The Renaissance is one of the brightest in the history of world art. It covers the XIV-XVI centuries. in Italy, XV-XVI centuries. in countries north of the Alps. This period in the development of culture got its name - Renaissance (or Renaissance) - in connection with the revival of interest in ancient art, turning to it as a beautiful ideal, a model. But, of course, the new art goes far beyond the imitation of the past.

The artistic culture of the Renaissance took shape during the period of cultural upsurge, rapid economic growth, the emergence of a new social system - the decomposition of the old, medieval way of life and the emergence of capitalist relations. F. Engels wrote about the Renaissance: “It was the greatest progressive upheaval of all experienced by mankind up to that time, an era that needed titans and which gave birth to titans in terms of the power of thought, passion and character, in terms of versatility and scholarship.”

Radical economic and social changes led to the emergence of a new progressive worldview - humanism (from Latin word humanus - "human"). All humanists were inspired by faith in the creative powers of man, the boundless power of the human mind.

At this time, the ideal of an active, strong-willed person is formed and manifested in various ways. He is inquisitive, full of desire for the unknown, he has a developed sense of beauty.

The renaissance raised the idea of ​​the human mind, its ability to know the world, to a high level. The rapid development of science is a characteristic feature of this period. In search of an ideal, humanists paid special attention to the history of mankind. Ancient culture turned out to be the closest to their aspirations.

Many of the educated people of that time showed indifference to religion. And although the artists painted mainly on religious themes, they saw in religious images a poetic expression of the accumulated over the centuries life experience of people. They filled the old Christian myths with new life content.

Of all areas of culture, art occupied the first place in Italy. It was a natural creative expression of the people of that time.

The art of the Renaissance, like that of previous eras, aimed to give an idea of ​​the structure of the world, earthly and heavenly. What was new was that the ideas about the deity and heavenly powers are no longer interpreted as an incomprehensible frightening mystery and, most importantly, this art is imbued with faith in man, by virtue of his mind, creative abilities.

The life of the Renaissance was closely connected with art. It was its inseparable part, not only as an object of contemplation, but as labor and creativity. Art, as it were, sought not only to fill churches and palaces, but also to find a place for itself in city squares, street intersections, on the facades of houses and in their interiors. It was difficult to find a person indifferent to art. Princes, merchants, artisans, clergy, monks were often people who were knowledgeable in art, customers and patrons of artists. The generosity of patrons was fueled by a thirst for self-aggrandizement.

The development of art was greatly facilitated by the fact that in big cities quickly accumulated wealth. But easy success did not spoil even the most avid artists for fame and profit, since the strict foundations of the guild organization of artistic labor were still strong. Young people were trained by working as an assistant to a mature master. Many artists therefore knew the craft of art so well. Works of art of the XV century. done with care and love. Even in cases where they do not bear the imprint of talent or genius, we are invariably admired by good craftsmanship.

Of all the art forms, the first place belonged to fine arts and architecture. No wonder the names of the great painters of the XV century. known to any educated person.

The Renaissance spanned several centuries. Its early stage in Italy dates back to the first half of the 15th century, but it was prepared by the entire course of the development of art in the second half of the 13th-14th centuries.

Florence became the birthplace of the Renaissance. The "fathers" of the Renaissance are called the painter Masaccio, the sculptor Donatello, the architect F. Brunelleschi. Each in their own way, but together they lay the foundations of a new art. Masaccio, at the age of about 25, began painting the Brancacci Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. The images he created are full of human dignity, endowed with physical force, beauty. The main artistic means of Masaccio is a powerful chiaroscuro, a developed understanding of volume. The artist died before reaching the age of 30, but his students and followers continued to search for something new in the field of monumental painting, perspective, color.

In Italian art of the XV century. a peculiar understanding of artistic truth is developed. Painters continue to draw their subjects from church legends, the walls of churches are decorated exclusively with biblical scenes, but these scenes are transferred to the squares and streets of Italian cities, taking place as if before the eyes of contemporaries, and thanks to this, everyday life itself acquires an elevated historical character. Artists include portraits of clients and even self-portraits in legendary scenes. Sometimes streets with casual passers-by, squares with noisy crowds, people in modern costumes next to sacred people get into the picturesque composition.

Home hallmark painting has become a scientifically based perspective. The artists were proud of her as a discovery and were contemptuous of their predecessors who did not know her. They could build complex, multi-figured compositions in three-dimensional space with mathematical precision. True, Florentine painters limited themselves to linear perspective and hardly noticed the role of the air environment. However, the historical significance of the discovery of perspective was enormous. In the hands of great painters, she became Mighty artistic medium, helped to expand the range of phenomena subject to artistic embodiment, to include space, landscape, architecture in painting.

Italian painting of the 15th century - mostly monumental. It was carried out on the walls using the fresco technique and, by its nature, was designed for perception from afar. Italian masters were able to give their images a generally significant character. They discarded trifles and details and looked at the world through the eyes of people who can see the essence of a person in his gesture, body movement, posture.

The founder of Renaissance sculpture was Donatello. One of his main merits is the revival of the so-called round statue, which laid the foundation for the development of sculpture of the subsequent time. The most mature work of Donatello is the statue of David (Florence).

