Renaissance painting. Great Renaissance Artists 12th-16th Century Renaissance Artists

The undoubted achievement of the Renaissance was the geometrically correct construction of the picture. The artist built the image using the techniques he developed. The main thing for painters of that time was to observe the proportions of objects. Even nature fell under the mathematical methods of calculating the proportionality of the image with other objects in the picture.

In other words, artists in the Renaissance sought to convey an accurate image, for example, of a person against the backdrop of nature. If compared with modern methods of recreating a seen image on some kind of canvas, then, most likely, a photograph with subsequent adjustment will help to understand what the Renaissance artists were striving for.

Renaissance painters believed that they had the right to correct the flaws of nature, that is, if a person had ugly facial features, the artists corrected them in such a way that the face became sweet and attractive.

Leonardo da Vinci

The Renaissance became such thanks to many creative personalities who lived at that time. The world-famous Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519) created a huge number of masterpieces, the cost of which is estimated at millions of dollars, and connoisseurs of his art are ready to contemplate his paintings for a long time.

Leonardo began his studies in Florence. His first canvas, painted around 1478, is Benois Madonna. Then there were such creations as “Madonna in the Grotto”, “Mona Lisa”, the “Last Supper” mentioned above and a host of other masterpieces written by the hand of a titan of the Renaissance.

The severity of geometric proportions and the exact reproduction of the anatomical structure of a person - this is what Leonard da Vinci's painting is characterized by. According to his convictions, the art of depicting certain images on canvas is a science, and not just some kind of hobby.

Rafael Santi

Raphael Santi (1483 - 1520) known in the art world as Raphael created his works in Italy. His paintings are imbued with lyricism and grace. Raphael is a representative of the Renaissance, who depicted a man and his being on earth, loved to paint the walls of the Vatican cathedrals.

The paintings betrayed the unity of the figures, the proportional correspondences of space and images, the euphony of color. The purity of the Virgin was the basis for many of Raphael's paintings. His very first image of the Mother of God is the Sistine Madonna, which was painted by a famous artist back in 1513. The portraits that were created by Raphael reflected the ideal human image.

Sandro Botticelli

Sandro Botticelli (1445 - 1510) is also a Renaissance painter. One of his first works was the painting "The Adoration of the Magi". Subtle poetry and dreaminess were his original manners in the field of transferring artistic images.

In the early 80s of the XV century great artist painted the walls of the Vatican Chapel. The frescoes made by him are still amazing.

Over time, his paintings became characterized by the calmness of the buildings of antiquity, the liveliness of the depicted characters, the harmony of images. In addition, Botticelli's fascination with drawings for famous literary works is known, which also added only glory to his work.

Michelangelo Buonarotti

Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475-1564) was an Italian painter who also worked during the Renaissance. What only this person known to many of us did not do. And sculpture, and painting, and architecture, as well as poetry. Michelangelo, like Raphael and Botticelli, painted the walls of the temples of the Vatican. After all, only the most talented painters of those times were involved in such responsible work as drawing images on the walls of Catholic cathedrals. More than 600 square meters of the Sistine Chapel he had to cover with frescoes depicting various biblical scenes. The most famous work in this style is known to us as The Last Judgment. The meaning of the biblical story is expressed fully and clearly. Such accuracy in the transfer of images is characteristic of the entire work of Michelangelo.

Epoch High Renaissance(the end of the XV - the first quarter of the XVI century) - the time of perfection and freedom. Like other forms of art of this era, painting is marked by a deep faith in man, in his creative powers and the power of his mind. In the paintings of the masters of the High Renaissance, the ideals of beauty, humanism and harmony reign, the person in them is the basis of the universe.

The painters of this time easily use all means of representation: color, enriched with air, light and shadow, and drawing, free and sharp; they perfectly own perspective and volumes. People breathe and move on the canvases of artists, their feelings and experiences seem deeply emotional.

This era gave the world four geniuses - Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian. In their painting, the features of the High Renaissance - ideality and harmony, combined with the depth and vitality of the images - manifested themselves most clearly.

Leonardo da Vinci

On April 15, 1452, in the small Italian town of Vinci, which is located near Florence, an illegitimate son was born to the notary Piero da Vinci. They named him Leonardo di ser Piero d'Antonio. The boy's mother, a certain Katerina, married a peasant a little later. The father did not abandon the illegitimate baby, he took him up and gave him a good education. A year after the death of Leonardo's grandfather, Antonio, in 1469, the notary leaves with his family for Florence.

From an early age, Leonardo awakens a passion for drawing. Noticing this, the father sends the boy to study with one of the most famous masters of sculpture, painting and jewelry at that time, Andrea Verrocchio (1435-1488). The glory of Verrocchio's workshop was unusually great. From the noble inhabitants of the city, many orders were constantly received for the execution of paintings and sculptures. It was no coincidence that Andrea Verrocchio enjoyed great prestige among his students. Contemporaries considered him the most talented successor of the ideas of the Florentine Renaissance in painting and sculpture.

Verrocchio's innovation as an artist is associated primarily with the rethinking of the image, which acquires naturalistic features from the painter. From the workshop of Verrocchio, very few works have survived to this day. Researchers believe that the famous "Baptism of Christ" was created in this workshop. In addition, it has been established that the landscape in the background of the painting and the angels in its left part belong to the brush of Leonardo.

Already in this early work, the creative individuality and maturity of the future famous artist manifested itself. The landscape, painted by Leonardo's hand, differs markedly from the paintings of nature by Verrocchio himself. Belonging to a young artist, it is as if shrouded in a light haze and symbolizes the infinity and infinity of space.

The images created by Leonardo are also original. Deep knowledge of the anatomy of the human body, as well as its soul, allowed the artist to create unusually expressive images of angels. Mastery of the play of light and shadow helped the artist to depict lively, dynamic figures. It seems as if the angels only froze for a while. A few more minutes will pass - and they will come to life, they will move, talk ...

Art critics and biographers of da Vinci claim that by 1472 Leonardo leaves Verrocchio's workshop and becomes a master in the painters' workshop. From 1480, he turned to sculpture, which, according to Leonardo, was the simplest way to express the dynamics of the movements of the human body. Since that time, he has been working at the Academy of Arts - that was the name of the workshop located in the garden on San Marco Square, created on the initiative of Lorenzo the Magnificent.

In 1480, Leonardo received an order from the Church of San Donato Scopeto for the artistic composition "The Adoration of the Magi".

Leonardo did not live long in Florence. In 1482 he leaves for Milan. Probably, this decision was greatly influenced by the fact that the artist was not invited to Rome to work on the painting of the Sistine Chapel. One way or another, soon the master appeared before the Duke of the famous Italian city Ludovico Sforza. The Milanese warmly welcomed Leonardo. He settled and lived for a long time in the Porta Ticinese quarter. And in the next year, 1483, he wrote an altarpiece commissioned for the Immacolata Chapel in the Church of San Francesco Grande. This masterpiece later became known as the Madonna of the Rocks.

Around the same time, Leonardo is working on a bronze monument for Francesco Sforza. However, neither sketches, nor test sketches and castings could express the artist's intention. The work remained unfinished.

In the period from 1489 to 1490, Leonardo da Vinci painted the Castello Sforzesco on the day of the marriage of Gian Galeazzo Sforza.

Almost the entire 1494 Leonardo da Vinci devotes to a new occupation for himself - hydraulics. On the initiative of the same Sforza, Leonardo develops and implements a project to drain the territory of the Lombard Plain. However, already in 1495 the greatest master of fine arts returned to painting. It is this year that becomes the initial stage in the history of the creation of the famous fresco "The Last Supper", which adorned the walls of the refectory room of the monastery, located near the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

In 1496, in connection with the invasion of the Duchy of Milan by the French king Louis XII, Leonardo left the city. He moves first to Mantua and then settles in Venice.

Since 1503, the artist has lived in Florence and, together with Michelangelo, has been working on painting the Hall of the Great Council in the Palazzo Signoria. Leonardo was supposed to depict the "Battle of Anghiari". However, the master, who is constantly in creative search, often abandons the work he has begun. So it happened with the "Battle of Anghiari" - the fresco remained unfinished. Art historians suggest that it was then that the famous Gioconda was created.

From 1506 to 1507 Leonardo again lives in Milan. Since 1512 Duke Maximilian Sforza has ruled there. September 24, 1512 Leonardo decides to leave Milan and settle with his students in Rome. Here he not only paints, but also turns to the study of mathematics and other sciences.

Having received an invitation from the French King Francis I in May 1513, Leonardo da Vinci moved to Amboise. Here he lives until his death: he paints, decorates holidays, and works on the practical application of projects aimed at using the rivers of France.

May 2, 1519 the great artist dies. Leonardo da Vinci is buried in the Amboise church of San Fiorentino. However, during the height of the religious wars (XVI century), the artist's grave was destroyed and completely destroyed. His masterpieces, which were considered the pinnacle of fine art in the 15th-16th centuries, are such to this day.

Among the paintings by da Vinci, the Last Supper fresco occupies a special place. The history of the famous fresco is interesting and amazing. Its creation dates back to 1495-1497. It was commissioned by the monks of the Dominican order, who wished to decorate the walls of the refectory in their monastery, located near the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. The fresco depicted a fairly well-known gospel story: the last meal of Jesus Christ with his twelve apostles.

This masterpiece is recognized as the pinnacle of all the artist's work. The images of Christ and the apostles created by the master are unusually bright, expressive, and alive. Despite the concreteness and reality of the depicted situation, the content of the fresco turns out to be filled with deep philosophical meaning. Here the eternal theme of the conflict between good and evil, complacency and spiritual callousness, truth and lies was embodied. The derived images are not only a set of individual character traits (each individual person in all the diversity of his temperament), but also a kind of psychological generalization.

The picture is very dynamic. The audience really feels the excitement that gripped all those present at the meal after the prophetic words spoken by Christ about the impending betrayal that one of the apostles would have to commit. The canvas turns out to be a kind of encyclopedia of the most subtle shades of human emotions and moods.

Leonardo da Vinci completed the work surprisingly quickly: after only two years, the picture was completely completed. However, the monks did not like it: the manner of its execution was too different from the previously accepted style of pictorial writing. The master's innovation consisted not only and not so much in the use of paints of a new composition. Particular attention is drawn to the way of depicting perspective in the picture. Made in a special technique, the fresco, as it were, expands and enlarges the real space. It seems that the walls of the room depicted in the picture are a continuation of the walls of the refectory of the monastery.

The monks did not appreciate and did not understand the creative intent and achievements of the artist, so they did not care too much about preserving the painting. Already two years after the painting of the fresco, its paints began to deteriorate and faded, the surface of the wall with the image applied to it seemed to be covered with the thinnest matter. This happened, on the one hand, due to the poor quality of new paints, and on the other hand, due to the constant exposure to dampness, cold air and steam that penetrated from the kitchen of the monastery. The appearance of the painting was completely ruined when the monks decided to cut an additional entrance to the refectory in the wall with the fresco. As a result, the picture was cut off at the bottom.

Attempts to restore the masterpiece have been made since the 13th century. However, all of them proved to be in vain, the paint continues to deteriorate. The reason for this is currently the deterioration of the environmental situation. The quality of the fresco is affected by the increased concentration of exhaust gases in the air, as well as volatile substances emitted into the atmosphere by factories and plants.

Now we can even say that the early work on the restoration of the painting turned out to be not only unnecessary and meaningless, but also had its negative side. In the process of restoration, artists often added to the fresco, changing the appearance of the characters presented on the canvas and the depicted interior. So, recently it became known that one of the apostles did not originally have a long, bent-up beard. In addition, the black canvases depicted on the walls of the refectory turned out to be nothing more than small carpets. Only
in the 20th century managed to find out and partially restore their ornament.

Modern restorers, among whom the group that worked under the leadership of Carlo Berteli stood out noticeably, decided to restore the original appearance of the fresco, freeing it from elements applied later.

The theme of motherhood, the images of a young mother admiring her child, remained key in the work of the great master for a long time. True masterpieces are his paintings "Madonna Litta" and "Madonna with a Flower" ("Madonna Benois"). Currently, "Madonna Litta" is stored in State Hermitage in St. Petersburg. The painting was bought by the Russian Emperor Alexander II in 1865 from the family of the Italian Duke Antonio Litta, to whom it had previously been a gift from the Dukes of Visconti. By order of the Russian Tsar, the painting was transferred from wood to canvas and hung in one of the halls of the famous St. Petersburg museum.

Art scholars believe (and Scientific research proved this) that the work on the creation of the picture was not completed by the author himself. It was completed by one of Leonardo's students, Boltraffio.

The canvas is the most striking expression of the theme of motherhood in the painting of the Renaissance period. The image of the Madonna Mother is bright and spiritual. The look turned on the baby is unusually gentle, it simultaneously expresses
sadness, and peace, and inner peace. Here, mother and child seem to form their own, unique world, make up a single harmonious whole. The through thought of the picture can be expressed in the following words: two living beings, mother and child, contain the basis and meaning of life.

The image of the Madonna with a child in her arms is monumental. Finishing and refinement gives it a special, smooth transition of light and shadow. The tenderness and fragility of the figure is emphasized by the draperies of the cloak thrown over the woman's shoulders. The window paintings depicted in the background balance and complete the composition, emphasizing the separation of two close people from the rest of the world.

The canvas “Madonna with a Flower” (“Madonna Benois”), approximately 1478, was purchased from its last Russian owners by Tsar Nicholas II in 1914 especially for the Hermitage. Its early owners remain unknown. There is only a legend telling that an Italian itinerant actor brought the painting to Russia, after which it was bought in Samara in 1824 by the merchant Sapozhnikov. Later, the canvas was inherited from father to daughter, M. A. Sapozhnikova (by her husband - Benois), from whom the emperor bought it. Since then, the painting has had two names: "Madonna with a Flower" (author's) and "Madonna Benois" (after the name of the last owner).

The picture, which shows the Mother of God with the baby, reflects the ordinary, earthly feelings of a mother playing with her child. The whole scene is built on contrast: a laughing mother and a child seriously studying a flower. The artist, focusing on this particular opposition, shows a person's desire for knowledge, his first steps on the path to truth. This is what lies main idea canvases.

