$THE QUATTROCENTO The Quattrocento in the 1400s is sometimes called the Renaissance, meaning rebirth. Learned men from about the 1420s saw themselves as heading a new movement of ideas, and the expression of those ideas. · Renaissance Ideas · The following is a summary of the main Renaissance ideas: · That the models for literature, scholarship, painting, building, sculpture, lifestyles, etc., were to be found in Classical Greece and Rome rather from their own forefathers of the 1300s. · That previous models based on the Barbarian Gothic styles since the Fall of Rome, were to be put aside. · That the arts should be based on rational rules representing an orderly, composed and a natural view of reality - from 2000 years before. · That art should imitate nature at its best. Images should be modelled on the best type of object seen in real life. That is, a horse in a painting should look like the best type of horse. · That the image of man should be not just Christian but also noble, dignified, and proud like the images from Ancient Greece and Rome. This new image of Christian Humanism became the model for European man. · That Plato's philosophy, based on the idealization of reality, was preferred to that of Aristotle's realism. These ideas were generated in art by a group of friends in the City of Florence in Italy: · Brunelleschi - an architect concerned with building on rational mathematical principles to create rational space. He is said to have invented the theory of scientific one-point perspective construction of space. · Donatello - a sculptor who set out to depict the new image of Man. He was very influential right through the period, especially on Masaccio. · Masaccio - a painter who was the first to develop one-point perspective in his paintings. · Alberti - an architect, scholar and friend of Donatello, recorded these artistic experiments in a book, De Pictura. Alberti's notes became the rules and basis of art until the late 19th Century, broken by The Impressionists. · Effect on Painting · The gradual implementation of these ideas in Florentine Art from 1420s on eventually spread to North Italy, Rome in 1500s, and Europe by 1550s. Notice how paintings evolve from Masaccio; then to Fra Angelico and Fra Lippi linking the Gothic and Renaissance styles; through to Uccello's experiments with scientific perspective; Veneziano and Castagno's return to solidity of form; through to Piero Della Francesca unifying of line, colour, space, and theme. By the end of the century, Pollaiuolo, Botticelli and Ghirlandaio have achieved the excellence of this type of highly formal, structured art. · Effect on Sculpture · The search for the ideal natural forms and rational structures also affected sculpture. Donatello's experiments with the relationship of light and the demands of creating rational space in reliefs influenced the art of Ghiberti, Pollaiuolo, and Verrochio. · Venetian Art · Venice was the largest city in Europe in the 15th Century: the cosmopolitan meeting place of East and West, and ruled by a rich, proud oligarchy. The richness of Venetian life was accompanied by a love of colour and sensual experiences reflected in Venetian paintings. The key Renaissance painters of Venice in the Renaissance were: Antonello de Messina, Mantegna, and Giovanni Bellini. Their paintings are characterized by a sense of colour and light fused with shape. Colour, for Venetian art, was always seen as a first consideration in painting, rather than the rational Florence. Venetian art is sensuous and at the same time pious. Landscapes are atmospheric, and there is richness of detail which is lacking in the art of Florence. #GHIBERTI 1378-1455 Lorenzo Ghiberti was a popular Quattrocento Florentine sculptor who represents the delicate balancing of the forces of Gothic grace and elegance, and the Classicism of the Quattrocento period. In 1402 he is still considered within the old tradition; later works in the 1430s, reveal the impact of the new style on his sculpture. *301 Ghiberti SACRIFICE OF ISAAC 1402 Bronze, St John's Cathedral, Florence. In the Biblical story, Abraham is instructed by God to sacrifice Isaac to prove his faith. An angel intercedes and prevents the death. This relief resulted from a famous event in artistic history: the artistic competition for the contract to complete a new set of doors for the Baptistery of the Cathedral. Ghiberti and Brunelleschi were short-listed for the contract. Brunelleschi lost, Ghiberti won and went on to complete the project. However, Brunelleschi continued his research into classical architectural theory, resulting in the new Renaissance ideas which flow from him to Donatello and Masaccio, this event heralding the beginnings of the art form which