Brunelleschi played a decisive role in the development of Renaissance architecture. He revives the ancient understanding of architecture, without abandoning the medieval heritage at the same time.

Brunelleschi revived the order, raised the importance of proportions and made them the basis of new architecture. To accomplish all this, he was helped by the study of Roman ruins, which he carefully measured and lovingly copied. But this was not a blind imitation of antiquity. In the buildings built by Brunelleschi (the Orphanage, the Pazzi Chapel in Florence, etc.), the architecture is filled with that spirituality that was unknown to the ancients.

The Italians had a great interest in proportions in art, primarily in architecture. Their creations delight the viewer with the proportionality of forms. The Gothic cathedral is already difficult to see because of its gigantic size; Renaissance buildings seem to be embraced by a single glance, which makes it possible to appreciate the amazing proportionality of their parts.

Masaccio, Donatello, Brunelleschi were far from alone in their quest. At the same time, many excellent artists worked with them. The next generation of Renaissance artists in the second half of the 15th century. enriches the new art and promotes its widespread dissemination. In addition to Florence, where S. Botticelli was the most important master of that time, new art centers and local schools of Umbria, Northern Italy, and Venice arose. Such great masters as Antonello da Messina, A. Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini and many others worked here.

The monuments created in Italy at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries are distinguished by perfection and maturity. This period of the highest flowering of Italian art is commonly called the High Renaissance. Among the numerous army of gifted masters at this time, there are those who are rightfully called geniuses. These are Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael Santi, D. Bramante, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Giorgione, Titian, A. Palladio act somewhat later. The history of this period is largely the history of the work of these masters.

The last two thirds of the 16th century called late renaissance. This is a period of increased feudal reaction. The Catholic Church announces a campaign against humanism in all its manifestations. The crisis also engulfed the arts. Artists, as a rule, limit themselves to borrowing the motives and techniques of the great masters. There is a lot of sophistication, sharpness, grace in their works, but sometimes bitterness, indifference comes through, they lack warmth and naturalness. At the end of the XVI century. the crisis is intensifying. Art becomes more regulated, courtier. And at that time great artists worked - Titian, Tintoretto, but they were only great loners.

The crisis of Renaissance culture, of course, did not mean that the heritage of the Renaissance was lost; it continued to serve as an example and measure of culture. The influence of Italian Renaissance art is enormous. It finds a response in France, Spain, Germany, England, Russia.

In the Netherlands, France and Germany, the 15th-16th centuries were also marked by the rise of art, especially painting. This is the period of the so-called Northern Renaissance.

Already in the XIII-XIV centuries. free trade and craft cities have developed here, trade is developing. At the end of the XV century. the cultural centers of the North are strengthening their ties with Italy. Artists found role models here. But even in Italy itself, Dutch masters worked and were highly valued. The Italians were especially attracted by the new oil painting and woodcuts.

Mutual influence does not exclude the originality that distinguishes the art of the Northern Renaissance. Here, the old traditions of Gothic art are more firmly preserved. The struggle for humanistic ideals was more acute in these countries. The peasant war in Germany at the beginning of the 16th century, which stirred up the whole of Western Europe, contributed to the fact that art in the North acquired a more noticeable imprint of the people. The Italian and Northern Renaissance, with all their differences, are, as it were, two channels of the same stream.

The largest Dutch painter of the XV century. — Jan van Eyck. Truly talented masters were Rogier van der Weyden, Hugo van der Goes, Memling, Luke of Leiden. The work of Pieter Brueghel the Elder is the pinnacle of the art of the Northern Renaissance in the middle of the 16th century.

In Germany, the greatest exponent of the German Renaissance was Albrecht Dürer. But not the only one. Such remarkable artists as Mathis Nithardt, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Hans Holbein the Younger and others worked here.

The revolution made in the Renaissance in the field of spiritual culture and art was of great historical significance. Never before in Western Europe art did not occupy such a prominent place in society. Over the next three centuries, European art developed on the basis of the principles adopted and legitimized by the artists of the Renaissance. The art of the Renaissance retains its attractive power even today.

Introduction

The Renaissance is one of the brightest periods in the history of the development of European culture.

Renaissance - a whole cultural era in the process of transition from the Middle Ages to the new time, during which a cultural upheaval (a turning point, a shift) took place. Fundamental changes are associated with the eradication of the ancient Christian mythological worldview. Despite the origin of the term "Renaissance", strictly speaking, there was not and could not be a revival of antiquity. Man cannot return to his past. The Renaissance, using the lessons of antiquity, introduced innovations. He did not bring back to life all ancient genres, but only those that were in tune with the aspirations of his time and culture. The Renaissance combined a new reading of antiquity with a new reading of Christianity. The Renaissance brought these two fundamental principles of European culture closer together.

Origins of the Renaissance

The concept of "Renaissance" is multifaceted. Those who argued about it did not come to a common opinion. Some consider it "paganism", "anti-Christianity", while others, on the contrary, see Christian-Catholic elements in it, looking for its roots in Christian culture. The attitude to this problem reveals the worldview of the researchers themselves. Anti-Christian meaning in the culture of the Renaissance is invested by those who identify Christianity with asceticism and world-denial.

