Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564)

Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet. He

was considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime, and ever since then
he was considered as one of the greatest artists of all time.

David
It is a 5.17-metre (17.0 ft) marble statue of a standing male nude. The
statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art
of Florence.[1]Originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of
prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence
Cathedral, the statue was placed instead in a public square, outside the
Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of civic government in Florence, in the Piazza
della Signoria where it was unveiled on September 8, 1504.
Because of the nature of the hero it represented, the statue
soon came to symbolize the defense of civil liberties embodied in
the Republic of Florence, an independent city-state threatened on
all sides by more powerful rival states and by the hegemony of
the Medici family. The eyes of David, with a warning glare, were
turned towards Rome. The statue was moved to the Galleria
dell'Accademia, Florence, in 1873, and later replaced at the
original location by a replica.

The pose of Michelangelo's David is unlike that of

earlier Renaissance depictions of David. The bronze
statues by Donatello and Verrocchio represented the hero
standing victorious over the head of Goliath, and the
painter Andrea del Castagno had shown the boy in mid-
swing, even as Goliath's head rested between his feet, but
no earlier Florentine artist had omitted the giant
altogether. According to Helen Gardner and other
scholars, David is depicted before his battle with
Goliath. Instead of being shown victorious over a foe much larger than he, David looks tense and
ready for combat.

Leonardo di ser Piero Da Vinci (1452- 1519)

Leonardo Da Vinci was a painter, architect, scientist, and
mathematician. He was popularized in present times through the novel
and movie, “Da Vinci Code.” He is known as the ultimate
“Renaissance man” because of his intellect, interest, talent and his
The Last Supper measures 460 cm × 880 cm (180 in expression of humanist and classical values. He is widely considered
× 350 in) and covers an end wall of the dining hall at the to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most
diversely talented person to have ever lived.
monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. The
theme was a

The
traditional one

for refectories, although the room was not a refectory at the time that Leonardo painted it. The
main church building had only recently been completed (in 1498), but was remodeled
by Bramante, hired by Ludovico Sforza to build a Sforza family mausoleum.

Last
The painting was commissioned by Sforza to be the centerpiece of the mausoleum.
The lunettes above the main painting, formed by the triple arched ceiling of the refectory, are
painted with Sforza coats-of-arms.
The opposite wall of the refectory is covered by the Crucifixion fresco by Giovanni Donato
da Montorfano, to which Leonardo added figures of the Sforza family in tempera. (These figures
have deteriorated in much the same way as has The Last Supper.)
 Leonardo began work on The Last Supper in 1495 and completed it in 1498—he did not
work on the painting continuously. The beginning date is not certain, as the archives of the convent
for the period have been destroyed, and a document dated 1497 indicates that the painting was
nearly completed at that date.
Because the painting was on a thin exterior wall, the effects of humidity were felt more
keenly, and the paint failed to properly adhere to the wall. Because of the method used, soon after
the painting was completed on February 9, 1498 it began to deteriorate. As early as 1517, the
painting was starting to flake, and in 1532 Gerolamo Cardano described it as "blurred and colorless
compared with what I remember of it when I saw it as a boy". By 1556—fewer than sixty years
after it was finished—Leonardo's biographer Giorgio Vasari described the painting as already
"ruined" and so deteriorated that the figures were unrecognizable.

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Raphael) (1483-1520)

Raphael was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance period. His work
was admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the
interpreting the Divine and incorporating Christian doctrines. Together with Michelangelo and
Leonardo da Vinci, he formed the traditional trinity of great masters of that period. His main
contributions to art were his unique draftsmanship and compositional skills.
Sistine
Madonna
The Sistine Madonna, also called the Madonna di San Sisto, is an oil painting by the
Italian artist Raphael Sanzio. The altarpiece was commissioned in 1512 by Pope Julius II for the
church of San Sisto, Piacenza. The canvas was one of thelast Madonnas painted by the
artist. Giorgio Vasari called it "a truly rare and extraordinary work".
Relocated to Dresden from 1754, the well-known painting was particularly influential in
Germany. After World War II, it was relocated to Moscow for a decade before being returned to
Germany. It is now a masterpiece of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister.
The oil painting, measures 265 cm by 196 cm. In the painting the Madonna, holding
the Christ Child and flanked by Saint Sixtus and Saint Barbara, stands on clouds before dozens
of obscured cherubim, while two distinctive winged cherubim rest on their elbows beneath her.
Pigment analysis of Raphael's masterpiece reveals the usual pigments of the renaissance
period such as malachite mixed with orpiment in the green drapery on top of the painting,
natural ultramarine mixed with lead white in the blue robe of Madonna and a mixture of lead-tin-
yellow, vermilion and lead white in the yellow sleeve of St Barbara.
Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi (Donatello) (1386- 1466)
Donatello was one of the Italian great artists of the period. He was an early Renaissance
Italian sculptor from Florence. He is known for his work in bas- relief, a form of
shallow relief sculpture. His works included the following statues and
relief: David, Statue of St. George, Equestrian Monument of
Gattamelata, Prophet Habacuc, and The Feast of Herod.

