The Renaissance era was the period immediately following the Middle Ages in Europe that involved the great revival of interests in the classical learning and values of ancient Greece and Rome. During the early Renaissance era, there was art. Art from the Renaissance period emphasized values from the Greek and roman cultures with creating the nude as an ideal figure, in order to somewhat capture the natural representation some ideals from classical Greek based on balance and proportion. Three renaissance works that demonstrate these influences are done by Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo.
The people believed in the worship of multiple gods, a polytheistic society. Most Greeks and Romans were deeply loyal to the gods they worshipped and tended to find inspiration from their worship of gods and muses. Hence their love for their sculptures of curvy naked ladies, tales of mythology because of the taboos attached to them and the freedom to choose their religion of Gods or deities. (MindEdge, 2014).
Each artistic style can be influenced by the previous period of time or the artist’s personal preferences. There are also many similar themes of athletic sculptures that were made in the different periods. In order to understand the similarities and differences in artistic styles and the meaning behind the sculptures, it is helpful to compare works of two periods, the Greek Hellenistic period and the early Italian Renaissance. The two sculptures are Seated Boxer from the Greek Hellenistic period and David by Donatello from the early Italian Renaissance. The meaning behind each sculpture is somewhat different. One reflects Greek idealism while the other one reflects a symbol of civic pride
Art was viewed differently during the Renaissance because of Humanism. For example, 3D figures helped influence Humanism because it had more details and wass different from other pieces
At age 17, Michelangelo had begun to dissect corpses from the local church graveyard to gain a much deeper understanding of the human body. Michelangelo had to be extremely cautious when examining corpses seeing as the act was strictly banned by the church, making the act illegal. Nonetheless, Michelangelo still had an amazing understanding of the human body and its proportions were extremely critical to his success rate as a sculptor and artist. Michelangelo’s incredibly realistic sculptures showed finely chiseled veins, wrinkles, muscles, bones, and nerves. Such skill was and still is unsurpassed till this day in the 21st century. Michelangelo 's life like sculptures and paintings were massively influential to other renaissance artists, his artwork was copied and mocked by many artist, and eventually his art developed into an art movement called Mannerism. Mannerist painters exaggerated and elongated human body proportions. From 1520 - 1580 late renaissance, Mannerism was extremely popular until Baroque art came into fashion. Before Michelangelo’s art came into play, artist during the dark ages drew human bodies one dimensional,
The Greek sculptures reach the new height of beauty, not only because the mastery of the technique, but also the fascination of human body. Greek art uses the outer appearance to reflect the inner power, it is the representative pattern of western art. The myth inspires the creation of sculpture. The fantasy of nature and society and the admire of god’s shape and personality makes the sculpture more multiple and abundant. It is initiate the innovate art style and help the next generation that how to continued to shaped western art culture, such as Rome period and Renaissance period. Every sculpture is a story about gods, heroes, religions and culture in general, Rome even actually copies some of the art works just for showing his respect and love. Some of the sculptures we can see right now for the ancient greek, it is actually the copies during the Roman period. The timeless idealized art work
¬¬As Michelangelo’s David is made in years 1501-04, and is detailed from the penetrating veins, furrowed brows and the muscles, we can know that this sculpture was made during the High Renaissance, as in this period it is known to be during fifteen hundreds, and that in this period they make their art more detailed than in ancient Greek and Rome to make it look more realistic. On the other hand as Bernini’s David is made during 1623-24, extra details in both face and drapery, and the movement depicted, we can know that this sculpture was made during baroque art period, as in this period they used exaggerated motion and details to produce drama, tension, and grandeur in art, and is known to be during sixteen hundreds.
The ancient Romans and Greeks both began their legacy as a city-state; both of them are Mediterranean cities. Ancient Rome and ancient Greece both played a huge role in historic dynasty yet they are both different. Ancient Greece came to light after researches were made. The empire of Athens only lasted 5 years, where Rome 's empire lasted 500 years. Sculptures, paintings and architecture differ in each civilization.
