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Art

The Renaissance was a time of great artistic achievement, during which people gradually began to think of art as a means of expression rather than a craft. Similarly, artists came to be seen as individuals, rather than unknown members of guilds* or workshops. Various factors contributed to this transformation in the nature of art, particularly economic growth and prosperity, new social and intellectual developments, and a revival of interest in ancient Greek and Roman culture. In addition, the intense level of artistic activity from about 1300 to the early 1600s led to advances in theory and technique.

PATRONAGE AND HUMANISM

By the 1200s profits from trade and other commercial ventures had produced a concentration of wealth in cities such as FLORENCE, Italy, and ANTWERP, in present-day Belgium. This prosperity enabled many people—not only rulers and church leaders but also private individuals—to become patrons* of the arts. Familiar with the masterpieces of the ancient world, patrons sought out promising painters and sculptors and commissioned pieces from them. Moreover, support for the arts did not come only from the wealthy and powerful. Even members of the middle class purchased paintings, prints, and figurines.

The riches of the Renaissance were only one factor involved in changing attitudes about art. Just as important was the rise of humanism, a cultural movement promoting the study of ancient Greek and Roman literature and ideas. Following the fall of the Roman Empire in the 400s, most of the learning of these ancient societies had been lost to Europeans. During the late Middle Ages, however, Europeans began to rediscover Greek and Roman literary works. They took note of the value ancient writers placed on balance, harmony, and style in public speaking, writing, and the visual arts. These ideals of the ancient civilizations became the central principles of humanism. The artists of the Renaissance eagerly accepted the new movement. As humanism spread across Europe, art based on a revival of classical* traditions found a ready audience.

Renaissance artists studied many ancient texts on art and design. Among the most influential was the Ten Books on Architecture by Roman writer Vitruvius. In this work the author lays out a systematic approach to architecture. He emphasizes composition*; attention to detail; and proportion, including designing buildings to suit the dimensions of the human body. Vitruvius also identifies various categories of artistic forms and styles, such as the different types of columns used in classical buildings. Although Vitruvius wrote about architecture, Renaissance artists applied his ideas on composition and design to painting and drawing.

THEORIES OF ART

Classical concepts of orderly design gave Renaissance artists a set of rules to follow in the creation of their works. However, other ideas helped shape artistic theory and practice in the Renaissance.

Ancient writers taught that the object of art is to imitate nature as perfectly as possible. However, a work of art can never be more than an image of an actual object. For this reason, artistic imitation involves creating a convincing illusion of reality, to make the work appear as lifelike as possible.

To create realistic images, Renaissance artists returned to the ancient practice of carefully examining nature. Art teachers encouraged their students to study classical statues, live human models, and objects in the everyday world. Artists attempted to master fine details of form, structure, and movement to create the most lifelike images. Workshops provided model drawings called exempla for students to copy, to help them master the challenges involved in creating the illusion of reality. For example, the studio of the Italian master MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI produced an entire sheet of paper covered with drawings of eyes. As a result of this close study of nature, Renaissance artists achieved a high level of realism. The figures in their paintings seem to have weight and substance and one can almost feel the texture of the fabrics and solid objects.

ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENTS OF THE RENAISSANCE

Renaissance art evolved from a common set of principles, but it took many directions and changed considerably over time. Moreover, despite the emphasis on following classical ideals, some Renaissance artists did not hesitate to break the rules to create new styles of their own.

Early Renaissance Art. The artists of the 1300s and early 1400s created their works before the rediscovery of most of the classical writings on art and design. They attempted to imitate nature and to follow the examples of classical sculpture and art found in ancient ruins, but they did not work according to the formal rules of classical art. As a result, early Renaissance art combines elements of classical and medieval* styles as well as other influences. Compared to later work it is highly experimental and shows great freedom of expression.

One of the first Renaissance artists was the Italian fresco* painter GIOTTO DI BONDONE, who worked during the late 1200s and early 1300s. His ability to create lifelike images displaying brilliant color, dramatic poses, deep emotion, and a sense of weight and depth made his work immensely popular. While Giotto's style spread throughout Italy, artists in northern Europe were developing their own form of realistic painting. They focused on mastering light, shadow, and color to imitate closely the textures of the physical world.

By the 1400s the growing number of art collectors led to a steady commerce in paintings and illustrated books. This trade helped spread Italian style to northern Europe while making the work of northern artists popular in Italy. Florence became a center of artistic activity, where painters such as Sandro BOTTICELLI produced works for members of the MEDICI family and other wealthy patrons.

Rome in the 1500s. Following the rediscovery of classical learning in the mid-1400s, the center of artistic activity shifted to Rome. The city contained the world's greatest concentration of ancient paintings, statues, monuments, and buildings. It was also the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, a major source of patronage for the arts in the form of commissions from the popes and other church leaders.

