Decorative Arts

The term decorative arts refers to works of art that do not fall readily into the categories of painting, sculpture, and architecture. During the Renaissance, such objects were greatly valued because of the high level of skill and costly materials involved in making them. Items such as JEWELRY, ARMS AND ARMOR, tapestry, embroidery, woodwork, and ceramics were popular. Both wealthy and middle-class people collected decorative objects. But, for the most part, only the nobility and high-ranking church officials could afford expensive, high-quality items.

Gold Work. Elaborate objects made of gold served as a symbol of status in the Renaissance. Often decorated with precious stones, they reflected the wealth and prestige of their owners. Rulers displayed their impressive collections of gold items and presented some as gifts to important visitors. Members of the middle class also collected gold objects, such as drinking bowls, utensils, jewelry, and statuettes. However, they tended to purchase ready-made pieces, rather than works created specially for the owner.

Renaissance gold work served both secular* and sacred purposes. Secular items ranged from elaborate centerpieces to crowns, chains, pendants, and rings. Religious items included vessels to hold relics*, ceremonial objects, crosses, and statuettes. They were used in churches or displayed in private homes as a symbol of the owner's religious devotion.

The major centers of gold work were Florence, London, Nürnberg, and Venice. A number of famous artists, including Filippo BRUNELLESCHI, Lorenzo GHIBERTI, and Albrecht DÜRER, trained as goldsmiths. In addition, painters such as Hans HOLBEIN the Younger and RAPHAEL produced designs for gold objects.

Medals, Arms, and Armor. Portrait medals made of gold, silver, bronze, or lead were popular in the Renaissance, particularly in Italy. Members of the nobility distributed the medals to their friends and supporters. Inspired by ancient coins, the medals portrayed distinguished individuals, usually in profile and identified by an inscription. The Italian artist Antonio PISANELLO (ca. 1395–1455) was one of the great masters of this form.

Metalworkers also produced arms and armor for individuals participating in tournaments or preparing for war. The best weapons and pieces of armor, finely crafted and decorated with gold and gems, became a symbol of status among the upper classes.

Textiles. Decorative textiles were highly prized in the Renaissance. Tapestry, one of the most splendid art forms of the period, required hundreds of hours of skilled labor to produce. Woven of expensive materials such as gold, silver, silk, and wool, tapestries often contained mythological, religious, or historical scenes. People hung them in palaces, churches, and even military tents to create elegant and impressive settings. Philip the Good, duke of BURGUNDY, stored his extensive collection of tapestries in a specially designed fireproof hall staffed with guards and menders (those who repaired tapestries).

Embroidery, ornamental needlework, was another popular art form. Members of the upper classes wore clothing decorated with silk, gold, pearls, and gems. The ceremonial garments of high church officials often included richly embroidered panels. In addition, guilds* sometimes commissioned pieces of embroidery.

Woodwork and Enamel. The art of creating images with pieces of inlaid wood reached Europe in the mid-1300s from the Islamic world. Italian woodworkers produced benches, cabinets, and wall paneling featuring intricate inlaid pictures. In the early 1400s they began incorporating three-dimensional scenes in their designs, drawing on new theories of perspective*.

Works decorated with enamel were popular in France in the mid-1500s. Applied to a metal surface and then heated at extremely high temperatures, enamel produces a glossy, jewellike finish. The French used enamel for paintings as well as beautiful vases, candlesticks, and other household objects. Themes for the designs ranged from biblical and mythological stories to portraits and scenes from everyday life.

Ceramics. During the Renaissance, ceramics (objects made from clay) developed into a high art form. Artists were inspired by glazed pottery from China and Muslim regions of the Middle East and Spain. In Italy potters developed a technique known as majolica, which involved glazing a clay object, painting a design on it, coating it with a clear glaze, and firing it. A similar type of ceramics, known as faience, emerged in France.

Distinctive ceramic styles emerged in different parts of Europe. Spanish potters produced wing-handled vases and colored tiles. Italian artisans used a technique known as sgraffito, which features designs scratched into the surface to reveal a darker clay beneath. Luca della Robbia of Florence developed a method for producing colored, glazed clay pieces that were widely used in architectural decoration.