AP European History

Renaissance Art
Major transformations in art took place during the Renaissance. Art went from looking as though it had been made in a mold to becoming a form of expression, without rights or wrongs. During the Renaissance, portraiture emerged, the constant theme of religion was dropped, and art became a science, in the way that math and proportions were utilized. Many famous and extremely talented artists were born within the Renaissance, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael, who paved the pathway toward breaking the mold.
Before the Renaissance, all art was very similar, it was almost as if there was a mold in which artists used to create their pieces. All art centered around religion, with a common theme of the ten stories from the Old Testament. Art before the Renaissance is considered as gothic. Gothic art is rigid and stiff, and every piece was set up in stages. Take, for example, the Kiss of Judas by Giotto painted in 1305, this painting fits all the “criteria of the mold.” The theme is religion, the piece is rigid and stiff, and there are several different stages.
During the beginning of the Renaissance or the early 1400s, art started to change dramatically. One can see the transformation in Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Cities of Paradise. Cities of Paradise are actual doors with ten panels on them, each panel displaying one of the ten stories of the Old Testament. The first panel is of Adam and Eve, which resembles gothic art because it is stiff and set up in stages. There is God creating Adam, God creating Eve, and the forbiddance of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. However, the later panels, such as the seventh and eighth, are much more unified, consisting of only one total image instead of several different images, signifying Renaissance art.
Portraiture emerged during the Renaissance. One of the first portraits was Portrait of a Princess painted in 1420. This painting is the profile of a princess, she is brightly lit, her features are sharp, and the painting contains strong graphic qualities. During the beginning of the Renaissance, portraits were only painted of aristocratic people, often shown through elaborate clothing, but as time went on, artists started painting portraits of people who were not necessarily aristocrats. From 1433-1453, Jan van Eyck worked on The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin. This painting is of a virgin, holding baby Jesus, being crowned by an angel. This painting is also a portraiture because the Chancellor, who is praying to the virgin, is painted on his profile. This painting is also an alter piece. An alter piece occurs when space is being defined by architecture, that is, the interior space and the exterior space was recognizable. Alter pieces are important because they are the start of artists using science and mathematics when designing their pieces. This painting is very typical of late gothic early Renaissance art.
The Amolfini Marriage by Jan van Eyck is a good example of new Renaissance art and portraiture, because the mold is now broken. The painting is of a man and a woman standing in a bedroom, just touching through holding hands. There are many details in this painting which symbolize the breaking of the mold such as van Eyck signing each of his paintings with, “Jan van Eyck was here.” He also painted himself into the picture. Although there is a mirror in the background that is surrounded by ten spots, each one containing a story from the Old Testament, this painting indicates Renaissance art because the main theme is not religion. Another aspect in this painting which defines Renaissance art is that there it is unified, there no longer are several different stages. Paintings now became very detail oriented, with every single object in the painting symbolizing something. In this painting, there in a dog, symbolizing fertility, hinting that the woman is pregnant even though she looks as though she is trying to cover it up. Also, the man has his hand up, suggesting that he is giving his wedding vows to the women. Even though this painting may still have a bit of the feel of gothic art, it is definitely a Renaissance piece.
The transformation of art during the Renaissance happened very rapidly. Albrecht Dürer painted two self portraits of himself only two years apart. The first self portrait, painted in 1498, Dürer represents himself in very nice clothes with a very relaxed expression on his face, his hands are folded in a modest manor, and the painting overall is very light. The second self portrait, painted in 1500, Dürer represents himself by wearing older, more elegant clothing, his expression is stern, he is stroking the fur of his coat in a very self indulging way, the picture overall is very dark, and he seems to resemble Jesus. By comparing these two self portraits, one can really get a feel for how fast art changed during the Renaissance. These two paintings are also proof of how the artists’ social status changed. Artists started to become rich, for their paintings were in high demand, and they were now living in grand castles and being treated like upper class.
Renaissance art really broke out with artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Leonardo da Vinci really broke the mold of the artist. Instead of just copying the masters, like most artists did when they were younger, da Vinci started expressing himself by painting things that he found more interesting. He was very into figuring out nature, leading him to science. He studied, mapped out, and painted the body, the organs, the muscles, even the skull. He worked on exact proportions and movements of the body. He painted in black and white with touches of color, and like Renaissance art, every painting was unified. Michelangelo, a sculptor and architect, learned from Leonardo da Vinci. Michelangelo’s famous sculpture, The Divine One, is a sculptor of David. This sculpture is unique for David is depicted as being very tense, not yet holding Goliath’s head, suggesting that he was in between the process of thinking about killing Goliath and actually killing Goliath. Michelangelo must have had a big impact on other artists, such as Raphael, because in Raphael’s School of Athens, a very large fresco of the Renaissance, in which Michelangelo is front and center. However, it is not surprise that Michelangelo had a big impact on other artists for one of his works, View of the Sistine Chapel, is considered to be the greatest accomplishment of art, in which no one will be able to top. View of the Sistine Chapel is a chapel which by himself, over four years, Michelangelo completely painted, sculpted, and decorated this huge chapel, and turned it into a masterpiece. View of the Sistine Chapel is absolutely considered to be Michelangelo’s greatest accomplishment and contribution to art.
During the Renaissance, art was “reborn.” The changes in styles, themes, and format of art were dramatic. Many new types of art and styles of art emerged during the Renaissance. The Renaissance was also blessed with many extremely talented artists, changing the status of the artist and the way they were viewed by people. The Renaissance was definitely the start for what was to become of art. It broke the mold of traditional gothic art and opened the doors towards being one of the greatest forms of expression.

by: Caitlin Finn

Posted on October 16th, 2007 by Ms. Laurie Rojas
Filed under: Art History