The Renaissance: Art, Architecture, and Humanism

The Humanist spirit created a new artistic style, the Renaissance. This style originated in the small Italian states.

Artists could dedicate themselves to creation because they were maintained by patrons, who paid them for the work. Patrons included the Medici, Sforza, and Popes.

This artistic style was called Renaissance because there was a revival of Classical Greek and Roman culture. Two reasons:

• The arrival in Italy of Greek scholars, who had left Constantinople.
• The abundance of Roman remains on the Italian Peninsula and the discovery of new archaeological remains.

Phases of the Renaissance:

Trecento (14th century): The early features of the Renaissance appear. The first artist was Giotto.

Quattrocento (15th century): New Renaissance innovations appeared, including harmony and proportion. Notable figures include architects Brunelleschi and Alberti, sculptors Ghiberti and Donatello, and painters Masaccio, Fra Angelico, and Botticelli.

Cinquecento (16th century): Rome became the artistic center. In Venice, a new style emerged. Notable artists include Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael Sanzio, Giorgione, and Titian.

Mannerism (1530 in Italy): Harmony and proportion were abandoned. Notable artists include painters Bronzino, Pontormo, Tintoretto, and Veronese, and sculptors Cellini and Giambologna.

Architecture:

Characterized by domes, columns, semi-circular arches, coffered ceilings, triangular pediments, friezes, geometric designs, scrolls, and longitudinal and central-plan structures (circular, square, Greek cross).

Painting and sculpture:

Reflected the new mentality.

New interest: Idealism and serenity; Tried to reflect reality.

Interest in the human body and anatomy, reviving the nude as a subject.

Search for balance and proportion, often using a pyramidal composition.

New techniques and materials: Sculpture: Marble. Reliefs were replaced by freestanding sculptures, which could be contemplated from all angles. Painting: Frescoes on walls, tempera on wooden panels. New oil technique was adopted and used to paint on cloth canvases.

New subjects: Classical Antiquity, portraits, equestrian portraits, nature, landscapes, and buildings.