Great Italian artists are geniuses of humanity. Great Italian artists - geniuses of humanity Other famous artists of Italy
Italy is a country that has always been famous for artists. The great masters who once lived in Italy glorified art throughout the world. We can say for sure that if it were not for Italian artists, sculptors and architects, the world today would look completely different. Of course, it is considered the most significant in Italian art. Italy during the Renaissance or Renaissance achieved unprecedented growth and prosperity. Talented artists, sculptors, inventors, real geniuses who appeared in those days are still known to every schoolchild. Their art, creativity, ideas, and developments are today considered classics, the core on which world art and culture are built.
One of the most famous geniuses of the Italian Renaissance, of course, is the great Leonardo da Vinci(1452-1519). Da Vinci was so gifted that he achieved great success in many fields, including the fine arts and science. Another famous artist who is a recognized master is Sandro Botticelli(1445-1510). Botticelli's paintings are a true gift to humanity. Today, many of them are in the most famous museums in the world and are truly priceless. No less famous than Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli is Rafael Santi(1483-1520), who lived for 38 years, and during this time managed to create a whole layer of stunning painting, which became one of the striking examples of the Early Renaissance. Another great genius of the Italian Renaissance, without a doubt, is Michelangelo Buonarotti(1475-1564). In addition to painting, Michelangelo was engaged in sculpture, architecture and poetry, and achieved great results in these types of art. Michelangelo's statue called "David" is considered an unsurpassed masterpiece, an example of the highest achievement of the art of sculpture.
In addition to the artists mentioned above, the greatest artists of Renaissance Italy were such masters as Antonello da Messina, Giovanni Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Paolo Veronese, Jacopo Tintoretto, Domenico Fetti, Bernardo Strozzi, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Francesco Guardi and others . All of them were shining examples of the delightful Venetian school of painting. The following artists belong to the Florentine school of Italian painting: Masaccio, Andrea del Verrocchio, Paolo Uccello, Andrea del Castagno, Benozzo Gozzoli, Sandro Botticelli, Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Piero di Cosimo, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Fra Bartolommeo, Andrea del Sarto.
To list all the artists who worked during the Renaissance, as well as during the late Renaissance, and centuries later, who became famous throughout the world and glorified the art of painting, developed the basic principles and laws that underlie all types and genres of the fine arts, Perhaps it will take several volumes to write, but this list is enough to understand that the Great Italian artists are the very art that we know, that we love and that we will appreciate forever!
Paintings of great Italian artists
Andrea Mantegna - Fresco in the Camera degli Sposi
Giorgione - Three Philosophers
Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa
Nicolas Poussin - The Magnanimity of Scipio
Italy is a wonderful, blessed land that has given the world a huge gallery of priceless works of art. Italian artists are great masters of painting and sculpture, recognized throughout the world. No country can compare with Italy in terms of the number of famous painters. Why this is so is beyond our power to understand! But we can once again remember the names of the great masters, the era in which they lived, and the amazing paintings that came out into the world from their brushes. So, let's start a virtual excursion into the world of beauty and take a look at Italy during the Renaissance.
Artists of Italy of the Proto-Renaissance
In Italy of the 14th century, innovative painters appeared who began to look for new creative techniques (Giotto di Bondone, Cimabue, Niccolò Pisano, Arnolfo di Cambio, Simone Martine). Their work became a harbinger of the coming birth of the titans of world art. The most famous of these masters of painting is, perhaps, Giotto, who can be called a real reformer of Italian painting. His most famous painting is The Kiss of Judas.
Italian artists of the early Renaissance
Following Giotto came such painters as Sandro Botticelli, Masaccio, Donatello, Filippo Brunelleschi, Filippo Lippi, Giovani Bellini, Luca Signoreli, Andrea Mantegna, Carlo Crivelli. All of them showed the world beautiful paintings that can be seen in many modern museums. All of them are great Italian artists of the early Renaissance, and we can talk about the work of each of them for a very long time. But within the framework of this article we will touch in more detail only on the one whose name is most widely known - the unsurpassed Sandro Botticelli.
Here are the names of his most famous paintings: “Birth of Venus”, “Spring”, “Portrait of Giuliano de’ Medici”, “Venus and Mars”, “Madonna Magnificat”. This master lived and worked in Florence from 1446 to 1510. Botticelli was the court artist of the Medici family; this is precisely the reason for the fact that his creative heritage is replete with not only paintings on religious subjects (there were many of these in his work), but also many examples of secular painting.