The play of light and shadow sets a special, intimate tone for the entire composition. Mother and baby are in their own world, cut off from earthly vanity. Despite some angularity and rigidity of the depicted draperies, the brush of Leonardo da Vinci is quite easy to recognize by the smooth, soft transitions of the shades of the colors used and the combinations of light and shade. The canvas is painted with soft, calm colors, sustained in a single color system, and this gives the picture a soft character and evokes a feeling of unearthly, cosmic harmony and tranquility.

Leonardo da Vinci is a recognized master of the portrait. Among his most famous paintings are "Lady with an Ermine" (circa 1483-1484) and "Portrait of a Musician".

Art critics and historians suggest that the canvas “Lady with an Ermine” depicts Cecilia Gallerani, who was the favorite of the Duke of Milan Ludovic Moreau before his marriage. Information has been preserved that Cecilia was a very educated woman, which was a rarity at that time. In addition, historians and biographers of the famous artist also believe that she was closely acquainted with Leonardo da Vinci, who once decided to paint her portrait.

This canvas has come down to us only in a rewritten version, and therefore scientists have long doubted the authorship of Leonardo. However, the well-preserved parts of the painting depicting an ermine and the face of a young woman allow us to speak with confidence about the styles of the great master da Vinci. It is also interesting that the dense dark background, as well as some details of the hairstyle, are additional drawings made later.

"Lady with an Ermine" is one of the brightest psychological canvases in the artist's portrait gallery. The whole figure of the girl expresses dynamism, striving forward, testifies to an unusually strong-willed and strong human character. Correct facial features only emphasize this.

The portrait is really complex and multifaceted, the harmony and completeness of the image is achieved by merging together several elements: facial expressions, head rotation, hand position. The eyes of a woman reflect an extraordinary mind, energy, insight. Tightly compressed lips, a straight nose, a sharp chin - everything emphasizes will, determination, independence. A graceful turn of the head, an open neck, a hand with long fingers stroking a graceful animal emphasize the fragility and harmony of the whole figure. It is no coincidence that the lady is holding an ermine in her arms. The white fur of the animal, similar to the first snow, symbolizes here the spiritual purity of a young woman.

The portrait is surprisingly dynamic. The master managed to accurately capture the moment when one movement should smoothly transition into another. That is why it seems that the girl is about to come to life, turn her head and her hand will slide over the soft fur of the animal ...

The extraordinary expressiveness of the composition is given by the clarity of the lines that form the figures, as well as the mastery and use of the technique of transition of light into shadows, with the help of which forms are created on the canvas.

"Portrait of a Musician" is the only male portrait among the masterpieces of Leonardo da Vinci. Many researchers identify the model with the regent of the Milan Cathedral, Francino Gaffurio. However, a number of scientists refute this opinion, saying that it is not a regent who is depicted here, but an ordinary young man, a musician. Despite the presence of some details characteristic of da Vinci's writing technique, art historians still doubt the authorship of Leonardo. Probably, these doubts are connected with the use on the canvas of elements characteristic of artistic traditions Lombard portrait painters.

The technique of the portrait is in many ways reminiscent of the work of Antonello da Messina. Against the background of lush curly hair, clear, strict lines of the face stand out somewhat sharply. Appears before the audience clever man with a strong character, although at the same time one can catch something unearthly, spiritualized in his eyes. Perhaps it is at this moment that a new, divine melody is born in the musician's soul, which after some time will win the hearts of many people.

However, one cannot say that the artist is trying to artificially exalt a person. The master subtly and skillfully conveys all the richness and breadth of the human soul, without resorting to hyperbole and pathos.

One of the most famous paintings da Vinci is the famous "Madonna of the Rocks" (1483-1493). It was made by Leonardo by order of the monks of the church of San Francesco Grande in Milan. The composition was intended to decorate the altar in the Immacolata Chapel.

There are two versions of the painting, one of which is kept in the Louvre in Paris, and the other in the National Gallery in London.

It was the Louvre "Madonna in the Rocks" that adorned the altar of the church. Scientists suggest that the artist himself gave it to the French king Louis XII. He did this, according to historians, as a token of gratitude for the participation of the king in resolving the conflict that arose between the customers of the paintings and the performing artists.

The donated version was replaced by another painting, which is now in the London National Gallery. In 1785, a certain Hamilton bought it and brought it to England.

A distinctive feature of the "Madonna in the Rocks" is the fusion of human figures with the landscape. This is the first picture of the great artist, where the images of saints are harmoniously intertwined with nature inspired by their presence. For the first time in the master's work, figures are depicted not against the background of any element of an architectural structure, but as if they are enclosed within a harsh rocky landscape. This feeling is also created in the composition due to the special play of light and falling shadows.

The image of the Madonna is presented here as unusually spiritual and unearthly. Soft light falls on the faces of angels. The artist made many sketches and sketches before his characters came to life and their images became bright and expressive. One of the sketches depicts the head of an angel. We don't know if it's a girl or a boy. But one thing can be said with certainty: this is an unearthly creature, full of tenderness, kindness, purity. The whole picture is imbued with a sense of calm, peace and quiet.

The version painted by the master later differs from the first one in a number of details: halos appear above the heads of the saints, little John the Baptist holds a cross, the position of the angel changes. And the execution technique itself became one of the reasons for attributing the authorship of the painting to Leonardo's students. Here all the figures are presented closer, on a larger scale, and besides, the lines that form them turn out to be more noticeable, even heavier, more pointed. This effect is created by thickening the shadows and highlighting certain places in the composition.

The second version of the picture, according to art historians, is more mundane and mundane. Perhaps the reason for this was the fact that the picture was completed by Leonardo's students. However, this does not detract from the value of the canvas. The artist's intention is clearly visible in it, the master's tradition in creating and expressing images is well traced.

No less interesting is the story of Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting The Annunciation (1470s). The creation of the painting belongs to the early period in the artist's work, to the time of his studies and work in the studio of Andrea Verrocchio.

A number of elements of the writing technique make it possible to state with confidence that the author of the famous masterpiece is Leonardo da Vinci and to exclude the participation of Verrocchio or his other students in his writing. However, some details in the composition are characteristic of the artistic tradition of the Verrocchio school. This suggests that the young painter, despite the originality and talent already manifested at that time, was still to some extent influenced by his teacher.

The composition of the picture is quite simple: a landscape, a rural villa, two figures - Mary and an angel. On the background
we see ships, some buildings, a port. The presence of such details is not entirely characteristic of Leonardo's work, and they are not the main ones here. For the artist, it is more important to show the mountains hidden in a misty haze, which are far away, and the bright, almost transparent sky. The spiritualized images of a young woman waiting for the good news and an angel are unusually beautiful and tender. The lines of their forms are designed in the manner of da Vinci, which made it possible at one time to define the canvas as a masterpiece belonging to the brush of the early Leonardo.

Characteristic of the tradition famous master is also the technique of execution of minor details: polished benches, a stone parapet, a book stand, decorated with intricately twisting branches of fabulous plants. The prototype of the latter, by the way, is the sarcophagus of the tomb of Giovanni and Piero de Medici, which is installed in the church of San Lorenzo. These elements, inherent in the school of Verrocchio and characteristic of the latter's work, are somewhat rethought by da Vinci. They are alive, voluminous, harmoniously woven into the overall composition. It seems that the author set himself the goal, taking the repertoire of his teacher as a basis, to reveal the world of his talent, using his own technique and artistic means of expression.

Currently, one version of the painting is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The second version of the composition is kept in the Louvre in Paris.

The Louvre painting is somewhat more complex than its earlier version. Here you can clearly see the geometrically correct lines of the walls of the stone parapet, the pattern of which is repeated by the benches located behind the figure of Mary. The images brought to the fore are placed in the composition appropriately and logically. The clothes of Mary and the angel, in comparison with the first version, are drawn more expressively and consistently. Maria, with her head bowed low, dressed in a dark blue dress with a sky-blue cloak draped over her shoulders, looks like an unearthly creature. The dark colors of the outfit highlight brighter and set off the whiteness of her face. No less expressive is the image of the angel who brought the good news to the Madonna. Yellowish velvet, a rich red cloak with drapes smoothly descending complete the fabulous image of a kind angel.

Of particular interest in the late composition is the landscape subtly painted by the master: devoid of any convention, almost really visible trees growing in the distance, a light blue, transparent sky, mountains hidden by a light fog, fresh flowers under the feet of an angel.

The painting "Saint Jerome" refers to the period of work by Leonardo da Vinci in the workshop of Andrea Verrocchio (the so-called Florentine period of the artist's work). The painting remained unfinished. The main theme of the composition is a lonely hero, a penitent sinner. His body was dried up from hunger. However, his gaze, full of determination and will, is a vivid expression of the stamina and spiritual strength of a person. In no image created by Leonardo, we will find duality, ambiguity of sight.

The characters in his paintings always express the highest degree of a very definite deep passion and feeling.

The masterfully painted head of a hermit also testifies to the authorship of Leonardo. Not quite the usual turn of it speaks of an excellent command of the technique of painting and the master's knowledge of the intricacies of the anatomy of the human body. Although it is necessary to make a small reservation: in many ways, the artist follows the traditions of Andrea del Castagno and Domenico Veneziano, who, in turn, come from Antonio Pollaiolo.

The figure of Jerome is unusually expressive. It seems that the kneeling hermit is all directed forward. In the right
he holds a stone in his hand, one more moment - and he will hit himself in the chest with it, scourging his body and cursing his soul for the sins committed ...

The composition of the painting is also interesting. All of it turns out to be, as it were, enclosed in a spiral, which begins with rocks, continues with the figure of a lion, located at the feet of the penitent, and ends with the figure of a hermit.

Perhaps the most popular of all the masterpieces of world fine art is the Gioconda. An interesting fact is that, having completed work on the portrait, the artist did not part with it until his death. Later, the painting came to the French king Francis I, who placed it in the Louvre.

All art scholars agree that the picture was painted in 1503. However, there are still disputes regarding the prototype of the young girl depicted in the portrait. It is generally accepted (tradition comes from the famous biographer Giorgio Vasari) that the portrait depicts the wife of Florentine citizen Francesco di Giocondo, Mona Lisa.

Looking at the picture, we can say with confidence that the artist has reached perfection in creating the human image. Here the master departs from the previously accepted and widespread manner of performing a portrait. Gioconda is written on a light background and, moreover, is turned three-quarters of a turn, her gaze is directed directly at the viewer - this was new in the portrait art of that time. Thanks to the open landscape behind the girl, the figure of the latter turns out to be, as it were, part of the landscape, harmoniously merges with it. This is achieved due to the special artistic and visual technique created by Leonardo and used by him in his work - sfumato. Its essence lies in the fact that the contour lines are not clearly outlined, they are blurred, and this creates in the composition a feeling of merging, interpenetration of its individual parts.

In the portrait, this technique (the fusion of the human figure and the large-scale natural landscape) becomes a way of expressing philosophical idea: the human world is as huge, large-scale and diverse as the natural world around us. But, on the other hand, the main theme of the composition can also be represented as the impossibility of complete knowledge of the natural world by the human mind. It is with this thought that many art historians associate the ironic smile frozen on the lips of Mona Lisa. She seems to be saying: "All the efforts of a person to know the world are absolutely in vain and vain."

The portrait of Mona Lisa, according to art historians, is one of the highest achievements of Leonardo da Vinci. In it, the artist was really able to embody and most fully express the idea of ​​harmony and the immensity of the world, the idea of ​​the priority of reason and art.

Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo Buonarroti, an Italian painter, sculptor, architect and poet, was born in the town of Caprese near Florence on March 6, 1475. Michelangelo's father, Lodovico Buonarroti, was the mayor of the town of Caprese. He dreamed that his son would soon replace him in office. However, contrary to the wishes of his father, Michelangelo decides to devote his life to painting.

In 1488, Michelangelo went to Florence and entered the art school there, which was then led by the famous master of fine arts Domenico Ghirlandaio. A year later, in 1489, the young artist is already working in a workshop founded by Lorenzo Medici. Here the young man learns painting from another famous artist and sculptor of his time, Bertoldo di Giovanni, who was a student of Donatello. In this workshop, Michelangelo worked with Angelo Poliziano and Pico della Mirandola, who greatly influenced the formation artistic method young painter. However, the work of Michelangelo did not turn out to be closed in the space of Lorenzo Medici's circle. His talent is constantly evolving. The artist's attention was increasingly drawn to large heroic images works of the great Giotto and Masaccio.

In the first half of the 90s. In the 15th century, the first sculptures made by Michelangelo appear: “Madonna at the Stairs” and “Battle of the Centaurs”.

In the "Madonna" one can see the influence of the manner of artistic representation generally accepted in the art of that time. In the work of Michelangelo there is the same detailing of the plastic figures. However, already here one can see the purely individual technique of the young sculptor, which manifested itself in the creation of lofty, heroic images.

In the relief "Battle of the Centaurs" there are no traces of extraneous influence. This work is the first independent work of a talented master, showing his individual style. On the relief in front of the viewer in the fullness of the content there is a mythological picture of the battle of the Lapiths with the centaurs. The scene is distinguished by extraordinary drama and realism, which is expressed by the accurately conveyed plasticity of the depicted figures. This sculpture can be considered a hymn to the hero, human strength and beauty. Despite all the drama of the plot, the overall composition contains a deep inner harmony.

Art scholars consider the "Battle of the Centaurs" the starting point of Michelangelo's work. They say that the genius of the artist originates precisely in this work. The relief, referring to the early works of the master, is a kind of reflection of the richness of the artistic manner of Michelangelo.

From 1495 to 1496 Michelangelo Buonarroti is in Bologna. Here he gets acquainted with the canvases of Jacopo della Quercia, which attracted the attention of the young artist by the monumentality of the created images.

In 1496, the master settled in Rome, where he studied plasticity and the manner of execution of recently discovered ancient sculptures, among which are "Laocoön" and "Belvedere Torso". The artistic manner of the ancient Greek sculptors was reflected by Michelangelo in Bacchus.

From 1498 to 1501, the artist worked on the creation of a marble group, called "Pieta" and brought fame to Michelangelo as one of the first masters of Italy. The whole scene, representing a young mother crying over the body of her murdered son, is permeated with a feeling of extraordinary philanthropy and tenderness. It is no coincidence that the artist chose a young girl as a model - an image that personifies spiritual purity.

