After wrapping up our discussion of the High Renaissance with Michelangelo’s Pieta, we began looking at the Late Renaissance and Mannerism. There is a distinct change, partially the art of Michelangelo, which separates the period of the High and Late Renaissance. The Late Renaissance and Mannerism come about from the artists of the High Renaissance reaching the peak of ideal humanist art. In accordance with Neoplatonic belief, artists in the Renaissance were trying to reach the idea of humanist art, and they essentially did by the time of Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Once they reached these ideals they strived for of realism, balance, dynamism, and more – the idea of breaking these rules became more intriguing than building upon them. While artists of the Early Renaissance were constantly trying to improve on the work of artists before them Mannerist artists strived to almost go against their predecessors and aim to create something unique and visually interesting.

Michelangelo’s frescos on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are primary examples of Late Renaissance art. When comparing Michelangelo’s figures to any other High Renaissance artist it is glaringly obvious how different they are. Michelangelo’s figures take up these strange, contorted positions, that might appear natural because of Michelangelo’s masterful skill, but when looking upon closer examination are almost impossible to do. Beyond that, they are so muscular, even the women, that they don’t look like real figures, but statues almost. All the High Renaissance artists strived to make their figures look as lifelike as possible, but Michelangelo does not attempt that here and instead focuses on using these figures’ bodies and faces to convey emotions and meaning.

Through tracing the evolution of one artist through the 15th century, we were able to see the change that had occurred throughout his career, of his own artistic and philosophical worldviews as well as the historical elements that had influenced these changes. Being the epitome of the image of the uomo universale (the Universal Man), an artist that embodies the neo-Platonist ideal, Michelangelo is the one artist through whose work this is possible. We started with his sculptural works during the High Renaissance period. While Pietà, without a doubt, is a mind-bogglingly powerful work, I was most struck by his abandoned project – the unfinished Awakening Prisoner sculpture. It’s fascinating to witness a work of art that’s both intentionally and accidentally expressing the liberation of the figure as well as the very essence of the act of marble carving, a way of creating animation from the rigid, of shaping the ideal human, of a sort of non-human virtuosity.

What late Michelangelo works possess, other than what still remains of his ability to infuse his works with complex ideals and philosophical ventures, is a drastic change of stylistic depictions of his themes. His paintings in the Sistine Chapel showcases a style that has not yet been seen on paintings of the High Renaissance – less usage of saturated, primary colors, less compositionally harmonious, less narratively coherent. But what is added is more than enough for us to still marvel over his art: the exaggerated expression of the human figure and human psychology, the added nuances upon familiar religious narratives (e.g the sibyls, the naked figures). These elements would go on to characterize the next dominant artistic movement of the time – Mannerism. Mannerism, as described as a style of painting by Vasari, is distinguishable from the art of the Renaissance from its rejection of rigid harmony and its embrace of asymmetry, of elegance and chaos, of highly stylized proportions, and above all, of the overt, dynamic expression of its subject matters.

Throughout today’s class, we went into depth about Michelangelo’s art, and learned how there was a shift in Renaissance art in what’s know as “late Michelangelo.” Late Michelangelo is classified as a period where all the travels in Italian renaissance began to part ways. One of his most famous works during this era was his artwork on the Sistine Chapel ceiling in the Vatican. Michelangelo was commissioned by Julius II, the new pope, to perform these paintings from 1908 to 1912. These different scenes depicted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are still some of the most popular paintings in the world today. There are many different parts to Michelangelo’s paintings including lunettes which are semi-circle figures that are represented as historical. Prophets are also depicted throughout many of the scenes and represent old Testament figures, in a away announcing Christ. Sybils on the other hand don’t come from the old Testament, and rather are women who announce what is to come. Lastly, “ignudi” are naked man portrayed throughout many of the scenes, however it is unknown what their role in the paintings is. They are very muscular and flexible, making their brawn stature seem effortless.

The two major scenes created on the Sistine Chapel ceiling are “The Original Sin” and “The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden,” along with “The creation of Adam.” Both scenes were created from 1508 to 1512. The first of the two scenes contains a continuous narrative and contrasts young and beautiful with old and frightened. The other scene shows a sparkle of life that is about to happen, with the birth of Adam and Eve into the world. There is a horizontal line with the two arms reaching out toward each other. Interestingly, we also learned about how dirty the ceiling got in a short period of time, and pieces began to literally fall down. This is because the medium of Michelangelo’s art was not that great and as a result the dirtiness and cracks of the paintings affect the ways that late Michelangelo art is viewed. The complexity in late Michelangelo art is what differentiates it from the previous simple, pure, and harmonious nature of previous Italian Renaissance art.

In class, we discussed Michelangelo, the end of the high Renaissance, and the beginnings of Mannerism. So much new happened during the Renaissance, but the idea of the Renaissance man–a person with expertise and interest in many different areas–was not new as a concept, only new as an ideal to admire. At the time, Michelangelo was seen as an ideal artist. He was prolific, he was technically brilliant, and he was a “tortured artist.” Until this time, artists often employed many assistants to run a large studio and to produce more works in a shorter amount of time, but Michelangelo worked alone. His art then, was seen less as a product of his studio, and more as a product from the individual artist. La pieta in particular showcases his singular skill in carving marble. Contrary to the established ideas of La Pieta, Michelangelo portrays the Madonna as a calm young woman, with the full grown body of Jesus draped across her lap. The sculpture is huge and filled with fabric to visually support the body–the structure is triangular and stable. Michelangelo is embodying the balance, harmony, and ideals that define the high Renaissance.

