THE EARLY

RENAISSANCE
IN ITALY

FLORENCE: 1400-1450
Europe in the Renaissance
Europe in the Renaissance
Europe in the Renaissance
 Why Renaissance began
in Florence, Italy
1. Politics
Florence vs Milan
2. Arts & Culture
Arts and culture in Florence had been flourished
since Gothic: Giotto & the Florence Cathedral
Florence Cathedral as Acropolis of Athens
3. Change of Artist’s & Architect’s Role
Artists & Architects as Intellectual like poets
and philosophers, not mere masons
• In 1400, Florence was threatened by Milan
• 3 Strengths of Florence:
military, foreign affair, intellectual

Milan Campaign Florence Campaign

The ruler of Milan vs. The Florentine
as as
Caesar bringing the champion of
peace to Italy freedom against the
tyrant of Milan
 Milan vs. Florence
Milan Florence

• The ruler of Milan as • Florence, the champion of

Caesar bringing peace to freedom
Italy
• Florence as the new Athen

• The Athenians against the

Persians (the Persian Wars)
Key figures of Early Renaissance Art
• Sculptor: Donatello
• Architect: Brunelleschi
• Painter: Masaccio
SCULPTURE
International Gothic
Lorenzo Ghiberti. The Sacrifice of Isaac. 1401-2
 SCULPTURE
Only torso of Isaac looks classical International Gothic
Lorenzo Ghiberti. The Sacrifice of Isaac. 1401-2
 SCULPTURE
Early Renaissance International Gothic
Nanni di Banco,Four Saints (Quattro Coronati), c. 1410-14 Lorenzo Ghiberti. The Sacrifice of Isaac. 1401-2
 SCULPTURE
Nanni di Banco,
Four Saints (Quattro Coronati), c. 1410-14
 SCULPTURE
Nanni di Banco, Gothic Classicism @ Reim Cathedral,
Four Saints (Quattro Coronati), c. 1410-14 Annunciation & Visitation, 1225-45
 SCULPTURE
Nanni di Banco, Gothic Classicism @ Reim Cathedral,
Four Saints (Quattro Coronati), c. 1410-14 Annunciation & Visitation, 1225-45
 SCULPTURE
Nanni di Banco,
Four Saints (Quattro Coronati), c. 1410-14 Detail of Second Saint from left
 SCULPTURE
Nanni di Banco, Four Saints, head of
second figure from left Detail of Second figure from left
 SCULPTURE
Nanni di Banco, Four Saints, head Portrait of a Roman, early 3rd
of second figure from left century A.D. Marble
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, St. Mark, 1411-13, Details
Marble
 SCULPTURE
Nanni di Banco,
Four Saints (Quattro Coronati), c. 1410-14
 SCULPTURE
Nanni di Banco,
Four Saints (Quattro Coronati), c. 1410-14 Donatello, St. Mark, 1411-13, Marble
 Donatello’s Early Work
Nanni di Banco, Four Saints (Quattro Donatello, St. Mark, 1411-13,
Coronati), c. 1410-14 Marble, Details

The 1st sculture to show the perfect

Classical “contrapposto” since Antiquity
 Donatello’s Early Work
Doryphorus (Spear Bearer). roman Donatello, St. Mark, 1411-13,
copy of Polyclitus Marble, Details

The 1st sculture to show the perfect

Classical “contrapposto” since Antiquity
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, The Feast of Herod,
c.1425. Gilt bronze, Siena Cathedral
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, The Feast of Herod, Lorenzo Ghiberti. The Sacrifice of
c.1425. Gilt bronze, Siena Cathedral Isaac. 1401-2. Gilt bronze
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, The Feast of Herod, Detail
c.1425. Gilt bronze, Siena Cathedral
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello. The Feast of Herod,
c.1425. Gilt bronze, Siena Cathedral

