The Renaissance – How does it begin?

Background:

  • Renaissance is a French word that means "rebirth."
  • It refers to the rebirth of learning that began in Florence, Italy, in the 14th century (1300’s)
  • It spread to northern Europe, by the 16thcentury, and ended in the mid-17th century (1600’s).
  • This new interest in knowledge will affect art, literature, science, and religion…

Art:

4 of the most famous artists of the Renaissance period:

Michelangelo

Liked to paint as well as sculpt…

Creates a number of the paintings found in the Vatican (Pope’s home in Italy)

The “Creation of Adam” (1508-1512) was painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

Fun Fact#1: Michelangelo was not happy that the painting took away 4 years from other projects, so he wrote a poem complaining about it…

Fun Fact#2:The Pieta was the only piece of art/sculpture that Michelangelo signed…

Michelangelo’s famous sculptures include David and the Pieta

Raphael

Lived when both Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci were alive

Was considered primarily as “just a painter”

His famous painting “School of Athens” (1509) also hangs in the Vatican

Fun Fact: Raphael was born and died on the same date April 6th…

Fun Fact#2: Raphael was asked to paint the Sistine Chapel, but said no. He recommended Michelangelo because he thought it would frustrate him

Leonardo Da Vinci

Considered to be a true “Renaissance Man” for his talents in a number of different areas

Thought of himself as an inventor, who also painted

Leonardo sketched the 1st parachute, helicopter, aeroplane, tank, repeating rifle, paddleboat and motorcar

The Mona Lisa (1503-1507) and Last Supper (1495-1498) are considered the most recognizable paintings every created

Fun Fact: Da Vinci was a vegetarian

Fun Fact #2: Da Vinci didn’t consider most of his workunfinished and had a habit of burning them…

Jan Van Eyck

Was born around 1395 in what is now known as Belgium

Had 2 brothers (Hubert and Lambert) that were painters

He created the Ghent Alterpiece, which became a favorite of Adolf Hitler

Fun Fact: Van Eyck was thought to be a good spy and was sent on different “undercover missions”

Renaissance artists started to focus more on what was happening around them as opposed to painting mostly biblical scenes. Here are some of the “new” techniques that would be used during this period.

Realism
One of the big changes in art was to paint and sculpt subjects realistically. This is called realism and involves a number of techniques that make the subjects and background look like they would in real life. This also meant giving the subjects more emotional qualities.
Perspective- perspective is drawing or painting a picture such that it looks like there are three dimensions. It gives the illusion that some objects in the painting are further away than others.
Balance and Proportion- Drawing subjects such that they are the correct size when compared to each other.
Use of Light and Dark- Many artists starting using light and shadows in their works to add drama, perspective, and timing to their art.

Sfumato- This was a technique used byLeonardo da Vincito add additional perspective and dimension to paintings. It was a way of blurring the lines between subjects. This technique was used in Leonardo's Mona Lisa.

Foreshortening- Another technique that added perspective and depth to paintings, foreshortening is a way of shortening lines to give the illusion of depth.

Now that you’re an art “expert”, see if you can identify techniques that Renaissance artists used…