The European Renaissance was a time of great change. The people of that time were beginning to take an interest in learning and also began to follow the idea of humanism. Humanism was a way of life where a person would reject most religious beliefs and focus on the here and now. One of the main things Humanist believed in was individual achievement. This gave many artists the opportunity to be known around Europe for his or her talent and not be criticized for being selfish. This is exactly what Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, or more commonly known as Donatello did. This gifted Italian sculptor was born in Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, around the year 1386. Donatello grew up already set up on the path to be a great craftsman. His father was a member of the Florentine Wool Combers Guild, this influenced Donatello’s choice of career. Donatello’s name started to become known after he created an Annunciation carved in stone for the church of S. Croce in his hometown, Florence. After this, Donatello was hired to create art for many well-known patrons such as the Medici family. He also collaborated with other talented sculptors and artist of his time, like Ghiberti. Donatello was a huge influence to Renaissance art because of the realism of his work, the effect his art had on other sculptors, and his revival of classical art.
During the European Renaissance people were truly fascinated with making things look as realistic as possible, this is called realism. Pearson Education states, “Donatello is considered one of the founders of modern sculpture because he created realistic human expressions and stressed action and character”. Donatello was one of the first artists of his time to experiment with realism. Realism w...
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...day. His art really shows how much he knew about classical art. He was able to combine both classical style and medieval style in his art. Donatello brought classical styles into the Renaissance were it easily sparked a flame and spread throughout Europe.
Donatello’s art was well like because it put forth a wide range of interest, from classical art to religion. Today, Donatello’s work remains in Florence, Italy, where it was created. Many people travel all over the world just to see his art because Donatello was a towering figure in the Renaissance. Overall, Donatello managed to influence Renaissance with the realism of his art, the effect him and his art had on others, and his revival of classical art. Without Donatello’s artworks present day would not be the same, not only did he influence artists of his own time, but he is still influencing artists of today.
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, known as Donatello was born in Florence, Italy in 1386 and died at the age of eighty years old in Florence December 13, 1466. Donatello was an Italian Sculptor. Donatello was taught at young age the fabrication of metals. At the age of 17 Donatello was working for Lorenzo Ghiberti . Donatello never got married and had no children. When Donatello became older he became a humanist.
During the renaissance, there was a renewed interest in the arts, and the traditional views of society came into question. People began to explore the power of the human mind. A term often used to describe the increasing interest in the powers of the human mind is humanism. Generally, humanism stresses the individual's creative, reasoning, and aesthetic powers. However, during the Renaissance, individual ideas about humanism differed.
The female’s head is tilted slightly downward, and her countenance conveys the melancholy mood of the sculpture. Some of the conventional elements of Renaissance artwork are conveyed in Michelangelo’s sculpture. The amount of intricate detail in this sculpture stands out. The two persons are depicted in convincing realism. Renaissance humanism features prominently in the sculpture.
As one of the most brilliant and representative figures of the Italian Renaissance, Donatello was able to give form to his intellectual aspirations and achievements. He was gifted in depicting elements of both the antique and the modern sentiment, and able to blend them seamlessly in his work. He had an appreciation of life with robust self-reliance, and respect for the inner workings of the soul. Donatello worked exceptionally with most any medium. He cast sculptures in bronze, clay, and marble with equal genius. His originality in conception, and complete break from tradition offset his work from that of any other artist of his time. His strong sense of independence opened the door for both painters and sculptors in Florence, promoting his vision of freedom from his predecessors’ prescribed rules. The embrace of Donatello’s philosophy by artists of the fifteenth century resulted in a permanent change in Italian art. "So completely Donatellesque did Italian art become that it is impossible to conceive what direction it would have taken without his overwhelming influence, …and that every great Master of our own day consciously or unconsciously based his art upon that of Donatello" (Cruttwell 3). Donatello rapidly matured as an artist and was able to present humanity, in its crudest form of existence, to the world. Beauty and form seemed to have little interest to Donatello, but rather the character and emotion of the subject (Janson 413). Straying from his earlier classical works, Donatello’s breakthrough David exemplifies his ability to cast bronze into a beautiful, yet clea...
By creating perfect physical beauty in his work, Michelangelo represented the essence of the supernatural and of the divine. In so doing, he employed the elements of classicism at the heart of the Renaissance, therefore portraying the change in religious philosophy at the time. Today, many of his works continue to impact the way we see God and the Catholic faith.
The thing about Michelangelo is that; unlike many he was famous while he was still alive. Most iconic characters in history only achieved glory after their death. While doing painting, poetry, and sculpting he became a dominate figure amongst the highest powers, including several Popes and other members associated with the Catholic church. In all of Michelangelo’s work he glorifies the elegance, form, symmetry, and rationality of the body.
