The document provides an overview of developments in Italian Renaissance art and architecture during the 15th century. It discusses how art was influenced by classical styles and humanism, with an emphasis on realistic perspective in paintings and nude figures. Important architects like Brunelleschi and Alberti designed buildings using mathematics, symmetry, and light-filled spaces. Painters like Masaccio and del Castagno created frescoes applying linear perspective and individualized figures.

1. Italian Renaissance: 15th
Century
1400-1500
In Italian city-states: Ferrara, Florence, Mantua, Naples, Rome, Venice, etc.

3. So what’s up with the “Early Renaissance”
in Italy in the 15th century?
• The fine arts are greatly influenced by CLASSICAL
styles in literature, history, philosophy, art,
architecture, etc.
• HUMANISM emerges – stresses secular alongside
religious
• LINEAR PERSPECTIVE is realized – artists create
realistic paintings (look 3-D)
• Best understanding of human anatomy we’ve seen
so far, large-scale nude sculpture
• Architecture emphasizes open light spaces,
symmetry, and balance

4. Soooooo…. What’s going on in terms of history?
• Italian city-states are controlled by ruling
families who dominate politics. They were
ALSO big spenders when it came to the arts.
They loved cutting-edge movements in art
and architecture. They were hip! They
embellished their palaces with innovative
paintings (Uccello, Boticelli….more about
these guys in a bit)
• The ruling families commissioned architecture
– always trying to outdo each other!

5. • HUMANISM comes about – less attention on religious
themes, more concerned with secular subjects (finally!!!)
• Artists encouraged to explore Italy’s pagan past as it related
to modern life.
• European explorers
venture out = knowledge!
• Growth/appreciation
of the sciences and arts
ITALY in the 15th
century

6. What’s up with patrons
in Italy in the 15th century?
• Powerful families have private chapels dedicated to
them in their local churches – artists paint murals in
these chapels – enhances the spirituality of the
place
• Many paintings in the Early Renaissance are
identified as being from “patron’s chapels”
• Patron’s influence is seen in many ways: how much
gold is on an altarpiece? Which family member gets
the prime spot in a painting? Sometimes they’re
more prominent in paintings than the holy figures!
Humanism I guess!?

7. INNOVATIONS!

8. • Architecture is taken to new heights (literally!) in the
building of the dome for FLORENCE CATHEDRAL
• Designed by Brunelleschi – used totally new technique
• Older domes didn’t have as much vertical thrust. This one is
impressive in the city skyline!

9. • Dome is OGIVAL arch shape
• Brunelleschi invented a technique of putting one
dome inside another – maximizes strength and
stability

10. LANTERN at top
anchors the domes
in place

11. • Architecture: order, clarity, and light
• Darkness and mystery is now barbaric! What were those Romanesque
and Gothic people thinking?
• Buildings now have much wider window spaces, limited stained glass,
and vivid wall paintings

12. • Mathematics important in engineering these buildings!
• Geometric designs stressed
• Harmony achieved by using ideal proportions (Vitruvius
proclaims these in an architectural treatise)
San Lorenzo
(more about this
later)

13. • Ratios, proportions, various elements, etc. express
humanistic ideals
• Often have unvaulted naves with coffered ceilings (like early
Christian!)
San Lorenzo
(more about this
later)

14. Proportions galore!
• Crossing is 2X the nave
• Nave is 2X the side
aisles
• Side aisles 2X the side
chapels

15. • Arches and columns take up 2/3 of the height of the nave
• Logical expression even shows in floor patterns. Here in San
Lorenzo, the white and gray marble lines demarcate the
spaces
1/3
2/3

16. • Palaces in Florence have dominating facades that rise three stories
from street level, very austere looking
• First floor = public areas with business transactions, very rusticated
(rough cut stones), heavily articulated stone
• Second floor = much lighter, strong horizontal marking the ceiling of
one story and the floor of another
• Third floor = even more lightness, less articulation of stone, heavy
cornice caps off the roof (like Roman temples)
• This is the PALAZZO MEDICI-RICCARDI. Let’s see the inside...

