Catholicism: Key Components Of The Italian Renaissance

Religious artwork has been prevalent throughout all of history. Christian artwork has been ever changing and evolving based on what it going on during the time period in which the work was created. In Romanesque artwork, art was imaginative and involved mysticism along with themes that represented their fears of the end of the world. In Gothic artwork, the art turned away from evoking fear and instead had the goal of bringing people into the church. In the fourteenth century, the religious art responded to the crises of the time period. During the Renaissance, artwork shifted to an interest in realism, which can be seen in Raphael’s Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John. The medium for this work of art is oil paint. it was painted in 1500 and is 47 inches in diameter.

Finally, another big difference between the Reformation and Renaissance was their beliefs on the means of acquiring salvation. Most of the people in the Renaissance did not understand salvation. The Renaissance Man cared little for religious salvation, and mostly tried to reach his highest end, living for experience and earthly knowledge. The Protestant Reformers tried to follow what they found in the Bible, which required justification by Grace through Faith alone.

The Italian Renaissance was one of the most colorful, vital, and exciting times in history. Renaissance eventually comes from the French word "Renaistre," meaning "to be born again." The Renaissance was a revival or a rebirth of cultural awareness and learning among art, law, language, literature, philosophy, science, and mathematics. This period took place between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Renaissance in Italy flourished in the 15th century and spread throughout most of Europe in the 16th century.

Created in 1489 this masterpiece is made out of pure marble. This sculpture is located in the Vatican City. At first glance this sculpture looks like child dead in a mother's arms, which is correct but there is more too it. The sculpture represents the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Its shows his mother Mary holding him and he lays there dead. A very little detail that usually goes unnoticed is that Mary is not touching her son directly, but a cloth is between the two. This signifies the Higher Renaissance belief in Neoplatonic, that the beauty on earth signifies God's beauty. This masterpiece is not only amazing by the meaning but the glorious detail that Michelangelo was able to go into with practically a hammer and chisel.

Boundless World History. "Italy during the Renaissance". Lumen. Boundless World History. 27 May 2018. (-- removed HTML --)

Raphael Sanzio known primarily by his first name alone was an Italian High Renaissance artist known for his drawings and paintings. Raphael lived from 1843 until 1520. He along with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci are considered the greatest artist of their time. He spent the early years of his career in Umbria and Florence, but spent his later years in Rome. He produced art for two different Popes during his time in Rome before dying at the age of thirty seven. One of his highest celebrated pieces is The Alba Madonna completed in 1509. This painting depicts the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus who is grasping at a cross being held by his cousin, a young John the Baptist. All three subjects are focused on the cross

Through swift glimpse, it is apparent that they had many in common as artists of the High Renaissance period. One of both their greatest moments as artists and painters were commissions insisted by the Pope which rendered high significance from one another. Michelangelo’s triumphed in the Sistine Chapel (1508-1512) and Raphael’s gem, Stanze di Raffaello (Raphael Rooms). A story was said to believe that Raphael, at the time, were painting frescos and was deeply inspired by Michelangelo’s paintings. He had accessed the Sistine Chapel still in its making without the consent on Michelangelo and later scraped his frescos of the wall to paint and repainted it, imitating the more dynamic style of

One style of painting Raphael favored all throughout his career was that of creating Madonnas over his short life; those are what made Raphael famous in Florence. The way Raphael created his Madonnas, Madonna meaning Mary, the mother of Jesus, portray Mary as a loving, caring human woman. Many other artists before Raphael portrayed Mary as an

The Italian Renaissance was a time for great cultural change and achievements, which began in Italy approximately during the 13th century and lasted up until the 16th century. It marked the transition between the Dark Ages and Early Modern Europe. The European Renaissance originated in Central Italy, and centered in the city of Florence.i The distinctive characteristics of northern Italian states such as art, literature, philosophy, and culture produced an atmosphere of learning and artistic expression.

Renaissance, meaning rebirth, certainly lived up to its name, immensely impacting Europe from about the 14th century to the 16th century. Powerful states and cities were produced, with wealth that few had seen before. Artists thrived during this time period, creating masterpieces that would stand as a guide for centuries to come. People like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael all lived during this time period, creating magnificent works of art. This caused liberal arts to become a key part of education, allowing imagination to thrive (1). All of this could never have occurred without the plague. The plague, commonly known as the “Black Death,” swept across Europe, killing more that half of the population. This permitted Europe to

According to Paul Grendler, the conservative, clerical pedagogical theorist Silvio Antoniano (1540-1603) reflected on women’s educational status in Renaissance Italy in one of his written works, claiming that “…a girl (should not) learn ‘pleading and writing poetry’; the vain sex must not reach too high…A girl should attend to sewing, cooking, and other female activities, leaving to men what was theirs”. Apparently, this was the common-held view concerning women’s education during that time. Although women were actually encouraged to literacy, their subservient social role as wives and mothers could not allow them to learn as much as men did (Grendler, 1989).

Known as the last great painter of the High Renaissance, Raphael was a painting genius (Barter 85). Best known for his painting Madonna and his depictions of Mary, mother of Christ, Raphael was both a painter and an architect (Earl 183). These paintings that he made were especially serene for his time period (Kales 30). Raphael’s work was the best of his time, and Christianity played a role in what he painted.

During the Gothic and High Renaissance periods the increase of the churches popularity influenced many artists to depict biblical senses in their artwork. In Virgin and Child from Saint-Denis, presents an expressive Mary delicately cradling her child Christ. In contrast Raphael’s Small Cowper Madonna uses a balance of harmony and celebration of humanity to portray an authoritative and solid painting of an affectionate Mary while holding her son Christ.

     This paper will compare the themes found in the paintings “Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and an Angel” by Domenico di Bartolomeo Ubaldini (Puligo) and “Madonna Enthroned” by Giotto. Both paintings deal with fables from the Christian faith but were executed during different periods in art. The Giotto painting was created around 1310 and the Puglio painting was executed between 1518 – 1520. Here, these two paintings have similar themes both at the extreme beginnings and endings of the Italian Renaissance, and as such they serve to present an exceptional example of the developments in art that occurred within that time. This paper shall compare

The Madonna or Virgin Mary was a popular theme for many Middle Age and Renaissance period artists. I will be writing with a view of exploring the following pieces. The first is Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets. [Fig 1] This work was by a prominent artist named Cimabue, or Cenni di Pepo, and was created in Florence, Italy. It is believed to have been done in the Middle Ages from 1280-1290 A.D. and the medium is tempura on wood. At dimensions of 12’7” X 7’4” it is quite large and is currently on display in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. As is implied by its title, the subject matter of this piece is the Virgin Mary and Christ. The second work is The Madonna of the Pinks [Fig 2] by Raphael. Raphael was also a prominent artist of his time, and has often been compared to Leonardo and Michelangelo. This work of oil paint on yew, or fruitwood, was created during the High Renaissance circa 1506-7 A.D. Also created in Florence, Italy, it is a small work, measuring just 27.9 cm X 22.4cm, currently housed as The National Gallery in London. The subject matter of this piece is also that of the Virgin Mary and Christ. Both of these works are excellent examples of why their artists are considered among the greatest of their respective time periods.