Early Italian Renaissance

Part 1 of 2

The Renaissance, like most technical terms in art, has an ambiguous definition; for example, there is no full agreement as to when it began in painting, and no agreement as to when it ended. Certainly everyone agrees in general that the Renaissance began in Florence. The date is more questionable. The beginning of the Fifteenth century, 1401, is the commonly accepted date for the beginning of the period. However, if one includes Giotto, a Florentine artist from a century before (born about 1267; died 1336/37) then the date should be seventy-five years earlier.

The main thrust of the Renaissance was a shift of interest away from institutions and religion to man. This is not to say religious themes were not central to Renaissance art, the church paid for most of the art, so it had its say. But rather there was a new human experience added to the style of the art. It represents the birth of the humanist tradition. In this sense the Renaissance is still not over.

How one defines the end of the Renaissance is an interesting problem. Sometimes, 1520 is used as the end marker (at least in this museum). It is a time when distinct changes in artistic style set in, but no single alternative style emerged. That puts the length of the Italian Renaissance at 120 years; some scholars believe 300 years a more appropriate interval.

This gallery covers only the early Renaissance. The late or high Renaissance, which includes Leonardo and Michelangelo, is in the next gallery covering 1490 to 1520.

Characteristic of the Renaissance was a change in attitude toward the artist as a person. In the middle ages the artist was just a craftsman; in the Renaissance he became an important person, a creative element; some artists began to be respected like scholars and authors were. He was suddenly acceptable as company for the high class social crowd. This meant signing and taking responsibility for his work. This also gave rise to an artistic hubris, where the artist thinks he knows better what should go into a painting than the patron who is paying for it.

Christ on the Cross
1413
Church of Santa Maria Novella,
Florence, Italy

Christ on the Cross, shown above, was the last sculpture by Brunelleschi who then dedicated himself to architecture.

The design of the Florence Duomo, shown below, was not Brunelleschi's, but he did the engineering to create it.

Temptation of
Adam and Eve
about 1425
fresco on a pillar
near entrance of
Church of the Carmine,
Florence, Italy

The Expulsion
from Eden
about 1427
Fresco in
Sta. Maria del Carmine,
Florence, Italy

Early Italian Renaissance painter.

The Mannerist author/painter Georgio Vasari, in his lives of the famous painters, links his biography of Dominico Veneziano with that of Andrea del Castagno. In it he accuses Castagno of killing Veneziano out of jealously for the quality of Veneziano's art. In fact Veneziano lived about 4 years after Catagno died so that this particular murder seems highly unlikely.

If you are interested here is a pdf version of this chapter translated into English. The input of the text was automated and pretty unreliable; I reparagraphed the result according to my own tastes and tried to correct as many errors as I could. It still makes fun reading. — ed.

St John the Baptist
and St Francis
1454
fresco; 190×115 cm
Santa Croce
Florence, Italy

For a somewhat tainted biography of Castagno there is a chapter on him in Gerogio Vasari's Lives of the Painters. In the chapter Vasari accuses Castagno of killing Dominico Veneziano. This is unlikely since documentation shows that Veneziano died about four years after Castagno died.

If you are interested there is a pdf version of an English translation of this chapter of Vasari's book. The input of the text was automated and pretty unreliable; I reparagraphed the result according to my own tastes and tried to correct as many errors as I could. It still makes fun reading. — ed.