Satyr. 1528 Possibly his most famous painting is The Holy Night.

Ganymede Abducted by the Eagle. Jupiter and Io, both 1531 (w) Ganymede Abducted by the Eagle, 1531, is one of a series of works by the artist depicting the Loves of Jupiter from Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Commissioned by Federico II Gonzaga of Mantua, these paintings are in stark contrast to his religious works. Jupiter and Io, also from 1531, is now housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna. Correggio died on March 4, 1534.

Danae, 1531 Oil on Canvas, 161 cm 193 cm (63 in 76 in) This is yet another commission from Federico II Gonzaga and forms part of the series from the loves of Jupiter. It is now housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome.

Jacopo Tintoretto. The last great artist of the Italian Renaissance. Was Jacopo Tintoretto (real name Jacopo Robusti) a Mannerist painter or the last great artist of the Italian Renaissance? Born on September 29th 1518 Jacopo was one of twenty one children. His father was a silk dyer by trade and the family was based in Venice. The young Jacopo was trained for a short period by Titian and was a great admirer of Michelangelo, copying his drawings. It is even possible that he met Michelangelo on a visit to Rome in 1545. He tried to synthesise the drawings ofMichelangelo and the colouring of his old master Titian. Tintoretto had a style that was all his own and did not seek to paint simply in the 'manner' of the previous generation of artists, so yes, he was the last of the great painters of the Italian Renaissance. In or around 1548 Tintoretto was commissioned to paint four pictures in the Scuola di S Marco, among these was the celebrated "Miracle of the Slave. The other works are, "The Finding the body of St Mark", "The Saint's body brought to Venice", and "Votary of the Saint delivered by invoking him from an Unclean Spirit".

"Miracle of the Slave". oil on canvas 1548 Gallerie dell' Accademia Venice (w)

"The Finding the body of St Mark" 1562 (w)

Baccus and Ariadne. (s)

Origin of the Milky Way (s)

The Saint's body brought to Venice. (w)

These works were well received and greatly enhanced the artist's fame. Jacopo married Faustina de Vescovi in 1550 and she appears to have produced two sons and five daughters. Two sons Domenico and Marco, and also his daughter Marietta all assisted him in his studio. In 1564 the artist began his association with the Scuola di San Rocco, where he worked for over twenty years and decorated the building with vast canvases. His theme was the life of the Virgin and the life of Christ. These pictures are executed with tremendous freedom and include an enormous Crucifixion scene. The versatile artist also painted numerous works for the ducal palace but many of these have been lost in the great fire of 1577.

Crucifixion. (s) The last major work of the artist's life is the huge "Paradise". This painting is a colossal 74 ft by 30 ft, and the artist was assisted by his son Domenico, and painted many of the heads and drapery from nature. Tintoretto died on May 31st 1594. He had suffered from severe stomach pains and fever and is buried in the church of the Madonna dell'Orto by the side of his daughter Marietta.

Michelangelo Biography. The Life and Work of a Renaissance Giant. Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on March 6th 1475 in Caprese Tuscany. His father, Ludovico, was an official and local governor of the towns of Caprese and Chiusi. His mother was Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena, unfortunately she died when he was only seven years old. Michelangelo was raised in Florence and, as a thirteen year old, was apprenticed to the busy workshop of the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. In this workshop he mastered the techniques of fresco painting and of draughtsmanship. The young artist studied the great masters of the past, Giotto, Donatello, Masaccio and the Greek and roman sculptors, whose work he could find in the Medici collection in Florence. The Buanarroti family, through the artist's grandmother, were distantly related to the powerful Medici banking family. From 1490-1492 Michelangelo was living in the Medici household and he claimed to be of noble birth for the rest of his life. Lorenzo de Medici commissioned the first two works attributed to the young artist, "Madonna of the steps" and 'Battle of the Centaurs' , both completed in 1492. Michelangelo became increasingly interested in the human form and studied anatomy, dissected bodies and drew from live models all in his quest to master the complexities of posture and movement. In 1494 the preaching monk Savonarola emerged as the new leader of Florence and the Medici were expelled from the city. Bologna. Michelangelo, unlike Leonardo who fled the city, (Leonardo considered Savonarola to be a dangerous fanatic) was touched by the priest's teachings of morality and the promise of a rejuvenated Roman Church. However the artist decided to maintain his ties to his patrons the Medici and followed them north to Bologna. His connections with the powerful Medici paid dividends in Bologna, the young artist was introduced to and taken in by one of the city's most prominent citizens, Gianfrancesco Aldovrandi. On Gianfrancesco's recommendation Michelangelo was given the task of carving three statuettes for one of Bologna's most famous artistic monuments, the Tomb of St Dominic. The tomb was left unfinished by the death of Niccolo del Arca in 1492. The young sculptor's contribution to this giant of a tomb are the Angel with a candlestick, and the saints Petronius and Proculus. The completed work on these three pieces had been produced in a little under a year.