Among the definitions of the cultural phenomenon of the Renaissance, there is no universally recognized one. Art critics, historians, thinkers, writers offer their explanations for this phenomenon, paying attention to various features. If we group many of the most common features, we can understand the cultural meaning of the Renaissance as:

The flourishing of culture;

Revolution in culture;

Transitional cultural stage;

Restoration of antiquity.
Each of these signs can manifest itself independently of the Renaissance, but only their complex forms a qualitatively new stage of culture. European Renaissance - a time of powerful cultural flourishing and restoration of many cultural traditions of Greco-Roman antiquity; a decisive cultural restructuring and a transitional stage to a new time in the history of European civilization.

The heyday is characterized by the increased energy of cultural activity, the creation and implementation of new incentives for cultural creativity. In this sense, the Renaissance can be compared in the history of world culture with the "Greek miracle" of the 8th-5th centuries. BC. The comparison is based on:

The special intensity of cultural life, the existence of many of its centers;

Variety of manifestations of creativity, creative freedom;

Combination of vitality and aesthetics;

Excess spiritual energy;

An amazing concentration on a small space-time interval of great people, universally gifted, who have chosen new ways of creativity. The names of Petrarch, Boccaccio, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo can be proclaimed symbols of Renaissance culture.

BASICS OF THE REVIVAL
CULTURES

The main thing in the Renaissance is the promotion and establishment of the human personality in culture and society, which results in various forms of revivalist anthropocentrism.

It is in it that the formation of the foundations of the New European
feelings of a personality - an autonomous individualistic personality, conscious of its own value, active and in need of freedom. From this moment on, the human personality, and not the world, not the whole, for the first time becomes the starting point for the formation of a system for perceiving the world. This grandiose turning point in culture just happens in the Renaissance - a new way of worldview is being formed in Italy in the first half of the 15th century. There is an assertion of the human personality in culture. For the first time there was an isolation of this personality, its separation from the world.

As a result, there was a disintegration of the whole world into separate individualized things that began to close in on themselves. However, in the Renaissance this process was not yet completed, being limited mainly to man and much less spreading to other things in the world.

The result was the movement of man to the center of the material world, gradually growing and overshadowing the heavenly world, and consequently, the material world was brought to the fore and the man himself became an active creative force in it. Anthropocentrism in the first half of the 15th century. brought to the fore not just a person, but a person as an active, active principle.

In this regard, the problem of the dignity of a person was sharply posed, which is affirmed within its framework quite uncompromisingly precisely in the material plane. One of the main revival values ​​was the concept of "glory" as a goal towards which a person should move.

As a result of all this affirmation of a creative, active material principle, a new image of a person gradually began to emerge, a new type of him - “homofaber” - “man-creator”, “man-creator”, “man-producer”, the essence of which ultimately resulted in into a capacious aphoristic formula: "man is the blacksmith of his own happiness."

Humanity has its own biography: infancy, adolescence and maturity. The era, which is called the Renaissance, is most likely to be likened to the period of beginning maturity with its inherent romance, the search for individuality, the struggle against the prejudices of the past. Without the Renaissance, there would be no modern civilization. The art of the Renaissance arose on the basis of humanism (from lat. -
"human") - a trend of social thought that originated in the 14th century in Italy, and then during the second half of the 15th-16th centuries. spread to other European countries Oh. All
the main types of art - painting, graphics, sculpture, architecture - have changed tremendously.

Creatively revised principles of the ancient order system were established in architecture, and new types of public buildings were formed. Painting was enriched with a linear and aerial perspective, knowledge of anatomy and proportions human body. Earthly content penetrated the traditional religious themes of works of art. Increased interest in ancient mythology and history. everyday scenes, landscape, portrait. Along with the monumental wall paintings that adorn architectural structures, a picture appeared, oil painting arose.

Art has not yet completely broken away from the craft, but the creative individuality of the artist, whose activity at that time was extremely diverse, has already taken the first place. The universal talent of the masters of the Renaissance is amazing - they often worked in the field of architecture, sculpture, painting, combined their passion for literature.

poetry and philosophy with the study of exact sciences
The concept of a creatively rich, or "Renaissance personality" subsequently became a household word.

In the art of the Renaissance, the paths of scientific and artistic comprehension of the world and man were closely intertwined. Its cognitive meaning was inextricably linked with sublime poetic beauty; in its striving for naturalness, it did not descend to petty everyday life. Art has become a universal spiritual need.

The formation of the Renaissance culture in Italy took place in economically independent cities. In the rise and flourishing of Renaissance art, the Church and the magnificent courts of uncrowned sovereigns (ruling rich families) - the largest patrons and customers of works of painting, sculpture and architecture - played an important role.
The main centers of Renaissance culture were at first the cities of Florence, Siena, Pisa, then Padua. Ferrara, Genoa. Milan and later than all, in the second half of the 15th century, was rich merchant Venice. Rome became the capital of the Italian Renaissance in the 16th century. Since that time, local art centers. except for Venice, have lost their former significance.

