RENAISSANCE IN PAINTING1400-1600

(pictograms to introduce the topic) The Middle Ages are called so because they

fall between twin peaks of artistic glory: The Classical period and the Renaissance

In the Renaissance what was reborn was lifelike art; a shift was from the supernatural to the natural caused this change

RENAISSANCE 1400-1500 – Early Renaissance 1500-20 – High Renaissance 1503-6 – Leonardo paints Mona Lisa 1508-12 – Michelangelo frescoes

Sistine Chapel ceiling 1520 – Dürer excels at printmaking 1520-1600 – Mannerism 1601 – Baroque begins

In the famous portrait of Mona Lisa ("Jokonda"), which was completed by Leonardo da Vince in 1503, the image of rich townswoman is presented as implementation of a raised feminist ideal, not losing thus of intimate-human charm (the famous "Jokonda's smile"); a relevant composition element becomes the cosmically vast landscape running in the cold mist. The picture of the ingenious artist attracted attention of the researchers and they found out that the composition construction of the picture is based on the two "golden" triangles, which are the parts of the "pentagram".

The wide usage of the "golden" spiral is characteristic for the art works by Rafael, Michelangelo and other Italian artists. The multi-figured composition "Beating of infants" pictured by Rafael in 1509-1510 differs by dynamism and drama of a subject. On the preparatory Rafael's draft it is draw the smoothly varying line encompassing all picture. The line starts in semantic center of the composition, that is, in the point where the soldier fingers are closed around of the child ankle, and further the line goes along the figures of the child, of the woman pining him to herself, of the soldier with the sword and then along the figures of the same group in the right part of the draft. If we connect in natural mode all these pieces of the curve by the dotted line, we can get the "golden" spiral!

The "golden" spiral in Rafael's picture "Beating of infants".

THE TOP FOUR BREAKTHROUGHS the change from tempera paint on wood panels and

fresco on plaster walls to oil on stretched canvas the use of perspective (linear perspective creates

the optical effect of objects receding in the distance through lines that appear to converge at a single point (the vanishing point); reducing the size of objects and muting the colors or blurring detail as objects get farther away)

giving weight and depth to form (also, the use of rounded shapes to create mass and volume)

the use of light and shadow (chiaroscuro), as opposed to simply drawing lines

pyramidal composition in paintings (e.g. Mona Lisa – the symmetrical composition builds to a climax at the centre, where the focal point is the figure’s head)

MONA LISA BY LEONARDO DA VINCI

AS RENAISSANCE SPREAD NORTH FROM ITALY, IT TOOK DIFFERENT FORMS

Specialty: ideal beauty Style: simplified forms,

measured proportions Subjects: religious and

mythological scenes Figures: heroic male nudes Portraits: formal, reserved Technique: fresco, tempera,

oil paintings Emphasis: underlying

anatomical structure Basis of art: theory Composition: static, balanced

Intense realism Lifelike features, unflattering

honesty Religious and domestic

themes

Prosperous citizens, peasants Reveal individual personality Oil paintings on wood panels

Visible appearance Observation Complex, irregular

Italian Renaissance art Northern Renaissance

BOTTICELLI’S PRIMAVERA HTTP://WWW.FLORENCEROOMS.COM/FLORENCE/FLORENCE_IMG/FLO_IMG/BOTTICELLI_PRIMAVERA.JPG

LEONARDO’S THE VITRUVIAN MANHTTP://WWW.GOOGLE.CA/IMGRES?Q=THE+VITRUVIAN+MAN&UM=1&HL=EN&SA=N&BIW=1280&BIH=687&TBM=ISCH&TBNID=0J--RKEECN1EGM:&IMGREFURL=HTTP://AZOTHGALLERY.COM/VITRUVIAN.HTML&DOCID=YGBOVAOKZQNDNM&IMGURL=

LEONARDO’S THE LADY WITH ERMINE + ARTICLEHTTP://WWW.GOOGLE.CA/SEARCH?HL=EN&CP=8&GS_ID=U&XHR=T&Q=THE+VITRUVIAN+MAN&BAV=ON.2,OR.R_GC.R_PW.R_QF.,CF.OSB&BIW=1280&BIH=687&UM=1&IE=UTF-8&TBM=ISCH&SOURCE=OG&SA=N&TAB=WI&EI=KXHAT7

LEONARDO’S THE LAST SUPPERHTTP://WWW.GOOGLE.CA/IMGRES?Q=THE+LAST+SUPPER&HL=EN&BIW=1280&BIH=644&GBV=2&TBM=ISCH&TBNID=0JNW0US2FH9XGM:&IMGREFURL=HTTP://WWW.ABCGALLERY.COM/L/LEONARDO/LEONARDO4.HTML&DOCID=BBG3UOMQ-DXJXM&IMGURL=HTTP://WWW.