Madonna of the Steps. (s)

Angel with a candlestick.(s) Bologna.

Bacchus. (s)

David. (s)

Drawing for the Battle of Cascina. (s)

Delphic Sibyl. (s) Sistine Chapel Ceiling.

Charon the Boatman. from the Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel. (s)

Crucifixion of St Peter. The Pauline Chapel. (Detail) (s)

Rondanini Pieta (s) The artist worked on this sculpture virtually until his death.

It was in 1496 that a marble of cupid (now lost) by Michelangelo was sold as an ancient piece to Cardinal Raffaele Riario. The cardinal discovered the fraud but was so impressed by the quality of the carving that he invited the artist to Rome. Rome. Cardinal Riario was the most powerful and richest man in Rome, only the Pope himself had more power and influence. Michelangelo was given a block of marble to work with and between 1496 and 1497 produced his statue of Bacchus. The Cardinal was unimpressed and rejected the work. The rejected statue came into the possesion of the Roman banker Jacopo Galli. It was through this conection that the artist recieved a commission from the powerful French Cardinal, Jean de Bilheres, the Pieta. The great man considered himself to be a sculptor an architect and a poet and in 1497 he received the commission for one of his most famous works the Pieta, housed at St Peter's in the Vatican city. Michelangelo had personaly visited the marble quarries at Carrara to select and supervise the quarrying of the marble block. His attention to detail paid off, the marble Pieta is of the finest quality.

"Pieta". St Peters Basilica in the Vatican. (photo by Stanislav Traykov under free licence Wikimedia Commons). It has often been stated that Michelangelo had the ability to visualise the finished sculpture mearly by looking at the block of stone in front of him. When you gaze upon the Rome Pieta the

story becomes totaly believable. The work was carved and completed in 1499 when the artist was only 24 years old. Returning to Florence in 1500 he began work on perhaps the most recognizable statue in art, the carving of David (completed in 1504) depicting the moment he decides to battle Goliath. This work, created from marble quarried from the famous site at Carrara, established the sculptor as an outstanding master of his time, all before his 30th birthday. With the triumph of the David still fresh, Michelangelo was commissioned by Piero Soderini, statesman of the Republic of Florence, to produce a fresco for the Florentine state hall in Palazzo Vecchio. The chosen subject was The Battle of Cascina, the work never progressed beyond the cartoon stage, even so it influenced generations of artists who admired and copied it. After the completion of the Rome Pieta and the Florentine statue of David Michelangelo's fame was assured. He was never again short of commissions and his financial future was secured with the purchase of various properties in and around Florence.

The Doni Tondo. c.1504 Tempra on wood. Uffizi, Florence. (s) A Tondo is the Italian name for a circular piece of work. When you consider that Michelangelo considered himself to be a sculptor, not a painter, this is a remarkable early work. It is his only surviving, finished panel painting.

Just look at quality of the drapery expertly executed by the artist. The array of heads and arms combine forming traditional triangles resulting in a very pleasing composition.

The painting was comissioned by Agnolo Doni from the wealthy Florentine family, probably to commemerate his marrage to Maddalena Strozzi. Pope Julius II invited the artist back to Rome and commissioned him to work on a tomb worthy of the Pope's standing as the overlord of Christendom. The massive scale of this enterprise was never realised but was scaled down and is located in the Church of Pietro in Vincoli in Rome. Michelangelo was regarded as arrogant and short tempered and, disappointed by the scaling down of the tomb, returned to Florence and wrote a rude letter to the Pope saying that if he wanted him, he could go out and look for him. Considering that Julius II was totally ruthless this letter could have been considered a rather rash and costly mistake, however, the Pope did not lose his temper but contacted the leaders of Florence in an attempt to persuade the sculptor to return to Rome. The head of the city of Florence gave the artist a letter of recommendation stating that the young artist's skill was unequalled throughout Italy and he was soon back in the pope's service. The Sistine Chapel. A chapel in the Vatican had been built by Pope Sixtus IV, and is therefore called theSistine Chapel, this was the next great commission given to Michelangelo. The walls had been decorated by famous painters of the past and the pope wanted the vault of the chamber painted to complete

the decoration of the chapel. This work, lasting for four years, was completed with the artist having to lie on his back and paint looking upwards. The work contains over 300 figures and centres on the Book of Genesis, it remains one of the finest examples of one man's physical, intellectual and artistic achievement.