This work of a young master, showing ideal heroes, differs significantly from the sculptures created in the 15th century. The images of Michelangelo are deeper and more psychological. Feelings of grief and sadness are subtly conveyed through the special expression of the mother's face, the position of her hands, the body, the curves of which are emphasized by the soft draperies of the clothes. The image of the latter, by the way, can be considered a kind of step back in the work of the master: detailed detailing of the elements of the composition (in this case, the folds of the dress and hood) is a characteristic feature of the art of the Pre-Renaissance. The overall composition is unusually expressive and pathetic, which is a distinctive feature of the young sculptor's work.

In 1501, Michelangelo, already a famous master of sculpture in Italy, again leaves for Florence. It is here that his marble "David". Unlike his predecessors (Donatello and Verrocchio), Michelangelo portrayed the young hero only preparing for battle. The huge statue (its height is 5.5 m) expresses the unusually strong will of a person, the physical strength and beauty of his body. The image of a person in the mind of Michelangelo is similar to the figures of mythological giant titans. David appears here as the embodiment of the idea of ​​a perfect, strong and free person, ready to overcome any obstacles in his path. All the passions seething in the soul of the hero are conveyed through the turn of the body and the expression on David's face, which speaks of his decisive and strong-willed character.

It is no coincidence that the statue of David adorned the entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio (the building of the city government of Florence) as a symbol of the power, extraordinary strength and independence of the city-state. The whole composition expresses the harmony of a strong human soul and an equally strong body.

In 1501, along with the statue of David, the first works of monumental (“Battle of Kashin”) and easel (“Madonna Doni”, round format) painting appeared. The latter is currently kept in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

In 1505 Michelangelo returns to Rome. Here he is working on the creation of the tomb of Pope Julius II. According to the plan, the tomb was supposed to be a grandiose architectural structure, around which there would be 40 statues carved from marble and bronze reliefs. However, after some time, Pope Julius II refused his order, and Michelangelo's grandiose plans were not destined to come true. Sources testify that the customer treated the master rather rudely, as a result of which he, offended to the core, decided to leave the capital and return once again to Florence.

However, the Florentine authorities persuaded the famous sculptor to make peace with the Pope. Soon he turned to Michelangelo with a new proposal - to decorate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The master, who considered himself primarily a sculptor, accepted the order reluctantly. Despite this, he created a canvas that is still a recognized masterpiece of world art and left the memory of the painter for many generations.

It should be noted that Michelangelo worked on painting the ceiling, the area of ​​​​which is more than 600 square meters. m, completely alone, without assistants. However, four years later the fresco was completely completed.

The entire surface of the ceiling for painting was divided into several parts. The central place is occupied by nine scenes depicting the creation of the world, as well as the life of the first people. In the corners of each such scene are figures of naked youths. To the left and right of this composition are frescoes with images of seven prophets and five soothsayers. The ceiling, arched vaults and strippings are decorated with individual biblical scenes. It should be noted that the figures of Michelangelo here are of different scales. This special technique allowed the author to focus the viewer's attention on the most important episodes and images.

Until now, art historians are puzzled by the problem ideological concept frescoes. The fact is that all the plots that make up it are written out in violation of the logical sequence of the development of the biblical plot. So, for example, the painting "The Drunkenness of Noah" precedes the composition "Separation of Light from Darkness", although it should be the other way around. However, such a scatter of plots in no way affected the artistic skill of the painter. Apparently, it was still more important for the artist not to reveal the content of the narrative, but again (as in the statue of David) to show the harmony of the beautiful, exalted soul of a person and his powerful, strong body.
This is confirmed by the image of the titan-like elder of Sabaoth (the fresco "Creation of the Sun and Moon"), who creates the luminaries.

In almost all the frescoes that tell about the creation of the world, a gigantic man appears before the audience, in whom, at the request of the creator, life, determination, strength and will awaken. The idea of ​​independence runs through the painting “The Fall”, where Eve, reaching for the forbidden fruit, as if challenging fate, expresses a resolute desire for freedom. The images of the fresco “The Flood” are full of the same inflexibility and thirst for life, the heroes of which believe in the continuation of life and kind.

The images of the sibyls and prophets are represented by the figures of people, personifying strong feelings and bright individuality of characters. The wise Joel is here the opposite of the desperate Ezekiel. The viewer is amazed by the images of the spiritualized Isaiah and the beautiful, shown at the moment of prediction, the Delphic Sibyl with large clear eyes.

Above, the pathos and monumentality of the images created by Michelangelo have been noted more than once. An interesting fact is that even the so-called. auxiliary figures turn out to be endowed by the master with the same features as the main characters. The images of young men, located in the corners of individual paintings, are the embodiment of the joy of life experienced by a person and the consciousness of his own spiritual and bodily strength.

Art historians rightly consider the painting of the Sistine Chapel to be the work that completed the period of Michelangelo's creative development. Here the master divided the ceiling so successfully that, despite all the variety of subjects, the fresco as a whole gives the impression of harmony and unity of the images created by the artist.

During the entire time of Michelangelo's work on the fresco, the master's artistic method gradually changed. Later characters are presented larger - this greatly enhanced their monumentality. In addition, such a scale of the image has led to the fact that the plasticity of the figures has become much more complicated. However, this did not affect the expressiveness of the images. Perhaps here, more than anywhere else, the talent of the sculptor was manifested, who managed to subtly convey every line of movement of the human figure. One gets the impression that the paintings are not painted with paints, but are skillfully molded three-dimensional reliefs.

The nature of the frescoes in different parts of the ceiling is different. If the central part expresses the most optimistic moods, then in the arched vaults there are images that personify all shades of gloomy feelings: peace, sadness and anxiety are replaced here by confusion and numbness.

The interpretation of the images of the ancestors of Christ presented by Michelangelo is also interesting. Some of them express feelings of kindred unity. Others, on the contrary, are full of malice and hatred for each other, which is not typical for biblical heroes who are called to bring light and goodness into the world. Art historians consider the later drawings of the chapel to be a manifestation of a new artistic method, the beginning of a qualitatively new period in the work of the famous master painter.

In the 20s. In the 16th century, Michelangelo's works appeared, which were intended to decorate the tomb of Pope Julius II. The order for the construction of the latter was received by a famous sculptor from the heirs of the Pope. In this version, the tomb was supposed to have a slightly smaller size with a minimum number of statues. Soon the master finished work on the execution of three sculptures: statues of two slaves and Moses.

Michelangelo worked on images of captives from 1513. Key theme of this work becomes a man struggling with forces hostile to him. Here, the monumental figures of victorious heroes are replaced by characters dying in an unequal struggle against evil. Moreover, these images turn out to be subordinated not to any one goal and task of the artist, but represent an interweaving of emotions and feelings.

The versatility of the image is expressed with the help of a kind of artistic and visual method used by the master. If until that time Michelangelo strove to show a figure or a sculptural group from one side, now the image created by the artist becomes plastic, changing. Depending on which side of the statue the viewer is on, it takes on certain outlines, while this or that problem is sharpened.

An illustration of the above can serve as the "Bound Prisoner". So, if the viewer walks around the sculpture in a clockwise direction, he will easily see the following: first, the figure of a bound captive with his head thrown back and a helpless body expresses inhuman suffering from the consciousness of his own impotence, the weakness of the human soul and body. However, as you move further around the sculpture, the image changes significantly. The former weakness of the prisoner disappears, his muscles fill with strength, his head proudly rises. And now before the viewer is no longer an exhausted martyr, but a powerful figure of a titan hero, who, by some absurd accident, turned out to be shackled. It seems that another moment - and the fetters will be broken. However, this does not happen. Moving on, the viewer sees how the human body weakens again, his head sinks down. And here again we have a miserable prisoner, resigned to his fate.

The same variability can be traced in the statue "The Dying Prisoner". As you progress, the viewer sees how the body, beating in agony, gradually calms down and becomes numb, evoking the thought of eternal peace and quiet.

The sculptures of the captives are unusually expressive, which is created due to the realistic transfer of the plasticity of the movement of the figures. They come to life right before the eyes of the viewer. In terms of the power of execution, the statues of captives can only be compared with the earliest sculpture of the master - “Battle of the Centaurs”.

The statue of Moses, unlike the Captives, is somewhat more restrained in character, but no less expressive. Here Michelangelo again refers to the creation of the image of a titanic human hero. The figure of Moses is the embodiment of a leader, a leader, a man with an unusually strong will. His essence is most fully revealed in comparison with David. If the latter symbolizes confidence in one's strength and invincibility, then Moses here is the personification of the idea that victory requires tremendous effort. This spiritual tension of the hero is conveyed by the master not only through a formidable expression on his face, but also with the help of the plasticity of the figure: the sharply refracted lines of the folds of clothes, the strands of Moses' beard upturned.

Since 1519, Michelangelo has been working on the creation of four more statues of captives. However, they remained unfinished. Subsequently, they decorated the grotto in the Boboli Gardens, located in Florence. Currently, the statues are kept in the Florentine Academy. In these works, a new theme for Michelangelo appears: the connection between a sculptural figure and a block of stone taken as the source material. The sculptor puts forward here the idea of ​​the main purpose of the artist: to free the image from the stone fetters. Due to the fact that the sculptures turned out to be unfinished and raw pieces of stone are clearly visible in their lower part, the viewer can see the entire process of creating the image. Here a new artistic conflict is shown: man and the world around him. Moreover, this conflict is not resolved in favor of the person. All his feelings and passions are suppressed by the environment.

The painting of the Medici Chapel in Florence was a work that marked the end of the High Renaissance and at the same time a new stage in Michelangelo's work. The work was carried out for 15 years, from 1520 to 1534. For some time, the artist was forced to suspend work in connection with the political events then taking place in Italy. In 1527, in response to the defeat of Rome, Florence declared itself a republic.

Michelangelo, as a supporter of the republican state system, was elected to the position of head of the fortification works and made a great contribution to the defense of the city. When Florence fell and the Medici came to power again, a serious threat of death loomed over the famous artist, and now also a politician. Salvation came quite unexpectedly. Pope Clement VII Medici, being a proud and vain man, expressed a desire to leave the memory of himself and his relatives to posterity. Who else but Michelangelo, famous for the art of writing wonderful pictures and perform excellent statues, could do it?

So, work on the construction of the Medici Chapel resumed. The latter is a small building with high walls, crowned with a dome in the upper part. There are two tombs in the chapel: the Dukes Giuliano of Nemours and Lorenzo of Urbino, located along the walls. At the third wall, opposite the altar, there is a statue of the Madonna. To the left and to the right of her are sculptures representing the images of Saints Cosmas and Damian. It is established that they were made by the students of the great master. Researchers suggest that it was for the Medici tomb that the statues of Apollo (another name is David) and the Crouching Boy were also made.

Next to the sculptures of the dukes, which did not have an external resemblance to their prototypes, allegorical figures were placed: "Morning", "Day", "Evening" and "Night". They are presented here as symbols of the transience of earthly time and human life. The statues located in narrow niches evoke the impression of depression, the imminent coming of something terrible and formidable. Volumetric figures dukes, which turned out to be crushed from all sides by stone walls, express the spiritual brokenness and inner emptiness of the images.

The most harmonious in this ensemble is the image of the Madonna. Extraordinarily expressive and full of lyricism, it is unambiguous and not burdened by gloomy lines.

The Medici Chapel is of particular interest from the point of view of the artistic unity of architectural and sculptural forms. The lines of the building and statues are subordinate here to one idea of ​​the artist. The chapel is the clearest example of the synthesis and harmony of the interaction of two arts - sculpture and architecture, where parts of one harmoniously complement and develop the meaning of the elements of the other.

From 1534, Michelangelo left Florence and settled in Rome, where he remained until the end of his life. The Roman period of the great master's work passed in the conditions of the struggle of the Counter-Reformation against the ideas sung by the writers, painters and sculptors of the Renaissance. The work of the latter is being replaced by the art of the Mannerists.

In Rome, Michelangelo becomes close to the people who made up the religious and philosophical circle, led by the famous Italian poetess of that time, Vittoria Colonna. However, as in his youth, Michelangelo's thoughts and ideas were far from those that hovered in the heads of the circle. In fact, the master lived and worked in Rome in an environment of misunderstanding and spiritual loneliness.

It was at this time (1535-1541) that the Last Judgment fresco appeared, which adorned the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel.

The biblical story here is rethought by the author. The picture of the Last Judgment is perceived by the viewer not as a positive beginning, the triumph of supreme justice, but rather as a universal tragedy of the death of the whole family, like the Apocalypse. Huge figures of people enhance the drama of the composition.

The elemental nature of the picture fully corresponds to the artist's task - to show a person lost in the general mass. Thanks to this decision of the artistic image, the viewer has a feeling of loneliness in this world and powerlessness in the face of hostile forces with which there is no point in fighting. Tragic notes acquire a more piercing sound also because the master does not have here an integral, monolithic image of a group of people (as it will be presented on the canvases of artists of the Late Renaissance), each of them lives his own life. However, the undoubted merit of the painter can already be considered the fact that he showed a human mass, albeit still incoherent, but no longer impersonal.

In The Last Judgment, Michelangelo presents an unusually expressive coloristic technique. The contrast of light naked bodies and the dark, black-and-blue sky enhances the impression of tragic tension and depression in the composition.

Michelangelo. Terrible Judgment. Fresco in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Fragment. 1535-1541

In the period from 1542 to 1550, Michelangelo was working on painting the walls of the Paolina Chapel in the Vatican. The great master painter painted two frescoes, one of which was later called "The Conversion of Paul", and the other - "The Crucifixion of Peter". In the latter, in the characters watching the execution of Peter, the idea of ​​tacit consent, inaction and obedience of a person to his fate is fully presented. People have neither physical nor mental strength to somehow resist violence and evil.

At the end of the 1530s. there is another sculpture by Michelangelo - a bust of Brutus. This work served as a kind of response from the famous master to the murder of the despotic Duke Alessandro de Medici, committed by his relative Lorenzo. Regardless of the true motives, the act of the latter was gladly welcomed by the artist - a supporter of the Republicans. Civil pathos is filled with the image of Brutus, represented by a noble, proud, independent master, a man of great intelligence and a warm heart. Here Michelangelo seems to return to the image perfect person with high spiritual and intellectual qualities.

