1267–1337 : PROTO-RENAISSANCE
Giotto di Bondone: Florentine painter who broke with the angularity of the Byzantine style to adopt a more naturalistic form of representation. He is also notable for his delineation of space prior to the development of perspective
1296–1436
1305–1306
Lamentation by Giotto, Arena Chapel, Padua: In the Lamentation Giotto demonstrates his skill in rendering the three-dimensionality of the human form in stark contrast to most of his Gothic contemporaries. Giotto also displays his talent for defining visual space before any system of perspective had been developed. The figures are composed in groupings and the grieving is restrained. Each weeps according to their personality, with John, the favourite disciple of Jesus, mourning the most. Compositionally the diagonal rocks lead the viewer's eye directly to the head of Christ in the arms of the Virgin. The rocks also link the death of Jesus with the barren tree. Simultaneously symbolic for nature's grief at the death of Christ, and a reminder of the tree of knowledge which was the root of the original sin, for which Christ had been sacrificed to redeem.
1377 – 1446
Filippo Brunelleschi: Florentine architect of the Renaissance renowned for his adoption of scientific principles and revival of antique architectural forms. He is best remembered for his ingenious execution of the octagonal dome of Florence Cathedral. Brunelleschi is also credited with the invention of linear perspective a systematic method of rendering distance and scale in painting. This development gave new credibility to the practice of Art.
LINEAR PERSPECTIVE: AN INTRODUCTION
1381–1455
Lorenzo Ghiberti: Italian sculptor and goldsmith. In 1401 his design won a competition sponsored by the merchant guild for the casting of the doors of the Florence Baptistery
1386–1466
Donatello (Donato di Betto Bardi): One of the foremost sculptors of the Renaissance. His work is known for its ingenious use of perspective and embodiment of contemporary humanist belief
1390–1441
Jan Van Eyck: Flemish painter who developed a distinctive style of naturalism in portraiture using the newly developed technique of oil painting. It is believed that many of his works were in done in collaboration with his brother Hubert. (d. 1426)
1397–1475
Paolo Uccello: Florentine painter noted for his visual experimentation with perspective, especially foreshortening, where an object is rendered smaller than normal to give the illusion of recession. His work includes, "The Battle of San Romano" (c1450)
1400–1455
Fra (Giudo di Pietro) Angelico: Italian painter and Dominican friar. Fra Angelico's frescos at the friary at Fiesole attempt to marry the recent technological developments of perspective with religious spirituality
1401–1428
(Tommaso di ser Giovanni) Masaccio: Florentine artist and the first painter to apply Brunelleschi’s system of perspective. He is distinguished for his voluminous representations of the human form. His most celebrated work is the Trinity cycle of frescos in the Brancacci Chapel at Sta. Maria del Carmine (c1427)
1401
Competition for the doors of the Florence Baptistery, won by Ghiberti
1415–1417
St George by Donatello, Bargello, Florence: One of the founders of the Italian Renaissance, Donatello executed this sculpture of St George for the Armourers and Sword makers Guild, for whom St George was their Patron Saint. St George portrays an energetic stance, his face knows fear, yet he is ready for action. The warrior of antiquity is depicted in a Christian context, complete with cross on his shield.
c1420–1492
Piero Della Francesca: Tuscan painter, renowned for the succesful integtation of synthetic and natural elements. His paintings display mathematical precision with the human frame recreated from variations of basic geometric shapes. His work also exhibits clarity in the subtle rendition of light.
1420–1436
Brunelleschi executes the dome of Florence Cathedral following a trip to Rome to study antiquity, after his defeat to Ghiberti in the competition for the doors of the Florence Baptistery. Built on an octagonal drum Brunelleschi devised a method of constructing from the drum up saving on a forrest of timber as scaffolding. It was built as a self supporting growing form. An inner and outer shell are linked by eight giant ribs and strengthed by herringbone brickwork. The dome spans a diameter of 41.5 meters (approx. 137 feet).
1425–1430
David by Donatello, Museo Nazionale, Florence: Donatello executes the first free standing nude since antiquity with graceful line and surface. The subject is the biblical story of David and Goliath, an allegory of triumph over a larger oppenent. However David is depicted as unclassical, contemporary Florentine youth, a Symbol of Florentine conflict with the Dutchy of Milan. David wears a Florentine hat while the insignia of the Milanese is represented on the helmet of Goliath. Nudity is symbolic of the naked soul before God, and represents Christ's victory over sin.
