Northern vs. Italian Renaissance Styles: A Comparison of Two Unidentified Images

The Renaissance occurred in Europe between 1400 and 1600. This event began in Italy during the Medieval period and then expanded to the rest of Europe, marking the start of the Modern age. The Renaissance began in Florence Italy in the 14th century. It was a cultural movement that had an enormous impact in Europe during the early modern period. The Renaissance’s influenced politics, science, literature, art, philosophy, religion, music, and other aspects. Around the 13th century in Italy started the Renaissance’s art influence. Leonardo da Vinci, was known as the "Renaissance man," because of his art masterpieces and his studies in other fields during this time. Italy wasn’t a political concept in the

This “visual metaphor” shows the influences and growth of the Renaissance,depicting it through a plant's’ growth. At the base, the larger root is labeled classical, and the smaller roots are labeled medieval. These show that the classical style of art was more influential to the Renaissance than the medieval art. In the top portion of the illustration there are three elements assisting the growth of the Renaissance plant, travel and commerce, the growth of city-states, and humanism. To the left someone is watering the Renaissance plant, the water is labeled as travel and commerce, which helped to grow the renaissance by initiating trade with the east, and with the new economy leading bankers to become wealthy. To the right someone is pouring

“No painter can paint well without a thorough knowledge of geometry” (qtd. in Butterfield 27). The Italian Renaissance is famous for its art which includes unique style of painting and sculpting, however, the Renaissance made significant remark on the use of scientific techniques which also can be considered as the influence of classical ideas. Although, classical ideas were not advanced like in the Renaissance, it provided the foundation for the Renaissance to revive it again. The Italian Renaissance transformed the manner of viewing the arts. Before, most people in Italy were bounded by religious thoughts and beliefs. Renaissance helped people to shift their mind and behavior towards the secular ideas, instead of vague ideology like

Northern and Southern art during the renaissance have some similarities and many differences. Southern artwork is filled very fine detailed pieces of art showing off very wealthy individuals in politics or religion, but on the Northern half of Europe art shows the very rural aspect of human life. Many of these differences can be represented by the Northern works of Piero della Francesca Resurrection and the Southern works of Pieter Brueghal’s The Census at Bethlehem.

It is a famous example of Renaissance art showing portraiture, realism, and some perspective. In this painting there are four distinct characters. Each has a different expression that shows how they are feeling. There is also more detail in the faces then in any other parts of the painting. Another technique it demonstrates is heightened realism. Whereas before the Renaissance the figures may have been painted simply and in only enough detail to get the general idea across, these figures are shown more realistically. Lastly there is the technique of perspective as shown in the background of the painting. The sea stretches out into the sky and the land in the background is shown how it would look if the viewer was actually

The painting depicts real people doing everyday things, like studying. Classical Antiquity was greatly displayed through another painting it depicts a normal person holding a balance. In the Middle Ages this would have been frowned upon because they discouraged the making of realistic paintings (Follett software). Realistic paintings would not have been introduced to the Renaissance without the humanists studying classical antiquity.

Two main differences immediately apparent between Raphael’s School of Athens and Leonardo’s Adoration of the Magi are the compositions of the large figure groups within each painting and the state of completion. In the forty foot wide fresco of School of Athens, the figures are organized in a mathematically constructed arrangement. The heads of the figure group in the background create a central horizontal line across the fresco. The two smaller figure groups in the foreground on the left and right are arranged with slightly less linear organization however when compared to the figure group of Leonardo’s Adoration of the Magi

Man has been creating art for over 30,000 years. There are cave drawings, sculptures, Egyptian art, Greek Art, Modern Art and plenty more but to many, the Renaissance Art period is considered to be most important. Never had so many geniuses in art lived at one time and never had so many pieces of cherished art been produced. Two examples of Renaissance paintings are Cigoli’s Adoration of the Shepherds and Moretto da Brescia’s Entombment. Both paintings posses the attributes that were popular during the Renaissance period which I will now contrast and compare.

The two main characters in the painting display elegant mannered poses and all the figures appear arranged in rather unnatural poses. There is a small scene at the foot of the Saint Catherine and Christ figures. This is thought to be the Christ child with the Virgin Mary and grandmother, Saint Anne. Below these two scenes are three smaller bordered scenes. The central one depicts two enemies reconciled by an archangel and the outer ones show Saints Michael and Margaret fighting demons. All these images show the triumph of good over evil, with the middle characters shedding their weapons and embracing. All these small pictures support that the painting was commissioned by Arigoi di Nero Arighetti to celebrate the end of a feud.

The discoveries by Renaissance scholars in subjects as different as atonomy, music and maths all helped humanists. Scholars considered shapes, such as squares and circles, to be mathematically perfect. They were delighted that Roman architect Vitruvius had suggested that a perfect human body was naturally in harmony with these perfect mathematical forms. They took this harmony as evidenve of a 'grand design', by which the univese had been formed. Michaelangelo intended his painting to be more than just a picture: it is a statement of humanist beliefs in the power and beuty of humankind.

The idea that the Reformation was not just a religious movement, but an extension and/or development of the Renaissance was easily depicted during the Middle Ages. The term Reformation implies renewal and/or rebirth which was an apparent theme during the Renaissance. This can be seen in the art work of Renaissance artists as the influence of classical subjects and themes were revived. Additionally, the idea of individuality and humanism were also key parts of the Renaissance as well as the Reformation. Furthermore, teaching that the work of justification in our lives is work of grace, greatly influenced the work ethic of the people during the Northern Renaissance. Therefore, it’s clear to see that although the Reformation’s major focus was

The painting also uses perspective lines to draw your attention to the center of the painting towards Christ, and Christ and two of his followers on either side of him form a perfect triangle. These spacial and perspective understanding were really perfected in the Renaissance and really aid the painting.

The Italians may not have had detailed frescos and vivid colors; however they were the leaders in creating a harmonious scale between the landscape and the objects or figures that adorned it. They developed a focused on perspective and made their art a science. They used mathematical measurements and thus the piece was given a great deal of depth and realism. The fresco appears to be an extended recessed space in the room. In Angelico’s piece, linear perspective is created by the placement and angles of the walls. The edge of the porch, the base of the first column and the lines of the bench establish a linear perspective. Italian painters also focused on the studying of classical art and architecture. In Angelico’s piece, the arches supported by the stance of the ionic columns show the interest and study that the Italians adapted into their work. The Northern Renaissance painters eventually incorporated perspective in their work. Van Eyck used intuitive perspective, making objects appear smaller and closer together as they are placed further in the distance to create the feeling of depth in his piece.

Many of us today have things in our culture that we appreciate without thinking about where they have come from. The things we enjoy so much could be from another culture, and even another place in time. This document will explore the influence of Italian Renaissance art on today's civilization, which has greatly changed the art of today.

Stylistic concern is not the only argument that objects the painting’s attribution to Raphael, but also the inferior quality in the rendition of Mary and Christ. Observations of Beck suggest that Mary’s hair looks confusing and unsolved , while the underdrawing revealed by IR investigation shows a clearer representation of the braids that possibly the painter-in-question became more “exclusive on this own during the painting stage that he dropped the refinement of her hair” stemming from mimicking Raphael’s painting when drafting. Furthermore, the current depiction conveys a sense of obfuscation in posing of Mary’s right thigh compared to Small Cowper Madonna (fig. 2) or the Bridgewater Madonna (fig.4), with statically drawn Infant balancing difficultly on the invisible leg of Mary . It is inexplicable that the engravings (fig. 6 and 7) after the painting look more convincing that they have complemented the unnaturalness of the original.