Renaissance Period PDF

4.2 RENAISSANCE PERIOD Evolution of Design: Europe Semester l, B. Voc Interior Design Module 4.2.1  2 Italian The Italian Renaissance was...

4.2 RENAISSANCE PERIOD Evolution of Design: Europe Semester l, B. Voc Interior Design Module 4.2.1  2 Italian The Italian Renaissance was the earliest manifestation of the general European Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement that began in Italy during the 14th century and lasted until the 16th century, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe. The term Renaissance is in essence a modern one that came into currency in the 19th century, in the work of historians such as Jules Michelet and Jacob Burckhardt. Although the origins of a movement that was confined largely to the literate culture of intellectual endeavour and patronage can be traced to the earlier part of the 14th century, many aspects of Italian culture and society remained largely medieval; the Renaissance did not come into full swing until the end of the century. The French word renaissance means "Rebirth", and the era is best known for the renewed interest in the culture of classical antiquity after the period that Renaissance humanists labelled the Dark Ages. In the 13th century, much of Europe experienced strong economic growth. The trade routes of the Italian states linked with those of established Mediterranean ports. The city-states of Italy expanded greatly during this period and grew in power to become de facto fully independent of the Holy Roman Empire; apart from the Kingdom of Naples, outside powers kept their armies out of Italy. During this period, the modern commercial infrastructure developed, with double-entry book- keeping, joint stock companies and an international banking system  3 During the Renaissance, there was a renewed interest in the literature, art, and philosophy of classical antiquity. Scholars and artists sought to revive and emulate the achievements of ancient Greece and Rome, which they considered a golden age of human creativity and intellectual prowess. This emphasis on the revival of classical culture led to a revaluation of medieval thought and practices, hence the label of the "Dark Ages" given by Renaissance humanists. The Italian Renaissance was characterized by a flourishing of intellectual and artistic pursuits. Humanism, an intellectual movement that emphasized the importance of human potential and the study of classical literature, played a central role. Scholars such as Petrarch and Boccaccio sought to recover and promote classical texts, sparking a new interest in ancient Greek and Roman literature. Artists during this period, including Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael, achieved remarkable technical and artistic innovations. They focused on realism, perspective, and the human form, breaking away from the stylized and symbolic art of the Middle Ages.  4 The Italian city-states, such as Florence, Venice, and Rome, were important centres of cultural and economic activity during the Renaissance. Wealthy patrons, such as the Medici family in Florence, supported artists, scholars, and architects, contributing to the flourishing of artistic and intellectual achievements. The Renaissance in Italy set the stage for the broader European Renaissance, which spread throughout the continent in the following centuries. The ideas and innovations of the Italian Renaissance, including humanism, the revival of classical learning, and the pursuit of individual creativity, had a profound and lasting impact on European culture, shaping the foundations of the modern world.  5 Renaissance Architecture Throughout the Gothic period in the Middle Ages, when architecture in France and England was dominated by architecture executed on the grandest scale in Western history, with immense and airy cathedrals representing one of the highest points of European architectural genius, Italian architecture was an uninspired and relatively small affair. Although there was Gothic architecture in Italy, the sweep, genius and grandeur seemed to have passed those city-states by. The Renaissance, however, saw the development of a new architecture from the fifteenth to the sixteenth centuries that were the first "modern" architecture. Renaissance buildings, they look familiar, almost as if they were built one hundred years ago. The architectural language invented by the Italian Renaissance architects became the dominant architectural language of the modern world, displaced only by the advent of modernist architecture in the twentieth century The Renaissance began in Italy around the beginning of the fifteenth century and gradually spread north to France and England, then to other parts of Europe, including Germany, the Low Countries, and Spain, with a time lag roughly proportionate to the geographic distance. Art history customarily divides the Renaissance into three phases: early, middle (High), and late (Baroque and Rococo). The term Mannerism, borrowed from the history of painting, is sometimes used to describe the transition to the High to Baroque phases in Italy  6 The invention of the uniquely Italian style in Renaissance architecture is typically given to Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1466), who is also credited with inventing the principles of linear perspective in drawing and painting. The fifteenth century saw a dramatic rise in