By 1500 two of the most important Renaissance artists—MICHELANGELO and Donato BRAMANTE—had moved to Rome. Michelangelo polished his sculptural skills there and created the Pietà, a masterpiece portraying Mary holding the body of Christ. Meanwhile Bramante studied the techniques of classical architecture. Both artists made major contributions to buildings at the Vatican, the headquarters of the church in Rome. Bramante redesigned St. Peter's Basilica, the main church at the Vatican, while Michelangelo painted a majestic series of biblical scenes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican palace.

During the 1500s classical principles made a greater impact on art. The painter RAPHAEL, who arrived in Rome in 1508, developed a complete philosophy of art in which he applied the classical rules of architecture to painting. Raphael explained his theory in a letter addressed to Pope LEO X, for whom he completed a number of projects at the Vatican. Based on the imitation of nature, respect for order, and the use of accepted artistic forms, Raphael's views echoed the work of Vitruvius. Yet in his own work, Raphael often moved beyond the classical ideals, breaking rules to create designs that were unique but still balanced and orderly.

Mannerism. While the most creative artists, such as Raphael, played freely with the rules of classical art, less talented artists tended to follow the guidelines rigidly. Renaissance art had begun as a revolutionary movement, but by the early 1500s many artists felt it was becoming too bound up in rules. A new generation of artists launched a movement known as Mannerism, in which they broke free of theory and explored different forms of expression.

Mannerists stretched the rules by using dramatic colors, experimenting with perspective* and form, and creating elegant, vivid, and expressive images. Examples of Mannerist work include religious paintings by PARMIGIANINO, Rosso Fiorentino, and Jacopo da Pontormo, and elongated portraits by EL GRECO. Michelangelo's use of nontraditional colors such as purple, orange, and teal blue in the Sistine Chapel also shows the influence of Mannerism.

Mannerism appeared in sculpture and architecture as well. Mannerist sculptors explored the use of colored marble and began to work in harder types of stone that challenged their skills. Architects deliberately broke the rules set down by Vitruvius and Raphael, varying the standard elements and playing with proportion and scale in their building designs. Mannerism gradually gained popularity throughout Europe. Meanwhile, the 1500s saw a surge of interest in art forms other than painting, sculpture, and architecture. Metalwork, jewelry, tapestry, and even weapons and armor gained attention as significant works of art.

ARTISTIC TECHNIQUES AND PRACTICES

During the Renaissance artists adopted the latest technical advances to achieve the effects they were seeking. New materials, such as oil-based paints and inexpensive paper, enabled artists to explore different directions in painting and drawing. Meanwhile, a growing understanding of perspective revolutionized the ways in which artists could make objects appear real.

Perspective. The main tool that Renaissance artists used to create the illusion of three-dimensional space was linear perspective. This technique draws the viewer's eye to a point called the "vanishing point," and all lines in the picture seem to lead to this point. For example, roads in the scene will seem to run toward the vanishing point and disappear into the distance. Also, objects that are supposed to be farther away are shown at a smaller scale than those that are supposed to be closer, just as they would appear if a person were looking at them in real life.

To make the illusion of depth realistic, the objects in a picture using linear perspective must be drawn according to a very precise scale. If objects in the background are too small or too large compared to those in the foreground, the illusion will not work. The use of perspective thus depends on working out the exact mathematical proportions of objects and distances in the picture. Artists made the illusion of depth even more realistic through the technique of atmospheric perspective. This involves making the shape and color of objects in the foreground clearer and more distinct than those in the distance.

When early Renaissance painters such as Giotto first introduced perspective into their work, they applied it mostly to objects in the fore-ground and not throughout the scene. In the early 1400s the Italian artist Filippo BRUNELLESCHI made the first systematic use of perspective in two panel paintings of buildings in Florence. In the 1430s Leon Battista ALBERTI presented a thorough explanation of the principles of perspective in a book about painting. Thereafter, the use of the technique became common.

Later artists turned their attention to solving specific problems of perspective, such as creating the illusion of depth on a circular panel or on the curved surfaces of ceiling vaults and domes. Some used perspective to draw the viewer into the painting, by incorporating elements that seem to enter the picture from the front. Others used it to emphasize some aspect of the scene, such as placing the vanishing point at the head of Christ in a religious picture.

Drawing. During the Renaissance, drawing emerged as a major art form. Before this time, artists limited the amount of drawing they did because paper, the most suitable material for drawing, was not readily available. However, after the invention of the printing press in the mid-1450s, paper manufacturing improved to meet the demand for printed texts. As a result, paper became less expensive and easier for artists to obtain.

Renaissance artists employed a variety of techniques to produce drawings. In silverpoint, the artist used a pointed tool to scratch lines on the surface of a paper covered with calcium. Each stroke left behind fine particles of silver that tarnished and turned gray. Over time, many artists began to work in charcoal and in pen and ink. Both of these techniques were more flexible than silverpoint and allowed the artist to show textures, shadowing, and changes in tone more effectively.

