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.
During the Renaissance, people were dedicated to studying human works. They would observe from real life to gain inspiration, new ideas, and to try to recreate the world as they saw it in their art. New techniques such as scientific and atmospheric perspective were created, changing art forever. Artists would use their skills to create works for patrons, from the Church, various guilds, and other religious orders. During the High Renaissance, Julius II commissioned Raphael to decorate the Vatican Palace. The first of the rooms he decorated was The “Room of the Signature”, where he painted The School of Athens. Originally, this room housed Julius II’s personal library, but later on it would be the room where papal documents were signed. In 1508, Raphael began painting four frescoes that represented theology, philosophy, law, and the arts. As stated in Janson’s History of Art Volume II, This fresco “represents a summation of High Renaissance humanism, for it attempts to represent the unity of knowledge in one grand scheme.” Raphael’s The School of Athens is a prime example of humanistic art, as evidenced by the subject of the art itself, the classical elements in the piece, and it’s scientific and illusionistic rendering.
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.
Michelangelo’s sculpture was chosen for its immaculate elegance. The graceful beauty that this sculpture exudes is impressive. Michelangelo’s depiction of this scene demonstrates his genius as an artist. The craftsmanship of the sculpture is breathtaking. The somber tone is well-captured in the moment that the sculpture portrays. The way the people are positioned allows this mood to be fully appreciated. Because of the meticulous detail of the sculpture it is an especially convincing work of art. For these reasons it is an excellent example of Renaissance art.
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...
Interestingly, he also refers to Donatello as a ‘craftsman’. The correlation between the artist or sculptor and craftsman is an important aspect in Italian Renaissance art. The craftsman was something more than just an artist. This person was talented and considered by others in Italian Renaissance society as exceptional or as Vasari’s title suggests, ‘the most excellent’. They were also tradespeople rather than just artists. This is because they created works for other people, which often meant they expressed other people’s ideas. Through an analysis of Vasari’s biography on Donatello, this essay will explore the importance of culture in Renaissance Italian society, an examination of Vasari’s biography of Donatello as a historical document and the ways in which Vasari portrays Donatello, which ultimately was significant for future Renaissance craftsmen. This paper will analyze the life of Donatello through Vasari’s The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects to show the importance of Donatello not only as an artist but also as a
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
By evaluating all my research I have come to the conclusion that Donatello is a true renaissance artist because he lived at the time of the renaissance and created a work of art that changed the way everyone of that time looked at art, and challenged them to accept something different and new.
Artists in the Renaissance aided the continuation of Renaissance ideals. Renaissance art, including paintings, sculptures, and architecture,...
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.
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
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).
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