High Renaissance Artists
The era of the High Renaissance - the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries - was the time when such Italian artists as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Giorgione created their masterpieces... What names, what geniuses!
The legacy of the great trinity - Michelangelo, Raphael and da Vinci - is especially impressive. Their paintings are kept in the best museums in the world, their creative heritage delights and awes. Probably, in the civilized modern world there is no such person who would not know what the “Portrait of Lady Lisa Giocondo” by the great Leonardo, Raphael or the beautiful marble statue of David, created by the hands of the frantic Michelangelo, looks like.
Italian masters of painting and sculpture of the late Renaissance
The later Renaissance (mid-16th century) gave the world many wonderful painters and sculptors. Here are their names and a short list of the most famous works: (statue of Perseus with the head of Paolo Veronese (paintings "The Triumph of Venus", "Ariadne and Bacchus", "Mars and Venus", etc.), Tintoretto (paintings "Christ before Pilate", "Miracle of St. . Mark" and others), Andrea Palladio the architect (Villa "Rotunda"), Parmigianino ("Madonna and Child in Hands"), Jacopo Pontormo ("Portrait of a Lady with a Yarn Basket"). And although all these Italian artists created during the decline of the Renaissance, their works entered the golden fund of world art.
The Renaissance became a unique and inimitable period in the life of mankind. From now on, no one will ever be able to unravel the secrets of the mastery of those great Italians or at least get closer to their understanding of the beauty and harmony of the world and the ability to transfer perfection to canvas with the help of paints.
Other famous Italian artists
After the end of the Renaissance, sunny Italy continued to give humanity talented masters of art. It is impossible not to mention the names of such famous creators as the Caracci brothers - Agostino and Annibale (late 16th century), Caravaggio (17th century) or Nicolas Poussin, who lived in Italy in the 17th century.
And today, creative life does not subside on the Apennine Peninsula, however, Italian contemporary artists do not yet reach the level of skill and fame that their brilliant predecessors had. But, who knows, perhaps the Renaissance awaits us again, and then Italy will be able to show the world new titans of art.
Renaissance (Renaissance). Italy. XV-XVI centuries. Early capitalism. The country is ruled by rich bankers. They are interested in art and science.
The rich and powerful gather around them the talented and wise. Poets, philosophers, artists and sculptors have daily conversations with their patrons. At some point, it seemed that people were ruled by wise men, as Plato wanted.
We remembered the ancient Romans and Greeks. They also built a society of free citizens, where the main value is people (not counting slaves, of course).
Renaissance is not just copying the art of ancient civilizations. This is a mixture. Mythology and Christianity. Realism of nature and sincerity of images. Beauty physical and spiritual.
It was just a flash. The High Renaissance period is approximately 30 years! From the 1490s to 1527 From the beginning of the heyday of Leonardo's creativity. Before the sack of Rome.
The mirage of an ideal world quickly faded. Italy turned out to be too fragile. She was soon enslaved by another dictator.
However, these 30 years determined the main features of European painting for 500 years to come! Up to .
Realism of the image. Anthropocentrism (when the center of the world is Man). Linear perspective. Oil paints. Portrait. Scenery…
Incredibly, during these 30 years several brilliant masters worked at once. At other times they are born once every 1000 years.
Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian are the titans of the Renaissance. But we cannot fail to mention their two predecessors: Giotto and Masaccio. Without which there would be no Renaissance.
1. Giotto (1267-1337)
Paolo Uccello. Giotto da Bondogni. Fragment of the painting “Five Masters of the Florentine Renaissance.” Beginning of the 16th century. .
XIV century. Proto-Renaissance. Its main character is Giotto. This is a master who single-handedly revolutionized art. 200 years before the High Renaissance. If it were not for him, the era of which humanity is so proud would hardly have come.
Before Giotto there were icons and frescoes. They were created according to Byzantine canons. Faces instead of faces. Flat figures. Failure to comply with proportions. Instead of a landscape there is a golden background. Like, for example, on this icon.
Guido da Siena. Adoration of the Magi. 1275-1280 Altenburg, Lindenau Museum, Germany.
And suddenly frescoes by Giotto appear. They have voluminous figures. Faces of noble people. Old and young. Sad. Mournful. Surprised. Different.