17. Family’s private quarters is on second floor

18. Time to look at 15th century Italian
architecture in more detail…

19. Filippo Brunelleschi DOME OF FLORENCE CATHEDRAL
(SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE)
1420-1436; lantern completed 1471
• Raised on a drum to increase height, meant to be experienced from inside and
outside
• Built without centering devices – architectural accomplishment of the time!
• Double dome, two shells – light exterior shell, heavy interior dome
• Fun walkway circling between two domes allows for maintenance and a darn good
workout!
• Lantern at top anchors the ribs of the dome in place

21. This is what it looks
like when you’re
climbing the inside
of Brunelleschi’s
dome

22. SAN LORENZO, by Filippo Brunelleschi,
1421-1469, Florence, Italy

23. •Look at the ceiling- similar to Early Christian wooden type
•Rectangular floor grids define the spaces
•Ratios galore: nave = two aisles, aisles = two side chapels
•Interior is cool and harmonious, sparse decoration
•Light and airy, not much stained glass

24. PLAN OF CHURCH OF SAN LORENZO, FLORENCE

27. PAZZI CHAPEL, by Filippo Brunelleschi
designed in 1423, Florence, Italy

28. •Rectangular chapel attached to church of Santa Croce
in Florence

29. •Two barrel vaults
on interior
•Small dome over
crossing
•Restrained sense
of color
•Muted tones
•Glazed terra-cotta
tiles

30. PALAZZO MEDICI-RICCARDI
by Michelozzo, 1444, Florence, Italy
•Remember the differences between the three floors?
•Interior courtyard allows light into interior rooms
•Expresses civic pride and political power of Medici family
•Very symmetrical

31. PALAZZO RUCELLAI, by Leon Battista
1452-1470, Florence, Italy

32. •Three separate floors Tuscan, Alberti (ionic-ish), Corinthian
•Separated by clear
“stringcourse”
•Pilasters divide space
into squarish shapes
•Strong cornice @ top
•Not rustic like
Michelozzo’s palazzo
•Masonry joints are
beveled
•Different style pilasters
•Friezes have Rucellai
family symbols –
billowing sails

33. SANT’ ANDREA
by Leon
Battista Alberti
1470
Mantua, Italy

34. •Do you see the
Roman triumphal
arch and ancient
temple façade
•Huge pilasters on
either side of arch
•Pilasters support
pediment
•First Roman
triumphal arch in
Christian architecture

35. •Alberti wanted
identical
width/height on
façade
•Piazza in front of
church is small, so
Alberti made a small
façade
•Large barrel vault
canopy hangs over
west façade – shields
nave window from
sun

36. •Interior has huge
barrel vault and no
side aisles
•Coffered ceiling
(reminds us of
Pantheon and Early
Christian churches)

37. What’s up with PAINTING in 15th century Italy?
•Biggest innovation? LINEAR PERSPECTIVE! –
attributed to Filippo Brunelleschi
•Brunelleschi developed linear perspective while
drawing the Florence Cathedral Baptistery
•Artists started showing objects, scenery, and people
IN PROPORTION to one another (gasp!) – unlike
Medieval art (where people dominate composition)
•Artists exploit linear perspective – create different
artistic effects (intentionally fooled the viewer’s eye)
•TROMP L’OEIL TECHNIQUE: “trick the eye”
•Perspective even used in sculpture (carved at
different depths to create a sense of space)

38. What are we going to see in 15th Century Italian paintings?
•Religious scenes (what a surprise!) – in the
early 15th century
•Portraits, mythological scenes, and other
depictions of humanist ideals and
aspirations – in the later 15th century
•Exploration of the nude (especially male)
•Scenes in correct perspective!

39. The first signs of One Point Perspective
Brunelleschi, was
the first architect to
use mathematical
perspective in creating
designs for buildings
during the early
Renaissance.

40. Before one point perspective
was introduced, artists
had to guess where the lines of
buildings would go in their
drawings. These drawings
tended to look skewed
and awkward.

