Renaissance Art in the Cinquecento: Rome, Florence, and Venice
Cinquecento
In the Cinquecento (sixteenth century), Rome succeeded Florence as a center of art. Because of ancient monuments, so abundant in the city, and because of the protection that Popes Julius II and Leo X gave to the artists, Rome brought new creators of works of art. Rome grew rapidly, as the population increased. The buildings of the city were made more beautiful, and the streets were widened to give better passage to processions. A rapport was developed, so they built palaces. The constructive effort reached its peak under the rule of Sixtus V, who improved water mains in the city, employing ancient and modern aqueducts.
Artists from all over Italy came to this center, where construction began on the new Basilica of St. Peter, under the direction of Bramante, who projected a Greek cross plan with a central dome. Highlighted in the final result was the magnificent dome by Michelangelo, which was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome and stands on a circular drum.
Cinquecento Sculpture
Cinquecento sculpture was dominated by the artist Michelangelo. With his perfect knowledge of human anatomy, nothing seemed difficult regarding painting or sculpture. Michelangelo was considered more a sculptor than a painter. He created a world of giants with tense muscles, but Michelangelo’s force was also that of a sculptor of life. The faces express passion, the tendons of the hands or neck seem to explode, veins run along the surface of the figures, and the look, as in his Moses, makes us shudder. He was also a sculptor of beauty. In the Vatican Pieta, he reached heights of delicacy and timeless beauty, with an ideal and pious sense of serenity and repose. In his old age, overwhelmed by grief and loneliness, he did not capture such beautiful figures; the Pieta Rondanini shows an emaciated Christ and a weak Virgin. The technical treatment of the marble was the only material that he worked.
Key Elements in Cinquecento Painting
- What mattered was the reflection of the feelings of the scene.
- Therefore, artists used actual models that could serve as a reference to a type of person.
- The interest of artists focused on the depiction of the relationship of the characters together.
- Color began to gain importance, calling the attention of the viewer to certain elements of the composition.
- There was also a growing concern about the treatment of light on the faces, which could accentuate or soften facial expressions and gestures of the characters.
In the transition from the fifteenth to the sixteenth century, Leonardo da Vinci stood out. A man of insatiable scientific curiosity, he was a highly original painter, architect, philosopher, and engineer. He advanced painting with works such as the Virgin of the Rocks, with its pyramidal composition, and The Last Supper, where he developed the whole theory of the vanishing point and perspective. His contribution to the study of light was also important, with the use of sfumato: a smooth transition from shadows to light, blurring the figures and creating a mysterious atmosphere, evident in his famous portrait of La Gioconda. Contemporary to Michelangelo, the “divine”
Raphael reached perfection as a painter of the Renaissance in drawing, color, and the art of composing. In the first stage in Florence, influenced by Leonardo, he painted beautiful Madonnas. Later, he moved to Rome to work in the Vatican, where he was influenced by Michelangelo. There, he painted large scenes to cover the walls, such as the School of Athens. In these works, he demonstrated his ability to represent space. Meanwhile, Michelangelo, even in his paintings, gave the appearance of sculptures; the over-muscled, convulsive bodies, with their anatomical beauty, are the same as in his sculptures. Julius II commissioned the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel with scenes from the Old Testament. Later, on the back wall of the chapel, he painted The Last Judgement. In both works, Michelangelo joined the grandiose and impressive with a full expressive power of movement; it is the expression of a passionate spirit that experts have called terribilitá.
The Venetian School
Venice in the sixteenth century was a rich city, with a refined and exquisite lifestyle. The Venetian school‘s works are characterized by quick, energetic brushstrokes, creating pictures of great vitality. Color dominates over drawing, with a preference for warm colors, yellow and red. The richness of marble palaces is enhanced, as are parties where there are many delicacies and luxury.
All this came to be Venice, a city that had a close relationship with the East, which influenced it with a marked taste for vivid color, typical of this exotic world.
Titian was the leading painter of the school. Throughout his life, his style evolved, becoming increasingly more prone to the intensity of color and loose brushstrokes. Among his works, the equestrian portrait of Charles V in Mühlberg stands out.
His favorite theme was that of the naked Venus, like the Venus of Urbino, appearing in different positions. His religious subjects never reached the thrill of Spanish art, but in his Burial of Christ, he achieved intensity with color effects.
Veronese best expressed the desire for luxury. His scenes are often developed in lavish palaces, where wine and food are plentiful, and the ladies are dressed in elaborate hairdos and rich jewels. In these environments, he usually represented scenes from the Bible as if they were contemporary issues. The Wedding at Cana and Moses Saved from the Water are clear examples of his art.
Tintoretto, author of The Washing of the Feet, left the sensuality of the two previous teachers to test dramatic compositions in which the figures are in tension or twisted, thus heralding the art of El Greco.