The Creation of Adam, from the ceiling of The Sistine Chapel. (w) Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Leo X to build a family funeral chapel for the Medici in the basilica of San Lorenzo one of the largest churches in Florence. In this project the artist created both the sculptures and the plan for interior. In the 1530s the artist left Florence and returned to Rome. The Last Judgement on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel began in 1534, twenty years after the painter had finished the vault, took the artist seven years to complete. The massive fresco was unveiled in a ceremony on October 13th 1541 but the pictures of naked bodies on display in the chapel was considered to be obscene. The pope resisted calls for the fresco to be removed, however it was decided that the genitals should be covered, a work undertaken by Daniele da Volterra an apprentice of the great artist. Perhaps Michelangelo's least well-known paintings can be found in a chapel within the Vatican complex, The Pauline Chapel. This series of frescoes, commissioned by Pope Paul III, are sometimes considered to be inferior to the more famous Sistine Chapel works. The two works completed for the Chapel are, The Conversion of Saul and The Crucifixion of St Peter. These paintings did not follow the conventions of composition of the time but they do need to be viewed from within the long narrow chapel to see them at their best.

The Dome Of St Peters Rome (p) The last great work in the artist's life came with the design of the dome for St Peter's Basilica. In 1546 Pope Paul had appointed him chief architect at the Vatican. The brief was to oversee the construction of The Farnese Palace, this was in addition to his work in St Peters. The great sculptor, painter, poet and architect dedicated the last twenty years of his life to the dome, he refused payment for the project considering the work to be for the greater glory of God. Michelangelo was the only artist of the renaissance period to have his autobiography published while he was still alive. The writer Ascanio Condivi's Life of Michelangelo was published in 1553 and followed Vasari's Lives of the Artists of 1550. By the time of these publications he was the most famous artist in the world, and was wealthy enough to provide for his family for most of their lives, a millionaire with a wide circle of noble and influential friends. With his friend Tommaso de' Cavalieri, and his pupil Daniele da Volterra at his bedside, Michelangelo died in Rome on February 18th 1564 aged 88.

Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe.[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannerism Mannerism comes from the Italian word maniere, meaning manner or styleand its cradle was in Rome at the end of the Renaissance time period. It is the period bridging the High Renaissance and the Baroque. The mannerists were influenced by the late works of Raphael and Michelangelo but the style is far off from the harmonious style of the High Renaissance. It's rather a reaction to the religious, political and social chaos that occurred when Rome was plundered and fell in 1527. The terrified artists fled Rome and Mannerism was spread throughout Italy.The figures often were depicted stretched or ill-formed with deliberate lack of harmony and proportion with faces that have rich expressions and often look tense. http://www.show-your-own-art-gallery.com/mannerism.html In the second half of the century, architects shaped public, urban spaces with bold confidence, and designed buildings with pronounced sculptural qualities. Some architects (Mannerists) used Classical forms, but ignored Classical aesthetics; others (classicizing) used the vocabulary and proportions and rules of Classical with restraint and reverence. http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_janson_historyart_7/51/13144/3364877.cw/index.html That said, they (the Mannerist artists) almost seemed determined to use their powers for evil. Where High Renaissance art was natural, graceful, balanced and harmonious, the art of Mannerism was quite different. While technically masterful, Mannerist compositions were full of clashing colors, disquieting figures with abnormally elongated limbs, (often torturouslooking) emotion and bizarre themes that combined Classicism, Christianity and mythology. http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/late_ren.htm website for pictures/artwork for mannerism: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/Artists-by-Art-Movement/mannerism-late-renaissance Jacopo Pontormo, Jacopo Carucci (May 24, 1494 January 2, 1557), usually known as Jacopo da Pontormo, Jacopo Pontormo or simply Pontormo, was an ItalianMannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine school. His work represents a profound stylistic shift from the calm perspectival regularity that characterized the art of the Florentine Renaissance. He is famous for his use of twining poses, coupled with ambiguous perspective; his figures often seem to float in an uncertain environment, unhampered by the forces of gravity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontormo Names of artwork: *Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John *Deposition from the Cross *Leda and the Swan *Portrait of a lady in red dress *Ten thousand martyrs *Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John

