RENAISSANCE AND MANNERISM IN CINQUECENTO ITALY (15th century) HIGH AND LATE RENAISSANCE

An important role of the anatomy. Harsh critics for the size of the hands and head and artist explanation - read

3 times bigger, too big to fit perfectly with the rest of his body. This asymmetry is believed to be Michelangelo's clever nod to David's nickname, manu fortis—strong of hand

Two fasades: tall and narrow classical porch on a low broad one. Read why

Dissatisfied with earlier solutions to the problem of integrating a high central nave and lower aisles into a unified façade design, Palladio solved it by superimposing a tall and narrow classical porch on a low broad one. This solution reflects the building's interior arrangement (dome-covered nave and single-story aisles) and in that sense is strictly logical, but the intersection of two temple facades is irrational and ambiguous, consistent with contemporaneous developments in Mannerist architecture

A disagreement of the two masters. Read letters of Leonardo and Michelangelo

Leonardo, with his intellectual and analytical mind, preferred painting (figs. 17-2, 17-4, and 17-5) to sculpture, which he regarded as lowly manual labor. In contrast, Michelangelo, who worked in a more intuitive manner, saw himself primarily as a sculptor. Two excerpts from their writings reveal their positions on the relationship between the two media

Nave takes over the main volume of space. Where is nave

The central area of an ancient Roman basilica or of a church, demarcated from aisles by piers or columns

Inclusion of the self-portrait on the side of Aristotle --------and Michelangelo's figure on the side of Plato (Heraclitus) Find out

Zoroaster, Ptolemy-- (Heraclitus)

Drum

a cylindrical wall, support for a dome

Cella

central room of a temple

Negative critics: - The youthful Mary's face - Peaceful pose of Christ Read artist's explanations

her age—seemingly less than that of Christ—was a subject of controversy from the moment the statue was unveiled. Michelangelo explained Mary's ageless beauty as an integral part of her purity and virginity. Beautiful, too, is the son whom she holds

Colorito versus disegno - contrast between two approaches and two Italian regions - south in Florence & Rome and northern region - Venice. Read about the conflict of two groups of artists

most central Italian artists emphasized careful design preparation based on preliminary drawing (see "Renaissance Drawings,", Venetian artists focused on color and the process of paint application

Stylobate

stepped temple platform

Mannerism - the opposite of Renaissance. Why? Read more

which exemplifies the elegant stylishness that was a principal aim of Mannerism. In Parmigianino's hands, this traditional, usually sedate, religious subject became a picture of exquisite grace and precious sweetness. The Madonna's small oval head, her long and slender neck, the otherworldly attenuation and delicacy of her hand, and the sinuous, swaying elongation of her frame—all are marks of the aristocratic, sumptuously courtly taste of Mannerist artists and patrons alike

Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome, 1508-12. Fresco, 128' x 45'(17-19)

· - The Creation scenes in the central row · - The Hebrew prophets and ancient sibyls from the sides · Pendentive - a concave, triangular section of a hemisphere, architectural element that makes a transition from corners to barrel vault or dome. · The Old Testament scenes in the four corners pendentives. · Each figure is sharply outlined to be visible from the ground, influence of the Botticelli's Linear style

Michelangelo, plan for St. Peter's,Vatican City, Rome

· A Greek cross base - each arm is terminating in an apse · Pilasters - flat or rectangular elements with a base and a capital. · Change of the original dome's shape and size after Michelangelo's death

MICHELANGELO Pieta, ca. 1498-1500. Marble, 5' x 8" high, Saint Peter's, Vatican City, Rome

· A disagreement of the two masters. Read letters of Leonardo and Michelangelo. · Michelangelo's position was that artists limited only by his own judgment, not a mathematical rule (Leonardo's position). · Marble transformed into flesh and fabric, a sensitivity for a texture without a parallel. Negative critics: · - The youthful Mary's face · - Peaceful pose of Christ · Read artist's explanations

Andrea Palladio, San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, begun 1566. Exterior and interior

· A dramatic setting with a water reflection. · Two fasades: tall and narrow classical porch on a low broad one. Read why. · Interior full of light and rich wall decoration as an example of the · classical architecture

The Golden Legend story as a theme. Read more

· According to the Golden Legend (a 13th-century collection of stories about the lives of the saints), Joseph competed with other suitors for Mary's hand. The high priest was to give the Virgin to whichever suitor presented to him a rod that had miraculously bloomed. Raphael depicted Joseph with his flowering rod in his left hand. In his right hand, Joseph holds the wedding ring he is about to place on Mary's finger. Other virgins congregate at the left, and the unsuccessful suitors stand on the right.

