Italian Renaissance Painting: Key Artists and Techniques
Italian Renaissance Painting: Techniques and Masters
Painting during the Renaissance focused on representing the natural world. Artists aimed for precision and scientific accuracy, employing geometric systems, most notably perspective, to achieve this. Perspective revolutionized how artists perceived and depicted the world, providing a new vehicle for representing shape, proportion, and the physical characteristics of objects.
Color and Light in Renaissance Painting
The natural color of an object was not uniformly represented. Instead, artists captured the nuances of light, shadow, and atmospheric perspective. The appearance of an object varied depending on its distance and the surrounding environment.
The Human Figure as a Central Subject
The human figure became a central subject in painting. Main genres included oil painting, metal plate engraving, and line drawings, all contributing to the conquest of reality.
- Linear Perspective: Creating depth using converging lines and a vanishing point.
- Aerial Perspective: Using color and clarity to indicate distance, with forms becoming less defined in the distance.
- Foreshortening: Representing objects at an angle to create the illusion of depth.
Key Periods and Artists
Quattrocento (Florence School)
1st Generation:
- Massacio: Known for frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel and the Trinity.
- Fra Angelico: Famous for frescoes in the Convent of San Marco.
- Ucello Paolo: Celebrated for The Battle of San Romano.
2nd Generation:
- Botticelli: Renowned for Spring and The Birth of Venus.
3rd Generation (Umbrian School):
- Pierro della Francesca
- Filipino Lippi
Cinquecento
- Leonardo da Vinci: Master of the La Gioconda (Mona Lisa) and The Last Supper.
- Michelangelo: Creator of the Sistine Chapel vault.
- Raphael: Famous for The School of Athens.
Spain
- El Greco: Known for works like The Hand of the knight appears on the chest.
The Italian Renaissance: Foundations and Principles
The Italian Renaissance flourished during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with three distinct phases:
- Quattrocento: Primarily in Florence during the fifteenth century.
- Quincuecento: Centered in Rome during the first half of the sixteenth century.
- Mannerism: Developed in the latter third of the sixteenth century.
Reasons for the Renaissance in Italy
- A strong middle class provided art sponsorship, becoming the main patrons. Notable families included the Medici in Florence, the Sforza in Milan, and the Holy Father.
- The preservation of classical traditions, with buildings and artifacts from that era visible throughout Italy.
- The Franciscan movement, with its naturalist tendencies, supported the Renaissance.
The Value of the Artist
Artists claimed a connection to nature, seeking training and studying subjects like mathematics and geometry in depth.
The Purpose of Art
The purpose of art was to search for beauty, achieved through:
- Logical and coherent relationships between the components of the work.
- Relationships expressed through numerical proportions.
- Composition and rhythm based on mathematical criteria.
- Stability and unity generated by geometric forms like triangles and spheres.
- Careful consideration of spaces and perspective.