Frescoes by Giotto in the Church of Scrovegni in Padua (1302-1305). Left: Lamentation of Christ. Middle: Kiss of Judas (fragment). Right: Annunciation of St. Anne (Mother Mary), fragment.
Giotto's main work is the cycle of his frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. When this church opened to parishioners, crowds of people poured into it. They had never seen anything like this.
After all, Giotto did something unprecedented. He translated biblical stories into simple, understandable language. And they have become much more accessible to ordinary people.
Giotto. Adoration of the Magi. 1303-1305 Fresco in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy.
This is precisely what will be characteristic of many masters of the Renaissance. Laconic images. Lively emotions of the characters. Realism.
Read more about the master's frescoes in the article.
Giotto was admired. But his innovation was not developed further. The fashion for international gothic came to Italy.
Only after 100 years will a worthy successor to Giotto appear.
2. Masaccio (1401-1428)
Masaccio. Self-portrait (fragment of the fresco “St. Peter on the pulpit”). 1425-1427 Brancacci Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy.
Beginning of the 15th century. The so-called Early Renaissance. Another innovator is entering the scene.
Masaccio was the first artist to use linear perspective. It was designed by his friend, the architect Brunelleschi. Now the depicted world has become similar to the real one. Toy architecture is a thing of the past.
Masaccio. Saint Peter heals with his shadow. 1425-1427 Brancacci Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy.
He adopted Giotto's realism. However, unlike his predecessor, he already knew anatomy well.
Instead of blocky characters, Giotto has beautifully built people. Just like the ancient Greeks.
Masaccio. Baptism of neophytes. 1426-1427 Brancacci Chapel, Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, Italy.
Masaccio. Expulsion from Paradise. 1426-1427 Fresco in the Brancacci Chapel, Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy.
Masaccio lived a short life. He died, like his father, unexpectedly. At 27 years old.
However, he had many followers. Masters of subsequent generations went to the Brancacci Chapel to study from his frescoes.
Thus, Masaccio’s innovation was taken up by all the great artists of the High Renaissance.
3. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Leonardo da Vinci. Self-portrait. 1512 Royal Library in Turin, Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci is one of the titans of the Renaissance. He had a tremendous influence on the development of painting.
It was da Vinci who raised the status of the artist himself. Thanks to him, representatives of this profession are no longer just artisans. These are creators and aristocrats of the spirit.
Leonardo made a breakthrough primarily in portraiture.
He believed that nothing should distract from the main image. The gaze should not wander from one detail to another. This is how his famous portraits appeared. Laconic. Harmonious.
Leonardo da Vinci. Lady with an ermine. 1489-1490 Czertoryski Museum, Krakow.
Leonardo's main innovation is that he found a way to make images... alive.
Before him, characters in portraits looked like mannequins. The lines were clear. All details are carefully drawn. The painted drawing could not possibly be alive.
Leonardo invented the sfumato method. He shaded the lines. Made the transition from light to shadow very soft. His characters seem to be covered with a barely perceptible haze. The characters came to life.
4. Michelangelo (1475-1564)
Daniele da Volterra. Michelangelo (fragment). 1544 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor. But he was a universal master. Like his other Renaissance colleagues. Therefore, his pictorial heritage is no less grandiose.
He is recognizable primarily by his physically developed characters. He portrayed a perfect man in whom physical beauty means spiritual beauty.
That’s why all his heroes are so muscular and resilient. Even women and old people.
Michelangelo. Fragments of the fresco “The Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican.
Michelangelo often painted the character naked. And then he added clothes on top. So that the body is as sculpted as possible.
He painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel alone. Although these are several hundred figures! He didn’t even allow anyone to rub paint. Yes, he was unsociable. He had a tough and quarrelsome character. But most of all he was dissatisfied with... himself.
Michelangelo. Fragment of the fresco “The Creation of Adam”. 1511 Sistine Chapel, Vatican.
Michelangelo lived a long life. Survived the decline of the Renaissance. For him it was a personal tragedy. His later works are full of sadness and sorrow.
In general, Michelangelo’s creative path is unique. His early works are a celebration of the human hero. Free and courageous. In the best traditions of Ancient Greece. What's his name David?
In the last years of life these are tragic images. Intentionally rough-hewn stone. It’s as if we are looking at monuments to the victims of 20th century fascism. Look at his Pietà.
