18 Famous Renaissance Artists Who Achieved Greatness
During the Renaissance, art experienced radical and unprecedented development. This article lays out all the important painters, sculptors, and architects whose masterpieces helped transform the world of art.
May 13, 2024 • By Mia Forbes, BA in Classics
The Renaissance was a time of great advancement in human understanding. Explorers began traveling across the globe, scientists developed new ideas and cities exploded into major hubs of trade and culture. One of the period’s most radical changes occurred in the world of art, as paintings, frescoes, and sculptures departed from the two-dimensional style of the previous centuries and took on a new, transcendent approach. Read on to discover more about 18 Renaissance Old Masters who helped transform art forever.
18. Renaissance in Florence: Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446)
The cupola atop the Church of Santa Maria del Fiore by Filippo Brunelleschi, 1536. Source: Smithsonian MagazineFilippo Brunelleschi is considered one of the most important figures in the history of architecture. He spent years studying the ruins and remains of ancient civilizations, especially the Roman Empire. By doing so, he gained an understanding of design and proportion that became his hallmark. Using ingenious and innovative engineering, Filippo Brunelleschi built the huge cupola atop Florence’s cathedral, the first large-scale dome constructed since antiquity.
Brunelleschi also worked in the fields of sculpture, mechanics, and drawing. He was also the first artist to formally explain the idea of linear perspective, a concept that became essential to late Renaissance painting. Contrary to popular belief, linear perspective is a mathematic invention rather than a ‘natural’ way of depicting space. Before Brunelleschi, artists often used reverse or multi-point perspective, constructing their imaginary spaces in a radically different manner.
17. Donatello (1386-1466)
David by Donatello, ca. 1440-1460. Source: Italian RenaissanceGet the latest articles delivered to your inboxSign up to our Free Weekly Newsletter
Join!
Donatello is one of the best-known sculptors of the Renaissance, whose magnificent creations would go on to inspire many generations of craftsmen. Like the Renaissance itself, Donatello was born in Florence where he trained as a goldsmith. He went on to travel around Italy, together with Brunelleschi, seizing the opportunity to study the art and architecture of the ancient world. Apart from sculpture, he designed stained glass and created molten glass reliefs, which were then unusual for the Western art tradition.
The influence of classical principles is evident in Donatello’s work. His most famous piece, the bronze David, was the first free-standing nude statue made since antiquity, paving the way for the rediscovery of antiquity in Europe.
16. Jan van Eyck (1390-1441)
The Arnolfini Portrait by van Eyck, 1434. Source: The National Gallery, LondonOne of the earlier figures in Renaissance art, Dutch artist Jan van Eyck revolutionized Northern European painting and created some of the world’s most coveted masterpieces. This Renaissance artist produced a range of devotional, political, and personal works, mainly in the form of portraits and altarpieces. He was an industrious and versatile artist.
The most important of van Eyck’s portraits is The Arnolfini Portrait, painted towards the end of his career. It is notable for how the artist handles perspective in order to show the room in its entirety, and even more significantly, for the small mirror on the back wall. On close inspection, a figure can be seen reflected in it. It is widely thought that the figure represents the artist himself. Details like this transformed the way that people viewed art, asking the spectator to contemplate the relationship and role of the artist in his art. Van Eyck’s other masterpiece The Ghent Altarpiece has historically been considered so valuable that a whole host of forces, from Napoleon to the Nazis, have coveted it. In 2020, the altarpiece became the subject of controversy due to the supposedly poor restoration. Some complained that the conservators ruined the image of the Lamb of God by painting human features onto it. In fact, the humanoid face was van Eyck’s original intention, since the Lamb symbolized Jesus Christ and his sacrifice.
15. Carlo Crivelli (1430-1495)
Madonna and Child, by Carlo Crivelli, c.1480. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkVenetian painter Carlo Crivelli was different from most of his contemporaries. A staunch conservator, he refused to switch to oil paint, preferring the traditional tempera. As painting gradually became more and more realistic, he insisted on working in the Gothic tradition. His works were distinctively decorative, with every inch covered in trompe l’oeil insects, glittering jewels, pearls, and patterned fabrics. The intensity of Crivelli’s work quickly diminished, and he fell out of favor for several centuries. However, his abundant decoration and detail regained prominence in the late nineteenth century. In 1992, Susan Sontag described Crivelli as the embodiment of the camp aesthetic—the self-indulgent and semi-ironic expression of the so-called bad taste, joyful in its excessiveness.
