Details of the Gods of Wind in The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy (CC0 1.0)
Detail of Venus in The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy (CC0 1.0)

The Renaissance

See highlights and high-quality resources for advanced investigations.

Renaissance

  • Rebirth, Classical Scholarship and Values, Powerful Innovations

Main Artists

Architecture

Sculpture

Painting

Innovations

Beauty

  • Evolving Ideals of Beauty from Objective to Subjective

Truth

  • Capturing Spacial Reality, Linear Perspective, & Realism
'

Resources

  • Appreciation, Audio Visual Connections, Timelines, Materials,

Encyclopedia Britannica Logo Renaissance, (French: “Rebirth”) (c. 1400 – 1600) period in European civilization immediately following the Middle Ages and conventionally held to have been characterized by a surge of interest in Classical scholarship and values.

**Sensitive material. The works of art on this page are presented within their historical contexts and veiwer maturity is required.


The Renaissance also witnessed the discovery and exploration of new continents, the substitution of the Copernican for the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, the decline of the feudal system and the growth of commerce, and the invention or application of such potentially powerful innovations as paper, printing, the mariner’s compass, and gunpowder.   To the scholars and thinkers of the day, however, it was primarily a time of the revival of Classical learning and wisdom after a long period of cultural decline and stagnation. —Encyclopedia Britannica Logo Britannica.com


The Renaissance - The Age of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci

Beginning at the end of the 14th Century, the Renaissance created a new type of man, triggering economic, scientific, technical, religious, social and cultural developments that are unique in history.


Encyclopedia Britannica Logo Renaissance Art is marked by a gradual shift from the abstract forms of the medieval period to the representational forms of the 15th century.   Subjects grew from mostly biblical scenes to include portraits, episodes from Classical religion, and events from contemporary life. Human figures are often rendered in dynamic poses, showing expression, using gesture, and interacting with one another... Renaissance art from Northern Europe emphasized precise detail as a means of achieving a realistic work.

Featured Cover: (including formal analyses, critique and social media connections) The Birth of Venus details, (c. 1484–1486). Tempera on canvas. Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy. Gustave Sandro Botticelli, Florentine painter, Early Renaissance, c. 1445 – May 17, 1510.

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Main Artists

The first four main artists (bookmarks) are presented on this page (so far):


For more artists and/or resources:
oogle Renaissance Artist List

Details of the Gods of Wind in The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy (CC0 1.0)
Detail of Venus in The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy (CC0 1.0)

Early Renaissance
**Sensitive material: The works of art on this page are presented within their historical contexts and veiwer maturity is required.
The Golden Age
Sandro Botticelli

Encyclopedia Britannica Logo

(born 1445, Florence [Italy] —died May 17, 1510, Florence)
...one of the greatest painters of the Florentine Renaissance.
The Birth of Venus and La Primavera are often said to epitomize for modern viewers the spirit of the Renaissance... —Encyclopedia Britannica Logo Britannica.com

Src: Lightbown, R. W. (2023, December 17). Sandro Botticelli. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Featured Cover: (including formal analyses, critique and social media connections) The Birth of Venus details, (c. 1484–1486). Tempera on canvas. Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy. Gustave Sandro Botticelli, Florentine painter, Early Renaissance, c. 1445 – May 17, 1510.




Wikipedia Logo Botticelli ...painted mythological and religious subjects, many of which were composed of the Madonna and Child. —Wikipedia Logo Wikipedia Word Mark

. ... his paintings have been seen to represent the linear grace of Early Renaissance painting... —Google Arts & Culture Word Mark

Details of the Gods of Wind in The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy (CC0 1.0)
**Sensitive material: The works of art on this page are presented within their historical contexts and veiwer maturity is required.
Birth of Venus
Botticelli

The Birth of Venus  │  tempera on canvas, 1484–86, by Sandro Botticelli, Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.   This painting honors love, birth, and virtue.   (Left) Zephyros and Chloris or Aura(?), god of the west wind and goddess of the season blow (Center) Venus, born from the sea as goddess of love and beauty, safely to the shore on a seashell.   To protect her modesty as she arrives, she is draped and clothed in flowers by {Right) Flora, goddess of Spring.   — Uffizi Gallery  │   360°

For eveloving ideas of beauty, see Aesthetics: The Philosopy of Beauty and Taste.

                     

A celebration of beauty and love: Botticelli's Birth of Venus

Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris

Smarthistory
Course: AP®︎/College Art History
Italy in the 15th Century:
Early Renaissance

The universal image of divine beauty and icon of innocence and purity.

