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The Arts
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Click
here to see a beautifully made
video of 500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art. |
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Click
here to see a virtual
exhibition of Italian Art in 3-D |
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Italian Renaissance Artists |
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Masaccio born in 1401, died in 1428. Perhaps one
of the most influential artists of the Renaissance.
Historians claim that he, along with Donatello and
Brunelleschi, inspired the style of art that typifies
art of the period. In his 27 years on the planet, he
developed a style that used perspective in a way that
created an illusion of three-dimensions--a significant
change from the flat style of painting that typified
medieval art. His most famous work can be found in the
Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence.
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Donatello born
in 1386, died in 1486. Famous for many things including
the youthful sculpture of David in Florence. A less
famous work in the city is the brass pulpits he build
for the Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo which was built by
Brunelleschi. Like Masaccio, Donatello was one of the
earliest artists working with the idea of perspective.
His method was sculpture and he brought dramatic shapes
to life with his skills. |
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Brunelleschi, born in 1377, died in 1446.
Architect in Florence that made the cupola of the
Florence cathedral. The Duomo of Florence has become the
symbol of Florence, is its tallest building and is a
symbol of the wealth and civic pride of the affluent
families of the city during the Renaissance. The church,
on which construction began in 1299, is crowned by the
massive dome designed by Brunelleschi almost two
centuries later. This building did not have a roof for
175 years because it posed a major architectural
challenge with the large area the dome had to span. You
can climb 463 steps up the dome and view the city below.
Seven of the great artists of Florence, including
Brunelleschi and Donatello, competed for the opportunity
to make these doors (and earn the stipend for the work).
Beyond his abilities as an architect, Brunelleschi was
recognized for using geometric principles in creating
perspective and influencing both Masaccio and Donatello
to follow that style. |
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Leonardo da Vinci , born 1452, died 1519. His
most famous works are the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper
which are works in oil. He had a nature that was careful
and precise, so that he never hurried to finish a work.
He developed what are regarded as technical, manual
skills that were so excellent that few artists in
history have rivaled his ability. He had an exceptional
intellect and fascination with the world around him.
Besides his paintings, he left us a legacy of detailed
drawings of the human anatomy, plans for a tank,
helicopter, ideas on the construction of multi-level
canal and road systems. Because he was an artist and a
scientist at a time when both art and science, he has
come to characterize the ultimate "Renaissance Man."
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Michelangelo Buonarroti, born 1475,died 1564. In
the 89 years that he lived, Michelangelo created many of
the works of art that we think of when we think of the
Renaissance. A skilled painter who spent many years
completing the frescoes that adorn the Sistine Chapel,
Michelangelo had trained as a sculptor and created two
of the world's greatest statues--the enormous David and
the emotional Pieta. |
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Bellini, born in 1460 died in 1516. Early in his
career, Bellini painted Agony in the Garden, showing the
influence of Mantegna with a similar use of light and
foreshortening. Ultimately, Bellini would influence the
style of painting in Venice by building upon those
techniques with a new use of paint and color that would
become the tradition reflected in his students. |
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Raphael, born 1483, died 1520. Popular with the
popes of the period, Raphael decorated the papal
apartments of Julius II, continued to do so under Leo X
and, following Bramante, served as architect of St.
Peter's. He is credited with revolutionizing portrait
painting because of the style he used in the portrait of
Julius II. He also designed the "cartoons" that are on
the tapestries of the Sistine Chapel. A tour of the
Vatican Museums should include the Raphael Rooms where
you can see some of the artist's works (though Raphael
died suddenly on Good Friday, 1520, before all the work
was completed and much of it was finished by his
students). In his painting The School of Athens, he
reflected the classical influence upon Renaissance art,
but he also paid tribute to the men who inspired him by
using the faces of da Vinci, Bramante and Michelangelo
as philosophers participating in the debate between
Plato and Aristotle. |
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Titian born in c. 1487, died in 1576. The most
famous painter from Venice at the start of the 16th
century. Trained by Giovanni Bellini, He was noted for
use of color and for the use of thick, dramatic brush
strokes. Among his famous paintings is Bacchus and
Ariadne
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Tintoretto born in 1518; died in 1591. A pupil of
Titian, he used color and technique to convey dramatic,
raw emotions. One of the most famous pieces he painted
was the Origin of the Milky Way |
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Botticelli born 1445, died 1510. His best
paintings are a series of mythological topics including
the Birth of Venus and Mars & Venus, the Roman gods
which reflected the return of Renaissance thought to its
classical roots. |
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Caravaggio, born in 1573, died in 1610 A notable
painting is his Death of the Virgin displayed in the
Louvre, with the dramatic quality that was found in most
of his works. He used foreshortening, shadowing and
detail to portray scenes that drew out the emotions of
the viewers. Caravaggio is often given credit for
inspiring the Renaissance painters of northern Europe
including Rembrandt. |
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Ghiberti born in 1378, died 1455. Exceptional
bronze sculpture, most famous for being selected to do
the doors to the baptistery of the doors of the Duomo in
Florence, being chosen over such artists as Brunelleschi
and Donatello. Some art historians define the entries
submitted in this contest as the beginning point of
Renaissance art. Ghiberti spent 21 years doing the north
doors. The year after he completed those doors, he was
commissioned to do the east doors. He spent the next 28
years producing the brass panels depicting the Old
Testament that complete those doors which Michelangelo
described as the "gates of Paradise." He also sculpted
St. Matthew and St. John the Baptist out of bronze for
the Orsanmichele in Florence. |
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Giotto born in 1267, died in 1337. Painted the
Life of St. Francis of Assisi which is identified as one
of his earlier works. Though an artist of the medieval
period, he influenced such greats as Michelangelo and
Raphael because he introduced some of the earliest
solutions to creating the illusion of
three-dimensionality in paintings and because his way of
composing his paintings so effectively conveyed the the
subject he was painting. Besides his work as an artist,
he is famous for designing the Campanile (tower) of the
Florence Duomo |
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Post-Renaissance Artists
Umberto Boccioni, born 1882, died 1916. Painter
and sculptor who tried to express modern life with
dynamic and fluid forms.
Emilio Greco Sculptor who designed the doors for
the duomo of Orvieta
Amedeo Modigliani, born 1884, died 1920. Painter
and sculptor famous for he elongated nudes.
Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, born 1598, died 1680.
Exceptional sculptor who created many of the best works
of public art in Rome,, including the Trevi and Four
River Fountains, the Egyptian Obelisk, and the canopy
over the high altar in St. Peter's Basillica.
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