ARCHITECTURE Donato d'Angelo BramanteTempietto, San Pietro in Montorio, 1502. Rome

· Architect preferred architecture of classical antiquity - influence of Leonardo, and Brunelleschi. · High Renaissance central-plan church. · Stylobate - stepped temple platform. · Tuscan style colonnade. · Cella - central room of a temple. · Drum - a cylindrical wall, support for a dome. Creator of the High Renaissance architecture

Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome,1536-1541. Fresco, 48' x 44'

· Art was in the service of the Counter-Reformation movement. · The papal commission for the altar wall · Christ's central figure in a gesture of Damnation of all creation. Changed message from the church. · A dynamic, violent, and tense composition · Much darker views of the artist some 30 years after painting the ceiling

1. RAPHAEL Marriage of the Virgin, 1504. Oil on wood, 5'7"x 3'10", Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan 5' 7" x 3' 10"

· Artist's most important patron was the ambitious new pope Julius II. Pope's projects: · - A design for modern Saint Peter's, · - Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel commission, · - School of Athens in papal apartments. · The Golden Legend story as a theme. Read more. · Find the example of foreshortening here. foreshortening and of the perspective system he learned from Perugino Application of the linear perspective system One of them breaks his rod in half over his knee in frustration, giving Raphael an opportunity to demonstrate his mastery of foreshortening

High Renaissance thought joined Classical and Christian traditions. Various theories regarding a female figure. Find out

· Beneath the Lord's sheltering left arm is a woman, apprehensively curious but as yet uncreated. Scholars traditionally believed that she is Eve, but many now think she is the Virgin Mary (with the Christ Child at her knee). If the second identification is correct, it suggests that Michelangelo incorporated into his fresco one of the essential tenets of Christian faith—the belief that Adam's original sin eventually led to the sacrifice of Christ, which in turn made possible the redemption of all humankind

Bramante, plan for St. Peter's, Vatican City, Rome Medal showing Bramante's design, illustration Michelangelo, plan for St. Peter's, Vatican City, Rome

· Bramante's ambitious design - titanic scale, square base, a large dome. · Michelangelo's new plan, reduction of the gigantic original plan, where building is to follow the form of the human body. A double columned portico - an entrance porch

Watch video 17.6 Tintoretto, Last Supper. Compare with the Da Vinci's composition

· Christ in natural light and Christ with a halo · Lantern and Christ light and apostles with angels not really renaissance · This one is more real than the Leonardo's It is manneristic

Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome, 1508-12. Fresco, 128' x 45'(17-17)

· Enormous difficulties with the ceiling: · - 5,800 square feet surface on the 70' height, · - Perspective problems the vault's curve presented, · - Artist's inexperience with the fresco technique. · The creation fall and redemption of humanity - subject selected by Julius II. More than 300 figures interlaced on the scene

VENETIAN PAINTING Giovanni Bellini and Titian, Feast of the Gods, 1529. Oil on canvas, 5'7"x6'2

· In 16th c. Venetian masters developed an independent painting style. · Main characteristics: soft-colored light on figures and landscapes and focus on color instead form & line. · Collaboration between master (Bellini) and his student (Titian). · Colorito versus disegno - contrast between two approaches and two Italian regions - south in Florence & Rome and northern region - Venice. Read about the conflict of two groups of artists

Creation of Adam, detail of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, 1511-12. Fresco, 9' 2" x 18' 8"

· In this scene, High Renaissance thought joined Classical and Christian traditions. Various theories regarding a female figure. Find out. · Michelangelo's style: the reclining and twisting positions, the heavy musculature, sculptural forms. Find out why his female figures were so muscular? WATCH VIDEO 17.4 Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel

Titian, Meeting of Bacchus and Ariadne, Palazzo Ducale, Ferrara, Italy, 1522. Oil on canvas, 5'9"x 6'3

· Inspiration from classical arts with a mythological subject (check next image). · Titian as a supreme colorist / master of the oil medium. · A poetic style - The lyrical and sensual Venetian Renaissance painting. (inspiration from mythology, poetry, literature & classical cultures)

Inspiration from classical arts with a mythological subject (check next image

· Laocoon and his Sons, Greece, c. 300 BCE, Example. · Ancient Greek Hellenistic sculptural group as inspiration.

