by Una D'Elia
make them look more powerful. Beautiful
words to help students understand
women of the time were thought to be tall,
information. He is considered the father
with pale skin, blond hair, a high forehead,
of modern studies in human anatomy.
soft, curving bodies, and a round belly.
25
Everyday Life
In the Renaissance, artists painted events
warships known as the Spanish Armada,
that happened in their own time. These
tried but failed to invade England in 1588.
paintings showed the violence of war, as
well as more humble scenes from the
Rulers, governments, and warriors had
lives of peasants.
artists paint battle scenes in their houses and
government buildings to show themselves
Battles and Warriors
as strong. Some paintings honored one war
The Renaissance was a time of many wars.
hero, while others were large battle scenes
Countries did not have established borders,
with thousands of figures and a great deal
so rulers constantly fought for control of
of action. Governments also had artists paint
land. Some wars or battles were also based,
works of art to honor their mercenaries, or
at least in part, on religion. In Italy in the
foreign soldiers whom they paid to fight
1300s, cities often warred with other cities.
for them. They hoped that these paintings
Later, in the 1400s, when Italy became more
would encourage the mercenaries to remain
peaceful internally, the country was attacked
loyal to them and not fight for another
by France and Spain. Spain, using its fleet of
government that offered them more money.
This scene from Paolo Uccello’s Battle of San Romano, makes use of a pattern of lances that direct the eye around the painting. The dead and the lances on the ground form a checkerboard.
26
Battle Painter
Paolo Uccello was one of the most famous
Legacy
painters of battle scenes. In 1435, in
Renaissance paintings that show
Florence, he painted the Battle of San
scenes from everyday life or that
Romano, which was a series of three panels
illustrate major battles are often used
or scenes that showed a war that had been
by historians to understand how people
fought in 1432 between the troops of
in that time period lived. Often there
Florence and those of the nearby city
are few written records of everyday
peoples’ lives. These visual works of art
of Siena. Uccello used his knowledge of
show how people of that time dressed,
perspective and human and horse anatomy
what tools or weapons they used, how
to depict accurately many figures rushing
they relaxed and had fun, and what
at one another, some falling dead on the
the landscape or buildings of the time
ground and being trampled by other soldiers.
actually looked like.
Paintings of Peasants
In the 1500s, Protestants in northern Europe
hills. His series of paintings on the seasons
no longer wanted religious paintings, so
show the peasants working at activities
artists began painting other subjects.
appropriate for that particular season.
Paintings of the everyday lives of peasants
became popular. The artist Pieter Bruegel the
Some people think Bruegel’s paintings
Elder used to dress as a peasant and go to
made fun of peasants by showing them as
dances, weddings, and other celebrations
gap-toothed, big-footed fools, and that these
to observe and sketch the people there. He
were unfair stereotypes that wealthy people
painted them in the realistic situations and
at the time had about the poor. Others think
settings of the day, such as working in the
that he made clever observations about
human behavior, and used
the foolishness of peasants
to symbolize the foolishness
of humans in general.
Pieter Bruegel captures a
scene at a peasant wedding.
The bride is the woman near
the back sitting in front of the
dark wall hanging.
27
The Imaginary World
Even though Renaissance artists
Bruegel’s painting, Landscape with the Fall of
portrayed their subjects in realistic ways,
Icarus, shows the myth of proud Icarus who
they still had to use their imaginations.
flew too close to the Sun with wings made
When painting Christian stories and
of wax, despite his father’s warning not to do
ancient myths, artists had to find ways to
so. The Sun melted his wings and so Icarus
show the supernatural, including angels,
fell to his death. In Bruegel’s scene, all we
demons, and gods.
can see are Icarus’s little legs poking out of
the water. The setting is the decidedly real
Angels and Demons
Flemish coast. Nearby, a ship sails and a
Christians believe in angels, good spirits
peasant plows his field. No one in the
who help Christians, and demons, evil
painting seems to care about this tragedy.
spirits who tempt people to sin. Artists
Icarus’s fall is placed off to the side as
sometimes painted angels as playful fat
opposed to the usual centralized placement
babies, to give a sense of joy. At other times,
given to a main event. Perhaps this is meant
they showed angels as adults with birds’
to show that even when one person comes
wings, to suggest that they can soar up to
to a tragic end, life goes on.
