Renaissance Artists
The Renaissance produced artists of extraordinary genius. These masters defined Western art.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
The "Universal Genius"
- Mona Lisa — the world's most famous portrait
- The Last Supper — revolutionary perspective and emotion
- Vitruvian Man — ideal human proportions
Beyond art: Leonardo designed flying machines, war devices, and anatomical studies. His notebooks contain 13,000 pages of observations.
His curiosity was limitless: "I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply."
Michelangelo (1475-1564)
Sculptor, painter, architect, poet
- David — the ideal male form, 17 feet tall
- Pietà — Mary holding dead Christ, carved at age 24
- Sistine Chapel ceiling — painted over 4 years, lying on scaffolding
- St. Peter's Basilica dome — designed at age 71
Michelangelo believed figures were trapped in stone, waiting to be freed.
Raphael (1483-1520)
The "Prince of Painters"
- School of Athens — philosophers in architectural splendor
- Sistine Madonna — influential depiction of the Virgin
- Vatican Stanze frescoes
Raphael synthesized Leonardo's sfumato and Michelangelo's dynamism into harmonious compositions. He died at 37, mourned across Italy.
Other Masters
Botticelli: Birth of Venus, Primavera — mythological beauty.
Titian: Venetian colorist; Assumption of the Virgin.
Dürer: Northern Renaissance; Self-Portrait, woodcuts.
Caravaggio: Dramatic chiaroscuro; Judith Beheading Holofernes.
Patronage
- Medici family in Florence
- Popes in Rome
- Dukes in Milan, Urbino, Ferrara
Without wealthy patrons, the Renaissance couldn't have happened.
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