ITALIAN RENAISSANCE (c. 1300 - 1600)

by Jo Colley 10:52 0 comments

The Italian Renaissance, from the 14th to 17th Century was the introduction to the Early Renaissance. The word Renaissance is the Italian term for 'Rebirth", this is relevant to the idea that the art and literature of the Renaissance period, which bridged the gap between the Medieval and more modern world, reverted back in order to imitate the styles of Classical Civilizations, namely Roman and Greek art.

In terms of the themes of Renaissance art, it looks back at the archaeological findings particularly of sculpture and painting in order to represent the religious tones, the idealistic forms and the Apollonian ideas held by both the Greek and Roman Empires. The Renaissance can be further broken down into three major periods; the Early Renaissance from 1300 to 1453; the High Renaissance from 1453 to 1527 and Mannerism from 1527 to 1600. With the former being known for the literature of the time and Florence and Siena artists and writers such as Bondone and Dante, the High Renaissance referred to the art and achievements of Raphael, da Vinci and Michelangelo marked by the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans and the later movement of power from Italy and the Vatican towards Northern Europe, the latter period of Mannerism involves the reaction to and influences of the prior period, it's sophisticated artworks led to the decline of the Italian Renaissance.

Renaissance Sculptural Influences

Renaissance sculpture goes so far as to imitate the work of Classical sculpture, providing a repetition of the strong, ideal, perfect forms previously favoured in European culture.  The image on the left, below, is a highly influential sculpture depicting Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor. This ageing bronze sculpture is the last surviving of it's kind, an upon it's rediscovery during the Renaissance, became an image that is representative of human history and shaped our understanding of such, later being imitated by Andrea del Verrocchio in 1480 with the sculpture of Condottieri Bartolomeo Colleoni, the Captain-General of Venice. This accentuated shape, composition and pose to remind us of the famous figure on the left, of it's power and meaning, describing in a sculpture what Greek and Roman sculpture meant to Italy at this time.

Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius c. 161 - 180 AD,
Bronze sculpture.

Condottieri Colleoni (1480-1488) by Verrocchio, Venice.

Florence and Rome in particular still have Renaissance sculpture as a focal point of their cities' arts and culture industry. Michelangelo's David is still able to be seen in Florence while St Peter's Basilica in Rome is home to the works of Bernini.

Leonardo da Vinci

The exemplary character of the Renaissance man, da Vinci was a vital pioneer of the study undertaken in the Italian Renaissance era, famous for his work in design, architecture, mathematics, engineering, science etc. Leonardo was educated in the studio of fellow Renaissance artist Verrocchio. Known primarily for his work in painting, he most famously painted the Mona Lisa, commonly accredited as being the most well known painting in the world, painted by Oil on Cottonwood at a half-portrait size, painted from 1503 to 1506.

Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa", Oil on
Cottonwood, (1503 - 1506).

"The Vitruvian Man", drawing by Leonardo da Vinci
 (1490) using pen and ink on paper.

The Vitruvian Man, by Leonardo da Vinci is an example of how the artist would analyse and study form down to it's most minimal formulae, and is modernly still known as a major influence on the way we work in life drawing. The image, depicting the perfect and true proportions of man, is accompanied by a range of codified notes for da Vinci himself. The man inside the square and circle shapes, mixes ideas of both art and science for the divine proportion, setting up the basis of the golden ratio. 

Renaissance Architecture

Mostly under construction in the 15th to the 17th Century, Rennaissance architecture began the revival of Roman and Greek architecture as it spread throughout Europe, only later to revolve into Baroque architecture. The Apollonian features of Renaissance art also resonated throughout it's cities, evident through the importance it placed on symmetry, geometry, balance and proportion. This period saw the return of predominantly Roman features of architecture, e.g. domes, columns and pilasters, this reflected the Classical styles rather than the previously adopted Gothic ideas spread throughout Europe. 

"Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower" (Florence Cathedral), Italy, Built in 1436.

The Florence Cathedral is an example of how a dome has been constructed in light of the styles of Roman architecture in particular. The largest brick dome ever to have been constructed, the architects of the building insisted on the rejection of common Gothic buttresses in favour of the Italian Renaissance return to tradition.

East Doors of the Florence Baptistry by Lorenzo Ghiberti, (1425 -1452). 

As with the return of tradition, works by artists and designers would take many years to produce and many artists would only create few masterpieces in their lifetime. An example being Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378 - 1455). Ghiberti was an artist that spent much of his life working on only a few doors for the Baptistry at Florence,

Renaissance Painting

Frescoes or painted murals are a well preserved aspect of Renaissance painting and is relevantly associated with antiquity, examples being in Pompeii and Herculaneum. While new themes of painting became acceptable during this period, particularly the later popular practice of landscape painting as brought into the mainstream by Giovanni Bellini's Madonna of the Meadow painted in 1500, or even Rembrandt's etchings of The Three Trees from 1643. Images like this began to stretch the imagination beyond the classic themes of painting rather than based in pure observation while portrait painting became a vital component of Renaissance art but moved on to a slightly more realist than stylistic quality, beginning to understand tonal value and perspective rather than flat planar views.

As metalwork also became more popular in Germany in the 1430's and paved the way towards goldsmiths using engravings for their trade using a hardened steel tool and ink for bold and deep designs.

Finally, a wider range of media and materials meant that printmaking became possible for artists such as Andrea Mantegna, who was the first artist to beginning producing prints and etchings and single artworks rather than designs.

Renaissance art was a time when the role of the artist flourished and rose to prominence, from Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello - considered to be the masters of the High Renaissance - to the artists from Venice such as Tintoretto and Veronese. Sanzio Raphael for example is the painter of The School of Athens fresco of 1509.

Mannerism

The latter period of the Renaissance - Mannerism - despite showing an intellectual sophistication and a new style of it's own, saw a decline in the qualities of what we understand Renaissance art to be. The image below The Fall of the Giants by Giulio Romano, completed in 1534 is an example of how this decline began to take shape, the form was less similar to that of the classic Greek and Roman art, despite it's themes. This is due to the lengthened proportions, the beginnings of chiaroscuro and stylization looks more to the art periods to come rather than looking back into the past. 

The Fall of the Giants by Giulio Romano, Fresco started in 1526 and completed in 1534. 

So, ultimately, the Italian Renaissance is probably the richest and most famous period of art history to date and has had the most cultural influence and popularity that can be seen even today. Artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo are the most well known and highly regarded in history with works of their art standing the test of time and featured in galleries today. For this reason, the period was highly influential on methods of painting, drawing, etching etc. and by it's end in the 17th Century, paved the way for a fresh way of art making that is moving towards modern techniques and processes.