Heaven. Devils and demons were shown
as monsters, part human and part animal.
Mythological Paintings
Renaissance artists also painted myths,
which are ancient stories about the loves,
triumphs, and tragedies of Greek and Roman
gods and goddesses. Mythological paintings
were made to decorate the houses of the
wealthy, often as part of a piece of furniture.
They were painted onto the headboards of
beds, the backs of benches, and on to chests,
cabinets, and wall panels.
Hieronymus Bosch invented strange monsters
that were scary and fascinating in his painting
Garden of Earthly Delights .
Bruegel made his painting,
Landscape with the Fall of
Icarus, look like a scene of
everyday life. Icarus’s tiny
legs, which are difficult to
spot, are the only hint of the
mythological story.
Mannerism
A new style of art, called Mannerism,
There are abrupt jumps from foreground
emerged in Italy around 1520. Mannerist
to background instead of a realistic, gradual
paintings presented their subj
ects in ways
transition. The confusing use of space, harsh
that went against reality. The name comes
colors, and incorrect scale challenged viewers
from the Italian maniera, meaning “style” or
to find meaning in the painting.
“way of working.”
Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment, from later
Mannerism was a manner, or style, of
in his life, is painted in this style. He shows
painting where linear perspective and
the twisted, gruesome figures of sinners
proportion are distorted and elongated.
descending to Hell, which is populated by
Figures were twisted to create more
creatures from Greek mythology and from
emotion or tension or to create an
the poem Inferno, written by Dante Alighieri
exaggerated look of elegance. People might
in the 1310s. The painting’s unusual
have torsos or necks or other features that
depiction of Hell, and the numerous nudes,
look too long.
caused controversy when it was revealed.
Birth of Venus
Sandro Botticelli was famous for his
where an attendant waits to wrap her in
mythological paintings of the late 1400s.
a flowery cloak. To make the painting even
Birth of Venus shows Venus, the goddess of more dreamlike, Botticelli made all the
love, being born out of the sea on a large
figures float in the air or stand on tiptoe,
scallop shell. Wind gods blow her to shore,
in beautiful poses like dancers.
29
The Rise of Art
By the end of the Renaissance, patrons
began studying in academies and
were buying art not just to teach religious
writing theories about their art. They were
messages or to show their wealth or
considered educated people, and their social
power, but because it was beautiful.
status rose. Artists signed their works to
They began to think of artists as creative
show pride in what they had done, and
geniuses, and displayed their work in
some became very famous.
galleries. People became fascinated with
the artists’ lives, so authors started writing
New Kinds of Contracts
biographies about them.
Artists’ new status was evident in the
contracts that they signed with their patrons.
The Changing Status of the Artist
At the beginning of the Renaissance, the cost
In the Middle Ages, people who made art
of a painting was based on the preciousness
were considered craftsmen. They did not
of the materials that the artist used, such as
have a great deal of education or a very high
gold and expensive paints. It was less
position in society. In the late 1500s, artists
important who painted the work.
During the 1600s, Willem Van Haecht painted this view of a gallery full of Renaissance portraits, scenes from everyday life, religious paintings, and mythological scenes.
30
By the end of the Renaissance, the cost of a
painting was based on which master would
Renaissance Man
create the work of art and on how much of
Leonardo da Vinci was a painter who
the painting the master, as opposed to an
was curious about so many different
apprentice or assistant, would paint. In
aspects of nature and science. He
addition, for most of the Renaissance,
studied human anatomy, bird flight,
and geology, and designed items as
patrons usually decided the subject of a
diverse as machine guns, movable
painting. By the late 1500s, some patrons
bridges, and parachutes. He created
allowed artists to choose the subject. They
more than 4,000 pages of notes and
did not care what the painting showed. They
diagrams for his observations and
just wanted a painting by a famous artist.
ideas. Because of his wide-ranging
knowledge, Leonardo has become an
New Galleries
enduring symbol of the Renaissance.
The first art galleries appeared in the 1500s.
Wealthy people began to set aside special
rooms in their palaces as galleries and
Biographies
invited others to come and admire the art.