David
The story of David and Goliath comes from 1 Samuel 17.
The Israelites are fighting the Philistines, whose best warrior –
Goliath – repeatedly offers to meet the Israelites' best warrior in man-
to-man combat to decide the whole battle. None of the trained Israelite
soldiers is brave enough to fight the giant Goliath, until David – a
shepherd boy who is too young to be a soldier – accepts the challenge.
Saul, the Israelite leader, offers David armor and weapons, but the boy
is untrained and refuses them. Instead, he goes out with his sling, and
confronts the enemy. He hits Goliath in the head with a stone, knocking
the giant down, and then grabs Goliath's sword and cuts off his head. The
Philistines withdraw as agreed and the Israelites are saved. David's special
strength comes from God, and the story illustrates the triumph of good over
evil.
Donatello, then in his early twenties, was commissioned to carve a statue
of David in 1408, to top one of the buttresses of Florence Cathedral,
though it was never to be placed there. Nanni di Banco was commissioned
to carve a marble statue of Isaiah, at the same scale, in the same year. One
of the statues was lifted into place in 1409, but was found to be too small to be easily visible from
the ground and was taken down; both statues then languished in the workshop of the opera for
several years
.
Michelangelo Merisi or Amerighi da Caravaggio (1571- 1610)
He was better known as Caravaggio. He was an Italian artist who wanted to deviate from
the classical masters of the Renaissance. He was an outcast in his society,
because of his own actions and the lack of modesty and reverence for
religious subjects in his own paintings. Perhaps he started out as a specialist
in his paintings of still life, especially of fruits. Studies of single figures
followed, but they are clumsier than the fruit which gives their savor of
originality and charm. Caravaggio’s models at this period were either himself
or young persons who have an air of being promising but wicked. Among his
famous paintings were: Supper at Emmaus, Conversion of St. Paul, and
Entombment of Christ.
Young Sick
Bacchus
The painting dates from Caravaggio's first years in Rome following his arrival from his
native Milan in mid-1592. Sources for this period are inconclusive and probably inaccurate, but
they agree that at one point the artist fell extremely ill and spent six months in the hospital of Santa
Maria della Consolazione. According to a 2009 article in the American medical
publication Clinical Infectious Diseases, the painting indicates that Caravaggio's physical ailment
likely involved malaria, as the jaundiced appearance of the skin and the icterus in the eyes are
indications of some active hepatic disease causing high levels of bilirubin.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680)
Bernini was an Italian artist and the first Baroque artist. He practiced architecture, and
sculpture, painting, stage design, and was also a playwright. He was also the last in the list of the
dazzling universal geniuses. As a prodigy, his first artworks date from his 8th birthday. Among his
early works were: The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun, Damned Soul, and the
Blessed Soul.

The Goat Amalthea with the

Infant Jupiter and a Faun12
According to Filippo Baldinucci, even before Pietro Bernini moved his family from
Naples to Rome, eight-year-old Gian Lorenzo created a "small marble head of a child that was the
marvel of everyone". Throughout his teenage years, he produced numerous images
containing putti, chubby male children usually nude and sometimes winged. Distinct from
cherubim, who represent the second order of angels, these putti figures were secular and presented
a non-religious passion. Of the three surviving marble groups of putti that can be attributed to
Bernini, The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun is the only one that is
approximately dateable. In 1615, a carpenter was paid for providing a wooden pedestal for the
sculpture group. Some writers date the work as early as 1609, based on stylistic grounds and an
interpretation of the 1615 pedestal invoice indicating that the base was a replacement.
Peter Paul Rubens (1577- 1640)
Rubens was a Flemish Baroque painter. He was well known for his paintings of mythical
and figurative subjects, landscapes, portraits, and Counter- Reformation altarpieces. His
commissioned works were mostly religious subjects, history paintings of magical creatures, and
hunt scenes. His famous works were:
Samson and Delilah, Landscape
with
a Tower, Portrait of Helene Fourment, and The Three Graces.