41. BEFORE PERSPECTIVE
AFTER PERSPECTIVE

42. Let’s play Brunelleschi!
Draw a horizon line across your paper
Put the vanishing point on the horizon
line

43. Draw a square or rectangle on the left
side of your paper below the horizon line

44. Create the orthogonal lines by
connecting three corners of your square
or rectangle to the vanishing point

45. Draw a horizontal line to create the top
of your form

46. Draw a vertical line to create the side of
your form

47. Erase your remaining orthogonal lines
HOORAY, you mastered one-point perspective!

48. EXPERIMENT!
HAVE FUN BEING CREATIVE!

49.  Can you locate the
Horizon Line?
 How did you determine
this?
 Can you find the
vanishing point in this
picture?

51. Can you locate the vanishing point?

52. And just when you thought the art
lesson was over…

53. 2-point perspective!

62. HOORAY, Brunelleschi is so proud of you!

63. Time for some paintings!

64. Adoration
of the Magi
by: Gentile
da Fabriano
1423
Tempera on
panel,
Florence

65. •Patrons: The Strozzi family - Figures in fancy dress – “courtly”
outing to see baby Jesus at the Epiphany – shows Strozzi $$$

66. •Exotic animals reflect private zoos of Renaissance princes
•Gold leaf used in frame and in painting (fancy!)

69. •Kings are shown at various ages – symbolizes the ages of
man

70. •Look at all that activity at the horizon line!
•Animals seen at different angles – naturalism!

71. Let’s take a closer look at this…

72. IDENTIFY COMPLETELY: (e.g. artist, title, date, medium, size,
etc.)

73. STYLISTIC PERIOD or CULTURE: (When/Where – This is
different from merely knowing the date.)

74. SUBJECT/ICONOGRAPHY: (What is the idea/concept? Where and when
is this taking place? Who or what is being represented here?)

75. STYLE/TECHNIQUE: (Analyze the ways in which the artists handle form,
color, shape texture, lines, and light. What kinds of material does the
artist use? How does the artist apply technique and sense of
composition? In what ways do scale and point of view come into play?
Analyze the artist’s use of design principles.)

76. SIGNIFICANCE/FUNCTION/PURPOSE: (How does the work convey
social, political, popular or religious values of that culture? What is the
unique vision of the artist or patron? What is the purpose of the work
and where is its original and intended setting?)

77. Holy Trinity
by: Masaccio
1427
Fresco in Santa Maria
Novella
Florence, Italy

78. •Patrons: The Lenzi family (created
as a tombstone for the family)
•Christ appears in two roles- as the
Crucified Christ and as the second
person of the Holy Trinity
•God (his father) supports him,
and the dove of the Holy Spirit is
between the two of them
•Mary and Saint John flank Christ –
they are typically in crucifixion
scenes

79. Mary

80. Saint
John

81. There’s the
Holy Spirit
(as a dove, the
traditional symbol)

82. •Triangular figural composition
dominated by Brunelleschiinspired architecture

84. •The patrons (Lenzi family) kneel
outside the arch
•Faces show realism
•Vanishing point at the foot of the
cross
•Skeleton below painting
symbolizes death – inscription
reads “I once was what you are;
and what I am you will become.”

86. How it looks in
person
Check it out in
Florence!

87. Tribute Money, by Masaccio
1425, fresco in Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence

88. Shows a moment from the New Testament when Jesus is
asked if he should pay tribute to the civil authorities (tax
collectors).
Jesus tells Peter he should hook a fish from the sea and
remove a coin from its mouth – this will more than pay the
tax collectors (Jesus didn’t like tax collectors)

89. One big narrative:
- Peter gets money from the fish (left)
- Jesus confronts the tax collector (who is a brute!)
- Peter pays tax collector (right)
- Narrative moves from center, to left, to right

90. Give me your
tax money!

91. Peter,
go get a
fish!

92. Wow, I found
a fish with
money in its
mouth!

93. Here’s your
stupid tax
money, now
scram!
Thank you,
maybe I’ll use it
to buy some
pants.

94. •Modern debate over taxation to support a war
against Milan – this painting might be related to that
•Check out the perspective (linear and atmospheric)
•Figures are dominant and cast shadows on ground

95. Expulsion from the
Garden of Eden
by Masaccio
1425, fresco in Santa
Maria del Carmine,
Florence

96. •Bold use of nude forms (so much
for all that modesty we saw up
until now!
•Intense expressions: Adam hides
his face in shame, Eve hides her
body in shame
•Bleak background = desolation
outside the Garden of Eden
•Check out how the angel is
foreshortened. Good job,
Masaccio!

