The Italian Renaissance began in a time of great cultural changes, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a formidable artistic movement and great achievements that surpassed that of other countries took place in Italy. The word Renaissance (Rinascimento in Italian) has an explicit meaning, representing the period's renewed interest in the culture of classical antiquity, following what was then labeled the "dark ages." These changes, although significant, were concentrated in the upper classes, and for the great majority of the population life changed little in relation to the Middle Ages.
It can be said that the Italian Renaissance bore its best fruits, for the following reasons:
- Because of Italy's close relations with ancient cultures, since Roman culture and part of Greek culture developed on its soil.
- For the help they gave to wealthy Italian gentlemen artists.
- For the discovery of some famous works of antiquity, such as the Laocoon and the Belvedere Apollo, notable classical-style sculptures that aroused the enthusiasm of Renaissance artists.
The Patrons
The name of Maecenas has been given to all the gentlemen who favored the development of art in several European countries, thus imitating the generous Maecenas, friend of the Emperor Augustus, who in ancient times helped the writers and poets of his generation. The main patrons of the Italian Renaissance were:
Popes Leo X, Julius II, and Paul III.
The Gonzagas of Mantua.
The sforza of Milan.
The Medici of Florence.
Main figures of the Italian Renaissance
The Schools
In Italian Renaissance painting and sculpture, four schools can be distinguished:
- The Florentine School , whose boss was Miguel Angel , and whose characteristic was the grandeur in the conception and execution of the works.
- The Roman School , whose boss was Rafael Sanzio , and whose characteristic was a very refined drawing and modeling technique.
- The Lombard School , led by Leonardo Da Vinci , which was distinguished by the beauty of the color.
- The Venetian School , whose most notable leaders were Paul Veronese, Titian and Tintoretto . His characteristic was a great serenity and stillness in all the characters and scenes.
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)
Among the great figures of the Italian Renaissance, Leonardo Da Vinci figures in the first row. He was a Florentine artist of genius qualities. He revealed himself as a painter, philosopher and man of science.
In painting he has left masterpieces that have inspired the admiration of the centuries. Currently one of the best attractions of the Louvre Museum in Paris is its famous Gioconda , a small portrait of a woman where Leonardo has achieved the wonder of reproducing, in a mysterious smile, the entire feminine psychology.
Another notable painting by Leonardo is the one titled The Supper , which reproduces the moment in which Christ, in the house of Lazarus in Bethany, during the last supper with his disciples, expresses his premonition that one of the group must be the traitor.
As a philosopher and poet, Leonardo composed verses and wrote a book of Thought . To him belongs this expression:"To love, it is necessary to understand."
As a man of science, Leonardo Da Vinci was an engineer and scientific pioneer. He presented plans for the irrigation of Lombardy, which were profitably employed. He drew a drawing to build a flying apparatus and an underwater ship.
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
This superior man possessed one of the most vigorous artistic temperaments of all time. The brilliant sparks of him make him be considered as a human specimen that honors the species. In everything he distinguished himself and in everything he left masterpieces.
He was a painter, sculptor, architect, and poet in the Italian Renaissance.
As a painter he made the wonderful frescoes of the Sistine Chapel , commissioned by Pope Julius II. Two of them stand out:The Creation of the World and the Final Judgment.
As a sculptor he had no rival in the Italian Renaissance. His brilliant marbles, some of them of gigantic proportions, are finished works of conception and technique. To adorn the tomb of Julius II he made his famous Moses, a colossal statue that represents the patriarch of the Hebrews with an extraordinary expressive force. His work La Pieta , reproduces Jesus dead in the arms of the Virgin Mary and is where his anatomical knowledge is most appreciated.
As an architect, rivaling Bramante who was the best architect of his time, he managed to beat him by drawing up plans for a dome for St. Peter's Basilica.
And as a poet he has left sonnets and songs of very delicate lyricism and very appreciable technique.
This artist died at the age of 89 and the Pope wanted to bury him in Saint Peter's Basilica, but the Florentines opposed it, because his remains should rest on the land where he was born.
Raphael Sanzio (1483-1525)
Also known by the name of Rafael de Urbino, because he was born in that place, he was a disciple of the painter Perugino and it was not long before he surpassed his teacher.
His paintings are distinguished by the proper arrangement of the characters and the perfection of drawing, color and shading.
Just as Michelangelo decorated the walls of the Sistine Chapel, Raphael was hired to decorate the walls of the Vatican.
For this reason, his most important works have a religious character and they are found in the temples. His two master paintings are the wall paintings called:"The School of Athens" (allegory on ancient philosophy), and "The Dispute of the Blessed Sacrament" (religious allegory).
But his fame as a painter is due to his unsurpassed Madonnas , which are virgins full of soft beauty.
The Minor Arts
Jewelry, cabinetmaking, goldsmithing, etc., are unjustly called minor arts, as if their beauty were not so excellent to compare with painting, sculpture and other arts.
During the Italian Renaissance, artistic concern meant that all objects for personal use were made with obvious good taste and aesthetic form. The hilts of the swords, the helmets, breastplates and shields, the crockery and the furniture of the houses had elegance and style, and, in certain cases, were true works of art.
In cabinetmaking and goldsmithing, Benvenutto Cellini stood out. (1500-1591), artist and outlaw who in memoirs of him he confesses to murdering eight people. His marvelous woodwork and his extremely delicate miniatures are unsurpassed models of the genre. It is considered that the best work that came out of his hands is the Perseus the winner of the Gorgons , carved in wood.
Great Writers
Nicolas Machiavelli
Renowned prose writer who wrote The Prince It was Nicholas Machiavelli. The Prince , is a work of a political nature, in which he gives advice to the rulers to lead a State correctly. To him belongs the famous thought "The end justifies the means", which has served many tyrants to commit cruelties, in the name of a good deed and which has given rise to Machiavellianism in politics, a hateful system that consists of reaching an end using by all means, no matter how detestable. Machiavelli also wrote a History of Florence .
Torcuato Tasso
He achieved celebrity in the Italian Renaissance with two works:an epic called "Jerusalem Liberated", in which he sings the glory of the First Crusade with Godofredo de Bouillón, and a novel called "Aminta", of a simple country nature.
Ludovico Ariosto
Author of a tragic-comic poem called “Orlando Furioso” , in which he recounts some incidents that occurred to Rolando, Charlemagne's nephew, in a humorous and at the same time tragic way.
Francisco Guicchardini
He wrote an interesting General History of Italy , taking as a model the style of the great historians of antiquity.
Pedro Aretino
Scandalous writer, who used to distribute loose sheets defaming Popes, Kings and Princes and who earned a lot of money. His erotic novels earned him excommunication. The elegant style of his famous Dialogues stands out. and for them he is considered a leading figure in the literature of the Italian Renaissance.