PROTORENESSANCE

AT Italian culture XIII-XIV centuries against the backdrop of still strong Byzantine and Gothic traditions, features of a new art began to appear - the future art of the Renaissance. Therefore, this period of its history was called the Proto-Renaissance (that is, it prepared the offensive of the Renaissance: from Greek"protos" - "first").

There has not been a similar transitional period in any of the European
countries. In Italy itself, proto-Renaissance art existed only
in Tuscany and Rome.

In Italian culture, the features of the old and the new were intertwined. "The last poet of the Middle Ages" and the first poet of the new era Dante Alighieri created an Italian literary language. What Dante started was continued by other great Florentines of the 14th century - Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374), the founder of European lyric poetry, and Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), the founder of the novel (short story) genre in world literature. The pride of the era are
architects and sculptors Niccolo and Giovanni Pisano, Arnolfodi Kam-
bio and painter Giotto di Bondone.

ARCHITECTURE

Italian architecture has long followed medieval traditions,
which was expressed mainly in the use of many Gothic motifs.
At the same time, Italian Gothic itself did not resemble northern Gothic: it gravitated towards calm large forms, even light, horizontal
articulations of architecture, wide surfaces of walls. The Church of Santa Croce, one of the largest in Florence, was begun by Arnolfo di Cambio at the end of the 13th century. (the facade was created in the 19th century). The temple is distinguished by wide spans, a single bright interior space, instead of complex Gothic vaults, it uses a wooden ceiling. In 1296 in
Florence began to build the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Arnolfo di Cambio wanted to crown the altar of the cathedral with a huge dome. However, after the death of the architect in 1310, the construction was delayed, it was completed only in the period early renaissance. In 1334, according to the project of Giotto, the construction of the bell tower of the cathedral, the so-called campanile, was begun - a slender rectangular tower with horizontal divisions by floor and beautiful Gothic windows, lancet arched shape
which have long been preserved in Italian architecture.

Among the most famous city palaces is the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence. It is believed that it was built by Arnolfo di Cambio. This is a heavy cube with a high tower, lined with rough stone. On the facade - windows of different sizes, an inconspicuous entrance is located on the side. The building defines the appearance of the old city center, invading the square with a harsh bulk. The mighty palace served as a symbol of Florence's independence.

SCULPTURE

Earlier than in architecture and painting, new artistic searches were outlined in sculpture, and above all in the Pisan school, the founder of which was Niccolo Pisano (about 1220 - between 1278 and 1284). His work developed under the influence ancient tradition, he undoubtedly studied the sculptural decoration of late Roman and early Christian sarcophagi. The hexagonal marble pulpit (1260), made by him for the baptistery in Pisa, became an outstanding achievement of the Renaissance sculpture and influenced its further formation. The pulpit, made of white, pink-red and dark green marble, is a whole architectural structure, easily visible from all sides.

Niccolo Pisano used traditional plots and motifs here, but the pulpit belongs to a new era. The main achievement of the sculptor is that he managed to give volume to the forms and
expressiveness, and each image has bodily power. Pisano's images are static, majestic and impassive. The Mother of God resembles the Roman goddess Juno, an allegory of Strength in the form of a naked athlete - the ancient hero Hercules.

A special place in the history of Italian sculpture of the late XIII - early XIV century. belongs to Giovanni Pisano (1245 or 1250 - after 1314). A student and assistant to Nicolò Pisano, he became a much more famous master than his famous father. In the works of Giovanni there were many new and unusual things. Almost the same age as Giotto, he was the exact opposite of the wise restraint of his Florentine contemporary.

The most famous are the pulpits created by Giovanni Pisano in the Pisa Cathedral and the Church of Sant'Andrea in Pistoia, as well as statues of saints, prophets, Madonnas.

Complex multi-figure reliefs decorating the pulpit in the cathedral
The Pisas and the churches of Sant'Andrea in Pistoia are in a flurry of traffic. The figures, having lost the calmness of the images of Niccolo Pisano, seem to strive to break out of the stone. Their gestures are natural, their faces are expressive. Particularly expressive are dramatic scenes like "Crucifixion" and "Massacre of the Innocents".

EARLY REVIVAL

In the XV century. the art of Italy occupied a dominant position in the artistic life of Europe. The foundations of a humanistic secular (i.e., not ecclesiastical) culture were laid in Florence, which pushed Siena and Pisa into the background. Florence of that time was called “the flower of Italy, the rival of the glorious city of Rome. from which it sprang and whose greatness it imitates. The political power here belonged to the merchants and
artisans, a few of the richest families had a special influence on city affairs. They constantly competed with each other. This struggle ended at the end of the 14th century. victory of the Medici banking house. Its head, Cosimo de' Medici, became the unspoken ruler of Florence. To the Court of Cosimo
The Medici (and later his grandson Lorenzo, nicknamed the Magnificent) flocked writers, poets, scientists, architects and artists. A real revolution took place in architecture at that time. Extensive construction unfolded in Florence, changing the face of the city before our eyes.

