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RENAISSANCE

Gates of Paradise. Baptistry of San Giovanni, Florence, Italy. East Portal completed 1452. By Lorenzo Ghiberti. Bronze.

Beginning in Florence, Continental Europe experienced a shift in artistic style in the 15th century known as the Renaissance. One of the first examples of this shift is Lorenzo Ghiberti's bronze portals on the Baptistry of San Giovanni in Florence. The South portal, completed in 1424, represents the earlier Gothic style, while the East portal, completed 1452, is more indicitive of the style that will stick around for another century. 

 

IMPORTANT DATES

 

1420 - Papacy moves back to Rome

1429 - Medici's rise to Power

1453 - Ottomans conquer Constantinople, end of Hundreds Year War

1492 - Columbus Heads for America

1498 - Portugal reaches India via Cape of Good Hope

1503 - Pope Julius II reigns

1509 - Henry VIII reigns in England

1515 - Francis I takes power in France

1517 - Start of the Reformation

1521 - Fall of Aztec Empire

1533 - Fall of Incan Empire

1555 - Peace of Augsburg brings peace between Protestants and Catholics in Holy Roman Empire

1567 - Opening of Red Lion Theatre London

1599 - Globe Theatre Opens in England

1558 - 1603 - Reign of Queen Elizabeth I in England

 

THE MEDICI FAMILY

 

The shift is style also parallels the rise in power of the Medici family, a political power who will fund an immense amount of art. Cosimo de' Medici (Cosimo the Elder) moved the Medici house to Florence in 1434. The family became wealthy from banking and commerce and spent a lot of money supporting the arts. For example, Cosimo the Elder built administrative offices in Florence that included a mueum: Uffizi. This museum still houses many Renaissance art today.

 

Some favorite artists were commissioned by Cosimo the Elder to produce Renaissance art, like Lorenzo Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, and Donatello. This patronage continued throughout Cosimo's entire life and was further carried on by his children and grandchildren (particularly Lorenzo the magnificent.

 

Lorenzo supported artists like Botticelli, da Vinci, and Michelangelo. Michelangelo was commissioned to complete the Medici family tombs in Florence. Lorenzo died at the age of 43, and his son, Piero accepted an unfavorable peace treaty and was exiled in 1494. 

 

In 1512, the Medici family began controlling power again in Florence thanks to Piero's brother, Giovanni whom will eventually become Pope Leo X). Giovanni was a main contributor to arts patronage like his father. Piero's son, Lorenzo regained power in Florence and his daughter, Catherine becomes Queen by marrying King Henry II. Descendents of the Medici family became religious leaders and political leaders all over Europe during this period.

HUMANISM

 

Humanism is the study of classical antiquity. Moving from scholasticism (resolving discrepancies between authors) in the Medieval period to humanism during the Renaissance shifts the focus of cultural studies towards "a citizenry able to speak and write with eloquence and clarity and thus capable of engaging the civic life of their communities and persuading others to virtuous and prudent actions". (Kallendorf) This eventually became the study of the humanities: grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry and moral philosophy.

 

Humanists, like Petrarch, collected manuscripts and art from the ancient greeks and romans, attempting to explain and understand their philosophers through reasoning and empirical evidence. This focus on the ancient world carried over in areas other than education as well, particularly a resurrgence in classical artistic style.

 

The translation of Greek texts, particularly religious ones, as well as a shift to focus on individuals instead of a religious powerhouse helped pave the way for the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic response to this reformation known as the Counter Reformation marks the beginning of the next period, the Baroque.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Atlas, Allan W. Renaissance Music: Music in Western Europe, 1400-1600. New York: Norton, 1998.

 

Blum, Paul Richard. Philosophy of Religion in the Renaissance. Farnham, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate Pub. Ltd, 2010.

 

della Chiesa, Angela Ottino (1967). The Complete Paintings of Leonardo da Vinci. p. 83.

 

Craig W. Kallendorf, introduction to Humanist Educational Treatises, edited and translated by Craig W. Kallendorf (Cambridge, Massachusetts and London England: The I Tatti Renaissance Library, 2002) p. vii.

 

Frick, Carole Collier. Dressing Renaissance Florence: Families, Fortunes, & Fine Clothing. 120th ser., 3. Vol. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.

 

Gallwitz, Karl Ludwig. The Handbook of Italian Renaissance Painters. Munich; New York: Prestel, 1999.

 

Gardner, Helen (1970). Art through the Ages. pp. 450–456.

 

Lowry, Bates. Renaissance Architecture. New York: G. Braziller, 1962.

