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Doug Chicca

CPA Foundations of Art

Mrs. Burakowski

June 7th, 2017

Three Artists Research Paper

The Renaissance was a time of religious values and intelligence of science coming into

one. These three painters were the embodiment of the Renaissance and used their math and art

skills to portray pictures and stories of our great God. Each doing it in their own way through

different characters and through their own styles. The effect they've had on all of art is

astounding creating masterpiece after masterpiece and have personally shaped my view of art. As

one of the immediate things of think of when the topic of art is brought up is these three

Renaissance painters.

Da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 and lived until May 2, 1519. He lived in a variety of

places but was a main leader of the Renaissance. His father sent him to be apprenticed at age 14.

(biography.com, Leonardo) The culture of the day influenced him. He was the definition of a

Renaissance man and he was a role model to those around him and his work has been marveled

at for years after his death. He used an Italian technique called sfumato. (biography.com)

Leonardo would use mathematical proportions to find the right perspective for the picture to look

realistic. Leonardo had a wide range of masterpieces he made but some of his most famous

works were religious figures such as Mary and Jesus, the Last Supper, the disciples, were all

among some of his most famous.

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Da Vinci, Leonardo. The Last Supper. c.1495. Santa María delle Grazie. Wikipedia.

The Last Supper is of the 12 disciples eating at the last supper with Jesus. It's perfect in

mathematical proportions. (Mrs. B) All elements can be evaluated here. He emphasizes Jesus the

center of the picture and the space, and balance are completely proportionate as he sized out the

whole entire picture. I think that he is just trying to convey the last supper to us from his

perspective. I didn't realize that art could be in anyway related to math.

Michelangelo was born March 6, 1475 and lived until February 18, 1564.

(biography.com, Michelangelo) He lived in Italy and was another pioneer of the Italian

Renaissance. He was also apprenticed at a young age. All three of these artists were influenced

by the time and movement they were a part of. Painters world-wide during his era and all those

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afterwards. He “enjoyed using marble” (biography.com) but was not limited to sculpting as he

painted the Sistine Chapel. His art was very true to the time and had a lot of the qualities that the

Renaissance reflected.

Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Michelanglo. The Last Judgement. c. 1535. Wikipedia.

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Although not his most famous, one of his more well-known works, The Last Judgement,

was a magnificent piece and was a good example to show some defining features of Urbino’s art.

It's a religious piece like many of his works and it is meant to show the viewer what Urbino

thought the day that the Lord would come back in glory looked like. He places an emphasis on

Jesus and what seems to be his mother Mary. They are the center of the piece and all the other

characters are built around him to give this clear emphasis on Him. This piece doesn't change my

view on art but I think it rather ratifies the idea of this period that I had. Almost dull and dreary

colors with bursts of colors that pop of the page with a large emphasis on religion and

Christianity.

Rafael Urbino was born march 28,1483 and died April 6, 1520. (biography.com, Rafael)

People of the time were named where they were from. So, Rafael Urbino lived in Urbino Rome.

Most came through apprenticeships as did this one as his mother and father put him into an

apprenticeship. Other artists of the day such as Da Vinci and Michelangelo influenced his work.

In turn he influenced their work and the work of many generations of artists to come. He was an

important Renaissance painter and one of the define painters of that period. He had a lot of

religious works and used modern techniques of the day.

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Urbino, Rafael. The School of Athens. c. 1509. Wikipedia.

One of his more famous works, the School of Athens, featured very famous figures such

as Aristotle and Plato. They use good depth as the picture looks as if you were looking into that

room. There is also a good use of perspective. This piece is an attempt to bring all the important

philosophers dead and alive in one moment. It showed their opposing ways of thinking and

displayed the philosophers’ different points of view. Aristotle and Plato can be used as an

example of this. While Plato points toward the sky reasoning that there is a “higher, truer reality

that is eternal and unchanging” (Khan Academy), Aristotle has his hand down as he reasons the

only reality to be found is the one that is here on earth.

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These three authors were the essence of the Renaissance. They captured the emotions and

feelings of the time along with major themes of the era. Their work influenced each other and

those around them as well as generations to come. Their use of the principles of design and their

similar concepts bring these artists together, but the different ways they used them set them

apart. I now look at art in a very different perspective as I had never known that art could ever be

related to math. Paintings are far more than just random outbursts of emotion, but can rather be

carefully thought out and mathematically proportionate pieces.

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Works Cited

“Leonardo Da Vinci.” biography.com A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017. Web. 07 June

2017. .

“Michelangelo.” Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017. Web. 07 June 2017.

.

“Raphael.” Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017. Web. 07 June 2017.

.

“Raphael, School of Athens.” Khan Academy. Khan Academy, n.d. Web. 06 June 2017.

.

https://www.biography.com/people/leonardo-da-vinci-40396