Art

La Renaissance: Italy The "rebirth" of art in Italy was connected with the rediscovery of ancient philosophy, literature, and science and the evolution of empirical methods of study in these fields. Increased awareness of classical knowledge created a new resolve to learn by direct observation and study of the natural world. Consequently, secular themes became increasingly important to artists, and with the revived interest in antiquity came a new repertoire of subjects drawn from Greek and Roman history and mythology. The models provided by ancient buildings and works of art also inspired the development of new artistic techniques and the desire to re-create the forms and styles of classical art. Central to the development of Renaissance art was the emergence of the artist as a creator, sought after and respected for his erudition and imagination. Art, too, became valued--not merely as a vehicle for religious and social didacticism, but even more as a mode of personal, aesthetic expression. Although the evolution of Italian Renaissance art was a continuous process, it is traditionally divided into three major phases: Early, High, and Late Renaissance. The last phase has been the subject in recent years of complex interpretations that recognize many competing and contrasting trends. Some scholars date the beginning of the Italian Renaissance from the appearance of Giotto di Bondone in the early 14th century; others regard his prodigious achievements in naturalistic art as an isolated phenomenon. According to the second view, the consistent development of Renaissance style began only with the generation of artists active in Florence at the beginning of the 15th century. EARLY RENAISSANCE Intending to retrace the creative process rather than to merely imitate the final achievements of antiquity, Early Renaissance artists sought to create art forms consistent with the appearance of the natural world and with their experience of human personality and behavior. The challenge of accurate representation as it concerned mass sculptural form, or the pictorial considerations of measurable space and the effects of light and color, was addressed in the spirit of intense and methodical inquiry. -Most of what we base our Western society on was set in motion during it. -politics, science, music, art, rhetoric, debate were used. -apprenticeship programs were the standard training forum -Patrons supported the arts (both religious and secular) FLORENCE -intellectual, financial, and artistic center of Renaissance Italy -called the "New Athens" -Medici family were bankers who were patrons of the arts and Classical ideals PAINTING -linear perspective was a system set up to help create the illusion of three-dimensional space in a two-dimensional format. It originated in the Near East where some nomads noticed that a small pinhole carried an upside-down picture of the outside, in a dark tent, in the middle of the day. This later was used by Renaissance artists in the form of a camera obscura (Latin for black box). Artists would build small dark booths and move them to wherever they wanted to paint, then poke a pinhole in the wall, and copy the scene that was projected upside-down on the wall behind them. The system is based on the idea of a constant horizon line (eye level) where a vanishing point is located. One can anticipate the convergence of parallel lines at the vanishing point. HIGH RENAISSANCE IN ITALY chiaroscuro-a formula for creating light/shadow to create the illusion of 3-D space. It was practiced by all the Italian Renaissance painters. Plato vs. Aristotle The title "School of Athens" is an old tour-book’s invention, which tends to obscure the painting’s immediate context and meaning. It is actually one of a group on the four walls of the Stanza (those on either side centrally interrupted by windows) that depict distinct themes of knowledge. Each theme is identified above by a separate tondo containing a majestic female figure seated in the clouds, with putti bearing the phrases: “Seek Knowledge of Causes”, “Divine Inspiration”, “Knowledge of Things Divine” (Disputa), “To Each What Is Due”. Accordingly, the figures on the walls below exemplify Philosophy, Poetry (including Music), Theology, Law. [2] The “School” is therefore actually "Philosophy",[3] and its overhead tondo-label, “Causarum Cognitio” tells us what kind, as it appears to echo Aristotle’s emphasis on wisdom as knowing why, hence knowing the causes, in Metaphysics Book I and Physics Book II. Indeed, Aristotle appears to be the central figure in the scene below. However all the philosophers depicted sought to understand through knowledge of first causes. Many lived before Plato and Aristotle, hardly a third were Athenians, and the architecture is Roman, not Greek.