Renaissance biographers, people who write
There were portraits, landscapes, religious
about someone else’s life, began to focus on
scenes, mythological paintings, and scenes
nonreligous people, such as artists. Giorgio
of everyday life on small- or medium-size
Vasari, a painter and architect, first published
panels and canvases. Also on display were
his history of great artists, titled Lives of the altarpieces, made earlier in the Renaissance,
Most Eminent Italian Architects, Painters, and
that had been cut up into separate, smaller
Sculptors, in 1550. He wrote about Giotto,
paintings and sold to buyers. The paintings
Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and
in these galleries were collected and
Raphael, among others. It is still one of the
exchanged all over Europe.
most important books on art history.
Today, people still like to view
art in art galleries. Here a
woman observes Raphael’s
portrait of a woman with a
veil from 1516, La Velata ,
in the Galleria Palatina in
Florence, Italy.
Further Reading and Websites
Koestler-Grack, Rachel A. Leonardo da Vinci: Artist, Inventor, and Renaissance Man. New York: Chelsea House Publications, 2005
Phillips, John. Leonardo da Vinci: The Genius Who Defined the Renaissance, National Geographic Children’s Books, 2008
Somervill, Barbara A. Michelangelo: Sculptor and Painter. Mankato, MN: Compass Point Books, 2005
Wilkinson, Philip. Michaelangelo: The Young Artist Who Dreamed of Perfection. National Geographic Children’s Books, 2006
Corrain, Lucia. The Art of the Renaissance. New York: Peter Bedrick, 2001
Fitzpatrick, Anne. The Renaissance: Movements in Art. Mankato, MN: Creative Education, 2005
Teacher Oz’s Kingdom of History—Renaissance www.teacheroz.com/renaissance.htm Renaissance Connection www.renaissanceconnection.org Exhibits Collection—Renaissance www.learner.org/interactives/renaissance Glossary
anatomy How the parts of a
optics The study of the eye
aim to steal valuable items
human, animal, or plant are
and eyesight
scaffolding Large wooden
arranged and work together
perspective Drawing or
framework with platforms
aerial To do with the air
painting on a flat surface to
used to reach high places
chalices Cups or goblets with
create the look of depth; a
scholars People who study to
wide mouths often used for
way of looking at something
become knowledgeable;
wine in religious ceremonies
pigment Powder used to give
people wh
o have learned a lot
divine Like God, also of or
color to paint
tapestries Decorative woven
from God
pious Strictly following a
fabrics usually hung on a wall
goldsmithing The process of
system of religious duties
or covering furniture
working with gold or making
and rules
tarot Game of cards, or deck of
items out of gold
principle A rule, truth, or law
cards used in fortune telling
lavish Extravagant, expensive
proportion The measure of
translucent Not completely
lectures Long speeches given
something compared to
clear but still lets
to large audiences designed
something else; how two
light through
to teach a specific topic
things relate in size
vellum Smooth paper
medium The material an artist
ransacked Searched violently
originally made from
uses to create art
and destructively with the
calf’s skin
Index
altarpieces 14, 18, 19, 31
Giotto 6, 7, 31
portraits 5, 8, 9, 11, 22, 23,
Angelico, Fra 15
glazes 5, 20, 21
25, 31
Anguissola, Sofonisba 11
gold leaf 19
Raphael 5, 13, 16, 22, 31
apprenticeship 10, 11
human body 5, 24, 25, 27, 31
religious art 5, 8, 9, 14, 15, 24,
art galleries 30, 31
light and shade 12, 13
27, 31
biography 30, 31
Mannerism 29
Savonarola 15
Botticelli, Sandro 5, 8, 15, 25,
Masaccio 5, 13
symbolism 18
29, 31
Medici, Lorenzo de’ 8, 9
tempera 19, 20, 23
Bruegel, Pieter 27, 28
Michelangelo 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17,
Titian 21
Campin, Robert 14, 18
24, 29, 31
Uccello, Paolo 26, 27
ceiling painting 5, 14, 16, 17, 24
mythology 9, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31
Vasari, Giorgio 5, 31
contract, artist’s 6, 7, 30
nudes 24, 29
Vesalius, Andreas 5, 25
d’Este, Isabella 8, 9
oil paint 5, 20, 21, 23
Vinci, Leonardo da 5, 9, 13,
Eyck, Jan van 5, 18, 20
paint 10, 17, 19, 30
17, 21, 23, 31
Francesca, Piero della 18, 22, 24
patrons 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 18, 30, 31
wall painting 5, 14, 16, 17,