dominated Europe to the 19th Century. This early work reveals the Gothic naturalism and lineal flow while at the same time continuing the Classical nobility in the naked body of David. *302 Ghiberti SACRIFICE OF ISAAC (Detail) 1402 Bronze, St John's Cathedral, Florence. In the Biblical story, Abraham is instructed by God to sacrifice Isaac to prove his faith. An angel intercedes and prevents the death. The detail here reveals the beginnings of the conquest of Naturalism by Florentine artists. The imitation of nature here in the finely crafted bronze is done without regard to preconceived theory which came later in the century. Notice also the dramatic relationship portrayed between father and son. *303 Ghiberti ST JOHN THE BAPTIST 1412 Bronze, Orsanmichele, Florence. This work is one of a set of 30 statues planned for niches in public buildings in Florence. This work reveals the strong Gothic style in the firm lines of the drapery, hair and beard. The public commissioning of statues such as this reveals the keen pride and wealth of Renaissance Florence and its citizen's willingness to invest in art to decorate the city. *304 Ghiberti ST JOHN THE BAPTIST (Detail) 1412 Bronze, Orsanmichele, Florence. The detail here reveals the Gothic strength of line about the beard and upper garments. *305 Ghiberti JACOB AND ESAU 1435 Bronze, St John's Cathedral, Florence. The biblical story of when Abraham is tricked by Rebecca into choosing Jacob as his heir rather than his eldest son, Esau. The 'Gates of Paradise' doors were the second set of doors to the Baptistery of the cathedral, called so by the citizens of Florence, because of their regard for the perfection of Ghiberti's works. This is one of the most perfect Renaissance relief sculptures. It also reveals the enormous stylistic change in Ghiberti and in Art in the intervening years between 1402 and 1435. Here Ghiberti has mastered Albertian one-point perspective space. Note the tiling diagonals, the series of framed walls, the figures receding in perfect mathematical diminution to a central focus. There is a sense of realistic harmony and noble grace especially about the figure of Jacob. Drapery falls to reveal the perfectly proportioned legs. The narrative unfolds in a sequence of events right and left across the frames culminating in the blessing of Jacob. #DONATELLO 1386-1466 Sculptor and intellectual giant of Quattrocento Florence, Donatello shaped the new directions of both painting and sculpture with: · scientific research and development of the theory of one-point perspective; · a spirit of independent individuality; of proud and noble republicanism; In his works note: · the immediacy of the subject; · the unconcern for detailed elaboration, quite opposite Gothic traditions; · the naturalism based on careful observation of reality and the nature of light and its effects; · the sense of noble virtue in his search for a new image for the men of Florence. *306 Donatello ST MARK 1413 Marble, Orsanmichele, Florence. This has been called the first Renaissance work: the noble, proud head gazing through eyes sculpted with an understanding of light, the right hand naturally relaxed holding the robes. Note also the Classical contrapposta pose of the raised right hip and the deliberately lengthened body with regard to the viewer at street level. There is a sense on rational purpose in the firmness of the whole work that sets a standard for art in the future. *307 Donatello ST MARK (Detail) 1413 Marble, Orsanmichele, Florence. Note the handling here of the eyes where the artist has sculpted a hole without trying to create the pupil. The play of light itself is made to hint at the details of the eye. *308 Donatello FEAST OF HEROD 1425 Gilded bronze, Cathedral, Siena. From the Gospel story when John the Baptist is beheaded at Salome's request and presented to King Herod at a banquet. A very important work, for the Baptismal Font, the first in history based on one-point perspective theory. Donatello, Brunelleschi, Masaccio and Alberti have set out the rules for constructing unified space in a grid network. Each figure can confidently be positioned with regard to space. Note how the receding lines of the tiles, the separating walls and architectural lines help the viewer to establish his own position with respect to the work. The theory behind this work was formally written by Alberti in his book Della Pictura. Beyond theory, however, is Donatello's reaching back a century to Giotto's mastery at capturing the dramatic narrative. Herod withdraws in horror from the severed head, while the stunned guests look on, and the music plays on in the further room. *309 Donatello DAVID 1440 Bronze, Bagello, Florence. From the Biblical story where David, a