History of the Renaissance

8/11/2019 History of the Renaissance

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HISTORY OF THE RENAISSANCE

The word Renaissance

The Renaissance may be vivid in the mind's eye - in images of human guressculpted in the round, or in scenes painted with a profound and movingrealism. But as a concept it is a slippery customer.

The word is French for 'rebirth'. istorians rst use it !from about "#$%& forthe period from the "$th to the "th century, implying a rediscovery ofrational civili(ation !e)emplied by *reece and Rome& after the medievalcenturies - seen as superstitious and artistically primitive. The term '+iddleges', also coined by historians, maes the same point in a dierent way -dening the medieval period merely as the gap between classical and

modern civili(ation.The rst problem with this scenario is that the +iddle ges have a vividcultural identity of their own, dierent from the classical pattern but notnecessarily inferior. nd the later medieval centuries, in particular the "/thand "0th, are unmistaably civili(ed.

The second di1culty is that it is impossible to establish clear dividing linesbetween medieval and Renaissance. 2n art !particularly sculpture& stylistichints of the coming Renaissance can be seen well before "0%%. But there isone eld in which a new start is consciously made in the "$th century. This isthe revival of the study of classical literature.

Petrarch the Laureate: AD 1!1

3n the 4apitol in Rome, in "0$", a ceremony deliberately echoes the ancientRoman empire. The ing of 5aples, ruling in Rome on behalf of the "o"e inA#i$non, places a laurel wreath on the brow of Petrarch- honouring him6ust as ugustus might have honoured %ir$i&.

The event deliberately symboli(es a renewed interest in classical culture, a

movement in which Petrarchis a leading gure. But the new poet laureateadds a contemporary touch. e immediately goes to the tomb of 7t 8eterand places on it his wreath.

This blending of the old and the new Rome, using the classical tradition inthe service of 4hristianity, becomes a characteristic of Renaissance"aintin$and scu&"ture. 4hristian saints are sculpted with the freshness of
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classical boys !9onatello'sSaint George, for e)ample&, and painters place thegospel scenes in ancient Roman settings.

The roots of these artistic developments are too comple) to be e)plained bya simple interest in classical culture. 3nly in the world of learning is the lin

between the Renaissance and the ancient world unmistaably clear. 3nlyamong 8etrarch and his followers in the "$th and ":th century is the rebirthof the past !rinascimentoin 2talian& a conscious aim.

Petrarch' (occaccio and hu)anis): 1!th * 1+th c, AD

2n Florence, in pril "0:%, Petrarchmaes his rst in;uential convert to thecause of classical studies. e is visited by an admirer, (occaccio, nine yearsyounger than himself, who has written a biography of Petrarchbut has notpreviously met him.

The encounter changes (occaccio's life. e is in the middle of writing thewor for which he is now famous, theDecameron. fter completing it,probably in the following year, he abandons 2talian literature - writinghenceforth only in


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>urope as late as the "th century - in in;uential gures such asEras)usand Tho)as -ore.

Ro)an and ita&ic: 1+th centur. AD

2talian scholars of the "$th and ":th century, followers of Petrarchin theirreverence for classical culture, search through libraries for ancient te)ts.4opying out their discoveries, they aspire also to an authentic script. Theynd their models in beautifully written manuscripts which they tae to beRoman but which are in fact 4arolingian.

The error is a fortunate one. The script devised for 4harlemagne's monasticworshops in the #th century is a model of clarity and elegance. 2t is adaptedfor practical use, in slightly dierent ways, by two Florentine friends - 8oggioBracciolini and 5iccol? 5iccoli.

Bracciolini, employed as secretary at the papal court in Rome from "$%0,uses the ancient script for important documents. To the rounded lower-caseletters of the the Caro&in$ian scri"the adds straight-edged capital letterswhich he copies from Roman monuments.

By contrast his friend 5iccoli adapts the Caro&in$ian scri"tto the fasterre=uirements of everyday writing. To this end he nds it more convenient toslope the letters a little !the result of holding the pen at a more comfortableangle&, and to allow some of them to 6oin up. @oining up is not in itself new. 2nseveral forms of medieval hand-writing the letters ;ow together to becomewhat is nown as a 'cursive' hand.

8rinters in Aenice later in the century, attempting to re;ect the classical spiritof hu)anis), turn to the scripts of Bracciolini and 5iccoli. The rounded butupright style of Bracciolini is rst used by the French printer 5icolas @ensonshortly after his arrival in the city in "$%. This type face is given the nameroman, re;ecting its ancient origins.

2n ":%" another great Aenetian printer, ldus +anutius, needs a contrastingand smaller type for a 'pocet edition' of Airgil. e turns to the script of

5iccoli, in everyday use by fashionable 2talians, and calls it accordingly italic.Roman and italic eventually become a standard part of every printer'srepertoire.

