About
The Italian Renaissance (14th-17th century, 'rebirth' of classical antiquity) produced an extraordinary flowering of visual art, architecture, literature, and thought centered on Florence, Rome, and Venice. Key innovations: linear perspective (Brunelleschi, 1420s — giving paintings mathematical depth for the first time); oil paint (enabling richer color and finer detail); anatomy-based human figures (from Leonardo's dissections); patronage by wealthy merchants (Medici family) and the Church.
Major artists: Leonardo da Vinci (Mona Lisa, The Last Supper); Michelangelo (David, Sistine Chapel ceiling, Pietà); Raphael (School of Athens); Botticelli (Birth of Venus, Primavera); Titian; Caravaggio (light-dark 'chiaroscuro'). The Sistine Chapel ceiling (Michelangelo, 1508-12) — painted lying on his back on scaffolding — is arguably the greatest single artistic achievement in history. The Medici banking family's patronage made Florence the cultural capital of the Western world.
# Top 10 Renaissance artists
- 1Leonardo da Vinci
- 2Michelangelo
- 3Raphael
- 4Botticelli
- 5Titian
- 6Caravaggio
- 7Donatello
- 8Brunelleschi
- 9Jan van Eyck (Flemish)
- 10Albrecht Dürer (Northern Renaissance)
Fascinating Facts
- ◆Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling while standing, not lying on his back — he designed a curved scaffolding system that allowed him to work upright
- ◆The Mona Lisa has its own room in the Louvre with climate control — because moisture changes would damage the 500-year-old poplar wood panel it's painted on
- ◆Linear perspective (invented around 1420) was so revolutionary that artists who saw early perspective paintings reportedly reached out to touch objects that appeared three-dimensional
More in Culture4 related
9
Culture
Mona Lisa
The most famous painting in the world — Leonardo's masterpiece of mystery.
Interest89/100
45
Culture
The Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo's masterpiece — four years on a scaffold painting the story of creation.
Interest79/100
27
Culture
Shakespeare
The greatest writer in the English language — his words still shape our world.
Interest77/100
20
Culture
Beethoven's 9th Symphony
Composed while completely deaf, the Ninth is humanity's greatest musical achievement.
Interest75/100