The Artistic Renaissance -Leonardo da Vinci was one of the great Italian Renaissance artists and said that

artists should study from natural objects. -Renaissance artists considered the imitation of nature their primary goal. They were on a search for naturalism and they persuaded onlookers of the reality of the object of event they were portraying. -The new artistic standards reflected a new attitude of mind in which human beings became the focus of attention. Art in the Early Renaissance -Giotto began the imitation of nature, but what he began was not taken up again until the work of Masaccio in Florence. Ms cycle of frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel was long regarded as the first masterpiece of Early Renaissance art. With his use of monumental figures, demonstration of a more realistic relationship between figures and landscape, and visual representation of the laws of perspective, a new realistic style of painting was born. -This new style was absorbed and modified by other Florentine painters in the 15th century. Especially important was the development of an experimental trend that took 2 directions. One emphasized the mathematical side of painting, working out stuff by geometry and perspective. In the work of Paolo Uccello, figures became stage props to show off his mastery of the laws of perspective. The second aspect of the trend involved investigation of movement and anatomical structure. The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian by Antonio Pollaiulo celebrates in classic motifs and attempts to portray the human body under stress. Painting nudes became the main concern of Italian Renaissance art. -During the last decades of the 15 th century, a new sense of invention emerged in Florence. Especially people in some court group of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Sandro Botticelli of the group was interested in Greek and Roman mythology and it reflected in Primavera. Though his figures were well defined, they also had an otherworldly quality that is far removed from realism. -Advances in sculpture and architecture matched the achievements of painters. Donato di Donatello spent time in Rome studying and copying old sculptures. Among his numerous works was a statue of David, which is the first known life-size freestanding bronze nude in European art since antiquity. His statue celebrated Florentine heroism in the triumph of the Florentine over the Milanese in 1428. David also radiated a simplicity and strength that reflected in the dignity of humanity. -Filippo Brunelleschi was a friend who accompanied Donatella to Rome. When he returned, his first challenge was building a dome for the unfinished cathedral of Florence. When the Medici commissioned him to design the Church of San Lorenzo, he was inspired by the Roman models. The churchs classical columns, rounded

arches, and coffered ceiling created an environment that did not overwhelm the worshipper materially and psychologically as Gothic cathedrals did, but comforted as a space created to fit human, not divine, measurements. Architects sought to reflect a human-centered world. -The new assertion of human individuality was reflected in the new emphasis on portraiture. By the mid-15th century, artists were making accurate facial features of their subjects while revealing the inner qualities of their personalities. The portraits of the duke and duchess of Urbino by Piero della Francesca provide accurate representations as well as a sense of both the power and wealth of the rulers of Urbino. The Artistic High Renaissance -By the end of the 15th century, Italian artists had created a new artistic environment. Now that they mastered techniques, they were ready to move on to individualistic forms of expression. This final stage of Renaissance art, which flourished between 1480 and 1520, is called the High Renaissance. The shift to this was marked by Rome becoming the cultural center of the Renaissance. -The H.R. was dominated by the work of 3 legends: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo. -Leonardo represents a transitional figure in the shift to H.R. principles. He studied everything and dissected human bodies. However, he stressed the need to advance beyond such realism and started the H.R.s preoccupation with the idealization of nature, or the attempt to generalize from realistic portrayal to an ideal form. Leonardos Last Supper is a summary of 15th century trends in the use of perspective. There are profound psychological dimensions to the work. Through gestures and movement, he hoped to reveal a persons inner life. -Raphael became a painter at an early age. At 25 he was already regarded as one of Italys best painters. He was admired for his madonnas, in which he attempted to achieve an ideal of beauty far surpassing human standards. He is well-known for his frescoes in the Vatican Palace; his School of Athens reveals a world of balance, harmony, and order the primary principles of the art of the classical world of Greece and Rome. -Michelangelo was an accomplished painter, sculptor, and architect. He was influenced by Neoplatonism. In 1508, Pope Julius II had called Michelangelo to Rome and commissioned him to decorate the chapel ceiling. This took 4 years. He attempted to tell the story of the Fall of Man by depicting 9 scenes from Genesis in the Bible. His Creation of Adam reveals an ideal type of human being with perfect proportions. The more beautiful the body, the more God-like the figure. -Another manifestation of his search for ideal beauty was his David. It proudly proclaims the beauty of the human body and the glory of human beings.

-The H.R. was also evident in architecture, especially in the work of Donato Bramante. He came from Urbino and moved to Rome where he designed a small temple on the supposed site of Saint Peters martyrdom. The Tempietto, or little temple, summarized the architectural ideals of the H.R. Inspired by antiquity, Bramante had recaptured the grandeur of ancient Rome. It led Pope Julius II to commission him to design a new basilica for Rome, which eventually became Saint Peters. The Artist and Social Status -Early Renaissance artists began their careers as apprentices to masters in craft guilds. Apprentices with unusual talent may become masters and run their own workshops. Artists were still viewed as artisans. Since guilds depended on commissions for their projects, patrons played an important role. The wealthy upper classes determined both the content and purpose of the paintings and pieces of sculpture they commissioned. -By the end of the 15th century, especially talented individuals were no longer regarded as artisans, but rather as artistic geniuses and heroes. As respect for artists grew, so did their ability to profit economically from their work. They were now welcomed as equals among the upper classes, they mingled with the political and intellectual elite of their society, and became more aware of new intellectual theories, which they embodied in their art. The Platonic Academy and Renaissance Neoplatonism had an especially important impact on Florentine painters. The Northern Artistic Renaissance -In Italy, the human form became the primary vehicle of expression as Italians learned techniques that helped them portray humans accurately. Large walls in Italian churches had given rise to the art of fresco painting, but in the north, the commonness of Gothic cathedrals with their stain-glassed windows resulted in more emphasis on illuminated manuscripts and wooden panel painting for altarpieces. -The most influential northern school of art in the 15 th century was situated in Flanders. Jan van Eyck was among the first to use oil paint. In his famous Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride, his attention to detail is astonishing. Even thought the details were precise, his perception of perspective was uncertain. Artists in the North did not imitate nature by mastering techniques, but by observing carefully the visual reality and the accurate portrayal of details. They placed emphasis on the emotional intensity of religious feeling. By the end of the 15 th century, however, northern artists studied in Italy and were influenced there. -One artist greatly affected by Italy was Albrecht Durer from Nuremburg. He made two trips to Italy and paid much attention to their way or painting. In his famous Adoration of the Magi, he didnt reject the use of meticulous details as north artists

did. He did try to achieve a standard of ideal beauty by a careful examination of the human form, however.