Renaissance

Early Renaissance

Period: 1400 to 1490

Productivity was centered in Florence during this earlier period, which was a time of experimentation with fresh forms of portrayal. Renaissance art was a visible manifestation of rising riches.

Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore

1420

Filippo Brunelleschi was chosen from a competition to complete the dome because the cathedral itself was already built. He built the dome between 1420 and 1436 funded by Cosimo de Medici. He managed to make two domes one nested inside the other, without scaffolding, building the largest masonry dome in history and a symbol of the wealth and glory of Florence.

Gates of Paradise (1425-1452)

1425

The sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti designs the pair of gilded bronze doors for the north entrance of the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence.

David by Donatello

1430

The first male nude sculpture made since ancient times and the first bronze standing without support was made by Donatello as a commission for the Medici family. The sculpture shows the young pastor after slaying Goliat and how he steps on his decapitated head.

Invention of the printing press

1436

German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg created the printed press making a tremendous contribution to technology and facilitating the mass production of books and the rapid spreading of knowledge throughout Europe.

Lorenzo de Medici inherits Medici bank

1469

Lorenzo de Medici was one of the most influential people during this period, with his family's bank and ruling over Florence, he enhanced commerce and riches for the city, and as a patron of the arts, he patronaged many artists that became quite important.

Primavera (1477 -1482)

1477

Commissioned by a member of the Medici family, as most of his work, Sandro Botticelli painted "Primavera" sometime between 1477 and 1482. The painting is a tempera on panel and many theories believe that the god Mercury (seeing at the left in the painting) represents Giuliano de Medici, Lorenzo de Medici's brother and that the grace admiring the god represents known Florence beauty Simonetta Vespucci who many considered his lover.

Invention of watch

1480

A clockmaker in Nuremberg named Peter Hele or Henlein who designed very small clocks at the beginning of the 16th century created the first watch.

The Birth of Venus (1480s)

1480

This painting depicts the goddess Venus emerging from her shell and was most likely commissioned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici in the 1480s. The theme has been viewed as a celebration of humanism and classical mythology, which the painter, Sandro Botticelli, studied in Florence. Simonetta Vespucci is thought to be the principal inspiration for The Birth of Venus.

The Garden of Earthly Delights (1490-1510)

1490

This complex oil-on-panel piece was created around 1490 and 1510 by Hieronymus Bosch, and it has been extensively studied and interpreted over the years. This intriguing painting could be seen as a warning against passion and earthly pleasure. The artwork has also been seen as a political critique of the time's government. The puzzling piece is said to have later influenced surrealists like Salvador Dali.

High Renaissance

Period: 1490 to 1520

During this period, Renaissance artists mastered all of the key techniques of visual illusionism, such as linear and aerial perspective and the use of light and shade, hence the patronage and productivity shifted to Rome and Milan.

Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas

1492

Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sailed in 1492 determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, instead, he discovered the Americas.

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci (1495–1498)

1495

Painted between 1495 and 1498 The Last Supper is a remarkable example of Da Vinci's extraordinary painting skills. It is one of the most renowned Renaissance paintings, portraying a religious scene in which Jesus and his apostles are dining together just before he is betrayed.

Pieta (1498-1500)

1498

Commissioned by French Cardinal Jean de Bilheres Lagraulas for his future tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica, Michelangelo created an astonishing sculpture by Michelangelo that portrays Jesus's dead adult body laying in Virgin Mary’s lap as she looks at his body with grief.

David by Michelangelo (1501-1504)

1501

As originally commissioned by the Opera del Duomo for the Cathedral of Florence. Michelangelo created the 14.0 ft marble statue portraying the Biblical hero David, represented as a standing male nude.

Tempietto del Bramante (1502-1510)

1502

The Tempietto del Bramante is a modest round building in the heart of the San Pietro in Montorio monastery.  The structure was commissioned by Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II, who intended to fulfill a pledge to Donato D'Angelo Bramante, one of the key Italian Renaissance architects who also worked on the St. Peter's Basilica project.  Between 1502 and 1510, Bramante constructed the Tempietto on Janiculum Hill. Furthermore, according to local legends, St. Peter died in the same spot.

The Mona Lisa (1503-1519)

1503

The Mona Lisa, also known as La Gioconda in Italian, is an oil painting on a poplar wood panel by Leonardo da Vinci that is often regarded as the most well-known painting. It is thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, and was painted between 1503 and 1519 while Da Vinci was residing in Florence.

