The renaissance

The renaissance

Leonardo Da Vinci 

·         Born 1452
·         Illegitimate son of a Florentine Notary
·         Devoted life to proving the intellectual legitimacy of art 

“He who despises painting loves neither philosophy nor nature… If you despise painting, which is the sole imitator of all the visible works of nature, you will certainly be despising a subtle invention which brings philosophy and subtle speculation to bear on the nature of all forms – sea and land, plants and animals, grasses and flowers, which are enveloped in light and shade.”  _ Da Vinci
·         Considered painting mans highest vocation
·         Notoriously reluctant to complete commissions
·         Spent his youth and completed an apprenticeship in Florence, studying In the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio.
·         Utilises Donatello’s effects in painting, transfusing principles of sculpture and painting subconsciously
·         Da Vinci’s life long distraction finding solutions to technological challenges may have stemmed from his early contact with Florentine sculptural tradition
·         Travelled first to Milan at the behest of Lorenzo de’ Medici
·         Proceeded to work under the ruling Sforza dynasty
·         Worked in Milan for 20 years
·         Whilst he was there he never won any of the engineering or architectural commissions , and received only two significant secular commissions  for lasting works of art.
(The bronze Sforza horse and  the decoration of the Sala delle Asse)
·         Leonardo researched heavily into all his subjects, to draw a man he first had to master anatomy , to draw plants, botany, etc…
·         Could possibly be seen as the seed of thought that lead to the universal questioning of the 17^th cent
·         Introduced the term ‘ chiaroscuro’  into Italian painting
·         His quest for perfectionism often spoilt his work
·         Notable works include: 
The virgin of the Rocks c. 1483
The last supper c. 1495-8
The Mona Lisa c. 1503
His Self portrait c. 1513
·         Lived in Rome, Florence then France following his time in Milan
·         Died 2^nd May 1519 in France
 

Michelangelo

·         6^th March 1475- 18^th February 1564

·         Sculptor, painter, architect, poet and engineer·         Archetypal renaissance man·         Best documented artist of the  16^th cent·         Best known works are:PietaDavidThe last judgement·         Architect on st Peter’s Basilica·         Apprenticed to Ghirlandaio·         From 1490 to 1492, Michelangelo attended the Humanist academy which the Medici had founded along Neo Platonic lines.·         Lived in Florence, Venice and Bologna

The end of the Avignon papacy in 1378 heralded a massive campaign for restoration that took root in Rome, along with the returning papacy. The low literacy rates of the general population placed a heavy emphasis on visual culture. Fortunately Florence was well situated to facilitate the Vatican’s  desire to re-establish itself following its absence that spanned almost seven successive decades.

A vast majority of art during the early renaissance in Italy was inspired and funded by the church, becoming the primary sponsor of influential movements such as the Romanesque,  gothic, renaissance and baroque styles in art, architecture and music as well as individual Renaissance artists  such as Fra Angelico and Botticelli.

As previously noted in the above discussion of Botticelli and his shift in creative pursuit following the “harangues” of the Catholic Church, the perceptions of artists and the bishops were not always compatible. Fra Antonio the arch-bishop of Florence, 1446,

“had strong views about the spiritual purpose of art and  was highly critical of many tendencies in the art of his time: “[painters] commit and offence,.. when they create images provoking desire, not through beauty, but through their poses, as of naked women and the like.””

Many attempts were made to enforce strictures passed by the church to prevent artists from portraying “unorthodox representations”, however they were fruitless, as shown by Gentile da Fabriano upon completing a commission for the merchant Palla Strozzi, the ‘Adoration of the Magi’ which displayed fashionably dressed characters, (as requested by the bishop), alongside dogs and monkeys.

 With the wealth of the banking and textiles trade coupled with boasting one of the largest populations in Europe, harbouring around 70,000 people at the start of the Quattrocento, Florence became a prime target for the Vatican’s’ religious propaganda. The elite of the population’s lust for ostentation as a means of showcasing their newly acquired wealth provided the church with a good supply of donors, under whose initiative a large amount of new religious buildings and art were constructed.

Considered a masterpiece of renaissance architecture the Pazzi Chapel is an example of such ostentation,

A donation of this scale was not only an opulent show of wealth but also a means for the Pazzi family to curry favour politically, but also to serve as a legacy to the family name, which is now recalled by history for wealth second only to the Medici. Florence owes the churches of San Lorenzo, San Marco the Badia and the Noviate of Santa Corce  to Cosimo de Medici.

“reconstructed thanks to Medici patronage, by the architect who built their palace, Michelozzo”

The accumulated wealth and stability of the church in the early renaissance period provided the security and setting to showcase and nurture the visual arts and with it the earlier concepts of humanism, with humanist popes such as Leo and Nicolas V the return of the papacy to Rome was a deciding factor in the culmination of events in the lead up to the emergence of the renaissance.

The demands of Patrons during the quattrocento were the final a driving force behind the constant change and development within the creative industries, the need to be seen to be patronising the most current painters, architects and sculptors is not too wildly estranged from the modern quest to be seen in the latest fashions and rubbing shoulders with the glitterati of Hollywood. In the space of 100 years the vogues in art shifted wildly, from the Arid simplistic works of Masaccio in the 1420’s, to the embellished faintly gothic work of Fra Angelico in the 1930’s through to 40’s, the melding of these two unique approaches in Paolo Uccello’s work a decade later, only to finally collide with Sandro Botticelli’s Neoplatonist mythological influences at the end of the century.

Patrons soon realised that the easiest way to find and nurture new talent was to facilitate it, either through the church, as in Fra Angelico and his fellow monks who lived in the convent San Marco, patronised by the Medici family or by setting up workshops and schools,

“When Florence was torn by factional strife between the great rival families, Botticelli’s ties with the Medici were further strengthened and he became an intimate member of their circle of protégés .”

However patrons could set incredibly strict contracts to ensure they got the most out of the artist for their money and maintained control of the project. In 1457 Filipo Lippi demonstrates the bindings of patronage in a letter to Cosimo de Medici requesting more money ,

“ I have scrupulously respected your instructions concerning the picture and taken great care with each detail. The figure of St Nicael is so close to completion that I have gone to see Bartolomeo Martelli for his armour and other clothing are all to be painted in gold and silver. Martelli told me to do exactly as you wished.”

This level of interface with the artist gave the patron a very strong idea what the finished product would look like, often maintaining direct contact with the artist throughout the project.  Contracts at the begging of the Quattrocento also specified the grade of pigment to be used aswell as directing the artist as to how long he should spend on various aspects of the picture.