Art and architecture in F&orence: AD 1!11*1!/
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Three Florentine friends, an architect, a sculptor and a painter, arerecogni(ed in their own time as being the founders of a new direction in art -subse=uently nown as the Renaissance. 2n the preface to an in;uential booon painting, published in "$0, lberti says that the wor of these three hasconvinced him that the ancient arts can be revived.

They dier considerably in age. The architect, Brunelleschi, is the oldest. Thesculptor, 9onatello, is about ten years younger. The painter, +asaccio, isabout fteen years younger again, though he is by a wide margin the rst todie.

Brunelleschi is the pioneer who rst consciously applies a Renaissancecuriosity to the arts. Chere the hu)anistsvisit Rome and other ancientcities to copy inscriptions, he notes the dimensions and setches the detailsof the ruins and surviving buildings of classical anti=uity. These include the

columns and arches of Rome, but also the domes of By(antine Ravenna andeven of the baptistery in Florence D a Ro)anes0uebuilding of the ""th or"/th century which Brunelleschi and his contemporaries believe to be atemple of +ars adapted for 4hristian worship.

is aim is to abandon entirely the medieval heritage, even if lac of historicalnowledge maes the brea less absolute than he intends.

Brunelleschi is a painter and sculptor, as well as architect, and his interest inclassical buildings leads him into pioneering wor of another ind. e is the

rst to evolve a scientic theory of perspective, which he is said to haveused to startling eect in murals in the Baptistery and the 8ala((o Aecchio inFlorence !none have survived&.

This newly discovered sill is adopted by -asaccioand becomes ofabsorbing interests to Renaissance artists after A&ertihas described thetechi=ue in detail in his boo of "$0, crediting Brunelleschi as its originator.

Brunelleschi's rst biographer !ntonio +anetti, writing in the "$#%s& statesthat 9onatello accompanies the older man on trips to Rome to study the

style of the ancients. Chether true or not - and scholars tend to doubt thestory - it is undeniable that between "$"" and "$" 9onatello carves twofree-standing gures in a more purely classical style !and with much greaterartistry& than anything attempted by predecessors such as Nico&a Pisano.

These gures, profoundly signicant in the story of sculpture, arecommissioned by two of Florence's guilds. The linen drapers and thearmourers need statues of their patron saints.
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Donate&&o: AD 1!11*1!+/

2n "$% the authorities in Florence order the guilds to commission statues forthe niches already allotted to each of them in the outer wall of 3rsanmichele,a building erected in the mid-"$th century as a combination of trading placeand shrine !in honour of a miracle-woring image of the Airgin +ary which ishoused here&. ny guild which has not provided a statue within ten years willlose all claim to its desirable and prestigious niche.

2n "$"" the linen drapers commission the young 9onatello, in his mid-twenties, to provide a marble statue of 7t +ar. 2n about "$": he delivers tothem the rst free-standing Renaissance sculpture.

The larger-than-lifesi(e St Mark stands in a completely rela)ed pose, with hisweight on one foot. Folds of loose drapery vividly suggest a pro6ecting neeand 6utting hip. The gure has the solid and uncompromising =uality ofRoman portrait sculpture, even though the beard and long robes seem toecho the saints on the faEades of *othic cathedrals.

9onatello's ne)t wor for 3rsanmichele, probably completed in "$", has

much more openly a classical =uality.St George, a clean-shaven young manscantily clad in Roman armour, confronts the viewer with a direct loo closerto the heroic =uality of 2ree3 scu&"turethan to the ruta& rea&is)ofRome.

The same openness, amounting now to a positively provocative sense ofphysical condence, is characteristic of 9onatello's most famous statue - theastonishing bron(e 9avid, a boy in a saucy hat with the head of *oliath at hisfeet.

9one in about "$0%, to stand in a courtyard of the -edicipalace, this is therst life-si(e nude scu&"turesince classical times. 2t reintroduces one of thegreat themes of *ree sculpture in a burst of glorious condence, and with anew mood of wit and playfulness.

9onatello revives yet another ancient tradition, in a wor of lasting in;uence,when he is commissioned in "$$0 to provide an e=uestrian portrait for 8adua
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of the Aenetian condottiere>rasmo da 5arni, nown as *attamelata. Thewor is completed in about "$:% and is set up in 8adua in "$:0.

The massive composition !horse and rider together stand more than "" feethigh& hars bac to the mounted statue of -arcus Aure&iusin Rome. This is

the predecessor of every dignitary riding in bron(e through the streets ofmodern cities, but few have the stern severity of this uncompromising soldierof fortune.

