Renaissance Art
Read Stokstad chapter 13 or any source on the subject
Vocabulary
Feudalism: A system of reciprocal legal and military obligations that involved lords, vassals, and fiefs. It flourished in Europe c.9th to 15th centuries.
City-states: A political system, developing in Italy by the 11th century - as some cities became large trading centers and were able to claim economic and political independence. During the Renaissance period, Florence was one of the most important of these city-states.
Fresco: Water based color applied to surface of wet plaster
Perspective: System of representing depth on a flat surface, among other systems it can be linear and atmospheric. (Methods)
Chiaroscuro: Contrast and gradation of light and dark in painting; system of representing. (Methods)
Pilaster: Engaged rectangular column-like element, used for architectural decoration
Mural: large painting made directly on a wall
History c.1300s-1500s
In the history of Europe and especially Italy, the renaissance is a time period characterized by love for geographical and intellectual inquiry, search and discovery; and the re-emergence of classic thought; a critical exploration of new ideas, the natural world, and distant lands in Africa, Asia and eventually the Americas. The authority of the Vatican was questioned in the movement known as the Reformation, which led to the establishment of Protestant churches in northern Europe. Politically, city-states replaced feudalism. There was a rise of princely courts and mercenary troops. Economically, there was a re-emergence of trade and birth of a wealthy merchants social class whose rise to power was fueled by individual accomplishment rather than hereditary succession. Banking in the modern sense, began around the 1300s in cities like Florence, Genoa and Venice.
Important historical figures
Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512) Italian explorer, the Americas are generally believed to have derived their names from his.
Dante (1265-1321) Poet, his Divine Comedy is divided into 3 canticas, Inferno, Purgatoprio and Paradiso, each consisting of 33 cantos, an initial canto served as an introduction to the poem bringing the total number of cantos to 100

Art
During the early sixteenth century, travel in Europe became easier and safer than it had been in the Middle Ages. Artists could move from city to city, country to country. Styles and techniques became more international, less regional. And during this period the social status of artists rose as painting and sculpture came to be considered as liberal rather than manual arts, requiring intellectual, scientific activities. To perfect naturalistic depiction, artists studied and used mathematics, geometry, and anatomy. Art of this period reflects Humanism (i.e. liberal arts studies) and an admiration for Classical (i.e. Greek and Roman) forms. These qualities are especially evident in the work of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian. Art historians call the time these artists were most active (1495-1520) the High Renaissance, a term that encapsulates that what happened at the time–especially at Rome- exemplifies a pinnacle of artistic achievement. In our lectures we will look at the first three.
Content: art was mostly religious in subject matter. The depiction of the human figure was, like Greek art, central. It was, again like Greek art, a manifestation of the physical as well as the spiritual and intellectual characteristics.
Form: artists continued to use the traditional materials and methods, such as stone and woodcarving, and metal casting for sculpture. For painting, fresco, tempera on wood continued to be used but oil paint was introduced early 15th century and canvas began to be in use by the 16th century.
Composition: Is based on a grid of vertical and horizontal lines perpendicular