14. Sandro Boticelli (1445-1510)
Mystic Nativity by Botticelli, 1500. Source: The National Gallery, LondonOne of the legendary Florentine masters, Sandro Botticelli helped form the golden age of the Early Renaissance. Like many of his contemporaries, Botticelli was determined to recapture the aesthetic ideals of the ancient world, namely harmony, symmetry, and balance. Botticelli did not shock his audience with a dramatic or striking style. Instead, he conjured up a transcendent and serene atmosphere through his use of luminous color and refined brushstrokes. By building up layers of fine pigment, Botticelli gave his paintings a sense of depth and his human figures a sense of warmth, bringing the bodies to life.
Another factor that contributes to Botticelli’s success is the sheer density of his paintings: both his mythological and biblical scenes are typically filled with a wide range of figures, symbols, and images. The wealth of material present in Botticelli’s masterpieces allows the viewer to spend long stretches of time examining and contemplating the meaning and effect of the various elements.
13. Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516)
The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch, 1490-1510. Source: Sotheby’sHieronymus Bosch was the most important figure in the Early Netherlandish school of painting. His haunting and fascinating artwork achieved great success during his lifetime. Although few paintings by Bosch survive, the extant oeuvre exhibits a completely unique and astonishing approach to art. His paintings defy categorization and plunge straight to the heart of human anxieties about death, the afterlife, and the unknown. He painted a number of unsettling hell scenes, some of which are made especially disconcerting by his unexpected use of color. His most famous work The Garden of Earthly Delights shows a landscape teeming with naked figures and exotic plants and creatures. The fantastical image has led many art historians to credit Bosch as the father of Surrealism.
12. The Famous Renaissance Artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, 1503-1519. Source: the LouvreLeonardo da Vinci is arguably one of the most influential figures not only of the Renaissance but of art history itself. He provided unparalleled insight into a huge range of fields, from art to mathematics, engineering to astronomy. Remembered primarily as a painter, his most famous artworks, such as the Mona Lisa, top the list of most recognizable and reproduced paintings in the world. Da Vinci’s ability to produce such engaging and appealing images sprung from his understanding of technique. His study of perspective and proportion, epitomized in his Vitruvian Man, allowed him to reproduce reality with a remarkable degree of accuracy.
His private journals are filled with notes (most of them written backward) and diagrams covering many subjects. His scientific studies of mechanical inventions have attracted the most attention. They exhibit such an unprecedented technical understanding that the career of Leonardo da Vinci is considered by many the start of a new, modern era.
11. Matthias Grünewald (1470-1528)
The Isenheimer Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald, 1510-15. Source: Art BibleGerman painter Matthias Grünewald was an artist of the Northern European Renaissance. Although only 10 of his paintings survive, they convey a very vivid and personal style with rich colors and dramatic expression. Light and shade, distorted figures, and striking subject matter are all combined in Grünewald’s masterpieces to create a sense of religious transcendence. Some art historians and scholars have often pitted Grünewald against his contemporary Albrecht Dürer. Although their styles vary greatly, many of Grünewald’s paintings have historically been attributed to Dürer.
Matthias Grünewald was one of the most important artists of the era of the Protestant Reformation. In his later years, he retired from painting, supposedly due to his disagreement with the politics of the Catholic church and their abuse of power, highlighted by the Protestants. Just like Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach the Elder, Grünewald later became a commemorated saint of the Lutheran church.
10. Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)
Self-portrait by Albrecht Dürer, 1500. Source: Die Pinakotheken, MunichBy an early age, Albrecht Dürer had established a name for himself throughout Europe because of his incredible engravings. Dürer was a master of many artistic mediums, including watercolors, oil paints, woodblock prints, and drawings. However, engraving was where he really excelled. His masterpieces are laden with symbolic imagery and meaning that demand deep consideration from the viewer.
Dürer is also well-known for his self-portraits. He produced a sketch of himself while still a child which is one of the few juvenile artworks remaining from the Renaissance. He is also widely credited with introducing the form into mainstream art. Before Dürer, it was rare for an artist to depict himself, especially as the central focus of a piece. Yet, his intense full-face paintings showed how powerful it could be to create a relationship directly between the artist and audience.