(rune&&eschi and the Renaissance st.&e: AD 1!14*1!/

The creative blend of Brunelleschi's c&assica& studiesand his ownimagination is rst seen in a hospital for foundling children, of whichconstruction begins in "$". lthough the ingredients of the faEade of the3spedale degli 2nnocenti are the familiar ones of Roman architecture !an

arcade of columns, supporting rounded arches, beneath a row of rectangularwindows surmounted by pediments&, there is an entirely new feeling in thebalance between them, the proportions, the sense of slender elegance.

This new Renaissance style, Brunelleschi's contribution to the story ofarchitecture, can be seen in its purest form in another building in Florence -commissioned by a member of the 8a((i family of baners.

Cor begins on the 8a((i chapel in "$0%. The columns and central arch onthe faEade of this tiny building are reminiscent of Brunelleschi'searlier 5ound&in$ hos"ita&. But here the mood of calm and perfect balancee)tends also to the interior.

>very surface, from ;oor to dome, is planned in an interacting display ofcurves, circles, arches, rectangles and small roundels. Te)ture and colour, aswell as shape, create the pattern - contrasting the pale plaster of the walls,the darer grey of stone pillars and arches, and the bright ceramic reliefs!the blue and white ones by


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+asaccio clearly admires the wor of 2iotto. e adopts the solid manner inwhich the earlier master depicts character !this can be seen superbly in thegure of 7t 8eter paying the tribute money&, and he adds to it two further=ualities.

3ne of these =ualities is a new freedom in the e)pression of emotion. Thebodies of the naed dam and >ve, driven from 8aradise, are almostdistorted in the intensity of their shame, as seen in the agoni(ed upturnedface of >ve.

The other signicant new element is an increased ability to create gureswith a real sense of air around them. The apostles, hearing @esus tell themthat tribute money should be paid to 4aesar, mae a freely arranged groupin an entirely believable open space ;aned by receding buildings on oneside and a landscape on the other.

C&assica& "ers"ecti#e: 1+th centur. AD

The sense of depth achieved by +asaccio is partly thans to the newRenaissance interest in the science of perspective, which goes hand in handwith the rediscovery of the appeal of classical architecture. +asaccio maesuse of both themes in his illustionisticTrinityin the church of 7anta +aria5ovella in Florence, where the crucied 4hrist and other gures appearwithin a dramatically receding Roman arcade.

The perspective in this painting derives from personal nowledge of(rune&&eschiand his wor. But after A&erti's treatise of "$0 !De Pictura&,the new science becomes widely practised. 2ndeed perspective becomessomething of an obsession with 2talian painters of the ":th century.

genius such as Piero de&&a Francescauses perspective with e)=uisitesill and restraint. But 8aolo Gccello, famous for his use of the techni=ue,verges on the obsessive in his painstaing arrangement of crossed lancesand foreshortened corpses in The Battle of San Romano.

The twin Renaissance interest in perspective and classical architecture can

be seen above all in the wor of ndrea +antegna. is 4hristian scenes taeplace in totally convincing vistas of Roman buildings, often ruined. ndtheDead Christof about "$#:, with the pierced soles of his feet thrust intothe face of the onlooer, is the most famous e)ample of foreshortening in thehistory of art.

8an #an E.c3 and the 2hent a&tar"iece: AD 1!6
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3n +ay "$0/ a vast new painted altarpiece is set in place in the cathedralof *hent. n inscription on it states that it was begun by ubert van >ycand completed in "$0/ by his brother @an.

5othing is nown of ubert apart from this one mention of his name. But the

*hent altarpiece is only the rst of a succession of masterpieces signed by@an van >yc during the "$0%s. This is the decade in which the Renaissancemaes a spectacular appearance in the painting of northern >urope.

The *hent altarpiece is part of a late medieval tradition of wors of this indmade up of many panels, in this case folding in on each other.Duccio9s Maestin 7iena is a noble predecessor. But 9uccio's panels arefor the most part small and crowded. >ach, on its own, would be interesting,delightful and touching - but not spectacular.

Aan >yc, painting with a new certainty of detailed design and e)ecution,maes each panel a powerful wor in its own right. nd yet each collaborateswith its immediate neighbour and its opposite number to mae a balancedwhole which is even more impressive than the separate parts.

The central panel, theAdoration of the Mystic Lamb, is the most ambitiouscomposition up to this point in the story of art. 7cores of 4hristian saints,dignitaries and pilgrims are set with complete realism in a comple)landscape.

The surrounding panels, tall and thin, are e=ually impressive. Chether theybe the naed dam and >ve, or organist and singers, or the archangel andthe Airgin in the two halves of an nnunciation, these gures occupy theirallotted spaces with complete naturalness and realism. >ach is a powerfulcomposition in its own right, striing when seen at a distance and fascinatingin its detail if viewed more closely.

