1. Unit 2: Renaissance Europe
Humanism in Art
Unit 2: Renaissance Europe

2. The Harvesters Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565
LEQ: How did humanism influence Renaissance art and distinguish it from Medieval art?
Drill:
What is humanism?
The Harvesters Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565

3. Differences in Art Renaissance period Medieval Period
1. Stressed world beyond everyday life
2. Mostly religious
3. Served a purpose (reminders of importance of God)
4. Flat in appearance, lacked realism; figures were not proportionate
5. Egg tempera based paint
1. Created realistic scenes and images = Realism
2. Used linear perspective = added depth; 3D feel
3. Depicted everyday life; focus on nature and beauty
4. Use of light and shadows
5. Oil based paint

4. Madonna and Child in Glory Jacopa di Cione, 1360-65
a very early example of Renaissance painting, containing many of the characteristics of paintings from the Middle Ages
the pairs of saints and angels around the upper border of the painting are smaller than the Madonna and child in the center
this is called hieratic scale, which means making the most important figures in a work of art larger than less important figures
Madonna and Child in Glory Jacopa di Cione,

5. Miraculous Mass of St. Martin of Tours Franconian School, 1440
Compare the background in this painting to the background in the painting they just saw
artists in the Renaissance were less interested in heaven and much more interested in what the world around them looked like
Did this artist use Hieratic scale? Where are the figures in this painting? Do their surroundings look true to life? Why or why not?
Miraculous Mass of St. Martin of Tours Franconian School, 1440

6. Madonna and Child with St. John Guiliano Bugiardini, 1510
Do these figures wear halos?
Describe the landscape surrounding these figures.
Is the landscape heavenly or earthly?
In this painting, the holy family of the Madonna and baby Jesus with St. John live in the same world as ordinary people.
Oil paint allowed artists to build up layers of paint that light could shine through, and allowed artists to represent light in a more believable way
Madonna and Child with St. John Guiliano Bugiardini, 1510

7. Adoration of the Shepherds Giovanni Agostino da Lodi, 1510
Examine the buildings in the background carefully.
Do they look true to life? Why or why not.
Mathematical formulas that allowed artists to represent space in paintings in a very believable way were invented during the Renaissance. We call this accurate perspective.
Adoration of the Shepherds Giovanni Agostino da Lodi, 1510

8. Bean Eater Annibale Carracci, 1582-1583
this painting was made later in the
Renaissance than any of the others
for the first time in art history ordinary people also became worthy subjects for works of art
Bean Eater Annibale Carracci,