With classical completeness, the Renaissance was realized in Italy, in the Renaissance culture of which there are periods: Proto-Renaissance or the times of pre-Renaissance phenomena (“the era of Dante and Giotto”, around 1260-1320), partially coinciding with the period of Ducento (13th century), as well as Trecento (14th century). century), Quattrocento (15th century) and Cinquecento (16th century). More general periods are Early Renaissance(14-15 centuries), when new trends actively interact with Gothic, overcoming and creatively transforming it.
As well as the High and Late Renaissance, a special phase of which was Mannerism. During the Quattrocento era, the Florentine school, architects (Filippo Brunelleschi, Leona Battista Alberti, Bernardo Rossellino and others), sculptors (Lorenzo Ghiberti, Donatello, Jacopo della Quercia, Antonio Rossellino, Desiderio da Settignano), painters (Masaccio) became the focus of innovation in all types of art , Filippo Lippi, Andrea del Castagno, Paolo Uccello, Fra Angelico, Sandro Botticelli) who created a plastically integral concept of the world with internal unity, which gradually spread throughout Italy (the work of Piero della Francesca in Urbino, Vittore Carpaccio, Francesco Cossa in Ferrara, Andrea Mantegna in Mantua, Antonello da Messina and the brothers Gentile and Giovanni Bellini in Venice).
It is natural that the time, which gave central importance to “divine” human creativity, brought forward personalities in art who - with all the abundance of talents of that time - became the personification of entire eras national culture(personalities-“titans”, as they were romantically called later). Giotto became the personification of the Proto-Renaissance; the opposite aspects of the Quattrocento - constructive severity and soulful lyricism - were respectively expressed by Masaccio, Angelico and Botticelli. The "Titans" of the Middle (or "High") Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo are artists - symbols of the great turn of the New Age as such. Key Stages Italian Renaissance architecture - early, middle and late - are monumentally embodied in the works of F. Brunelleschi, D. Bramante and A. Palladio.
During the Renaissance, medieval anonymity was replaced by individual, authorial creativity. The theory of linear and aerial perspective, proportions, problems of anatomy and light and shadow modeling is of great practical importance. The center of Renaissance innovations, the artistic “mirror of the era” was an illusory life-like painting, in religious art it displaces the icon, and in secular art it gives rise to independent genres of landscape, household painting, portrait (the latter played a primary role in the visual affirmation of the ideals of humanistic virtu). The art of wood and metal engraving, which became truly widespread during the Reformation, gains its final intrinsic value. Drawing from a working sketch turns into a separate type of creativity; the individual style of stroke, stroke, as well as texture and the effect of incompleteness (non-finito) are beginning to be valued as independent artistic effects. Monumental painting also becomes picturesque, illusory and three-dimensional, gaining greater visual independence from the mass of the wall. All types fine arts now, in one way or another, they violate the monolithic medieval synthesis (where architecture dominated), gaining comparative independence. Types of absolutely round statues, equestrian monuments, and portrait busts (in many ways reviving the ancient tradition) are being formed, and a completely new type of solemn sculptural and architectural tombstone is emerging.
During High Renaissance, when the struggle for humanistic Renaissance ideals acquired an intense and heroic character, architecture and fine art were marked by the breadth of social sound, synthetic generality and the power of images full of spiritual and physical activity. In the buildings of Donato Bramante, Raphael, Antonio da Sangallo, perfect harmony, monumentality and clear proportionality reached their apogee; humanistic fullness, bold flight of artistic imagination, breadth of reality are characteristic of the work of the greatest masters of fine art of this era - Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Giorgione, Titian. From the second quarter of the 16th century, when Italy entered a time of political crisis and disappointment in the ideas of humanism, the work of many masters acquired a complex and dramatic character. In Late Renaissance architecture (Giacomo da Vignola, Michelangelo, Giulio Romano, Baldassare Peruzzi) there was an increased interest in spatial development composition, subordination of the building to a broad urban planning plan; in the richly and complexly developed public buildings, temples, villas, and palazzos, the clear tectonics of the Early Renaissance gave way to the intense conflict of tectonic forces (buildings by Jacopo Sansovino, Galeazzo Alessi, Michele Sanmicheli, Andrea Palladio). The painting and sculpture of the Late Renaissance were enriched by an understanding of the contradictory nature of the world, an interest in depicting dramatic mass action, in spatial dynamics (Paolo Veronese, Jacopo Tintoretto, Jacopo Bassano); reached unprecedented depth, complexity, internal tragedy psychological characteristics images in the later works of Michelangelo and Titian.