La Primavera, Italy (CC0 1.0)
Primavera
Botticelli

Primavera usually known as the Primavera [or ‘Spring’] shows nine figures from classic mythology advancing over a flowery lawn in a grove of orange and laurel trees. In the foreground, to the right, Zephyrus embraces a nymph named Chloris before taking her; she is then portrayed after her transformation into Flora, the spring goddess. The centre of the painting is dominated by the goddess of love and beauty, Venus, chastely dressed and set slightly back from the others, and by a blindfolded Cupid, firing his arrow of love.

On the left, the three Graces, minor goddesses with virtues like those of Venus, are shown dancing in a circle. The composition is closed by Mercury, messenger of the Gods, recognisable from his helmet and winged sandals, as he touches a cloud with his staff.

Although the complex meaning of the composition remains a mystery, the painting is a celebration of love, peace, and prosperity. The dark colour of the vegetation is in part due to the ageing process of the original pigment, but is lightened by the abundance of fruits and flowers. At least 138 species of different plants have been identified, all accurately portrayed by Botticelli, perhaps using herbaria. The attention to detail confirms the artist’s commitment to this piece, which is also evident in the sheer skill with which the paint has been applied. — Uffizi Gallery  │   360°

  Primavera (Spring), c.1480, tempera on poplar wood at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy by Sandro Botticelli.
Analysis

Botticelli, Primavera

Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci at the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy (CC0 1.0)

High Renaissance
**Sensitive material: The works of art on this page are presented within their historical contexts and veiwer maturity is required.
Leonardo da Vinci
Florence

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(born April 15, 1452, Anchiano, near Vinci, Republic of Florence [Italy] —died May 2, 1519, Cloux [now Clos-Lucé], France)

Leonardo da Vinci  │   (Italian: “Leonardo from Vinci”) Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer whose skill and intelligence, perhaps more than that of any other figure,

...epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal.

His Last Supper (1495–98) and Mona Lisa (c. 1503–19) are among the most widely popular and influential paintings of the Renaissance.   His notebooks reveal a spirit of scientific inquiry and a mechanical inventiveness that were centuries ahead of their time. — Encyclopedia Britannica Logo Britannica.com

Heydenreich, L. Heinrich (2023, December 3). Leonardo da Vinci. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leonardo-da-Vinci

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The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci at the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy (CC0 1.0)
  The Last Supper, (c.1495-98), oil, tempera, fresco (restored wall painting) at the Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy by Leonardo da Vinci.
The Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci

is among the most famous paintings in the world.   In its monumental simplicity, the composition of the scene is masterful; the power of its effect comes from the striking contrast in the attitudes of the 12 disciples as counterposed to Christ.   Leonardo portrayed a moment of high tension when, surrounded by the Apostles as they share Passover, Jesus says, “One of you will betray me.”

All the Apostles—as human beings who do not understand what is about to occur—are agitated, whereas Christ alone, conscious of his divine mission, sits in lonely, transfigured serenity.   Only one other being shares the secret knowledge: — Encyclopedia Britannica Logo Britannica.com

Zelazko, A. (2023, September 5). Last Supper. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Decoding da Vinci

Decoding da Vinci | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS

Discover the science behind Leonardo da Vinci's masterpieces—and Mona Lisa's iconic smile.

A smile at the limit of the softness of the goodness of the grimace of Jesus.
You can tell a story about this work.
—Musée du Louvre

Mona Lisa
Featured Artwork:   Portrait of Lisa Gherardini (known as the Mona Lisa), oil on poplar panel, c.1503–1519, 77 x 53 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris France.   Painted by Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2 1519) an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect.
Open the image to see the Louvre museum's virtual presentation!
Course: Lesson AP®︎/Humanities, Renaissance, Reformation, High-Ren Florence Rome: Unit 4 Lesson 3: Leonardo da Vinci
Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker: Creators, Art Historians, Content Specialists and Co-founders of Khan Academy and Smarthistory.  As Emeritus Faculty, they create, edit and publish the art history content.
Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco with detail of God in The Creation of Adam, c.1508-12, 
		by Michelangelo at the Vatican Museums in Rome, Italy. (CC0 1.0)
Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco with detail of God in The Creation of Adam, c.1508-12, 
			by Michelangelo at the Vatican Museums in Rome, Italy. (CC0 1.0)

High Renaissance
**Sensitive material: The works of art on this page are presented within their historical contexts and veiwer maturity is required.
Michelangelo
Florence

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(born March 6, 1475, Caprese, Republic of Florence [Italy] —died February 18, 1564, Rome, Papal States)

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni  │   Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, and poet who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art.

...Michelangelo was considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime, and ever since then he has been held to be one of the greatest artists of all time.

Encyclopedia Britannica Logo Britannica.com

Src: Gilbert, C. E. (2023, November 12). Michelangelo. Encyclopedia Britannica.
  Featured Artwork, Formal Analysis, & Social Connections:   Sistine Chapel Ceiling Detail: Creation, (c. 1484–1486). Tempera on canvas. Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy. Michelangelo, Florentine painter, Early Renaissance, March 6 – May 17, 1564.