97. Poor Adam and Eve!

99. Before and after
restoration.
What a cool job!

100. Here it is in
context in Santa
Maria del
Carmine

101. Battle of San Romano, by Paolo Uccello
1455, tempera on wood, check it out at the National Gallery
in London!

102. •Battle between Florence and Siena in 1432
•One of three paintings in Lorenzo de’ Medici’s bedroom
•Niccolo da Tolentino (on white horse) leads the charge!

103. •Looks more like a ceremony than a battle. Horses look like
toys!
•Strong use of perspective and vanishing points and orthogonals in
figures and weapons

107. Annunciation, by Fra Angelico, 1438-1447, fresco

108. Mary
What’s
up,
Gabriel?

109. Mary, I’ve got
some
interesting
news!
The Angel
Gabriel

110. •Painted at the
top of the
stairs of the
dormitory
entrance –
architecture of
painting
reflects the
architecture of
the monastery
it was painted
in

111. •Serene and religious
•Humility of figures
•Solid forms – Giotto-like
•Smoothly modeled figures with extreme delicacy

112. •Spare environment, focus is on the figures’ gestures
and simple setting
•Corinthian capitals
•Brunelleschi-like arches

113. The Last Supper, by Andrea del Castagno
1447, fresco, in Sant’ Apollonia, Florence

114. •Painted for a convent of cloistered nuns
•Religious scene of Christ’s last supper with the
Apostles – this was in the convent’s dining hall
•Red brick in painting matches red brick tiles in the
convent (not shown)

115. •Figures are individualized, but little communication
between them
•Everything is in sharp focus with precise edges

116. •Judas is on “our” side of the table, apart from the
others to symbolize his (and our) guilt. He is eating
before Christ has blessed the food (how rude!)
•Marble pattern on wall behind his head symbolizes
lightning pointing to his head (he is the betrayer!)

118. Christ’s hand is
blessing the food
while Judas’s
hand already has
bread in it

121. •Six marble panels on left and back walls, four panels
and two windows on right wall (This implies that the
room is square, but does it look square to you?!)
•2:1 ratio of loops on stringcourse on back wall –
implies the room is rectangular. Mixed messages!!

122. Battle of Ten Naked Men (Battle of the Nudes),
by Antonio del Pollaiuolo, 1465-1470, engraving

123. •Unknown subject matter
– maybe an artist’s study of the nude in action?

124. •Dense vegetation – contrasts with figures and
“pushes” them forward
•Imprecise anatomy, but expressive flexed muscles
and active poses
•Figures seem to be in mirroring positions

125. Resurrection
By Piero della
Francesca
1463
Fresco in the
Palazzo
Comunale (city
hall)
San Sepolcro,
Italy

126. •Pale colors
•Flat background
•Man in the
center – the
height of drama
•Geometric
shapes inspired
by Uccello’s
work
•Christ is either
stepping out of
his tomb or has
his foot on its lid

127. •Christ is shown
as an enormous
figure who
conquers all
•Holds a
labarum –
symbol of
victory over
death
•Landscape
might symbolize
death and new
life (live
tree/dead tree)

128. •Morality in
landscape: left is
bare area with
strong and mature
trees = the road
uphill in life is
difficult and steep
but ultimately
rewarding
•Right side is the
easy/pretty way –
path leads to a
country pleasure
villa (trees look
less mature
though)

132. Room of the Newlyweds, by Andrea Mantegna,
1465-1471, fresco in Ducal Palace, Mantua

133. •Fresco in a room that was used as a bedroom and
reception room (who would mix those purposes?)

134. •Cube-shaped room “domed” with a painted central
panel (there’s no dome, it’s all an illusion!)

135. •Oculus contains two groups of women leaning over a
balustrade around an opening to the sky – some look
down at the viewer!