St Peter’s Basilica (1506-1615)

1506

The current St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City was initiated in 1506 by Pope Julius II and completed in 1615 by Pope Paul V. St. Peter's Basilica, designed mostly by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, is the most famous work of Renaissance architecture and the world's largest church by interior measure.

The Creation of Adam

1512

The Creation of Adam is a fresco in the vault of the Sistine Chapel, the most famous piece of its ceiling, painted about 1512 by Michelangelo. It depicts one of the nine Genesis narratives portrayed by the Tuscan artist, in which God creates Adam, the first man.

The Sistine Madonna (1513)

1513

The Sistine Madonna is the name of two paintings by the Italian Renaissance painter Raphael. The original edition, completed in 1513, is the most well-known and commonly cited. Pope Julius II commissioned Raphael to make the painting, which portrays the Virgin Mary carrying baby Christ. Pope Sixtus II on the left and St. Barbara on the right are also seen in the artwork.

The Prince

1513

Exiled from Florence after the republican government he had served from 1498 to 1512 fell apart, and eager to gain favor with the Medici now that they had reclaimed power, Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513, a political treatise calling for the unification of Italy under a powerful and courageous leader. This infamous book outlined the steps an aspiring ruler could achieve and hold political power.

Utopia

1516

Sir Thomas More is the author of Utopia (the Greek word meaning both “no place” and “a good place”), a classic political satire on European statecraft and society made in 1516. The first literary depiction of an ideal state since Plato’s Republic.

The Praise of Folly

1516

In 1516, Erasmus published his most well-known work, The Praise of Folly, a satiric oration that attacked a wide range of human failings, including greed, intellectual pomposity, and pride.

Martin Luther's 95 Theses

1517

In 1517, theologist professor Martin Luther wrote a document attacking the Catholic Church’s corrupt practice of selling “indulgences” to absolve sin, his ideas on said document fueled Protestantism and divided the Catholic Church.

Late Renaissance

Period: 1520 to 1600

Also known as Mannerism, this era is characterized by artworks that use other works of art as models. As with previous Renaissance periods, the major theme was the beauty of the human body, but many of the paintings also contain hidden messages and visual games intended to challenge the viewers' intellectual ability.

Venus of Urbino (1530s)

1530

This is one of the most renowned and controversial representations of Venus ever created. Titian painted it in the 1530s and it made a sensation due to its scandalous nudity. The Pope himself took possession of the painting and placed it in his private collection. The Venus of Urbino was commissioned as a wedding gift by the Duke of Urbino.

Heliocentric theory

1543

Copernican heliocentrism is an astronomical theory devised and published by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543. According to this model, the Sun is placed at the center of the Universe, stationary, with Earth and the other planets orbiting it in circular motion modified by epicycles and at uniform speeds.

Perseus with the Head of Medusa (1545-1554)

1545

This bronze sculpture was made by Benvenuto Cellini and is one of the most famous ones in Piazza della Signoria in Florencia, depicting the mythology of Perseus defeating Medusa and keeping her head as a weapon.

Peace of Augsburg

1555

The first permanent legal framework for Lutheranism and Catholicism coexisting in Germany. The Peace enabled the state princes to choose either Lutheranism or Catholicism as the religion of their dominion and allowed citizens who disagreed to emigrate freely.

The Tower of Babel

1563

The Tower of Babel is a painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder made in 1563. It is an oil-on-panel painting that represents an ancient myth about humankind that attempted to reach Heaven by building The Tower of Babel. The huge tower represented human arrogance and hubris. The Tower of Babel was also a metaphor for the confusion caused by the diversity of languages.

Romeo and Juliet (1591-1595)

1591

Considered one of the most famous romantic tragedies, Shakespeare wrote this classic around 1591 -1595, portraying the hatred between two families, and the forbidden love between the heirs of said two, as well as, the chaos caused by it.

Invention of microscope (1600s)

1600

Dutch spectacle maker Zacharias Janssen is believed to have created one of the earliest models of microscopes, with two lenses, that could magnify an object up to 20 or 30 times its normal size.

Hamlet

1602

The world's most quoted play, Hamlet, was written by William Shakespeare in 1602 and set in the popular Renaissance genre of revenge tragedy; Shakespeare's Hamlet varies from the heroes of ancient and medieval times in that he represents a new, more modern character, one whose self-questioning disposition and brooding skepticism more closely resemble a modern existential antihero.

Invention of the telescope

1609

The astronomer Galileo Galilei built his telescope after hearing about the "Danish perspective glass" in 1609.