8an #an E.c3 and "ortraiture: AD 1!*1!!!

The faces in the panels of the *hent altarpiece are so real that they could beportraits, and indeed two of the panels depict the neeling donors. Thisdegree of realism, introduced here in Flanders, is also found in the paintings
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by van >yc which are commissioned as portraits - again among the rst oftheir ind.

Aan >yc's most famous portrait is of a married couple - an 2talian merchantin Bruges, *iovanni rnolni, and his wife *iovanna. 8ainted in "$0$ and

nown now as The Arnolni Marriage, this view of the pair holding hands in abedroom is thought to symboli(e their union rather than to depict an actualceremony.

The representation of the room as a three-dimensional space, together withthe almost tangible te)tures of the couple's rich clothes, gives notice that ane)act depiction of reality can now be achieved. enceforth, in the wor ofthe best artists, this can be taen for granted.

7imilarly the character in the faces of the stern 2talian merchant and his

yielding wife signify that portraiture has come of age. The same is true of adeeply personal image of a man in a turban, painted by van >yc in "$00and possibly a self-portrait. But in these pioneering wors of portraiture, inthe "$0%s, van >yc is not alone - and perhaps cannot even claim priority.

Roert Ca)"in: AD c,1!/

2n about "$0%, probably in Flanders, a husband and wife have their portraitspainted by an artist whose identity has been something of a mystery.Believed now to be Robert 4ampin, he has been nown in the past as themore anonymous +aster of FlHmalle.

These two sitters are simpler than the rnolnis !painted four years later&. 2na head-and-shoulders format, each panel is almost lled by a friendly face inan elaborate headdress of everyday cloth. These people are well-o, butthey have few pretensions. They are the rst real glimpse of >urope's newmiddle class. 2 now of no couple, so far away in time, to whom art bringsone so close.

sense of close involvement is a hallmar of Robert 4ampin and hisworshop. 2t is seen in one of their favourite sub6ects - the Airgin and 4hild in

an ordinary domestic interior. 2n these views +ary is not enthroned as shewould be in an 2talian painting of this period. ere she is more liely to sit oneveryday furniture, nursing her child in a cosy room with wooden panelling,tongs in the replace, a useful towel hanging up ready to hand and a viewthrough a leaded window over a northern townscape. 2t is all reassuringlyreal.


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2n his mastery of illusionistic techni=ue 4ampin, lie #an E.c3, has onetechnical advantage peculiar at this time to northern >urope - oil paint.

Ro$ier #an der e.den: AD 1!+

The e)traordinary decade of the "$0%s, in Flanders, introduces yet anotheroutstanding master. Rogier van der Ceyden, who probably learns his craft inthe studio of Robert 4ampin, becomes the o1cial painter to the city ofBrussels in "$0:. 2n the ne)t few years he produces a succession ofmasterpieces, of which theDescent from the Crossin the 8rado is merely thebest nown.

Aan der Ceyden retains the clarity and realism of 4ampin and van >yc, butreplaces the calm and stillness of their wor with a new intensity of emotion -seen in the 8rado painting in the gruesome dead weight of 4hrist's body and

the collapse into grief of his mother.The three great 5etherlands artists of the "$0%s are central gures in thestory of Renaissance painting. By contrast their successors, in the richse=uence of great painters from this small northwest region of >urope, aredecidedly =uiry. The gloriously eccentric canvases of (osch and(rue$he&are much appreciated by collectors of the time, particularly withinthe absburg family. But they are a byway of their own, far from themainstream.

For a century after the heyday of van >yc, 4ampin and van der Ceyden,2taly is the centre of >uropean painting. But the 5etherlands and 2taly havestrong economic lins.

(ru$es and Ita&.: 1+th centur. AD

The lins of trade and ;nancebetween cities in 2taly and the 5etherlandshave been immortali(ed in two wors of art. *iovanni rnolni is a merchantfrom


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n altarpiece of about "$: proves very in;uential in this same respect whenit reaches F&orence. Tommaso 8ortinari, the agent in Bruges for the -ediciban, commissions from ugo van der *oes an altarpiece for the church of7t >gidio in which his family has a chapel.

The central panel of the triptych shows the Airgin with her newly born 4hildvisited by angels and shepherds, while the neeling 8ortinari family arepresented from the side panels by saints. This large altarpiece maes the6ourney south by sea and river. 2t is the most imposing e)ample of thenorthern style of painting to have reached F&orence, the heart of thesouthern Renaissance.

Cit. o5 &earnin$: 1+th centur. AD

Florentine leadership in the arts is well established by the time of 4osimo's

rise to power in "$0$. is patronage brings much wor to the city's painters,sculptors and architects. But he also greatly encourages another strand ofthe Renaissance in which Florence plays a ma6or role - the scholarship ofhu)anis).