architectural projects not only in the wealthiest cities such as Florence, but all over Italy. The Renaissance architecture of the fifteenth century is dominated by flat surfaces and strong lines which emphasise the principles of architecture new types of buildings were going up. In addition to typical medieval buildings such as churches, chapels, and hospitals, Renaissance designers created two new types of buildings: the villa and the palazzo. The villa was country house that the wealthy and powerful citizens, such as the Medici, lived in. Originally fortified farms, Renaissance architects developed the villa into spacious pleasure homes. Related to the villa was the palazzo, or town house. These were the houses that that the wealthy and powerful lived in when they visited the city. In the thirteenth century, these palazzi were narrow and unimpressive affairs with the first floor rented out as shops. The fifteenth century saw the rise of large, square and proportionate palazzi in which all floors were dedicated to living areas. Again, the architects were interested also in the exteriors of these palazzi; they were both private and public buildings—in their public aspect, that is, in their exterior, they expressed the wealth and power of their owners  7 Italy-Early Renaissance Early Renaissance work is characterised by a rather cautious application of classical Roman detail to buildings that are largely medieval in overall concept. Symmetrical planning appears in such building as the Florentine palaces, which displays a restrained use of classical mouldings externally but a full use of Roman orders in the interior central courtyards. The interior of the small Pazzi Chapel, usually attributed to Filippo Brunelleschi, gives a clear example of the way in which the detail of rediscovered Roman classical orders was used in Renaissance design. Such cautious introduction of Roman detail appears only in exceptional interiors such as those of Brunelleschi. While ordinary houses remained untouched by Renaissance ideas, the wealthy began to add decorative mouldings, doors and door frames, and other details borrowed from Roman antiquity to the interiors of their houses and palazzi. Elaborate ceilings with structural beams made into patterns of squares, painted wall decorative elements in an otherwise simple room. Ceilings frequently included paintings, perhaps by major artists.  8 Italy-High Renaissance The fully developed or High Renaissance moved toward a more sophisticated understanding of the concepts of Roman architecture with such consistently classical projects as the plan for St. Peter's in Rome by Donato Bramante (1444- 1514), which would be altered and expanded over the following century. Furniture was still used sparsely, in a manner reminiscent of medieval austerity, but there was a gradual increase in the variety and richness of furniture types. The clarification and near-standardisation of Renaissance design practice, as well as its geographical spread, were encouraged by architect-theorists such as Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) and Andrea Palladio (1508-1580). Both not only produced important work but also wrote illustrated books explaining their working methods. Alberti emphasised the mathematical and geometric basis of his designs, while Palladio offered practical instruction along with illustrations of his own works, such as the Villa Rotonda (or Capra) at Vicenza (begun 1550) and the "Basilica" (begun 1549) In the same city, and accurate drawings of Roman architecture that formed the basis of his church designs, such as S. Giorgio Maggiore (begun 1566) and Il Redentore (begun 1576), both in Venice. Taken together, Palladio's work and books formed a demonstration of High Renaissance practice that became a basic model for classically oriented design for the next several centuries. Palladian influence can easily be traced to the American colonies, continuing to appear even today.  9 The urge toward systematic perfection so strong in the work of the High Renaissance gave way toward the end of the period to an interest in more experimental and personally expressive ways of designing. The term Mannerism is often applied to the style that marks a transition from the reserve and order of the High Renaissance to the elaboration of the Baroque, the third a final phase of Renaissance design. Mannerism is exemplified by such works as Michelangelo's Laurentian Library in Florence (begun 1524), with its extraordinary entrance hall and stairway.  10 Renaissance Furniture With the Renaissance, furniture began to acquire importance and began its ascent which would lead to the Golden Age of classical furniture in the eighteenth century. The basic formulas which define the furniture of the period are those of nature and individuality which were beginning to dawn towards the end of the Gothic period. While pieces from the Gothic period were predominantly vertical, those of the Renaissance are horizontal and are symbolic of classical balance. The first innovation in Italian Renaissance furniture was the elaborately decorated chest known as a cassone, with its gilt, stucco, and painted decoration based on classical prototypes. Cassone forms were to some degree inspired by Roman sarcophagi; some early examples, however, had scenes illustrating the international Gothic romance, Le Roman de la rose. Interiors in 15th-century paintings, such as those in the Dream of St. Ursula (1490–95, Accademia, Venice) by Vittore Carpaccio and the Birth of the Virgin (1485–94, Santa María Novella, Florence) by Domenico Ghirlandaio, suggest the restraint of Italian furniture design before the High Renaissance at the end of the 15th century.  