Tintoretto Tintoretto (Italian pronunciation: [tintoretto]; September 29[citation needed], 1518 May 31, 1594), real name Jacopo Comin, was an Italian[2] painter and a notable exponent of the Renaissance school. For his phenomenal energy in painting he was termed Il Furioso. His work is characterized by its muscular figures, dramatic gestures and bold use of perspective in the Mannerist style, while maintaining color and light typical of the Venetian School.[3] In his youth, Tintoretto was also known as Jacopo Robusti as his father had defended the gates of Padua in a rather robust way against the imperial troops during the War of the League of Cambrai (15091516). His real name "Comin" has only recently been discovered by Miguel Falomir, the curator of the Museo del Prado, Madrid, and was made public on the occasion of the retrospective of Tintoretto at the Prado in 2007. Comin translates to the spice cumin in the local language. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tintoretto Names of artwork: * The Miracle of St Mark Freeing the Slave * Finding of the body of St Mark * Recovery of the corpse of St. Mark * The Last Supper * Madonna with Child and Donor Tintoretto El Greco, Domenikos Theotokopoulos, other wise known as El Greco due to his Greek heritage, was a popular Greek painter, sculptor, and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. He was a master of post-Byzantine art by the age of 26, when he traveled to Venice, and later Rome, where he opened his first workshop. Unlike other artists, El Greco altered his style in order to distinguish himself from other artists of the time, inventing new and unusual interpretations of religious subject matter. He created agile, elongated figures, and included a vibrant atmospheric light. After the death of Raphael and Michelangelo, he was determined to leave his own artistic mark, and offered to paint over Michelangelos Last Supper to Pope Pius V. His unconventional artistic beliefs (his dislike of Michelangelo included), along with his strong personality, led to the development of many enemies in Rome, especially the hostilities of art critics. Names of artwork: * Dormition of the Virgin * The Disrobing of Christ * The Burial of the Count of Orgaz * St. Louis King of France with a Page * Coronation of the Virgin Agnolo Bronzino, Agnolo di Cosimo (November 17, 1503 November 23, 1572), usually known as Il Bronzino, or Agnolo Bronzino (mistaken attempts also have been made in the past to assert his name was Agnolo Tori and even Angelo (Agnolo) Allori), was an Italian Mannerist painter from Florence. His sobriquet, Bronzino, in all probability refers to his relatively dark skin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronzino Names of artwork: * Allegorical Portrait of Dante * Portrait of Guidubaldo della Rovere * Portrait of Bia de' Medici * Portrait of Nano Morgante

Giorgio Vasari, Giorgio Vasari (Italian: [dordo vazari]; 30 July 1511 27 June 1574)[1] was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Renaissance artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Vasari Names of artwork: * The Deposition * Perseus and Andromeda * The Incredulity of St. Thomas * Allegory of Geography Antonio Correggio, Born Antonio Allegri da Correggio, he was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Parma school. His art foreshadowed the Rococo art of the 18th century with dynamic compositions and an illusory perspective. Little is known about Correggios early life or training. What is known is that he was apprenticed to Francesco Bianchi Ferrara between 1503 and 1505, after which he traveled through Italy painting religious works, becoming increasingly renowned. In 1514, he returned to his hometown of Correggio, and signed an agreement to complete the Madonna altarpiece in the St. Francis Monastery. Correggio received his first major commission in 1519, when he agreed to paint the ceiling of the private dining salon of the mother superior of the St. Paul Convent in Parma, Italy. Further frescoes and paintings in the early 1520s exhibit dynamic compositions, which evince movement that was theretofore unprecedented. This dynamism and Correggios use of an illusionary perspective characterized the new Baroque style. Although his works are now considered to have had a revolutionary impact on contemporary artists, they are all very eclectic, and no direct stylistic link connects all of them in one category. Little is known of his teachings, and so it is also difficult to determine the stylistic qualities that brought forth his talents. His character as a man was remembered as introverted, melancholic, and dark. He did not have any direct disciples, but his works were highly influential on painters outside of Parma, where he lived and worked. Parmigiano, Giorgio Gandini del Grano, and Giovanni Maria Francesco Rondani all show influences of his works. Names of artwork: * Salvator Mundi * Four Saints (from left St. Peter, St. Martha, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Leonard) * Adoration of the Child * The Vision of St. John on Patmos * St. John the Evangelist Parmigiano, Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino ("the little one from Parma") orParmigiano; 11 January 1503 24 August 1540) was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, Bologna, and his native city of Parma. His work is characterized by elongation of form and includes Vision of Saint Jerome (1527) and the Madonna with the Long Neck(1534). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parmigianino *The Conversion Of St Paul *Madonna with Saint Zacharias *Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine *Madonna with the Long Neck