Michelangelo's sculptures at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. Left: David. 1504 Right: Palestrina's Pietà. 1555
How is this possible? One artist in one life went through all stages of art from the Renaissance to the 20th century. What should subsequent generations do? Go your own way. Realizing that the bar is set very high.
5. Raphael (1483-1520)
6. Titian (1488-1576).
Titian. Self-portrait (fragment). 1562
Titian was an unsurpassed colorist. He also experimented a lot with composition. In general, he was a daring innovator.
Everyone loved him for such brilliance of his talent. Called “the king of painters and the painter of kings.”
Speaking about Titian, I want to put an exclamation point after every sentence. After all, it was he who brought dynamics to painting. Pathos. Enthusiasm. Bright color. Shine of colors.
Titian. Ascension of Mary. 1515-1518 Church of Santa Maria Gloriosi dei Frari, Venice.
Towards the end of his life he developed an unusual writing technique. The strokes are fast and thick. I applied the paint either with a brush or with my fingers. This makes the images even more alive and breathing. And the plots are even more dynamic and dramatic.
Titian. Tarquin and Lucretia. 1571 Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England.
Does this remind you of anything? Of course, this is technology. And the technique of 19th century artists: Barbizonians and. Titian, like Michelangelo, would go through 500 years of painting in one lifetime. That's why he's a genius.
Read about the master's famous masterpiece in the article.
Renaissance artists are the owners of great knowledge. To leave such a legacy, there was a lot to learn. In the field of history, astrology, physics and so on.
Therefore, every image of them makes us think. Why is this depicted? What is the encrypted message here?
They were almost never wrong. Because they thoroughly thought through their future work. We used all our knowledge.
They were more than artists. They were philosophers. They explained the world to us through painting.
That is why they will always be deeply interesting to us.
Italian painter Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931)
Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931)
self-portrait 1892 (442x700, 71Kb)
Italian painter, portraitist and genre painter. Born in Ferrara on December 31, 1842 in the family of an artist. He studied at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts for six years. He was influenced by Edouard Manet, Gainsborough and other English portrait painters of the 17th and 18th centuries. From 1869, Boldini worked in London, where he first became widely known as a portrait painter. In 1871 he settled in Paris and began exhibiting his works at the Salon.
In high Parisian society, Giovanni Boldini succeeded in creating sophisticated and elegant images of graceful, sophisticated beauties and secular dandy aesthetes. In landscape and genre painting, and later in portraiture, Boldini used the experience of masters of plein air painting and impressionists. The artist’s works are distinguished by the virtuosity of his painting technique and remarkable harmony of color.
In 1872, having finally moved to Paris, Giovanni Boldini began to perform female portraits - dynamic in the choice of poses, but strictly verified in composition and color scheme. Boldini painted his subjects in a free, improvisational manner, using long and sharp strokes. The nuances of gray and white, close to Whistler, the almost monochrome coloring expressed inexplicable states of mind; By the end of the century, this formula of color asceticism had become a “language for the initiated” - a sign of elegant, elite aestheticism.
Since the 1880s, Boldini has taken a strong place in the artistic circles of Paris as a master of virtuoso social portraits, distinguished by his expressive characterization of coquettishly daring ladies of high society and their sophisticated evening dresses. An atmosphere of refined decadence, filled with symbolic associations and shades of feeling - the spirit of the “fin de siècle”, fin de siecle - permeates the bravura and spectacular art of Boldini, in whom contemporaries saw a direct successor to the great traditions of the old masters.
Portraits of Adolf Menzel (1895, Berlin - Dahlem) and James Whistler (1897, New York, Brooklyn Museum) characterize him as a deep and insightful portraitist. Between 1890 and 1910 Boldini created a number of brilliant portraits of famous public figures and people of art and theater. In this field he was a serious rival to John Singer Sargent. Boldini twice won the Grand Prix at the World Exhibitions in Paris - in 1889 and 1900.
In 1932, after the master’s death, his personal exhibition was held as part of the Venice Biennale; in 1933 a memorial exhibition dedicated to him was organized in New York.
In 1935, at an exhibition of Italian art in Paris, eight paintings by Boldini were presented, including six portraits, among which were portraits of the composer G. Verdi and the poet Count Robert de Montesquieu. Boldini's paintings were exhibited alongside Sargent's in a special exhibition at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco in 1959.