• The picture space continues

indefinitely in every direction
• Arches & pilasters reflect the
new styles began by
Brunelleschi
• Linear or scientific perspective
discovered by Brunelleschi
which is objective, precised,
and rational
• Fine arts was elevated to
become liberal arts
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, David, c.1425-30, Bronze
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, David, c.1425-30, Bronze Detail of Goliath’s head
 Donatello’s Early Work
Detail of David’s Head with wreath hat Detail of Goliath’s head
(image of classical wreath for athlets) with visor and wing helmet
(or the triumph of the peaceful Florentines) (image of Roman Wind God of Zephyr)
(or the Duke of Milan)
Peace triumphs over War
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, David, c.1425-30, Bronze Kritios Boy (Standing Youth),
c.480 B.C
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, David, c.1425-30, Bronze Doryphorus (Spear Bearer). roman
copy of Polyclitus
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, David, c.1425-30, Bronze Medallion. Arch of Constantine
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, David, c.1425-30, Bronze Detail of Medallion, Arch of
Constantine
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, David, c.1425-30, Bronze Detail of Medallion, Arch of
Constantine
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, Equestrian Monument of
Gattamelata, 1445-50, Padua
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, Equestrian Monument of Equestrian of Marcus Aurelius.
Gattamelata, 1445-50, Padua 161-180 A.D.
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, Equestrian Monument of Equestrian Statue of
Gattamelata, 1445-50, Padua Can Grande della Scala, 1330, Verona
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata, 1445-50, Padua
 Donatello’s Early Work
Donatello, Equestrian Monument of รูปแบบใหม่ของ Renaissance
Gattamelata, 1445-50, Padua
• ไม่เป็ นสว่ นหนึง่ ของสุสาน และไม่
แสดงความรุง่ โรจน์ของราชวงศ ์
• แต่เป็ นอนุสาวรียท ์ ส
ี่ ร ้างขึน
้ โดยอำนาจ
สาธารณรัฐ สำหรับเกียรติยศของการ
รับใชที้ ซ
่ อื่ สต
ั ย์น่ายกย่อง
• เป็ น image ทีห ่ ลอมรวมโลกอุดมคติ
และโลกความจริงเข ้าด ้วยกันอย่าง
สมบูรณ์
• เกราะนักรบผสานรูปแบบใหม่กบ ั ราย
ละเอียดแบบคลาสสก ิ
• สว่ นศรี ษะแสดงลักษณะของปั จเจกชน
ทีท่ รงอำนาจ และน่ายกย่องเชน ่ ชาว
โรมัน
 Jacopo della Quercia
Jacopo della Quercia, The Creation
of Adam, c.1430, Marble, Bologna
 Jacopo della Quercia
Jacopo della Quercia, The Creation Adam in Paradise, Detail of an ivory
of Adam, c.1430, Marble, Bologna diptych. c.400 A.D.
 Jacopo della Quercia
Jacopo della Quercia, The Creation Adam in Paradise, Detail of an ivory
of Adam, c.1430, Marble, Bologna diptych. c.400 A.D.
Cropped
cf. della Quercia’s Tree
 Jacopo della Quercia
Jacopo della Quercia, The Creation Adam in Paradise, Detail of an ivory
of Adam, c.1430, Marble, Bologna diptych. c.400 A.D.
mirrored
cf. della Quercia’s Adam
 Jacopo della Quercia
Jacopo della Quercia, The Creation Priestess of Bacchus, Leaf of a
of Adam, c.1430, Marble, Bologna diptych, c.390-400 A.D., Ivory
 Jacopo della Quercia
Jacopo della Quercia, The Creation Priestess of Bacchus, Leaf of a
of Adam, c.1430, Marble, Bologna diptych, c.390-400 A.D., Ivory

