Giotto, Lamentation, 1304-1306, fresco (detail)
The Renaissance was a time of renewed interest in the Classical ideas of Greece and Rome (“Renaissance” means “rebirth” – so it’s a rebirth of the culture of Ancient Greece and Rome).
The majority of European people were still living very much as they did during the Middle Ages. However, a select group of intellectuals, artists, and the extremely wealthy began to study and were influenced by the works of Muslim scholars and the ancient Classical texts they preserved in the Ottoman Empire that was now flourishing in the east (the Ottoman Empire conquered the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 1453).
However, it is from the Renaissance that we get many of our modern ideas about art and artists. For better or worse, we get the notion of “high art” from the Renaissance, which places higher value on certain artworks, artists, and cultures over others. This is also the time that we get the notion of the “artist as genius” and individual artists acquired fame, signed their works, and were recognized for their accomplishments.
The Renaissance saw the first published book of art history, Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Artists. It is important to note that this book was commissioned by a wealthy and powerful Renaissance family, the Medici, and that the artists mentioned in the book are largely the artists who worked for the Medici. Even though the book was pure propaganda, intended to glorify the Medici family, the artists profiled are still the very same artists we associate as Renaissance masters today with Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael among them.
Ted-Ed: Is there a difference between Art and Craft? (video - 5:31)
The Renaissance: Was It a Thing? (video - 11:32)
Techniques:
Khan Academy: Oil Paint (video - 6:36)
Khan Academy: Linear Perspective, Brunelleschi's Experiment (video - 4:15)
The Late Gothic:
Khan Academy: Introduction to Late Gothic Art (reading)
Khan Academy: Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel (reading)
The Northern Renaissance:
Khan Academy: An introduction to the Northern Renaissance (reading)
Khan Academy: Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait (video - 7:11)
The Early Italian Renaissance:
Khan Academy: Masaccio, Holy Trinity (video - 8:36)
The High Italian Renaissance:
Khan Academy: Toward the High Renaissance (reading)
Khan Academy: Leonardo, Last Supper (video - 7:39)
Ted-Ed: The many meanings of Michelangelo's Statue of David (video - 3:18)
Khan Academy: Raphael, School of Athens (video - 10:41)