young lad, conquers the giant Goliath with a sling, then severs his head. This is possibly the first free-standing sculpture since Ancient Rome and Greece, is displayed Donatello's search for the perfect proportions and the ideal type of man. Note also the assured relaxed confidence which becomes the hallmark of Italian Renaissance art. An excellent comparison of developments in style over 60 years can be made with the David by Michelangelo. *310 Donatello GATTAMELATA 1445 Piazza del Santo, Padua. Gattamelata, the Calico Cat, was a Venetian mercenary who won renown and whose will demanded this statue. This work was modelled on the Roman statue of Marcus Aurelius, but here Donatello excels the Classical model: dynamic controlled energy is bound together by a lance which crosses the group. This statue makes a good comparison study of Verrochio's Colleoni later in the century. *311 Donatello THE DONKEY MIRACLE 1446 Bronze, S. Antonio, Padua. A donkey kneels down in worship of the Eucharist to bring faith to an unbeliever. St Anthony is seen blessing the donkey with the host. This relief is one of Donatello's later works at the height of his powers as an artist. The handling of space, the placing of balanced groupings of figures and the sense of drama are unsurpassed in relief sculpture. *312 Donatello MARY MAGDALENE 1455 Wood, Baptistery, Florence. Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, whose sins were forgiven by Jesus. Here Donatello shows Mary Magdalene as one who has suffered the ravages of sin and the ravages of penance. This Humanism of Donatello's observation of nature, without making the grand statements of the High Renaissance, sums up the controlled nobility of the Quattrocento. #MASACCIO 1401-21 Masaccio, a Quattrocento Florentine painter and friend of the great sculptor, Donatello, and architects, Brunelleschi and Alberti, was the first painter to organize space on a rational scientific basis. He experimented with Brunelleschi's architectural ideas; and worked as well with Alberti and Donatello to consciously reject the Gothic style. He deliberately modelled depth and solidity into his paintings as well as modelled his figures on noble, Classical figures. He also deliberately returns to Giotto's style of art: firm, rounded, natural, human figures creating their own space. He created two sets of major works c.1420: · The Brancacci Chapel Narratives on the Life of St Peter from the Acts of Apostles and; · The Holy Trinity in St Maria Novella c.1420. Masaccio's paintings became the talking point of the century, people coming from all over Italy to see the revolution in style. He died at 20. *313 Masaccio THE TRIBUTE MONEY 1425 Fresco, Brancacci Chapel, Florence. In the Gospel of St Matthew, Jesus in the centre is asked by the Apostles who surround him, whether they should pay taxes to Caesar. St Peter is told to get a coin from a fish's mouth and then he pays the tax collector on the right. A topical debate at that time whether the Church in Florence should pay rates to the City Council. In a chapel of St Maria del Carmine, Masaccio uses chiaroscuro, or heavy tonal shading, to create a sense of roundness of figures. He arranges the composition into three scenes in one painting, the narrative moving from left to right. Note how the central scene establishes a circle of apostles with Jesus in a clearly structured rational space, based on Brunelleschi's one-point perspective methods. The landscape is based a view of the outskirts of Florence. Masaccio deliberately denies elaboration of any kind, by following the simplicity of Giotto. He uses soft brush strokes rather than trying to create great detail. *314 Masaccio HEALING THE LEPER 1425 Fresco, Brancacci Chapel, Florence. From the Acts of the Apostles, Peter walks past a leper and heals him with his shadow. Here Peter is depicted in Stoic, noble fashion, walking towards the viewer. This was an astonishing feat of perspective painting at the time: Masaccio was renowned because of it. *315 Masaccio PETER ENTHRONED 1425 Fresco, Brancacci Chapel, Florence. Peter is here enthroned for devotion by Dominican priests, the patrons of the chapel. Masaccio here places Peter slightly turned towards the viewer. Although he has not fully conquered the proportions of the body, the attempt to create an organized visual unity is unique in Western art. *316 Masaccio HOLY TRINITY 1427 Fresco, St Maria Novella, Florence. The Lenzi Family commissioned this painting for the family tomb. This work is the first painting in the History of Art to be constructed using the new theory of one-point perspective. Masaccio's acquaintance with Brunelleschi and Donatello has led to this attempt at depicting three-dimensional space. Donatello's