ARCHITECTURE

A native of Florence was Philippe Brunelleschi (1377-1446), the founder of the Renaissance architecture of Italy, one of the founders of the scientific theory of perspective (he erected buildings based on precise mathematical calculations). Versatile gifted, widely
humanistic education, he initially worked as a sculptor and participated (but did not win) in a competition in 1401 for best project bronze reliefs for the doors of the Florentine baptistery. Brunelleschi's early building is the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence; this is an example of a brilliant plastic (spatial) and engineering solution. Brunelleschi had to block the huge span of the dome (base diameter forty-two meters) without erecting scaffolding. The architect invented an unusually complex design for his time: a light hollow dome had a double shell and a frame of eight ribs,
which were surrounded by rings. The grandiose dome, covered with dark red tiles, tied with strong white ribs and crowned with an elegant white marble skylight, solemnly soars over the city as a majestic image of Florence. The great Italian architect Leon Battista Alberti, dedicating his treatise on painting to Brunelleschi, wrote that this "great building rising to the heavens overshadows all Tuscan lands." Brunelleschi's creation is the forerunner of numerous domed temples in Italy and other European countries.

Brunelleschi initiated the creation of a domed temple on
basis of the ancient order. In 1421-1428. he built the side chapel of the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence. The architectural principles used by Brunelleschi in this building were further developed in his famous Pazzi Chapel (1429-1443) - a true pearl of the early Renaissance. Situated in the deep
narrow courtyard of the Church of Santa Croce, the chapel of the wealthy Florentine Pazzi family welcomes the incoming graceful six-column portico with a large central arched opening. According to recent archival data, the portico erected by Brunelleschi was subsequently rebuilt. However, it is difficult to assume that the new structure did not reflect the general figurative
idea of ​​a great architect. The Pazzi chapel itself, flooded with light, is small, rectangular in plan and captivates with the beauty of proportions, the balance of parts, and the purity of lines. The planes of the pearl-gray walls seem to be lined with stripes of architectural rods made of dark gray stone, rectangles, circles, arcs of arches. The decoration of the walls is perceived as an element of architecture, giving the impression of lightness and spirituality.

In the early 30s. 15th century Brunelleschi, along with his friend,
sculptor Donatello. visited Rome. In the early stages of
birth. acquaintance of the Italian society with ancient culture
was due to the study of surviving architectural monuments antiquities and discovered manuscripts - they were collected, studied and copied. During the trip, Brunelleschi and Donatello participated in excavations, measured, examined and classified ancient monuments. The influence of the Roman classics was reflected in the later large buildings of Brunelleschi - the Florentine churches of San Lorenzo (1442-1444) and Santo Spirito (begun by him in 1444; completed after his death in 1487.

Creation of a new type of city palaces, which served as a model
for public buildings of later times, became one of the main tasks of Italian architecture of the 15th century.

SCULPTURE

In the XV century. Italian sculpture flourished. She acquired
independent, independent of architecture meaning, new genres appeared in it. The practice of artistic life began to include orders from wealthy merchants and craftsmen to decorate public buildings; art competitions acquired the character of broad public events. The event that
opens a new period in the development of Italian Renaissance sculpture, it is considered that the competition held in 1401 for the manufacture of
bronzes of the second northern doors of the Florentine baptistery. Among the participants in the competition were young masters - Philippe Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti (circa 1381-1455).

The brilliant draftsman Ghiberti won the competition. One of the most educated people of his time, the first historian of Italian art, Ghiberti, in whose work the main thing was the balance and harmony of all elements of the image, devoted his life to one type of sculpture - relief. His quest reached the pinnacle
in the manufacture of the eastern doors of the Florentine baptistery (1425-1452), which Michelangelo called the "Gates of Paradise". the ten square compositions made of gilded bronze that make them convey the depth of space in which figures, nature, and architecture merge. They are expressive picturesque paintings. Ghiberti's workshop has become a real school for a whole generation of artists. In his workshop, the young Donatello, the great reformer of Italian sculpture, worked as an assistant.

Donato diNiccolodiBettoBardi, who was called Donatello
(circa 1586-1466), was born in Florence in the family of a comber
wool. He worked in Florence. Siena, Rome, Padua. However, the huge fame did not change his simple way of life. It was said that the selfless Donatello hung a purse with money at the door of his workshop, and his friends and students took from the purse as much as they needed.

On the one hand, Donatello longed for the truth of life in art. On the other hand, he gave his works the features of sublime heroics. These qualities appeared already in the early works of the master - statues of saints intended for the outer niches of the facades of the Church of Or San Michele in Florence, and the Old Testament prophets of the Florentine campanile. The statues were in niches, but they immediately attracted attention with their severe expressiveness and inner strength images.
Especially famous is "St. George" (1416) - a young warrior with a shield
volume in hand. He has a focused, deep look; he stands firmly on
ground with legs wide apart. In the statues of the prophets Donatello is especially
emphasized them character traits, sometimes rude, un-
painted, even ugly, but alive and natural. Donatello's prophets Jeremiah and Habakkuk are whole and spiritually rich natures. Them
strong figures are hidden by heavy folds of cloaks. Life has furrowed Avvakum's faded face with deep wrinkles;
bald, for which he was nicknamed Zuccone (Pumpkin) in Florence.

