...“The French word Renaissance, meaning “rebirth,” was first used in the nineteenth century to describe the period from the early fifteenth century to the middle of the next century” (Benton & DiYanni, 2008, p. 307). The Renaissance not only was a time when scholars became more interested in studying ancient scholars and the world around them but it also had an impact on art forms such as paintings, sculptures and architecture. The social roles and similarities during the Italian and Northern European Renaissance are the flourishing of the arts under powerful and wealthy families such as the Medici’s of Florence and in the north Philip the Good as well as many others. In both Northern and Southern Europe there was a strong desire to reconnect with the ancient past of the Greco/Roman world this desire extended beyond just ideals in art but also to philosophy and politics. The artistic endeavors of both the Northern and Southern Renaissance were dominated by their shared Christian faith, we can see examples of this in Jan Van Eyck’s Ghent “Altar Piece” (Benton & DiYanni, 2008, p. 353) at Saint Bavon Cathedral an ingenious polyptych painting which uses multiple panels to depict a religious scene an exciting blend of the Northern inventive spirit of the age and ancient faith. The works of the Italian Renaissance were also dominated by this Christian outlook possibly the most famous piece of art in the world Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel full of religious imagery while also boldly proclaiming...
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...I began thoroughly learning about Humanism last year in my AP European History class. The concept of Humanism was, especially, known and expressed during the Renaissance in Italy. From what I know, this concept has a basis of appreciating humanity. Humanists tended to only focus on the “goodness” and morality of a human being. They viewed humans as “supreme” instead of an actual God. Humanism and the Italian Renaissance came after the era of the Middle Ages. To humanists, human beings had the “... ability to solve problems… and seek rational solutions…” instead of focusing on religious solutions (Ch. 17 pg 279). Before the Renaissance, many Europeans solely believed in what the Bible and the Church taught them; They refused to learn logical...
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...between the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance. Cite examples to illustrate your comparisons. Northern Renaissance took place in areas of Western Europe, north of the Alps. In that time artist were more focused on daily life. Beauty was found in everyday living and simplicity of life. Famous artists from that time like Peter Brugal painted pictures such as “The Peasant Wedding." Picture shows simple life of ordinary people attending weeding. Pictures like this has symbolic meaning and moral aspect. Pieter Bruegel, The Peasant Wedding, oil on panel, 1566-69 On the other side, the Italian Renaissance came much earlier than Northern Renaissance. The Italian Renaissance, had focused more on the wealthy class. Artist paid more attention to details to leave impression of wealthy and powerful people that they try to present. Background of that time give explanation why artists used to present that kind of life. Geographically Italy was very important in Mediterranean and it was one of the biggest centers for business. Therefore, individuals were becoming very wealthy and power of some individuals reached to political circles. The Italian Renaissance focused on religion as well. Popes were very wealthy and almost like kings in another societies. Oftentimes, paintings reflected themes of the Classical times, and some artists nearly copied the forms of ancient Greek statues and artwork. Based on that Greek Roman influence was very important in Italian Renaissance. It showed...
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...The Italian Renaissance was a cultural movement that revived an interest in learning and promoted humanism roughly from the 14th to 17th century, strongly encouraging the education for all men, including women. Yet while it is generally accepted that women had wider access to education as humanists valued the education of all people, the majority of women who received an education in the Italian Renaissance were still largely of nobility; the primary goals of which were still related to domestic purposes and did not, in any way, attempt to change their social position. Since the Middle Ages, a typical father did not desire a learned daughter as it threatened the order of the household, engendering lax housekeeping and marital discord. The Italian humanist Lucrezia Marinelli further explained this with the theory that male hostility to female learning was because they feared to lose their dominion over women. The popular belief about the life of a Renaissance woman was that her role was one of “subjugation; she should have no control over her life.” With pedagogical theorists believing that a woman should acquire learning appropriate to her expected role as an adult, there was a new granting of permission of women to be educated. In 16th century Italy, approximately 33% of Venetian boys aged six through fifteen and I2 to 13% of Venetian girls were literate in 1587-88. While the percentage for literate women may appear disappointing, comparative figures...
