Late Renaissance in Italy and Northern Europe

1. The High Renaissance
16th Century European Art

2. • Renaissance is a French word meaning “rebirth”.
• A period of great creativity and development in Europe in
the 15th and 16th Centuries (1400s and 1500s). It occurred
after the Medieval Period (an awakening after “The Dark Ages”).
• It began in Italy, but spread throughout Europe. In Italy,
Florence was a center of commerce and culture, while Rome
was the home of the Catholic Pope who commissioned
important artists to make work for the Vatican.

3. High Renaissance
By the 16th Century, Renaissance artists had
mastered all of the fundamental techniques of
visual illusionism, including linear and atmospheric
perspective, accurate proportions in depicting
human anatomy, and the use of light and shade.

4. Humanism
Revival of classical learning and literature (interest in
Ancient Greek and Roman cultures)
Focus on Human Beings
• education that develops human potential through the
study of past models of civic and personal virtue
• value system that emphasized personal effort and
responsibility
• physically and intellectually active life that was
directed at a common good as well as individual nobility

5. Popular Mediums in the Renaissance
Oil Paint Invented in Early Renaissance in Northern Europe, but
by the High Renaissance it was used throughout Europe. Looks
naturalistic, paint dries slowly and possible to make more detail.
Tempera Permanent fast-drying paint that uses egg yolk to bind the
pigment
Marble Traditional medium for sculpture used since Ancient Greek and
Roman times.
Fresco Mainly used in Italy (Technique dates back to Ancient Roman
times). Part of the architecture / Wall. Fresco means “Fresh” in
Italian, the word refers to the process. Buon Fresco (“True Fresh”) –
technique of painting on wet plaster where you have to work quickly

6. Composition
the organization of the elements to form a unified whole in an artwork
Renaissance artists carefully planned their artworks, making
many sketches and plans in advance of the final work
Renaissance artists often organized their compositions using
shape, especially the triangle which represents the Holy Trinity
in Christianity (symbolism)

7. Subject Matter in Late Renaissance Art:
Religious Stories (Christianity)
Classical Greek and Roman Mythology
Nude Figures
Portraits

8. Art and Science

9. Leonardo Da Vinci
Embryo in the Womb
1510
Drawing (pen and ink)

10. Leonardo Da Vinci
Embryo in the Womb
1510
Drawing (pen and ink)
• From DaVinci’s Sketchbook
• Beginning of Scientific Illustration
• First drawing of a mother’s womb
• Shape of womb not accurate, but drawing
was important for the time
• “cutaway view” – DaVinci’s idea

11. Leonardo Da Vinci
(1452 - 1519)
Born in the small town of Vinci near Florence

12. Leonardo DaVinci
Virgin and Child with
St. Anne and the
Infant St. John
1505-1507
Drawing (Charcoal
and white chalk on
brown paper)

13. Leonardo DaVinci
Virgin and Child with
St. Anne and the
Infant St. John
• Preliminary drawing (In past, drawing
was not a medium that was exhibited)
• “Cartoon” – full-size drawing used to
transfer the image onto another
surface
• Strong Light and Shadow

14. Leonardo DaVinci
Virgin of the Rocks
1485
Oil on Wood

15. Leonardo DaVinci
Virgin of the Rocks
1485
Oil on Wood
• Influenced by Masaccio
• Light and Dark
• Triangle Composition
• Landscape in Background
• Figures Pray, Point, and Bless
• Virgin Mary (Madonna), Christ child,
infant John the Baptist, and St. Anne

16. Leonardo DaVinci, The Last Supper, 1495 – 1498,
Wall Painting (Oil and Tempera on Plaster)

17. Leonardo DaVinci, The Last
Supper, 1495 – 1498, Wall
Painting (Oil and Tempera on
Plaster)
• DaVinci experimented with different
techniques for painting on wall (not
fresco)
• Story of Christ’s last meal with his
apostles before he was crucified
• Hand gestures
• Symbolism
• Triangle Composition in Center
• One Point Perspective