Venice school
The Venetian School, one of the main painting schools in Italy, with its center in the city of Venice (partly also in the small towns of Terraferma - areas of the mainland adjacent to Venice). For Venetian school characterized by the predominance of the picturesque principle, special attention to the problems of color, the desire to embody the sensual fullness and colorfulness of life. Closely linked to countries Western Europe and the East, Venice drew from foreign culture everything that could serve to decorate it: elegance and golden shine Byzantine mosaics, the stone surroundings of Moorish buildings, the fantastic nature of Gothic temples. At the same time, it developed its own original style in art, gravitating towards ceremonial colorfulness. The Venetian school is characterized by a secular, life-affirming principle, a poetic perception of the world, man and nature, and subtle colorism.
The Venetian school reached its greatest flourishing in the era of the Early and High Renaissance, in the work of Antonello da Messina, who opened for his contemporaries expressive possibilities oil painting, creators of ideally harmonious images Giovanni Bellini and Giorgione, the greatest colorist Titian, who embodied in his canvases the inherent Venetian painting cheerfulness and colorful plethora. In the works of the masters of the Venetian school of the second half of the 16th century, virtuosity in conveying the multicolored world, love for festive spectacles and a diverse crowd coexist with obvious and hidden drama, an alarming sense of the dynamics and infinity of the universe (paintings of Paolo Veronese and Jacopo Tintoretto). In the 17th century, the traditional interest in the problems of color for the Venetian school in the works of Domenico Fetti, Bernardo Strozzi and other artists coexisted with the techniques of Baroque painting, as well as realistic trends in the spirit of Caravaggism. Venetian painting of the 18th century is characterized by the flourishing of monumental and decorative painting (Giovan Battista Tiepolo), everyday genre (Giovan Battista Piazzetta, Pietro Longhi), documentary-accurate architectural landscape– vedata (Giovanni Antonio Canaletto, Bernardo Belotto) and lyrical, subtly conveying the poetic atmosphere everyday life Venice cityscape (Francesco Guardi).
Florence school
Florence School, one of the leading Italian art schools Renaissance, centered in the city of Florence. The formation of the Florentine school, which finally took shape in the 15th century, was facilitated by the flourishing of humanistic thought (Francesco Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Lico della Mirandola, etc.), which turned to the heritage of antiquity. The founder of the Florentine school during the Proto-Renaissance was Giotto, who gave his compositions plastic persuasiveness and life-like authenticity.
In the 15th century, the founders of Renaissance art in Florence were the architect Filippo Brunelleschi, the sculptor Donatello, the painter Masaccio, followed by the architect Leon Battista Alberti, the sculptors Lorenzo Ghiberti, Luca della Robbia, Desiderio da Settignano, Benedetto da Maiano and other masters. In the architecture of the Florentine school in the 15th century, a new type of Renaissance palazzo was created, and the search began for the ideal type of temple building that would meet the humanistic ideals of the era.
The fine art of the Florentine school of the 15th century is characterized by a fascination with problems of perspective, a desire for a plastically clear construction of the human figure (works by Andrea del Verrocchio, Paolo Uccello, Andrea del Castagno), and for many of its masters - special spirituality and intimate lyrical contemplation (painting by Benozzo Gozzoli , Sandro Botticelli, Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi,). In the 17th century, the Florentine school fell into decay.
Reference and biographical information for the "Planet Small Bay Art Galleries" has been prepared based on materials from the "History" foreign art" (ed. M.T. Kuzmina, N.L. Maltseva), " Art Encyclopedia foreign classical art", "Great Russian Encyclopedia".
Renaissance (Renaissance). Italy. XV-XVI centuries. Early capitalism. The country is ruled by rich bankers. They are interested in art and science.
The rich and powerful gather around them the talented and wise. Poets, philosophers, artists and sculptors have daily conversations with their patrons. For a moment it seemed that the people were ruled by wise men, as Plato wanted.
They remembered the ancient Romans and Greeks. Who also built a society of free citizens. Where main value- a person (not counting slaves, of course).
Renaissance is not just copying the art of ancient civilizations. This is a mixture. Mythology and Christianity. Realism of nature and sincerity of images. Physical beauty and spiritual beauty.
