Renaissance Artists
We are taking a look at some of the famous artists during the Renaissance Period. We will look at their backgrounds and some of their most famous works of art. We will also explain how they were influenced to become artists.
December 14, 2014
Michaelangelo Simoni
Michelangelo
" Father and Master of All the Arts"
Michelangelo(1475-1564) was a Painter, Sculptor, Architect, and Poet. He was widely regarded as the most famous artist of the Italian Renaissance.
The David
Over 500 years old, one of art-history's greatest masterpieces.Michelangelo's David is most definitely one of the best expression of the Renaissance's sense of life. The sculpture was actually inspired by a story of a young boy who chose to fight a stronger adversary in order to save all his people from invasion without any armor just using his skills and courage.
Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel
Located in Vatican City, Rome.Michelangelo began painting in 1508 and finished in 1512.
Pope Julius II hired Michelangelo to replace a blue ceiling dotted with stars with a geometric ornament, but Michelangelo had a completely different idea to paint the Old Testament scenes found on the fault, which were separated by the architecture.
Pope Julius II hired Michelangelo to replace a blue ceiling dotted with stars with a geometric ornament, but Michelangelo had a completely different idea to paint the Old Testament scenes found on the fault, which were separated by the architecture.
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| The Pieta |
Marble statue. Michelangelo sculpted this in his early 20's. The statue represents Mary contemplating the dead body of her son, who she holds on her lap. Michelangelo made the marble seem like flesh and worked very hard on each detail of the folds of drapery.
Tommaso Masaccio
Tommaso Masaccio ( 1401 - 1428) was one of the first old masters to use the laws of scientific perspective in his works. One of the greatest innovative painters of the Early Renaissance.
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| Masaccio self-portrait |
According to Vasari, Masaccio was the best painter of his generation because of his lifelike figures and movements as well as a convincing sense of three dimensionality. Even though his career was cut short, his imprint on other artists was quite substantial. He was one of the first to use linear perspective in his painting by employing techniques such as vanishing point in art for the first time. He also stepped away from the International Gothic style to a much more natural looking mode which included perspective and chiaroscuro for the purpose of realism and humanism.
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| The San Giovenale Triptych |
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| The painting Holy Trinity |
This masterpiece of a fresco painting was is thought to have been created sometime between 1425 and 1427. It was one of Masaccio's final paintings before his death in 1428. The fresco is located along the middle of the basilica's left sisle. Although the configuration of this space has changed since this artwork was created, there are clear indications that the fresco was aligned very accurately in relationship with the straight lines and perspective arrangements of the room at that time in order to highlight the tromp l'oeil effect. There was also an alter which further emphasized the reality of the painting.
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| Madonna and Child |
Tommaso Masaccio completed this painting in collaboration with his brother Giovanni and Andrea di Giusto. It is the central panel of the Pisa Altarpiece, which is a large multi-paneled in the St. Julian chapel owned by the notary giuliano di Colino in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Pisa. We notice that this painting has six figures in it. The Madonna is the largest figure in this painting and it is also centralized between the other figures which shows a sign of significance to the painting. Baby Jesus is seated on her lap while being fed grapes by his mother, as a symbol of his blood; like the red wine of the Communion, which indicates the realization of Christs eventual death.
December 13, 2014
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino
Raphael was born in 1483 in Urbino, Italy. Raphael's father, Giovanni, was a painter for the Duke of Urbino. His father also taught him basic painting techniques and principles. When his father died, Raphael who was only 11 years old was now manger of his father's workshop.
At the age of 18 Raphael painted the Baronci Altarpiece, his first recorded commission.