This city, in which 8etrarch rst inspires (occacciowith a love of the classicsin "0:%, already has a clear distinction in this eld. 4osimo, who develops apassion for scholarly studies, has a rm foundation to build upon.

4osimo founds three libraries in Florence, the greatest of them being thecollection of boos and manuscripts now nown as the


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The rival churches eventually fail to agree. But the interest of 4osimo and ofFlorence in *ree culture is increased by the encounter.

Towards the end of his life 4osimo conceives a personal ambition to read allthe wors of 8lato. e commissions their translation into


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@ean Fou=uet, born in Tours in about "$/%, spends four years in 2taly in the"$$%s. Chen he returns to Tours, he begins a decade of very fruitful activityblending 2talian and northern in;uences.

3ne of Fou=uet's most striing wors, from about "$:%, is the portrait of his

patron, Itienne 4hevalier, seen praying with 7t 7tephen and painted as onehalf of a diptych for a church in +elun. The realism with which the two menare depicted derives from the e)ample of the 5etherlands masters of thetime, such as #an E.c3and van der Ceyden, but Fou=uet adds a classicalcalm of his own.

2n about "$:/ Itienne 4hevalier commissions from Fou=uet the wor onwhich his reputation is mainly based. 2t is a Boo of ours, for which Fou=uetprovides detailed miniature illustrations of scenes from the Bible and thelives of the saints. Fou=uet probably completes the wor by "$:. The

original number of the scenes is not nown but forty-seven e)=uisite imagessurvive, nearly all of them in the museum at 4hantilly.

2n these small but beautifully controlled compositions Fou=uet again bringstogether two traditions from outside France.

The colourful elegance of Fou=uet's scenes develops the tradition of theminiatures of northern Burgundy and of the Li)ur$ rothers, masters ofthe Internationa& 2othicstyle. But in other elements - his use of the motifsof classical architecture, his interest in persective, the rounded solidity of his

gures and of their spatial relationships - Fou=uet reveals the in;uence ofwhat he has his seen in Renaissance 2taly, such as the wor recentlycompleted by Fra An$e&icoin Florence.

lin with 2taly remains a central characteristic in the ne)t great period ofFrench painting, the "th century.

Piero de&&a Francesca: AD 1!!+*1!>/

religious fraternity in 7ansepolcro, near re((o, re=uires a new altarpiece.2n @anuary "$$: the members commission it from a young man in his late
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twenties, who has been away in Florence for the past few years learning hiscraft but who is now bac in his small provincial home town.

The painter is 8iero della Francesca. e spends much of his woring life in7ansepolcro and in re((o, far from the main artistic centres, which to some

e)tent e)plains why his name is largely forgotten for several centuries afterhis death. nother reason may be the profound calm of his wor,unfashionable in periods when art has tended more to the dramatic gesture.e is now recogni(ed as one of the great masters of the 2talian Renaissance.

Chile in Florence, the young 8iero has clearly seen -asaccio's frescoes. isrst altarpiece at 7ansepolcro is old-fashioned in concept, with a gildedbacground, but the gures already achieve the rounded solidity pioneeredin the frescoes of the Brancacci chapel.

From this beginning, within a few years, 8iero evolves his own characteristicand inimitable style. 2t is visible in the famous Ba!tism of Christ, probablypainted as an altarpiece in 7ansepolcro in the early "$:%s. The gures standwith monumental stillness, bathed in a cool light of seemingly eternal clarity.This is Renaissance hu)anis)in its broadest sense, allowing full weight tothe dignity of man.

The stillness, the sense of a scene perfectly positioned in space, the use ofpatches of almost pure colour to suggest a harmony of pattern and order - allthese are characteristics of 8iero's timeless art. They can be seen at their

best in the fresco cycle on theLegend of the True Cross, which he paints inthe church of 7t Francis in re((o in the years around "$%.

Gnderpinning the calm certainty of 8iero's created world is a fascination withtheories of form and "ers"ecti#e, very characteristic of the 2talianRenaissance. 8iero is the author of two learned treatises on the mathematicsof pictorial illusion.

(ottice&&i: AD 1!=7*1!76

2f Piero's wor oers the mystery of stillness, Botticelli introduces mystery of

another ind - mysterious content, e)pressed in a restlessly sinuous line.From about "$% Botticelli is established as one of the leading painters ofFlorence, fre=uently woring for the +edici.

is characteristic style is seen in two of the best loved and most widelyrecogni(ed paintings of the Renaissance. TheBirth of "enus#c$%&'() is atraditional sub*ect #in classical mythology the goddess is born from the foam
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of the sea and +oats ashore in a scallo! shell)$ But Botticelli,s tall nude and

her attendant -inds are a strikingly original -ay of de!icting the scene$

2n Prima.era!7pring, c."$#& the scene itself is profoundly mysterious. 2n agrove of oranges the three *races dance, while Flora scatters ;owers upon

the ground. 7he wears an e)=uisitely embroidered ;oral dress and isattended by a woman with a plant growing vigorously from her mouth. Thiswoman, in her turn, is sei(ed by a man in ;ight.

