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Oil on stretched canvas became the medium of choice for Renaissance painters. Renaissance art tended to focus on the human body with accurate proportions, and the most common subjects of art were religion, mythology, portraits, and the use of classical (Greco-Roman) subjects. Artisans of the Renaissance used oil paint to add shadow and light, and the use of the vanishing point in art became prominent during this time.
Artists of the Renaissance depended on patronage, or financial support from the wealthy.
da Vinci's Mona Lisa.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452?1519) of Florence was known as one of the great masters of the High Renaissance, as a result of his innovations in both art and science. Leonardo is often viewed as the archetype of the "Renaissance Man" because of his expertise and interest in many different areas, including art, science, music, mechanics and the arts of war, politics, philosophy, and nearly every other subject that "mattered." A "Renaissance Man" can be loosely defined as a scholar during the Renaissance who (because knowledge was limited) could know almost everything about many topics.
Leonardo produced a small number of paintings, the most famous of which are The Last Supper and The Mona Lisa. He also created many drawings, displaying a particular mastery of the anatomies of humans, animals, and plants. He even demonstrated skill in sculpture and architecture although he did not complete any three-dimensional projects.
In science, Leonardo realized the importance of careful, meticulous observation and documentation. He made discoveries in anatomy, meteorology and geology, hydraulics, and aerodynamics. This led to his devising of many ingenious inventions, including an underwater diving suit and non-functioning flying machines. He also sketched plans for elaborate killing machines that an army could use for more efficient warfare.
It is interesting to note that Leonardo illegally exhumed corpses in order to study human anatomy. He then produced very detailed drawings of the human skeletal, muscular, and internal organ systems as well as sketches of human fetuses.
Michelangelo's David statue, in Florence.
Michelangelo (1475?1564) was one of the most prominent and important artists of the Renaissance, supported by the Medici family of Florence. Michelangelo's monumental sculpture of David preparing to kill the giant Goliath with his rock and sling is the perfect confirmation of the return to a humanistic appreciation of physical beauty from the austere medieval conception of emaciated, self-flagellated saints.
Note that the real "David" lives at the Accademia in Florence. [2] The statue in the Piazza della Signoria is a copy.
Michelangelo also adorned the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel with his "Creation of Adam" and other scenes and painted the Last Judgment on one wall of the Sistine Chapel in present day Vatican City.
Raphael (1483-1520) was a famous painter and architect during the Renaissance.
Some of Raphael's famous paintings include The School Of Athens, The Nymph Galatea, and Portrait of Pope Leo X with two Cardinals.
