History of Renaissance Art Mr. Bailey World Civilizations Fairdale HS MCA Original 2005 Updated 2009.

Humanism  The intellectual movement that was the driving force behind the Renaissance.  They believed that the Greek and Latin classics contained all the lessons one needed to lead a moral and effective life.  A revival of the study of science, philosophy, art and poetry  Humanists believed that all members of society should study the Humanities / liberal arts (music, art, history, poetry).  Affected the social, cultural, literary and political landscape of Europe.

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci  Born in Vinci, lived in Florence.  Apprenticed under Verrocchio from as a painter and sculptor.  Worked for the Duke of Milan as an engineer and painter.  worked for Pope Julius II with Michelangelo and Raphael.  Died in France in the arms of Francis I, who had hired Leonardo as a philosopher and artist.  Because of his many talents he was known as the original “Renaissance Man”.

Mona Lisa  Sfumato – means “smoky” and “vanished” in Italian.  Sfumato is a technique of using multiple layers of paint in order to create depth, volume, and form.  The Mona Lisa uses sfumato. The mouth and eyes of the painting are each made up of over forty layers. The shadows around her lips and eyes are created by the blending of the colors (the sfumato).

Aerial Perspective

The Last Supper ( )

The horizon line runs across the canvas at the eye level of the viewer. The horizon line is where the sky appears to meet the ground. The vanishing point should be located near the center of the horizon line. The vanishing point is where all parallel lines (orthogonal) that run towards the horizon line appear to come together like train tracks in the distance. Orthogonal lines are "visual rays" helping the viewer's eye to connect points around the edges of the canvas to the vanishing point.

The Virgin of the Rocks ( ) The Madonna of the Rocks ( ) The Virgin of the Rocks is a copy of the original Notice the chiaroscuro (Italian for light dark) which is the bold contrast between light and dark.

St. John the Baptist  St. JOHN  St. JOHN points toward Heaven, indicating the importance of baptism in order to achieve salvation.  It is believed that the cross and fur skins were added by another artist at a later date as Leonardo’s sketches in his notebook do not show these.  Leonardo sketched all of his projects in his notebook. He wrote his notes in code so no one could steal his ideas.

Michelangelo Buonarroti   Born in Tuscany, raised in Florence.   Painter, Sculptor, Poet, Engineer.   Apprenticed under Ghirlandaio. Patronized by Lorenzo de Medici (the ruler of Florence).   Very spiritual and religious.   Often viewed as arrogant.   Always dissatisfied with himself.   Hated nature and saw it as a force to be overcome.   Believed that every stone had a statue underneath that had to be freed by chipping away all of the unneeded stone.   His personality was the polar opposite of Leonardo.

David ( ) Michelangelo convinced the cloth guild (who financed the project) that he deserved the commission over Leonardo who was also considered for the sculpture. David is meant to be portrayed as a tense boy, having made the decision to fight Goliath but not yet victorious, his muscles bulge and his body twists to indicate movement. Perhaps setting out to kill Goliath. The sculpture was placed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. It was later moved indoors to protect from erosion.

Pietà (1498–1499) Located in St. Peter’s Basilica: inside Vatican City and thought to be the largest Christian church in the world. The Pietà was a popular theme in France at the time of its creation and later became popular in Italy. The pyramidal design is unique to Michelangelo’s Pietà. (three other versions are known to exist)

Commissioned by Pope Julius II

Raphael The School of Athens ( ) Located in the Papal Palace Directly above the Philosophical Library of Pope Julius II

Raphael painted the Greek philosophers, artists, and rulers into his work along with contemporary artists of his time and a self portrait. 6: Pythagoras 7: Alexander the Great 12: Socrates 13: Michelangelo 14: Plato (as Leonardo) 15: Aristotle 18: Archimedes R: Raphael