Sistine Chapel Ceiling

c. 1508-1512

The Sistine Chapel Ceiling  │   fresco painting details (two), c.1508-12, by Michelangelo, Vatican Museums, Rome, Italy.   This painting represents stories in the Christian Bible from the beginning to the end: The Creation of the Heavens and Earth, The Creation of Adam and Eve (God is in the first detail), The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and Noah and the Great Flood.

ENLARGE  │   DETAILS  │   VIDEO  │   MORE ART  │   ARTIST  │   360°

The School of Athens, Rome, Italy (CC0 1.0)
The School of Athens, Rome, Italy (CC0 1.0)

High Renaissance
Raphael
Urbino

Encyclopedia Britannica Logo

(born April 6, 1483, Urbino, Duchy of Urbino [Italy]—died April 6, 1520, Rome, Papal States [Italy])
Master Painter and Architect of the Italian High Renaissance

Raphael is best known for his Madonnas and for his large figure compositions in the Vatican. His School of Athens in the Stanza della Segnatura, a room in Pope Julius II’s private apartments in the Vatican, is perhaps the most famous of Raphael’s paintings and one of the most significant artworks of the Renaissance.

...His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur.

Encyclopedia Britannica Logo Britannica.com

Src: Raphael by The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica
Featured Artwork:   The School of Athens, Fresco, 1509–1511, at the Stanza della Segnatura, Papal Palace, Vatican, Rome, Italy. Painted by Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino), Florentine High Renaissance painter, March 28 or April 6, 1483 – April 6, 1520).
Course: AP®︎/College Art History: Unit 5 Lesson 3: Renaissance Art in Europe: The School of Athens.




Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino

March 28 or April 6, 1483 – April 6, 1520
Considered one of great master painters, Raphael was an Italian painter and architect n the High Renaissance.

The Small Cowper Madonna
The School of Athens, Rome, Italy (CC0 1.0)
The School of Athens, Rome, Italy (CC0 1.0)

Philosophy
The School of Athens

The School of Athens by Raphael represents Philosophy and the union of minds having had a profound impact on civilization.   The "ethereal" views of Plato (left-center), who points to the heavens for eternal truth, beauty, wisdom and justice is contrasted with the "practical" views of Aristotle (right-center), carrying his book "Ethics", who believes the same is found in the physical world.   Below are presentations of critical analysis of the mindset during the Renaissance.

Course: AP®︎/College Art History:
Unit 5 Lesson 3: Renaissance Art in Europe: The School of Athens.


                         

Featured Artwork:   The School of Athens, Fresco, 1509–1511, at the Stanza della Segnatura, Papal Palace, Vatican, Rome, Italy. Painted by Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino), Florentine High Renaissance painter, March 28 or April 6, 1483 – April 6, 1520).
Course: AP®︎/College Art History: Unit 5 Lesson 3: Renaissance Art in Europe: The School of Athens.

                         

The School of Athens

                         

Critical Analysis:
School of Athens

Smarthistory
Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker.

Featured Artwork:   The School of Athens, Fresco, 1509–1511, at the Stanza della Segnatura, Papal Palace, Vatican, Rome, Italy. Painted by Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino), Florentine High Renaissance painter, March 28 or April 6, 1483 – April 6, 1520).

Course: AP®︎/College Art History: Unit 5 Lesson 3: Renaissance Art in Europe: The School of Athens.
Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker: Youtube Speakers, Creators, Art Historians, Content Specialists and Co-founders of Khan Academy and Smarthistory.  As Emeritus Faculty, they create, edit and publish the art history content.

Truth
Realism
Linear Perspective

Telling the "truth" about what we see is another meaning of art.   During the Renaissance, artists became preoccupied with new ways of capturing reality such as the use of linear perspective, and the realism possible through the use of painting techniques.   Though not perfect, a great example of "one-point linear perspective" is the "School of Athens" by Raphael (above).

                 

Empire of the Eye
The Magic of Illusion

The Magic of Illusion is a seven part podcast series about "how we see, what we see, or what it is we think we see".   Al Roker guides us on a journey into the secrets of illusion, utilizing special effects to illustrate the artistic and visionary discoveries of the Renaissance.   — National Gallery of Art  

1
The Magic of Illusion

National Gallery of Art

While Copernicus and Columbus were changing our understanding of the world, the Renaissance masters were dramatically changing the way we see that world.   The seven part podcast series uses recent technology to look at old works in new ways.   — National Gallery of Art  

2
The Trinity—Masaccio

National Gallery of Art

In 1427, linear perspective is used for the first time.

3
The Church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro

National Gallery of Art
Forced perspective.

4
Sant'Ignazio's Ceiling

National Gallery of Art

Changing the viewpoint of the fresco destroys the illusion.

