The beginning of the Renaissance falls on the first quarter of the XIV century. Over the next three centuries, the culture of the Renaissance developed at a rapid pace and only in the last decades of the XVI century its decline was outlined. A distinctive feature of the Renaissance is that culture in all its forms was secular in nature, while anthropocentrism dominated in it, that is, man, his interests and activities as the basis of existence were in the foreground. During the heyday of the Renaissance, interest in antiquity was observed in European society. The most prominent manifestation of the Renaissance culture was the Renaissance style in architecture. The foundations of architecture, formed over the centuries, were updated, often taking unexpected forms.
Renaissance in architecture
Sculptures of the Renaissance initially did not declare themselves. Their role was reduced to the decoration of architectural orders: bas-reliefs on cornices, capitals, friezes and portals. The beginning of the Renaissance was characterized by the influence of the Romanesque style on the design of architectural structures, and since this style is inextricably linked with wall paintings, sculptures have long been used mainly for decorating facades. Thus, the Renaissance style arose in architecture, the unity of classical contours with a new aesthetic. During the Renaissance, the facades of houses were ennobled with sculptural compositions. Renaissance painting and sculpture have become an integral part of architectural structures. Art frescoes were placed among the statues of marble and bronze.
High Renaissance Architecture
The emergence of the Renaissance in cultural fields primarily affected architecture. High Renaissance architecture was developed in Rome, where, against the background of the previous period, a nationwide style began to take shape. Majesty, restrained nobility and signs of monumentality appeared in the buildings. Houses in Rome began to be built on the principle of central axis symmetry. The founder of the new style was Donato d'Angelo Bramante, a talented architect who created St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
Style interaction
Over time, Renaissance sculptures began to take on increasingly independent forms. The beginning of such images was laid by the Italian sculptor Wiligelmo, who, creating reliefs for the cathedral in Modena, significantly deepened the images of the sculptural group on the wall, and thus an independent work of art arose only indirectly associated with the wall. The whole sculptural image rested on the wall, but nothing more. Dynamic rhythm appeared, the arrangement of statues between buttresses added the impression of independence from the environment. The architectural buildings and sculptures of the Renaissance were moving away more and more, without losing their relationship. At the same time, they organically complemented each other.
Then the sculptures of the Renaissance and completely separated from the plane of the wall. It was a natural process of finding a new one. The gradual liberation of plastic forms from the architectural plane ended with the emergence of several areas of independent sculptural art.
Famous sculptors of the Renaissance
In the historical period, which was called "Renaissance", the sculpture received the status of high art. The XVI sculptors of European descent acquired historical significance, namely:
- Andrea Verrocchio;
- Becerra Gaspard;
- Nanni di Banco;
- Bachelier Nicolas;
- Santi Gucci;
- Niccolo di Donatello;
- Jambolonha;
- Desiderio da Settignano;
- Jacopo della Querca;
- Arnolfo di Cambio;
- Michelangelo Buonarotti;
- Jan Pfister;
- Luca Della Robbia;
- Andrea Sansovino;
- Benvenuto Cellini;
- Domenico Fancelli.
The most famous sculptors of the Renaissance are:
- Michelangelo Buonarotti;
- Donatello
- Benvenuto Cellini.
The most significant sculptures of the Renaissance came out from under the chisel of these unsurpassed masters.
Famous Florentine
Niccolo di Betto Bardi Donatello, the founder of the sculptural portrait, is considered the most realistic sculptor of his time, rejecting far-fetched "prettiness" in the visual arts. Along with a realistic style, he perfectly mastered canonical classics. One of Donatello's masterpieces is a wooden statue of Magdalene (1434, Florence Baptistery). An emaciated long-haired old woman is depicted with frightening authenticity. The hardships of life are reflected on the exhausted face of the hermit.
Another sculpture by the great master is "King David", which is located on the facade of the Giotto tower in Florence. The marble statue of St. George continues the biblical theme begun by the sculptor from the image of St. Mark the Apostle also in marble. From the same series is a sculpture of St. John the Baptist.
From 1443 to 1453, Donatello lived in Padua, where he created the equestrian sculpture "Gattamelata" with the image of condottier Erasmo de Narni.
In 1453, he returned to his native city of Florence, where he lived until his death in 1466.
