Transcript Medieval Art

The Italian Renaissance:
Art
Medieval Painting:
Major Styles
Byzantine (iconography)
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Portrayed people as stiff and expressionless,
with blank eyes
Flat, two dimensional figures – unrealistic
Human body was considered sinful; it had to be
covered at all times
Focus wasn’t on the individual but rather the
celebration of God’
Illuminated Manuscripts
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Book where text is supplemented by addition
of decoration (initial letters, borders, etc)
Style was based on animal imagery, combined
with an intricate interlacing of geometric lines
Created and drawn by monks, priests
Illuminated Bible page (closeup)
Medieval Art: Religious
Themes
 St. Francis’
Rule Approved
 Giotto
 1288-92?
 Tempera (egg yolk
mixed with pigment)
on wood and ground
gold.
 Questions
 Glowing head?
 Realistic?
Medieval Art: Religious
Themes
 The Epiphany
 Giotto
 1320
 Tempera on
wood and
ground gold.
Questions
Glowing head?
Depth?
Medieval Art: Religious Themes
 The Crucifixion
 Giotto (1305)
 Tempera on wood
and
ground gold.
 Questions
 Realism?
 Glowing heads?
 Depth?
Characteristics of Italian Renaissance
Art
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1. Bright colors & oil paints
2. Concentrated on realism
 Natural poses were life-like,
realistic – like the GREEKS!!!
 Showed personality & emotion
Expulsion from
the Garden
Masaccio
1427
First nudes since
classical times
3. Perspective
(Della Pittura
– Alberti)
• Use of perspective
• Shadowing
created illusion
of depth
• Made distant
items smaller
The Dead Christ, Andre Mantegna (1501)
Perspective!
Betrothal
of the Virgin
Raphael
1504
Compare & Contrast Perspective
4. Classicism
Greco-Roman influence.
Secularism & Humanism.
Individualism  free
standing figures.
Symmetry/Balance
The “Classical Pose”
Medici “Venus” (1c)
5. Emphasis on Individualism
 Batista Sforza & Federico de Montefeltre: The
Duke & Duchess of Urbino
 Piero della Francesca, 1465-1466.
6. Geometrical Arrangement of
Figures
 The Dreyfus
Madonna
with the
Pomegranate
 Leonardo da
Vinci
 1469
 The figure as
architecture!
Raphael’s Canagiani Madonna, 1507
Where was the Renaissance taking place?
Lorenzo
the Magnificent
1478 - 1521
Cosimo de Medici
1517 - 1574
Adoration of the Magi
Whole Medici family in picture
Botticelli on far right looking at viewers
Florence Under the Medici
The Medici Palace
Medici Chapel
 Filippo Brunelleschi
1377 - 1436
 Architect
 Hired to design the
dome of St. Maria
del Fiore (cathedral)
Filippo Brunelleschi
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Before starting, he
travelled around Italy
for inspiration
Used the ancient
Romans’ architectural
concepts
He studied the ancient
Pantheon in Rome
 Used ribs to support
dome
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Brunelleschi – Architect
Built lightweight inner
dome, then exterior dome
of wind resistant material
Dimensions: 137 feet across
Weight: 40,785 tons containing
over four million bricks
Time to construct: 16 years
Brunelleschi’s Dome
Dome Comparisons
Il Duomo
(Florence)
St. Peter’s
(Rome)
St. Paul’s
(London)
US Capitol
(Washington)
Renaissance Religious Themes
Madonna and Child
Madonna and Child, Fra Filippo Lippi 1406-1469
Emotion of face -she looks like a real mother - tired, worn down
School of Athens - Raphael
The School of Athens – Raphael, details
Plato:
pointing to the
heavens [or
the IDEAL
realm].
Aristotle:
pointing to the
earth [the
here and
now].
Michelangelo
Details, School of Athens
Raphael
EuclidFeatures of
Bramante
\
Socrates
Details, School of Athens
School of Athens-Raphael
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Plato and Aristotle on either side of center axis
Plato points skyward to indicate his idealistic
worldview
Aristotle gestures to ground to show his concern
with the real world
Metaphysical philosophers on Plato’s side
Physical scientists on Aristotle’s side
Raphael on extreme right
Figures grouped and placed on purpose
Leonardo da Vinci
“Self portrait”
“Study of Hands”
“Study of the Gradations
of shadows”
“Vitruvian Man”
Parachute
Notebook page
(written backwards!)
Helicopter
http://www.bl.uk/collections/treasures/leonardo/leonardo_narrowband.htm?middle
Leonardo, the Scientist (Biology):
Pages from his
Notebook
An example of
the humanist
desire to unlock
the secrets of
nature.
Leonardo, the Scientist (Anatomy):
from his Notebook
Leonardo, the Inventor:
Pages from his Notebook
Machine gun
Tank
Helicopter
Mona
Lisa
Lisa di Antonio
Maria Gherandini
“Mona” - Italian
version of
‘Madonna’ or ‘my
lady’
A Macaroni Mona
Mona Lisa – da Vinci, 1503-4
A Picasso Mona
An Andy Warhol Mona
Mona Lisa OR da Vinci??
The
Last
Supper
 Original Now
What original might
have looked like 
vertical
The Last Supper - da Vinci, 1498
horizontal
Perspective!
A Da Vinci “Code”:
St. John or Mary Magdalene?
Michelangelo
The Pieta
David
15c
What
a
difference
a
century
makes!
16c
The Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel Details
The
Creation
of the
Heavens
The Sistine Chapel Details
Creation of Man
The Sistine Chapel Details
The Last Judgment
The End