Feast of Herod was the first relief sculpture to use the same techniques. Masaccio composes the work in a series of triangles in one-point perspective: pilasters, architectural modelling of ceiling, the skeleton of the body underneath the Trinity are all are painted on the wall to create the complete illusion of reality. The Lenzi patrons, as well as St Mary and St John, lead the eye up to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the dove. This painting was seen as the triumph of the beginning of the new style of art. #FRA ANGELICO 1400-55 Fra Angelico was a Dominican priest and Quattrocento painter in Florence, linking Masaccio's ideas and Gothic art together. He created a series of frescos in each monk's cell in the San Marco Monastery, each using the new techniques of creating space, but also using colour, and better control of light sources. Fra Angelico captures the sweetness of Gothic tradition and the rational strength of the new Renaissance style. His fame spread to Rome where he was invited to paint for the increasingly Renaissance Humanist Papacy. *317 Fra Angelico JUSTINIAN'S MIRACLE 1440 Fresco, St Marco Monastery, Florence This is one of the many frescoes Fra Angelico painted on a wall of each monk's cell. Two angels replace a gangrenous leg while Justinian sleeps. This work reveals the simplicity of Fra Angelico's style. *318 Fra Angelico ST NICHOLAS STORY 1430 Panel, San Domenico, Perugia. St Nicholas, the original Santa Claus, drops bags of gold to a poor man, while his three daughters each make successful marriages. Here, Fra Angelico displays his experiments with the new style of handling space in which three separate events occur within the same setting. *319 Fra Angelico ANNUNCIATION 1450 Fresco, San Marco Monastery, Florence. This is the latest of two works on the Annunciation. Here Fra Angelico has mastered the art of one-point perspective. But this is also a fine example of his gentle handling of mood and expression. The delicacy of the Virgin in this work is one of the finest of its kind. #FRA LIPPI 1406-69 Fra Lippi was a Quattrocento Florentine painter and priest, who took over leadership of art from Masaccio. He was fully conversant with the new ideas of the Italian Renaissance art and Humanism. Fra Lippi develops greater control of colour, the details of faces, fingers and hands, textures in cloth, drapery, and a more confident handling of space. There is a strong combination of both Gothic gentleness and Florentine rational strength in his works. He led a heroic life as an artist escaping church officials, because of his scandalous life-style, to Lorenzo de Medici's Humanist Academy of Art. His son Filippino continued his father's tradition of art. *320 Fra Lippi ANNUNCIATION 1440 Tempera, San Lorenzo, Florence. Fra Lippi was a master at capturing the gracefulness of women, combining the ideal with realistic detail. Note here the Gentle sweeping angels, the full application of perspective techniques in constructing the temple, and the delicate and graceful lines of the angel and Mary. *321 Fra Lippi MADONNA 1450 Uffizi, Florence. This Madonna and Child reveals Fra Lippi's careful observation of facial features and details in the hands. Gothic lineal strength in this work is quietly combined with the rational strength of Florentine form and weight in the figures, a conflict which runs through the Quattrocento. #UCCELLO 1397-1475 Uccello was a Quattrocento Florentine artist in the 1440s. He became totally involved with the new science of perspective and the scientific study of objects, so much so, that much of his time was spent in mathematical research. He was instrumental in continuing the new style into the mid-15th Century, and influenced the art of Piero della Francesca. *322 Uccello CHALICE 1430 Pen and ink, Uffizi, Florence. This drawing reveals the determination of mid-Quattrocento artists to experiment and conquer the depiction of space. A three-dimensional object is broken into a series of polygons, positioned within a rational system of receding lines to a hidden vanishing point. Science and art went hand-in-hand at this time. *323 Uccello BATTLE OF SAN ROMANO 1445 Tempera, National Gallery, London. This work is part of a series of battle scenes celebrating the Florentine Republic's victories. Uccello applied the new techniques of space to large landscapes. Note how the soldiers and lances falling along the orthogonal perspective construction lines, the detailed landscape, and the idealized battle horses. This idealizing of natural objects according to the precepts of Classical writings lead directly to the High Renaissance heroic idealism of the 16th Century. *324 Uccello ST GEORGE AND DRAGON 1450 Panel, National