Politics, Faith, & Culture The Renaissance Politics, Faith, & Culture
Major Italian Cities Adriatic Sea Tyrrhenian Sea Many independent city-states emerged in northern and central Italy that played an important role in Italian politics and art. Milan One of the richest cities, it controls trade through the Alps. Milan Venice Venice Sitting on the Adriatic, it attracts trade from all over the world. Genoa Florence Adriatic Sea Florence Controlled by the De Medici Family, who became great patrons of the arts. Genoa Had Access to Trade Routes Tyrrhenian Sea All of these cities: Had access to trade routes connecting Europe with Middle Eastern markets • Served as trading centers for the distribution of goods to northern Europe • Were initially independent city-states governed as republics
Faith It seems Christian art is never without a nod to classicism, but where early Christians utilized Roman religious symbols, Renaissance Christians embraced both the art and philosophy of the ancients. As the Middle Ages was ending, the re-discovery of Greco-Roman artwork complemented and mirrored a shift in ideology in Europe.
Faith Annunciation (1475–1480)—Uffizi, is thought to be Leonardo's earliest complete work.
Faith “The development of the Julian High Renaissance was supported by the pope’s interest in the grandeur of ancient Rome…and by the sensational discovery of the sculptural group of ‘Laocoön and His Sons’” (Hartt 494). In form, Renaissance artist began to replicate the artists of antiquity in their idealization of the human form. With this we see a blending of the Catholic Church and ancient learning.
Faith
Faith Explosion of art patronage, from the Vatican all the way down. Also see it in writings: Italian influence reached northern Europe and inspired similar values and ideas Europeans stressed more in the way of social reform Northern Renaissance Humanists sought to create a “perfect” world
Faith Erasmus: education makes reform possible; Christianity comes from within “from the effort to align the heart and spirit with worldly values” focused on developing peaceful kingdoms, based on piety and learning and charity/good works - curbing the power of “Christian” princes, clerical corruption Thomas More’s Utopian vision communal world where an equal distribution of goods/services - public schools, communal kitchens, hospitals, nurseries - and no private property or money allowed people to pursue knowledge and natural religions
Faith Side note on Utopia. "Utopia" is derived from the Greek prefix "ou-"(ou), meaning "not", and topos (τόπος), "place", with the suffix -iā (-ία); hence the name literally means "nowhere.” It doesn’t exist and never will. It’s a rip on man and civilization.
Faith The divine becomes tangible. To me, it is the overriding theme of the Renaissance when it comes to faith and art.
Art How doe we determine who did what? If we find a painting or sketch, how do we know who did it?
Art Leonardo – Donatello – Michelangelo – Raphael –
Art
Art Leonardo – likes nature, mathematical balance and precision in his paintings Donatello – works almost exclusively in statues Michelangelo – extravagant, prefers sculptures, especially nudes Raphael – is the typical Renaissance painter, balance, perspective, etc. Botticelli – highly stylized, not as realistic as the “great masters”, early work pagan – switches to deeply religious (Savonarola)
Art Is this Renaissance art?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
Who did it?
The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434
The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434
Jan van Eyck His work comes from the International Gothic style, but he soon eclipsed it, in part through a greater emphasis on naturalism and realism. A more “Renaissance” focus. Refer to his style as, “Northern Renaissance”. Van Eyck utilized oil as a medium; the fact that oil dries so slowly allowed him more time and more scope for blending and mixing layers of different pigments. Van Eyck's work is characterized by the use of symbolism and biblical references.
1: Zeno of Citium 2: Epicurus Possibly, the image of two philosophers, who were typically shown in pairs during the Renaissance: Heraclitus, the "weeping" philosopher, and Democritus, the "laughing" philosopher. 3: unknown (believed to be Raphael) 4: Boethius or Anaximander or Empedocles? 5: Averroes 6: Pythagoras 7: Alcibiades or Alexander the Great?
8: Antisthenes or Xenophon or Timon? 9: Raphael, Fornarina as a personification of Love or Francesco Maria della Rovere? 10: Aeschines or Xenophon? 11: Parmenides? (Leonardo da Vinci) 12: Socrates 13: Heraclitus (Michelangelo) 14: Plato (Leonardo da Vinci) 15: Aristotle (Giuliano da Sangallo) 16: Diogenes of Sinope
17: Plotinus (Donatello?) 18: Euclid or Archimedes with students (Bramante?) 19: Strabo or Zoroaster? (Baldassare Castiglione) 20: Ptolemy? R: Apelles (Raphael) 21: Protogenes (Il Sodoma, Perugino, or Timoteo Viti)
Perspective / Foreshortening is the visual effect or optical illusion that causes an object or distance to appear shorter than it actually is because it is angled toward the viewer.
Perspective / Foreshortening Andrea Mantegna, The Lamentation over the Dead Christ
Chiaroscuro (Light and Darkness) in art is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition.
Chiaroscuro St Francis in ecstasy. Carravagio
Contrapposto (Balance and Proportion) is an Italian term that means counterpose. It is used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs. This gives the figure a more dynamic, or alternatively relaxed appearance.
Contrapposto
Sfumato comes from the Italian language and is derived from "fumo" (smoke, fume). "Sfumato" translated into English means soft, vague or blurred.
Sfumato
Sfumato
Horizon Line / Vanishing Line Vanishing Point is a point in the picture plane that is the intersection of the projections (or drawings) of a set of parallel lines in space on to the picture plane.
Horizon Line / Vanishing Line Vanishing Point