Cinquecento Masters: Architecture and Sculpture of the High Renaissance

Cinquecento: High Renaissance Art and Architecture

The Cinquecento, or High Renaissance (16th century), saw a more rigorous application of classical orders. Artists and architects sought measure, balance, and proportion, reducing excessive decoration to highlight the purity of architectural elements. This period aimed for a grand and monumental art that resembled the Roman Empire.

Donato Bramante: Master of High Renaissance Architecture

Donato Bramante (1444-1514), a humanist and scholar of Greco-Roman ruins, showed a preference for simple structures. His works soberly reflected geometry, perspective, and classical style.

Notable Works by Bramante:

• San Pietro in Montorio
• Initial design for St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican

Michelangelo Buonarroti: Architect and Sculptor

Michelangelo (1475-1564) was a multifaceted genius, primarily a sculptor. His buildings maintained classical proportions but introduced curved pediments, gigantic orders, curved moldings, and large scrolls and corbels.

Key Architectural Works by Michelangelo:

• Dome of St. Peter's Basilica
• The Laurentian Library staircase
• Design of the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome

Andrea Palladio: Rationality in Renaissance Design

Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) assimilated classical concepts and advocated for absolute rationality in building various types of structures. His works are characterized by the succession of arches between lintels and facades crowned with sculptures.

Major Works by Palladio:

• Villa Rotonda
• The Church of the Redeemer in Venice
• The Church of San Giorgio Maggiore
• The Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza

Michelangelo's Sculptural Evolution

Early Period: Ideal Beauty and Classical Influence

Michelangelo's first stage focused on the knowledge of classical sculpture and the exaltation of human value, seeking to capture human ideals. He was not interested in mere realistic beauty but in ideal beauty.

Key Sculptural Works (Early Period):

• David
• Pietà in the Vatican

These works, treated in the manner of great myths, exalt the greatness of man in a restrained and harmonious way.

Middle Period: Monumental Works and Emotional Depth

This period coincides with the completion of the commission for the tomb of Pope Julius II in Rome. The initial project was a monumental tomb intended to have 40 life-size sculptures, but it had to be remodeled, resulting in only six figures, the most representative being Moses.

Key Sculptural Works (Middle Period):

• Moses
• The Medici Chapels (New Sacristy)

Late Period: Spiritual Evolution and Anti-Naturalism

In his later years, Michelangelo enjoyed enormous prestige and social recognition, but his style underwent a change as a result of his spiritual evolution. His figures became charged with emotion and dynamism, often elongated, and he broke with triangular compositions. Works were often left unfinished, showing an anti-naturalistic approach that poignantly expressed the drama and pain of the human condition.

Key Sculptural Works (Late Period):

• Florence Pietà
• Rondanini Pietà (his last work)