It was just a flash. The High Renaissance period is approximately 30 years! From the 1490s to 1527 From the beginning of the heyday of Leonardo's creativity. Before the sack of Rome.
Mirage ideal world quickly faded. Italy turned out to be too fragile. She was soon enslaved by another dictator.
However, these 30 years have determined the main features European painting 500 years ahead! Up to .
Realism of the image. Anthropocentrism (when a person is main character and hero). Linear perspective. Oil paints. Portrait. Scenery…
It’s incredible, but during these 30 years several brilliant masters worked at once. Which at other times are born once every 1000 years.
Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian are the titans of the Renaissance. But we cannot fail to mention their two predecessors. Giotto and Masaccio. Without which there would be no Renaissance.
1. Giotto (1267-1337)
Paolo Uccello. Giotto da Bondogni. Fragment of the painting “Five Masters of the Florentine Renaissance.” Beginning of the 16th century. . XIV century. Proto-Renaissance. Its main character is Giotto. This is a master who single-handedly revolutionized art. 200 years before the High Renaissance. If it were not for him, the era of which humanity is so proud would hardly have come.
Before Giotto there were icons and frescoes. They were created according to Byzantine canons. Faces instead of faces. Flat figures. Failure to comply with proportions. Instead of a landscape there is a golden background. Like, for example, on this icon.
Guido da Siena. Adoration of the Magi. 1275-1280 Altenburg, Lindenau Museum, Germany. And suddenly frescoes by Giotto appear. on them volumetric figures. Persons noble people. Sad. Mournful. Surprised. Old and young. Different.
Frescoes by Giotto in the Church of Scrovegni in Padua (1302-1305). Left: Lamentation of Christ. Middle: Kiss of Judas (fragment). Right: Annunciation of St. Anne (Mother Mary), fragment.
Giotto's main work is the cycle of his frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. When this church opened to parishioners, crowds of people poured into it. Because they have never seen anything like this.
After all, Giotto did something unprecedented. It was as if he translated biblical stories into simple, understandable language. And they have become much more accessible to ordinary people.
Giotto. Adoration of the Magi. 1303-1305 Fresco in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy. This is precisely what will be characteristic of many masters of the Renaissance. Laconic images. Lively emotions of the characters. Realism.
Read more about the master's frescoes in the article.
Giotto was admired. But his innovations were not developed further. The fashion for international gothic came to Italy.
Only after 100 years will a master appear, a worthy successor to Giotto.
2. Masaccio (1401-1428)
Masaccio. Self-portrait (fragment of the fresco “St. Peter on the pulpit”). 1425-1427 Brancacci Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy. Beginning of the 15th century. The so-called Early Renaissance. Another innovator is entering the scene.
Masaccio was the first artist to use linear perspective. It was designed by his friend, the architect Brunelleschi. Now the depicted world has become similar to the real one. Toy architecture is a thing of the past.
Masaccio. Saint Peter heals with his shadow. 1425-1427 Brancacci Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy. He adopted Giotto's realism. However, unlike his predecessor, he already knew anatomy well.
Instead of blocky characters, Giotto has beautifully built people. Just like the ancient Greeks.
Masaccio. Baptism of neophytes. 1426-1427 Brancacci Chapel, Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, Italy. 
Masaccio. Expulsion from Paradise. 1426-1427 Fresco in the Brancacci Chapel, Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy. Masaccio did not live long life. He died, like his father, unexpectedly. At 27 years old.
However, he had many followers. Masters of subsequent generations went to the Brancacci Chapel to study from his frescoes.
Thus, Masaccio’s innovations were taken up by all the great titans of the High Renaissance.
3. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Leonardo da Vinci. Self-portrait. 1512 Royal Library in Turin, Italy. Leonardo da Vinci is one of the titans of the Renaissance. Which had a tremendous impact on the development of painting.
It was he who raised the status of the artist himself. Thanks to him, representatives of this profession are no longer just artisans. These are creators and aristocrats of the spirit.
Leonardo made a breakthrough primarily in portrait painting.
He believed that nothing should distract from the main image. The gaze should not wander from one detail to another. This is how his famous portraits. Laconic. Harmonious.
Leonardo da Vinci. Lady with an ermine. 1489-1490 Czertoryski Museum, Krakow. Leonardo's main innovation is that he found a way to make images... come alive.
