Early and High Italian Renaissance

Important Vocab:
Istoria: Term first used in the 15th century to refer to the complex new narrative and
allegorical subjects that were then enlarging the repertory of painters.
HISTORY but also STORY
Paintings in this genre depicted narratives
Composition: the overall organization of a piece
Includes number and location of figures, symmetry, sense of space, placement of elements,
etc.
Perspective: the representation on a two-dimensional surface of threedimensional objects
in space.
Linear perspective: a system of creating an illusion of depth and distance in drawing,
painting, relief sculpture, etc., by depicting parallel lines as converging
Strict and somewhat mathematical
Intuitive Perspective: objects are placed at an angle to the picture plane, but their linear
elements don't converge at a single point
Atmospheric/Aerial Perspective: the technique of representing more distant objects as
fainter and more blue.
Saturation: term referring to the relative purity of hues/pigment
Value: refers to the relative lightness/darkness of a color
White= highest value Black= lowest value
Hues can have their value raised or lowered
Contrapposto: a pose where weight is shifted from both legs to one
Buon Fresco Must be painted on the wall while the plaster is still fresh, that is, wet.
The plaster absorbs the colors and when it dries, makes a very durable painting that is
literally part of the wall, not simply applied to its surface.
Fresco dries quickly so the artist needed to paint section by section. The colors in true fresco
painting are much paler than in those of oil painting or tempera painting, because they are
absorbed by the white plaster.
Fresco secco Pigment applied to dry plaster. Not nearly as durable. Tends to flake off the
wall surface.
Humanism: A cultural and intellectual movement of the Renaissance that emphasized
human potential to attain excellence and to acquire knowledge.

Early Italian Renaissance:

There are many names for the early renaissance, including Late medieval, Late Gothic, and
Proto-renaissance. This is in part due to the fact that there is no firm date as to when the
Renaissance started
The renaissance is broadly defined as a cultural/artistic renewal
Italy was not a formed state, a unified state, until 1861. So we have a bunch of city states
that are organized across a varied forms of government, such as duchys, republics, and
monarchies.
Early Italian Renaissance art is largely Catholic art depicting religious narratives.
Humanist ideas can be described as a doctrine, an attitude or way of life centered on human
interests and values, especially a philosophy that usually rejects supernaturalism and
stresses an individual's dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason
and rationality.
These ideas created the feeling that something had been lost during the medieval era and a
need to go back to a height that had been achieved -- a height that had been achieved in
antiquity and in terms of art and culture
Influenced both artists and patrons, as there was an increased value in idealized proportions
and imitating the natural world in their art
Art during this period was (for the most part) was controlled by the patrons rather than the
artist.
It is, you have to wait to be commissioned, then there is a contract, and you have to follow
very strict guidelines to please your patron. It is, therefore, a transaction.
Because art had a lot of religious and cultural capital, “painting was still too important to be
left to the painters” in the 15th century according to Michael Baxandall's "The Conditions of
Trade"
Patrons, which could be groups/cities/monasteries or individuals, often controlled the
materials used and subject matter in art rather than the artists.
For the most part, the art of this period included sculptures, altarpieces, and frescos
During this period, istoria was the most valued genre of art
Narratives are told through expressive human bodies. (gesture, facial expression, size,
legibility [of their identity in biblical narrative])
The purpose of painting during this time was to to serve as a clear instruction to the simple
and illiterate, to be memorable for the forgetful, and to excite feelings of devotion; to be
emotionally moving.
That is, to be lucid, memorable and moving
Art was used to meditate on religious stories, so art’s value is also linked to ts ability to
inspire devotion and share a narrative.
Baxandall’s explains that people were motivated to buy art during the 15th century because
of “the pleasure of possession, an active piety, civic consciousness [...], self-commemoration
and perhaps self-advertisement, the rich man’s necessary virtue and pleasure of reparation,
a taste for pictures”
Art, during this time, had significant cultural and religious value beyond the work itself
(having the work created was symbolic as well).
A lot of value was placed on the materials used in art during the early renaissance
Different artists had different stylistic concerns during this period
While many artists depict figures where the drapery accurately responds to the body
underneath, some do not.
These can include:
-Decorative surface. Patterning
-Textile, physiognomic information
-Experimentation with foreshortening
The Period Eye: comprehension of an image depends on what the viewer brings to the
picture. Because the artist is from the same society as the viewer, they can respond to this
with the assurance that their audience will understand.
The nudity of male figures (e.g. Donatello’s David) was a reference to antiquity
Female nudity was reserved for sinful women though
In Florence, Donatello’s David “became a heroic example of the new humanist piety of civic
engagement, modesty, humility, fortitude, and divine favor. He exemplified and sanctified
the virtuous citizen-hero who bravely volunteered to fight for his fatherland and whose
victories over much greater forces showed divine providence guiding and protecting the
‘little’ republics...” (Baldwin)
-1448: Plague returns, for 3 long summers
-1453: Constantinople, the last citadel for the Greek Orthodox church fell to the Turks  hit
to christianity
-1456: Passing of Halley’s comet = seen as a bad omen.
In 1470, humanist scholar Bartolomeo Platina wrote in his Lives of the Popes that, “A hairy
and fiery star having then made its appearance for several days, the mathematicians
declared that there would follow grievous pestilence, dearth and some great calamity...”
Political + medical upheavals in late 15th century  era of pessimism reflected in art

High Italian Renaissance:

The beginning of the high renaissance features a transition from patrons valuing the
material used to a value placed on the artist’s technical skill and ability to create the illusion
of these materials, especially gold on 2 dimensional surfaces.
Rucellai  motives for commissioning works of art: they ‘give him the greatest
contentment and the greatest pleasure because
-they serve the glory of god,
-the honor of the city and
-the commemoration of myself’
Michelangelo = one of the best known high renaissance artists.
Choice of stone for sculptures was very important to Michelangelo because he envisioned
his sculptures as already existing in the marble, needing only his tools to set it free.
Selected blocks himself in quarries
Michelangelo, like many high renaissance artists, studied anatomy through dissection
During the high renaissance, we start to get a sense of the artist’s biography and the artists
as a Humanist, scholar, intellectual, well-versed in sciences
Raphael’s frescos in the apartments of the Vatican represent the 4 branches of human
knowledge: philosophy, poetry, theology, and jurisprudence. Especially within The School of
Athens (which depicts philosophy), Raphael is being asked to reconcile classical antiquity
and biblical dogma in one space (+ in the seat of Catholic rule!).
These concepts were compatible during the renaissance
Sistine Chapel Ceiling:
The Sistine Ceiling illustrates 9 scenes from Genesis; these scenes are surrounded by Old
Testament prophets and pagan sibyls (in Greek and Roman mythology, a sibyl is a
prophetess). 3 of the Genesis scenes are devoted to Creation, 3 devoted to Adam and Eve, 3
devoted to Noah.
Michelangelo is a sculptor at heart, and his figures are based off of sketches from observing
models and Hellenistic sculpture
The twisting figures show more musculature and emotions
Michelangelo’s work references pathos (emotions) more than Raphael’s (which often
references ethos)