Benvenuto Cellini
The Vatican's court sculptor Benvenuto Cellini was born in 1500 in the family of a cabinetmaker. He is considered a follower of mannerism - a movement that reflects the style of pretentious forms in art. Mostly worked with bronze casting. Cellini's most famous sculptures:
- "Nymph Fontainebleau" - a bronze relief, cast in 1545, is currently located in the Paris Louvre.
- Perseus - Florence, Loggia Lanzi.
- Bust of Cosimo Medici - Florence, Bargello.
- "Apollo and Hyacinth" - Florence.
- Bust of Bindo Altoviti - Florence.
- Crucifixion - Escorial, 1562.
The great sculptor Benvenuto Cellini was engaged in the manufacture of state symbols, awards and coin designs. Among other things, he was a very talented and successful jeweler under the Vatican. The pope ordered Benvenuto precious jewelry.
Michelangelo Buonarroti
The ingenious Renaissance sculptor, author of immortal creations in marble and bronze, Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in 1475 in the small Tuscan town of Caprese. The boy learned to master the sculptural instrument before writing and reading. At the age of 13, Michelangelo was trained by the artist Ghirlandaio Domenico. Then, Lorenzo de Medici, a noble Florentine, found out about his talent. The nobleman began to patronize the teenager.
At the age of twenty, Buonarroti created several sculptures for the Archway of the Church of St. Dominic in Bologna. He then sculpted two sculptures (The Sleeping Cupid and St. Johannes) for the Dominican preacher Girolamo Savonarola. A year later, Michelangelo receives an invitation from Cardinal Rafael Riario to work in Rome. There, the sculptor creates "Roman Pieta" and "Bacchus."
In Rome, Buonarroti carries out several orders for different cathedrals and churches, and in 1505, Pope Julius II offered him a responsible job - to make a tomb for his Holiness. In connection with such a crucial order, Michelangelo leaves for Carrar, where he spends more than six months, choosing the right marble for the papal tomb.
For the tomb, the sculptor made four marble sculptures: “The Dying Slave,” “Leah,” “Moses,” and “The Bound Slave.” From 1508 until the end of 1512, Buonarroti worked on the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. In 1513, after the death of Julius the Second, the sculptor receives an order from Giovanni Medici for the manufacture of a statue of Christ with a cross.
The great Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti died in 1564 in Rome. Buried in the Florence Basilica of Santa Croce.
Cinquicento
The period of the High Renaissance organically blended into the overall picture of the Renaissance. Then the term "cinquicento" appeared, which means "superiority." This take-off period lasted about forty years. He gave the world masterpieces that are forever inscribed in the tablets of high art. Portrait of Mona Lisa and The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, The Sistine Madonna by Rafael Santi, David by Michelangelo Buonarroti - these and other works adorn the halls of prestigious museums.
Italian sculptor Andrea Sansovino (1467-1529) is one of the most prominent representatives of the High Renaissance. Sansovino's first work was an altar terracotta decoration for the church of Santa Agatha with images of St. Sebastian, Roch and Lawrence. Andrea sculpted a similar sculptural group for the altar of the church of San Spirito in Florence. High Renaissance Sculpture different pronounced spirituality and some kind of special penetration.
Verocchio Andrea
This is a famous sculptor of the Early Renaissance, a teacher of Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli and Pietro Perugino. The main subject of Verrocchio's work was sculpture, in second place - painting. Andrea was a distinguished director of court balls and a talented decorator. The High Renaissance sculpture actually began with the works of Verrocchio.
The artist created for a long time while in Florence. He created a tombstone for the Florentine nobleman Cosimo Medici, then for more than twenty years the sculptor worked on the composition "Confidence of Thomas." The famous statue of David was created by Verrocchio in 1476. The bronze statue was intended to decorate the Medici villa, but Giuliano and Lorenzo considered themselves unworthy of such high honor and betrayed the sculpture in the Palazzo Signoria in Florence. The magnificent sculpture of the Early Renaissance thus found its place. In private homes, they tried not to keep unique works of art. No less valuable in terms of high art was also the late Renaissance. The sculpture of Benvenuto Cellini "Perseus" is considered an unsurpassed masterpiece of the Late Renaissance.