Art students made copies of drawings by their teachers to study solutions to common artistic challenges and to learn the master's style. This was especially important in workshops that attempted to create a uniform style in their projects. After about 1450 the idea of exploring the natural world by observing and sketching became fairly widespread. Many artists, particularly those eager to move beyond formulas in their designs, used drawing as a problem-solving tool, working out ideas and searching for original solutions on paper. These drawings have a more experimental and rapidly executed look than the carefully finished models intended for students to copy.

During the Renaissance, one of the most popular subjects for drawing was the human body. Artists studied both ancient sculptures and live models as they sought to represent human emotions and movement as realistically as possible. The demand for portraits led many artists to produce numerous studies of heads. In these drawings they worked on mastering the proportions, types, and expressions of human faces.

Drawing was often used in preparation for a painting. By the late 1400s, artists were drawing small-scale models before starting work on a painting. They enlarged these models into full-scale images called cartoons, and then transferred the design to the surface they intended to paint.

Painting. Renaissance artists painted on a variety of surfaces ranging from wood to canvas to walls. The process generally involved multiple steps, beginning with the design and composition stage and moving on to preparation of the surface, mixing pigments (colored powders), and transferring and completing the image.

Artists working on wood panels or canvas coated the surface with several layers of gesso, a mixture of materials such as plaster and glue. Then they smoothed and polished the surface. Early Renaissance painters reproduced gold tones by gilding, applying a thin layer of gold over a layer of soft red clay. The clay prevented the delicate sheets of gold from breaking. After the mid-1400s, gilding became less popular and artists began to use gold paint, which allowed them to vary the tone more effectively.

Artists painted on damp plaster to create frescoes. First, they applied several layers of plaster until the wall was smooth. Then they transferred a sketch of the painting to the wall and applied a final layer of plaster. Because plaster dries quickly, they only coated the area that they could paint in one day. After the plaster dried, the only way to make changes was by chiseling out the previous work or painting over it. But the new paint tended to flake off.

Each workshop mixed its own pigments from various materials. About 18 standard pigments were commonly used in the Renaissance. Many of these, particularly the most brilliant, were not suitable for frescoes. Painters made ultramarine—a bright blue—by crushing the semi-precious blue stone lapis lazuli. Because lapis was extremely expensive, painters rarely used ultramarine on large pieces. One exception is the scene of the Last Judgment by Michelangelo, part of the monumental series in Rome's Sistine Chapel. The pope, who commissioned the work, paid for the ultramarine used in the vivid blue background.

For painting on other surfaces, such as wood or canvas, artists mixed dry pigments with either egg or oil. Oil-based paints dry much more slowly than those made with egg. Developed in the Netherlands in the early 1400s, oil painting did not reach Italy until the 1460s but eventually became common there. Using slow-drying paints, artists could blend and build up layers of color to achieve the richness and depth that distinguish many great works of Renaissance art.

(See also Academies; Architecture; Art, Education and Training; Art in Britain; Art in Central Europe; Art in France; Art in Germany; Art in Italy; Art in the Netherlands; Art in Spain and Portugal; Baroque; Decorative Arts; Museums; Patronage; Sculpture; also see entries on individual artists.)

* guild

association of craft and trade owners and workers that set standards for and represented the interests of its members

* patron

supporter or financial sponsor of an artist or writer

* classical

in the tradition of ancient Greece and Rome

* composition

arrangement of objects in a work of art

* medieval

referring to the Middle Ages, a period that began around A.D. 400 and ended around 1400 in Italy and 1500 in the rest of Europe

* fresco

mural painted on a plaster wall

Not Just a Man's World

During the Renaissance, women worked in almost every art form except architecture. They usually focused on small projects such as illuminated books, but some created paintings, prints, and sculpture. Sofonisba ANGUISSOLA painted portraits for members of the Spanish court, and Artemisia Gentileschi produced biblical and mythological scenes for Italian patrons. Women sculptors tended to work in clay; only one, Properzia de' Rossi, carved stone. Most female artists were nuns, who often trained other nuns in the arts. Other women in the field included the daughters or wives of artists and women from minor noble families.

See color plate 2, vol. 1

* perspective

artistic technique for creating the illusion of three-dimensional space on a flat surface

See color plate 8, vol. 1

See color plate 14, vol. 4

The Magic of Images

One of the ideas that Renaissance culture inherited from ancient Greece and Rome and from the Middle Ages was a belief in the power of images. In 1357 the people of Siena, Italy, suspected that a statue of Venus in the central square was bringing misfortune to the city. To solve the problem, they chopped the sculpture to bits, carried the pieces across the border with Florence, and buried them. Such beliefs continued throughout the Renaissance. In the early 1500s, people in Rome flocked to a statue of Mary thought to cure plague. Much like ancient sculptures depicting motherly figures, the statue was also said to combat infertility.