5
Palazzo Spada's Corridor

National Gallery of Art
Forced perspective.

6
St. Francis of Paola, Performer of Miracles

National Gallery of Art

Foreshortening creates an image that fools the eye.

7
Teatro Olimpico—Andrea Palladio

National Gallery of Art

Perspective is used to create space that isn't really there.

Nautilus Shells

What Is A Chambered Nautilus?

Renaissance imaginations were inspired by empty nautilus shells as mysterious treasures from the sea. Times have changed.

Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth I, The Armada Portrait 

oil on panel detail, c.1590, by George Gower, at the Queen’s House, the original Greenwich Palace, UK

  Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I Secured for the Nation  │   The iconic painting, painted circa 1590, commemorates the defeat of the Spanish Armada by the English in 1588, remembered as the most famous conflict of Elizabeth I’s 45-year reign (1558-1603).   The inspiration for countless portrayals of Elizabeth I in film and on stage, it is one of the most famous images in British history, capturing a vital moment in the English Renaissance.   When she sat for the portrait, Elizabeth I was in her late 50s, and at the height of her power. —Christie's


Architecture

Renaissance Architecture  |  style of architecture, reflecting the rebirth of Classical culture, that originated in Florence in the early 15th century and spread throughout Europe, replacing the medieval Gothic style. There was a revival of ancient Roman forms, including the column and round arch, the tunnel vault, and the dome.   The basic design element was the order.   Knowledge of Classical architecture came from the ruins of ancient buildings and the writings of Vitruvius.   As in the Classical period, proportion was the most important factor of beauty; Renaissance architects found a harmony between human proportions and buildings.   This concern for proportion resulted in clear, easily comprehended space and mass, which distinguishes the Renaissance style from the more complex Gothic.Con't... Britannica  │  Video: Renaissance Architecture


Sculpture

Sculpture  │   represented revival of classical models in the Renaissance produced famous sculptures such as Michelangelo's David. using traditional processes with emphasis on the depiction of the human body.

Techniques & Inventions
Fresco Painting

Fresco  │   is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid, or wet lime plaster.   Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting becomes an integral part of the wall.   The word fresco (Italian: affresco) is derived from the Italian adjective fresco meaning "fresh", and may thus be contrasted with fresco-secco or secco mural painting techniques, which are applied to dried plaster, to supplement painting in fresco.   Note: the fresco technique has been employed since antiquity.   However, it is also closely associated with Italian Renaissance painting. Con't...   Wikipedia

Video: Michelangelo & The Science of Fresco Painting | Chemistry Meets Art   │  PBS Digital Studios

Oil Paints

Oil painting  │   painting in oil colours, a medium consisting of pigments suspended in drying oils.   The outstanding facility with which fusion of tones or colour is achieved makes it unique among fluid painting mediums; at the same time, satisfactory linear treatment and crisp effects are easily obtained.   Opaque, transparent, and translucent painting all lie within its range, and it is unsurpassed for textural variation. Con't... Encyclopedia Britannica  │   Video: How its Made  │   Video Below: (History of) Oil Paint   │  Philinthecircle

Invention of Pencils

Pencil  │   from Old French pincel, from Latin penicillus a "little tail" originally referred to an artist's fine brush of camel hair, also used for writing before modern lead or chalk pencils.   Though the archetypal pencil was an artist's brush, the stylus, a thin metal stick used for scratching in papyrus or wax tablets, was used extensively by the Romans and for palm-leaf manuscripts.   Discovery of graphite deposit As a technique for drawing, the closest predecessor to the pencil was Silverpoint until in 1565 (some sources say as early as 1500), a large deposit of graphite was discovered on the approach to Grey Knotts from the hamlet of Seathwaite in Borrowdale parish, Cumbria, England.   This particular deposit of graphite was extremely pure and solid, and it could easily be sawn into sticks.   The usefulness of graphite for pencils was discovered as well, but graphite for pencils had to be smuggled. The news of the usefulness of these early pencils spread far and wide, attracting the attention of artists all over the known world, Because graphite is soft, it requires some form of encasement.   Graphite sticks were initially wrapped in string or sheepskin for stability.   England would enjoy a monopoly on the production of pencils until a method of reconstituting the graphite powder was found in 1662 in Italy. However, the distinctively square English pencils continued to be made with sticks cut from natural graphite into the 1860s.   The town of Keswick, near the original findings of block graphite, still manufactures pencils, the factory also being the location of the Cumberland Pencil Museum. The meaning of "graphite writing implement" apparently evolved late in the 16th century.  Con't...   Wikipedia  │   The Metropolitan Museum of Art  │   Video: History of the Pencil  │  Utterly Amazing - The Web Series

NEXT:   The 17th century Baroque and 18th century Rococo periods in art history

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Resources
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