136. •Crazy cool foreshortening! Angels seen from front
and back. They rest their feet on painted ledges.
Bird posed
overhead is a
little unsettling
So is the flower
pot! It’s only
supported by
that wooden
stick. Look out!

137. Just for ha ha’s, here’s the rest of the room

138. Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to Saint Peter
by Pietro Perugino
1482, fresco, in the Sistine Chapel in Rome (go see it!)

140. The Sistine Chapel
It’s in here….somewhere

141. There it is!

142. •Christ delivers the keys of his earthly kingdom to St. Peter
•The Popes loved this theme! They saw themselves as
descendants of St. Peter (who started the Christian church)

143. •Left background: tribute money (not that again!)
•Right background: stoning of Christ
•Vast piazza in one-point perspective

144. •Arch of Constantine-like structures in background
•Central basilica looks like something Brunelleschi and Alberti
would do (Jesus in modern setting. That’s like Jesus in Time Square today!)

146. •Open space around keys – draws emphasis on them
•Figures in contrapposto, heads tilted, knees bent
•Many contemporary faces in the crowd (patrons?)

148. Birth of Venus, by Sandro Botticelli
1485, tempera on canvas (canvas!), Florence

149. What the heck is going on here?

150. •Venus emerges (fully grown) from the sea foam with a
dreamy, far away look in her eyes
•Roses are scattered before her (roses were created at the
same time as Venus – thorns = love can be painful)

152. According to Plato, Venus was an earthly goddess of human
physical love, and a heavenly goddess who inspires
intellectual love
Physical beauty allows the mind to better understand spiritual
beauty. Therefore, looking at Venus (who is beautiful) lifts our
minds towards God (beautiful, divine love)

154. •Left: Zephyr (west wind) and Chloris (a nymph)
•Right: a handmaiden rushes to clothe Venus
•Figures are floating (not anchored on ground)
•Crisply drawn figures, many pale colors

155. •The landscape is flat and unrealistic (what the heck,
Botticelli?!)
•Simple v-shaped waves
•Commissioned by the Medici family

156. Spring (La Primavera), by Sando Botticelli
1482, tempera on wood, check it out in Florence!

157. •Left: Mercury holding a caduceus up to the air to dispel
storm clouds
•Right: a Zephyr reaches out for the nymph Chloris, who
transforms into the richly dressed Flora, goddess of Spring

158. •Left: Mercury holding a caduceus up to the air to dispel
storm clouds
•Right: a Zephyr reaches out for the nymph Chloris, who
transforms into the richly dressed Flora, goddess of Spring

160. •Three Graces dance together – embodiment of the beauty
Venus creates (loose, long hair a symbol of virginity)
•Center: Venus (goddess of love and marriage) wears a bridal
wreath on her head. Cupid, her son, is above her
Cupid points his bow and
arrow at the three graces

161. •Narrow stage setting – figures close to the viewer
•May have been painted to celebrate a Medici wedding
(fertility symbols –fruit, flowers, spring, Venus, Cupid)

162. •Large oranges may refer to
Medici coat-of-arms

163. Birth of the Virgin, by Domenico Ghirlandaio
1485-1490, fresco in Santa Maria Novella, Florence

164. •Religious scene set in a Florentine home. This was a MODERN setting.
•St. Anne (Mary’s mother) reclines on the right in her palace room
(fancy decorations)
•Midwives to St. Anne following Mary’s birth

165. •Daughter of patron, Giovanni Tornabuoni, is in the center = high status
in Florentine society
•Upper left corner – story of Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anna, meeting

166. •Remember that???

167. Damned
Cast into
Hell
By: Luca
Signorelli
1499-1504
Fresco
Orvieto
Cathedral
Orvieto, Italy

168. •End of the world
scene, very common in
late 15th century
•Heaven is guarded by
armored angles in
upper right
•Devils carry off the
damned
•This fresco was made to go against the ideas of some
Christian heretics who questioned the existence of a distinct
place called heaven and a distinct place called hell, and
purgatory (between heaven and hell….like a waiting room)

169. •Impenetrable mass
of human bodies in
a confused tangle of
torment
•Many figures die by
strangulation
•Largest Renaissance
treatment of human
nudes to date