The last years of Michelangelo's work passed in an atmosphere of loss of friends and relatives and an even more aggravated public reaction. The innovations of the counter-reformists could not but affect the works of the master, in which the most progressive ideas of the Renaissance were manifested: humanism, love of freedom, rebelliousness to fate. Suffice it to say that by the decision of one of the fierce admirers of the counter-reforms, Paul IV Caraffa, changes were made to the composition of the Last Judgment by the famous painter. The Pope considered obscene naked figures depicted in the fresco of people. On his orders, Michelangelo's student Daniele da Volterra hid the nakedness of some of Michelangelo's images with draperies of capes.

The gloomy and painful mood of loneliness and the collapse of all hopes are imbued latest works Michelangelo - a series of drawings and sculptures. It is these works that most clearly reflect the internal contradictions of the recognized master.

Thus, Jesus Christ in the "Pieta" from Palestrina is presented as a hero, broken under the onslaught of external forces. The same image in the "Pieta" ("The Entombment") from the Florence Cathedral is already more mundane and humanized. It's not a titan anymore. It turns out that it is more important for the artist to show the spiritual strength, emotions and experiences of the characters here.

The broken contours of the body of Christ, the image of a mother bending over the dead body of her son, Nicodemus lowering the body
Jesus into the tomb - everything is subordinated to one task: to depict the depth of human experiences. In addition, true
The advantage of these works is the master's overcoming of the disunity of images. The people in the picture are united by a feeling of deep compassion and the bitterness of loss. This technique of Michelangelo was developed at the next stage in the formation of the art of Italy, in the works of artists and sculptors of the Late Renaissance.

The pinnacle of the last stage of Michelangelo's work can be considered a sculpture, later called the Pieta Rondanini. The images shown here are presented as the embodiment of tenderness, spirituality, deep sorrow and sadness. Here, more than ever, the theme of human loneliness in a world where there are so many people sounds acute.

The same motifs resound in the late graphic works of the great master, who considered drawing the fundamental principle of sculpture, painting and architecture.

The images of Michelangelo's graphic works are no different from the heroes of his monumental compositions: the same majestic titan heroes are presented here. In the last period of creativity, Michelangelo turns to drawing as an independent artistic and visual genre. So, by the 30-40s. The appearance of the most striking and expressive compositions of the master belongs to the 16th century, such as: “The Fall of Phaeton” and “The Resurrection of Christ”.

The evolution of the master's artistic method is easily traced on the examples of graphic works. If the first drawings made with a pen contain quite specific images of figures with rather sharp outlines of contours, then later images become more vague and soft. This lightness is created due to the fact that the artist uses either a sanguine or an Italian pencil, with the help of which thinner and more delicate lines are created.

However, the late work of Michelangelo is marked not only in tragically hopeless ways. The architectural structures of the great master, dating back to this time, seem to continue the traditions of the Renaissance. His Cathedral of St. Peter and the architectural ensemble of the Capitol in Rome are the embodiment of the Renaissance ideas of high humanism.

Michelangelo Buonarroti died in Rome on February 18, 1564. His body, in the strictest confidence, was taken out of the capital and sent to Florence. The great artist was buried in the church of Santa Croce.

The work of the master of painting and sculpture played a big role in the formation and development of the artistic method of many followers of Michelangelo. Among them are Raphael, the mannerists, who often copied the lines of the images created by the famous painter. The art of Michelangelo was no less important for the representatives of the Baroque era. However, to say that the images of the baroque (a person carried forward not by internal impulses, but by external forces) are similar to the heroes of Michelangelo, glorifying humanism, will and inner strength person would be wrong.

Rafael Santi

Rafael Santi was born in the small town of Urbino in 1483. It was not possible to establish the exact date of birth of the great painter. According to one source, he was born on March 26 or 28. Other scholars claim that Raphael's date of birth was April 6, 1483.

By the end of the 15th century, Urbino became one of the largest cultural centers countries. Biographers suggest that Rafael studied with his father, Giovanni Santi. Since 1495, the young man has been working in the art workshop of the Urbino master Timoteo della Vite.

The earliest surviving works of Raphael are considered to be the miniatures “The Dream of the Knight” and “The Three Graces”. Already in these works, the humanistic ideals preached by the masters of the Renaissance are fully reflected.

In "The Knight's Dream" there is a kind of rethinking of the mythological theme of Hercules, facing a choice: Valor or Pleasure? .. Raphael depicts Hercules as a sleeping young knight. In front of him are two young women: one with a book and a sword in her hands (symbols of knowledge, valor and feats of arms), the other - with a flowering branch, personifying pleasure and enjoyment. The whole composition is placed against the backdrop of a beautiful landscape.

The "Three Graces" again presents antique images, taken, in all likelihood, from an ancient Greek cameo (an image on a precious or semiprecious stone).

Despite the fact that there are many borrowings in the early works of the young artist, the creative individuality of the author is already quite clearly manifested here. It is expressed in the lyricism of the images, the special rhythmic organization of the work, the softness of the lines that form the figures. As an artist of the High Renaissance, the extraordinary harmony of the painted images, characteristic of Raphael's early works, as well as compositional clarity and clarity, speak of the artist.

In 1500, Raphael leaves his native city and goes to Perugia, the main city of Umbria. Here he studies painting in the workshop of Pietro Perugino, who was the founder of the Umbrian art school. Raphael's contemporaries testify: a capable student adopted his teacher's style of writing so deeply that their canvases could not even be distinguished. Very often, Rafael and Perugino fulfilled the order, working together on a painting.

However, it would be wrong to say that the original talent of the young artist did not develop at all during this period. This is confirmed by the famous Conestabile Madonna, created around 1504.

In this canvas, for the first time, the image of the Madonna appears, which in the future will take one of the leading places in the artist's work. Madonna is painted against the backdrop of a wonderful landscape with trees, hills and a lake. The images are united by the fact that the gaze of the Madonna and the baby is turned to the book, which the young mother is busy reading. The completeness of the composition is conveyed not only by the figures of the main characters, but also by the very shape of the picture - tondo (round), which does not at all limit the freedom of images. They are bulky and lightweight. The impression of naturalness and realism is created through the use of light cold colors in the composition and their special combinations: the deep blue cloak of the Madonna, the transparent blue sky, green trees and lake water, snow-capped mountains with white tops. All this, when looking at the picture, creates a feeling of purity and tenderness.

Another no less famous work of Raphael, also related to the early period of his work, is a canvas created in 1504 called "The Betrothal of Mary". The painting is currently kept in the Brera Gallery in Milan. Of particular interest here is the compositional structure. The religious and ritual act of betrothal was transferred by the painter from the walls of the church, visible in the distance, to the street. The sacrament is performed under a clear light blue sky. In the center of the picture is a priest, to the left and to the right of him are Mary and Joseph, next to whom young girls and boys stand in small groups. Placed in the perspective of the composition, the church is a kind of background against which the betrothal takes place. She is a symbol of divine disposition and favor to Mary and Joseph. The logical completeness of the picture is given by the semicircular frame of the canvas in its upper part, repeating the line of the dome of the church.

The figures in the picture are unusually lyrical and at the same time natural. Here, movements, plasticity of the human body are very accurately and subtly conveyed. A vivid example of this is the figure of a boy, located in the foreground of the composition, breaking a staff on his knee. Graceful, almost ethereal, Mary and Joseph seem to the viewer. Their spiritualized faces are filled with love and tenderness. Despite a certain symmetry in the arrangement of the figures, the canvas does not lose its lyrical sound. The images created by Raphael are not schemes, they are living people in all the variety of their feelings.

It was in this work that for the first time, in comparison with previous works, the talent of the young master manifested itself most clearly in the ability to subtly organize the rhythm of the composition. Due to this property, big picture images of architectural structures turn out to be harmoniously included, which are not only an element of Raphael's landscape, but also become on a par with the main characters, reveal their essence and character.

The desire to create a special rhythm in the work is also dictated by the artist's use of paints of certain tones. So, the composition of "The Betrothal of Mary" is built on only four colors.

Golden-yellow, green and red tones, combined in the clothes of heroes, landscape, architecture and setting the necessary rhythm of the overall composition, form harmony with the light blue shades of the sky.

Very soon, Perugino's art workshop becomes too small for the further growth of the painter's talent. In 1504, Raphael decides to move to Florence, where the ideas and aesthetics of High Renaissance art are being developed. Here Raphael gets acquainted with the works of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. It is safe to say that they were the teachers of the young painter at this stage of the formation of his creative method. In the works of these masters, the young artist found something that was not in the Umbrian school: the original style of creating images, the expressive plasticity of the depicted figures, a more voluminous representation of reality.

New artistic and visual solutions were already reflected in the works created by Raphael in 1505. Portraits of Angelo Doni, a well-known patron of the arts from Florence at that time, and his wife are currently kept in the Pitti Gallery. The images are devoid of any heroic pathos and hyperbolization. This ordinary people endowed, however, with the best human qualities, among which are determination and strong will.

Here, in Florence, Raphael paints a cycle of paintings dedicated to the Madonna. His canvases “Madonna in the Green”, “Madonna with a Goldfinch”, “Madonna the Gardener” appear. These compositions are variants of the same piece. All canvases depict the Madonna and Child with little John the Baptist. The figures are placed against the backdrop of a fabulously beautiful landscape. The images of Raphael are unusually lyrical, soft and gentle. His Madonna is the embodiment of all-forgiving, serene maternal love. In these works, there is a certain amount of sentimentality and excessive admiration for the external beauty of the characters.

A distinctive feature of the painter's artistic method during this period is the lack of a clear vision of color, inherent in all the masters of the Florentine school. There are no dominant colors on the canvases. Images are rendered in pastel colors. Color for the artist is not the main thing here. More important for him is to convey as accurately as possible the lines that form the figure.

In Florence, the first examples of monumental painting by Raphael were created. Among them, the most interesting is created in the period from 1506 to 1507 “Madonna with John the Baptist and St. Nicholas" (or "Madonna of Ansidei"). On creative method the artist was largely influenced by the canvases of Florentine painters, mainly Leonardo da Vinci and Fra Bartolomeo.

In 1507, wanting to compare with the best masters of the Florentine school, they were Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, Raphael created a rather large canvas, called "The Entombment". Separate elements of the images of the composition are repetitions of famous painters. So, the head and body of Christ are borrowed from Michelangelo's sculpture "Pieta" (1498-1501), and the image of a woman supporting Mary is from the canvas of the same master "Madonna Doni". Many art historians do not consider this work of Raphael to be original, revealing his original talent and features of the artistic and visual method.

Despite the last unsuccessful work, Raphael's achievements in art were significant. Soon, contemporaries notice and recognize the works of the young artist, and the author himself is put on a par with the outstanding masters of the Renaissance. In 1508, under the patronage of the famous architect Bramante, fellow countryman Raphael, the painter travels to Rome, where he is among those invited to the papal court.

Julius II, who was at that time on the papal throne, was known as a vain, determined and strong-willed person.
It was during his reign that the papal possessions were greatly expanded with the help of wars. The same "offensive" policy was carried out in relation to the development of culture and the arts. So, the most famous artists, sculptors and architects were invited to the papal court. Rome, decorated with numerous architectural buildings, began to noticeably change: Bramante built the Cathedral of St. Peter; Michelangelo, having temporarily suspended the construction of the tomb of Julius II, began to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Gradually, a circle of poets and scientists formed around the Pope, preaching high humanistic principles and ideas. Rafael Santi, who arrived from Florence, fell into such an atmosphere.

Arriving in Rome, Raphael set to work on painting the Pope's apartments (the so-called stanzas). The frescoes were created in the period from 1509 to 1517. They are distinguished from works of a similar nature by other masters by a number of features. First of all, it is the scale of the paintings. If in the works of previous painters there were several small compositions on one wall, then Raphael has a separate wall for each painting. Accordingly, the depicted figures also “grew up”.

Further, it is necessary to note the saturation of Raphael's frescoes with a variety of decorative elements: ceilings decorated with artificial marble and gilding, fresco and mosaic compositions, and a floor painted with a fancy pattern. Such diversity does not create, however, the impression of excess and chaos. Arranged in their places and skillfully arranged decorative elements evoke a sense of harmony, order and a certain rhythm set by the master. As a result of such creative and technical innovations, the images created by the artist in the paintings are clearly visible to the viewer and therefore acquire the necessary clarity and clarity.

All frescoes had to obey a common theme: the glorification of the Catholic Church and its head. In this regard, the paintings are built on biblical scenes and scenes from the history of the papacy (with images of Julius II and his successor Leo X). However, in Raphael, such specific images acquire a generalized allegorical meaning, revealing the essence of the humanistic ideas of the Renaissance.

Of particular interest from this point of view is the Stanza della Senyatura (signature room). The frescoes of the composition are an expression of four areas of human spiritual activity. Thus, the fresco "Disputation" shows theology, "The School of Athens" - philosophy, "Parnassus" - poetry, "Wisdom, Moderation and Strength" - justice. The upper part of each fresco is crowned with an allegorical image of a figure representing a particular type of activity. In the corners of the vaults there are small compositions, similar in theme to one or another fresco.

The composition of the painting in the Stanza della Senyatura is based on a combination of biblical and ancient Greek subjects (biblical - "The Fall", antique - "Apollo's Victory over Marsyas"). The very fact that a combination of mythological, pagan and secular themes was used to decorate the papal rooms testifies to the attitude of people of that time to religious dogmas. The frescoes of Raphael expressed the priority of the secular beginning over the church-religious.

The most striking and most fully reflecting the religious cult fresco was the painting "Dispute". Here the composition appears to be divided into two parts: heaven and earth. Below, on the ground, there are figures of the church fathers, as well as clergymen, elders and youths. Their images are unusually natural, which is created with the help of a realistic transfer of the plasticity of bodies, turns and movements of figures. Among the mass of people here you can easily recognize Dante, Savonarola, the painter Fra Beato Angelico.

Above the figures of people are images symbolizing the Holy Trinity: God the Father, a little lower than him - Jesus Christ with the Mother of God and John the Baptist, below them - a dove - the personification of the Holy Spirit. In the center of the overall composition, as a symbol of communion, there is a host.