Mannerism, on the other hand, steps away from the ideal, the balanced, and the harmonious by emphasizing individual artistry, disorder, and unbalanced compositions. In one sense, the sistine chapel can be seen as a bridge between high Renaissance ideals, and Mannerist disorder–pieces of the fresco exude stability and harmony, such as the Creation of Adam, while other sections (like the Sybils, and the Ignudi) seem contorted and discordant. Use of strange colors, too, denotes a shift from the primary colors most popular in the high Renaissance. Jacopo da Pontormo was a Mannerist in full, and his Pieta exemplifies the movement, individuality, and the innovation that defines the Mannerist style.

We started class by discussing Michelangelo’s Pietá, which is a marble statue depicting Mary holding Jesus after his death. Michelangelo portrays Mary as incredibly young, perhaps the same age as the Nativity. This is potentially a call back to that scene, since she is holding Jesus as a baby, tying together the start and end of his life. Additionally, Michelangelo employs the use of clothing and fabric to give the illusion of Mary being able to support the body of a fully grown adult. This sculpture comes across as very soothing, reflecting the idea of harmony associated with the work of the High Renaissance.

We also discussed Mannerism and how Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel reflects the transition between the High Renaissance and Mannerism. Michelangelo’s frescos depict scenes from the Bible from the Old Testament, progressing in order as you walk through the Chapel. Unlike other paintings at the time, Michelangelo employed much more vibrant colors and complexity. This shows the shift from the simplicity and harmony associated with the High Renaissance to the complexity and odd color palate of Mannerism. The shift to Mannerism can be attributed to potentially both the Protestant Reformation and the Medici take over of Florence.

We talked about mannerism today in class, and how it was truly pioneered by Michelangelo in the Sistine chapel ceiling, although people don’t usually recognize it as such. We talked about how the grimy ceiling of the chapel, gave Michelangelo’s work an aura that seemed more reminiscent of sfumato techniques, classical of the high renaissance for example. When these works were cleaned many years after, and finally looked at for what and how they were, it became clear that Michelangelo made them during a time in which he was no longer concerned with representing objects in the same way in which he did during the “cusp” of his career.

I like Mannerism. It is weird. I think about how art periods and trends have a tendency of going against each other. So whatever the next period embraces, will be in direct contradiction with the previous period, and this relationship remains relatively unchanged, so that there is a clearly traceable relationship between art periods. With mannerism, it becomes clear that in a way, naturalism looses its emphasis. It is dramatic in ways that might be described as antinatural, and the works are busy, they cannot have any empty space, and emotion floes through the work in a way that goes beyond the human experience. It reminds me of how medieval art was not attempting to be naturalistic as much as it was trying to express an emotion, except the use of color in mannerism is much more authentic to the period, not replicable.

Leonardo.

He was everything and everyone. I have studied Leonardo before and it still surprises me how much he did. I think he is a perfect example of the Renaissance man not only in his range of skills and interests but also in that, as an artist who mostly painted catholic images, he was not doing it out of devotion to Christianity, but to art, and math, and perfection and harmony. This is the Renaissance.

The Madonna of the Rocks was my favorite work discussed today in class. I thought it was interesting how he left it unfinished for years and years only because he grew bored of it after having figured out the composition of the painting. I think the Renaissance is remarked by the efforts made to add depth to works that should already be deep in themselves. The image of the caves, both representing the death of Christ (while he is being figuratively depicted as a child) and the Nativity, it comes full circle. Christ is the beginning and the end, and the work represents Christ’s beginning and end.

The composition of the work is beautiful, and visually satisfying. Leonardo’s mathematical harmony does not only solve the problem of mathematical composition, but it creates a perfect flow of visual relationships between the subjects depicted in the painting: it is easy to understand how they are all connected just from the way in which they are laid out.

In our most recent class, we finished talking about the high Renaissance and moved on to the shift in art. The shift in art started with Michelangelo and his mural in the Sistine Chapel from 1508 to 1512. This work showcased a more chaotic and vibrant color palette. With this change in the art form Michelangelo, we were able to spot more of those patterns among other artists. We then moved into mannerisms that we established were created to give art a style and allow the artist to showcase their skills. After this part of the lesson we then defined what a pieta came from originally and how each one differentiate from one another. Then notice how art changed in the 16th century with more androgyny, more chaos, and less balance like we see in the 15 century. We also talked about the “ Rape of the Sabines ” which was challenging for the artist and had no real message. We finished class with a final piece of art from Agnolo Bronzino.

in today’s lecture, we wrapped up part two of Italian art and moved on to the high Renaissance period. In this period of art, we started by analyzing the different interests of Leonardo da Vinci. After breaking down his ideology we talked about his “ Vitruvian ” sketch that showed the systems and proportions of a man. We also discover that Leonardo used art to solve problems which is why he did not finish many paintings like “ The Madonna on Rocks ”. After elaborating on his other pieces of work we then talked about the history of portraits and how some small details would assume the status of the person being envisioned. In this class, we wrapped up by concluding that during the high Renaissance balance and harmony were the main themes in art. 

After wrapping up the first part of 15th-century art we moved onto the second part of Italian art. We started with Masaccio an influential artist during this time. He created the frescoes on the wall of the Brancacci Chapel but focused on “ The Tribute Money ” which we dissected from its continuous narrative, which scene of the testament is being portrayed, to finally how the color and highlights add to the volume and definition of the artwork. We were also able to spot the starting point of the painting with the pillars on the side of the scene. We then moved to how Masaccio copied a Roman copy of Venus. After breaking down Masaccio’s art in the chapel we then to “ The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, St. John, and Two Donors ” where we started to develop the theme and importance of religion at this time. We were also able to capture the importance of perception and illusion in the 15th century and to artists and how they chose to convey those themes.