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...Kathleen Talentino Professor Dr. Duff Sutherland HIST 106 December 4, 2006 Research Essay The Honest Courtesan during the Italian Renaissance The honest courtesan, also known as “cortigiana oneste” in Italy, contributed to the development of the intellectual and cultural revolution of the Italian Renaissance. This was during a time which the status of women struggled against that of their male counterparts. During this revolution, upper class women had less power politically and socially than women of the medieval era, and were confined to the opinion that their attention should be focused on domestic affairs. The honest courtesans were ambitious women who possessed all of the qualities of the male courtier, and maintained their sexual equality. The contributions of this elite group of women were in the areas of philosophical thought; historically through art and literature, and in development of the structure and function of human society. During the Renaissance, Italy experienced many revolutionary ideas, one of them known as Humanism. Humanism birthed the popularity of classical studies among the Italian elite of scholars, artists, writers and architects. This group of elite men were the forefathers of popular contemporary thought, and had the freedom to move in directions economically, socially, politically, emotionally, intellectually, and morally.[1] This idea changed life in Italy by individuals always striving to realize their human potential.[2]...
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...The idea of art has been guided by human psychological necessities and an understanding of life been escorted by religious beliefs. Throughout human history, it is easily visible the effect that human desire to define their existence have had in the development of art, social hierarchies and moral principles. High Renaissance (1490 - 1527) and Italian Baroque (late 16th century - early 18th century) are period styles greatly influence by occurrences at the time. Michelangelo’s Moses is an immense representative of the High Renaissance styles, as well as, Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne for The Italian Baroque Style. We are going to explore both artworks, comparing and contrasting the meaning behind their existence, their respective cultural and historical events as an influence on their individual time period. Initially, in 1505 Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo Buonarroti to build his tomb. Michelangelo consenting, dedicated 6 months choosing marble at Carrara, for his initial massive design which in theory was to have 40 statues. The project was postponed due to a lack of funds, and a new commission by the Pope, rumored to be the...
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...Renaissance Reformation The Italian art produced during the Renaissance era did not show men as they really were, because their art made men look feminine as represented by their hair and their clothing. Renaissance ideas are expressed in the Italian are of the periods. The base there art of a humans features in their body and their characteristic. What that means is all there art was very vivid, because they love to draw the body of a human naked. To them it was true art, they did not put much detail into each paintings because they were not the Muslims, who drew every signal detail in an art. Men in art looked like females in the form of their face, they believe that men was so handsome that they should have the face of a female fix into the sculptor or painting. Therefore since the Italians were catholic, they to believe in God and his helpers. Francesco Mochi made a sculptor called Bust of a Youth. The Bust of the Youth was a sculptor of St. John. The sculptor was made out of marble on variegated black marble socle. The painting in people eyes looks like a young girl, but instead it was a male angle. St. John was the son of Zebedee, and the brother of St. James the Great, was called to be an Apostle by our Lord....
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...Many existing biblical stories became extremely popular during the Italian Renaissance, and would therefore be constantly represented in artists of the time’s work. A memorable one that at the time was seen as a “symbol of a weaker power triumphing over a mighty power”* was that of David and the Goliath. This is the famous tale of a young peasant, David, that courageously and unarmed defeated the terrifying King of Israel Goliath, and immediately became a model figure to the Hebrews.* Several artists such as Donatello, Verrocchio, Michelangelo and Bernini, produced sculptures of the grand David between the Renaissance and the Early Barroque. Nonetheless, the two Davids that are known to stand out the most were made by Donatello...