Before him, characters in portraits looked like mannequins. The lines were clear. All details are carefully drawn. The painted drawing could not possibly be alive.
But then Leonardo invented the sfumato method. He shaded the lines. Made the transition from light to shadow very soft. His characters seem to be covered with a barely perceptible haze. The characters came to life.
. 1503-1519 Louvre, Paris. Since then, sfumato will be included in the active vocabulary of all the great artists of the future.
There is often an opinion that Leonardo, of course, is a genius. But he didn’t know how to finish anything. And I often didn’t finish paintings. And many of his projects remained on paper (in 24 volumes, by the way). And in general he was thrown either into medicine or into music. And at one time I was even interested in the art of serving.
However, think for yourself. 19 paintings. And he - greatest artist of all times and peoples. And some are not even close to greatness. At the same time, having painted 6,000 canvases in his life. It is obvious who has the higher efficiency.
About herself famous painting read the master in the article.
4. Michelangelo (1475-1564)
Daniele da Volterra. Michelangelo (fragment). 1544 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor. But he was a universal master. Like his other Renaissance colleagues. Therefore, his pictorial heritage is no less grandiose.
He is recognizable primarily by his physically developed characters. Because he portrayed a perfect man. In which physical beauty means spiritual beauty.
That’s why all his heroes are so muscular and resilient. Even women and old people.
Michelangelo. Fragments of the fresco “The Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican.
Michelangelo often painted the character naked. And then he added clothes on top. So that the body is as sculpted as possible.
Ceiling Sistine Chapel he painted it himself. Although these are several hundred figures! He didn’t even allow anyone to rub paint. Yes, he was a loner. Possessing a cool and quarrelsome character. But most of all he was dissatisfied with... himself.
Michelangelo. Fragment of the fresco “The Creation of Adam”. 1511 Sistine Chapel, Vatican. Michelangelo lived a long life. Having survived the decline of the Renaissance. For him it was a personal tragedy. His later works are full of sadness and sorrow.
Anyway creative path Michelangelo is unique. His early works are a celebration of the human hero. Free and courageous. IN best traditions ancient Greece. What's his name David?
In the last years of life it is tragic images. Intentionally rough-hewn stone. It’s as if we are looking at monuments to the victims of 20th century fascism. Look at his Pietà.
Michelangelo's sculptures at the Academy fine arts in Florence. Left: David. 1504 Right: Palestrina's Pietà. 1555
How is this possible? One artist in one life went through all stages of art from the Renaissance to the 20th century. What should subsequent generations do? Well, go your own way. Realizing that the bar is set very high.
5. Raphael (1483-1520)
. 1506 Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy. Raphael was never forgotten. His genius has always been recognized. And during life. And after death.
His characters are endowed with sensual, lyrical beauty. It is he who is rightfully considered the most beautiful female images ever created. Their external beauty reflects the spiritual beauty of the heroines. Their meekness. Their sacrifice.
Raphael. . 1513 Old Masters Gallery, Dresden, Germany. Fyodor Dostoevsky said the famous words “Beauty will save the world” about. This was his favorite painting.
However, sensual images are not Raphael’s only strong point. He thought through the compositions of his paintings very carefully. He was an unsurpassed architect in painting. Moreover, he always found the simplest and most harmonious solution in organizing space. It seems that it cannot be any other way.
Raphael. Athens School. 1509-1511 Fresco in the Stanzas of the Apostolic Palace, Vatican. Raphael lived only 37 years. He died suddenly. From a caught cold and medical error. But his legacy is difficult to overestimate. Many artists idolized this master. Multiplying his sensual images in thousands of his canvases..
Titian was an unsurpassed colorist. He also experimented a lot with composition. In general, he was a daring and brilliant innovator.
Everyone loved him for such brilliance of his talent. Called “The King of Painters and the Painter of Kings.”
Speaking about Titian, I want to put an exclamation point after every sentence. After all, it was he who brought dynamics to painting. Pathos. Enthusiasm. Bright color. Shine of colors.
Titian. Ascension of Mary. 1515-1518 Church of Santa Maria Gloriosi dei Frari, Venice. By the end of his life he had developed unusual technique letters. The strokes are fast and thick. I applied the paint either with a brush or with my fingers. This makes the images even more alive and breathing. And the plots are even more dynamic and dramatic.
