Artistic Innovations of Renaissance Florentine Pai Essay Example

consists of
some methods which later came to be classified as Renaissance, such as perspective and
curvy shapes(see fig.2), as well as some methods which are classified as Gothic, such as
gold paint, large, fancy frames and immense haloes around the heads of all religious
figures(see fig.3). Giottos best display of work is in the Arena chapel.
Another contributor to the development of perspective was Filippo Brunelleschi, a
Florentine architect. He discovered that painters could use mathematical laws in planning
their pictures. This shows an actual point of view through the technique of perspective.2
It was he who officially discovered the idea of the horizon line and the vanishing point.
He figured out these mathematical laws using a series of different experiments including the
mirror test. In the mirror test, he would hold up a mirror in front of a building and paint
directly on top of the buildings reflection in the mirror. He would then place another
mirror directly in front of the existing mirror with the painting on it. Since the reflection of
the painting looked the same as the existing building, he knew that his efforts had been
One of the final artists to perfect the style of perspective painting was Maso di Ser
Giovanni di Mone -- Masaccio. Since he lived during a later time period, his paintings
abandoned all use of Gothic style and had strictly Renaissance characteristics. He was one
of the first Renaissance painters to apply Brunelleschis laws to his paintings. When he used
these laws in his paintings he was able to create the illusion of space and distance. He was
one of the first artists able to create this illusion by using Giottos idea of making a system
of lines head

toward a certain focal point. His use of perspective can best be seen in his
work Trinity.(see fig.4) Masaccio is considered to be one of the greatest masters of
The second innovation which was developed by a Florentine painter during the
Renaissance was the use of life-like human forms. This painting technique uses curves to
create the illusion of a real person. It is a way of making a human form appear to be
three-dimensional and for its body to appear to have depth.

One of the creators of this new style was Gentile da Fabriano. He died in 1427
and his birth is thought to be around 1370. During the first and second decades of the
1400s the sculptors totally carried the banner for the new Renaissance style in the
figurative arts in Florence. The painters were largely occupied in making altarpieces for
Florentine churches and chapels, and an occasional fresco, but all in accordance with the
This is by no means to say that their works were without quality. Monaco
was a very gifted artist, and many of his minor contemporaries were also
sensitive to the formal coloristic possibilities of the style. But compared
with the four pioneer sculptors, the painters seemed standardized. They were
not concerned with the human and stylistic problems that inspired the sculptors,
and rather productions appear to belong to another era. In the midst of all of this
there emerged, around 1420, a Florentine master of extraordinary vivacity and
originality who, judging from the importance of his commissions, must have
This artist was Gentile da Fabriano. Fabrianos use of curves to show depth and shape in
human faces and bodies could be described using no other word than genius. His style was
masterful and he

successfully began the rebirth of classical painting for the Florentine
The next artist to continue the development of life-like human figures was Maso di
Cristofano Fini -- Masolino. He was born in 1383 in a small group of houses in the upper
Valderno. He died in 1447. Masolino followed Fabrianos ideas as well as Masaccios
style, but his paintings had a dreamier feel to them. They were lighter in color and in
feel. Also, they included less grim, serious subjects and focused more on the idealistic,
happy images of heaven and the saints. His paintings suggest an intelligent, receptive and
gifted painter, softer in style than Masaccio but far from annihilated by working alongside
him4 Masolinos paintings abandoned all aspects of Gothic painting since he painted
during the beginning of the Renaissance (the Quattrocento). His style is best represented in
the paintings in the Brancacci Chapel(see fig.5) where you can see the full human forms of
religious figures and saints Their bodies appear realistic looking because of his masterful
The third technique which was developed during the Renaissance was the use
realistic looking objects. The use of curves and shadowing to make objects, such as
clothing, appear more natural was used in order to make the objects in paintings look good
Giotto was also one of the founders of this technique. He was the first Italian
master to achieve universal importance. He is unquestionably one of the most powerful
artists who ever lived. He was so recognized by his contemporaries. In delicate
gradations, the light models faces, drapery, rocks, and trees, establish their existence in
space in his paintings,5an art critic of his time once said of his work.
Another contributor to the development of the method of using realistic objects was
Gaddi. His best

display of this technique can be seen in his famous painting Madonna with
Child(see fig. 6) One can see the incredible realism existing quite easily. Even the folds
in the Virgin Marys dress appear life-like and real.6 Gaddis true mastery of this skill
showed again how Giottos early innovations eventually were taken, used and perfected by
The last significant innovation of Florentine painters was chiaro scuro. In Italian the
word chiaroscuro translates directly into light dark. It is the contrast of lightness and
darkness in a painting or drawing. It can be used to create the illusion of depth for a very
Perhaps the greatest master of this style was the great scientist and artist, Leonardo
da Vinci. He was ahead of his time not only in painting, sculpture and architecture, but in
engineering, military, science and aerodynamics. Of immeasurable greatness in both art
and science, he was able to make his innovations in both by virtue of his profound
conviction that the two were intimately related.7
Botticelli also was a master at the technique of chiaroscuro. His best display of this
is the painting Birth of Venus. In this painting, Venus is rising out of a shell and being
born into the water. The excellent use of shading and light and dark contrast in her face
and on her body illustrate Botticellis mastery well.
In conclusion, the evolution of Italian painting and the artistic innovations which
occurred were not developed suddenly, rather they evolved slowly into the masterful style
of painting which has become known as Renaissance. No single factor can explain the
unrivaled artistic flowering it (Florence) experienced in the early 1400s, but the
contributions of Brunelleschi in architecture and Masaccio in painting changed Western art
forever8 The Renaissance was a

time of great change, both temporary and permanent,
materially and spiritually. After the Renaissance, people viewed the world in a whole new
1NGA--The Early Renaissance in Florence. 10 May 2000. National Gallery of Art. 12
May 2000 *http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg4/gg4-mainl.html*.

2Christus Rex Project, 16 March 2000. Christus Rex Project, 1 May 2000
*http://www.christusrex.org/www2/art/perspective.html*.
3Hartt, Frederick, The History of Italian Renaissance Art (New York: Harry N.

4Levey, Michael, Florence A Portrait (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996) 154.

5Hartt, Frederick, The History of Italian Renaissance Art (New York: Harry N. Abrams,
6Hartt, Frederick, The History of Italian Renaissance Art (New York: Harry N. Abrams,
7Levey, Michael, Florence A Portrait (Cambrigde: Harvard University Press, 1996) 109.
8NGA--The Early Renaissance In Florence. 10 May 2000. National Gallery of Art. 12
May 2000 *http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg4/gg4-main.html*.
Bibliography:
Bibliography
Christus Rex Project. 16 March 2000. Christus Rex Project. 1 May 2000 .

Hartt, Frederick. History of Italian Renaissance Art. New York, Harry N, Abrams, Inc, 1962.

Levey, Michael. Florence A Portrait. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996.

NGA--The Early Renaissance in Florence. 10 May 2000. National Gallery of Art. 12 May 2000
.

Olmerl, Michael. The New Look of th Bancucci Chapel Discloses Miracles (four year cleaning
of frescoes) Smithsonian 20 (1990): 94-99.

Taylor-Mitchell, Laurie Some Relationships Between Interior and Exterior Imagery, in Trecento
and Quattrocento. Explorations in Renaissance Culture 20 (1994): 61-88.