Chapter 21 Directions.

Review this study guide in preparation for Chapter 21.

Know the terms and major concepts.
Review the beginning ideas or Learning Objectives in the text
before reading text.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ART IN ITALY

2
Chapter-at-a-Glance


Europe in the Sixteenth Century 1
The Roman High Renaissance | Leonardo da Vinci | Raphael |
Michelangelo | Architecture in Rome and the Vatican
Art and Its Contexts: The Vitruvian Man
A Closer Look: The School of Athens
 Northern Italy | Venice and the Veneto | The Architecture of Palladio
 Mannerism | Pontormo, Parmigianino, and Bronzino |
Anguissola and Fontana | Sculpture
 Art and the Counter-Reformation | Rome and the Vatican
Art and Its Contexts: St. Peter’s Basilica

Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, the student will be able to:
21.a Identify the visual hallmarks of sixteenth-century Italian Renaissance art for
formal, technical, and expressive qualities.
21.b Interpret the meaning of works of sixteenth-century Italian Renaissance art
based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.
21.c Relate sixteenth-century Italian Renaissance art and artists to their cultural,
economic, and political contexts.
21.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts relevant to sixteenth-century Italian
Renaissance art, artists, and art history.
21.e Interpret a work of sixteenth-century Italian Renaissance art using the art
historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.
21.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or
an interpretation of a work of sixteenth-century Italian Renaissance art.

Discussion Topics and Critical Thinking Questions

1. The original commission for Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin of the Rocks (Fig. 21-
2) did not include the figure of St. John the Baptist. Why do you think Leonardo
added this figure? What does he contribute to the narrative, iconography, and
composition of the painting?

2. The Last Supper was a common theme for Renaissance artists, providing a scene
of considerable narrative and psychological interest. Using this narrative,
compare depictions of The Last Supper by Andrea del Castagno (Fig. 20-25),
Leonardo da Vinci (Fig. 21-4), and Tintoretto (Fig. 21-32) to explore artistic
evolution over the course of the sixteenth century in Italy. What did each artist
hope to convey to his audience, and what innovations were employed to best
reach that audience?

3. Art produced in Venice differed from Renaissance production in Florence and

Rome in both materials and subjects. Discuss some of the reasons for these
differences, including issues of environment, economics, religion, and patronage.
In particular, theorize why pastoral themes, or poesies, were more common in
Venetian painting than in other Italian cities.

4. What is Mannerism? Compare Parmigianino’s Madonna of the Long Neck (Fig. 21-
39) with Raphael’s Small Cowper Madonna (Fig. 21-6) to outline the difference
between the High Renaissance and Mannerist styles. Using this comparison,
devise a list of adjectives that describe Mannerist art.

5. Pendant portraits were often commissioned by powerful patrons throughout the

Renaissance as an indicator of their social and political status. Compare and
contrast the portraits of Battista Sforza and Federico da Montefeltro (Fig. 20-39)
by Piero della Francesca with Raphael’s portraits of Agnelo Doni and Maddalena
Strozzi. (Fig. 21-8). What similarities exist between these portraits and why
might these elements have remained unchanged?

6. Examine Raphael’s School of Athens (Fig. 21-10). Consider the subject and style
of the fresco. How is this painting representative of Renaissance thinking? Why
would the subject of philosophy have been of interest to a Renaissance pope?

7. Decades after completing the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo returned
to paint The Last Judgment (Fig. 21-46). During this time, the challenges of
Protestantism had affected the Catholic Church. Examine Michelangelo’s
treatment of this subject. How can we see the influence of the Counter-
Reformation in this particular fresco?

Key Terms
chiaroscuro
sfumato
pendant
poesie