These gures depict a scene in 3vid. Jephyr !the west wind& grasps his bride4hloris !the goddess of ;owers&, whereupon blooms sprout from her lips andshe is transformed into the fully developed Flora, strewing spring ;owersupon the ground.

These two paintings, imbued with classical allusion, are believed to contain

themes of special signicance to the 5eo-8latonists of Florence's P&atonicAcade).. 2t is even possible that their content is devised by the academy'sdirector, +arsilio Ficino. Prima.eraalso conceals within its imagery severalhints of the names +edici and


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But no e)pert guidance is re=uired to appreciate

>arly in "$ a sculpture of the Airgin +ary, holding on her lap the dead4hrist, is placed in one of the chapels of old St Peter9sin Rome. This Piet/isstill one of the most beautiful wors of art in the mighty new St Peter9s,completed a century later. 2t is by a sculptor who has 6ust turned twenty-four- +ichelangelo.

The precocious genius receives a commission two years later in his homecity of Florence. The authorities want a marble statue of Da#id.+ichelangelo, using a vast slab of marble abandoned by another sculptor,presents the biblical hero !more than twice lifesi(e, about "0 feet high& as anaed youth standing with petulant condence, sling thrown over hisshoulder, before the encounter with *oliath.
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+ichelangelo wors on Da.idfrom 7eptember ":%" until @anuary ":%$. 2n":%: the pope,8u&ius II, summons him to Rome with a commission toprovide a sculpted tomb, with many gures, for the pope's own memorial.The vast pro6ect hangs over +ichelangelo for the ne)t four decades. 7ome ofhis best nown wors are later carved to form part of it !the greatmarbleMosesand the two tormentedSla.esof ":"0-&. But the pro6ect isdoomed to remain unnished.

8art of the reason is that8u&ius IIhas an even more challenging tas for this

multi-talented artist. 2n ":%# he commissions +ichelangelo to paint theceiling of the Sistine cha"e&.

-iche&an$e&o the "ainter: AD 1+/!*1++/

+ichelangelo's reputation as a painter derives, almost entirely, from his worin one building D the Sistine cha"e&. few panel paintings possibly survivefrom his hand from the period "$:-":%#, though only one of them isaccepted by scholars beyond any doubt. This is the circular Airgin and 4hildcommissioned by ngelo 9oni in about ":%$, now in the G1(i. Two panel

paintings in the 5ational *allery in


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These vast but distant-seeming panels along the centre of the ceiling !eachabout "% by "# feet& tell the story at the start of *enesis - from *od'screation of the universe to the famous spar of life !from the 4reator's ngerto the languid dam&, and on through the e)pulsion from >den to the moreconventional form of human frailty in the drunenness of 5oah.

The attendant gures, many of them cramped in the available spaces, twistand turn with convincing ;e)ibility. They seem to have a muscular certainty,even where distortion is involved, deriving from +ichelangelo's sills as asculptor. The colours, revealed afresh in a cleaning programme during the"%s, are vibrantly bright, in often startling combinations. !Cith thesesurprises, of posture and colour, +ichelangelo inspires a younger generationto develop the style nown as mannerism&.

The eect of the 7istine ceiling is e)uberant, optimistic. 2t ts with the

condent papacy of8u&ius II. The end wall of the chapel is very dierent. Butit too re;ects its times.

2n ":/ Ro)e is sac3edby an unruly army of *erman mercenaries, while4lement A22 shelters helplessly in the 4astel 7ant'ngelo. 2n the aftermath ofthis appalling event, 4lement commissions +ichelangelo to paint the endwall of the 7istine chapel. The sub6ect is to be the Last 8ud$e)ent. gain+ichelangelo captures the mood perfectly, giving this traditional cautionarytale a dar and dramatic violence !though the anguished nudity proves toomuch for some - twenty years later 9aniele da Aolterra is employed to paint

in some loincloths&.

From the 4reation to the Last 8ud$e)ent, the 7istine chapel forms a singlemasterpiece. 2iotto's chapel in 8adua is the only other building to e)pressso thoroughly one painter's vision.

-iche&an$e&o the architect and "oet: AD 1+6/*1+>!

From the ":/%s, when +ichelangelo is indisputably 2taly's greatest artist!