gallery, London. This work is the beginning of a series of studies of a popular subject leading through to Raphael. Note the extracting of essential details of an ideal type of horse and the ideal type of princess. Uccello here demonstrates the skill of foreshortening techniques, now possible using a grid-based system of orthogonals to construct space. #DOMENICO 1410-1461 Domenico Veneziano, a contemporary of Andrea Castagno, was a popular painter in Quattrocento Florence in the 1440s and was important in linking Venetian use of colour with the new Florentine painting techniques. *325 Domenico MADONNA AND SAINTS 1445 Panel, St Lucy Altarpiece, Uffizi, Florence. This work reveals the influence of Donatello's sculptural techniques on Veneziano's figures. Note that he uses only one frame for the triptych, usually three separate paintings, and real people as models for St Lucy, St John Baptist, St Francis, and St Mary. #CASTAGNO 1421-57 Andrea Castagno was a very popular Quattrocento painter from Florence in the 1440s, contemporary and possible rival of Domenico Veneziano. He is important in capturing the violent energy, expression, and rugged features of people. He also deliberately turns the development of art away from the International Gothic decorative style to the understated style of Masaccio and Giotto. *326 Castagno VISION OF ST JEROME 1454 Fresco, SS Annuziata, Florence. St Jerome, a popular subject in Christian art, is seen here with St Paola and St Eustochius. Castagno captures the dramatic visions of the saint with an intensity not seen before in Florentine art. Note the mature handling of the human form of St Jerome, a technique which influences the art of later Quattrocento painters, such as Pollaiuolo and Verrochio. *327 Castagno LAST SUPPER 1447 Fresco, St Apollinia, Florence. This is the first painting of the Last Supper in the new Renaissance style, and directly influenced Da Vinci for his own famous scene. Castagno breaks the rules of Albertian space so that all the figures can be seen by all nuns in refectory from different view-points. He creates veined marble patterns for interest. #PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA 1420-92 Piero Della Francesca was a Quattrocento painter who worked outside of Florence in Sansepulcro and Urbino in 1450-70s. Piero's art became very popular in the 20th century following the Impressionists, mainly because of its understated emotion and deliberately cool mood and composition. Piero became the court painter of the famous Duke of Urbino, mercenary soldier who carved out a dukedom for himself, but who also became absorbed in the Renaissance revolution in ideas, spending money on libraries, art, and buildings, all demonstrating the Humanist style. Piero's art is the triumph of the hard-edged rational art of the Quattrocento, in direct relation to the foundations laid by Masaccio and Giotto, and opposing the elaboration and decoration of the Gothic traditions still influential on Italian art in that century. Note the precision of line, colour, volume, and masses. Piero's work has a calculated and self-disciplined mood about it. Piero integrates all parts in the composition to whole searching for a total visual unity of the theme. His work is highly mathematical, constructing the composition in mathematical symmetrical units, all limbs, heads and figures, mapped out in full three-dimensional geometrical linear space to create visual perfection of space. In fact, he gave up painting to address mathematical and geometric problems. He was also famous for the set of the True Cross narrative frescoes at St Croce, Florence, in the 1470s. *328 Piero BAPTISM OF CHRIST 1450 Panel, National Gallery, London. Jesus is baptized by John, while a dove descends from heaven, the events taking place in a Tuscan landscape while three angels watch the scene. This work was commissioned by Priory of San Giovanni, Sansepulcro. Note the heavy Tuscan features of Christ, the mathematical cylinders of limbs used to ensure proper proportionality in space. Piero is famous for his understated use of colour. *329 Piero RESURRECTION 1450 Fresco, Pinacoteca, Sansepulcro. Jesus rises from the dead, amidst soldiers asleep at the tomb, in the early morning. Piero creates a Classically noble Christ, but with a Byzantine stare into space. Christ's stance suggests not only the strength of the event but also the strong verticals matching the trees. Diagonal lines contrast with the verticals, revealing Piero's care construction. Each part is carefully added to the whole. Note the foreshortening of the soldiers' bodies creating a sense of space. Christ's toes grasp the edge of the tomb. Thematic colours are used: dawn as a new beginning; the new tree of life