4.THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

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Dome of Florence, Brunelleschi. This is the first Renaissance dome. In the upper part, there is a lantern which allows light inside the building. 

Façade of the Basilica Santa Maria Novella by Alberti, with a triangular pediment, friezes and geometric designs

Artists could dedicate themselves exclusively to creation because they were maintained by patrons, who paid them for their work. These patrons included the Medici in Florence, the Sforza in Milan, or the Popes of Rome (Alexander VI, Julius II or Leo X).

This artistic style was called Renaissance because there was a revival of Classical Greek and Roman culture. This occurred for two main reasons:

• The arrival in Italy of Greek scholars, who had fled Constantinople after its conquest by the Turks, and brought classical works with them.
• The abundance of Roman remains on the Italian peninsula and the discovery of new archaeological remains.

4.1. The phases of the Renaissance

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The Italian Renaissance began at the end of the Middle Ages. There were various phases:

• Trecento (14th century, the end of Gothic art): the early features of the Renaissance appear. The first artist was Giotto.
• Quattrocento (15th century): In Florence, new Renaissance innovations appeared (harmony and proportion). The most important architects are Brunelleschi and Alberti; the most important sculptors are Ghiberti and Donatello; and the most important painters are Masaccio, Fra Angelico and Botticelli.
• Cinquecento (16th century): Rome became the artistic centre. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael Sanzio belong to this phase. In Venice, a new style was developed by painters such as Giorgione and Titian, which spread throughout Europe.
• Mannerism (beginning in 1530, in Italy): harmony and proportion were abandoned. The most important painters are the Florentines Bronzino and Pontormo and the Venetians Tintoretto and Veronese, and the sculptors Cellini and Giambologna.

4.2. Architecture

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During the Renaissance, the following features of Greek and Roman art were adopted:

• Domes: the most notable examples are Florence Cathedral (by Brunelleschi) and Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome (by Michelangelo).
• Columns: columns with classical capitals and entablatures (the horizontal parts above the columns).
• Semi-circular arches and coffered ceilings (such as those in the church of San Lorenzo in Florence, by Brunelleschi).
• Triangular pediments, friezes, geometric designs and scrolls (an example is the façade of the Basilica Santa Maria Novella)
• Longitudinal and central-plan (circular, square, Greek cross): the Tempietto di San Pietro, by Bramante, is a notable example of a circular plan; Villa La Rotonda, by Andrea Palladio, is an example of a square plan; and Saint Peter's Basilica, by Bramante, is in the shape of a Greek cross.

ITALIAN RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

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Interior of the church of San Lorenzo, Florence, by Brunelleschi

The best examples of this new architectural style can be found in Italian cities. The main ones are:

• Urban palaces: in Florence, the most notable ones are the Palazzo Pitti (Brunelleschi), the Palazzo Medici (Michelozzo di Bartolomeo) and the Plazzo Rucellai (Leon Batista Alberti).
• Town halls.
• Squares: an important example is the Piazza del Campidoglio by Michelangelo.

The Palazzo Medici, Florence.

• Hospitals: the most notable one is the Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence, by Brunelleschi.
• Theatres, for example the Teatro Olimpico, Venice, by Andrea Palladio.
• Libraries: the most notable one is the Laurentian Library, Florence, by Michelangelo.
• Rural villas, like the Villa La Rotonda by Andrea Palladio.

Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome

To do this, they used different methods:

• Simplicity: they did not use many decorative features.
• Open, diaphanous spaces, which can be seen in public squares.
• Proportion: the buildings are symmetrical and the different parts are evenly distributed. They were not as tall as Gothic buildings in order to maintain harmony between the horizontal and vertical elements.

4.3. Painting and sculpture

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New interests

The artists reflected the new interests of society. This was reflected in the following characteristics of style:

• Idealism and serenity: painters and sculptors tried to reflect reality. At the same time, influenced by the ideas of the Greek philosopher Plato, they aimed to portray an ideal beauty. This idealism can be seen in the perfect faces and bodies depicted by artists like Botticelli and Raphael Sanzio, who were both famous for their Madonnas, or virgins, with angelic faces; and Leonardo da Vinci (whose work Mona Lisa has become one most famous portraits of feminine beauty). Michelangelo differed from the others because he portrayed intense emotions in his works.
• The human body: the Italian painters and sculptors were interested in the anatomy of the human body. They revived the nude as a subject, which had been abandoned in the Middle Ages. Examples of this are the Venuses by Giorgione and Titian (both from the Venetian school) or the paintings in the Sistine Chapel and the statue of David, which are both by Michelangelo.
• The search for balance and proportion: Renaissance artists studied the elements of a scene and arranged them symmetrically, in an order that guided the view of the observer. They often used a pyramidal composition. The figures were portrayed in proportion, although once again, Michelangelo broke with this convention by introducing imbalance in his works.

New techniques and materials

• In the case of sculpture, more expensive materials like marble were used more frequently. Reliefs were replaced by freestanding sculptures (three dimensional representations), which could be contemplated from all angles.
• Ancient techniques continued to be used in painting, such as frescoes on walls and tempera on wooden panels. However, eventually the new oil technique was adopted (consisting of mixing oil with mineral pigments) and used to paint on cloth canvasses.

New subjects

Some of the new themes adopted during the Italian Renaissance were the following:

• In addition to themes related to Christianity, mythological themes were adopted from Classical Antiquity.
• More portraits were painted due to the increase in demand from nobles, clergy and the upper bourgeoisie. Equestrian portraits also became popular.
• Nature, landscapes and buildings substituted the gold backgrounds of the Gothic artists and became the defining feature of all compositions. They were portrayed with enormous accuracy and detail.

ITALIAN RENAISSANCE PAINTING AND SCULPTURE

Many features of Renaissance art can be seen in The Birth of Venus. The patron who commissioned this work was a member of the powerful Medici family. It was painted by the Florentine Sandro Botticelli at the end of the 15th century, using the tempera technique.

The artist took his inspiration from classical mythology to depict the birth of Venus (the Roman goddess of love, beauty and marriage).

There is a clear symmetry to the composition and it contains a striking image: the nude, which had disappeared from Western art during the Middle Ages.

In the search for a true representation of reality, Renaissance artists introduced a revolutionary new technique: perspective. This enabled them to give depth and volume to scenes, objects and figures.

In sculpture, perspective was achieved by creating reliefs with various depths, which can be seen in this detail from The Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti.

Perspective was achieved in painting by placing the figures in different planes and putting landscapes or architectural features in the most distant one (the background). They also used linear perspective, which consists of arranging the elements on imaginary lines which converge at a vanishing point at the back. This can be seen in the fresco The School of Athens by Raphael Sanzio.

Other methods which are used to create depth are aerial perspective, blurring the background so it appears further away; and using contrasts of light and shadow (chiaroscuo) to create volume.