Italian Renaissance Masters: Raphael, Da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo

Five Masters of Italian Renaissance Art

Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio)

Raphael (1483–1520), an influential Italian Renaissance painter, is considered one of the greatest and most influential artists of all time. His notable works include:

• Apollo and Marsyas (Louvre, Paris)
• The Dream of the Knight (1501)

Giotto (c. 1266–1337): The Dawn of Western Painting

Giotto was the most important Italian painter of the fourteenth century. His conception of the human figure, representing large and rounded lines—rather than the flat, two-dimensional representation characteristic of the Gothic and Byzantine styles—indicates a profound concern for naturalism. This approach marked a crucial turning point in the evolution of Western painting.

Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510): Florentine Elegance

Sandro Botticelli was one of the most important painters of the Florentine Renaissance. He developed a highly personal style characterized by the elegance of his stroke, his melancholy, and the strength of his lines.

Botticelli also painted significant religious subjects, primarily depictions of the Virgin Mary. Key works include:

• Our Lady Writing the Magnificat (1480s, Uffizi)
• The Madonna of the Pomegranate (1480s, Uffizi)
• The Coronation of the Virgin (1490, Uffizi)
• Madonna with Child and two Saints (1485, Staatliche Museen, Berlin)

Among his other religious works are Saint Sebastian (1473–1474, Staatliche Museen) and the fresco Saint Augustine (1480, Ognissanti, Florence).

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564)

Michelangelo, a towering figure of the High Renaissance, is renowned for his monumental achievements. He famously painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and sculpted masterpieces such as David.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519): Renaissance Polymath

Leonardo da Vinci was born on Saturday, April 15, 1452, "at the third hour of the night" (approximately 10:30 PM), at the castle of Vinci, near Florence. He was the product of an illegitimate affair between his father, Messer Piero di Antonio da Vinci, a notary, foreign minister, and ambassador of the Republic of Florence, and his mother, Caterina, a humble peasant girl whose family lived in the small Tuscan town of Anchiano, located two kilometers from Vinci. ^{[6] [Note 5] [7] [8]} A study from 2006 indicates that it is likely that Caterina was a slave originally from the Middle East. ^[9]

Major Works by Leonardo da Vinci

• La Gioconda (Portrait of Mona Lisa)
• San Jeronimo (St. Jerome in the Wilderness)
• Madonna of the Rocks
• The Last Supper (a famous fresco in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, also called the Lord's Supper)
• Portrait of a Musician
• Study of Human Body Proportions (e.g., Vitruvian Man)