Titian. Tarquin and Lucretia. 1571 Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England. Doesn't this remind you of anything? Of course, this is technology. And technology artists of the XIX centuries: Barbizonians and. Titian, like Michelangelo, would go through 500 years of painting in one lifetime. That's why he's a genius.
ABOUT famous masterpiece Read the master in the article.
Renaissance artists are artists of great knowledge. To leave such a legacy, you had to know a lot. In the field of history, astrology, physics and so on.
Therefore, every image of them makes us think. Why is this depicted? What is the encrypted message here?
Therefore, they almost never made mistakes. Because they thoroughly thought through their future work. Using all your knowledge.
They were more than artists. They were philosophers. Explaining the world to us through painting.
That is why they will always be deeply interesting to us.
An undoubted achievement of the Renaissance was the geometrically correct design of the painting. The artist built the image using the techniques he developed. The main thing for painters of that time was to maintain the proportions of objects. Even nature fell under mathematical techniques of calculating the proportionality of the image with other objects in the picture.
In other words, artists during the Renaissance sought to convey an accurate image of, for example, a person against a background of nature. If we compare it with modern techniques of recreating a seen image on some canvas, then, most likely, photography with subsequent adjustments will help to understand what the Renaissance artists were striving for.
Renaissance painters believed that they had the right to correct the shortcomings of nature, that is, if a person had ugly facial features, the artists corrected them in such a way that the face became sweet and attractive.
Leonardo da Vinci
The Renaissance became such thanks to many creative individuals who lived at that time. The world-famous Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519) created a huge number of masterpieces, the cost of which amounts to millions of dollars, and connoisseurs of his art are ready to contemplate his paintings for a long time.
Leonardo began his studies in Florence. His first painting, painted around 1478, is “Benois Madonna”. Then there were such creations as “Madonna in the Grotto”, “Mona Lisa”, the above-mentioned “Last Supper” and a host of other masterpieces, written by the hand of a titan of the Renaissance.
The rigor of geometric proportions and accurate reproduction of the anatomical structure of a person - this is what characterizes the paintings of Leonard da Vinci. According to his convictions, the art of depicting certain images on canvas is a science, and not just some kind of hobby.
Rafael Santi
Raphael Santi (1483 - 1520), known in the art world as Raphael, created his works in Italy. His paintings are imbued with lyricism and grace. Raphael is a representative of the Renaissance, who depicted man and his existence on earth, and loved to paint the walls of the Vatican Cathedrals.
The paintings betrayed the unity of figures, the proportional correspondence of space and images, and the euphony of color. The purity of the Virgin was the basis for many of Raphael's paintings. His very first image of Our Lady is the Sistine Madonna, which was painted by the famous artist back in 1513. The portraits that were created by Raphael reflected the ideal human image.
Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli (1445 - 1510) is also a Renaissance artist. One of his first works was the painting “Adoration of the Magi.” Subtle poetry and dreaminess were his initial manners in the field of conveying artistic images.
In the early 80s of the 15th century, the great artist painted the walls of the Vatican Chapel. The frescoes made by his hand are still amazing.
Over time, his paintings became characterized by the calmness of the buildings of antiquity, the liveliness of the characters depicted, and the harmony of the images. In addition, Botticelli’s passion for drawings for famous literary works is known, which also only added fame to his work.
Michelangelo Buonarotti
Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475 – 1564) is an Italian artist who also worked during the Renaissance. This man, known to many of us, did everything he could do. And sculpture, and painting, and architecture, and also poetry. Michelangelo, like Raphael and Botticelli, painted the walls of the Vatican churches. After all, only the most talented painters of those times were involved in such important work as painting images on the walls of Catholic cathedrals. He had to cover more than 600 square meters of the Sistine Chapel with frescoes depicting various biblical scenes. The most famous work in this style is known to us as “The Last Judgment.” The meaning of the biblical story is expressed fully and clearly. Such precision in the transfer of images is characteristic of all of Michelangelo’s work.
For Europeans, the period of the dark Middle Ages ended, giving way to the Renaissance. It made it possible to revive the almost extinct heritage of Antiquity and create great works of art. Scientists of the Renaissance also played an important role in the development of mankind.