opposed to the old tree of death. *330 Piero FLAGELLATION 1470 Panel, Ducal Palace, Urbino. Christ is whipped by the Jerusalem authorities, before his death. Three contemporary men at the front discuss the meaning of the event. Their unemotional involvement is typical of Piero's artistic style. Note the unusually low viewpoint; and the perfect construction of the building so as not to interfere with our view. Every object is placed in perfect mathematical harmony, creating an sense of unemotional objectivity in viewing this event. *331 Piero DUCAL PORTRAITS 1470 Panel, Uffizi, Florence. The Duke of Urbino dedicated these portraits to his deceased wife, Battista from Milan. These free-standing panels are on one side of the altar commemorating her. This is one of the first Florentine portraits of the Renaissance period. Piero depicts the local landscape in detail, the Duke's battle-scarred face turned away from us. #POLLAIUOLO 1432-98 Pollaiuolo was Florentine Quattrocento artist in the late 15th Century. He was a painter, silversmith and sculptor. He explored the new ideas of the dynamics of muscular energy, action, movement, in sculptural figures, leading directly to the art of Michelangelo. *332 Pollaiuolo ST SEBASTIAN 1475 Panel, National Gallery, London. St Sebastian's martyrdom by being shot with arrows was a popular subject both for religious contemplation and for artistic composition. Note here the Arno valley of Florence spread out in the background; the pyramid of archers creating a sense of dynamism in space rather than the static constructions of the past. Pollaiuolo also directs our attention to the structure of muscles. Anatomical studies became very important for artists wishing to depict nature accurately. *333 Pollaiuolo HERCULES AND ANTAEUS 1470 Bronze, Bargello, Florence. A Greek legend tells of the hero, Hercules, wrestling Antaeus as part of his 12 labours. This dynamic modelling of a battle is typical of the trend in art of the 1470s towards the scientific understanding of anatomy, muscular structure, and energy. The results of the research by Pollaiuolo and Verrochio led to the monumental dynamic idealism by painters of the High Renaissance. #VERROCHIO 1435-88 Verrochio was a leading Florentine Quattrocento sculptor, painter, and metal-worker, and the teacher of Leonardo da Vinci. He is known best as the last great Quattrocento sculptor, his work completing the developments of the century. Verrochio masters the feel of light over polished surfaces, and examines realistic movement. *334 Verrochio DOUBTING THOMAS 1470 Bronze, Orsanmichele, Florence. In this Gospel story the Apostle Thomas who was absent when Christ appeared to the other apostles, doubted Jesus' resurrection. Here his disbelief is shattered when Christ appears and asks him to touch his wounds. This is one of the 30 statues planned for the Orsanmichele. Verrochio here builds on Donatello's techniques, but examines more directly the nature of light on surfaces. The dramatic point of the scene is captured vividly and the realism of the scene is brought out strongly by Verrochio's placing of Thomas' foot outside the niche. The viewer follows the clear precise lines through Thomas to his hands, the wound and then Christ. *335 Verrochio DOUBTING THOMAS (Detail) 1470 Bronze, Orsanmichele, Florence. In this Gospel story the Apostle Thomas who was absent when Christ appeared to the other apostles, doubted Jesus' resurrection. Here his disbelief is shattered when Christ appears to him and asks him to touch his wounds. The viewer here is forced to see the dramatic point of the story: the wound in Christ's side. *336 Verrochio BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI 1490 Bronze, Venice. Colleoni was one of those military adventurer mercenaries of Renaissance Italy. He requested this work in celebration of a victory. This massive bronze work captures the character of the condottiere with his proud martial face, and the disdainful shoulder. The horse struts with similar pride. Verrochio examines the play of light over dynamic muscular surfaces. *337 Verrochio BARTOLOMEO COLLEONI 1490 Bronze, Venice. Colleoni was one of those military adventurer mercenaries of Renaissance Italy. He requested this work in celebration of his victory. This face is unforgettable: the pride, power and military might of the subject is clearly created. Da Vinci made a drawing of this same man, a force to be reckoned with. This work makes a good comparison with Donatello's Gattamelata. #GHIRLANDAIO 1449-94 Ghirlandaio was the most popular Quattrocento painter in Florence in the 1490s, with a huge workshop. He secured numerous commissions for his prosaic studies, his mastery of total compositional designs and his