174. •Devils are strangely
colored in a lurid way
(disgusting) –
symbolizes their evil

175. Enough of this madness, let’s see some sculpture!
•Interest in HUMANISM and rebirth of Classical
sculpture peaks an interest in Greek and Roman
sculptures
•Medieval artists thought nudes were pagan!
•15th century Italian sculptors glorified the
nude, like the ancients
•Revival of life-size nude sculpture
•Increased study of human anatomy
•Heroic bodies in stone and bronze

176. Let’s look at some
sculpture made for
the Florence
Cathedral
Baptistery…

177. Sacrifice of
Isaac
By Lorenzo
Ghiberti
1401-1403
Gilt bronze
Florence
It’s in the Bargello
Museum.
A copy was made
for the baptistery

178. •Made for a
competition to
do a set of
bronze doors
for Florence
Cathedral’s
Baptistery. This
one (Ghiberti’s)
won!
Brunelleschi’s
lost (we’ll see
that in a
minute) 

179. •God asks
Abraham to
prove his love
by sacrificing his
son Isaac
•Abraham is
about to kill
Isaac when an
angel appears
and reveals it’s
just God testing
Abraham – kill a
ram instead. No
hard feelings!

180. •Gothic quatrefoil
pattern – had to
match Gothic
doors already on
the Baptistery
•Influence of
Gothic style –
gestures are
graceful, sway of
Abraham’s body –
may have
impressed the
judges

181. •Figures are
separated, which
helps with the
story’s clarity
•Look how
classical Isaac’s
body is!

182. Sacrifice of Isaac
By: Filippo
Brunelleschi
1401-1403
Bronze
Also at the
Bargello
Museum in
Florence

183. Ghiberti
(big winner)
Brunelleschi
(big loser)

184. •Dense group
•Great drama
•Dramatic
tension and rigor
•Figures are
heavy looking
•Angel makes it
just in time!
Height of
suspense!
•Figures spill
over the edges
of the quatrefoil

185. Gates of Paradise
By: Lorenzo Ghiberti
1425-1452
Gilt bronze
Florence

186. The doors on
the baptistery
are a copy
The original
doors are in a
museum in
Florence
Ah well, we
were still
happy to see
them!

187. •Ghiberti gets this
commission after he
wins the “Isaac
contest”
•Spatially more
sophisticated than
the panels on his
previous set of doors
•Figures have more
convincing volume
•10 Old Testament
scenes

188. Lean, elegant, elongated bodies and delicate lines
Moses

189. •Moses Receiving the Ten Commandments…. Perspective
through progressively reduced relief in the representation of
the tents on the left
•different expressions on the people’s faces

190. Fall of Jericho

191. David Beheading Goliath

192. Four Crowned Saints
By Nanni de Banco
1409-1417
Marble
Part of “Or San
Michele” in Florence

194. •Built for the guild of
wood and stone carvers
(Nanni was a member)
•Shows four Christian
sculptors who refused to
carve a statue of a pagan
god for the Roman
Emperor Diocletian and
were martyred because of
it

195. •Saints wear Roman togas
•Look at their heads –
they look like portraits of
Roman emperors
•They seem to be
discussing their fate
•Their feet step outside of
the arch into “our” space
•Pedestal carved in an arc
following the positioning
of the saints

196. •Figures are
independent of the
niche (not attached)
•Bottom scene has
view of sculptors at
work on their craft

197. David
By Donatello
1420’s – 60’s
Bronze
Check it out at the
Bargello Gallery in
Florence like Dr. Smo
did!

198. •First large-scale bronze nude since
antiquity! Hooray for Donatello!
•Exaggerated contrapposto of the
body
•Probably displayed in the Medici
Palace (not for public viewing)
•David looks a bit androgynous
•Stance is nonchalant
•He’s contemplating his victory
over Goliath (he has his foot on
Goliath’s head, eww)
•David’s head is lowered to show
humility (although I think he looks
pretty arrogant, but what do I know?)

