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| | ===Artists=== | | ===Artists=== |
| | [[Image:Pieta.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Pieta|The Pieta]]]] | | [[Image:Pieta.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Pieta|The Pieta]]]] |
| − | One of the most lasting legacies of the Renaissance was the outstanding artwork it produced. Especially in the Italian cities of Florence and Rome, master artists emerged who produced astonishing works of art in sculpture, painting and architecture. The devout Christian atmosphere in Italy combined with the competitive spirit of the Italian city-states created a perfect environment for the flourishing of art.
| + | Perhaps the greatest achievement of the Renaissance was the outstanding artwork it produced. Especially in the Italian cities of Florence and Rome, master artists emerged who produced astonishing works of art in sculpture, painting and architecture. The devout Christian atmosphere in Italy combined with the competitive spirit of the Italian city-states created a perfect environment for the flourishing of art. |
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| − | One of the first artists to incorporate new ideas into his artwork was Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337), who brought unprecedented elements of realism in his paintings. Giotto, a typical Renaissance jack-of-all-trades, also designed the innovative campanile (bell tower) for the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence. Flemish artists introduced oil paints, and the technique of perspective was introduced by artists like Tommaso Masaccio and Filippo Brunelleschi. Brunelleschi also designed the Duomo (dome) for the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence, a breakthrough in engineering and architecture that revealed Brunelleschi’s deep understanding of mathematics. | + | One of the first artists to incorporate new ideas into his artwork was Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337), who brought unprecedented elements of realism in his paintings. Giotto, a typical Renaissance jack-of-all-trades, also designed the innovative campanile (bell tower) for the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence. |
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| − | Donatello (1386-1466) was an influential painter and sculpture of the early Renaissance from Florence. He sculpted a bronze “David,” the first free-standing nude statue since the days of the Greeks and Romans, and another famous statue of St. George. Titian (Tiziano Vicelli) (1477-1576) was a painter with an unprecedented use of color and loose brushwork, evident in his stunning masterpiece ''The Assumption of the Virgin''. Raphael (1482-1520) also mastered the use of color and painted beautiful frescoes in churches and for private patrons, the most famous of which may be ''The School of Athens'', an interesting painting depicting Plato and Aristotle surrounded by their pupils. He inspired the two greatest artists in the history of the world: Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.
| + | Flemish (Dutch) artists introduced oil paints, and the technique of perspective was introduced by artists like Tommaso Masaccio and Filippo Brunelleschi. Brunelleschi also designed the Duomo (dome) for the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence, a breakthrough in engineering and architecture that revealed Brunelleschi’s deep understanding of mathematics. |
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| − | Michelangelo (1475-1564) is best known for his sculpture of a full-sized statue of David and for painting the ceiling of the [[Sistine Chapel]], an astounding fresco that included over 300 Biblical figures and that took over four years to complete. He also sculpted amazing renditions of Moses and “the Pieta,” a sculpture of Jesus in Mary’s arms after the Crucifixion (see above right). The Pieta has an overpowering sense of love and tragedy to it unmatched by any other work of art in history (see attached). Following Brunelleschi’s model Duomo in Florence, Michelangelo designed the dome for St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
| + | Donatello (1386-1466) was an influential painter and sculpture of the early Renaissance from Florence. He sculpted a bronze “David,” the first free-standing nude statue since the days of the Greeks and Romans, and sculpted another famous statue of St. George. Titian (Tiziano Vicelli) (1477-1576) was a painter with an unprecedented use of color and loose brushwork, evident in his stunning masterpiece ''The Assumption of the Virgin''. Raphael (1482-1520) also mastered the use of color and painted beautiful frescoes in churches and for private patrons, the most famous of which may be ''The School of Athens'', an interesting painting depicting Plato and Aristotle surrounded by their pupils. He inspired the two greatest artists in the history of the Renaissance, and indeed of all of world history: Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. |
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| − | Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) embodied the “Renaissance man.” He was an architect, anatomist, sculptor, scientist, mathematician, musician, and painter. He created masterpieces such as the ''Mona Lisa'', the famous portrait of a plain-looking woman with an enigmatic smile (see attached), and ''The Last Supper'', a fabulous wall painting of Christ and the Twelve Apostles which has not been well preserved. He kept notebooks full of anatomical drawings such as Vitruvian Man. It is said that Leonardo could draw with one hand while at the same time painting with the other, and he wrote backwards in his notebooks, so they would have to be held up to a mirror to be read. He was way ahead of his time and created conceptual designs for many devices such as a flying machine and an armored tank. He was the first to come up with the ideas of the calculator and the use of solar power for energy.