9. Michelangelo (1475-1564)
Pietà by Michelangelo, 1498-1499. Source: BBCThe legendary Florentine artist Michelangelo epitomizes the High Renaissance. Nicknamed Il Divine (the divine one) by his contemporaries, his work inspired a sense of awe and amazement. Michelangelo ingeniously married the bold and the soft, the dramatic and the subtle, to produce art the likes of which had not been seen before, and which later generations of artists would strive to recapture.
Michelangelo excelled in every artistic medium. This Renaissance artist painted the legendary Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. His statues David and Pieta are some of the most recognizable sculptures in the world. As an architect, he designed the great dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. He also tried his hand at poetry with a number of devotional and romantic verses. His unparalleled skill and prolific output meant that Michelangelo immediately had great success. The Renaissance artist was the first artist to have a biography published during his lifetime.
8. Raphael (1483-1520)
School of Athens by Raphael, 1509-1511. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe legendary Italian Renaissance artist Raphael has been a hugely important factor in the history of art over the last five centuries. His life, though short, was incredibly fruitful. He produced a huge body of work that includes sculptures, buildings, frescoes, engravings, and paintings.
In Rome, Raphael extensively studied the principles of ancient art which are reflected in his work. His grasp of proportion, balance, and perspective allowed him to create harmonic, serene, and natural images which, along with the work of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, came to define the High Renaissance. So impressed were Raphael’s contemporaries that he was commissioned to produce large wall paintings in the Vatican buildings. These masterpieces would go on to inspire many generations of artists, who flocked to the Vatican to see the great paintings of the Renaissance masters.
7. Titian (1488-1576)
Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian, 1520-1523. Source: The National Gallery, LondonTiziano Vecellio, known in English simply as Titian, transformed Renaissance painting through his mastery of form and color. Over the course of his long and successful career, Titian generated a multitude of masterpieces. He painted everything from portraits to landscapes, mythological spectacles to biblical scenes. What unites all these disparate pieces of art is Titian’s dramatic yet lifelike style. Using expressive brushstrokes, rich colors, and subtle contrast of light and shadow, he created some of the era’s most striking masterpieces.
This Renaissance artist is considered the founder of the Venetian school. Titian’s talents were recognized in a number of prestigious commissions. He was employed by some of Italy’s highest-ranking patrons, including Italian princes, Habsburg’s kings, and the Pope himself.
6. Hans Holbein (1497-1543)
The Ambassadors by Holbein, 1533. Source: The National Gallery, LondonHans Holbein the Younger was a painter and printer from Germany whose portraits were prized among the European elite. The son of a prominent Gothic painter of the same name, Holbein began his artistic career at an early age. He first started painting murals and designing windows for his local churches. It was when he started painting portraits, however, that his success truly began.
After painting the likeness of legendary Renaissance humanist Erasmus, Holbein found his talents in great demand. He eventually left his wife and children to travel to England. There, he spent his remaining years as the official painter to King Henry VIII.
Alongside his lifelike portraits, Holbein is also famous for his masterpiece The Ambassadors. The image of two French ambassadors to the English court is drenched with symbolic meaning. This most notably includes the large skull stretched across the foreground, which is only seen clearly from a certain angle. Artwork like this embodies how Renaissance painters were inviting their audience to look at art in different ways.
5. Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)
The Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari, 1568. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkAs well as being a painter and architect in his own right, Giorgio Vasari is best known as the father of art history. His most important work is undoubtedly the Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects. This book was a collection of biographies of all the leading artists of the Renaissance, both from Italy and further afield.
Although undoubtedly afflicted by bias and exaggeration, Lives is the first port of call for information about the old masters. Vasari offers detailed insight into both their public and private affairs. Along with the biographies, the writer also offers his theories and thoughts about art in general. In fact, it is in Lives that the terms Renaissance, Gothic, and competition first appear in an artistic context.
4. Tintoretto (1518-1594)
The Origin of the Milky Way by Tintoretto, ca. 1575. Source: The National Gallery, LondonDuring the Renaissance, Tintoretto was one of the leading figures in the Venetian school of painting. While few details are known about his private life and personality, he must have been quite the character. Titian kicked him out of his workshop after only a few days. Other contemporaries nicknamed him Il Furioso (meaning The Furious), though this may have been down to his passionate painting style rather than his temper. The combination of bold brushstrokes and epic scale gives Tintoretto’s paintings a sense of majesty and drama. Tintoretto was unusually swift and impulsive with his painting, and often received criticism for the supposed messiness of his brushwork. Still, this chaos only contributed to the exceptional dynamism and expression of Tintoretto’s art.