People have told stories with marble, as well as ink. The focus of the Renaissance was the arts. Artists had evolved their skillsets since the Middle Ages, for example, their paintings weren’t 2D and they focused on people rather than just gods. The detail of sculptures and paintings became more realistic than it had been during the Middle Ages. In Michelangelo's sculpture David completed in 1504, he sculpted an image of David from David and Goliath holding a slingshot, before he kills the beast with a stone. (Document 7). This is vital to explaining the difference between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance because it depicts a mortal human with lifelike details. During the Middle Ages, sculptures were less realistic, and typically of higher beings that were not human. However, during the Renaissance, that changed. Sculptors had a firmer grasp on drapery, as seen in David, anatomy, and perspective. Humanism also played a part in the arts, since most art was influenced by the art of the Greeks and Romans. Artists wanted to revive the techniques and styles from those cultures. You can also see the difference between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in artwork. In Leonardo Da’ Vinci’s 1490 painting The Vitruvian Man he depicts a sketch like picture of the male anatomy in motion. (Document 6) That’s a very important piece of artwork in comparing the two time periods because it shows how Renaissance men were
Made from parian marble sculpted separately before being fixed with vertical legs, this piece of art is usually thought to portray Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of physical love and beauty. Venus de Milo is a statue of a naked woman with no arms, restoration experts have said that the statues arms and original base or plinth have been lost almost since the work arrived in Paris in 1820. It has been said that this was partly due to an error of identification because when the statue was originally reassembled, the other pieces that came of the left hand and arm were not believed to belong to it because of their overall rough appearance.This goddess is often shown with mystery, her attitude always tends to be unknown. However to this day, many experts are confident that these additional pieces were part of the original work of art despite the variation in the final product since it was often common to spend less time and effort to the parts believed to be less visible of a sculpture, Many sculpture reconstruction experts guess that the separately carved right arm of the Venus de Milo laid across her torso with her right hand rested on her raised left knee, hence her clasping the clothing covering
As expressed in Document A, from Theodore Rabb’s Basic Books, The Last Days of the Renaissance & The March to Modernity, “The clearest evidence of the break with medieval culture comes from the visual arts”. The Middle Ages had an emphasis on religious figures and symbolism. The two images contained Document A included: Madonna Enthroned Between two Angels by Duccio di Buonisegna from the late 13th century as well as Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, from the early 16th century; upon further observation the conclusion can be made that not only was the art from the Middle Ages focused mostly on religious subject, but it also had two-dimensional lifeless figures and drab colors, as expressed in the painting. This great contrast is clear because the Renaissance painting is the complete opposite, possessing realistic figures which were true to form and three dimensional, vibrant landscapes, with a focus on the individual. As Rabb put it, “the new artistic styles would echo broader movements and interests of the new age.” The Renaissance art gave way to a shift and man no longer wanted to focus solely on religion but also how unique they were as
The shift in the art style changed the way people viewed reality. This was just because of the art and how it led to people seeing the world differently. The idea that man was capable of great accomplishment inspired many artists to pursue their studies in the arts and humanities. During the Middle Ages, people believed that only God had the power to create. The Renaissance, however, gave credit to artistic creativity and achievement. Artists started to take pride in their artwork and began exploring new humanist themes in their art rather than focusing on the traditional biblical subject matter that was popular during the middle ages. Italian scholars and artists saw themselves as reawakening to the ideals and achievements of classical Roman culture. Renaissance art gave philosophers a different perspective on reality and this affected their writings from then on. Artists used the idea of symmetry and linear perspective which also led to people developing interests in math and science. Scientists and Mathematicians became inspired by the work of art being created just like how artists became inspired by philosophies and new theories coming into the time period. Artwork also influenced inventors to create new invention, these artists showed people what humans are really capable of. The artwork of the renaissance was one of the main
During the Renaissance, there was a lot of artworks and creations. The art varied from paintings to sculptures. some of the famous artists during this time were Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello. These artists have created amazing works and have more than likely inspired many artists around the world today. These artists have created a huge impact on the importance of art along with giving more of a historic background. Each artist paints and or sculpts pieces that show human emotions, religious symbolism, and extreme detail.
Much like the Olympians from ancient mythology, Renaissance artists are regarded as gods. They revolutionized the art world, reviving themes and styles derived from the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The style they created completely contrasted with that of its predecessor, International Gothic. But how did this “Rebirth” come about? There are many answers to this question, but much of it lies in patriotism and civic values, especially in sculpture. One of the best examples of this is in 15th century Florence, which was virtually the birthplace of the Renaissance. It is there that sculpture reached its culmination, as a result of pride in the city, its history, and its values.