Michelangelo Buonarroti
1475-1564
Michelangelo Buonarroti lived between 1475-1564 and he was a sculptor, painter and architect widely considered to be one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance period. His work demonstrated a blend of psychological insight, physical realism and intensity. His contemporaries recognized his extraordinary talent, and Michelangelo received commissions from some of the most wealthy and powerful men of his time including the pope. His resulting work, most notably is Pietà and David sculptures and Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings, has been preserved, ensuring that future generations would be able to view and appreciate Michelangelo’s works.
1475-1564
Michelangelo Buonarroti lived between 1475-1564 and he was a sculptor, painter and architect widely considered to be one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance period. His work demonstrated a blend of psychological insight, physical realism and intensity. His contemporaries recognized his extraordinary talent, and Michelangelo received commissions from some of the most wealthy and powerful men of his time including the pope. His resulting work, most notably is Pietà and David sculptures and Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings, has been preserved, ensuring that future generations would be able to view and appreciate Michelangelo’s works.
Statue of David
Pieta
In 1497, a cardinal named Jean de Billheres commissioned Michelangelo to create a work of sculpture to go into a side chapel at Old St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The resulting work – the Pieta – would be so successful that it helped launch Michelangelo’s career unlike any previous work he had done.
Sistine Chapel ceiling painting
Michelangelo painted 12 figures—seven prophets and five sibyls (female prophets of myth)—around the border of the ceiling, and filled the central space with scenes from Genesis. Critics suggest that the way Michelangelo depicts the prophet Ezekiel—as strong yet stressed, determined yet unsure—is symbolic of Michelangelo’s sensitivity to the intrinsic complexity of the human condition. The most famous Sistine Chapel ceiling painting is the emotion-infused The Creation of Adam, in which God and Adam outstretch their hands to one another.
Michelangelo painted 12 figures—seven prophets and five sibyls (female prophets of myth)—around the border of the ceiling, and filled the central space with scenes from Genesis. Critics suggest that the way Michelangelo depicts the prophet Ezekiel—as strong yet stressed, determined yet unsure—is symbolic of Michelangelo’s sensitivity to the intrinsic complexity of the human condition. The most famous Sistine Chapel ceiling painting is the emotion-infused The Creation of Adam, in which God and Adam outstretch their hands to one another.
Donatello
1386-1466
1386-1466
Born in Florence, Italy, around 1386, sculptor Donatello
apprenticed early with well-known sculptors and quickly learned the Gothic
style. Before he was 20, he was receiving commissions for his work. Over his
career he developed a style of lifelike, highly emotional sculptures and a
reputation second only to Michelangelo's. http://www.artble.com/artists/donatello
Gattamelata
One of the great works Donatello created while in Padua was
the Gattamelata, the name of which means “honeyed cat”. This funny-sounding name was the nickname of
Erasmo da Narni, a condottiere (mercenary) who fought for Venice and is the
person depicted riding the horse.
Normally, equestrian statues could legally only depict rulers, which
Erasmo was not. It is therefore likely
that the Venetian Senate had to authorize the creation of this work by making
an exception to its rule.
http://www.italianrenaissance.org/donatellos-gattamelata/
http://www.italianrenaissance.org/donatellos-gattamelata/
Statue of St. Mark
The statue of St. Mark was commissioned by the linen guild, one of the poorer guilds in Florence whose patron was St. Mark. They decided to hire the sculptor Donatello for the commission, who created a larger than life-size work (it is 7’9” tall). The work itself was placed into a niche that was already in existence in the building called Orsanmichele, and probably because this meant only the front would be visible, the back side of the statue was not completely carved. The result of Donatello’s work was profound, to say the least, as he revived the use of the contrapposto stance in freestanding sculpture. Contrapposto had been employed by many ancient Greek and Roman sculptors, dating back to the Classical period of Greek art. http://www.italianrenaissance.org/donatellos-saint-mark/
Bronze Statue of David
Perhaps Donatello’s landmark work – and one of the greatest
sculptural works of the early Renaissance – was his bronze statue of
David. This work signals the return of
the nude sculpture in the round figure, and because it was the first such work
like this in over a thousand years, it is one of the most important works in
the history of western art. The work was commissioned by Cosimo de’Medici for
the Palazzo Medici, but we do not know when during the mid-fifteenth century
Donatello cast it. It was originally
placed on top of a pedestal in the center of the courtyard in the Palazzo
Medici.
http://www.italianrenaissance.org/donatellos-david/
Leonardo da Vinci
1452-1519
Born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, Italy, Leonardo da Vinci
was concerned with the laws of science and nature, which greatly informed his
work as a painter, sculptor, inventor and draftsman. His ideas and body of
work—which includes "Virgin of the Rocks," "The Last
Supper," "Leda and the Swan" and "Mona Lisa"—have
influenced countless artists and made da Vinci a leading light of the Italian
Renaissance. Da Vinci has been called a genius and the archetypal Renaissance
man. His talents inarguably extended far beyond his artistic works. Like many
leaders of Renaissance humanism, he did not see a divide between science and
art.
www.biography.com/people/leonardo-da-vinci-40396
www.biography.com/people/leonardo-da-vinci-40396
Mona Lisa
Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa is one of the most famous and most celebrated works of all time. The mastery of the painting lies in its subtle detail, including the faint smile, and Mona Lisa's distinctive gaze. The work is said to have been commissioned by a gentleman named Francesco del Giocondo, who hired Leonardo to paint a portrait of his wife, and this is why The Mona Lisa is sometimes referred to as La Gioconda. While this is a theory on the origination of the painting, scholars have disagreed throughout the ages about how factual this story really is. Mona LisaThe Mona Lisa, aside from being one of the most recognized works in the history of art, is also one of the most widely reproduced works ever. www.davincilife.com/monalisa.html
Last Supper
The subject of the Last Supper is Christ’s final meal with his apostles before Judas identifies Christ to the authorities who arrest him. The Last Supper (a Passover Seder). Leonardo is expressing, the desire that has entered the minds of the apostles to know who is betraying their Master. So in the face of each one may be seen love, fear, indignation, or grief at not being able to understand the meaning of Christ.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation
Vitruvian Man
The subject of the Last Supper is Christ’s final meal with his apostles before Judas identifies Christ to the authorities who arrest him. The Last Supper (a Passover Seder). Leonardo is expressing, the desire that has entered the minds of the apostles to know who is betraying their Master. So in the face of each one may be seen love, fear, indignation, or grief at not being able to understand the meaning of Christ.
Vitruvian Man
Vitruvian Man is perhaps Leonardo da Vinci's most famous
illustration. In this work, Leonardo used both image and text to express the
ideas and theories of Vitruvius, a first century Roman architect and author of
'De Architectura libri X'. The Vitruvian ideas, presented by Leonardo, formed
the basis of Renaissance proportion theories in art and architecture.