 

McEachern, Claire, and Debora K. Shuger. Religion and Culture in Renaissance England. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

 

Michelangelo. (2008). Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite.

 

Ongaro, Giulio Maria. Music of the Renaissance. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2003.

 

Sawkins, Annemarie, et al. Italian Renaissance Masters. Milwaukee, Wis: Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, 2001.

 

Servadio, Gaia. Renaissance Woman. New York; London: I.B. Tauris, 2005.

 

Vasari, Giorgio (1568). Lives of the Artists. Penguin Classics. pp. 258–9.

CITY-STATES

 

Italian city-states that had formed during the Medieval period continued to develop in the Renaissance. The political figure that ruled each city-state helped contribute which artist they would sponsor, and therefore shaped what artistic style was most represented in their area.

School of Athens. Rafael. c. 1509 - 1511. Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, Vatican City, Rome. Fresco.

SCIENCE

 

Scientific advancements stem from scholars looking to the past and proving/disproving Greek/Roman philosophers and scientists theories. The Scientific Method was established as a process for proving and finding evidence for new theories. 

 

Our understanding of human anatomy greatly improved during this period because of human dissection as well as detailed drawings done by many artists, most notably Leonardo da Vinci.

 

Not only did we know that the Earth was round (with the help of Columbus discovering the Americas in 1492), but Copernicus hypothesized that the Earth traveled around the Sun instead of vice versa. Astronomers like Galileo assisted Copernicus is proving that this was in fact, true.

 

 

With the sponsorship by the Medici family and other political leaders, commissions were competed for. This developed a heirarchy in the artistic world, where some artists were more sought after than others. Eventually these artists were considered "Famous".

 

Michelangelo

 

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475 - 1564) was a favorite with the Medici Family. He was so famous that he is one of the first Western artist to have a biography published about him prior to his death. Born in Caprese. Michelangelo and his parents moved to Florence shortly after his birth when his father's bank business failed. At six years old, his mother died. Michelangelo lived with a stonecutter near his father's marble quarry. He was sent to school in Florence as a young boy, but Michelangelo was more interested in copying paintings from churches. He quickly became an apprentice of any artist that would take him (the first,  was Ghirlandaio) and his skill in painting and sculpture got him quickly noticed by the Medici family. 

 

In addition to art, Michelangelo also wrote poetry. It is estimated he wrote roughly three hundred sonnets and madrigals. The erotic nature of the poetry as well as the focus on young men, caused his grandson to change all of the pronouns prior to publication. In addition he has written about fifty funeral effigies.

 

 

 

ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

 

With the end of the War of the Roses, and the beginning of the Tudor dynasty, 1485 marks the beginning of the English Renaissance. It is important to note that the English Renaissance happened much later than that of mainland Europe and their artistic style in art and architecture took much longer to develop. The height of the English Reniassance is considered the Elizabethan era, or the era in which Queen Elizabeth ruled. 

 

English artists took the techniques from the dying art of manuscript illumination to invent miniture portraits that could be worn around someone's neck. These portrait miniatures were worn by the wealthy, as well as travelers that were embarking on long journeys.

Donatello

 

Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi (1386 - 1466) was best known for his scupture. Born in Florence, Donatello was educated in the Martelli family house. He apprenticed in a goldsmith shop and later worked for Lorenzo Ghiberti and Brunelleschi. Over his lifetime, Donatello was commissioned by political figures to sculpt statues to place in niches of important buildings. Later, he spent a lot of time building monuments to dead political figures. He worked in the last several years of his life in Florence for the Medici family. His style is much less idealized than other artists of the period and leans more towards the grotesque. 

 

 

 

 

Portait of Michelangelo. Daniele da Volterra; Teylers Museeum, Haarlem.

Leonardo da Vinci

 

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (1452 - 1519) was not only an artist, but a mathematician, engineer, inventor, and writer to name a few. Many scholars consider Leonardo to be the epitome of the Renaissance based on his "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination (Gardner). He has been given the title of the Renaissance Man. Leonardo was born in Vinci (outide of Florence) to Piero da Vinci and Caterina out of wedlock. He was the apprentice of painter Verrocchio. His work was so admired that he was awarded a house in France by Francis I. It is here that he spent the last couple of years of his life. According to rumor, Leonardo became recognized when a peasant requested that Leonardo's father paint his sheild. He passed it to Leonardo and upon completion, decided the work (monster spitting fire) was too good to be given to the peasant so was instead sold to an art dealer and later, the Duke of Milan. With the profit, he bought a pre-painted sheild to give to the peasant (Vasari).