| + | Michelangelo (1475-1564) is best known for his sculpture of a full-sized statue of David and for painting the ceiling of the [[Sistine Chapel]], an astounding fresco that included over 300 Biblical figures (including the famous image of God creating Adam with an outstretched arm and hand that touches Adam's outstretched arm and hand). The Sistine Chapel that took more than four years to complete, and an impatient Church official who wanted it completed sooner ended up being featured in the depiction of Hell! Michelangelo also sculpted amazing renditions of Moses and “the Pieta,” a sculpture of Jesus in Mary’s arms after the Crucifixion (see above right). The Pieta has an overpowering sense of love and tragedy to it unmatched by any other work of art in history. Following Brunelleschi’s model Duomo in Florence, Michelangelo designed the dome for St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. |
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| − | Characteristics of the Renaissance paintings include use of realism, perspective, individual persons (portraits) and frescoes. Nature was not the subject of many Renaissance paintings; painting themes from nature came later. | + | Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) embodied the “Renaissance man.” He was an architect, anatomist, sculptor, scientist, mathematician, musician, and painter. He created masterpieces such as the ''Mona Lisa'', the famous portrait of a plain-looking woman with an enigmatic smile, and ''The Last Supper'', a fabulous wall painting of Christ and the Twelve Apostles which has not been well preserved. He kept notebooks full of anatomical drawings such as the Vitruvian Man. It is said that Leonardo could draw with one hand while at the same time painting with the other, and he wrote backwards in his notebooks, so they would have to be held up to a mirror to be read. He was way ahead of his time and created conceptual designs for many devices such as a flying machine and an armored tank. He was the first to come up with the ideas of the calculator and the use of solar power for energy. |
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| | + | Characteristics of the Renaissance paintings include use of realism, perspective, individual persons (portraits) and frescoes. Nature was not the subject of many Renaissance paintings; most of the paintings were of humans, and hence the name "humanism" is used to describe this period. But do not be confused by that term, because the Renaissance artists were devout Christians, unlike the "humanists" of today. Paintings of nature rather than humans did not happen until later. |
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| | [[Image:Annibale Carracci 1585.jpg|right]] | | [[Image:Annibale Carracci 1585.jpg|right]] |
| − | An artist from the northern Italian city of Bologna was Annibale Carracci (1560-1609), who specialized in the Baroque style. The Baroque style was part of the Counter-Reformation by the Catholic Church to appeal spiritually to the audience, and to make inroads into Protestant regions after the Reformation (discussed below). The primary Baroque artists were Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Peter Paul Rubens. This style used the “revolutionary technique of dramatic, selective illumination of figures out of deep shadow - a hallmark of Baroque painting. Contrary to the traditional idealized interpretation of religious subjects, Baroque realistically presents models from the streets.”<ref>http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/c17th-mid19th/baroque.htm</ref> Carracci used the technique of shadows and emotion to display the surprise reaction of the holy women who visited the empty tomb of Jesus on Resurrection Sunday, as reproduced here (see right).
| + | After the Reformation in Germany (discussed below), painters began to adopt the Baroque style as part of the Counter-Reformation by the Catholic Church to appeal spiritually to the audience, and to make inroads into Protestant regions. The primary Baroque artists were Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Peter Paul Rubens. This style used the “revolutionary technique of dramatic, selective illumination of figures out of deep shadow - a hallmark of Baroque painting. Contrary to the traditional idealized interpretation of religious subjects, Baroque realistically presents models from the streets.”<ref>http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/c17th-mid19th/baroque.htm</ref> An artist who specialized in the Baroque style was Annibale Carracci (1560-1609), from the northern Italian city of Bologna. Carracci used the technique of shadows and emotion to display the surprise reaction of the holy women who visited the empty tomb of Jesus on Resurrection Sunday, as reproduced here (see right). |
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| | ===Writers=== | | ===Writers=== |