Renaissance Art History: Italy, Sculpture and architecture

The Renaissance art history period generally falls between circa 1400 CE and circa 1600 CE, though exact dates vary.
The Renaissance began in Italy towards the end of the Late Middle Ages.
Italy was not a unified nation during the Renaissance, but rather a collection of independent kingdoms, city-states, and territories.
The Renaissance was a period of cultural renewal that looked to ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration.
Italy's Roman history and wealth from international trade fueled the Renaissance.
This wealth funded artistic, architectural, literary, scholarly, and scientific projects.

Sculpture involves the creation of three-dimensional figures from materials like marble, bronze, wood, or clay.
Painting is the creation of two-dimensional images on walls, ceilings, or canvases.
Architecture includes the creation of buildings, especially churches.

Humanism, emphasizing the human form and experience, was a key theme.
Paganism, incorporating Greek and Roman mythologies, played a significant role.
Renaissance artists aimed to match or surpass the quality of art, architecture, literature and scholarship produced in ancient times.

Brunelleschi was the first great architect of the Renaissance.
He designed the dome of the Florence Cathedral, reinventing lost dome-building techniques.
His work relied on advancements in mathematics and engineering.
The Florence Cathedral dome remains the largest brick dome globally.

Donatello (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi) was the first great sculptor of the Renaissance.
His famous sculptures include David and St. George.
The Statue of St. George depicts a Roman soldier martyred for his Christian faith.

Della Francesca was a painter and mathematician.
He was one of the first to use perspective to create life-like, three-dimensional paintings.
Flagellation of Christ exemplifies his use of perspective to create the appearance of distance.

Da Vinci is considered one of history's greatest creative geniuses, as an artist and inventor.
His most famous paintings are Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.
He created engineering designs, including flying machines.
''The Vitruvian Man'' was one of the first works of modern scientific anatomy.
The Mona Lisa, a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, is housed in the Louvre in Paris.

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, or Raphael, was both a painter and architect.
He is known for his portraits, with The School of Athens as his most famous painting.
The School of Athens depicts Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
The painting symbolizes the importance of Greek philosophy to Renaissance thinkers.

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni is considered by many to be the greatest artist in history.
His David is a renowned Renaissance sculpture depicting the biblical hero.
The Pietà is another well-known sculpture illustrating the Virgin Mary with Jesus.
His paintings in the Sistine Chapel are iconic worldwide.

Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, or Botticelli, was a Florentine painter.
He is most famous for using mythological themes, as seen in The Birth of Venus and Primavera.
Botticelli also painted Christian-themed paintings and portraits.
Portrait of an Idealized Woman may depict a nymph from Greek mythology.

Tiziano Vecelli, or Titian, belonged to the Venetian school of artists.
He is known for portraits of powerful figures, mythological scenes, and Christian scenes.
Venus and Adonis depicts a scene from the Greek myth about Adonis' death.

Jacopo Robusti, or Tintoretto, was also from the Venetian school.
His paintings feature bright, vivid depictions of the human form.
Lamentation of the Dead Christ depicts the death of Christ, a central theme in Christianity.