199. •His hat has laurel leaves on it,
which means David was a poet
•Hat is a “foppish” Renaissance
design (a fop is a man who is
overly concerned with his
appearance)

200. •Israelites fighting Philistines
•Philistines’ best warrior is
Goliath – wants to fight Israelites’
best warrior in combat
•David, a young shepherd boy,
accepts the challenge. He refuses
armor, and goes out with his sling
to confront Goliath
•He hits Goliath in the head with
a stone, which knocks him down
•He grabs Goliath’s sword and
cuts off his head
•David’s special strength comes
from God – story of triumph of
good over evil

201. Mary Magdalene
By: Donatello
1430-1450
Wood
Florence

202. •Mary Magdalene was a
reformed sinner – followed
Christ
•Hair covers her body – she
wiped Christ’s feet with her hair
•Gilded hair indicates her
spirituality and former beauty
•Emaciated from 30 years of
penitence
•Face shows the torture of a
badly led life – ravages of time
on her body (poor Mary!)

203. •Gesture of prayer
expresses a world of
spirituality
•Eyes focused on an
inner reality and a
higher form of beauty
•We’re not sure where
this sculpture was
originally placed, or
for whom it was made

204. •Lips parted (mid-sentence?)
•Hands slightly apart
•Completely, introspectively
fixated on Christ –
meditating with an
awestruck expression at the
things he did for her
•Hallowed cheeks, missing
teeth, sunken eyes
•Donatello could have made
her a seductress, but he
chose to tell a story about
her repentance and
redeption

205. GATTAMELATA, by Donatello, 1445-1450, bronze
Padua, Italy

206. •Nickname for warrior, “Honeyed Cat” (Gatamelata)
•Commemorative monument for a cemetery

207. •Face reflects stern expression of a military
commander… Horse is spirited, resting one leg on a
ball. Rider is in control.

208. Marcus Aurelius from
Ancient Rome!
How is it similar/different?

209. Madonna and
Child
By Luca della
Robbia
1455-1460
Terra cotta
Part of Or San
Michele
Florence

210. •White glazed
terra-cotta of
flesh areas
simulates
marble (terracotta is a reddish
clay)
•Ceramic is
cheap – retains
color and polish
even outdoors

211. •Drapery has
rich colored
glazes – creates
luminous
ceramic forms
•Soft quality of
the ceramic adds
gentility to the
artistic
expression

212. Hercules and Antaeus
by Antonio del
Pollaiuolo
1475
Bronze
In the Bargello
Gallery, Florence

213. •Shows ancient myth:
Hercules must lift Antaeus
off the ground to defeat
him
•Antaeus gets his strength
from his mother, who is the
earth goddess
•Active composition with
limbs jutting out in various
directions
•Strong angles of the body
•Sinewy muscles, strong
figures

214. •Shows ancient myth:
Hercules must lift Antaeus
off the ground to defeat
him
•Antaeus gets his strength
from his mother, who is the
earth goddess
•Active composition with
limbs jutting out in various
directions
•Strong angles of the body
•Sinewy muscles, strong
figures

215. Colleoni
By Andrea del Verrocchio
1481-1496
Bronze
Venice

216. •Military leader
fought for the
Venetians
•Very powerful and
spirited animal
tamed by an
animated victorious
leader
•Dramatically alive
and forceful
appearance with
bulging, fiery eyes
and erect position in
saddle

217. VOCABULARY:
•BOTTEGA: the studio of an Italian artist
•HUMANISM: an intellectual movement in the
Renaissance that emphasized the secular alongside
the religious. Humanists were greatly attracted to
the achievements of the classical past, and stressed
the study of classical literature, history, philosophy,
and art
•LANTERN: a small structure with openings for light
that crowns a dome
•ORTHOGONAL: lines that appear to recede toward a
vanishing point in a painting with linear perspective

218. VOCABULARY:
•PILASTER: a flattened column attached to a wall
with a capital, a shaft, and a base
•QUATTROCENTO: the 1400’s (15th century) of Italian
art
•RUSTICATE: to deeply and roughly incise stones to
give a rough and rustic texture to its appearance
•STRINGCOURSE: a horizontal moulding
•TROMPE L’OEIL: French for “fools the eye” – a form
of painting that attempts to represent an object as
existing in three dimensions, and therefore
resembles the real thing