1425
Introduction of Oil Painting in Flanders
1427
The Tribute Money by Masaccio, Brancacci Chapel, S.Maria Della Carmine, Florence: Masaccio revolutionized painting with his application of Brunelleschi's system of perspective. The Brancacci Chapel cycle represents the discovery of voluminous forms, suggested in the work of Giotto. Masaccio also demonstrates mastery of atmospheric perspective: where distance is rendered by softening of the receeding background. The Tribute Money is an example of a continous narrative where the story of Christ arriving at Capernaum and being asked by a Roman tax-collector to pay a tribute, is told consecutively in three distinct parts. In the centre Jesus is asked by the tax-collector for the tribute money. Jesus gestures to Peter to go fishing where he will find gold coins in the mouth of a fish. On the left Peter fishes for the gold coins and on the right pays them to the tax-collector.
1430
Pazzi Chapel by Brunelleschi, Sta. Croce, Florence
1434
Arnolfini Wedding by Jan Van Eyck, National Gallery, London: Marraige portrait of wealthy Italian banker Giovanni Arnolfini and his bride Jeanne Cenami. The birth of the new medium of oil painting is evident in the bright, saturated colours. It is rich in symbolism, typical of Northern painting. The artist signed his name on the wall above the mirror, and the secular nature of the marraige is depicted with two witnesses in the reflection, neither of whom are clergy.
EARLY ITALIAN AND HIGH RENAISSANCE COSTUME
1445–1510
Sandro (Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi) Botticelli: Italian Renaissance painter whose work is known for its use of colour and contour. Botticelli is renowned for his mythological analogies such as "Primavera" (1477-78) and "Birth of Venus" (1485). (shown: The Cestello Annunciation, c. 1489, tempera on panel)
1447
Il Gattamelata by Donatello Bronze, Piazza del Santo, Padova.
1452–1519
Leonardo da Vinci: Italian painter, sculptor, architect, and engineer. The principal and most innovative figure of the Renaissance. He made a significant contribution to the development of western painting through his analysis of perspective and anatomy.
Leonardo's penetrating sense of observation and profound imagination lead him to author several masterpieces including, "The Last Supper" and the "Mona Lisa". A passionate scholar his interests spanned biology, physiology, and aeronautics and his visionary talents were such that he prophesized the invention of the helicopter and the submarine
1470–1528
Mathis Neithardt-Gothardt (Grünewald): German Renaissance painter best known for the Isenheim altarpiece
1471–1528
Albrecht Dürer: German Renaissance painter and engraver. A supremely skilled draftsman renowned for his technical mastery.
1475–1564
Michelangelo Buonarroti: Florentine sculptor, painter and architect. One of the leading artists of the Renaissance, his versatile talent is generally considered to be best expressed in his sensuous sculpture such as, "David" (1504), and "The Dying Slave" (1513). However his ‘magnum opus’ is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Rome.
Painted between 1508 and 1512 it is a religious analogy depicting the Old Testament book of Genesis. Michelangelo’sadaptability was such that it also extended to the design of St. Peter’s church in Rome
1478–1480
1483–1486
Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci, Musee de Louvre, Paris
1483–1520
Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio): Italian painter and architect of the Renaissance. His output is admired for its formal purity, relaxed compositions, and spatial harmony. The embodiment of Neoplatonic philosophy, Raphael’s work builds on the influence of Leonardo and Michelangelo in its serene expression and moral virtue. He is best known for his frescos, such as, "The School of Athens"in the Stanza della Segnature, at the Vatican, Rome.
1485
Birth of Venus by Botticelli, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
1488–1576
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio): Venetian painter of the Renaissance. Titian was a prominent exponent of the medium of oil painting acclaimed for his religious and mythological works.
1493
1494–1557
Jacopo Carucci da Pontormo: Italian Mannerist painter distinguished by his compact, implausible compositions, and complex postures
1495–1498
Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, San Ambrogio, Milan
1504
David by Michelangelo, Accademia, Florence
1508 - 12
Virgin and Child with St Anne, by Leonardo da Vinci. Louvre, Paris. Oil on Panel.
1508–1512
Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel, Rome
1508
Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci, National Gallery, London.
1510–1511
School of Athens by Raphael, Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican, Rome
1505
Giovanni Bellini, Madonna with Saints, altar painting: oil on wood
1525
Deposition by Pontormo, Santa Felicita, Florence
1525 - 1569
