ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
1400-1600

Theories & Interpretations

• Humanism, which emphasized the study of classical Greek and Roman texts, art, and philosophy. This was a reaction against old medieval focus

• Some artists viewed the creation of art-making as a sacred and divine, a way to show their religious devotion

• Patronage played a large tol as wealthy families, political leaders, and religious institutions commissioned many works

• Science and mathematics had a profound impact on the art as artists spent a lot of time creating studies of anatomy 

• Aside from Biblical themes, artists explored mythological themes from ancient Greek and Rome

Style Characteristics

• Sought to represent human form realistically and idealistically

• HEAVILY copied the GREEK CLASSICAL sculptural style with focus on contrapposto, 3/4 view, neutral and graceful expression, "perfect" beauty (was seen in both sculpture and paintings)

• LINEAR PERSPECTIVE - this was very popular as it created a sense of realistic depth. Placed central figure at the vanishing point within 1 point perspective compositions.

• Complex compositions with foreshortening, a technique in which objects or figures appear to recede in space

• Atmospheric Perspective was used to create the illusion of depth in landscapes by adjusting color and size of objects to create distance

• EMPHASIZED SYMMETRY AND BALANCE within the compositions, relying on linear perspective to draw your eyes to the center of the composition

• IMAGINED BACKGROUNDS - the backgrounds would appear realistic, but they were not of real-life environments, but rather through the imagination and artistic studies that the artist did over time.