In "Dispute" Raphael appears as an unsurpassed master of composition. Despite the many symbols, the picture is distinguished by the extraordinary clarity of images and the clarity of the author's thoughts. The symmetry of the arrangement of figures in the upper part of the composition is softened by the almost chaotically placed figures in its lower part. And therefore, some sketchiness of the image of the first becomes barely noticeable. The cross-cutting compositional element here is a semicircle: a semicircle located in the upper part of the saints and apostles on the clouds and, as its echo, a semicircle of free and more natural figures of people in the lower part of the picture.

One of the best frescoes and works of Raphael of this period of his work is the painting "The School of Athens". This fresco is the embodiment of high humanistic ideals associated with art. Ancient Greece. The artist depicted famous ancient philosophers and scientists. The figures of Plato and Aristotle are placed in the central part of the composition. The hand of Plato points to the earth, and Aristotle - to the sky, which symbolizes the teachings of the ancient philosophers.

On the left side of Plato is the figure of Socrates, who is having a conversation with a group of people, among whom the face of the young Alcibiades stands out noticeably, whose body is protected by a shell, and his head is covered with a helmet. On the steps is placed Diogenes, the founder philosophical school cynics. He is represented here as a beggar standing at the entrance to the temple and begging for alms.

At the bottom of the composition are two groups of people. On the left side is shown the figure of Pythagoras, surrounded by students. On the right - Euclid, drawing something on a slate board, also surrounded by students. To the right of the last group are Zoroaster and crowned Ptolemy with spheres in his hands. Nearby, the author placed his self-portrait and the figure of the painter Sodom (it was he who began to work on the painting of Stanza della Senyatura). To the left of the center, the artist placed the thoughtful Heraclitus of Ephesus.

Compared with the images on the frescoes of the Dispute, the figures of the School of Athens are much larger and more monumental. These are heroes endowed with an extraordinary mind and great fortitude. The main images of the fresco are Plato and Aristotle. Their significance is determined not only and not so much by the place in the composition (they occupy a central place), but by the facial expression and the special plasticity of the bodies: these figures have a truly regal posture and gait. An interesting fact is that Leonardo da Vinci became the prototype of the image of Plato. The model for writing the image of Euclid was the architect Bramante. The prototype of Heraclitus was the figure depicted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Some scholars suggest that the image of Heraclitus was copied by the master from Michelangelo himself.

The theme also changes here: the fresco sounds like a kind of hymn to the human mind and human will. That is why all the characters are located against the backdrop of grandiose architectural buildings, symbolizing the infinity of the human mind and creative thought. If the characters of "Disputes" are passive, then the images presented in the "Athenian School" are active and energetic builders of their lives, transformers of the world social order.

The compositional solutions of the fresco are also interesting. So, the figures of Plato and Aristotle located in the background, due to the fact that they are shown in motion, are the main ones in the picture. In addition, they form the dynamic center of the composition. Protruding from the depths, they seem to go forward, towards the viewer, which creates the impression of dynamics, the development of the composition, which is framed by a semicircular arch.

Work on the painting behind the room of seals of the Stanza d'Eliodoro was carried out by Rafal between 1511 and 1514. The subjects for the frescoes of this room were biblical legends and facts from the history of the papacy, embellished with stories in which the main place was given to divine providence and a miracle.

The room got its name after the completion of decorative work on the fresco "The Expulsion of Eliodor", the plot of which was based on the story of the Syrian commander Eliodor, who wished to steal the wealth stored in the Jerusalem castle. However, the sky rider prevented him. The fresco served as a reminder of how the troops of Pope Julius II defeated and ignominiously expelled the French army from the Papal States.

However, this fresco is not distinguished by the power of expressing the artist's creative intent. This is probably due to the fact that the overall composition is divided into two separate parts. On the left is a beautiful rider who, together with two angels, is trying to strike Eliodor. On the right side of the fresco is Julius II, reclining on a stretcher. Among those supporting the stretcher, the painter portrayed the famous German painter Albrecht Dürer. Despite the alleged heroic pathos of the plot, the images of Raphael here are completely devoid of dynamics and drama.

Somewhat stronger in character and perfect in compositional structure is a fresco called "Mass in Bolsena". Its plot is based on a story about an unbelieving priest whose wafer was stained with blood during the sacrament. Witnesses of this miracle on the canvas of Raphael were Pope Julius II, located behind him, the cardinals and the Swiss from the guard.

A distinctive feature of this work of the famous artist was a large, in comparison with previous works, the degree of naturalness and naturalness in the depiction of characters. These are no longer abstract figures that amaze with their external beauty, but quite real people. The most striking evidence of this is the images of the Swiss from the papal guards, whose faces are full of internal energy, expressing a strong human will. However, their feelings are not a creative invention of the artist. These are very real human emotions.

In this work, the author pays much attention to color, the coloristic fullness of the canvas and images. The painter is now concerned not only with the exact transfer of the contour lines of the figures, but also with the color saturation of the images, the display of their inner world through a certain tone.

Equally expressive is the fresco "Production of Peter", depicting the scene of the liberation of the Apostle Peter by an angel. Art historians believe that this picture is a symbol of the fabulous release of the papal legate Leo X (who later became Pope) from French captivity.

Of particular interest in this fresco is the compositional and color solution found by the author. It reproduces night lighting, which enhances the dramatic nature of the overall composition. The carefully selected architectural background also contributes to the disclosure of the content and greater emotional content of the picture: a dungeon built of massive bricks, a heavy arched vault, and thick bars of a lattice.

The fourth and last fresco in the Stanza d'Eliodoro, later called "Meeting of Pope Leo I with Attila", was made according to Raphael's sketches by his students, Giulio Romano and Francesco Penny. The work was carried out in the period from 1514 to 1517. The master himself, who by that time had become an unusually popular artist, whose fame extended throughout Italy, and who received a lot of orders, could not finish decorating the papal chambers. In addition, Raphael at that time was appointed chief architect of St. Peter's Cathedral, and also oversaw the archaeological excavations that were then carried out on the territory of Rome and its environs.

The paintings that adorned the Stanzas del Incendio were based on stories from the history of the papacy. Among all the frescoes, perhaps only one deserves special attention - “The Fire in Borgo”. She tells about a fire that occurred in one of the Roman quarters in 847. Pope Leo IV then took part in extinguishing the fire. This fresco is distinguished by excessive pathos and artificial drama in the image of people trying to escape from disaster: a son carrying his father, a young man climbing over a wall, a girl holding a jug.

The frescoes of the Vatican stanzas well show the evolution of Raphael's work: the artist is gradually moving from the ideal images of early works to drama and at the same time closer to life in works belonging to the late period ( plot compositions and portraits).

Almost immediately upon his arrival in Rome, in 1509, Raphael, continuing the theme of the Madonna, wrote the canvas “Madonna Alba”. Compared to the figures of the Conestabile Madonna, the images in the Alba Madonna are much more complex. Mary is depicted here as a young woman with strong character, energetic and confident. The movements of the baby are just as strong. The painting is in the form of a tondo. However, the figures are written out here in full, which was not typical for round canvases. Such an arrangement of figures, however, does not lead to the appearance of static images. They, as well as the entire composition as a whole, are shown in dynamics. This feeling is created due to the fact that the master subtly and accurately conveys the plasticity of the movements of the human body.

Of particular importance for the formation of the artist’s creative method was the painting “Madonna in the Chair” (or “Madonna della sedia”), work on which was completed around 1516. A somewhat idealized image of the Madonna is down to earth here by introducing specific, real elements into the composition. So, for example, Mary's chest is covered with a wide bright scarf with a fringe. Such scarves at that time were the favorite outfit of all Italian peasant women.

The figures of the Madonna, the Christ child and the little John the Baptist are located close to each other. It seems as if the images smoothly flow into one another. The whole picture is imbued with an unusually bright lyrical feeling. The ever-living theme of maternal love is conveyed here not only in Mary's gaze, but also in the plasticity of her figure. The shape of the tondo gives the whole composition a logical completeness. The figures of Mary and the baby, placed on a round canvas, are a symbol of the unity of the two closest people: mother and child. This
painting by Raphael was recognized by his contemporaries as the pinnacle of easel painting, not only in terms of compositional construction, but also due to the subtle transfer of plastic lines of images.

From the 10s. 16th century Raphael is working on compositions for altarpieces. So, in 1511, the Foligno Madonna appears. And in 1515, the famous artist begins to create a canvas, which later will bring the painter the glory of a great master and win the hearts of more than one generation of people. "The Sistine Madonna" is a painting that marked the final stage in the formation of the artistic method of Raphael. The theme of motherhood has received here, in comparison with previous works, greatest development and the most complete implementation.

Upon entering the cathedral, the viewer's eye is immediately drawn to the majestic figure of the Madonna, carrying the baby Jesus Christ in her arms. This effect is achieved by a special compositional arrangement of the characters. The half-open curtain, the eyes of Saints Sixtus and Barbara, turned to Mary - all this is aimed at highlighting and making the young mother the center of the composition.

In revealing the image of the Madonna, Raphael departed far from the Renaissance artists. The Madonna here speaks directly to the viewer. She is not busy with a child (like the Madonna of Leonardo da Vinci) and is not immersed in herself (like the heroines of the master's early works). This Mary, moving through the snow-white clouds towards the viewer, is having a conversation with him. In her wide eyes, you can see mother's love, and some confusion, and hopelessness, and humility, and deep concern for the future fate of his son. She, as a seer, knows everything that will happen to her child. However, for the sake of saving people, the mother is ready to sacrifice him. The image of the infant Christ is endowed with the same seriousness. In his eyes, as it were, the whole world is enclosed, he, like a prophet, tells us the fate of mankind and his own.

Raphael. Sistine Madonna. 1515-1519

The image of Mary is full of drama and unusually expressive. However, it is devoid of idealization and is not endowed with hyperbolic features. The feeling of completeness, completeness of the image is created here due to the dynamism of the composition, which is expressed by the accurate and faithful transfer of the plasticity of the figures, and the drapery of the clothes of the heroes. All figures are presented, alive, mobile, bright. Mary's face, like the baby Christ with unchildishly sad eyes, expresses a whole gamut of feelings that change one after another literally before the viewer's eyes: sadness, anxiety, humility and, finally, determination.

Among art historians, the question of the prototype of the Sistine Madonna still remains open. Some scholars identify this image with the image of a young woman depicted in the portrait "Lady in a Veil" (1514). However, according to the testimony of the artist's contemporaries, Mary on the canvas "Sistine Madonna" is rather a generalized type of woman, a Raphaelian ideal, rather than a specific image of anyone.

Among the portrait works of Raphael, the portrait of Pope Julius II, painted in 1511, is of great interest. A real person is shown here as a kind of ideal, which was a characteristic feature of the painter's creative method.

Of particular note is the portrait of Count Baldassare Castiglione, created in 1515, which depicts a calm, balanced, harmoniously developed person. Rafael appears here as a wonderful master of color. He uses complex color combinations and tone transitions. The same mastery of hue is also distinguished by another work of the painter: a female portrait “Lady in a Veil” (“La donna velata”, 1514), where the color dominant is white paint (the woman’s snow-white dress sets off a light veil).

A significant part in the work of Raphael is occupied by monumental works. Among his later similar works, the most interesting is, first of all, the fresco that adorned the walls of the Villa Farnesina in 1515 (formerly the property of the rich Chigi) “The Triumph of Galatea”. This picture is distinguished by an unusually joyful mood. The images are literally overflowing with happiness. A similar tone is created through the use of a special combination of bright, saturated colors: naked white bodies are harmoniously combined here with a transparent blue sky and blue waves of the sea.

The last monumental work of Raphael was the decoration of the walls of the arched gallery, located on the second floor of the Vatican Palace. The decor for the halls was decorated with paintings and mosaics made of artificial marble. The plots for the frescoes were drawn by the artist from biblical legends and the so-called. grotesques (painting found on ancient Greek tombs - grottoes). There are 52 paintings in total. They were later combined into a cycle under the general name "Raphael's Bible". It is also interesting that the famous artist carried out work on decorating the halls of the Vatican Palace together with his students, among whom Giulio Romano, Francesco Penny, Perino del Vaga, Giovanni da Udine occupied a prominent place.

Raphael's later easel paintings were a kind of reflection and expression of the master's gradually growing creative crisis. Following the path of ever-increasing dramatization of images created by the masters of the High Renaissance, but at the same time remaining true to his own, already established methods of artistic representation, Raphael comes to the contradictions of style. His means and ways of expressing thoughts turn out to be too few in order to create qualitatively new, more perfect images in terms of conveying their inner world and external beauty. Vivid examples illustrating this period of Raphael's work are "Carrying the Cross" (1517), the cycle "Holy Families" (approximately 1518), the altar composition "Transfiguration".

It is quite possible that such a talented painter as Raphael would have found a way out of such a creative impasse, if not for the sudden death that shocked all the contemporaries of the master. Rafael Santi died on April 6, 1520 at the age of 37. A lavish funeral was held. The ashes of the great painter are buried in the Pantheon in Rome.

The works of Raphael to this day remain masterpieces of world art. These pictures are an example classical art, were called to show mankind a perfect, unearthly beauty. They presented the viewer with a world where people have high feelings and thoughts. Raphael's work is a kind of hymn to art, which transforms a person, making him cleaner, brighter, more beautiful.

Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)

Tiziano Vecellio was born into a military family in the small town of Pieve di Cadore, located in the mountains and part of the Venetian possessions. Scientists have not been able to accurately establish the date and year of Titian's birth. Some believe that this is 1476-1477, others - 1485-1490.

Scientists suggest that the Vecellio family was ancient and quite influential in the city. Seeing the boy's early talent for painting, the parents decided to give Tiziano to the art workshop of the Venetian mosaic master. Some time later, the young Vecellio was assigned to study at the workshop, first of Gentile Bellini, and then of Giovanni Bellini. At this time, the young artist met Giorgione, whose influence was reflected in his early works.

All the artist's work can be divided into two periods: the first - the so-called. dzhordzhonevsky - until 1515-1516 (when the influence of Giorgione is most strongly expressed in the works of the painter); the second - from the 40s. 16th century (at this time, Titian is an already established master representing the art of the Late Renaissance).

Following at an early stage the artistic method of Giorgione and the painters of the Renaissance, Titian rethinks the ways of solving artistic problems. New images come out from under the artist's brush, which differ significantly from the sublime and refined figures, such as Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci. The heroes of Titian are mundane, full-bodied, sensual, they have a pagan beginning to a large extent. The early canvases of the painter are distinguished by a rather simple composition, which, nevertheless, is permeated with an unusually joyful mood and consciousness of cloudless happiness, fullness and infinity of earthly life.