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commission begun in Florence a few years later is the


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rooms in the Aatican which he intends to use as his own apartment. Thissensitive tas is entrusted, in ":%, to the /-year-old Raphael. 2t occupieshim for the rest of his life.

Raphael's astonishing achievement in the 7tan(e !2talian for 'rooms', and the

simple name by which they are still nown& is a triumph over many dierentproblems, all new to him when he begins.

The themes to be depicted for the pope are often intellectual and thematic,and thus much harder to bring to life than the intimacy of the oly Family.They involve large numbers of characters, re=uiring compositional sillssimilar to those of a director presenting a scene on a stage. nd the vaultedrooms, with walls interrupted by doors or alcoves, present irregular anddi1cult surfaces.

Raphael triumphs over these obstacles. 2n the very rst room which heundertaes, the 7tan(a della 7egnatura, he creates with great condencetwo crowded and contrasted scenes - theSchool of Athens, featuring 8lato,ristotle and many others, and the Dis!utain which biblical gures andsaints discuss the 4hristian sacrament.

Raphael's wor on the 7tan(e is interrupted from ":": by another importantpapal commission. 8ope Leo @, elected in ":"0, wants a set of ten tapestriesto hang around the lower walls of the 7istine chapel. e ass Raphael todesign ten scenes from the 5ew Testament, to be sent north to >urope's best

weavers in Brussels.

Raphael, by now a master of large narrative compositions, paints the scenesas full-si(e cartoons in gouache on paper. 2n spite of ha(ardous 6ourneys toBrussels and bac to Rome, and then to >ngland in "/0 !after being boughtfor 4harles 2's tapestry factory in +ortlae&, seven of these cartoons survivein surprisingly good condition in the Aictoria and lbert +useum.

9uring these same years Raphael has been developing formidable sills as amale portraitist, painting his sub6ects more informally than has been the

tradition, with a soft play of light on fabric and ;esh, usually against neutralbacgrounds, to focus all attention on the man's character. is sitters includeboth his papal patrons, @ulius 22 and


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be developed with great ;air during the "th century by the portrait paintersof Aenice, in particular Titian.

Chen Raphael is painting 4astiglione's portrait, in ":":, -iche&an$e&ohasrecently nished the 7istine ceiling and Leonardoda Ainci is also in Rome -

not painting, but busy with scientic e)periments. mere si) years afterbeginning the 7tan(e, Raphael is as much admired as the two older men. ehas a thriving studio, with a great number of assistants. e has beenappointed architect of St Peter9s!in ":"$& and is busy with otherachitectural pro6ects.

These three artists are already seen as the outstanding gures of the time - aperiod subse=uently regarded as the igh Renaissance in Florence andRome. Five years later, after a brief illness in ":/%, Raphael dies. e is thirty-seven. is career has spanned 6ust si)teen years.

%enetian "aintin$: AD 1!=+*1+=>

9uring the ":th century, the great formative period of the 2talianRenaissance, %enicelags far behind Florence and Rome in responding to thespirit of the time. The reason is partly the long centuries of By(antinein;uenceK Aenetian patrons still e)pect a painting to be an ob6ect of solemnformality, preferably against a gilded bacground in the tradition of icons.

2t is also true to say that in architecture, at this same period, the Aenetiansare en6oying a magnicent late ;owering of the earlier 2othictradition. Themood of the Renaissance has less immediate appeal here. But in terms ofpainting this changes rapidly after "$:.

2n "$: a 7icilian painter, ntonello da +essina, arrives in Aenice, where he

spends about eighteen months. e is e)pert in the northern techni=ue of oilpainting, and the rich glowing =uality of his wor greatly impresses Aenice'sleading painter, *iovanni Bellini.

fter ntonello's visit, the gures in Bellini's paintings evolve towards therounded and richly human style of the 2talian igh Renaissance. Thegrouping of the gures in his altarpieces becomes solidly three-dimensionalK
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his Airgins sit at ease with their infants in enchantingly natural landscapesKhis portraits !such as the superb image of Aenice's doge in ":%"& are of ;esh-and-blood people, even if in their 7unday best.

2n the last years of Bellini's long life there are two young painters in Aenice

capable of more than e=ualling his genius. They add to the Aenetian palettethe richness of colour which becomes the outstanding characteristic of theschool.

The rst of the two is *iorgione. e dies young in ":"% !though only two orthree years younger than Raphael&, and his wor is only nown from a verysmall number of richly glowing masterpieces. The second is Titian, whose lifeis as long as *iorgione's is short. Titian establishes a dominant position innorthern 2talian painting e=ual to that of


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the art of Aenice. !Cranachis doing so at much the same time, with lesssubtlety, in *ermany.&

Titian also has an e)tremely busy career as a portrait painter, particularly inthe ":0%s and ":$%s. 9uring his long life !into his mid-#%s& he paints in an

increasingly free style, until his brush stroes become bold short cuts to thedepiction of reality.

similar freedom of e)ecution is characteristic of Tintoretto, the ne)t ofAenice's great masters. Aeronese, arriving from Aerona in ":::, completesthe trio who together give this Aenetian school such distinction. Aeronesepaints his vast canvases in a more measured and controlled style than Titianor Tintoretto. But the richness and colour remain unmistaable, as with somany other painters in the studios of Aenice at this time.

