Italian Renaissance
Ancient heritage, observation of nature and the new status of the artist.
Key ideas
In Italian cities, artists and clients turned to antiquity in a new way. Linear perspective, exploration of the body and chiaroscuro helped construct a compelling space. At the same time, the religious order remained of great importance; humanism does not equal the mere disappearance of faith.
Looking deeper
The Early, High and Late Renaissance are conventional stages. Florentine, Roman and Venetian workshops differed in tasks and means. Ask who paid for the work, where it was located, and how the architecture or ritual influenced the image.
Masaccio, "Trinity"; Raphael, "The School of Athens".
Find the work in the museum's official catalog and start with a description of the visible details.Find the vanishing point and determine what height the viewer should be at.
Useful terms
- Linear perspective
- A way to convey depth through geometric projection. In a typical one-point diagram, lines of the same direction converge at a common point.
External educational material or museum catalogue. The above review is not a literal translation of the source.