His work embodies the Mannerist style that emerged during the High Renaissance, as a reaction against the harmony, symmetry, and proportion promoted by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci. Instead, artists like Tintoretto pursued extravagant, irregular, and exaggerated forms that achieve different, but equally remarkable effects.
3. Sofonisba Anguissola (c.1532-1625)
The Infanta Catalina Micaela, by Sofonisba Anguissola, ca.1584. Source: Museo del Prado, MadridIn the Renaissance era, women hardly ever had a chance to become professional full-time painters. Most of those interested in art remained dismissed as amateurs, often confined to their fathers’ workshops. If they were lucky enough to be born into an affluent family, they could delegate their artistic ideas to others by becoming art patrons. There were, however, notable exceptions to that rule.
Sofonisba Anguissola became the first woman artist to achieve international fame. Although she was mainly treated as a charming curiosity, her painting skills and sharp mind brought her to the royal court of the Habsburgs. She started her career by painting self-portraits and soon became the portrait painter of the most noble families in Europe. Her painting style was a combination of Italian and German influences, and, to present-day viewers, it often looks more modern than it actually was. As a noblewoman, Anguissola was not allowed to accept payment for her services, but her patrons compensated them with expensive gifts and titles.
2. El Greco (1541-1614)
The Adoration of the Name of Jesus by El Greco, ca. 1578. Source: The National Gallery, LondonThe artist born Domenikos Theotokopoulos would later come to be known by the far simpler nickname of El Greco. Born in Venetian-controlled Crete, his youth was molded by the multitudes of different cultures he experienced living on the thoroughfare of Mediterranean trade. El Greco trained as an artist in Venice. He then worked in Rome and finally settled in Spain where he completed his most celebrated works. The influences from these various places resulted in El Greco’s utterly unique style.
His highly theatrical and fantastical paintings cannot be categorized under a single genre or school. El Greco brought together the haunting, elongated figures of the Gothic with the perspective and proportion valued during the High Renaissance. El Greco was a genius with color. He used a combination of bold, metallic, and opaque hues to conjure up an atmosphere. Some of his more abstract pieces are even considered forerunners of the Expressionist and Cubist movements that would emerge centuries later.
1. The Later Renaissance and Caravaggio (1571-1610)
Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio, 1599. Source: Caravaggio.orgAs one of the later artists of the Renaissance, Caravaggio was instrumental in the transformation of art. He combined the naturalistic Classical style favored by his forerunners with a new sense of drama, danger, and boldness. He came to embody the chiaroscuro technique through which he employed sharp contrast between light and darkness to produce highly vivid images.
Caravaggio’s paintings are often distinguished by their risqué, violent, or mysterious subject matter. Even in his religious work, the artist approaches biblical scenes with a novel perspective. He combined the transcendent with the grotesque. For models, he is thought to have used sex workers. Caravaggio endowed even his divine figures with a sense of humanity and natural warmth.
In Rome, his new approach to form, color, and subject inspired a vast crowd of younger artists. These artists became known as the Caravaggisti. On a broader scale, his work can be seen as the turning point that gave way to the Baroque movement.
===============================================================
Quels sont les moments marquants de la Renaissance ?
Tout au long de la Renaissance, une série de découvertes, d’inventions et d’innovations remarquables ont été réalisées qui ont eu un impact sur tous les pans de la société.
10 août 2023 • Par Rosie Lesso , MA Théorie de l'art contemporain, BA Beaux-arts
La Renaissance, qui s'étend du XIVe au XVIIe siècle , a été une période d'une importance capitale dans l'histoire de l'humanité, au cours de laquelle des avancées majeures ont été réalisées dans de nombreux domaines, notamment l'art, l'architecture, la science, les voyages et la littérature. En fait, bon nombre des découvertes et inventions de la Renaissance continuent de façonner notre vision et notre compréhension du monde d'aujourd'hui. De l'invention de l'imprimerie aux explorations plus vastes de l'univers, nous examinons une série de moments déterminants qui ont marqué l'ère de la Renaissance .