18. Leonardo DaVinci
Mona Lisa
1503 -1505
Oil on Wood

19. Leonardo DaVinci
Mona Lisa
1503 -1505
Oil on Wood
• Atmospheric Perspective (Background
is duller and less clear) – “Sfumato”
• Icon of Western Art (most recognized
painting)
• Mystery (Who is she? Why is she
smiling?
• Painting Cropped in Size - originally
larger
• Located in the Louvre Museum, Paris

20. Michelangelo Buonarroti
(1475 - 1564)

21. DaVinci and Michelangelo debated which
medium was better – painting or sculpture?
DaVinci preferred painting and drawing because he could invent
and create illusions
Michelangelo preferred sculpture because it has three-
dimensions and therefore more “realistic”

22. Michelangelo,
Pietà
1498-1499,
Marble

23. • Commissioned for the funeral
monument of Cardinal Jean de
Billheres
• Later moved to St. Peter’s
Basilica in Rome
• Naturalism
• Classical elements, including the
drapery of the cloth (inspired by
classic Greek and Roman
sculpture)
• Virgin Mary, presented as a
youthful virgin, tenderly holds
her dead son, Jesus
• Jesus does not show any signs
of suffering

24. Michelangelo
David
1501 -1504
Marble Sculpture

25. Michelangelo
David
1501 -1504
Marble Sculpture
• In 1501, Michelangelo was asked to make a
sculpture for the city of Florence, Italy
• This sculpture made Michelangelo famous
• Michelangelo chose David as the subject
(hero of city of Florence)
• Story of David and Goliath (Bible) – David
before the fight with the “giant”
• Michelangelo fascinated with human form
• Reference to Classical Greek and Roman
Sculpture

26. Michelangelo
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
1508 – 1512
Fresco

27. Michelangelo
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
• Pope Julius II commissioned
Michelangelo to paint the ceiling
of Sistine Chapel (Walls were
already painted)
• Michelangelo reluctant to do the
project
• Enormous difficulties – size,
height, curve of ceiling, lack of
experience painting frescos
• 300 human figures – Stories from
Old Testament in Bible and
Ancestors of Christ

29. Michelangelo, Creation of Adam (detail from Sistine Chapel Ceiling),
1508 - 1512, Fresco

30. Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino)
(1483 - 1520)
Born in Urbino, Italy

31. Raphael, School of Athens, 1509 – 1511, Fresco

32. Raphael, School of Athens
• Reference to Classical Greek
Culture (Athens, Greece)
• Greco-Roman architecture -
arches, columns, marble, etc.
• Humanism – Seeking Knowledge
• Meeting of Philosophers,
Scientists of Ancient World
(“composite” - combination of
different figures from different
historical periods)
• Statues of Apollo and Athena in
Background (Gods of Arts and
Wisdom)

33. Raphael
Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione
1514-1515
Oil on Canvas

34. Portrait of Raphael’s friend,
Baldassare Castiglione, a diplomat
and humanist
It is possible that Castiglione served
as an advisor for School of Athens
Possible reference to Mona Lisa
Painting purchased by King
Louis XIV and now hangs in the
Louvre Museum in Paris
This painting has inspired many
artists for hundreds of years

35. Comparison

36. Titian (Tiziano Vecelli)
(1485 - 1576)

37. Titian (and / or Giorgione), Pastoral Symphony, 1508, Oil on Canvas

38. Titian / Giorgione
Pastoral Symphony
Theme of Peacefulness /
Tranquility
Tradition of Landscape Painting in
Italy
Women as “Muses” - inspiration
References to Poetry / Literature /
Humanism
• Shepherd symbolizes the poet
• Pipes and Lute (musical
instruments) symbolize poems

39. Titian, Venus of Urbino, 1538, Oil on Canvas

40. Titian, Venus of Urbino
• Reference to Classical Roman
Mythology
• Created for the Duke of Urbino (Italian
Royalty)
• Venus – Roman Goddess of Love and
Beauty
• Symbolism - sleeping dog, bed, maids,
etc.
• Symbol of Beauty
• Color used to organize the composition
(Red in foreground and in skirt in
background) – Diagonal Movement