Cinquecento Painting: Characteristics, Stages, and Artists

General Characteristics

Cinquecento painters began to pay greater attention to content, translating it into visual forms. Grandeur and monumentality took precedence, mirroring trends in architecture and sculpture. Key features include:

• Compositional clarity in scenes
• Idealized female nude models
• Perfect and careful study of movement
• Soft intonation of colors

From the second third of the 16th century, Mannerism emerged as a prominent style.

Main Stages, Artists, and Works

High Renaissance

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was a seeker of scientific knowledge. He was interested in the study of the human body to achieve perfect composition and connection between figures. His early paintings, linked to the Quattrocento (e.g., Annunciation), demonstrate a serious study of nature. He delved into perspective, composition, and the anatomical study of figures, focusing on their gestures, attitudes, and relationships.

In Milan, he painted The Virgin of the Rocks (now in the Louvre). He began exploring aerial perspective in his Treatise on Painting, considering the decrease in color intensity with distance. This contributed to his signature sfumato, or blurred contours, which lent an air of mystery to his figures. These figures often display a characteristic "smile of Leonardo" and demonstrate a mastery of hand gestures. He incorporated studied geometric structures into his compositions.

For the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, he painted The Last Supper. In Florence, he created Saint Anne, the Virgin, and Child. He also painted the Mona Lisa. Leonardo later moved to France to serve Francis I until his death.

Raphael

Raphael was an excellent painter who used large-scale spatial arrangements and obvious symmetry (e.g., The Marriage of the Virgin). In his youth, he created figures with simple grandeur and a certain air of melancholy (e.g., The Knight's Dream). In Florence, he learned from Leonardo and Michelangelo, producing religious-themed works like the beautiful Madonna series (e.g., Madonna of the Meadow, Madonna of the Goldfinch) and representations of the Holy Family (e.g., The Holy Family with a Lamb, in the Prado).

He introduced Mannerist elements in his Roman compositions, including the murals in the Vatican Palace's Stanze (e.g., the fresco The School of Athens). He also executed portraits of great delicacy and psychological depth, such as Portrait of a Cardinal.

Michelangelo

Michelangelo mastered drawing and the treatment of volume in forms, paying less attention to color. He was renowned for his fresco decoration, particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling, where he combined his skills as an architect, sculptor, and painter. Between 1533 and 1541, he painted The Last Judgment fresco in the apse of the chapel, showcasing Mannerist language.

Mannerism

Mannerism reflected the intense crisis that took place in Italy and Europe. This style was characterized by:

• Whimsical themes
• Games of light and shadow
• Alteration of anatomical proportions, leading to excessively stylized figures
• Twisted, helical compositions
• Loss of compositional clarity

Notable Mannerist painters include Andrea del Sarto, Correggio, and Parmigianino (e.g., Madonna with the Long Neck).