La famille Médicis devient chef de la cité-État de Florence
Raffaello Sanzio (Urbino 1483 – Rome 1520) Portrait de Léon X avec les cardinaux Luigi de 'Rossi et Giulio de' Medici, image fournie par Sky HistoryLa famille des Médicis, l'une des plus puissantes de l'histoire européenne, joua un rôle essentiel dans le développement de la Renaissance grâce à sa richesse, sa prospérité et son mécénat. Elle devint chef de la cité-État de Florence au XVe siècle et conserva le pouvoir de génération en génération jusqu'au XVIIIe siècle . Au cours de son ascension au pouvoir, la famille des Médicis créa la plus grande banque d'Europe , s'étendant de Florence à Genève, Venise et Rome, puis à Londres, Bruges et Lübeck. En plus de s'assurer un pouvoir financier, la famille des Médicis devint également mécène des arts, dont la richesse permit de financer de nombreux chefs-d'œuvre de la Renaissance parmi les plus connus, notamment la chapelle Sixtine de Michel-Ange , le David en bronze de Donatello , l'école d'Athènes de Raphaël et le Duomo de Florence de Filippo Brunelleschi .
L'invention de l'imprimerie
La première presse à imprimer, inventée par Johannes Gutenberg pendant la Renaissance, image reproduite avec l'aimable autorisation de Getty ImagesL'invention de l'imprimerie par Johann Gutenberg en 1445 allait avoir un impact durable sur la société du monde entier. Avant les découvertes de Gutenberg, la fabrication de livres était un processus long et ardu qui impliquait l'écriture et la copie à la main . Les livres étaient donc une marchandise rare et chère, réservée aux plus riches et aux plus privilégiés. Mais la découverte de Gutenberg a permis de reproduire rapidement et facilement les livres et autres imprimés, ce qui a permis une large diffusion des livres dans toutes les couches de la société. Cela a conduit à son tour la société à devenir plus alphabétisée et a permis à un plus grand nombre d'écrivains de diffuser librement leurs idées.
Christophe Colomb a beaucoup voyagé
Christophe Colomb à la cour des Rois Catholiques, par Juan Cordero, 1850Recevez les derniers articles dans votre boîte de réceptionInscrivez-vous à notre newsletter hebdomadaire gratuite
Rejoindre!
L'explorateur italien Christophe Colomb a effectué une série de voyages transatlantiques entre 1492 et 1504, au cours desquels il est tombé sur les Amériques. Si historiquement, ses voyages sont souvent décrits d'un point de vue colonial comme la « découverte » des Amériques, des millions de personnes y vivaient déjà . La colonisation ultérieure du soi-disant Nouveau Monde est devenue une période complexe de l'histoire, motivée autant par la cupidité que par la quête de la connaissance. Cependant, ses voyages épiques ont ouvert des liens plus étroits entre l'Europe et le reste du monde, qui sont restés ouverts à jamais, sécurisant les routes commerciales et inaugurant une période de voyages autour du monde que l'on appelle aujourd'hui l'Âge des découvertes.
Télescopes et explorations en astronomie
Galilée démontrant les nouvelles théories astronomiques à l'Université de Padoue, par Félix Parra, 1873L' invention de puissants télescopes pendant la Renaissance a permis une meilleure compréhension de l'astronomie et de l'univers dans son ensemble. Plusieurs scientifiques de premier plan, dont Nicolas Copernic, Galilée, Tycho Brahe et Johannes Kepler, ont découvert des outils qui ont permis d'étudier l'espace lointain. Leurs inventions et découvertes ont remis en question la croyance séculaire établie par les Grecs de l'Antiquité, selon laquelle la Terre était au centre de l'univers, autour de laquelle gravitaient le Soleil et les planètes. Au lieu de cela, ils ont prouvé que le Soleil était le centre autour duquel gravitaient toutes les autres planètes, même s'il a fallu un certain temps pour que leurs découvertes soient acceptées par le grand public !
La découverte de la perspective linéaire
Une page du Livre de Perspective de Jean Cousin, 1560, via Christie'sL’un des principes fondamentaux de la Renaissance était la fusion des arts, des sciences et des mathématiques. Cela est particulièrement évident avec la découverte de la perspective linéaire par l’artiste et architecte Filippo Brunelleschi. Cette astuce mathématique pratique impliquant des lignes d’horizon et des points de fuite a ouvert de nouvelles possibilités de créer de la profondeur et de l’espace dans l’art, et son application dans les arts est devenue de plus en plus complexe et sophistiquée à mesure que la Renaissance progressait.
