5.7.1 Renaissance painting and sculpture Many people consider the Italian Renaissance artists, sculptors and architects to be among the greatest of all time. Among the most famous are Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475–1564), Leonardo da Vinci (1452– 1519), Raphael (1488–1520) and Titian (1488–1576). Renaissance artists created works that were different in style from most art of the medieval era (compare SOURCES1 and 2 ). Artists experimented with technique, light and colour.
SOURCE2 A detail from Sandro Botticelli’s painting Primavera (c. 1482) showing the Three Graces
Unlike earlier artists, they used rich colours and tried to show depth in scenes by painting perspective and distance realistically. This gave their paintings the feeling of having three dimensions. Artists began to use oil paint, and many of them created frescos on buildings by applying paint to wet lime plaster. Many medieval sculptures were shallow figures carved out of a background, known as relief sculptures. Renaissance sculptors were inspired by ancient Greek statues of the classical style that had developed in the fifth century BCE. They were also inspired by Roman statues that copied this Greek style. To achieve realism, Renaissance painters and sculptors used live models to create the figures in their works. They also studied anatomy to gain a better understanding of the human body. Subject matter Like medieval artists, Renaissance artists painted religious scenes, especially scenes depicting events in the Bible and the lives of saints. Many also worked on other subjects including scenes from Greek and Roman myths, landscapes and portraits, especially of their wealthy patrons.
Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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