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The renaissance impact on the art world
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Drawing during the Renaissance was used as a multi-purpose tool that assisted in the artists' creative process and individuality. Before the Renaissance period, drawings were used for story telling or other primitive examples of art. As history progresses into the 15th century, artists began using the methods of drawing to spontaneously express their creativity. What made drawing unique throughout Renaissance history is that they were never commissioned pieces; rather, they were used for personal collection and private eyes instead of being viewed by the public. These collections often included observations of the natural world b going out and studying how nature functioned. Leonardo da Vinci is a primary example for the use of drawing to develop his understanding of nature. Once he was able to understand these concepts of drawing and nature, he was able to apply it to later works in other mediums. Drawing served as a stepping stone to creating artwork later on in artists' careers. But like any artist, they had to start somewhere, where better place to start than with the fundamentals.
Painting, sculpture, and architecture all branch off from the fundamental skill of drawing. Ranging from many different mediums and materials, drawing became spontaneous and allowed for creativity for one’s self rather than for a patron. It became a two-dimensional window into a three-dimensional world that the artist envisioned (Hill, 330). Being able to look at sketches done by Renaissance artists allows us to get a glimpse of what they were thinking when trying to understand their subject. Drawing was, and still is, a cheap and resourceful method of exploring different options when trying to settle on one idea. Leonardo da Vinci, as well as oth...
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... shadows. The drawing essentially creates a story, which the artist then has to work with to tell the story in the best way. By a story, it could mean anything, from a simple portrait like van Eyck’s, or something more elaborate like da Vinci’s Adoration of the Magi, which depicts multiple figures and has more of a story. Regardless, the artists took the fundamentals they learned from drawing, applied the theories of how nature works to other medium, which in turn reflected their unique styles as artists.
Works Cited
Hill, Jonathan. "Drawing research." Journal of Architecture 11.3 (2006): 329-333. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 23 Feb. 2011.
Bambach, Carmen. "Renaissance Drawings: Material and Function". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/drwg/hd_drwg.htm (October 2002)
In conclusion of this research paper I believed I have gained a new and better appreciation of renaissance art. The period of great revolutions in art form and style is now one of my great favorites of all time. The Artsist that now has become a hero to me is Michelangelo. The Sistine chapel is a truly a place of great importance to art all around the world. While dissecting and analyzing the fresco it has been easier to see the crossing of disciplines. The great detail has been applied to sculpting stone has intern help the hand and brush to reveal the beauty of the human body.
When a person thinks about the Renaissance, the first thing that comes to mind is more than likely knights in shining armor fighting off dragons and saving the princess. However, lets look at a more realistic approach towards the Renaissance and talk about what really brings out the brilliance and the beauty of this time period, which is nonetheless the art that was informed and inspired by classical antiquity from the Greeks and the Roman civilizations. The artist during the Renaissance was pure genius and masters of draftsmanship and distinguished techniques in displaying a command of lighting, flawless perspectives of image, accurate portrayals of flora and fauna, and the complexities and intricacies of human anatomy and physiology. This period was heavily influenced by religious relic and concepts and these artists expanded beyond the ideas of religious intuitive. Renaissance art was a movement of rediscovering people as individuals as a person and not just another being and this proven through the faces on paintings that have profound and very distinctive displays and expression of emotion. Artwork during the Renaissance became the it thing to do spreading into the households of wealthy merchants, bankers, popes, and princes spending large amounts of money on portraits, miniatures, and still life photographs.
Hartt, Frederick, and David G. Wilkins. History of Italian Renaissance art. 6th ed. of the book. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2006.
Nash, Susan. Oxford History of Art: Norther Renaissance Art. 2nd. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 30-65. eBook.
Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.
Johnson, Geraldine A. Renaissance Art, A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Though the Renaissance era included all of Europe, Italy was the cradle of the movement. The cities of Florence, Rome and Venice were of great importance to this period. Major artists created art mainly in these three. As the center of Italy, Rome held the residence of the Pope and many other important factors. Throughout history, the Roman Catholic Church was very insistent on promoting their ideas. During this time, they used artists and their creativity to promote the Bible and other aspects of their beliefs. Artists were paid, or commissioned by patrons (often the Pope) to create art they wanted. One of the most ambitious patrons was Pope Julius II, who realized the impact visual images had on people’s ideas (Kleiner, 599). Pope Julius II was called the warring Pope, because he often went and involved himself in wars. He also held very humanistic ideas. Because of this, Michelangelo’s relationship to Pope Julius II was very different from his relationship with Pope Leo X, who succeeded Julius II. Julius, because of his adaptions to humanistic thoughts, he let Michelangelo express himself to the fullest, even when forcing him to paint the Sistine Chapel. Leo X, however, was very critical of everything Michelangelo set out upon. This resulted a strained relationship, and eventually abandonment of projects that were supposed to be completed. It is clear that Pope Julius II had a liking for Michelangelo, while the Medici’s looked on him as a type of lowly artist subject to their will.
The Renaissance was a time of rebirth, as its name entails. In Italy, more people were becoming literate and more books were being printed. More scientific discoveries were being made and therefore more theories were being published. In this time of intellectual prosperity, art also made a great leap. Perspective was the main change during this time period, and throughout the years, starting around 1400, it became more involved and more intricate. Eventually artists were so adept at using it, that it became the primary way to insert intimacy and feelings of emotion into a painting. This evolution of technique paved the way for later artists to play with new approaches to allow the viewer to experience an image in different ways.
da Vinci took the time to paint. Some people might ask, “Besides its detail, why would a
Partridge, Loren. The Art of Renaissance Rome 1400-1600. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1996.
When I imagine an artist, I picture a Parisian dabbing at a sprawling masterpiece between drags on a cigarette seated in an extravagantly long holder. He stands amid a motley sea of color, great splashes of vermillion and ultramarine and yellow ochre hiding the tarp on the studio floor. Somehow, not one lonely drop of paint adorns his Italian leather shoes with their pointed toes like baguettes.
Artists in the Renaissance aided the continuation of Renaissance ideals. Renaissance art, including paintings, sculptures, and architecture,...
The shift between the Middle Ages and Renaissance was documented in art for future generations. It is because of the changes in art during this time that art historians today understand the historical placement and the socio-economic, political, and religious changes of the time. Art is a visual interpretation of one’s beliefs and way of life; it is through the art from these periods that we today understand exactly what was taking place and why it was happening. These shifts did not happen overnight, but instead changed gradually though years and years of art, and it is through them that we have record of some of the most important changes of historic times.
Larmann, R., & Shields, M. (2011). Art of Renaissance and Baroque Europe (1400–1750). Gateways to Art (pp. 376-97). New York: W.W. Norton.
Medieval and Renaissance paintings of the 15th and 16th centuries are a great example of how art gradually changes over time. Although the paintings and artists will reiterate certain aspects in later art, they also change many aspects of the same styling. One can notice differences in the hues of color, tone, layout or arrangement of the design & subject matter, perspective, and even the concept and symbolism in the paintings will also change over time.