Apollo Belvederehttp://www.google.ca/imgres?q=apollo+belvedere&num=10&hl=en&gbv=2&biw=1280&bih=644&tbm=isch&tbnid=0pES0i-F9toYHM:&imgrefurl=http://www.caitloon.com/filmstrip.html&docid=XrXCbx3xtqg2gM&imgurl=http://www.c

Michelangelo’s David (1501-04)http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=michelangelo+david&hl=en&gbv=2&biw=1280&bih=644&tbm=isch&tbnid=F_CduKkp-jTYVM:&imgrefurl=http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/Michelangelo-David.html&docid=v

MICHELANGELO’S CREATION OF ADAMHTTP://WWW.BIBLEPICTUREGALLERY.COM/FREE/PICS/ADAM01.GIF

RAPHAEL’S MADONNA OF THE PINKSHTTP://WWW.GOOGLE.CA/IMGRES?Q=RAPHAEL&START=51&NUM=10&UM=1&HL=EN&BIW=1280&BIH=644&TBM=ISCH&TBNID=ZCBI6KYCZSGK5M:&IMGREFURL=HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/MADONNA_OF_THE_PINKS&DOCID=TJ0HJOAEY5AVJM&IMGURL=HTTP

TITIAN’S BACCHANAL OF THE ADRIANSHTTP://WWW.GOOGLE.CA/IMGRES?Q=TITIAN+BACCHANAL+OF+THE+ANDRIANS&UM=1&HL=EN&BIW=1280&BIH=644&TBM=ISCH&TBNID=-PUZWNTBUTLBYM:&IMGREFURL=HTTP://ARTH335001.BLOGSPOT.COM/2010/04/TITIAN-BACCHANAL-OF-ANDRIANS-

VAN, EYCK, “ARNOLFINI WEDDING”HTTP://WWW.GOOGLE.CA/IMGRES?Q=JAN+VAN+EYCK+ARNOLFINI+WEDDING+1434&UM=1&HL=EN&BIW=1280&BIH=644&TBM=ISCH&TBNID=AEN-0SFVZELCBM:&IMGREFURL=HTTP://FAMOUSAFTERIDIE.WORDPRESS.COM/2011/04/05

HANS HOLBEIN’S THE FRENCH AMBASSADORS, 1533HTTP://WWW.GOOGLE.CA/IMGRES?Q=HANS+HOLBEIN+THE+FRENCH+AMBASSADORS&UM=1&HL=EN&SA=N&BIW=1280&BIH=644&TBM=ISCH&TBNID=R2HQCBZUZEDVZM:&IMGREFURL=HTTP://WWW.JIM3DLONG.COM/RENAISSANCE-27.

MANNERISM AND THE LATE RENAISSANCE (1520-1600) High Renaissance solved all problems of

representing reality and art reached a peak of perfection and harmony So what now?

The answer: replace harmony with dissonance, reason with emotion, and reality with imagination.

Late Renaissance, or Mannerist, artists abandoned realism based on observation of nature.

Straining after novelty, they exaggerated the ideal beauty represented by Michelangelo and Raphael, seeking instability instead of equilibrium.

The times favored such disorder. Rome had been sacked by the Germans and Spaniards and the church had lost its authority during the Reformation.

In the High Renaissance, when times were more stable, picture compositions were symmetrical and weighted toward the center. In the Late Renaissance, compositions were oblique, with a void in the center and figures crowded around – often cut off by – the edge of the frame. It was as if the world chaos and loss of a unifying faith (“The center cannot hold,” as W. B. Yeats later said) made paintings off-balance and diffuse.

The name “Mannerism” came form the Italian term “di maniera”, meaning a work of art done according to an acquired style rather than depicting nature.

Mannerist paintings are readily identifiable because their style is so predictable. Figures writhe and twist in unnecessary contrapposto. Bodies are distorted – generally elongated but sometimes grossly muscular. Colors are lurid, heightening the impression of tension, movement, and unreal lightning.

Notable Mannerists: Pontormo, Rosso, Bronzino, Parmigianino, Cellini.

TINTORETTO, “THE LAST SUPPER”, 1594, SAN GIORGIO MAGGIORE, VENICE (DIAGONAL PERSPECTIVE, PICTURE OFF-BALANCE, USE OF LIGHT FOR EMOTIONAL EFFECT)HTTP://100SWALLOWS.FILES.WORDPRESS.COM/2008/02/TINTORETTO-LAST-SUPPER1591.JPG

THE LAST SUPPER THEMELeonardo da Vinci Tintoretto

THE SPANISH RENAISSANCEEL GRECO (1541-1614) Critics have disputed whether El Greco should be

considered Mannerist; some claim that he was too idiosyncratic to be classified.

His art manifested undeniable Mannerist attributes, such as an unnatural light of uncertain origin and harsh colors like strong pink, acid green, and brilliant yellow and blue.

His figures were distorted and elongated - their scale variable - and the compositions full of swirling movement. Like Mannerists, El Greco – in his religious paintings although not his portraits – cared little for accurately representing the visual world. He preferred to create an emotion-laden vision of celestial ecstasy.

EL GRECO, “RESURRECTION”, C. 1597-1604, PRADO, MADRID (IMMENSELY LONG BODIES, HARSH LIGHT AS IF FROM A THREATENING STORM, STRONG COLORS, TWISTED FIGURES, SENSE OF MOVEMENT, AND INTENSE EMOTIONALISM HTTPS://RAINDEOCAMPO.FILES.WORDPRESS.COM/2012/04/EL-GRECO-CHRISTS-RESURRECTION.JPG

REFERENCES Barnet, Sylvan. A Short Guide to Writing

about Art. 10th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2011. Print

Honour, Hugh and John Fleming. The Visual Arts: A History. Revised 7th ed. Toronto: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print

Strickland, Carol. The Annotated Mona Lisa. A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC, 2007. Print