Renaissance Art

``The first object of the painter is to make a flat plane appear as a body in relief and projecting from that plane.'' -- Leonardo da Vinci

 People wanted art that showed the joy in human beauty and life s pleasures. Renaissance art is more lifelike than the art of the Middle Ages. Renaissance artists studied perspective, or the differences in the way things look when they are close to something or far away. The artists painted in a way that showed these differences. As a result, their paintings seem to have depth.

Renaissance Art
Expressed the major ideas of the Renaissance
Individuality Secularism Humanism

Renaissance is famous for its

Sculpture Painting Architecture

Sculpture
Influence of ancient models
Emphasis on human form Study of motion Not just in churches anymore Naturalistic Art (portray reality)

Virgin and Child by Regnault Early 1500s, France

He has been called the father of the Renaissance because all of his art pays homage to the physical, emotional, and spiritual strengths that each human being possesses.
Tomb of Pope Julius II by Michelangelo

Michelangelo s David Michelangelo s first love was sculpting. In 1501 Florence asked Michelangelo to sculpt a statue of David, the city s symbol. It took 3 years, but he sculpted a 14 feet high statue of David before he fought Goliath. David s right hand is disproportionately large to symbolize his courage and physical power. The attributes that David relies on are completely embodied in himself, and therein lies the foundation of Renaissance art and philosophy. He also brought back the use of nude models as ideals of beauty.

Pope Julius II asked Michelangelo to paint a fresco painting for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It measures 40 by 130 feet and the center of the curved ceiling is 60 feet above the floor. It took him four years to complete the project. The ceiling was unveiled October 31, 1512. Most of the painting was done lying on his back. Michelangelo painted more than 3000 figures.

He was a Renaissance Man . Leonardo was a painter, sculptor, architect, musician, engineer,inventor, and scientist. Not only was he a genius, but he was also very handsome, a great singer and very strong. He was also left-handed, something considered the devil s work at the time. Because he had such a broad range of interests, he often failed to complete projects.

The Last Supper

The Last Supper is one of Leonardo s best known works and worst preserved pieces. It began to deteriorate even before it was finished. He used an experimental technique. He mixed oil and tempera paint. Before it was even finished, paint began to flake off. Restorers constantly work to keep it in tact. It shows Jesus and his disciples at the Last Supper and allows is an excellent example of Renaissance Art.

Adoration of the Magi by Sandro Botticelli

``While we may term other works paintings, those of Raphael are living things; the flesh palpitates, the breath comes and goes, every organ lives, life pulsates everywhere.'' -- Vasari, Lives of the Artists Raphael was the youngest of the 3 giants of the High Renaissance. He was 21 when the Mona Lisa was revealed and David had been finished. He adopted techniques of his elders. Michelangelo even said everything he knew about art he got from me .

The School of Athens by Raphael 1510-1511 at the Vatican

One of the most frequently discussed and best-loved paintings of the Renaissance is Raphael's so-called Sistine Madonna. For many people it remains the supreme example of western painting, and its popularity is virtually as great as that of the Mona Lisa. All who have written about this picture have acknowledged the strange and baffling expressions worn by Mary and the child Jesus.
(It has long been forgotten that, as in many churches, opposite the altarpiece in S. Sisto and above the rood screen at the far end of the chancel there stood a crucifix. The expressions of horror on the faces of Mother and Child are thus their reaction to the sight of death.)