11 Rich marquetry, imaginative carving, and a use of walnut in place of oak (which had been preferred for earlier work) characterized the more flamboyant efforts of the 1500s. A greater variety of forms and richer ornament were employed than in earlier periods. Portable folding chairs were revived, with seats of tapestry or leather. New solid-backed side chairs were developed; these have carved backs and, instead of legs, solid carved panels as supports. Italian Renaissance furniture is often decorated with Classical architectural columns or with elaborate cupids, scrolls, and strapwork (carved designs resembling interwoven leather straps). In the late Renaissance style known as Mannerism, forms and ornament became exaggerated, and designs included grotesque masks and arabesques. The cassone, or marriage chest, was a typical form on which much attention was lavished. These chests were carved and painted by the greatest artists of the time, often with scenes derived from the Bible, literature, or mythology. The practice of intarsia, a type of inlay or marquetry, was carried to a high level.  12 Furniture in the early Renaissance was sparingly used, the rooms of the palazzos with their marble floors, richly painted fabrics and walls, and frescoed ceilings, were so decorative in themselves that little furniture was needed. The pieces that were used were therefore with very less decoration but with great beauty in line and exquisite detail. By the middle or high renaissance, a demand for greater richness and comfort in movable furniture was felt.  13 The principal wood used was walnut which was in use throughout the whole period of Early Renaissance to Baroque. The most important pieces of furniture were: Cassone: It was a chest or box of any kind which was used as dowry or wedding chest and it was the most important furniture piece in an Italian room. The lid was hinged at the top, and when the piece was closed it could be used as a seat or a table. In the early period the chest was quite simple in construction, but in the later period it became more elaborate with massive carving and carved ends. Cassabianca: It was a large cassone with back and arms to form a settee or a sofa. Loose cushions were used for comfort. Credenza: This was a cabinet sideboard with doors and drawers intended for the storage of linen, dishes, and silverware. It was made in various sizes  14 Squabells: It was a light wooden chair with a straight narrow back heavily carved for dining and other purposes. A sgabello is armless, with a thin back and an octagonal seat, not so comfortable, not designed for long term seating. The legs can be either two decorated boards with a stretcher for support, or three separate impost legs that would be also ornamented and carved. Dante: This type of chair had heavily carved arms and legs and usually had a cloth back and seat. The front was heavily carved whereas the sides were plain. The seats were made comfortable with velvet or decorative leather. The arms end in scrolls and continue all the way up to the back support. It is made to look like it can fold, but in reality, it cannot. It always has a leather seat and back support. It also has a boss where the legs intersect.  15 Tables: The tables of Italian Renaissance were massive and were supported by heavily carved trestles. A trestle is a bar fixed on a pair of spreading legs, placed at each corner. The small tables had hexagonal or octagonal tops and were supported by carved turning legs. The Refectory table was a solid oblong top supported by trestles, columns or balusters, or slab ends, with stretchers between for support. Beds: During the Renaissance in Italy, beds indeed became elaborate and ornate pieces of furniture, reflecting the wealth and status of their owners. The beds were often made of richly carved and polished wood, showcasing the craftsmanship of the period. The beds had panelled headboards and footboards, often adorned with intricate designs and motifs. These panels could be made from various materials, including wood, fabric, or even leather. The headboards were sometimes taller than the rest of the bed, creating a sense of grandeur. To create a more private and intimate sleeping space, Renaissance beds often featured a tester or canopy. This was a decorative framework, typically made of wood, that extended above the bed and supported curtains or draperies. These canopies not only added a sense of luxury but also helped to keep out drafts and protect the sleeper from insects or other disturbances.  16 Renaissance Accessories Renaissance interiors were accessorized according to the wealth and importance of the owner. Typical objects included: Paintings, sometimes attached directly to the wall with mouldings, or framed and hung. Statues of marble or bronze, classical in inspiration. Ceramics such as vases, plates, platters, and pitchers, sometimes in majolica, a polychrome terracotta ware manufactured throughout the Mediterranean region. Small mirrors, framed in gilded or stained wood. Wealthy householders also might have had silver or gold wares, which were expensive and highly valued.