Renaissance - translated from French means "Renaissance". That is what they called the whole era, symbolizing the intellectual and artistic flourishing of European culture. The revival began in Italy at the beginning of the 14th century, ushering in the extinction of the era of cultural decline and stagnation (the Middle Ages), which was based on barbarism and ignorance, and, developing, reached its peak in the 16th century.
For the first time, a historian of Italian origin, a painter and author of works on the life of famous artists, sculptors and architects Giorgio Vasari at the beginning of the 16th century, wrote about the Renaissance.
Initially, the term "Renaissance" meant a certain period (beginning of the XIV century) of the formation of a new wave of art. But after a while this concept acquired a broader interpretation and began to designate a whole era of development and formation of a culture opposite to feudalism.
The Renaissance period is closely associated with the emergence of new styles and painting techniques in Italy. There is an interest in antique images. Secularism and anthropocentrism are integral features that fill the sculptures of that time and painting. The Renaissance displaces the asceticism that characterizes the medieval era. Interest comes to all the worldly, boundless beauty of nature and, of course, to man. Renaissance artists approach the vision of the human body from a scientific point of view, try to work out everything to the smallest detail. The paintings are becoming realistic. The painting is saturated with a unique style. She established the basic canons of taste in art. Widely distributed is a new concept of worldview called "humanism", according to which a person is considered the highest value.
Renaissance Artistic Culture
The heyday spirit has a wide expression in the paintings of that time and fills the painting with special sensuality. The Renaissance connects culture with science. Artists began to consider art as a branch of knowledge, studying thoroughly the physiology of man and the world around him. This was done in order to more realistically reflect the truth of God's creation and the events taking place on their canvases. Much attention was paid to the depiction of religious subjects that acquired earthly content thanks to the mastery of geniuses such as Leonardo da Vinci.
There are five stages in the development of Italian Renaissance art.
International (court) Gothic
The court gothic style (ducento) that arose at the beginning of the 13th century is characterized by excessive brilliance, pomposity and pretentiousness. The main type of paintings is a miniature depicting altar plots. Artists use tempera paints to create their own painting. The Renaissance is rich in famous representatives of this period, for example, such as the Italian painters Vittore Carpaccio and Sandro Botticelli.
Pre-Revival Period (Proto-Renaissance)
The next stage, which is believed to have anticipated the Renaissance, is called the Proto-Renaissance (trecento) and falls at the end of the XIII - beginning of the XIV century. In connection with the rapid development of the humanistic worldview, painting of this historical period reveals the inner world of a person, his soul, has a deep psychological meaning, but at the same time has a simple and clear structure. Religious plots fade into the background, while secular ones become leading ones, and a person with his feelings, facial expressions and gestures acts as the main character. The first portraits of the Italian Renaissance appear, taking the place of icons. Famous artists of this period are Giotto, Pietro Lorenzetti.
Early Renaissance
At the beginning of the XIV century , the stage of the early Renaissance (quattrocento) begins, symbolizing the flourishing of painting with the absence of religious subjects. The faces on the icons take on a human form, and the landscape, as a genre in painting, occupies a separate niche. The founder of the art culture of the early Renaissance is Mozaccio, whose concept is based on intelligence. His paintings have high realism. The great masters investigated linear and aerial perspective, anatomy and used knowledge in their creations, on which you can see the correct three-dimensional space. Representatives of the early Renaissance are Sandro Botticelli, Piero della Francesca, Pollaiolo, Verocchio.
High Renaissance, or "Golden Age"
From the end of the 15th century, the high Renaissance (cinquecento) stage began and did not last long, until the beginning of the 16th century. Its center became Venice and Rome. Artists expand their ideological horizons and are interested in space. A man appears in the image of a hero, perfect both spiritually and physically. Figures of this era are considered Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian Vecellio, Michelangelo Buonarrotti and others. The great Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci was a "universal man" and was in a constant search for truth. Being engaged in sculpture, dramaturgy, various scientific experiments, he managed to find time for painting. The creation “Madonna in the Rocks” visually reflects the chiaroscuro style created by the painter, where the combination of light and shadow creates a three-dimensional effect, and the famous “Mona Lisa” is made using the “smuffato” technique, creating the illusion of a haze.
Late revival
During the late Renaissance, which occurred at the beginning of the 16th century, the capture and plunder of the city of Rome by German troops took place. This event marked the beginning of the era of extinction. The Roman cultural center ceased to be a patron of the most famous figures, and they were forced to leave for other cities in Europe. As a result of the growing discrepancy of views between the Christian faith and humanism at the end of the 15th century, mannerism became the predominant style that characterizes painting. The Renaissance is gradually coming to an end, since the basis of this style is considered to be a beautiful manner that overshadows the idea of harmony of the world, truth and omnipotence of the mind. Creativity becomes complex and acquires the features of confrontation in various directions. Brilliant works belong to such famous artists as Paolo Veronese, Tinoretto, Jacopo Pontormo (Carrucci).
Italy has become a cultural center of painting and has gifted the world with brilliant artists of this period, whose paintings to this day cause emotional delight.
In addition to Italy, the development of art and painting had an important place in other European countries. This current is called the Northern Renaissance. Particularly noteworthy is Renaissance France painting, which grew on its own soil. The end of the Hundred Years War caused an increase in universal consciousness and the development of humanism. In French art there is realism, a connection with scientific knowledge, a gravitation towards the images of antiquity. All these features bring it closer to Italian, but the presence of a tragic note in the canvases is a significant difference. Famous Renaissance artists in France are Angerrand Sharonton, Nicola Frohmann, Jean Fouquet, Jean Clouet the Elder.