Top 12 Renaissance Masterpieces
From the 15th to 17th century, new forms of art, literature, music, and architecture emerged across Europe. Read on to discover 12 Renaissance masterpieces that stand out from the rest.
UpdatedSep 13, 2024 • By Mia Forbes, BA in Classics
The Renaissance saw a rebirth of Classical ideas and a renewed interest in art for purposes other than religious worship, although Christianity still formed the bedrock of most of its greatest works. The following twelve masterpieces epitomize Renaissance art, representing the skill, creativity, and innovation that characterizes this period of European history.
12. Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam
The Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo, 1508-12. Source: Sistine Chapel, VaticanNo other work found its way into pop culture, memes, and advertising as effectively as Michelangelo’s grand oeuvre. The iconic fresco is a part of the monumental project of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The entire collection of frescos took Michelangelo four years to complete.
The Creation of Adam is one of the panels illustrating the Biblical Book of Genesis, the story of world creation and the early days of humanity. The touching hands of God and Adam, the first human on Earth, represent the passing of a divine spark of life from the Creator. Michelangelo was one of the first artists who dared to paint God in his physical form, representing him as an aged wise man clothed in Roman-styled draperies.
11. Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus
The Birth of Venus, by Sandro Botticelli, c.1484-86. Source: Le Gallerie degli UffiziGet the latest articles delivered to your inboxSign up to our Free Weekly Newsletter
Join!
Sandro Botticelli’s image of Venus became one of the most famous examples of incontestable beauty and refined composition. Art historians believe that the painting was commissioned by someone from the Medici family, although the exact identity of the patron is debatable. Venus remains a highly contested figure in art theory and criticism. Over the centuries, she was adopted as the ideal standard of femininity—conventionally attractive, white, and corresponding to the fashions of her time. Still, mythology experts note that the genesis of this perfect woman has nothing to do with womanhood and female anatomy. According to the myth, Venus was born from a severed testicle of her father, Uranus, and appeared from sea foam. Botticelli depicted the scene of the goddess’ birth without the gruesome details, showing an ideal image of Venus covering her body with her long curly hair, sailing on a giant seashell.
10. Hans Holbein, The Ambassadors
The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533. Source: The National Gallery, London.Another Renaissance artist to play with perspective was Hans Holbein. So many symbols are hidden in ‘The Ambassadors’, but the most striking of these is undoubtedly the magnified skull which stretches across the lower foreground.
Facing the painting, one can roughly discern the outline, but it is not until the viewer moves to the left that the full form becomes apparent. In this way, Holbein captures the essence of mortality, with death an ever-present but unpredictable feature of human life. The magnificent figures of the two men appear to be mere accessories to the huge collection of allegorical and symbolic details shown in this masterpiece.
9. Benvenuto Cellini, Perseus with the Head of Medusa
Perseus with the Head of Medusa, Benvenuto Cellini, 1545. Source: Daily Art MagazineThe legendary goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini worked under the patronage of Cosimo de’ Medici, the most powerful man in Florence and head of the important banking family. His statue of Perseus, holding the decapitated head of the monstrous Medusa, was erected in one of Florence’s most central piazzas. Beyond simply its striking appearance, the statue has several interesting features. For one, it is formed out of a single bronze cast, rather than arranged from multiple pieces like the majority of bronze sculptures at the time. Secondly, the very base of the sculpture is itself part of the overall design, as the figure of the hero stands on the slain body of Medusa.
In addition, Cellini’s own reflection can be seen in the back of Perseus’ helmet. Much like van Eyck’s painting, this encourages the viewer to consider the artist’s role in his creation. It also reflects upon the story of Perseus, who defeats the Gorgon by looking at her in the reflection of his shield.
8. Donatello, The Statue of David
David in bronze by Donatello. Source: Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, ItalySoon after Brunelleschi constructed the Duomo, his friend Donatello created the first free-standing nude male sculpture since the famous marble statues of the Classical period.
Donatello initially crafted another clothed David out of marble, but his bronze version is far more famous. The half-naked man stands vulnerable but triumphant, capturing the spirit of the Biblical story while also hinting at the sensuality that was gradually being reintroduced after centuries of strictly censured religious art.
7. Bernini, Apollo and Daphne
Apollo and Daphne, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, c. 1622-1625. Source: Borghese Gallery, RomeChiseled out of a single block of marble, Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne captures all the movement and magic of the original myth. The Roman god Apollo, filled with lust, attempts to seize the nymph Daphne, but at the last moment, she is miraculously turned into a laurel tree.