In 1430, Donatello created "David" - the first nude statue in
Italian sculpture of the Renaissance. The statue was intended for a fountain in courtyard Palazzo Medici. The biblical shepherd, the winner of the giant Goliath, is one of the favorite images of the Renaissance. Depicting his youthful body, Donatello undoubtedly proceeded from antique samples, but reworked them in the spirit of his time. Thoughtful and calm David in a shepherd's hat shading him
face, trampling on Goliath's head with his foot and as if not conscious of the feat he had yet accomplished.

A trip to Rome with Brunelleschi greatly expanded the artistic possibilities of Donatello, his work was enriched with new images and techniques, which affected the influence of antiquity.
A new period has begun in the master's work. In 1433 he completed the marble pulpit of the Florentine cathedral. The entire field of the pulpit is occupied by a jubilant round dance of dancers putti - something like ancient cupids
and at the same time medieval angels in the form of naked boys,
sometimes winged, depicted in motion. This is a favorite motif in the sculpture of the Italian Renaissance, which then spread into
art of the 17th-18th centuries.

For almost ten years, Donatello worked in Padua, the old university city, one of the centers of humanistic culture, the homeland
deeply revered in the Catholic Church of St. Anthony of Padua. For the city cathedral dedicated to St. Anthony, Donatello completed in 1446-1450. a huge sculpted altar with many statues and reliefs. The central place under the canopy was occupied by the statue of the Madonna and Child, on both sides of which there were six statues of saints. At the end of the XVI century. the altar was demolished. Only a part of it has survived to this day, and now it is difficult to imagine how it looked originally.

Four extant altar reliefs depicting the miraculous deeds of St. Anthony allow us to appreciate the unusual techniques used by the master. This is a type of flat, as if flattened
relief. Crowded scenes are presented in a single movement in a real life setting. In the background they are huge city
buildings and arcades. Through the transfer of perspective, the impression of the depth of space arises, as
in paintings.

In the last years spent in Florence, Donatello experienced a spiritual crisis, his images became more and more dramatic. He created a complex and expressive group "Judith and Holofernes" (1456-1457); statue of "Mary Magdalene" (1454-1455)
in the form of a decrepit old woman, an emaciated hermit in an animal skin; reliefs for the church of San Lorenzo, tragic in mood, already completed by his students of the workshop, and his friends and students took from the purse as much as they needed.

On the one hand, Donatello longed for the truth of life in art. On the other hand, he gave his works the features of sublime heroism.

PAINTING

A special place in early Renaissance painting belongs to Sandro Botgicelli, a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci and the young Michelangelo.

Alessandro Filipepi, nicknamed Botticelli (1445-1510), was born in Florence. He studied painting with Filippo Lippi, attended
workshop of the famous sculptor and painter Verrocchio, where he brought together
Xia with Leonardo, who was also a student of Verrocchio.

His name became known thanks to the painting "The Adoration of the Magi"

(1476), which attracted the attention of the Medici family. In the picture
three generations of these uncrowned rulers of Florence were depicted. Botticelli began to work at the Medici court.

The exquisite art of Botticelli with elements of stylization, that is, the generalization of images using conventional techniques - simplification of form, color and volume, enjoyed great success among highly educated Florentines. In the art of Botticelli, unlike most of the masters of the early Renaissance, the personal experience of the master prevailed. Exceptionally sensitive and sincere, the artist went through a difficult and tragic path of creative search - from a poetic perception of the world in his youth to painful pessimism in adulthood.

His famous paintings of the mature period "Spring" (circa 1477-
1478) and The Birth of Venus (1483-1484) are inspired by the poems of the outstanding humanist Angelo Poliziano, court poet of the Medici. The allegorical painting "Spring", written to decorate the Medici Villa, is one of the most complex works of Botticelli.

Against the backdrop of the dark greenery of a fantastic garden, flexible, slender figures appear as graceful silhouettes. The flowering meadow under their feet resembles a bright carpet. In the depths of the composition, Venus in a smart dress stands in melancholy thoughtfulness. She is surrounded by an obligatory retinue: a cupid with a bow hovers over her head, three young graces lead a round dance, a nymph runs from a grove pursued by a faun. In the foreground is Spring, or the goddess Flora, in
a wreath and a dress woven with flowers marches swiftly and so easily,
that barely touches the ground with bare feet. In the left corner is the figure of a young man, who is usually called Mercury. The rhythm of flowing lines
unites the composition into a single whole, creates a sophisticated color harmony. The artist applied a technique that was archaic for his time - the finest shading with gold of some details, among them - flowers, fruits, rays, crowns, patterns of fabrics. Individual figures and groups are delightful, especially the three dancing graces. Conquers the charm of the outlines of their figures, clothes, as if woven from air, hand movements, finger touches.
Permeated with the musical rhythm of the dance, the tremor of the lines, the image of the three graces glorifies the coming Spring, a celebration of nature and human feelings. But in the painting by Botticelli, one can feel a shade of sadness, a coldish detachment, characteristic of his art. The characters are self-absorbed, internally alone.

