The Italian Renaissance 14th century – 17th century

Italian Renaissance

Period: Jan 1, 1301 to Dec 31, 1700

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The Dome of Florence Cathedral

1419

Filippo Brunelleschi is a renown architect in the Renaissance. The Dome "...demanded great engineering skill and Filippo invented, and patented, a new hoisting machine for raising the masonry required for the dome" (“Brunelleschi..." 1). https://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Brunelleschi.html#gallery[pageGallery]/0/

Holy Trinity

1425

Artist Masaccio painted this as "...one of the best examples of the early Renaissance scientific approach to creating the convincing illusion of space within a painting" located in Florence, Italy at the church of Santa Maria Novella (“Masaccio's Holy..." 1). Link text

David

1428

Donatello’s bronze sculpted David is housed in the Uffizi Gallery and one of three David Sculptures. Link text

Festive Motet Nuper rosarum flores,

1436

Composer Guillaume Du Fay is a prominent figure in the musical world of the Renaissance in churches and chapels as many works were based on Gregorian chants. His work affected people in Florence, Italy as "In 1436 Dufay composed the festive motet Nuper rosarum flores, one of his most famous compositions, which was sung at the dedication of Brunelleschi's dome of the cathedral in Florence, where Eugenius lived in exile" (Guillaume 1). Link text

Annunciation

1472

Artist Leonardo da Vinci paints the hortus concludes which signifies the purity of Mary. Archangel Gabriel kneels front of the Virgin Mary, bringing the good news of Christ. Link text

St. Francis in the Desert

1480

Artist Giovanni Bellini paints St. Francis in a garden with the animals he is known for being surrounded by. Link text

Virgin of the Rocks

1483

Artist Leonardo da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks is said that "...the patrons had requested that Leonardo include the Virgin Mary, the Christ Child, and at least one angel, but in order to give better balance to the scene Leonardo included the figure of John the Baptist as well" (“Leonardo Da..." 1). Link text

Enthroned Madonna and Child with Four Saints

1495

Artist Giovanni Battista di Jacopo painted this piece that is currently in the Uffizi Museum in Florence, Italy. Constructive criticism from Buonafede in "...the figure of St Jerome, whose skeletal body, emaciated and scowling face and grasping hands embody the restless and anti-classical spirit of the painter’s early phase" was one of many ("Enthroned Madonna..." 1). Link text

The Last Supper

1498

Artist Leonardo da Vinci depicted the soul of the people as this "...is considered perhaps the most important mural painting in the world, 'a beautiful and marvelous thing', as Giorgio Vasari wrote in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, in which he speaks of Leonardo and describes the Last Supper (“The Last..." 1). Link Text

Pieta

1498

Artist Michelangelo Buonarroti's "...Pieta shows the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Christ after his crucifixion, death, and removal from the cross..." as this is "...known as the Seven Sorrows of Mary, which were the subject of Catholic devotional prayers" ("Michelangelo's..." 1). This is located St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy.

Three Graces

1503

Artist Raphael created Three Graces located in France at the Musée Condé in Chantilly. This painting represents fertility and beauty in the female figures. Link text

Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist

1507

Artist Andrea Solario replicated Salome sinfully dancing for King Herod as John the Baptist's head is the trophy in this biblical story. Link Text

Sistine Chapel Ceiling

1508

Michelangelo Buonarroti took four years to paint the Sistine Chapel beside the Vatican in Rome, Italy. He studied cadavers to create his figures. Link text

The School of Athens

1509

Artist Raphael painted this as one of the first indications of perspective.The "Figures representing each subject that must be mastered in order to hold a true philosophic debate - astronomy, geometry, arithmetic, and solid geometry - are depicted in concrete form" as "...arbiters of this rule, the main figures, Plato and Aristotle, are shown in the centre, engaged in such a dialogue" ("The School..." 1). Link text

Moses

1513

Artist Michelangelo Buonarroti sculpted Moses out of marble in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome commissioned by Pope Julius II. "Legend has it that Michelangelo felt "Moses" to be his most life-like work, to the extent that, upon completion of the statue, Michelangelo is supposed to have struck its knee exclaiming 'Now, speak!'" (“Moses" 1). Link Text

Sacred and Profane Love

1514

Artist Titian created this painting with cupid in the middle of two women, showing the unification of the overall composition. Link text

Saints Peter, Martha, Mary Magdalen, and Leonard

1515

Artist Antonio Allegri created this painting for a church in his hometown Correggio. Melchior Fassi is the patron who selected all of the saints. Link Text

The Villa

1557

Architect Andrea Palladio designed and wrote about the beautiful Villa. "One of Palladio's architectural masterpieces, the Villa Barbaro (1557–58) overlooks the farmlands near Asolo and Vicenza" (Metmuseum). Link text

The Rape of Europa

1560

Artist Titian created The Rape of Europa painting, a depiction of mythology. The scene "...depicts the story of her abduction by Zeus, who is in the form of a white bull. This myth had initially been a Cretan story, and many of the love-stories concerning Zeus originated from even more ancient myths describing his marriages with goddesses" ("The Rape..." 1). Link text

St. Sebastian

1618

Artist Peter Paul Rubens created St. Sebastian which is now located in Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. "This is presumably the 'Sebastian' that Rubens offered to sell to an Englishman in 1618 as the 'finest flower of his work'" (“St. Sebastian 1). Link Text