gentle narratives. Michelangelo was his apprentice. Ghirlandaio's works, with those of Botticelli, reveal the height of the hard-edged, clear formal style of the Quattrocento. *338 Ghirlandaio OLD MAN WITH CHILD 1480 Panel, Louvre, Paris. This work reveals honest detail, and respect for the subject. The gentle relationship between the old and young is clearly established. Note also the brilliant use of colour and clarity, of the late Quattrocento. *339 Ghirlandaio VISITATION 1491 Oil, Louvre, Paris. This is a scene from the Biblical story of where Elizabeth carrying John visits Mary carrying Jesus. The similarity of late Quattrocento Botticelli and Ghirlandaio's works is striking. Italy was experiencing a revival in religious belief following the preachings of Savonarola, and the subsequent Bonfire of the Vanities where rich Florentines burnt their pagan vanities. The emotive but gentle lineal expressiveness hints at the influences of Flemish and Gothic art. It is worth noting that at the same time Da Vinci was making his first moves at totally breaking away from this hard-edged art, but retaining the gentle expressiveness. #BOTTICELLI 1445-1510 Botticelli was trained in de Medici's Academy of Art in Quattrocento Florence, but painted right through the 1490s till the High Renaissance period. His earlier art is important as the culmination of the hard-edged Quattrocento style, although his later works are outside of the growing movement towards da Vinci and Raphael's High Renaissance style. Mastery of line is his main strength, influenced by the growing contact with Flemish art in Italy in the late-15th Century, and the strength of Gothic style still present in art. Botticelli was part of the intelligentsia of the Academy in the 1480s exploring the new Pagan mythology sweeping Italy. A problem at the time was how to include Pagan myths and models into Christian art. Botticelli translates Pagan images into allegorical representations of Virtues and Vices. He became very popular in the Pre-Raphaelite movement in 19th Century Victorian England because of a sense of romantic fantasy in his work. *340 Botticelli BIRTH OF VENUS 1482 Canvas, Uffizi, Florence. In Classical mythology, Venus was born out of the seed spread in the sea by Saturn, coming to earth on a shell borne by the gods. This Christianized, modest Venus suggests a poetic, languorous mood, creating a dream-like state in contrast to the Roman goddess of fertility. Botticelli's control of line is revealed in the off-centre Venus, the flowing hair, and the drapery, all carefully interrelated. *341 Botticelli PRIMAVERA 1482 Panel, Uffizi, Florence. Spring is here represented as an allegory of Pagan spirits. The Three Fates in mythology become three graces. Flora as Spring; Zephyr as the wind; Mercury, the lightness of spring. Note the dream-like, languorous mood created by weightless, almost transparent figures; and the clear lineal composition, features of Botticelli's early artistic style. *342 Botticelli ADORATION OF THE MAGI Panel, Uffizi, Florence. This work was originally commissioned by the Medici family for an altarpiece at St M. Novella. The Medici's patron were the Magi and works such as this took part in processions at Corpus Christi Day. Note the equality of sharpness, the Flemish-like detail, and mastery in the handling of space. This work has a surreal quality unique to Botticelli. #ANTONELLO 1430-79 Antonello from Messina in southern Italy was a Quattrocento painter trained in Northern Europe, in the Flemish skills of using oil glazes. His bringing to Italy of the oil-painting techniques was very important to the development of Florentine and Venetian art, Antonello taking his skills to Venice and influencing the Bellini family. By the end of the century, oil took over from tempera for small-sized works. Oil enabled artists to create richer detail and atmospheric depth. *343 Antonello ST JEROME 1455 Oil, National Gallery, London. St Jerome traditionally was seen as a scholar translating the Bible from Greek into Latin. There is a strong similarity to Northern art in the detailed oil painting effects but Antonello uses the Renaissance organization of space learnt in Florence. Note the diffused light and shade created by oil glazes, unequalled by the fresco art at the time. *344 Antonello THE VIRGIN 1450 Oil, Alte Pinakotheka, Munich. This portrait view of the Virgin is one of the first in Italy. Antonello was influenced by Flemish portraiture and by the Flemish use of oil painting. Antonello captures the grace of a young woman, tranquil and tender but disturbed by the growing importance of the coming Annunciation yet to take place. Her neck muscles stand out tensely, and her arms cover her protectively, an