More directly perceived is the painting "The Birth of Venus", which is not so strongly associated with allegorical overtones. This is one of the most captivating creations of world painting. The painting depicts Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, floating on a large shell. The “boat” is driven to the shore by the god and goddess of the wind, flying, intertwined in their arms. On the shore, a nymph awaits Venus, who hurries to throw a light crimson veil woven with flowers over her shoulders. The master gilds Venus's wind-blown hair, and this gives her feminine appearance something unearthly. The appearance of a deity far from reality is also reflected in the range of cold, transparent, light colors.

In the painting of the early Renaissance, among the many faces - beautiful and almost ugly, but always significant - the images of women, girls, boys and children, belonging to the brush of Botticelli, are immediately recognizable. They are distinguished not by the classical correctness of features, not by prettiness, but by the charm of sinless purity, defenselessness, unspoken sadness. The image of Venus is the highest embodiment of this ideal. Four centuries later, people peer into her clear features and find something exciting in them.
and attractive. In the early 90s. XV century in the work of Botticelli there was a decisive turning point. He was strongly influenced by the passionate sermons of the Dominican monk Savonarola, who denounced the papacy, the aristocracy, the rich and humanistic culture.

HIGH REVIVAL

The High Renaissance, which gave humanity such great masters as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Giorgione, Titian, Bramante, covers a relatively short period - from the end of the 15th century. until the end of the second decade of the 16th century. Only in Venice the flourishing of art continued until the middle of the century.

Fundamental shifts associated with decisive events in world history, the successes of advanced scientific thought, have infinitely expanded people's ideas about the world - not only about the earth, but also about the Cosmos. The perception of the world and the human personality seemed to be enlarged; in artistic creativity, this was reflected not only in the majestic scale of architectural structures, monuments, solemn fresco cycles and paintings, but also in their content, the expressiveness of images. The pictorial language, which, according to the definition of some researchers, in the early Renaissance could seem too "talkative", became generalized and restrained. The art of the High Renaissance is a lively and complex artistic process with dazzlingly bright rises and subsequent crises.

LEONARDO DA VINCI

In the history of mankind it is not easy to find another equally brilliant
personality as the founder of the art of the High Renaissance Leonardo
da Vinci (1452-1519). The comprehensive nature of the activities of this great artist and scientist became clear only when the scattered manuscripts from his heritage were examined. Colossal literature is devoted to Leonardo. his life has been studied in great detail. Nevertheless, much in his work remains mysterious and continues to excite the minds of people.

Among his early works is the painting "Madonna with a Flower" (1472). Unlike the masters of the XV century. Leonardo refused narrative, the use of details that distract the attention of the viewer, saturated with images of the background. The picture is perceived as a simple, artless scene of the joyful motherhood of young Mary. Two large figures fill the entire space of the picture, only outside the window in the dark wall you can see a clear cold blue sky. A specific moment is captured: the mother, herself still an affectionate and lively girl, holds out a flower to her child, smiling, and watches how a serious kid carefully examines an unfamiliar object. The flower links both figures together.

Donatello and Verrocchio's monument was nicknamed the Great Colossus.

The paintings of Leonardo of the Milan period have survived to our time. The first altarpiece of the High Renaissance was Madonna in the Grotto (1483-1494). The painter departed from the traditions of the 15th century, in whose religious paintings solemn stiffness prevailed. There are few figures in Leonardo’s altarpiece: the feminine Mary, the Christ Child blessing little John the Baptist, and a kneeling angel, as if looking out of the picture. The images are perfectly beautiful, naturally connected with their environment. This is a kind of grotto among dark basalt rocks with a gap in the depths - a landscape typical of Leonardo: in general, fantastically mysterious, but in particular - in the image of each plant, each flower among dense grass - made with an accurate knowledge of natural forms. Figures and faces are shrouded in an airy haze, giving them a special softness. The Italians called this technique Leonardo sfumato.

In Milan, apparently, the master created the canvas "Madonna and Child" ("Madonna Litta"). Here, unlike the Madonna with a Flower, he
strove for greater generalization and ideality of the image. It depicts not a certain moment, but a kind of long-term state of calm joy, in which a young beautiful woman is immersed, breastfeeding a child. The clarity of the balanced composition with two symmetrically located windows is expressive, between which a lively and flexible silhouette of a female half-figure is inscribed. Cold clear light illuminates her thin, softly sculpted face and a light, barely perceptible smile. The picture is painted in tempera, giving sonority to the tones of Mary's blue cloak and red dress. The fluffy dark golden curly hair of the Infant is amazingly written, his attentive gaze directed at the viewer is not childishly serious.

A different, dramatic mood distinguishes Leonardo's monumental painting "The Last Supper", performed by him in 1495-1497. commissioned by Lodovico Moro for the refectory church of Santa Mariadella Grazie in Milan. The fate of this famous work of Leonardo is tragic. More during the life of the master, the paint began to crumble. In the HUL a door was broken in the wall of the refectory, which destroyed part of the composition, and in the 18th century. The building was turned into a hay store. Inept restorations caused great damage to the fresco. AT
In 1908, work was carried out to clear and strengthen the mural.
During World War II, the ceiling and south wall of the refectory were destroyed by a bomb. The restoration undertaken in 1945 saved the painting from further destruction, the remains of Leonardo's painting were identified and secured. However, only the most general idea can now be formed about the great creation of the master.