"The Resurrection of Christ" also called The Kinnaird Resurrection was created between 1499 and 1502
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| "Marriage of the Virgin", completed in 1504 for a Franciscan church in Citta di Castello. Depicts the marriage of Mary and Joseph. |
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"The School of Athens" is one of the most famous pieces done
by Raphael. Painted in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. |
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| "Disputation of the Holy Spirit", part of the paintings in the Apostolic Place in the Vatican. |
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| "Transfiguration" is Raphael's last painting, working on this piece until his death in 1520. |
Death & Influence
Raphael died on April 6, 1520, the day of his 37th birthday. He was still working on the Transfiguration (right) at the time of his death. During his funeral mass at the Vatican, Transfiguration was placed on his coffin stand. Raphael's style influenced art of the Baroque period; he is also regarded to have a significant impact of the art in Italian High Renaissance classicism.
December 8, 2014
Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi
Known as Donatello
Donatello was born in Florence, Italy circa 1386. He was seen as one of the forerunners of Florentine Art, which helped paved way for the age of Renaissance Art. He specialized mostly in sculptures and statues.
Many of his early works were influenced by members of the church. He created pieces for these members from various churches.
The powerfulness in which he expressed his art is what made him the greatest sculptor of the Early Renaissance.
Donatello influenced many Italian sculptors, most notably Michelangelo.
Some of Donatello's famous pieces were:
St. George:
One of the firsts of single focus perspective in making sculptures. It was intended for the Cuirass-makers Confraternity.
David, set in bronze:
The first-ever free-standing nude statue since the ancient era.
Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata:
Da Narni's family commissioned the Gattamelata to commemorate his military prowess and fame. The Gattamelata was famous at the time because it was stepping away from traditional equestrian statue subjects. Previous equestrian statues had been reserved exclusively for kings and other rulers.
December 7, 2014
The Great Mind of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo Da Vinci was born April 15th, 1452 in Vinci, Italy. Leonardo was fascinated with nature and the science of it, this obsession transitioned to his work. The careful observations of nature lead to various inventions from Da Vinci, such as a flying machine he drew up while examining birds. Most of Leonardo's paintings are benchmarks for perfection in painting. The contributions he made to art include: 3 dimensional painting and anatomically correct people within those paintings.
Leonardo was one of the most influential Renaissance painters, with his tremendous paintings, to his architectural and engineering designs.
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Leonardo was obsessed with flying, so he studied birds and the way that they moved in the air to try and recreate the magical gift of flight.
Da Vinci made a tremendous impact on them modern world with the bringing of armored vehicles, air crafts, and various war weapons. These ideas were so advanced that most of them were not created until 400 or 500 or so years after his drawings.
c. 1505-1507 c.1495-1498
Leonardo is the artist behind one of the most respected and recognizable pieces of art in history. Da Vinci introduced his outstanding knowledge of anatomy and shadows to create life-like images on canvas. Unlike many paintings at the time, Leonardo's paintings were 3 dimensional. He moved the art world from away from flat and fictional to, 3 dimensional and graphically real. Depth and these other features that Da Vinci used in his art were learned after intense study, and soon became the standard of which artists tried to live up to.
Leonardo is the artist behind one of the most respected and recognizable pieces of art in history. Da Vinci introduced his outstanding knowledge of anatomy and shadows to create life-like images on canvas. Unlike many paintings at the time, Leonardo's paintings were 3 dimensional. He moved the art world from away from flat and fictional to, 3 dimensional and graphically real. Depth and these other features that Da Vinci used in his art were learned after intense study, and soon became the standard of which artists tried to live up to.
Leonardo Da Vinci's works did not just end at art; Da Vinci did not separate between art and science so he roughly has 13,000 pages of notes with sketches ranging from war machines and flying machines (previously mentioned), to anatomical figures of people, and plant research. He even went as far as sketching embryos while they are in the womb. Many agree that Da Vinci has the greatest mind that has ever walked the Earth, and that is easy to see with all of his ideas, inventions and paintings. Leonardo's reign on this world ended May 2nd, 1519 in France, but his ideas and research lived longer than that and served as guidelines to future inventors.
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| Hand Anatomy c.1510-1511 |
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| Plant Studies c.Late 15th Century |
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| Embryonic Sketch c.1510-1513 |
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