Renaissance Art

Paintings,
Sketches,
Architecture,
Sculpture, and Literature
 The Beginning of Modern
Painting – Four Major Changes
• Oil on stretched • Perspective – Linear
canvas – this perspective used the
vanishing point. (All
technique lines appear to
allowed painters converge at one point.)
to show textures It gives a painting
depth. One trick used
and three to accomplish this was
dimensional blurring details as the
forms more object appeared
further away.
accurately.
 The Beginning of Modern
Painting – Four Major Changes
• The Use of Light • Pyramid
and Shadow – Configuration –
Using chiaroscuro The focus of the
(it means painting in a
light/dark in chosen point. It
Italian) artists
could show more
is where the
rounded shapes in painting reaches
painting. a climax.
 Raphael (1483- 1520)
“School of Athens”
• This painting
is an
excellent
example of
linear
perspective.
You can see
the depth.

• It depicts an
imaginary
gathering of
Greek
philosophers
 Compare Medieval and
Renaissance Perspective

•Raphael’s fresco has more depth

• Notice how the people seem to
be stacked on top of each other
 “School of
Athens”

-Called to Rome by the

Pope, Raphael finished
painting rooms in the
Vatican with the help
of 50 students!

-Some say that Raphael

was very egotistical to
include himself in the
front of the painting!
 Botticelli (1444-1510)
“Birth Of Venus”
• Botticelli
borrowed his
subject
matter from
classic Roman
mythology.
• Some lines
and angles
give the
painting
perspective.
• What details
give the
painting
movement?
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 – 1519)

“Mona Lisa”
• The painting exhibits perspective.
All lines are drawn to a point
behind Mona Lisa’s head.
• Excellent use of chiaroscuro.
Colors blend into one another
without outlines.
• Her hands are very realistic. Da
Vinci dissected over 30 cadavers
and studied many skeletons to
perfect his talents.
• Her real name was Lisa Gherardini
del Giocondo. She was the wife of
a wealthy merchant. Married at
16, she was 24 in this painting and
the mother of 2 sons.
• The painting became famous in
1911 when it appeared in
newspapers world wide after it
was stolen.
• It used to hang in Napoleon’s
bedroom. When it visited Tokyo,
viewers were allowed ten seconds
to see it. It caused traffic jams
in New York when 1.6 million people
viewed it over seven weeks.
 Da Vinci – Muscles
of neck and
shoulders

• Leonardo was very

interested in
anatomy.
• His paintings
looked realistic
because he knew
how all of the
body’s muscles
worked and moved.
Human
Skeleton
– These
sketches were
done at a time
when
dissection was
completely
illegal !
Baby in
Womb -
His
sketches of
the growth
of the
fetus in the
womb were
so accurate
they could
be used to
teach
medical
students
today.
Da Vinci’s Flying Machine Sketches
• The scene
represents
the final days
Da Vinci - The Last Supper
(1498)
of Jesus
• Excellent
example of
linear
perspective.
•Note the
angles,
horizon line,
and shading.
•Restoration
projects
began as
early as the
16th century.
•Perhaps the
faces no
longer
resemble the
original.
• Located in the
Sistine Chapel,
where he painted Michelangelo (1475 – 1564)
the ceiling years
earlier, its mood “Last Judgement”
is gloomy.
• This religious
fresco depicts the
end of the world.
Over 400 figures
are either
ascending into
heaven or falling
into hell.
• Jesus is centrally
located and
surrounded by
saints.
• The chapel is the
location of the
conclave, where
cardinals meet to
elect each new
pope.
St. John
St. Peter

St. Bartholomew
• In his paintings, Michelangelo often used bodies rather
than faces to express emotion.
• Biagio, the pope’s assistant who criticized Michelangelo’s
work for its nudity, is pictured on the bottom right with a
serpent and donkey ears.
 Michelangelo
Sistine Chapel
Ceiling
•Located more than 60 feet
above the floor!
•At the center of the ceiling
you can see the nine
frescoes that illustrate the
Biblical stories of the
Creation, Noah, Adam & Eve.
•Nearly all the work is his.
He only allowed his
assistants to prepare his
paint, plaster, and work on
minor details. It took 4
years to complete.
•How did they reach the
ceiling?
 Michelangelo
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
Van Eyck (1390 – 1441)
“Arnolfini Wedding”
• Van Eyck is considered the
father of oil painting. He was
so idolized for his discovery
that his right arm was
preserved as a holy relic.
• Known as a master of realism
and showed incredible detail.
You can see details such as
fur and the stubble on some
subjects’ chins.
• Textures become very
realistic due to oil paint.
• Objects often symbolized
important themes. In this
painting the dog represents
fidelity and the lit candle
represents the Holy Spirit.
The whole painting can be seen
in miniature on the mirror on
the wall.
 Brunelleschi (1377 – 1446)
Duomo of Florence
• Known as the father of
modern engineering.
• Brunelleschi won a
competition to earn the
privilege of designing
the dome.
• He went to Rome and
took measurements of
the ancient Pantheon in
order to design and
build his dome.
• It is made of two shells
leaning against each
other and held together
by the lantern on the
top.
• Everyone thought it
would collapse.
• The ball on top was
positioned by a machine
designed by da Vinci.
 Roman Duomo of
Pantheon Florence
128 A.D. 1434 A.D.

The Pantheon was the

world’s largest dome for
over 1300 years!
 Duomo of
Florence

• The dome took

16 years to
build.

• It remains the
largest brick
dome in the
world.
 Vatican City, Rome
• Michelangelo
copied
Brunelleschi’s
design for this
dome over 100
years later.

• Tens of thousands
of people crowded
St. Peter's Square
at the Vatican for
a Sunday morning
Mass honoring
Pope John Paul II,
who died in 2005.
 Bernini (1598 – 1680)

• St. Theresa supposedly

heard voices from angels.
She believed herself to be
pierced by an angel’s dart
with God’s love.
• Bernini was known for
capturing action in his
sculptures. The whole
sculpture seems alive and
moving.
• He served 8 popes,
therefore much of his work
is religious in nature
 Donatello Michelangelo Bernini
(1425) (1504) (1623)

Compare &
Contrapposto - when a figure stands with one leg Contrast all
holding its full weight and the other leg relaxed three
 Michelangelo’s
David
•The statue is over 13 feet tall
•It is carved out of a single piece
of marble.
•It depicts the Bible story of
David just before he slays
Goliath
•It was displayed in front of city
hall in Florence (a nude statue!)
•The hand was broken off
accidentally by construction
workers when it was moved to a
museum indoors.