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...Elliot Shimonov An Episode from the Life of Publius Cornelius Scipio Giovani Bellini is a widely known painter of Venetian descent whose work is fundamental in the understanding of the Venetian High Renaissance. His works were inspired by social and political elements which was atypical of the Renaissance culture. However, the Venetian Renaissance came later than the Florentine or Roman Renaissance and by the time of its assumption, studies of sciences such as astronomy, dynamism of the universe, and navigation made Venetians question the nature of everything around them, referring to history for answers. Accordingly, artists focused on the nature of color and other observable natural occurrences, whereas the Florentine and Romans focused on the composition and geometry of that which they depict. Bellini’s 1506 painting An Episode from the Life of Publius Cornelius Scipio is no exception to the Venetian trend; it is nature-inspired and though-provoking, depicting the Roman General Publius Cornelius Scipio and his men gathering hostages after a victory in Carthage. The artwork functioned as a work for a private patron who wanted to honor his old ancestor. The Patron was of Roman descent and it is likely he may have been related to Scipio. Furthermore, Venetians were known to adhere to the past in order to further humanist learning, which suggests that the painting might have also functioned to provoke learning. The text to Scipio’s right, translates to: “To exact love is more...
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...Rebecca Kestenbaum 4/1/11 Italian Renaissance research paper Professor Schlitt The cleaning of the Sistine Chapel ceiling was one of the most significant art restorations of the 20th century. The restoration changed the way modern viewers perceive 16th Century artist, Michelangelo, and refutes theories developed over the centuries. Before the restoration, the color and lighting of the Sistine chapel was misleadingly interpreted. Two years after the start of the restoration, Patricia Corbett published “After Centuries of Grime”, an article that revealed new developments about Michelangelo’s masterpiece that were before unknown. Corbett describes Michelangelo as a “brilliant and daring colorist whose bold brushwork is surprisingly impressionistic.” The Sistine ceiling had, for many years, been viewed under a “murky veneer” with false shadows and colors that the artist himself had not intended. As Gianluigi Colalucci, the chief conservator of paintings at the Vatican, and his small team meticulously worked to remove layers of dirt and encrustations, they discovered new developments on his style, technique and use of color. The response of critiques such as Pope John Paul II, a contemporary of Michelangelo of the 16th Century, who viewed the work as the artist intended was allegedly “fantastic, fantastic, absolutely marvelous”. The Pope’s reaction to the newly painted work was likely a response to the vibrant colors and energy radiating from the ceiling. After centuries...
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...The Renaissance was the period from 1350-1600. The Renaissance began first in the city-states of Italy for many reasons. Although most of Europe had become a big economic crisis during the late Middle Ages, Italy managed to avoid everything and their towns remained important centers of Mediterranean trade and boost their production of textiles and luxury goods. Town life was bigger in Italy than in other parts of Europe. Therefore, most Italians could easily discard feudalism and other medieval institutions. Because Italy was wealthy and successful, they became independent city-states, each of which included a walled urban center and the surrounding countryside. The Italian city-states started a new social order. It was that wealth and ability mattered more than aristocratic titles and ownership of land. Wealthy merchants and bankers replaced the nobles in the upper class. Shopkeepers and artisans ranked below the wealthy merchants, forming a moderately prosperous middle class that employed a lot of poor workers. Most of these workers came from the countryside. And at the very bottom of the social ladder, were the peasants who worked on the country estates for the wealthy classes. During the Renaissance, Italy was not under one government, but was divided into the city-states. Each of these were ruled by wealthy families whose fortunes came from commercial trading or banking. A lot of times, workers rebelled against the upper classes. Their demands for equal rights and...
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...ITALIAN RENAISSANCE ARTISTS: • Nicola Pisano (also called Niccolò Pisano, Nicola de Apulia or Nicola Pisanus; c. 1220/1225 – c. 1284) was an Italian sculptor whose work is noted for its classical Roman sculptural style. Pisano is sometimes considered to be the founder of modern sculpture. • Coppo di Marcovaldo (c. 1225 – c. 1276) was an Italian painter active in Tuscany. • Vitale da Bologna (fl 1330, d 1361), also known as Vitale di Almo de' Cavalli or Vitale degli Equi, was an Italian painter, of the Early Renaissance. He is a representant of the 14th century school of painting in Bologna, where he was most active and painted the polyptych in the church of San Salvatore and frescoes in Santa Maria dei Servi. He was also active in Pomposa and Udine. • Giovanni di Agostino (c. 1310 – c. 1370) was an Italian sculptor in Siena in a gothic art style. Most of his work was sculptural commissions of the newly built Gothic Siena Cathedral. He sculpted a monument to Bishop Guido Tarlati in 1330. He also rendered a relief entitledMadonna and Child with Saints Catherine and John the Baptist between 1340 and 1348. • Guariento (fl. 1355), sometimes incorrectly named Guerriero, was the first Paduan painter of distinction. The only date distinctly known in his career is 1355, when, having already acquired high renown in his native city, he was invited by the Venetian authorities to paint a Paradise, and some incidents of the war of Spoleto, in the great council-hall...
