Renaissance Art History

admin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 06:55:18 +0000

One of the most important times in the history of art was the renaissance. The term renaissance is derived from the French word, renaitre, which translates to to be born again. Renaissance also relates to the Italian word, rinascimento, which means rebirth. During the time period, the world was changing in ways it had never seen before. Aft was not let out of these new developments. In fact, art flourished during the renaissance due to the new found interest in intellectualism and an increasingly high value placed on education.

Of all the Italian Renaissance art history in the middle ages, few mediums were as highly prized as works of tapestry. Tapestries are a medium which really fascinate me due to how distinctive they are to the time period. In modern times, tapestries are easy to come by and often relatively inexpensive. In the renaissance, only the most wealthy individuals could afford to own a tapestry in Italian Renaissance Art History. A number of factors contributed to their rarity. Many tapestries were created with lavish materials. Fine silk, gold, and silver were all frequently used. Tapestries also took much longer to produce then a painting and took a number of people to produce.

In some instances, painters created images for skilled weavers to turn into tapestries. Raphael Sanzio is one example of a famous painter who had a few pieces turned into tapestries. Sanzio Raphael was one of the best painters for tapestries by raphael Sanzio. Raphael Paintings were highly valuable. Some people would then take Raphael Paintings and make tapestries. Rafael art was some of the most praised works around. Rafael art is really excellent. Sanzio Raphael was a really excellent artist. Works by Raphael Sanzio are still some of my favorite today.

One set of tapestries that I have been lucky enough to see, is the Hunt of the Unicorn series at the Metropolitan Museum of art. I saw it on display in 2007 for a special tapestry show, then again this past fall at the Cloisters. The Hunt of the Unicorn is a series of tapestries produced between 1498 and 1500 and each one is a little over 12ft by 12ft in size. They were created using silk, wool, and metal thread.

The tapestries tell a story about a hunt of unicorn. At the time, unicorns were believed to be animals that had special powers and their horns had healing power. Only virgin girls were able to kill unicorns. The story was laced with Christian metaphors. The series is in very good condition and is a lovely example of Italian Renaissance Art History tapestry.

Another area of art that was rapidly developing in the Italian Renaissance Art History was architecture in Renaissance. One of the greatest Architecture of Renaissance feats of the time was the creation of the Dome of the Florence Cathedral. The Dome was designed by a sculptor turned architect Filippo Brunelleschi and was built in 1417-1436 and is a fine work of Renaissance art and architecture. In 1471 a lantern was completed on the top of the dome but not designed by Brunelleschi Filippo. It is an excellent representation of Renaissance Architecture.

At the time of the construction of the Dome of Florence Cathedral, the dome itself was a major architecture of Renaissance achievement. Brunelleschi Filippo s father had actually helped design the drum that the domes stands on. The Filippo took over the plans for the dome, he designer a new hybrid of Gothic and Renaissance architecture that was an entirely new architecture of Renaissance. The dome itself is slightly pointed and uses ribs to support itself. There is an occulus at the top, which made the construction of the dome much more difficult. In order to construct the dome, Brunelleschi Filippo had to design a who new construction technique for Renaissance Architecture. The Dome of Florence truly ended up as an architectural masterpiece of Renaissance Architecture. Renaissance art and architecture was never the same after the contributions Filippo Brunelleschi made to Architecture in Renaissance.

Another art masterpiece of the Renaissance is Masaccio’s fresco of The Expulsion from Paradise. In the fresco, Masaccio manages to capture the emotions of Adam and Eve in a manor which was very bold for the time period. Masaccio paints in very Florentine style where the individuals portrayed, in this case Adam and Eve, look like their skin rests upon their bodies.

The Expulsion from Paradise was created in 1427 in the Brancacci Chapel. During the cleaning of the frescos it was discovered that Masaccio painted the piece only four days. The level at which the paintings were done is incredible. The modeling is highly realistic, the emotions are beautifully depicted, and the light adds drama to the piece. It really is amazing the Masaccio completed the work in only four days.

The Hunt of the Unicorn, The Dome of Florence Cathedral by Filippo Brunelleschi, and The Expulsion from Paradise are all beautiful examples of Renaissance art. They each are representative of a new view on the world. The usage of engineering, materials, and skill make each piece a masterpiece. Each piece demonstrates the new ideals of the time. Each piece shows the rapid growth and development of society during the Renaissance. The Renaissance would have been a magical time to be an artist.

Art History Lessons » architecture of renaissance

Renaissance Art History

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