Among the works of this period, which most fully express the artist's creative method, one of the most striking is the painting "Love on Earth and Heaven", dated to the 10s. 16th century. It is important for the author not only to convey the plot, but also to show a beautiful landscape that evokes thoughts of peace and happiness of being, and the sensual beauty of a woman.

The female figures are undoubtedly sublime, but they are not abstracted from life and are not idealized by the author. The landscape, painted with soft colors and placed in the background, serves as an excellent backdrop for graceful and elegant, but at the same time quite real, specific female images: Earthly Love and Heavenly Love. A skillfully composed composition and a subtle sense of color helped the artist to create an unusually harmonious work, each element of which turns out to be subordinate to the author's desire to show the natural beauty of earthly nature and man.

In Titian's later work Assunta (or Ascension of Mary), dating back to 1518, there is no that calm contemplation and tranquility that sounds in the work Earthly and Heavenly Love. There is more dynamics, strength, energy. The central figure of the composition is Mary, shown as a young woman full of earthly beauty and strength. The views of the apostles are directed at her, the images of which express the same inner vitality and energy. A kind of hymn to human beauty and strong human feeling is the composition "Bacchus and Ariadne" (from the cycle "Bacchanalia", 1523).

Glorification of the earthly female beauty became the theme of another work by Titian, called "Venus of Urbino". It was created in 1538. Despite the fact that there is absolutely no sublimity and spirituality of the image, the latter still does not reduce the aesthetic value of the canvas. Venus is really beautiful here. However, her beauty is mundane and natural, which distinguishes the image created by Titian from Botticelli's Venus.

However, it would be wrong to say that the images of the early period of the development of the artist's work glorified only the external beauty of a person. Their whole appearance depicts a harmonious person, whose external beauty is equated with the spiritual and is the reverse side of an equally beautiful soul.

From this point of view, of greatest interest is the image of Jesus Christ on the canvas "Caesar's Denarius", created in the period from 1515 to 1520. Titian's Jesus is shown not at all as a divine, exalted, heavenly being. The spiritualized expression of his face suggests that in front of the viewer is a noble person with a perfect mental organization.

The images created in the altar composition "Madonna Pesaro", written in the period from 1519 to 1526, are filled with the same spirituality. These heroes are not schemes or abstractions. The creation of a lively, real picture is largely facilitated by the master's use of a range of various colors: Mary's snow-white veil, sky-blue, scarlet, bright red, golden clothes of heroes, rich green carpet. Such a variety of tones does not introduce chaos into the composition, but, on the contrary, helps the painter to create a harmonious and harmonious system of images.

In the 1520s Titian created the first work of a dramatic nature. This is the famous painting "The Entombment". The image of Christ here is interpreted in the same way as in the painting "Caesar's Denarius". Jesus is presented not as a being who descended from heaven in order to save mankind, but as a completely earthly hero who fell in an unequal battle. Despite all the tragedy and drama of the plot, the canvas does not cause the viewer to feel hopeless. On the contrary, the image created by Titian is a symbol of optimism and heroism, personifying the inner beauty of a person, the nobility and strength of his spirit.

This character significantly distinguishes this work of the artist from his later work of the same name, dated 1559, in which optimistic moods are replaced by hopeless tragedy. Here, as well as in another painting by Titian - “The Assassination of St. Peter the Martyr”, the creation of which dates back to the period from 1528 to 1530, the master uses a new method of artistic representation. The pictures of nature presented on the canvases (the sunset in “The Entombment” conveyed in dark, gloomy colors and the trees bending under strong gusts of wind in “The Assassination of St. Peter the Martyr”) turn out to be a kind of expression of human feelings and passions. The Great Mother Nature submits here to the Sovereign Man. Titian in the compositions mentioned above, as it were, affirms the idea that everything that happens in nature is caused by human actions. He is the lord and ruler of the world (including nature).

A new stage in the development of the artist's skill in creating multi-figured compositions was the canvas entitled "Introduction to the Temple", dated 1534-1538. Despite the fact that Titian wrote out a lot of images here, they all turn out to be united into a compositional whole by an interest in a significant event taking place before their eyes - the introduction of Mary into the temple. The figure of the main character is separated from the minor (but no less significant) characters by spatial pauses: she is separated from the crowd of curious people and priests by steps of a staircase. A festive mood, a sense of the significance of what is happening is created in the composition by gestures and plasticity of the figures. However, due to the inclusion in the picture of the figure of the egg dealer, placed in the foreground, the excessive pathos of the work is reduced and the impression of realism and naturalness of the situation described by the artist is enhanced.

Introduction to the composition of folk images is a characteristic feature of Titian's artistic and visual method in the period from the 30s. XVI century. It is these images that help the master create a vitally truthful picture.

The most complete creative idea to show a harmonious person, beautiful in both soul and body, was embodied in the portrait works of Titian. One of the first works of this nature is "Portrait of a young man with a glove." The creation of the canvas refers to the period from 1515 to 1520. The image of a young man represents a whole generation of people of that time - the Renaissance. The portrait embodies the idea of ​​harmony of the human spirit and body. Broad shoulders, loose plasticity of the body, casually unbuttoned shirt collar, calm confidence expressed by the look of a young man - everything is aimed at conveying the main idea of ​​the author about the joy of human existence and the happiness of an ordinary person who does not know sadness and is not torn apart by internal contradictions.

The same type of harmoniously arranged happy person can be seen on the canvases "Violante" and "Portrait of Tommaso Mosti" (both - 1515-1520).

In portraits created much later, the viewer will no longer find that straightforwardness and clear certainty of the nature of the images, which was typical for similar works of the period 1515-1520. The essence of the late characters of Titian, in comparison with the early ones, is much more complex and multifaceted. A vivid example of the change in the author's artistic method is the painting "Portrait of Ippolito Riminaldi", created in the late 1540s. The portrait depicts a young man whose face, bordered by a small beard, expresses a deep inner struggle of feelings and emotions.

The images created by Titian during this period are not typical for the art of the High Renaissance: they are complex, in many ways contradictory and dramatic. These are the heroes of the composition, called "Portrait of Pope Paul III with Alessandro and Ottavio Farnese." The canvas was created in the period from 1545 to 1546. Pope Paul III is shown as a cunning and distrustful person. He watches with concern and malice Ottavio, his nephew, a well-known flatterer and hypocrite at court.

Titian showed himself to be a remarkable master of artistic composition. The essence of people's characters is revealed in this work through the interaction of characters with each other, through their gestures and postures.

A portrait depicting Charles V (1548) was built on a combination of majestic decorative and realistic elements. The inner world of the model is shown with masterful precision. The viewer understands what is in front of him special person with a complex character, the main features of which are both a great mind and fortitude, as well as cunning, cruelty, hypocrisy.

In the portraits created by Titian, which are simpler in terms of compositional construction, all the viewer's attention is focused on the inner world of the image. For example, one can cite the canvas “Portrait of Aretino”, dated 1545. The model was chosen by the artist as a well-known person in Venice at that time, Pietro Aretino, who became famous for his extraordinary greed for money and earthly pleasures. However, despite this, he highly appreciated art, he himself was the author of a number of journalistic articles, a large number of comedies, short stories and poems (although not always
decent content).

Titian decided to capture such a person in one of his works. His Aretino is a complex realistic image, containing the most diverse, sometimes even contradictory feelings and character traits.

The tragic conflict of a person with forces hostile to him is shown in the painting “Behold the Man”, painted in 1543. The plot was inspired by the growing public reaction of the supporters of the Counter-Reformation against the humanistic ideas of the Renaissance in Italy at that time. In the composition, the image of Christ as the bearer of lofty universal ideals opposes Pilate, shown as cynical, vicious and ugly. In that
for the first time, notes of denial of sensual, earthly pleasures and joys appear in the work.

Titian. Portrait of Pope Paul III with Alessandro and Ottavio Farnese. 1545-1546

The same striking contrast marked the images of the canvas "Danae", written around 1554. The work is distinguished by a high degree of drama. In it, the author, as before, sings of the beauty and happiness of man. However, happiness is transient and momentary. In the picture there is no immutability of mood and calm appeasement of the characters that distinguish the images created earlier (“Love on earth and heaven”, “Venus of Urbino”).

The main theme in the work is the collision of the beautiful and the ugly, the high and the low. And if a young girl expresses all the most sublime that is in a person, then an old maid trying to catch golden rain coins personifies the lowest human qualities: self-interest, greed, cynicism.

Drama is emphasized in the composition by a certain combination of dark and light tones. It is with the help of paint that the artist places semantic accents in the picture. So, a young girl symbolizes beauty and bright feelings. And the old woman, who is surrounded by gloomy dark tones, contains an expression of a base beginning.

This period of Titian's work is characterized not only by the creation of contradictory images full of drama. At the same time, the artist paints a number of works, the theme of which is the bewitching beauty of a woman. However, it is still necessary to note the fact that these works are devoid of that optimistic and life-affirming mood, which sounds, for example, in Love on Earth and Heaven and Bacchanalia. Among the paintings of the greatest interest are "Diana and Actaeon", "Shepherd and Nymph" (1559), "Venus with Adonis".

One of the best works Titian is a painting called "Kayushda Mary Magdalene", created in the 60s. 16th century. Many Renaissance artists turned to this biblical story. However, Titian reinterprets the image of the penitent Mary Magdalene. The figure of a young woman, full of beauty and health, expresses rather than Christian repentance, but sadness and longing for happiness lost forever. Man, as always, is beautiful in Titian, but his well-being, calmness and peace of mind depend on external forces. It is they who, interfering in the fate of a person, destroy the harmony of the spirit. It is no coincidence that the image of the Magdalene, stricken with grief, is shown against the backdrop of a gloomy landscape that crowns the dark sky with impending black clouds - a foretaste of
thunderstorms.

The same theme of human suffering is also heard in the later works of the famous master: “Coronation with a Crown of Thorns” (1570) and “St. Sebastian" (1570).

In The Crowning with Thorns, Jesus is presented by the artist in the form of an ordinary person, surpassing his tormentors in physical, and most importantly, moral qualities.

However, he is alone and only therefore cannot be a winner. Dramatic, emotional intensity of the scene is enhanced by a gloomy, dark color.

The theme of a lonely hero in conflict with the outside world is also heard in the work “St. Sebastian". The protagonist is shown here as a majestic titan - an image characteristic of the art of the Renaissance. However, he is still defeated.

The landscape, symbolizing forces hostile to the character, plays an independent role here. Despite the drama of the plot, the composition as a whole is permeated with a life-affirming mood.

A kind of hymn to the human mind, wisdom and fidelity to accepted ideals is the self-portrait of the master, created in the 60s. 16th century

One of the most expressive paintings by Titian is recognized as "Pieta" (or "Lamentation of Christ"), written around 1576. The figures of grief-stricken women are depicted here against the backdrop of a stone niche and a gloomy landscape. Mary, like a statue, froze in grief. The image of the Magdalene is unusually bright and dynamic: the figure of a woman striving forward, a hand raised up, fiery red hair tossing, a slightly parted mouth, from which a cry of despair is about to break out. Jesus is shown not as a divine celestial being, but quite real person, defeated in an unequal battle with forces hostile to the human world. The tragedy of the images is expressed in the picture with the help of tonal and light-and-shadow transitions. The main characters turn out to be, as it were, snatched out by rays of light from the darkness of the night.

This work by Titian glorifies a man endowed with deep feelings. The painting "Pieta" was a kind of farewell song dedicated to the light, sublime and majestic heroes created in the Renaissance.

The great painter, who gave the world beautiful images, died on August 27, 1576, presumably from the plague. He left behind many canvases that still amaze the audience with their mastery of execution and a subtle sense of color. Titian appears before us as a wonderful psychologist, a connoisseur of the human soul. Among his students were such artists as Jacopo Nigreti (Palma the Elder), Bonifacio de Pitati, Paris Bordone, Jacopo Palma the Younger.

Characteristic features in the art of the Renaissance

Perspective. To add three-dimensional depth and space to their work, Renaissance artists borrowed and greatly expanded the concepts of linear perspective, horizon line, and vanishing point.

§ Linear perspective. Painting with linear perspective is like looking out the window and painting exactly what you see on the window pane. Objects in the picture began to have their own dimensions, depending on the distance. Those that were farther from the viewer decreased, and vice versa.

§ Skyline. This is a line at the distance at which objects shrink to a point as thick as this line.

§ Vanishing point. This is the point at which parallel lines seem to converge far in the distance, often at the horizon line. This effect can be observed if you stand on the railroad tracks and look at the rails that go to yes. l.

Shadows and light. Artists played with interest in how light falls on objects and creates shadows. Shadows and light could be used to draw attention to a particular point in a painting.

Emotions. Renaissance artists wanted the viewer, looking at the work, to feel something, to experience an emotional experience. It was a form of visual rhetoric where the viewer felt inspired to become better at something.

Realism and naturalism. In addition to perspective, the artists sought to make objects, especially people, look more realistic. They studied human anatomy, measured proportions and searched for the ideal human form. The people looked real and showed genuine emotion, allowing the viewer to make inferences about what the people depicted were thinking and feeling.

The era of "Renaissance" is divided into 4 stages:

Proto-Renaissance (2nd half of the 13th century - 14th century)

Early Renaissance (early 15th - late 15th century)

High Renaissance (late 15th - first 20 years of the 16th century)

Late Renaissance (mid-16th - 1590s)

Proto-Renaissance

Proto-Renaissance is closely connected with the Middle Ages, in fact, it appeared in Late Middle Ages, with Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic traditions, this period was the forerunner of the Renaissance. It is divided into two sub-periods: before the death of Giotto di Bondone and after (1337). Italian artist and architect, founder of the Proto-Renaissance era. One of the key figures in the history of Western art. Having overcome the Byzantine icon-painting tradition, he became the true founder of the Italian school of painting, developed a completely new approach to depicting space. Giotto's works were inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo. The central figure of painting was Giotto. Renaissance artists considered him a reformer of painting. Giotto outlined the path along which its development went: filling religious forms with secular content, a gradual transition from planar images to three-dimensional and relief images, an increase in realism, introduced a plastic volume of figures into painting, depicted an interior in painting.