cropped
 Jacopo della Quercia
Jacopo della Quercia, The Creation Priestess of Bacchus, Leaf of a
of Adam, c.1430, Marble, Bologna diptych, c.390-400 A.D., Ivory
mirrored
cf. della Quercia’s God & Adam
 Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1466)
The First Architect of the Renaissance
Ghiberti, Sacrifice of Isaac, 1401
Ghiberti, Sacrifice of Isaac, 1401 Brunelleschi, Sacrifice of Isaac, 1401
Ghiberti, Sacrifice of Isaac, 1401 Brunelleschi, Sacrifice of Isaac, 1401
Ghiberti, Sacrifice of Isaac, 1401 Brunelleschi, Sacrifice of Isaac, 1401
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1466)
Dome of Florence Cathedral
Brunelleschi, S. Lorenzo, Florence, 1421-69
 S. Lorenzo Church of Fossanova
(Renaissance) (Gothic with vaulted ceiling)
S. Lorenzo, Flrorence Sta. Croce, Florence
(Renaissance) (Gothic with pointed-arch arcade but
with flat ceiling)
 Symmetry & Regularity in Plan
modular system-abstract space blocks
S. Lorenzo
 Renaissance
calm & cool
S. Lorenzo
 Gothic
flow of space-vertical & horizontal
warmth of emotion

Church of Fossanova
Sources of Inspiration from Romanesque &
Early Christian Bascilican
S. Lorenzo, Florence Pisa Cathedral
(Renaissance) (Romanesque)
Sources of Inspiration from Romanesque &
Early Christian Bascilican
S. Lorenzo, Florence Old St. Paul Outside the Wall
(Renaissance) (Early Christian Bascilican)
lightness-slender column & heavy & massive
wider intercolumnation
 Transparent Lightness
& Precise Articulation
RENAISSANCE ROMANESQUE
S. Lorenzo, Florence Baptistery of S. Giovanni, Florence
 Brunelleschi
Pazzi Chapel, Sta. Croce, Florence
 Brunelleschi

Pazzi Chapel Old St Paul Outside the Wall, Rome

 Brunelleschi

Pazzi Chapel S. Apollinaire in Classe. Ravemna

 Brunelleschi
Pazzi Chapel, Sta. Croce, Florence
 Michelozzo (1396-1472)

Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Florence

 Michelozzo (1396-1472)

Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Florence Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

 Michelozzo (1396-1472)
THREE-STORY SCHEME
Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Florence (ORDER: base, shaft, capital)

• TOP: smooth, unbroken

surface

• SECOND: smooth-surface
blocks with “rusticated”
joints

• THE LOWEST: rough-hewn,

“rustic” masonry
PAINTING
Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin,
St. John, and Two Donors, 1425, Fresco.
PAINTING
Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin,
St. John, and Two Donors, 1425, Fresco.
“What you are, I once was;
What I am, you will become.”
 PAINTING
Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, Gentile da Fabriano, The Adoration of
St. John, and Two Donors, 1425, Fresco. the Magi, 1423, Oil on panel
 PAINTING
Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, Compare with Giotto’s
St. John, and Two Donors, 1425, Fresco.

• Not the style of immediate past,

but goes back to Giotto’s
– The sense of large scale
– Compositional severity
– Sculptural volume
• Giotto: Body and drapery form a
“single unit”
• Masaccio, like Donatello: Figures
are “clothed nudes”
• The realm of “monumental
grandeur” rather than the
“lyrical grace” of the
International Gothic
 PAINTING
Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, Giotto, Madonna Enthroned, c.1310
St. John, and Two Donors, 1425, Fresco.

Not the style of immediate past, but goes back to Giotto’s

The sense of large scale, compositional severity, sculptural volume
 PAINTING
Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, Giotto, Madonna Enthroned, c.1310
St. John, and Two Donors, 1425, Fresco.

Masaccio, like Donatello: Giotto:

Figures are “clothed nudes” Body and drapery form a “single unit”
 PAINTING
Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, Donatello, St. Mark, 1411-13, Marble
St. John, and Two Donors, 1425, Fresco.

Masaccio, like Donatello:

Figures are “clothed nudes”
 PAINTING
Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, Compare with Duccio’s
St. John, and Two Donors, 1425, Fresco. Maesta (the Crucifixion)
 PAINTING
Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, Compare with Duccio’s
St. John, and Two Donors, 1425, Fresco. Maesta (the Crucifixion)
 PAINTING
Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin,
St. John, and Two Donors, 1425, Fresco.

