Italian Period

Theories of Human Proportion

Italian Theory of the Human Proportion

• Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man

(1485-1490)
▫ standing nude male figure
with legs and arms apart
within an inscribed circle
and a square
▫ Often referred to as the
Canon of Proportion or
Proportions of Man
▫ Venice, Italy in the Gallerie
dell' Accademia
Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man
• inspired by the Roman architect and engineer,
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (ca 75 -25 BC)
▫ De architectura, proposed a concept that
architecture should imitate nature in the
construction of housing
▫ asserted that the invention of the Greek classical
architectural orders were developed to give the
architecture of man a sense of proportion
▫ further correlated this concept of proportion to
the proportions of the human body, nature’s
greatest work
Vitruvian Measurements
• ",palmus autem habet quattuor digitos,"
• a palm is the width of four fingers
• a foot is the width of four palms (i.e., 12 inches)
• a cubit is the width of six palms
• a pace is four cubits
• a man's height is four cubits (and thus 24 palms)
Vitruvian Measurements
• ", erit eaque mensura ad manas pansas,"
• the length of a man's outspread arms (arm span) is equal to his height
• the distance from the hairline to the bottom of the chin is one-tenth of a man's
height
• the distance from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin is one-eighth of a
man's height
• the distance from the bottom of the neck to the hairline is one-sixth of a man's
height
• the maximum width of the shoulders is a quarter of a man's height
• the distance from the middle of the chest to the top of the head is a quarter of a
man's height
• the distance from the elbow to the tip of the hand is a quarter of a man's height
• the distance from the elbow to the armpit is one-eighth of a man's height
• the length of the hand is one-tenth of a man's height
• the distance from the bottom of the chin to the nose is one-third of the length of
the head
• the distance from the hairline to the eyebrows is one-third of the length of the face
• the length of the ear is one-third of the length of the face
• the length of a man's foot is one-sixth of his height
Gothic Period

• marks a transition from

medieval to the
Renaissance
• characterized by the styles
and attitudes nurtured by
the influence of the
Dominican and Franciscan
order of monks
Madonna by Gentile da Fabriano
Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi (St
Francis) (1228-1253)
• The lower church has frescos by Cimabue and
Giotto di Bondone
• In the Upper church are frescos of scenes in the
life of St Francis by Giotto and his circle.
▫ began to take an interest in improving the
depiction of the figure
▫ The Byzantine style was unrealistic and could be
improved upon by a return to forms achieved in
ancient Greece.
Crucifixion by Cimabue (upper Basilica)
Giotto, Il Presepe di Greccio, Chiesa superiore di San Francesco
d'Assisi
Fresco by Simone Martini (Lower Basilica)
St Martin leaves the life of chivalry
Musician with two flutes 
and renounces the army
Renaissance (1400–1550)
• rediscovery of Ancient Greek and Roman art
and classics
▫ brought better proportions, perspective and use
of lighting in art
▫ beauty became connected to morality and the
pursuit of beauty in art became widespread
• Wealthy families, such as the Medicis, and the
papacy served as patrons for many Italian
artists
▫ Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo di Lodovico,
Buonarroti Simoni, Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino,
Donatello, Andrea Mantegna, Sandro Botticelli
Renaissance
• religious subjects - classical ideals of the human
figure and interest in nature
• Secular – Roman and Greek mythology
• use of approximate perspective, increased
volume of figures, and a depth of emotion which
suggests human feeling instead of static and
passive icons
▫ human figures with a convincing appearance of
mass and solidity
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
•  Mona Lisa or "la Gioconda“, the
laughing one (1503–1505/1507)
• famous for the elusive smile on
the woman's face
▫ mysterious quality brought
about perhaps by the fact that
the artist has subtly shadowed
the corners of the mouth and
eyes so that the exact nature of
the smile cannot be determined
▫ shadowy quality for which the
work is renowned came to be
called "sfumato" or Leonardo's
smoke
The Last Supper (1498)
moment when Jesus has said "one of you will betray me”
Leonardo tells the story of the consternation that this statement caused to
the twelve followers of Jesus
Michelangelo (1475-1564)

Sistine Chapel ceiling (1508–

1512)
Michelangelo
Statue of David (1504) Spear Bearer
Raphael (1483-1520)
School of Athens
Donatello’s David (1386-1466)
• believed to be the very first full-
scale nude sculpture since ancient
times
• stands with his left foot on top of
Goliath's head. It is interesting to
compare this sculpture with
Michelangelo's later version.
• cast bronze (158 cm.), 1444-4
• figures use the classical
contrapposto stance (relaxed and
not rigid)
Andrea Mantegna (1430-1506)
• created unusual vantage
points in his paintings
• often looking at figures
from below just like in
the Lamentation Of the
Dead Christ
 View is from the feet of the
subject, requiring deep
foreshortening
 position was very effective in
placing the viewer at the
scene, adding to one's sense
of empathy.
 tempera on canvas, 1466
 Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510)
 First to paint a full-length
female nude in his Birth of
Venus
 exact pose of a Greek sculpture
(the Venus de Medici, which he
had access to under their
patronage)
 added flowing hair and
elongated limbs
 occupies the center of the
canvas, traditionally reserved
only for the subject of the
 perhaps
Virgin. the most pagan image of the entire Renaissance.
 Primavera (Spring) is another painting of classical subject
commissioned for the Medici family.
 The Birth of Venus, tempera on canvas,1486
Mannerism (1525–1600)
• move to forms conceived in the mind
• Once the ideals of the Renaissance had had their effect
artists such as Giulio Romano (c. 1499-1546) were able to
introduce personal elements of subjectivity to their
interpretation of visual forms
▫ namely the factor of how the artist feels about the image
▫ characterized by paintings of strong emotion and drama, often
deliberately flouting the rules of classical restraint and
decorum
• Other Italian Mannerist painters included
▫ Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino - students of Andrea del Sarto
▫ El Greco - student of the Italian Renaissance painter Titian
• The most famous Italian painter of the Mannerist style and
period is Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti) (1518–1594)
Julio (Giulio) Romano
• the young John the Baptist
leans towards the Christ child
holding a small cross in his
hand
• both Mary and Christ reach
out to touch the equally
symbolic lamb
• heightened by the picturesque
ruin of a building in the
background
▫ clearly in the high
Renaissance style of
Romano's time, exotically
curved, and reached by
elaborate stairways
 Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti)
• monumental and dramatic
religious works, particularly
those that utilize the technique
of foreshortening perspective
• he Miracle of St. Mark
Freeing the Slave, 1548, 1548
• exaggerating light and
movement in his pictures for
dramatic effect
Modernity
• The work of Caravaggio (1571–1610), stands as
one of the most original and influential
contributions to 16th century European
painting
▫ painted figures, even those of classical or
religious themes, in contemporary clothing or as
ordinary living men and women
• Agostino Carracci (or Caracci) (1557–1602) and
his brothers were all influenced by Caravaggio
but leaned toward the idealism and spirituality
from which Caravaggio was perceived to have
strayed
The Taking of Christ - Caravaggio
Modernity
• Rococo
▫ tail end of the Baroque period, mainly in France of the
18th century
▫ main artist was Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696 to 1770).
• Impressionism
▫ Macchiaioli artists believed that areas of light and shadow,
or "macchie“ were the chief components of a work of art
• Neoclassicism
▫ mainly based on the principles of Ancient Roman and
Ancient Greek art
▫ places emphasis on symmetry, proportion, geometry and
the regularity of parts
The Martyrdom of St. Agatha
by Giambattista