excellent example of observed behaviour. #MANTEGNA 1431-1506 Mantegna was a very important North Italian Quattrocento painter in his own right as well as creating the link between the Florentine revolution and Venice in the 1470s. Influenced by Donatello and Albertian ideas, he founded a society of scholars to research Classical art of Greece and Rome. Mantegna worked in Verona, Padua and Mantua and married into the famous Bellini family of artists in Venice, handing on the flame of Renaissance artistic ideas. Note Mantegna's development of unusual low-level perspective viewpoints, featuring extreme foreshortening and illusionistic devices to render three-dimensional reality. His studies of Classical sculpture influenced his sculptural chiselled brushstrokes, and clearly defined shapes. He is very attentive to detail, and uses brilliant colours. Mantegna draws attention to the architectural features of Ancient Rome, and his scientific research focusses on the proper Classical proportions in his figures. *345 Mantegna ENTHRONED MADONNA 1459 Fresco, St Zeno, Verona. This magnificent Enthroned Madonna for the St Zeno altarpiece is a perfect example of Mantegna's interest in illusionistic effects. The outside frames are painted to appear substantial, interior space is fully created by using the Albertian rules of perspective, and the viewer is placed at a low angle looking up into the scene. The figures are sculpted with sharp precision. *346 Mantegna AGONY IN THE GARDEN 1460 Panel, National Gallery, London. Christ is in the Garden of Gethsemene, the Apostles asleep, and in the distance come the soldiers to arrest him. Above an array of angels fly to give Christ comfort. Here Mantegna creates clearly defined figures in a sharply detailed landscape of a contemporary setting. Well-defined colours reveal the influence of the Venetian style. Note also the skill in foreshortening techniques in depicting the sleeping Apostles and the praying Christ at a sharp angle. *347 Mantegna DEAD CHRIST 1450 Canvas, Brera Gallery, Milan. This experiment in extreme foreshortening is a favourite study by painters learning foreshortening techniques. *348 Mantegna BRIDAL CHAMBER 1470 Fresco, Ducal Palace, Mantua. Mantegna was given task of decorating Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua's chambers. In the bridal suite, he painted the ceiling using the new Albertian perspective methods. Mantegna was absorbed by problems of this kind; the ceiling is the first painted using this method. *350 Mantegna PARNASSUS 1497 Panel, Louvre, Paris. Parnassus was the mountain which the Ancient Greeks believed was the source of learning and the arts. Apollo and the Muses, the patrons of the arts were believed to dwell here, poets and writers calling on their help for inspiration. In this work, Mars and Venus instead reign here, the Muses dance below, Mercury on the right with Pegasus and Apollo plays his lyre on the left. #BELLINI 1430-1516 The Bellini family of painters and craftsmen were founders of the Venetian Quattrocento Renaissance, painting from 1470s right through into High Renaissance Venice. Giovanni Bellini was a great influence on his apprentice, Giorgione, and Titian. His style is dominated by the use of strong colour and light. Shape is made with colour and colour is integrated into the whole composition. Giovanni is the first of many Venetian painters who capture a poetic mood in their art. Giovanni Bellini combines poetic mood with a profound religious passion. *351 Bellini PIETA 1468 Oil, Brera Gallery, Milan. The Virgin and St John hold the dead body of Christ, a traditional theme in Christian art. Note the strong use of colour and clear compositional lines. Bellini's piety is revealed strongly. He was the most popular painter of his time and place because of his ability to capture religious moods. *352 Bellini TRANSFIGURATION 1490 Oil, Museo di Capodimonte, Naples. Christ in glory appears to Peter, James and John on Mt Tabor. Bellini departs from tradition by omitting Mt Tabor and depicting instead a whole landscape of the Alps to represent the mountain. Note how landscape is a feature, a natural scene in a supernatural event, typical of Venetian art, and the sharpness of colour and form. White is rarely used in art, but here it is effective in drawing attention to the subject. Bellini feels no need to include religious symbols, felt necessary in works of this kind. *353 Bellini ENTHRONED MADONNA 1505 Oil, S.Zaccaria, Venice. By 1505, Bellini's style has developed into that of monumental High Renaissance art. This fully-developed statement reveals the majestic idealization of the subject matter common to High Renaissance art. Note the low view-point, and the sense of breadth of space.