Paradigm
The crisis and destruction of Byzantium led to the appearance of thousands of Christian emigrants in Europe, who brought books with them. These manuscripts contained knowledge of the ancient period, half-forgotten in the west of the continent. They became the basis of humanism, which placed man, his ideas and the desire for freedom at the forefront. Over time, in cities where the role of bankers, artisans, traders and craftsmen increased, secular centers of science and education began to emerge, which not only were not under the authority of the Catholic Church, but often fought against its dictates.
Painting by Giotto (Renaissance)
Artists in the Middle Ages created works of predominantly religious content. In particular, for a long time the main genre of painting was icon painting. The first who decided to depict on his canvases ordinary people, as well as abandoning the canonical style of writing inherent in the Byzantine school, was Giotto di Bondone, who is considered a pioneer of the Proto-Renaissance. On the frescoes of the Church of San Francesco, located in the city of Assisi, he used the play of chiaroscuro and departed from the generally accepted compositional structure. However, Giotto's main masterpiece was the painting of the Arena Chapel in Padua. It is interesting that immediately after this order the artist was called to decorate the city hall. While working on one of the paintings, in order to achieve the greatest authenticity in the depiction of the “celestial sign,” Giotto consulted with the astronomer Pietro d’Abano. Thus, thanks to this artist, painting stopped depicting people, objects and natural phenomena according to certain canons and became more realistic.
Leonardo da Vinci
Many figures of the Renaissance had versatile talent. However, none of them can compare with Leonardo da Vinci in his versatility. He showed himself as outstanding painter, architect, sculptor, anatomist, naturalist and engineer.
In 1466, Leonardo da Vinci went to study in Florence, where, in addition to painting, he studied chemistry and drawing, and also acquired skills in working with metal, leather and plaster.
Already the artist’s first paintings distinguished him among his fellow workers. During his long, at that time, 68-year life, Leonardo da Vinci created such masterpieces as “Mona Lisa”, “John the Baptist”, “Lady with an Ermine”, “ Last Supper"etc.
Like other prominent figures of the Renaissance, the artist was interested in science and engineering. In particular, it is known that the wheel pistol lock he invented was used until the 19th century. In addition, Leonardo da Vinci created drawings of a parachute, a flying machine, a searchlight, a telescope with two lenses, etc.
Michelangelo
When the question of what the Renaissance figures gave to the world is discussed, the list of their achievements necessarily contains the works of this outstanding architect, artist and sculptor.
Among the most famous creations of Michelangelo Buonarroti are the frescoes of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the statue of David, the sculpture of Bacchus, the marble statue of the Madonna of Bruges, the painting “The Torment of St. Anthony” and many other masterpieces of world art.
Rafael Santi
The artist was born in 1483 and lived only 37 years. However, the great legacy of Raphael Santi puts him at the top of any symbolic rating of “Outstanding Figures of the Renaissance.”
The artist’s masterpieces include “The Coronation of Mary” for the Oddi altar, “Portrait of Pietro Bembo”, “Lady with a Unicorn”, numerous frescoes commissioned for the Stanza della Segnatura, etc.
The pinnacle of Raphael's work is considered to be the "Sistine Madonna", created for the altar of the church of the monastery of St. Sixta in Piacenza. This picture makes an unforgettable impression on anyone who sees it, since the Mary depicted on it in an incomprehensible way combines the earthly and heavenly essences of the Mother of God.
Albrecht Durer
Famous figures of the Renaissance were not only Italian. These include German painter and the master of engravings Albrecht Dürer, who was born in Nuremberg in 1471. His most significant works are the “Landauer Altar”, a self-portrait (1500), the painting “Feast of Rose Wreaths”, and three “Workshop Engravings”. The latter are considered masterpieces graphic art of all times and peoples.
Titian
The great figures of the Renaissance in the field of painting left us images of their most famous contemporaries. One of the outstanding portrait painters of this period European art there was Titian, who came from famous family Vecellio. He immortalized on canvas Federico Gonzaga, Charles V, Clarissa Strozzi, Pietro Aretino, architect Giulio Romano and many others. In addition, his brushes include canvases on subjects from ancient mythology. How highly the artist was valued by his contemporaries is evidenced by the fact that one day Emperor Charles V hastened to pick up a brush that had fallen from Titian’s hands. The monarch explained his action by saying that serving such a master is an honor for anyone.