The sculptor had a reputation for creating imposing, larger-than-life figures (Biography). His style incorporated the science of perspective, which allowed him to create new figures that occupied measurable space (Biography). Donatello also drew heavily from reality for inspiration to accurately show the emotion and intense features in his figures’ faces and body positions (Biography). Unlike many of his peers, Donatello’s youth was spent taking on the basics he had learned from the Stonemasons’ Guild and expanded them in ways that pleased him (Artble). At the beginning of his career, Donatello was inspired mostly by sculptures he had seen (Artble). His early works were characterized by Gothic elements such as long, graceful forms and ornamental detail, however some works after his “David”, he moved away from that style in favor for a more classical technique (Artble). As his career continued, his style evolved and became more dramatic and more emotional (Artble). When Donatello returned to Florence he spent his time with reliefs, which in sculpture is any work in which figures are projected from a supporting background, usually on a plane surface (Encyclopedia Britannica). These reliefs were for various churches throughout the city, when he had become bedridden; his students completed his unfinished works, and were extremely careful to
One of the largest ‘revolutions’ in Italian art was the period of collaboration and innovation in Florence at the start of the Renaissance. During the late 1400’s, the wealthy Medici banking dynasty were already major catalysts for the Renaissance, using their wealth and influence to teach and fund new artists, and to inspire new advances in the art world. While the family wasn’t frivolous with their money, they tended to have very good eyes for talent and weren’t afraid to be generous when they saw potential. Prominent artists such as Michelangelo, Donatello, Alberti, and Ghiberti, to list a few, were patronized by the Medici family, giving these men the financial and political support to develop as artists and create art that fulfilled their artistic vision. In addition, each of these artists had moderate to massive contributions to the evolution of Renaissance art, in sculpture, painting, metalwork, and
This paper argues that Donatello is a true Renaissance artist by evaluating his art, life, and time that he lived. One reason that Donatello was proven a true Renaissance artist was by his life and the way he lived it. Born in Florence, 1386 Donatello was the son of Niccolo di Betto Bardi who was a member of the Florentine Wool Combers Guild. This gave young Donatello status as the son of a craftsman and placed him on a path of working in the trades. Donatello was educated in the house of the Martelli family, one of the wealthiest Florentine families at that time.
Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish philosopher, once said, "The history of the world is but the biography of great men.” According to this quote, man molds history. Michelangelo Buonarroti; a sculptor, painter, poet, and artist, was both a product of his time, and a force that changed history. The Renaissance, a period where art, architecture, literature, and learning flourished, coincided with his life. As a result of this overlap, some of Michelangelo’s many artistic and architectural achievements were not so out of the ordinary. On the other hand, Michelangelo set the bar for all future artists with his unique style of painting and sculpting, and because of his prodigious artistic vision. Therefore, Michelangelo was both a force that changed history, and a product of his time.
Michelangelo Simoni was born on March 6 1475 in Caprese Tuscany. He was raised in the city of Florence, and as a teenager he was “apprenticed to the busy workshop of the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio” (Michelangelo Biography). During that time, he learned all of the techniques of fresco painting and draughtsmanship. Michelangelo studied some of the greatest masters of the past such as Giotto and Donatello. It was not until the years between 1490-1492 that he was given credit for his first two works due to the help of Lorenzo de Medici. It is also when he “became increasingly interested in the human form and studied anatomy, dissected bodies and drew from live models all in his quest to master the complexities of posture and movement”( Michelangelo Biography ). Michelangelo is known as one of the most influential and imitated artists throughout history because of his intellect, talents and work ethic (Davies 568). He as able to work with many different mediums and he was a “sculptor, architect, painter and poet” (Davies 568).
During his stay in the palace, Michelangelo learned from and was inspired by the scholars and writers of Lorenzo’s acquaintances. His later work would forever be influenced by what he learned about philosophy and politics throughout those years. While staying in the Medici home, he refined his technique under the guidance of Bertoldo di Giovanni, keeper of Lorenzo’s collection of ancient Roman sculptures and a sculp...
Before the Renaissance, art was not very focused on beauty of the individual. Art focused mainly on religious events or figures, which is understandable because at the time the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) held most of the power. Some visual art and artists were able to tie in religion alongside the focus of beauty of man, such as Donatello. Donatello created a bronze statue of the religious figure David, which was the first free standing bronze figure made since rome. Donatello's David was different from other
Michelangelo’s origin as an artist began at an early age. His journey began when he became the apprentice of Ghirlandaio, a painter who taught him various painting techniques, but it wasn’t until Lorenzo de’ Medici gained interest in him that Michelangelo became a passionate sculptor.1 Lorenzo invited Michelangelo to study a collection of ancient statues located in one of the Medici homes. Bertoldo di Giovanni the sculptor, and student of Donatello, took Michelangelo under his wing, but Michelangelo wasn’t interested as much in modeling. He decided to sculpt by carving which is the point in his career that I wanted to get to.2 I realized when analyzing his sketches that it makes sense that he became a carver rather than a modeler. I noticed that his drawings look as if he was sketching statues already created by him. In his piece,
Renaissance artists gave up medieval traditions in sculptures, painting, and architecture. Most art was used for decoration churches during the Medieval times. During the Renaissance, Humanist beliefs influenced artists to become more independent and highly regarded. Instead of focusing on religious art, the new artists during the Renaissance focused more on capturing the human body in great detail. Mathematics and geometry was used by the Renaissance artists in order to achieve a certain perspective. New knowledge of anatomy also assisted in the paintings. Classical Roman sculptures from the past gave inspiration for these artists. Towns began using their wealth and money to support the artists. The society’s atmosphere was starting to change and became accepting of artistic experimentation and innovation. Interest in art was also greatly increased in many places. Examples of certain Renaissance artists include Albrecht Durer, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo. A very famous piece of art which represents humanist ideas during the Renaissance is the Mona Lisa. What can be concluded about art during the humanist movements during the Renaissance is that new innovative methods were being incorporated. It also helped create a profound effect on today’s art and continues to provide