The Renaissance: Visual Analysis

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High Renaissance
Visual Analysis

Introduction
Generally believed to have begun in Florence, the Renaissance – also known as the ‘Rebirth’ – was a period of reviving interest in classical art and the beginning of scientific revolution. The Renaissance period did not begin abruptly; instead, it was an idea that took shape since the time of the painter Giotto (Gombrich 2007). In the early Renaissance period, Giotto experimented with and laid the foundation for painting with perspective, a method that was refined and perfected by later painters and sculptors. The period towards the end of the fifteenth century was known as the High Renaissance. It was the apex of artistic innovations, techniques, and productions. The height of the Renaissance period came in the form of Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Michelangelo, who were the best-known artists of the time.

Artworks produced during this time contain characteristics of geometric simplicity, harmony, and balance for compositional designs that are not only portrayed in paintings, but also in sculpture and architecture. I will present my observation of the above-mentioned characteristics in this essay through analysis of selected works of art by the three great masters of High Renaissance.

Historically, nearly all the paintings and art works of Renaissance period are influenced by religion and humanism. Two famous artworks that reflect this are The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci and The School of Athens by Raphael.

Leonardo Da Vinci, The Last Supper
Among Da Vinci’s many works of art, The Last Supper is considered to be one of his greatest masterpieces even until today. The Last Supper is a fresco painting that designed the wall of the dining hall of a monastery in Milan (Fichn...

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.... London and New York: Phaidon.

Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Leonardo da Vinci," accessed May 26, 2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/336408/Leonardo-da-Vinci

Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Mona Lisa," accessed May 27, 2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/388735/Mona-Lisa.

Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Western painting," accessed May 27, 2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/438648/Western-painting.

Paolucci, Antonio. Italian Renaissance, s. v. ““Michelangelo’s David,” accessed May 25, 2014, http://www.italianrenaissance.org/michelangelos-david.

Treasures of the World, s.v. “Leonardo’s Masterful Technique”, accessed May 26, 2014, http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/mona_lisa/mlevel_1/m3technique.html

Totally History, s. v. “Mona Lisa,” accessed May 26, 2014, http://totallyhistory.com/mona-lisa.

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