At the end of the 13th century, the main temple building, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, was erected in Florence, the author was Arnolfo di Cambio, then Giotto continued the work.

The most important discoveries, the brightest masters live and work in the first period. The second segment is connected with the plague epidemic that hit Italy.

The art of the proto-Renaissance first manifested itself in sculpture (Niccolò and Giovanni Pisano, Arnolfo di Cambio, Andrea Pisano). Painting is represented by two art schools: Florence and Siena.

Early Renaissance

The period of the so-called "Early Renaissance" in Italy covers the time from 1420 to 1500. During these eighty years, art has not yet completely renounced the traditions of the recent past (the Middle Ages), but is trying to mix into them elements borrowed from classical antiquity. Only later, under the influence of more and more changing conditions of life and culture, did the artists completely abandon the medieval foundations and boldly use examples of ancient art, both in the general concept of their works and in their details.

Whereas art in Italy was already resolutely following the path of imitation of classical antiquity, in other countries it long held on to the traditions of the Gothic style. North of the Alps, and also in Spain, the Renaissance comes only at the end of the 15th century, and its early period lasts until about the middle of the next century.

Artists of the Early Renaissance

One of the first and most brilliant representatives of this period is considered to be Masaccio (Masaccio Tommaso Di Giovanni Di Simone Cassai), the famous Italian painter, the greatest master of the Florentine school, the reformer of painting of the Quattrocento era.

With his work, he contributed to the transition from Gothic to a new art, glorifying the greatness of man and his world. Masaccio's contribution to art was renewed in 1988 when his main creation - Frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence- have been restored to their original form.

- Resurrection of the son of Theophilus, Masaccio and Filippino Lippi

- Adoration of the Magi

- Miracle with stater

Other important representatives of this period were Sandro Botticelli. great Italian Renaissance painter, representative of the Florentine school of painting.

- Birth of Venus

- Venus and Mars

- Spring

- Adoration of the Magi

High Renaissance

The third period of the Renaissance - the time of the most magnificent development of his style - is commonly called the "High Renaissance". It extends into Italy from approximately 1500 to 1527. At this time, the center of influence of Italian art from Florence moved to Rome, thanks to the accession to the papal throne of Julius II - an ambitious, courageous, enterprising man, who attracted the best artists of Italy to his court, occupied them with numerous and important works and giving others an example of love for art. Under this Pope and under his immediate successors, Rome becomes, as it were, the new Athens of the time of Pericles: many monumental buildings are built in it, magnificent sculptural works are created, frescoes and paintings are painted, which are still considered the pearls of painting; at the same time, all three branches of art harmoniously go hand in hand, helping one another and mutually acting on each other. Antiquity is now being studied more thoroughly, reproduced with greater rigor and consistency; tranquility and dignity replace the playful beauty that was the aspiration of the preceding period; reminiscences of the medieval completely disappear, and a completely classical imprint falls on all works of art. But the imitation of the ancients does not stifle their independence in the artists, and with great resourcefulness and liveliness of imagination, they freely process and apply to business what they consider appropriate to borrow for themselves from ancient Greco-Roman art.

The work of three great Italian masters marks the pinnacle of the Renaissance, this is Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) Leonardo di Ser Piero da Vinci great Italian Renaissance painter, representative of the Florentine school of painting. Italian artist (painter, sculptor, architect) and scientist (anatomist, naturalist), inventor, writer, musician, one of the largest representatives of the art of the High Renaissance, a vivid example of " universal man»

The Last Supper

Mona Lisa,

-Vitruvian Man ,

- Madonna Litta

- Madonna in the rocks

-Madonna with a spindle

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni. Italian sculptor, painter, architect [⇨], poet [⇨], thinker [⇨]. . One of the greatest masters of the Renaissance [⇨] and early Baroque. His works were considered the highest achievements of Renaissance art during the life of the master himself. Michelangelo lived for almost 89 years, an entire era, from the High Renaissance to the origins of the Counter-Reformation. During this period, thirteen Popes were replaced - he carried out orders for nine of them.

Creation of Adam

Last Judgment

and Raphael Santi (1483-1520). great Italian painter, graphic artist and architect, representative of the Umbrian school.

- School of Athens

-Sistine Madonna

- Transformation

- Wonderful gardener

Late Renaissance

The Late Renaissance in Italy covers the period from the 1530s to the 1590s-1620s. The Counter-Reformation triumphed in Southern Europe ( counter-reformation(lat. Contrareformation; from contra- against and reformatio- transformation, reformation) - a Catholic church-political movement in Europe in the mid-16th-17th centuries, directed against the Reformation and aimed at restoring the position and prestige of the Roman Catholic Church.), which looked with caution at any free thought, including the chanting of the human body and resurrection of the ideals of antiquity as the cornerstones of the Renaissance ideology. Worldview contradictions and a general feeling of crisis resulted in Florence in the "nervous" art of far-fetched colors and broken lines - mannerism. In Parma, where Correggio worked, Mannerism reached only after the death of the artist in 1534. The artistic traditions of Venice had their own logic of development; until the end of the 1570s, Palladio worked there (real name Andrea di Pietro). great Italian architect of the late Renaissance and Mannerism.( Mannerism(from Italian maniera, manner) - Western European literary and artistic style of the 16th - first third of the 17th century. It is characterized by the loss of Renaissance harmony between the bodily and spiritual, nature and man.) The founder of Palladianism ( Palladianism or Palladian architecture- an early form of classicism, which grew out of the ideas of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580). The style is based on strict adherence to symmetry, taking into account perspectives and borrowing the principles of classical temple architecture of Ancient Greece and Rome.) And classicism. Probably the most influential architect in history.

The first independent work of Andrea Palladio, as a talented designer and gifted architect, is the Basilica in Vicenza, in which his original inimitable talent was manifested.

Among the country houses, the most outstanding creation of the master is the Villa Rotunda. Andrea Palladio built it in Vicenza for a retired Vatican official. It is notable for being the first secular building of the Renaissance, built in the form of an ancient temple.

Another example is the Palazzo Chiericati, which is unusual in that the first floor of the building was almost entirely given over to public use, which was consistent with the requirements of the city authorities of those times.

Among the famous urban constructions of Palladio, one should definitely mention the Olimpico Theatre, designed in the style of an amphitheatre.

Titian ( Titian Vecellio) Italian painter, the largest representative of the Venetian school of the High and Late Renaissance. The name of Titian is on a par with such Renaissance artists as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. Titian painted pictures on biblical and mythological subjects, he became famous as a portrait painter. He was commissioned by kings and popes, cardinals, dukes and princes. Titian was not even thirty years old when he was recognized as the best painter in Venice.

From his place of birth (Pieve di Cadore in the province of Belluno, Republic of Venice), he is sometimes referred to as da cadore; also known as Titian the Divine.

- Ascension of the Virgin Mary

- Bacchus and Ariadne

- Diana and Actaeon

- Venus Urbino

- Abduction of Europa

whose work had little in common with the crisis phenomena in the art of Florence and Rome.

The beginning of Renaissance painting is considered the era of Ducento, i.e. end of the thirteenth century. The Proto-Renaissance is still closely connected with the medieval Romanesque. Gothic and Byzantine traditions. Artists of the late XIII - early XIV centuries. are still far from the scientific study of the surrounding reality. They express their ideas about it, still using the conventional images of the Byzantine visual system - rocky hills, symbolic trees, conditional turrets. But sometimes the appearance of architectural structures is so accurately reproduced that this indicates the existence of sketches from nature. Traditional religious characters are beginning to be depicted in a world endowed with the properties of reality - volume, spatial depth, material materiality. The search for transmission methods on the plane of volume and three-dimensional space begins. The masters of this time revive the well-known antiquity principle of chiaroscuro modeling of forms. Thanks to it, figures and buildings acquire density and volume.

Apparently, the first who applied the ancient perspective was the Florentine Cenny di Pepo (data from 1272 to 1302), nicknamed Cimabue. Unfortunately, his most significant work - a series of paintings on themes from the Apocalypse, the life of Mary and the Apostle Peter in the church of San Francesco in Assisi, has come down to us almost in a ruined state. His altar compositions, which are in Florence and in the Louvre Museum, are better preserved. They also go back to Byzantine prototypes, but they clearly show the features of a new approach to religious painting. Cimabue returns from Italian painting of the 13th century, which adopted Byzantine traditions, to their immediate origins. He felt in them what remained inaccessible to his contemporaries - the harmonious beginning and the sublime Hellenic beauty of the images.

Great artists appear as bold innovators who reject the traditional system. Such a reformer in Italian painting of the XIV century should be recognized Giotto di Bondone(1266-1337). He is the creator of a new pictorial system, the great reformer of all European painting, the true founder of the new art. This is a genius who rises high above his contemporaries and many of his followers.

A Florentine by birth, he worked in many Italian cities, from Padua and Milan in the north to Naples in the south. The most famous of the works of Giotto that have come down to us is the cycle of murals in the chapel del Arena in Padua, dedicated to the Gospel stories about the life of Christ. This unique pictorial ensemble is one of the milestone works in the history of European art. Instead of isolated separate scenes and figures typical of medieval painting, Giotto created a single epic cycle. . Instead of the usual golden Byzantine background, Giotto introduces a landscape background. The figures no longer float in space, but acquire solid ground under their feet. And although they are still inactive, they show a desire to convey the anatomy of the human body and the naturalness of movement.

The reform made by Giotto in painting made a deep impression on all his contemporaries. Unanimous reviews of him as a great painter, an abundance of customers and patrons, honorary commissions in many cities of Italy - all this suggests that contemporaries perfectly understood the significance of his art. But the next generations imitated Giotto as timid students, borrowing particulars from him.

The influence of Giotto acquired its strength and fruitfulness only after a century. The artists of Quattrocento carried out the tasks that were set by Giotto.

The glory of the founder of painting Quattrocento belongs to the Florentine artist Masaccio who died very young (1401-1428). He was the first to solve the main problems of Renaissance painting - linear and aerial perspective. On his frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel of the Florentine church of Santa Maria del Carmine, figures painted according to the laws of anatomy are connected with each other and with the landscape.

The Church of Santa Maria del Carmine became a kind of academy, where generations of artists who were influenced by Masaccio studied: Paolo Uccello, Andrei Castagno, Domenico Veniziano and many others up to Michelangelo.

The Florentine school for a long time remained leading in the art of Italy. It also had a more conservative trend. Some artists of this trend were monks, so in the history of art they were called monastic. One of the most famous among them was fra (i.e. brother - the appeal of the monks to each other) Giovanni Beato Angelico da Fiesole(1387-1455). His images of biblical characters are written in the spirit of medieval traditions, they are full of lyricism, calm dignity and contemplation. His landscape backgrounds are imbued with a sense of cheerfulness, characteristic of the Renaissance.

One of the most outstanding artists of Quattrocento - Sandro Botticelli(1445-1510) - an exponent of the aesthetic ideals of the court of the famous tyrant, politician, philanthropist, poet and philosopher Lorenzo de' Medici, nicknamed the Magnificent. The court of this uncrowned sovereign was the center artistic culture, uniting famous philosophers, scientists, artists.

The early Renaissance lasted for about a century. It is completed by the period of the High Renaissance, which accounts for only about 30 years. Rome became the main center of artistic life at this time.

By the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. include the beginning of a long foreign intervention in Italy, the fragmentation and enslavement of the country, the loss of independence of free cities, the strengthening of feudal Catholic reaction. But a patriotic feeling grew among the Italian people, contributing to political activism and the growth national consciousness, the desire for national unification. This rise in popular consciousness created a broad folk basis for the culture of the High Renaissance.

The end of the Cinquecento is associated with 1530, when the Italian states lost their freedom, becoming the prey of powerful European monarchies. The socio-political and economic crisis of Italy, based not on the industrial revolution, but on international trade, was being prepared for a long time. The discovery of America and new trade routes deprived Italian cities of advantages in international trade. But, as you know, in the history of culture, the periods of flourishing of art do not coincide with the general socio-economic development of society. And in a period of economic decline and political enslavement, in difficult times for Italy, a short century of the Italian Renaissance begins - the High Renaissance. It was at this time that the humanistic culture of Italy became a world heritage, ceased to be a local phenomenon. Italian artists began to enjoy all-European popularity, which they really deserved.

If the art of the Quattrocento is analysis, searches, discoveries, the freshness of a youthful worldview, then the art of the High Renaissance is a result, a synthesis, a wise maturity. The search for an artistic ideal during the Quattrocento period led art to a generalization, to the disclosure of general patterns. The main difference between the art of the High Renaissance is that it renounces particulars, details, details in the name of a generalized image. All experience, all searches for predecessors are compressed by the great masters of the Cinquecento in a grandiose generalization.

The realistic method of the artists of the High Renaissance is peculiar. They are convinced that the significant can exist only in a beautiful shell. Therefore, they tend to see only exceptional phenomena that rise above everyday life. Italian artists created images of heroic personalities, beautiful and strong-willed people.

It was the era of the titans of the Renaissance, which gave world culture the work of Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo. In the history of world culture, these three geniuses, despite all their dissimilarity, creative individuality, personify the main value of the Italian Renaissance - the harmony of beauty, power and intellect. The fates of these artists (whose powerful human and artistic individuality forced them to act as rivals, to treat each other with hostility) had much in common. All three were formed in the Florentine school, and then worked at the courts of patrons, mainly popes. Their lives are evidence of the change in the attitude of society towards the creative personality of the artist, which is characteristic of the Renaissance. Masters of art became prominent and valuable figures in society, they were rightly considered the most educated people of their time.

This characteristic, perhaps more than other figures of the Renaissance, is suitable for Leonardo da Vinci(1452-1519). He combined artistic and scientific genius. Leonardo was a scientist who studied nature not for the sake of art, but for the sake of science. Therefore, so few finished works of Leonardo have come down to us. He started pictures and abandoned them as soon as the problem seemed to him articulated. Many of his observations anticipate the development of European science and painting for centuries. Modern scientific discoveries stir up interest in his sci-fi engineering drawings. Leonardo's theoretical reflections on colors, which he outlined in his Treatise on Painting, anticipate the main premises of nineteenth-century Impressionism. Leonardo wrote about the purity of the sound of colors only on the light side of the subject, about the mutual influence of colors, about the need for painting in the open air. These observations of Leonardo are not used at all in his painting. He was more theoretician than practical. Only in the 20th century did the active collection and processing of his huge manuscript heritage (about 7,000 pages) begin. Its study will undoubtedly lead to new discoveries and explanations of the mysteries of the legendary work of this titan of the Renaissance.