 

Only about fifteen of Leonardo's paintings have survived. This is because of his experimentation with different techniques and mediums, often ending in disaster. He was also known to be a huge procrastinator and therefore did not finish many projects. The more interesting work that he has is his scientific notebooks that include drawings, diagrams and his thoughts on the world. This was not intended to be a work of art, just merely an exploration on the humanist ideal of the Renaissance. See an example of his notebook in the Science section above.

 

Beyond art and his journal, Leonardo came up with a possible way to build a flying machine (just drawn and discussed but never built), an adding machine, theory about plate tectonics, how to concentrate solar power, as well as a rudimentary armoured vehicle. These explorations, although not built in Leonardo's lifetime, were the bases of future inventions.

 

In 1476, Leonardo disappeared and his whereabouts become unknown for several years. This was after Leonardo and three men were charged with sodomy, but acquitted (Chiesa). From 1513 to 1516, Leonardo was commissioned by Pope Leo X (Medici) and lived in the Belvedere at the Vatican where Michelangelo and Raphael were working. He passed away at a manor house, Clos Luce, while working on a mechanical lion that could walk forward, and open its chest to reveal a cluster of lilies for Francis I (Vasari, 265).

 

 

Raphael

 

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (1483 - 1520) was the son of Giovanni Santi, a court painter to the Duke of Urbino. Raphael was orphaned at eleven and became the charge of Bartolomeo, a priest. His first apprenticeship was under the Umbrian master Pietro Perugino. For the first part of his career, he worked all over Europe and was known as a nomadic artist. In 1508, he settled down in Rome and spent the rest of his life there. He was commissioned by Pope Julius II to fresco what was meant to be the private library of the Pope in the Vatican Palace. This was at the same time that Michelangelo was working on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Raphael's first commission at the Vatican was so successful, he was commissioned over and over again. Now, there are several of "Raphael Rooms" painted by him at the Vatican. These works are his most famous, especially the Stanza della Segnatura. Another interesting work was a series of ten cartoons that were commissioned for tapestries that were meant to hang in the Sistine Chapel. These "cartoons" were sent to a workshop of Pier van Aelst to be woven. It is unclear whether or not Raphael saw the completed works before his death.

 

Unlike some other artists of the time, Raphael had an entire workshop composed of roughly fifty pupils and assistants. Many of these pupils eventually became famous artists themselves. Scholars believe that this workshop was the largest in Europe at the time.

 

Raphael, in addition to a painter, was one of the most renown architects as well. He was in charge of designing St. Peters. However, only a few drawings remain, since after his death, Michelangelo was commissioned to finish it and most of Raphael's work was torn down.

 

There are quite a few rumors about Raphael's death. One includes that Raphael died on Good Friday after having excessive sex with is lover (not his fiance) and after coming down with a fever, the doctor's gave him the wrong cure because he lied about how he got it. Apparently, he was also born on Good Friday (Vasari).

 

 

Self Portrait. da Vinci. c. 1512. Stadelsches Kunstinstut, Frankfurt, Germany. Red chalk on paper.

Self-Portrait (Age 23). Raphael. c 1506. Uffizi Gallery, Uffizi, Florence. Oil on Panel.

THEATRE

 

Important playwrights (Select list):

 

ENGLISH: William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Middleton, and Ben Jonson.

 

FRENCH: Robert Garnier, Nicolas de Montreux, and Pierre de Larivey

 

ITALIAN: Giovan Battista Cini

 

SPAIN: Lope de Vega, Calderon de la Barca, Juan del Encina, and Lope de Reuda.

 

 

 

 

Portrait of Margaret Roper. Hans Holbein the Younger. c. 1536. 1.8" diameter. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gouache on vellum mounted on cardboard.

ENGLAND:

 

Elizabethan Theatre: 1562 - 1603

Jacobean Theatre: 1603 - 1625

Caroline Theatre: 1625 - 1642

TYPES OF THEATRE:

 

History Plays - Plays regarding recent or ancient history in England or Europe. This includes plays about kings (Richard                                        III or Henry V) as well as current events (A Larum of London which dramatizes the sack of Antwerp in 1576). 

 

Comedies - Plays that relied heavily on wit in script as well as physical commedy. This includes city comedies which satires                            the life of London (A Chaste Maid in Cheapside by Middleton).

 

Tragedies - Plays where major charcters die for personal or political reasons. This includes revenge dramas (The Spanish                              Tragedy by Thomas Kyd). Other popular tragedies include Marlowe's Dr. Faustus and Shakespeare's King Lear,                            Hamlet, and Macbeth.

 

Tragi-comedy - Theatrical version of adventure novels usually depicting lovers, knights, magic, and disguises. Popular in the                               French theatre. One popular play was Garnier's Bradamante.