Bernini captures the transformation in a single moment. There is a clear contrast between the medium and the subject. Formed out of hard, unyielding rock, the statue is nonetheless fluid and dynamic. Movement and softness are expressed by the impression of his hand on her waist, the branching of her fingers into leaves, and the windswept robes scarcely covering the figures. Bernini’s statue epitomizes the technical skill, Classical inspiration, and artistic ingenuity of Renaissance sculpture.
6. Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Wedding
The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, 1434. Source: The National Gallery, London.Although the Renaissance is most often associated with Italy, it is important to note the expansion of artistic styles in the Low Countries. The Flemish painter Jan van Eyck was at the forefront of Early Renaissance art. His most famous piece, ‘The Arnolfini Wedding’, provides an example of the complexity that began to characterize European art.
With the rich growing ever richer, portraits became an important status symbol, used to show off one’s personal fortune. In this painting, the ornate chandelier, grand bed, and even the tiny dog all proclaim the subjects’ wealth. Even more interestingly, if one looks closely at the mirror hung on the back wall, it is possible to see the minuscule reflection of a man entering the room. This detail raises questions about who this visitor might be and suggests a new role for the artist and audience as participants in the scene. Masterpieces such as this laid the groundwork for the new role of art in Europe.
5. Raphael, The School of Athens
The School of Athens, by Raphael, 1509-1511. Source: Vatican Museums.The walls of the Vatican are filled with some of the Renaissance’s most famous and important artwork, not least the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
One fresco, however, perfectly captures the Classical spirit of the age. ‘The School of Athens’ by Raphael shows the great thinkers of the ancient world, from geographers to mathematicians, philosophers to rulers. In the center stand Plato and Aristotle, who represent the pinnacle of Classical understanding and knowledge. The artist has also managed to capture an accurate perspective so that the scene seems three-dimensional.
4. Leonardo da Vinci, Salvator Mundi
Salvator Mundi, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1500. Source: Christie’s.At the same time as Albrecht Dürer was fashioning himself as a Christ-like figure, Leonardo da Vinci was devoting his efforts to a depiction of the Redeemer himself. His ‘Salvator Mundi’ shows Jesus draped in the rich robes typical of Renaissance portraits, making the sign of the cross and raising a crystal ball thought to represent the heavens. He also fixes us with an inexplicable expression that conveys authority but also empathy.
The masterpiece is perhaps best known for breaking the world record for the most expensive painting sold at a public auction when it was purchased in 2017 for $450.3 million. Much of its value stems from the importance of its creator to Renaissance art, engineering, science, and architecture.
3. Filippo Brunelleschi, The Cupola of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
The Cupola of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, completed in 1436. Source: PixabayThe Duomo of Florence Cathedral symbolizes the birth of Renaissance architecture. In 1436, Filippo Brunelleschi succeeded in creating the first dome to be built on such a scale for a thousand years. Not only is the cupola itself a magnificent sight, but his achievement paved the way for other Renaissance architects to build some of Europe’s most captivating monuments, palaces, and churches.
2. Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait
Self-portrait by Albrecht Dürer, 1500. Source: WikipediaAlbrecht Dürer displayed his artistic acumen from an extremely young age, completing some of his first sketches and engravings at only eight years old. But it is this masterpiece that truly stands out against any other self-portrait that had been painted to date.
The emotional intensity, realistic detail, and somber colors of the work entrance the audience, as Dürer fixes us with an undaunted stare. It is impossible not to notice his resemblance to Christ in this painting, which again suggests a shift in the relationship between religion and art. In this way, Dürer’s portrait could be said to represent Humanism, a movement that played a key role in the changing landscape of Renaissance Europe.
1. Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503. Source: Louvre, ParisIt is the most famous piece of art. Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ attracts over 10 million tourists every year with her elusive smile. The artist utilized recent breakthroughs in the understanding of perspective and proportions to shape his subject’s face so that her eyes immediately grab the audience’s attention. They are at the center of the image and appear to follow the viewer at any angle. As a result, the portrait offers an interaction rather than simply a spectacle.
In 1962, insurance for Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece was valued at a record-breaking $100 million, demonstrating its near-priceless value.
Originally published: January 11. 2020. Last update: September 13, 2024, by Anastasiia S. Kirpalov
----------------------------------------------------------