A new stage in art was the painting of the wall of the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie on the plot of The Last Supper, which was painted by many Quattrocento artists. "The Last Supper" is the cornerstone of classical art, it carried out the program of the High Renaissance. It influences by absolute thoughtfulness, coordination of parts and the whole, by the power of its spiritual concentration.

Leonardo worked on this piece for 16 years.

One of the most famous paintings in the world was the work of Leonardo "La Gioconda". This portrait of the wife of the merchant del Giocondo has attracted attention for centuries, hundreds of pages of comments have been written about him, he was kidnapped, forged, copied, he was credited with witchcraft power. The elusive facial expression of the Mona Lisa defies exact description and reproduction. The slightest change in shades (which may simply depend on the lighting of the portrait) in the corners of the lips, in the transitions from the chin to the cheek, changes the character of the face. On different reproductions, the Gioconda looks a little different, sometimes a little softer, sometimes more ironic, sometimes more thoughtful. Elusiveness in the very appearance of Mona Lisa, in her penetrating gaze, as if inseparably following the viewer, in her half-smile. This portrait has become a masterpiece of Renaissance art. For the first time in the history of world art, the portrait genre has risen to the same level as compositions on a religious theme.

The ideas of the monumental art of the Renaissance found a vivid expression in the work of Rafael Santi(1483-1520). Leonardo created classic style, Rafael approved and popularized it. The art of Raphael is often defined as the "golden mean". His composition surpasses everything that has been created in European painting, with its absolute harmony of proportions. For five centuries, the art of Raphael has been perceived as the highest landmark in the spiritual life of mankind, as one of the examples of aesthetic perfection. Raphael's work is distinguished by the qualities of the classics - clarity, noble simplicity, harmony. With all its essence, it is connected with the spiritual culture of the Renaissance.

The most outstanding of Raphael's monumental works are the murals in the Vatican apartments of the pope. Multi-figure large-scale compositions cover all the walls of the three halls. Pupils helped Raphael in painting. The best frescoes, such as, for example, "The School of Athens", he performed with his own hands. The mural subjects included frescoes-allegories of the main spheres of human spiritual activity: philosophy, poetry, theology and justice. In the paintings and frescoes of Raphael - an ideally sublime image of Christian images, ancient myths and human history. He knew how to combine the values ​​of earthly existence and ideal ideas like no other of the masters of the Renaissance. The historical merit of his art is that he connected two worlds into one whole - the Christian world and the pagan world. Since that time, the new artistic ideal has been firmly established in the religious art of Western Europe.

The bright genius of Raphael was far from the psychological depth into the inner world of a person, like that of Leonardo, but even more alien to the tragic worldview of Michelangelo. In the work of Michelangelo, the collapse of the Renaissance style was indicated and the sprouts of a new artistic worldview were outlined. Michelangelo Buonarroti(1475-1564) lived a long, difficult and heroic life. His genius manifested itself in architecture, painting, poetry, but most clearly in sculpture. He perceived the world plastically, in all areas of art he is primarily a sculptor. The human body seems to him the most worthy subject of the image. But this is a man of a special, powerful, heroic breed. The art of Michelangelo is dedicated to the glorification of the human fighter, his heroic activity and suffering. His art is characterized by gigantomania, a titanic beginning. This is the art of squares, public buildings, and not palace halls, art for the people, and not for court aristocrats.

The most grandiose of his works was the painting of the vault of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo did a truly titanic work - for four years he alone painted an area of ​​\u200b\u200babout 600 square meters. meters. Day after day, he wrote at a height of 18 meters, standing on the scaffolding and throwing back his head. After the end of the painting, his health was completely undermined, and his body was disfigured (his chest sank, his body arched, a goiter grew; for a long time the artist could not look straight ahead and read, raising the book above his head). The grandiose painting is dedicated to the scenes of sacred history, starting from the creation of the world. Michelangelo painted about 200 figures and figurative compositions on the ceiling. Never and nowhere has there been anything like Michelangelo's plan in scope and integrity. On the vault of the Sistine Chapel, he created a hymn to the glory of heroic humanity. His heroes are living people, there is nothing supernatural in them, but at the same time, they are wonderful powerful, titanic personalities. Long before Michelangelo, the Quattrocento masters illustrated various episodes of church tradition on the walls of the chapel; Michelangelo wanted to present the fate of mankind before redemption on the vault.

Any thought that the picture is a plane disappears. The figures move freely in space. Frescoes by Michelangelo break through the plane of the wall. This illusion of space and movement was a huge achievement of European art. Michelangelo's discovery that decoration can push forward or push back a wall and ceiling later makes use of the decorative art of the Baroque.

Art, faithful to the traditions of the Renaissance, continues to live in the 16th century in Venice, the city that has retained its independence the longest. In this rich patrician-merchant republic, which has long maintained trade relations with Byzantium, with the Arab East, oriental tastes and traditions were processed in their own way. The main influence of Venetian painting is in its extraordinary color. The love of color gradually led the artists of the Venetian school to a new pictorial principle. The volume, materiality of the image is achieved not by black and white modeling, but by the art of color modeling.

The Renaissance is a phenomenal phenomenon in the history of mankind. Never again has there been such a brilliant flash in the field of art. Sculptors, architects and artists of the Renaissance (the list is long, but we will touch on the most famous), whose names are known to everyone, gave the world priceless. Unique and exceptional people showed themselves not in one field, but in several at once.

Early Renaissance painting

The Renaissance has a relative time frame. It first began in Italy - 1420-1500. At this time, painting and all art in general is not much different from the recent past. However, elements borrowed from classical antiquity begin to appear for the first time. And only in subsequent years, sculptors, architects and artists of the Renaissance (the list of which is very long), under the influence of modern living conditions and progressive trends, finally abandon medieval foundations. They boldly adopt the best examples of ancient art for their works, both in general and in individual details. Their names are known to many, let's focus on the brightest personalities.

Masaccio - the genius of European painting

It was he who made a huge contribution to the development of painting, becoming a great reformer. The Florentine master was born in 1401 into a family of artistic artisans, so the sense of taste and the desire to create were in his blood. At the age of 16-17 he moved to Florence, where he worked in workshops. Donatello and Brunelleschi, the great sculptors and architects, are considered to be his teachers. Communication with them and the acquired skills could not but affect the young painter. From the first, Masaccio borrowed a new understanding of the human personality, characteristic of sculpture. At the second master - the basis The researchers consider the Triptych of San Giovenale (in the first photo) to be the first reliable work, which was discovered in a small church near the town in which Masaccio was born. The main work is the frescoes dedicated to the history of the life of St. Peter. The artist participated in the creation of six of them, namely: "The Miracle with the Stater", "The Expulsion from Paradise", "The Baptism of Neophytes", "The Distribution of Property and the Death of Ananias", "The Resurrection of Theophilus' Son", "St. Peter Heals the Sick with His Shadow" and "Saint Peter in the Pulpit".

Italian artists of the Renaissance are people who devoted themselves entirely to art, not paying attention to ordinary everyday problems, which sometimes led them to a poor existence. Masaccio is no exception: the brilliant master died very early, at the age of 27-28, leaving behind great works and a large number of debts.

Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506)

This is a representative of the Padua school of painters. He received the basics of skill from his adoptive father. The style was formed under the influence of the works of Masaccio, Andrea del Castagno, Donatello and Venetian painting. This determined the somewhat harsh and harsh manner of Andrea Mantegna compared to the Florentines. He was a collector and connoisseur of cultural works of the ancient period. Thanks to his style, unlike any other, he became famous as an innovator. His most famous works are: "Dead Christ", "Caesar's Triumph", "Judith", "Battle of the Sea Gods", "Parnassus" (pictured), etc. From 1460 until his death, he worked as a court painter in the family of the Dukes of Gonzaga.

Sandro Botticelli(1445-1510)

Botticelli is a pseudonym real name- Filipepi. He did not immediately choose the path of an artist, but initially studied jewelry making. In the first independent works (several Madonnas), the influence of Masaccio and Lippi is felt. In the future, he also glorified himself as a portrait painter, the bulk of the orders came from Florence. The refined and refined nature of his work with elements of stylization (generalization of images using conventional techniques - simplicity of form, color, volume) distinguishes him from other masters of that time. A contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci and the young Michelangelo left a bright mark on world art (“The Birth of Venus” (photo), “Spring”, “Adoration of the Magi”, “Venus and Mars”, “Christmas”, etc.). His painting is sincere and sensitive, and his life path is complex and tragic. The romantic perception of the world at a young age was replaced by mysticism and religious exaltation in maturity. The last years of his life, Sandro Botticelli lived in poverty and oblivion.

Piero (Pietro) della Francesca (1420-1492)

An Italian painter and another representative of the early Renaissance, originally from Tuscany. The author's style was formed under the influence of the Florentine school of painting. In addition to the talent of the artist, Piero della Francesca had outstanding abilities in the field of mathematics, and devoted the last years of his life to her, trying to connect her with high art. The result was two scientific treatises: "On Perspective in Painting" and "The Book of Five Correct Solids". His style is distinguished by solemnity, harmony and nobility of images, compositional balance, precise lines and construction, soft range of colors. Piero della Francesca had amazing knowledge for that time technical side painting and features of perspective, which earned him high prestige among his contemporaries. The most famous works: "The History of the Queen of Sheba", "The Flagellation of Christ" (pictured), "The Altar of Montefeltro", etc.

High Renaissance painting

If Proto-Renaissance and early era lasted almost a century and a half and a century, respectively, then this period covers only a few decades (in Italy from 1500 to 1527). It was a bright, dazzling flash that gave the world a whole galaxy of great, versatile and brilliant people. All branches of art went hand in hand, so many masters are also scientists, sculptors, inventors, and not just Renaissance artists. The list is long, but the pinnacle of the Renaissance was marked by the work of L. da Vinci, M. Buanarotti and R. Santi.

The Extraordinary Genius of Da Vinci

Perhaps this is the most extraordinary and outstanding personality in the history of world artistic culture. He was a universal person in the full sense of the word and possessed the most versatile knowledge and talents. Artist, sculptor, art theorist, mathematician, architect, anatomist, astronomer, physicist and engineer - all this is about him. Moreover, in each of the areas, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) showed himself as an innovator. So far, only 15 of his paintings, as well as many sketches, have survived. With amazing life energy and thirst for knowledge, he was impatient, he was fascinated by the very process of knowledge. At a very young age (20 years old) he qualified as a master of the Guild of St. Luke. His most important works were the fresco "The Last Supper", the paintings "Mona Lisa", "Madonna Benois" (pictured above), "Lady with an Ermine", etc.

Portraits by Renaissance artists are rare. They preferred to leave their images in paintings with many faces. So, around the self-portrait of da Vinci (pictured), disputes do not subside to this day. Versions are put forward that he made it at the age of 60. According to the biographer, artist and writer Vasari, the great master was dying in the arms of his close friend King Francis I in his Clos Luce castle.

Raphael Santi (1483-1520)

Artist and architect originally from Urbino. His name in art is invariably associated with the idea of ​​sublime beauty and natural harmony. For a fairly short life (37 years), he created many world-famous paintings, frescoes and portraits. The plots that he portrayed are very diverse, but he was always attracted by the image of the Mother of God. Absolutely justifiably Raphael is called the "master of the Madonnas", those that he painted in Rome are especially famous. In the Vatican, he worked from 1508 until the end of his life as an official artist at the papal court.

Comprehensively gifted, like many other great artists of the Renaissance, Raphael was also an architect, and also engaged in archaeological excavations. According to one version, the last hobby is in direct correlation with premature death. Presumably, he contracted Roman fever during the excavations. The great master is buried in the Pantheon. The photo is of his self-portrait.

Michelangelo Buoanarroti (1475-1564)

The long 70-year-old of this man was bright, he left to his descendants imperishable creations not only of painting, but also of sculpture. Like other great Renaissance artists, Michelangelo lived in a time full of historical events and shocks. His art is a beautiful final note of the entire Renaissance.

The master put sculpture above all other arts, but by the will of fate he became an outstanding painter and architect. His most ambitious and unusual work is the painting (pictured) in the palace in the Vatican. The area of ​​the fresco exceeds 600 square meters and contains 300 human figures. The most impressive and familiar is the scene of the Last Judgment.

Italian Renaissance artists were multifaceted talents. So, few people know that Michelangelo was also a great poet. This facet of his genius was fully manifested at the end of his life. About 300 poems have survived to this day.

Late Renaissance painting

The final period covers the time period from 1530 to 1590-1620. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the Renaissance as a historical period ended with the fall of Rome in 1527. Around the same time, the Counter-Reformation triumphed in southern Europe. The Catholic current looked with apprehension at any free-thinking, including the chanting of the beauty of the human body and the resurrection of the art of the ancient period - that is, everything that was the pillars of the Renaissance. This resulted in a special trend - mannerism, characterized by the loss of harmony between the spiritual and the physical, man and nature. But even during this difficult period, some famous Renaissance artists created their masterpieces. Among them are Antonio da Correggio, (considered the founder of classicism and Palladianism) and Titian.

Titian Vecellio (1488-1490 - 1676)

He is rightfully considered a titan of the Renaissance, along with Michelangelo, Raphael and da Vinci. Even before he was 30 years old, Titian was known as the "king of painters and painter of kings." Basically, the artist painted pictures on mythological and biblical themes, moreover, he became famous as a magnificent portrait painter. Contemporaries believed that being imprinted with the brush of a great master means gaining immortality. And indeed it is. Orders to Titian came from the most revered and noble persons: popes, kings, cardinals and dukes. Here are just a few, the most famous, of his works: "Venus of Urbino", "The Abduction of Europe" (pictured), "Carrying the Cross", "Coronation with Thorns", "Pesaro Madonna", "Woman with a Mirror", etc.

Nothing is repeated twice. The era of the Renaissance gave mankind brilliant, extraordinary personalities. Their names are inscribed in world history art gold letters. Architects and sculptors, writers and artists of the Renaissance - their list is very long. We touched only on the titans who made history, brought the ideas of enlightenment and humanism to the world.