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Mr. Wright's Art Class: Living with Art, Chapter 16 - The Renaissance, Part 2

William Wright・36 minutes read

Michelangelo and Raphael's works in the late Renaissance era highlighted dramatic storytelling and humanist themes, while Venetian art focused on landscapes and commercial interests. Northern European art showcased everyday life with hidden symbolism, influenced by political and religious changes during the Protestant Reformation.

Insights

  • Michelangelo's work during the latter part of the Renaissance, including the Sistine Chapel's ceiling and the Last Judgment, marked a shift towards more emotional and dramatic storytelling, showcasing his mastery in creating powerful visual narratives.
  • The emergence of Mannerism as a new art style in the late Renaissance, characterized by elongated figures, dramatic use of space and light, and harsh colors, represented a departure from the harmonious balance of the High Renaissance, reflecting a period of artistic experimentation and innovation.

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Recent questions

  • Who painted the Sistine Chapel's ceiling?

    Michelangelo

  • What is Raphael's "School of Athens" about?

    Humanism and ancient philosophies

  • Who completed Michelangelo's unfinished dome?

    Giacomo de la Porta

  • What is the focus of Northern European Renaissance art?

    Everyday life and movable altarpieces

  • How did Protestant Reformation influence art?

    Shifted focus to regular life over church

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Summary

00:00

Late Renaissance Art and Innovations in Composition

  • Part two of Chapter 16 of "Living with Art" by Mark Getlein focuses on the latter part of the Renaissance, particularly Michelangelo's work.
  • Michelangelo completed the Sistine Chapel's ceiling and later the Last Judgment, showcasing a shift towards more dramatic and emotional storytelling.
  • Michelangelo's work on St. Peter's Basilica included the facade and a staircase, but he passed away before finishing the dome, which was completed by Giacomo de la Porta in 1564.
  • Raphael's "School of Athens" highlights humanism and ancient Greek and Roman philosophies, emphasizing perspective and introducing two-point perspective subtly.
  • Raphael becomes the court painter of Pope Leo X, marking the end of his career and the completion of the Ninja Turtles trio with Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.
  • Venice emerges as a significant artistic center, with artists like Bellini focusing on landscapes and Georgione and Tizian emphasizing landscapes over figures in their paintings.
  • Venetian art showcases a shift towards landscape-focused compositions and a departure from traditional biblical scenes, reflecting the influence of the Medici and commercial interests.
  • Tizian's works, like "The Annunciation," demonstrate a move towards asymmetry, diagonal compositions, and dramatic lighting, marking the late Renaissance period.
  • Northern European Renaissance art, exemplified by the Limbourg Brothers' calendar art and the Merode Altarpiece, showcases a focus on everyday life and movable altarpieces like triptychs.
  • The Merode Altarpiece, a triptych, features hinged side panels that can close over the central panel, allowing for mobility and different compositions for church use.

15:01

Northern European Art: Symbolism and Perspective

  • Altarpieces can be diptychs with two panels that may or may not close up, showing different versions of the enunciation.
  • Perspective in Northern European art is intuitive, pre-Renaissance style, with less control and organization.
  • Figures in Northern art are large in proportion to the room, with hidden symbolism like a candle symbolizing the Holy Ghost.
  • Northern European art focuses on visual storytelling through subtle symbols and less on accurate anatomy and perspective.
  • Italian masters focused on accurate anatomy and perspective, while Northern artists emphasized rendering outer appearances with less accurate proportions.
  • Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights" depicts scenes of creation, indulgence, and retribution, with fantastical and bizarre imagery.
  • Grunewald's "Isenheim Altarpiece" shows saints and martyrs, with a sickly depiction of Jesus connected to lepers in a hospital setting.
  • Durer engaged in science and theory of art, creating art with symbolic representations of the four biles and spiritual themes.
  • Hans Holbein the Younger's art includes optical illusions like a distorted skull and symbols of colonization and the Protestant church.
  • Northern art reflects advancements in colonization, politics, and shifts in the church, symbolized through political figures, trade items, and musical instruments.

29:50

Protestant Reformation, Art Shift, Counter Reformation: Summary

  • Martin Luther introduces the idea of Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, challenging Catholicism and emphasizing faith over acts.
  • The Protestant Reformation leads to the split from the Roman Catholic Church, forming Protestant churches.
  • The shift towards Protestantism in Northern Europe influences art to focus on regular life rather than the church.
  • The late Renaissance in Italy sees a decline in High Renaissance art after Raphael's death in 1520.
  • Mannerism emerges as a new art style characterized by dramatic use of space, light, elongated figures, and harsh colors.
  • Sofonisba Anguissola becomes one of the first well-known female artists, known for her portraiture, showing familial scenes with atmospheric perspective.
  • The Counter Reformation, a response to the Protestant Reformation, leads to emotional art meant to engage the faithful, exemplified by Tintoretto's Last Supper with dramatic lighting and composition.
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