Renaissance Art Analysis

The political stability and prosperity of the Renaissance Period created an atmosphere where people’s interests returned to the ancient teachings of Rome and Greece. This resulted in an increased interest in art, especially art that highlighted an individual’s experience. During this time there was little turmoil and the economy was flourishing, so people could live more extravagantly. The art of the Renaissance Period reflected this extravagance as well as the time period’s return to an interest in humanism. Humanism arose out of classical thinking in Rome and Greece and was based on the importance of the overall human experience.

Eugène Delacroix, Death of Sardanapalus, 1827, taking its Orientalist subject from a play by Lord Byron.

The Renaissance was a period of time in European history in which many countries experienced a great rebirth due to individual thinking. People were no longer subject to accepting artistic and political traditions, classical texts and/or scientific theories without question. Peaking in the 1500s, there was an apparent reformation in many different areas culturally, politically and socially, but especially in people’s perceptions of themselves. These new ideas about government, science, and the arts paved the way for the modern world.

Neoclassical Art was an art form that followed the Baroque and Rococo art periods. Neoclassicism was a way for artists to display their wish to return to meaningful art, to escape the frivolity of landscapes and still life paintings, and paint something that had a moral, educational or inspirational value to the viewer. Neoclassical art was an attempt to return knowledge and purity back to art. Neoclassicism was mainly focused on Greek and Roman arts and stories of the classical era with some new advancement. It was a revival of antiquity.

One of the greatest stories from the Italian Renaissance is the one of Fillipo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti. In 1401, the directors of the art of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral held a contest for artists; to create panels for a the doors on the east entrance (Kleiner, 560-2). Because the east doors faced the cathedral, the people thought it extremely prestigious to be able to participate in such a massive creation. After the first competition round, two finalists remained; Brunelleschi, an accomplished and experienced artist, and Ghiberti, a younger artist, but one with just as much talent. The two competitors were required to create a panel (or square) of Abraham readying to sacrifice Issac. Before reading which was which,

Art can be used in several ways so therefore there are many ways to memorialize a historical event. Sculptures are one of the more common ways that historical events are preserved for example many Greek sculptures usually constructed from marble or bronze, like the statue of David which is very well known. Photography is another method of preserving the past, although taking less skill it still retains much of the impact as it literally brings past events to the present a good example being the photo of the falling man during the 9/11 attacks. The photo was very controversial as it captured a man falling from the twin towers to his death many consider this picture an intimate moment that should

"The Renaissance was a rebirth that led to new ways of thinking in the sciences, philosophy, and architecture, as well as painting and sculpture" (Spence 6). This period of European history, beginning in the fourteenth-century, saw a renewed interest in the arts. It has been characterized by

What is Rebirth? The Renaissance, a cultural and historical movement, began in the 15th and 16th Centuries. Throughout the Renaissance, the influence of Ancient Rome was rediscovered after many advances in thought had been lost during the medieval dark ages. The center of this ideological revolution based itself in Italy. Renowned artists involved in the revolution include Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Jan Van Eyck. After hundreds of years, numerous pieces of work which these gentlemen crafted still stand. The Renaissance springboarded numerous, unique styles of art and dramatically impacted modern day art.

The great thing about art, is that there are multiple portrayals of one idea but, the artist’s own personal style allows one to feel something that another may not. Early Renaissance painters, Giotto di Bondone and Duccio di Buoninsegna established their own unique style to depict a biblical scene known as, The Betrayal of Christ. Through a close analysis of each artist’s representation of, The Betrayal of Christ, one is able to compare and contrast the artists own understanding of the scene through their attention to detail, character, and space throughout the painting. When examining these two works, one will have a stronger emotional response towards Giotto’s interpretation rather Duccio’s, due to his methods of handling organization, figures, and space.

In this painting a group of men appear to be lost at sea. The sky and waves indicate that they are in the middle of a storm; in addition, the wooden raft looks as though it has endured a lot of hardship during the course of their journey.The men are piled up on top of each other in a shape of a pyramid. Some of the men are clothed while others are either halfway clothed or not clothed at all. There are approximately five men dead on this raft and others trying to look for help. At the top of the pyramid two men are holding up shirts trying the gain the attention of something in the background. In doing this all their backs are facing the viewer of the painting except for an older man slouching over a dead crew member.

Generally believed to have begun in Florence, the Renaissance – also known as the ‘Rebirth’ – was a period of reviving interest in classical art and the beginning of scientific revolution. The Renaissance period did not begin abruptly; instead, it was an idea that took shape since the time of the painter Giotto (Gombrich 2007). In the early Renaissance period, Giotto experimented with and laid the foundation for painting with perspective, a method that was refined and perfected by later painters and sculptors. The period towards the end of the fifteenth century was known as the High Renaissance. It was the apex of artistic innovations, techniques, and productions. The height of the

The Renaissance time period was home to many new ideas in art. This includes new artists bringing forth ideas that had yet to be discovered and made popular. New themes and types of art were also being brought forward during this period.

During the shift from the middle ages into the Renaissance period new conceptions of the individual and the human mind quickly came to light. Although art in the Middle Ages was centered predominantly on religion and faith, the incoming art of the Renaissance underwent a drastic change. A vast amount of these changes mainly focused on individualism, secularism, and humanism. Following the collapse of the feudal system, thoughts of individualism quickly rose when people realized that they didn’t have to adhere to a specific group.Throughout the beginning of the Renaissance, religious figures and the Catholic Church began to lose authority which conducted in new ideas of secularism. Comparably, humanistic art and notions became preeminent when individuals focused on glorifying the human body, learning more about it and inclined more towards realistic art.

Beginning with the Renaissance (1400-1600) we see a change in the subject matter being portrayed by artists of the time. We can attribute this change not only to the change in patrons, from the Christian church to wealthy bankers and politicians, but also to the growing body of scientific knowledge. “The Renaissance was

The renaissance or “rebirth” was a cultural awakening which spanned from the fourteenth to sixteenth century. A growing interest in humanist traits and classical ideas heavily influenced the art during the renaissance. A growing community of artists provided much needed competition for their profession. The renaissance introduced many different and modern ideas but also remained obedient to classical belief. The unique art of the renaissance spread throughout Europe. Northern European art differed tremendously from Italian art.