MANNERISM Parmigianino, Madonna with the long neck, Oil on wood, 7'1"x4'4", 1534-40. Uffizi, Florence

· Maniera - Italian for "style" or "manner". · New movement Mannerism is characterized by being elegant, and cultured. · Mannerism - the opposite of Renaissance. Why? Read more. · Sophisticated beauty not only decorative in purpose. Characteristics: exaggerated proportions, non-naturalistic settings, emotions, symbolism

A non-traditional representation of David (before, not after the battle & with a sling and a rock). Learn about the story that inspired artist for the piece

· Old testament, David vs Goliath

Philosophy ( School of Athens), Vatican palace, Rome, 1509-11. Fresco, 19' x 27

· One of the most important commissions from pope Julius II. · Location in Vatican - Stanza della Segnatura (Room of the Signature). · Symbolic represent. on the four walls: Theology, Justice, Poetry, and Philosophy. · Classical elements included: Classical architecture, human anatomy, historical figures from ancient cultures, classical fashion · The central figures represent Plato and Aristotle with a balanced group of the ancients and the contemporaries · A perfect depiction of a vast space on a two-dimensional surface. Here Raphael reconciled classical humanism and Christianity

David, from Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy, 1501-04. Marble, 17' high, Galleria dell'Accademia

· Pay attention to the size! · David statue carved from one great block of marble. · A non-traditional representation of David (before, not after the battle & with a sling and a rock). Learn about the story that inspired artist for the piece. · An important role of the anatomy. Harsh critics for the size of the hands and head and artist explanation - read! · Every detail carefully executed to show the tension of the moment, check the face expression in the video. · Influence of the Classical anatomy (perfection) and the Hellenistic emotion (drama). WATCH Video 17.3 Michelangelo, David

Read who of these two represents scientific and who philosophical point of view (video)

· Plato: ancient philosophers, men concerned with the ultimate mysteries that transcend this world Aristotle: the philosophers and scientists concerned with practical matters, such as mathematics

Giacomo della Porta, west façade of Il Gesu, Rome, Italy, ca. 1575-84

· Probably the most influential building of the later Cinquecento. · School of Jesus, Jesuits, had an important role in the Counter-Reformation. What is Counter-Reformation? · Nave takes over the main volume of space. Where is nave? A theatrical setting for large events Ø Scroll buttresses Ø Classical pediment. Ø Pilasters unify façade look. · Many Baroque church facades are variations of Il Gesu

School of Jesus, Jesuits, had an important role in the Counter-Reformation. What is Counter-Reformation

· The Counter-Reformation, also called the Catholic Reformation or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent and largely ended with the conclusion of the European wars of religion in 1648

SCULPTURE Giovanni da Bologna, Abduction of the Sabine Women, 1579. Marble, 13' x 5', Florence, Italy

· The first large-scale sculptural group since classical antiquity. · Mannerist principles of figure composition. · Ancient Rome (bellow) as an inspiration for the name

Tintoretto, Last Supper, 1594. Oil on canvas, 12' x 18'8", San Giorgio Maggiore, Venic

· The outstanding Venetian representative of Mannerism. · In the late career, his art became spiritual, even visionary. · Dark interior illuminated by a single light - symbolic meaning. · Mannerist devices as - imbalanced composition and visual complexity. · Dynamic perspective and dramatic chiaroscuro - signs of the coming Baroque. · Watch video 17.6 Tintoretto, Last Supper. Compare with the Da Vinci's composition

Titian, Venus of Urbino, 1536-38. Oil on canvas, 5'5" x 3'11", Uffizi, Florence

· Titian here established the standard for painting of the reclining female nude. Masterfully divided space into smaller units. · Deep Venetian reds set of against the pale, neutral whites - recognizable Titian color palette. Use of colors to compose the space and organize the placement of forms.WATCH Video 17.5 Titian, Venus of Urbino

What is the effect that angle creates? Read more

· Unlike Mantegna's di sotto in sù perspective, Veronese's is not a projection directly up from below, but at a 45-degree angle to spectators, a technique used by many later Baroque decorators

Find out why his female figures were so muscular

· Used male models

Paolo Veronese, Triumph of Venice, ca. 1585. Oil on canvas, 29'8" x 19' Doge's Palace, Venice

· Veronese specialized in a spectacular display painting. · A huge scale canvases on ceilings, not fresco painting. · A master of imposing illusionistic ceiling compositions. · A presentation of Venice crowned by Fame. · A projection at a 45-degree angle to spectators. Technique used by many Baroque painters and decorators. · What is the effect that angle creates? Read more.

Results of the restoration at the end of the 20th century. Read how public reacted when restoration was finished

· the restorers were destroying Michelangelo's masterpieces. That reaction, however, was largely attributable to the fact that for centuries everyone had seen Michelangelo's frescoes only in their soot-and-grime-covered state. Today, all can see that Michelangelo's true palette—so different from Leonardo's — resembles, not surprisingly, the colors favored by Quattrocento Florentine fresco painters such as Masaccio and Piero della Francesca