Italian Renaissance (c. 1400 CE - 1600 CE)




As the Middle Ages drew to a close, Christianity still remained an important part of Renaissance life. The male nude was a common motif most often used in religious context, but the focus on subjects in art turned from the heavenly to the human.

The Renaissance began with a shift of power from the old aristocratic families towards the wealthier middle class, whose wealth allowed their pursuit of beauty and religiosity through art.

At this time, art was considered a craft learned in workshops and studios where apprentices trained to paint in the style of a master. They learned to use linear perspective, a mathematical technique used to create an illusion of receding space on painting surfaces, giving art more dimensions. This, as well as a shift from a heavenly background to an earthly one, can be seen in Madonna and Child. Notice the natural background behind the Madonna instead of a golden glow often seen in medieval paintings.

As Europeans became increasingly interested in the human and the natural world, themes were often borrowed from Ancient Greece and Rome, such as the anatomically correct male nude as the ideal form. Where else on the timeline do you see Greek and Roman influences?

Madonna and Child, 1494
School of Lorenzo di Credi, Italian (1456-1536)
Oil on wood panel
23 7/8 inches H; 19 3/16 inches W
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William H. Thompson
1940.015.000
World Events

1429 Joan of Arc leads the French to break English siege of Orleans in France.

1446 First printed book, the Gutenberg Bible, is published in Germany.

1492 Columbus discovers America.

1503-06 Leonardo da Vinci paints Mona Lisa.

1508-12 Michelangelo paints the roof of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

DARCY DISCUSSES: ARTIST

This painting is credited to Lorenzo di Credi, but it may have been drawn by one of his students, Tommaso. Both of them were students of Leonardo da Vinci and used a similar style.

TIMELINE HOME

dido logo
Explore Ball State University Museum of Art online