Samsom and
Delilah
Samson and Delilah is a painting by the Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577–
1640) which is currently on display in the National Gallery. It dates from about 1609 to 1610. Two
preliminary copies of the painting also exist today: an ink and wash drawing on paper, and an oil sketch
on wood panel. The oil sketch is currently on display in the Cincinnati Art Museum, while the ink sketch
is being held in a private collection in Amsterdam. The painting depicts an episode from the Old
Testament story of Samson and Delilah (Judges 16). Samson was a Hebrew hero known for fighting
the Philistines. Having fallen in love with Delilah, who has been bribed by the Philistines, Samson tells
her the secret of his great strength: his uncut hair. Without his strength, Samson is captured by the
Philistines.
Rubens portrays the moment when, having fallen asleep on Delilah's lap, a young man cuts
Samson's hair. Samson and Delilah are in a dark room, which is lit mostly by a candle held by an old
woman to Delilah's left. Delilah is depicted with all of her clothes, but with her breasts exposed. Her
left hand is on top of Samson's right shoulder, as his left arm is draped over her legs. The man snipping
Samson's hair is crossing his hands, which is a sign of betrayal. Philistine soldiers can be seen in the
right-hand background of the painting.[1]
The niche behind Delilah contains a statue of the Venus, the Goddess of love, and her
son, Cupid. Notably, Cupid's mouth is bound, rather than his eyes. This statue can be taken to
represent the cause of Samson's fate and the tool of Delilah's actions.
 Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
(1606-1669)
Rembrandt was a brilliant Dutch
realist, painter and etcher. He is
generally considered as one of the
greatest painters and printmakers in
European art. He followed no particular
faith, but was interested in spiritual
values and often chooses religious
subjects. Rembrandt shares with
Rubens the revolution whereby painting
came to depict the more personal
aspects of the painter: his own home
and his family. No artist has painted
himself as often as did Rembrandt. His
concept of himself continued to deepen in grasp and subtlety, while his technique grew more
daring. His well- known work was his “Self portrait in Old Age”. Rembrandt had produced over
600 paintings, nearly 400 etchings, and 2000 drawings.

The Night
Watch
Without a doubt the most famous of all Rembrandt’s paintings, The Night Watch is a group
portrait of the militia company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van
Ruytenburgh (in the center). Painted in 1642, The Night Watch isn’t a night scene as long believed.
Cleaning in the mid-1940s revealed that it is set in daylight. During relocation in the 18th century,
the most famous Rembrandt’s painting was trimmed, most notably on the left side which resulted
in the loss of some characters but it also changed the composition of the painting by making the
lightly clothed girl and Lieutenant the dominant figures of the scene. The Night Watch is housed
in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Diego Velasquez (1599- 1660)
Velasquez of Spain developed out of the Baroque. He was one of the finest masters of
composition and one of the most important painters of the Spanish Golden Age. He worked out
solutions to pictorial problems of design that transcend the style of any period. Velasquez was the
case of a painter who discovered his avocation almost at the very start of his career. The passion
for still life frequently emerges in Velasquez’s art. His famous works were: The Surrender of
Breda, Las Meninas (The maids of honour), Los Barachos (The Drinker), and Maria Theresa.

The Maids of
Honour
Considered one of the most important paintings ever, Las Meninas depicts at its center the 5 year
old Margarita Teresa. The infant Margarita is surrounded by her maids, bodyguard, two dwarfs
and a dog. On the left, Velazquez depicts himself with a brush, leading to BBC calling this
masterpiece “the world’s first photobomb”. Above the princess’ head is a mirror which shows her
father and mother, King Philip IV of Spain and Mariana of Austria. They appear to be in position
of the viewer. Velazquez perhaps depicts the scene of him painting the royal couple. Las Meninas
has been described to represent the “theology of painting” and “the true philosophy of the art” by
notable artists. It is the most famous painting by Velazquez, is considered his supreme achievement
and is one of the most analyzed paintings in Western art history.
Artists
of
Renaiss
ance
and
Baroque
Period
BY: Jamie Anne O. Evora