Italian Renaissance Painting: Masters of Quattrocento, Cinquecento, and Mannerism
Quattrocento: 15th Century Italian Painting
The Quattrocento focused on the visual representation of nature based on classical principles. Key concerns included the accurate representation of perspective, specifically Geometry and linear perspective. Artists showed great interest in depicting nature, psychological volumes, and retrospection.
Stylistically, the period featured an idealized classical context (idealized naturalism), emphasizing harmony, clear light, and harmonious colors often seeking complementary contrasts. Themes were primarily religious and allegorical. Techniques included fresco, tempera, and oil (used on fixed media like walls and portable canvases).
Quattrocento Masters and Key Works
- Masaccio (Late Gothic influence):
- Work: The Tribute Money (Christ commanded to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar).
- Botticelli (Platonic influence):
- Works: The Birth of Venus (featuring Zephyrs and Flora); Spring (representing the circle of Platonic love, passion, and contemplation).
- Piero Della Francesca (Rounded and geometric volumes):
- Work: The Dream of Constantine (referencing the Battle of the Milvian Bridge and the motto “In hoc signo vinces”). Notable for its use of cylindrical forms and night lighting.
- Fra Angelico (Transition between Gothic and new resources):
- Work: The Annunciation (set within a loggia of Brunelleschian architectural forms, retaining a Gothic attitude in the figures). Noted for its light, clear color, and remarkable condition.
- Paolo Uccello (Linear perspective and theatrical representations):
- Work: Battle of San Romano (Figures appear inlaid, with fictitious stiffness, artificial light, and spectral colors, giving it a theatrical quality).
- Andrea Mantegna (Innovator of “frog’s perspective” or extreme low-angle perspective):
- Artwork: Dead Christ (Known for its sobriety, drama, and intense expression through extreme foreshortening; sculptural treatment).
Cinquecento: 16th Century High Renaissance
The Cinquecento marks the full conquest of classicism in the 16th century. This period was dominated by the great masters: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo, centered primarily in Rome and Venice.
Cinquecento Masters
- Leonardo da Vinci:
Known for his scientific knowledge; he created a treatise advocating understanding nature rather than merely imitating it. Key techniques include aerial perspective and Sfumato.
- Work: La Gioconda (Mona Lisa): The Sfumato technique lends an air of mystery. Features include aerial perspective in the scenery, two levels of vision, and Leonardesque mastery of expressive chiaroscuro around the eyes and mouth corners, emphasizing universality.
- Raphael:
Assimilated the best techniques from his great masters, dominating axial symmetry. He painted extensively for Popes Julius II and Leo X.
- Work: The Madonna of the Goldfinch: Features a triangular composition, a prominent knee on the Virgin, poetic charm, and bright colors, showing influence from Leonardo and Michelangelo.
- Work: Portrait of a Cardinal: An elegant portrait featuring a triangular, static composition. Demonstrates technical virtuosity (neutral background, delicate brushwork, detailed texture) and psychological depth.
Mannerism: Tension and Stylistic Distortion
Mannerism is characterized by tension, dramatic lighting, and distorted forms, often using strident colors.
Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel ceiling and altar wall are pivotal Mannerist works. The side walls depict scenes related to Moses and Christ (Sub Lege – Under the Law; Sub Gratia – Under Grace). Michelangelo’s work exhibits immense greatness, terribilità , and tension, utilizing sharp, strident color and light typical of Mannerism.
Key Mannerist Artists
- Tintoretto (Venetian color intensity):
- Work: The Removal of the Body of St. Mark (A Venetian pattern). Features displaced figures and an empty corridor, typical of Mannerism. The work is dark, uses paradoxes (like the exotic camel), and employs geometric perspective. The violent light anticipates the Baroque period, utilizing acid colors.
- Pontormo (Often unrecognized Mannerist):
- Work: The Deposition from the Cross (or Moving the Body of Christ): Characterized by a lack of natural light, unreal floating figures, and perfect spatial resolution achieved through outward pressure. The composition features a circular, anti-clockwise movement, knotted hands, shapes influenced by Michelangelo, and an unreal atmosphere and color palette.