Early + High renaissance

Chapter House

A meeting room in a monastery or cathedral where monks or church leaders gather to discuss important matters

Humanism

A way of thinking during the Renaissance that focused on humans, their potential, and achievements (instead of only focusing on God)

Madonna

A term used in art for the Virgin Mary (usually shown holding baby Jesus

Pietra Serena

A gray stone used a lot in Renaissance architecture (especially in Florence) for columns, arches, and trim

Pilaster

A flat, decorative column attached to a wall (it looks like a column but doesn’t stick out fully)

Contrappasto

A pose where a person stands with weight on one leg, making the body look more natural and relaxed

Canvas

A strong fabric (usually cloth) used as a surface for painting instead of wood panels

Chiaroscuro

The use of strong light and dark contrasts to make things look more 3D and dramatic

In situ

Means “in its original place”-- the artwork is still where it was first created (natural)

Last Supper

Refers to the final meal Jesus had with his disciples (a very common subject in art)

Sfumato

Misty haziness

Sibyl

A woman in ancient times believed to have prophetic powers (like predicting the future), often shown in Renaissance art

Architecture

• Renaissance architecture depends of order, clarity, and light 

• Geometric designs are more demonstrable than most

• A system of ideal proportions learned from the Roman Vitruvius 

Key ideas 

• Renaissance courts were influenced by the spirit of humanism, which stressed the secular alongside the religious 

• Artists created realistic three-dimensional paintings based on the newlyy rationalized theories on linear perspective

• A great understanding of human anatomy

• Fra Filippo Lippi, Madonna and Child with Two Angels.

• Came after the first room in the Uffizi

• Depicted very naturally, very real 

• Mary seen a young mother 

• Mary’s halo is almost non-exhistent very faint; just a simple circle 

• Mary’s hands are clasped in prayer

• The angels look playful; look like children

• Atmospheric perspective  

 Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus (Focus on Botticelli’s style)

• We don’t know where it originally comes from

• Mythological subject 

• One of the first representations of a female nude 

• Gesture of modesty, born from the sea; born fully grown 

• Newborn goddess on the right 

• Heavily patterned; gold

• Connects to Neoplatonism; Celebration of both beauty and love 

Donatello, David

• After he killed Goliath, he cut off his head with the sword

• First bronze nude; androgynous figure 

• Exaggerated contrapposto of the body; nonchalance

• David’s head is lowered to suggest humanility 

• Laurel on hat indicates David was a poet

• It symbolizes the strength & independence 

Verrocchio, David

• Bronzed but clothed 

• Youthful

Michelangelo, David

• Marble 

• Huge, a heroic scale 

• Before the fight 

• Perfect anatomy 

Last Supper (Who taught him how to paint?)

• Andrea del Verrocchio taught him how to paint 

• Shows Jesus and his disciples at their final meal

• You can find this painting at Santa Maria delle Grazie 

Sistine Chapel Ceiling

• Stanza della Segnatura (pope office) in Rome 

• Left Plato, Right Aristotle 

• Represents philosophy + humanism 

Venetian Style

• A soft atmospheric ambiance 

• Beauty of natural world 

• Titian, Venus of Urbino (balance + color)

• Red tone

• Titian used color to organize his placement of forms

• Titian: a brownish orange color