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...* The day is finally here, we are only hours away from unearthing a long lost chamber that is said to hold priceless treasures from the Renaissance and the Age of Baroque. In this chamber we hope to find several different items. The items in the chamber are said to represent the arts, music, architecture, philosophy and literature. We have done it, we have reached the chamber. It is amazing, it holds even more than we could have imagined. Upon entering the first item that I noticed was the statue of David. It is a work of genius by Renaissance area sculpture Michelangelo. Michelangelo created the statue of David between 1501 and 1504. It is a 17.0 foot marble statue of the biblical protagonist David standing fully nude. The statue is a true interpretation of the standing heroic man. Such poses were considered to be distinct feature of historic sculpture in the high Renaissance. Michelangelo’s sculpture of David has come to be one of the most renowned works of Renaissance sculpture, becoming a representation of both strength and youthful human beauty. The next item that I see is a large painting. Upon closer inspecting I see that it is The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt by Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens painted The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt in 1616. He was a true Baroque era artist. Rubens use of dramatics and visual diagonal to broaden the sense of immediacy and movement and redirected attention downward into the center of action truly represent the Baroque era style of...
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...Pamela Castillo September 16, 2015 Art and Society: Renaissance to Modern Art Art History Paper Assignment 1 The Era of the Italian Renaissance was a time of reawakening of the Renaissance man. The arts, sciences, philosophy, and man being master of many things were all resurgence during this time. One particular painting to be analyzed for an example of Southern Italian style is Giuliano Burgiardini, Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist, 510. Giuliano Burgiardini painting conveys the typical Southern Italian style with its composition in a pyramidal fashion, the particular way the bodies are depicted, and use of chiaroscuro of shadowing that differentiates it from Northern style. To continue on forth, the composition of the painting must be taken into account as well as Giuliano use of color, light and shadow as evidence of Southern Italian style. It must be noted, the painting is considered historical because it is depicting a significant event in time whether or not the event actually took place. In this particular historical painting you see depicted Mary and Christ with Saint John the Baptist in a pyramidal formation. The pyramidal formation and the fact that there are 3 figures were often seen in Southern Italian style. You can see Christ and St. John the Baptist as the corner base of the triangle and the head of Mary at the apex (Giuliano). A straight line can almost be drawn from the foot of Christ up to the head of Mary down to the foot of St. John the...
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...Art Ren November 26, 2012 David The iconic sculptures of David created by both Italian artists, Michelangelo of the High Renaissance and Donatello of the Early Renaissance are similar yet different in several ways. As with most art created during these time periods, the sculptures tell the Bible story from the Old Testament about David and Goliath. In this story, David, an Israelite, battled Goliath, a Philistine, and killed him with a simple slingshot and then David’s own sword allowing for David to claim a victory for the Israelites. The similarities start with the pose. Both the artists show David in a similar pose. Both statues depict David as a warrior. Both figures are standing and are predominately nude. Both sculptures are positioned in a contrapposto pose. Both statues show some form of a soldier’s tools such as the helmet, boots, and sword in Donatello’s piece, and the stones from the sling shot in Michelangelo’s piece. Both likenesses of David depict the concept of humanism in that they both display within their likenesses a sense of “self-contained, even heroic individualism (Sayre, 2012) that perfectly captures the humanist spirit. It is from this point on the sculptures begin to have stark contrasts. Let’s focus first on the physical differences. The bronze David created by Donatello is that of a younger msn or teen age boy. It is definitely more feminine looking or waifish than that of Michelangelo’s work. His statue of David is much more developed...
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