 

Masque - Popular in the courts, a masque included music, dancing, singing and acting. Popular towards the end of the                                 Reniassance in England. Known more for the baroque style of Louis XIV.

 

Pastorals - Originally short plays performed before a tragedy, but eventually expanded into five act plays. Usually depicted                           stories that occured in the country or on farms. Popular in France.

 

Commedia del'Arte - Improvisational theatre that can stock characters wearing masks. Very physical. Popular throughout                                               mainland Europe. Usually performed by troupes.

 

Ballets - Allegorical and fantastical combination of dance and theatre popular mostly at court.

 

Autos Sacramentales - Dramas involving the mystery of the Eucharist and biblical stories. Popular in Spain. Part of the Corpus                                          Christi processions.

 

 

ARCHITECTURE

ENGLISH

Artists

COSTUMES

During the Renaissance, the silhouette switched from the very vertical style of the Gothic style to much wider, rounder, and shorter. The early renaissance was marked by youthful experimentation, while the High Renaissance moved towards power, strength, and maturity. Fabric tended to be heavily decorated with woven images such as floral motifs. Buttons were becoming more common, whowever, points were still being used frequently to attach garments to each other. There are distinct differences between what was happening on mainland Europe from what was happening in England. As the period went on the costumes became very complex and ornate. There was a very distorted body silhouette for both men and women.

 

WOMEN: In Italy (the current fashion capital), women's gowns had high, rounded waist-lines, necklines were very low to expose the chemise or upper torso. Necklines were typically rounded and pretty. Hair was elaborately twisted or braided and pulled away from the face. A high forehead was fashionable and many women would pluck their hair line to acheive that higher forehead. Once pulled back, the hair was typically left down and decorated in the back.

 

In England, women had a very square silhouette that was stiffened with heavy fabrics. There were ample amounts of slashing seen in both mens and women's clothing. Waists were slightly lower and elongated while necklines were very square and severe. The sleeves were usually fuller than on mainland Europe and English sleeves had two parts, a normal sleeve that may or may not be slashed to show the chemise underneath, and a hanging sleeve attached at the shoulder. Women's hair was severe and pulled back from the face and completely covered by headdresses. Accessories were abundant and included rings, earrings, and necklaces. As the Renaissance continued, waists became lower (came to a point) and bodices were conical shaped. Skirts were kicked out at the waist by cartwheel farthingales and were accented by the stiff structures of whisks or ruffs around the neck. Fabrics became more embellished with oversized patterns. 

 

MEN: In Italy, men's doublets had a very low, rounded neckline, and the body became shorter. Many had an attached peplum and were heavily slashed like in the military. Hair for men became longer and more poofy/flowy. 

 

In England, men's fashion followed the women's silhouette and became very boxy. The shoulders were heavily exaggerated in proportion. Slashing was used more in all garment pieces than on mainland Europe. As the period went on, there was a decrease in the size of the shoulders. A separate breeches or hose were beginning to be worn. The chemis or undershirt became gathered at the neckline and resembled a mini-ruff. The hair was shorter and there is an increase in the popularity of beards and mustaches. Accessories for men included capes or mantels, flat caps, swords, gloves, and one pearl earring.

The architecture in Europe during the Renaissance moved away from the heavy gothic style into a lighter and airy style with an emphasis on geometry, symmetry and proportion. Architects used Roman domes and columns combined with Gothic engineering and architectural advancements in order to create a taller, more regimented style. The repetition of shapes, combined with the overlay of geometric decoration, like aedicules, gave a sense of mathematical balance. The decorative shapes were more geometric, rectilinear or circular, unlike the freeform style of the Greek keys. Homes were constructed in the same philosophical approach as religious and political structures.

 

Towards the end of the end of the Renaissance, the architecture became more Romanesque in style. Buildings began to be known more for the prestige of the architect and the artists that worked on them. Several famous architects included Bramante, Donato, and Antonio de Sangallo the Younger. 

 

The architecture in England during the Renaissance followed its own style. The style was much more Gothic than Romanesque. Bricks were being used rather than all stone. Interiors of the buildings used an imense amount of timber mixed in with the stone. Roofs were pitched rather than flat because of the climate. Gardens outside of homes became elaborate and many had hedge mazes. In the Tudor style, windows in buildings increased in size. There was also a heavy focus on symmetry and many buildings resembled any gothic building from the period before. In the Jacobean style, red brick was used more heavily altering the color of buildings and houses. Most homes included a walking parapet on the roof and the buildings had a much more collegiate feeling. The interiors moved away from stone entirely. 

THEATRE

STYLES MORGUE

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