The Renaissance

The renaissance was the period in Europe that began in the 14th century through the 16th century. The word renaissance is French and means the “rebirth.” It began in the 1400’s after a bubonic plague, also called the “black death,” which devastated almost half the population of Europe. After the plague hit Europe the people’s mindsets shifted. The early renaissance was known as the era of the individual. The scholar Petrarch had come up with this idea of a new Humanism as early as the 1330’s. This idea was that everybody had their own unique values. This idea is what the renaissance is all about.
The Renaissance was not some quick change. It was a long period that went through many stages. During the early renaissance, “the population decrease caused by the plague led to an economic depression.” (http://www.learner.org/exhibits/renaissance/middleages.html) Economic hardship spread throughout the community and it affected everybody. After the effects of the plague decreased, the population began to grow and it demanded more goods and services which made a new middle class emerge. “As the fortunes of merchants, bankers, and trades people improved, they had more than enough money to meet their basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.” (http://www.learner.org/exhibits/renaissance/middleages_sub)
They began this need to want to upgrade everything they had. Their education system improved and it became apparent that the, “the study of classical languages, literature, history, and philosophy-what we call humanities” was becoming important. (Sayre 455) The Renaissance was a time of growth. “Also, and perhaps most importantly, the Renaissance was an age in which artistic, social, scientific, and political thought turned in new directions.” (http://www.learner.org/exhibits/renaissance/)

The renaissance was a revival period for art when people started to gain interest in arts and sciences again after being lost for so many years. They were thought to believe that they would be doomed to darkness if they didn’t take their opportunity to learn. When it comes to the actual art that was created during the Renaissance period, it is very distinctive. It totally went from the original pattern and model of what art was to a more realistic nature. The people in the paintings became more realistic and held expressions and showed emotions. Before the renaissance they were stiff and expressionless. Renaissance art also represents the rebirth of naturalism in its art. “For instance, there was a greater emphasis on anatomically correct human bodies.” (http://www.gabc.org/pastor/report02.htm) Before this time the human body was always covered. Michelangelo who is a famous Renaissance painter went against the normal traditions. He uncovered the body and made it so realistic. Before this time the human body was sinful and looked upon as discussing. During the renaissance it slowly began to be uncovered and looked upon as a beautiful thing. Also, when artists showed objects they started the use of shadows upon the ground. Depth became very apparent. Painters started using little tricks like “vanishing points.” “This new depth perspective represented a dramatic change from the flat scenes.” (http://www.gabc.org/pastor/report02.htm) With a combination of all these new techniques Rennaissance art was created.

The Mona Lisa is one of Leonardo Da Vinci’s most celebrated paintings. The actual history of the painting is shrouded in mystery. It is speculated that it was painted in Florence between 1503 and 1506 and is thought to be of Lisa Gherardini, wife of a Florentine cloth merchant named Francesco del Giocondo. The portrait may have been painted to mark one of two events, either when Francesco del Giocondo and his wife bought their own house in 1503, or when their second son, Andrea, was born in December 1502 after the death of a daughter in 1499. The dark veil that covers Mona Lisa's hair is sometimes considered a mourning veil. The Mona Lisa is the earliest Italian portrait to focus so closely on the sitter in a half-length portrait and is painted to a realistic scale. Such aspects of the work as the three-quarter view of a figure against a landscape, the architectural setting, and the hands joined in the foreground were already being used in Flemish portraiture of the second half of the 15th century, particularly in the works of Hans Memling. However, the spacial coherence, the atmospheric illusionism, the monumentality, and equilibrium of the work were all new. This technique was also new to Leonardo’s style, because none of his other portraits up until this time were painted with these characteristics. (louvre.fr)