• The scene shows the new

architecture introduced by
Brunelleschi and shows the
scientific perspective,
the first rational picture
space

• Scientific perspective
= rational picture space
= divine reason
 PAINTING
Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, Ghiberti, The Story of Jacob and Esau,
St. John, and Two Donors, 1425, Fresco. c.1435, Gilt bronze, from “Gates of Paradise”
 PAINTING
Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, Scientific perspective
St. John, and Two Donors, 1425, Fresco. = rational picture space
= divine reason
 PAINTING
Left wall of Brancassi Chapel, with frescoes by Masaccio,
Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence
 PAINTING
Masaccio, The Tribute Money, c.1427, Fresco, Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del
Carmine, Florence
 PAINTING
Masaccio, The Tribute Money, c.1427, Fresco, Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del
Carmine, Florence

St. George and the Dragon, Relief below St. George by Donatello, c.1415-17
PAINTING
Masaccio, The Expulsion from Paradis.
C.1427. Fresco. Brancacci Chapel
 PAINTING
Masaccio, The Expulsion from Paradis.
C.1427. Fresco. Brancacci Chapel

Jacopo della Quercia. The Creation of

Adam, c.1430, Marble
 PAINTING
Masaccio, Madonna enthroned, 1426, Oil
on panel
 PAINTING
Masaccio, Madonna Enthroned, 1426, Oil Cimabue, Madonna Enthroned, c.1280-90,
on panel Tempera on panel
 PAINTING
Masaccio, Madonna Enthroned, 1426, Oil Giotto, Madonna Enthroned, c.1310,
on panel Tempera on panel
 PAINTING
Masaccio, Madonna Enthroned, 1426, Oil
on panel
 PAINTING
Masaccio, Madonna Enthroned, 1426, Oil
on panel
 PAINTING
Masaccio, Madonna Enthroned, Fra Filippo Lippi, Madonna
1426, Oil on panel Enthroned, 1437, Oil on panel
 PAINTING
Donatello. The Feast of Herod, c.1425. Gilt Fra Filippo Lippi, Madonna
bronze, Siena Cathedral Enthroned, 1437, Oil on panel
 PAINTING
Ghiberti, The Story of Jacob and Esau, Fra Filippo Lippi, Madonna
panel of the Gates of Paradise, c.1435 Enthroned, 1437, Oil on panel
 PAINTING
Ghiberti, The Story of Jacob and Esau, Fra Filippo Lippi, Madonna
panel of the Gates of Paradise, c.1435 Enthroned, 1437, Oil on panel
 PAINTING
Castagno, The Last Supper, c.1445-50, Fresco
 PAINTING
Castagno, The Last Supper, c.1445-50, Fresco
 PAINTING
Castagno, The Last Supper, c.1445-50, Fresco
 PAINTING
Castagno, The Last Supper,
c.1445-50, Fresco
 PAINTING
Castagno, The Last Supper, Giotto, Madonna Enthroned,
c.1445-50, Fresco c.1310, Tempera on panel
 PAINTING
Castagno, The Last Supper, Giotto, Madonna Enthroned,
c.1445-50, Fresco c.1310, Tempera on panel
 PAINTING
Castagno, The Last Supper, The Ixion Room, House of the Vettii,
c.1445-50, Fresco Pompeii, 63-79 A.D.
 PAINTING
Castagno, The Last Supper, The Ixion Room, House of the Vettii,
c.1445-50, Fresco Pompeii, 63-79 A.D.

Panels of marble decorative

wall were found in ancient
Roman houses.
 PAINTING
Castagno, The Last Supper, The Ixion Room, House of the Vettii,
c.1445-50, Fresco Pompeii, 63-79 A.D.
 PAINTING
Castagno, The Last Supper, Architectural View. Wall painting from a villa
c.1445-50, Fresco at Boscoreale, 1st century B.C.
 PAINTING
Castagno, The Last Supper, Architectural View. Wall painting from a villa
c.1445-50, Fresco at Boscoreale, Wood Inlay painting