Sandro Botticelli
The artist was born in 1445. Initially, he was going to become a jeweler, but then he ended up in the workshop of Andrea Verrocchio, who once studied with Leonardo da Vinci. Along with works of religious themes, the artist created several paintings of secular content. Botticelli's masterpieces include the paintings "The Birth of Venus", "Spring", "Pallas and the Centaur" and many others.
Dante Alighieri
The great figures of the Renaissance left their indelible mark on world literature. One of the most prominent poets of this period is Dante Alighieri, born in 1265 in Florence. At the age of 37 he was expelled from hometown because of their political views and wandered until recent years of your life.
Even as a child, Dante fell in love with his peer Beatrice Portinari. Having matured, the girl married another man and died at the age of 24. Beatrice became the poet’s muse, and it was to her that he dedicated his works, including the story “ New life" In 1306, Dante began creating his " Divine Comedy", which he has been working on for almost 15 years. In it, he exposes the vices of Italian society, the crimes of the popes and cardinals, and places his Beatrice in “paradise.”
William Shakespeare
Although Renaissance ideas arrived somewhat late in the British Isles, outstanding works of art were also created there.
In particular, one of the most famous playwrights in human history, William Shakespeare, worked in England. His plays have been popular for more than 500 years. theatrical stage in all corners of the planet. His pen includes the tragedies “Othello”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Hamlet”, “Macbeth”, as well as the comedies “Twelfth Night”, “Much Ado About Nothing” and many others. In addition, Shakespeare is famous for his sonnets dedicated to the mysterious Dark Lady.
Leon Battista Alberti
The Renaissance also contributed to changing the appearance of European cities. Great architectural masterpieces were created during this period, including the Roman Cathedral of St. Peter's, the Laurentian staircase, the Florence Cathedral, etc. Along with Michelangelo, the famous scientist Leon Battista Alberti is one of the famous architects of the Renaissance. He made enormous contributions to architecture, art theory and literature. His areas of interest also included problems of pedagogy and ethics, mathematics and cartography. He created one of the first scientific works on architecture, entitled “Ten Books on Architecture.” This work had a huge influence on subsequent generations of his colleagues.
Now you know the most famous cultural figures of the Renaissance, thanks to whom human civilization has entered a new stage of its development.
The Renaissance began in Italy. It acquired its name due to the dramatic intellectual and artistic flowering that began in the 14th century and greatly influenced European society and culture. The Renaissance was expressed not only in paintings, but also in architecture, sculpture and literature. The most prominent representatives of the Renaissance are Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Titian, Michelangelo and Raphael.
In these times, the main goal of painters was a realistic depiction of the human body, so they mainly painted people and depicted various religious subjects. The principle of perspective was also invented, which opened up new possibilities for artists.
Florence became the center of the Renaissance, Venice took second place, and later, closer to the 16th century, Rome.
Leonardo is known to us as a talented painter, sculptor, scientist, engineer and architect of the Renaissance. Most of Leonardo worked throughout his life in Florence, where he created many masterpieces known throughout the world. Among them: “Mona Lisa” (otherwise known as “La Gioconda”), “Lady with an Ermine”, “Benois Madonna”, “John the Baptist” and “St. Anna with Mary and the Christ Child."
This artist is recognizable due to the unique style that he has developed over the years. He also painted the walls of the Sistine Chapel at the personal request of Pope Sixtus IV. Botticelli wrote famous paintings on mythological themes. Such paintings include “Spring”, “Pallas and the Centaur”, “Birth of Venus”.
Titian was the head of the Florentine school of artists. After the death of his teacher Bellini, Titian became the official, generally recognized artist of the Venetian Republic. This painter is known for his portraits on religious themes: “The Ascension of Mary”, “Danae”, “Earthly Love and Heavenly Love”.
The Italian poet, sculptor, architect and artist painted many masterpieces, including the famous statue of “David” made of marble. This statue has become a major attraction in Florence. Michelangelo painted the vault of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, which was a major commission from Pope Julius II. During the period of his creativity, he paid more attention to architecture, but gave us “The Crucifixion of St. Peter”, “Entombment”, “The Creation of Adam”, “Forteller”.
His work was formed under the great influence of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, thanks to whom he gained invaluable experience and skill. He painted the state rooms of the Vatican, representing human activity and depicting various scenes from the Bible. Among famous paintings Raphael - " Sistine Madonna", "The Three Graces", "Saint Michael and the Devil".
Ivan Sergeevich Tseregorodtsev