Drer: AD 1!4!*1+67

2n "$$ a young *erman artist, trained originally by his father as agoldsmith, arrives in Aenice to improve his sills as a painter. The followingyear he returns to 5uremberg to open a studio in his home town, but in ":%:he is bac in Aenice - staying eighteen months to savour the artistic delightsof this city. e is impressed above all by the aged (e&&ini.

The young man is lbrecht 9Mrer, who becomes the outstanding gure inRenaissance *ermany. is achievement is enhanced by his originality inmany diering elds of art.

n early e)ample is his e)traordinary self-portrait at the age of twenty-two,now in the


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watercolours are not preparatory wor for oil paintings. They are done, itseems, purely for pleasure - beginning a rich tradition in the story of art.9Mrer's astonishing sill in the medium is evident in his famous ":%/ setchof a hare.

e breas new ground yet again, travelling to ntwerp in ":/%, when heeeps the rst e)ample of a 6ournal illustrated with setches. +eanwhile hemaes himself the most prolic Renaissance master in the new "rint)a3in$techni=ues of woodcut, engraving and etching.

The ;rst artists9 "rints: 1+th * 1>th centur. AD

Chen the rst >uropean prints are published, in the early ":th century, theyare the wor of craftsmen supplying a demand for cheap holy images or for"&a.in$ cards. rtists only become interested in the possibilities of the

medium from the "$:%s. They are rst attracted by the newest techni=ue atthat time, inta$&ioengraving in copper.

The pioneer in the eld is e)tremely prolic, creating more 0%% engravedplates, but he is nown only as +aster >7 from the two initials with which hesometimes signs his plates. The rst two nown artists to speciali(e inengraving begin wor at the same period, the "$%s, but in dierent places -+antegna in +antua and 7chongauer in 4olmar.

The greatest printmaer among Renaissance artists is, lie 7chongauer, a*erman. But unlie his predecessors, he e)cels in woodcut and etching aswell as engraving.

lbrecht 9Mrer, familiar with metal from his early training as a goldsmith,begins engraving copper plates in his twenties and rapidly develops amastery of the techni=ue. e is more unusual in tacling at the same period,the "$%s, the much more mechanical craft of the woodcut !where each areaof white in the image has to be scooped from the bloc of wood&. But 9Mrer'slarge and completely assured woodcutsimmediately demonstrate that thistoo can be an artist's medium.

The third form of printing in which 9Mrer shows his originality is etchin$.This is a techni=ue invented during his lifetime !the rst etchin$s areprinted, probably in ugsburg in about ":%%, from iron plates at this stagerather than copper&. 9Mrer rst tries the new medium in ":":. e onlyetches si) plates. But he is the rst to demonstrate the informality ofetchin$, which can give the artist almost the same freedom as setchin$inpencil.
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From the end of the "th century etchin$is virtually the only form ofprinting to attract the artist until the arrival of a0uatintand &itho$ra"h..th centur. AD

lthough the pictorial style associated with the Renaissance features early innorthern art !with8an #an E.c3and his contemporaries in the 5etherlands&,the interest in classical studies, which provided the original impulse for themovement in 1!th*centur. Ita&., arrives late in the north. 2t is associatedabove all with 9esiderius >rasmus of Rotterdam.

>rasmus spends much of his life travelling >urope as a scholar, ndingemployment where he can. This brings him into contact with other lie-

minded men such as @ohn 4olet and Thomas +ore in >ngland.The interest which unites them can be described as 4hristian humanism.These men wish to use the classics not as an alternative to 4hristianity butas a means of strengthening 4hristian life. >rasmus learns *ree so as toedit the 5ew Testament in its original form, stating in his preface that hewants the holy te)t translated into every language to bring the *ospel truthcloser to ordinary men and women.

@ohn 4olet, in similar vein, founds the


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The Renaissance spirit is capable of re;ecting the horror of the sac3 o5Ro)ein ":/ in the contrast between the ceiling and end wall of theSistine cha"e&. Cith the same clear sight, Sha3es"eare's amlet canbegin a speech in marvelling mood !'Chat a piece of wor is manN'& and endin disillusionment !'and yet, to me, what is this =uintessence of dustO mandelights not me'&.PPP

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History of the Renaissance