The Humanism of the 14th century in Italy set the stage for a revival of Classical Greek and Roman culture in the wealthy and powerful city of Florence. There, wealthy families, which embraced humanist thought and culture, provided through their patronage the means for artists to develop a new style and approach to art. Artists, finding a newly elevated position in Renaissance society, incorporated a desire for innovation and intellectual inquiry rooted in Greek and Roman culture that saw major changes in subject matter and style that saw artists embracing nature as their ultimate model for inspiration.
Artists like the sculptors Donatello and Ghiberti and painters such as Masaccio, Fra Angelico, Botticelli and architects like Brunelleschi and Alberti will incorporate Greco Roman style and Humanist concepts into their artist creations that will create a dramatic break with the art of the Late Middle Ages by embracing a classicizing realism and interest in rational order. Innovations like chiaroscuro and linear perspective will help Italian artists reach a new level of naturalism and realism.
VOCABULARY LIST
Vitruvius
Alberti
Savonarola
Fresco
Atmospheric Perspective
Linear Perspective
Vanishing Point
Horizon Line
Orthogonal
Chiaroscuro
Contrapposto
Foreshortening
Memento Mori
Condotierre
Trompe-l'oeil