Painted by Veronese between 1562 and 1563, this giant canvas once adorned the refectory wall of the Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice. The theme is of the Marriage at Cana, from the Gospel of St. John. Veronese did not follow the biblical text exactly but instead borrowed from Arentino's version of St. John and transformed the scene into a lavish banquet, calling to mind the extravagant Venetian lifestyle. The work remains deeply religious, as can be seen from the composition. “The central vertical cuts through the body of Christ; the central horizontal lies on the balustrade: above Christ, the theme of the Eucharist is evoked by the butchering of the lamb; below Christ, the hourglass on the table and the dog chewing a bone, the symbol of death, evoke the destiny of mankind” (louvre.fr). The extravagance of Venice is seen through the beauty of the women, all dressed superbly and in jewels. The requirements concerning the pigments to be used imposed by Veronese's patrons here remind us how important color was for Venetian artists.

Painted between 1485-1486, The Birth Of Venus, became one of Sandro Botticelli’s most celebrated works. The piece was painted for the villa of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici at Castello, onto canvas, which was a less expensive painting surface than the wooden panels used in church and court pictures. Canvas is known to have been the preferred material for the painting of non-religious and pagan subjects that were sometimes commissioned to decorate country villas in 15th-century Italy. During the Renaissance, when the Italians tried to recapture the glory of Rome, classical myths became very popular. The patron who commissioned the Botticelli painting for his country villa was a member of the rich and powerful family of the Medici. Either he himself, or one of his educated friends, probably explained to the painter what was known of the way the ancients had represented Venus rising from the sea. “To these scholars the story of her birth was the symbol of mystery through which the divine message of beauty came into the world.”(puc-rio.br). In the painting, Venus has emerged from the sea on a shell which is driven to the shore by flying wind-gods amidst a shower of roses. As she is about to step on to the land, one of the Hours or Nymphs receives her with a purple cloak. The picture forms a perfectly harmonious pattern. “The graceful movements and melodious lines of his composition recall the Gothic tradition of Ghiberti and Fra Angelico, perhaps even the art of the fourteenth century - works such as Simone Martini's Annunciation.” (puc-rio.br) Botticelli's Venus is so beautiful that we do not notice the unnatural length of her neck, the steep fall of her shoulders and the queer way her left arm is hinged to the body. “These liberties which Botticelli took with nature in order to achieve a graceful outline add to the beauty and harmony of the design because they enhance the impression of an infinitely tender and delicate being, wafted to our shores as a gift from Heaven.” (puc-rio.br)

The original sculpture of David by Michelangelo was begun in 1501, and by 1504 the David sculpture was placed outside the Palazzo Vecchio. Michelangelo was commissioned to create the marble David sculpture by the Arte della Lana (Guild of Wool Merchant), who were responsible for the upkeep and the decoration of the Cathedral in Florence. For this purpose, he was given a block of marble which Agostino di Duccio had already attempted to fashion forty years previously, perhaps with the same subject in mind. (marbleclassics.com) David is known as the most recognizable statue in the history of art. It has become regarded as a symbol both of strength and youthful human beauty. The 17 ft. statue portrays the biblical King David at the moment he decides to battle Goliath. Instead of being shown victorious over a foe much larger than he, David looks tense and ready for combat. His veins bulge out of his lowered right hand and the twist of his body effectively conveys to the viewer the feeling that he is in motion. The statue is meant to show David after he has made the decision to fight Goliath but before the battle has actually taken place. It is a representation of the moment between conscious choice and conscious action.(graphics.stanford.edu/projects/mich/)

This version of the Crucifixion done by Giovanni Bellini, in 1460, is marked by him adopting a new style and breaking away from the heavy influence of his brother-in-law Andrea Mantegna. Set on a domed mound, the Cross stands out against a landscape that includes, on the right, the walls of a city. The dead Christ is flanked by his mother and St John. On the left, the Virgin in her blue cloak is shown full face, one arm extended with the hand open. On the right St John is turned towards Christ, hands clasped; his mouth is slightly open, as if in a sigh.

By: Stefanie and Vika