It is impossible to imagine that Leonardo da Vinci could live and create in another era. And yet his personality transcended its time, rose above it. The work of Leonardo before Vinci is inexhaustible. The scale and uniqueness of his talent can be judged by the master's drawings, which occupy one of the places of honor in the history of world art. With drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, sketches, sketches, diagrams, not only manuscripts devoted to the exact sciences, but also works on the theory of art are inextricably linked.

The art of Leonardo da Vinci, his scientific and theoretical studies, the uniqueness of his personality went through the entire history of world culture, had a huge impact on it.

The idea of ​​sublime beauty and harmony is associated with the work of Raphael (1483-1520) in the history of world art.
It is generally accepted that in the constellation of brilliant masters of the High Renaissance, in which Leonardo personified intellect, and Michelangelo personified power, it was Raphael who was the main bearer of harmony. Of course, to one degree or another, each of them possessed all these qualities. There is no doubt, however, that the relentless striving for a bright, perfect beginning permeates all of Raphael's work and constitutes its inner meaning.

Rafael initially studied in Urbino with his father, then with local
the famous painter Timoteo Vite. In 1500, he moved to Perugia, the capital of Umbria, to continue his education in the workshop of the famous
th painter, head of the Umbrian school Pietro Perugino. The young master quickly surpassed his teacher.

Raphael's favorite image is the Madonna and Child. In the history of art, the "Sistine Madonna" is an image of perfect beauty. This
a large altar picture depicts not just the Divine Mother
with the Divine Infant, and the miracle of the appearance of the Heavenly Queen,
soup to the people of his Son as an atoning sacrifice. Framed by green
On bright clouds stands Mary with the Child in her arms. The gaze of Her dark, gleamless eyes is directed past and, as it were, through the viewer. That look is available. what is hidden from others. In the image of Christ, a large beautiful child, something is guessed that is not childishly tense and visionary. Here the artist has achieved a rare dynamic balance: apparent clear simplicity, features of abstract ideality, the divinity of a miracle and the real weight of forms are intertwined, complement and enrich each other.
friend. To the left of the Madonna, Pope Sixtus IV in prayer tenderness
contemplates a miracle. Saint Barbara, reverently lowering her gaze, who, like Mary, belongs to heaven, easily soars in the clouds. Two angels, leaning on the parapet, look up and return the viewer's attention to the central image.

Michelangelo

Michelangelo Bounarroti (1475-1564) - greatest master High Renaissance, who created outstanding works of sculpture, painting, architecture. Michelangelo executed a colossal marble statue of David. The statue reaches five and a half meters in height. She personifies the limitless power of man. David is just preparing to strike the enemy with a stone fired from a sling, but it is already felt that this future a conqueror, full of consciousness of his physical and spiritual strength. The hero's face expresses an unshakable will.

Made by order of the Florentine Republic, the statue was installed at the entrance to Talazzo Vskchio. The opening of the monument in 1504 turned into a national celebration. "David" decorated the square for more than three and a half centuries. In 1873, the monument was installed in the Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. In the old place where Michelangelo himself placed the statue, there is now a marble copy.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CULTURE
THE AGE OF THE RENAISSANCE

Thus, in an effort to learn the culture of the Renaissance, the secrets of its art, it is necessary to analyze the traditions not only of Italy, but also of other Western countries, for only such an association, bound by the same ideas and views, will give a complete picture of the Renaissance.

The revolutionary significance of the Renaissance is important for all subsequent times, since it was during this period that the main humanistic views were laid, the development of which is relevant for all mankind today.

In the climax periods of the development of culture, an example of which is the Renaissance, as a rule, deep contradictions are revealed, overcoming which new traditions and techniques arise. And next to the most revolutionary demands in the field of thought and will, which led to the most daring postulates in the field of morality, science and art, next to the boundless audacity in destroying the old and creating the new, sometimes giving the impression of something very modern, the survivals of old views.

And the most creative, productive thoughts are tested precisely in the improvement and development of old ideas.

The Renaissance ushered in an era of a completely new man in the history of European civilization. This was reflected primarily in the worldview, beliefs, in all areas of the individual's activity, as well as in the sphere of her feelings and emotions. In this era, will and action went together, old and new, uniting, gave rise to brilliant ideas, images and works; the perfection of the creativity of an individual was as significant as the activities of schools and periods. Humanist thinkers, people of art set themselves heroic tasks and successfully solved them. Those who saw the solution of all problems in the improvement of the ideas of social order, went to death and deprivation for the sake of the common good of mankind and created the preconditions for the grandiose activity of subsequent generations.

In the field of philosophy and sciences (both humanitarian and mathematical) there was a significant leap in development, characterized by humanistic ideas, a new look at man and his capabilities.

In the field of art, the tasks of a person were bequeathed to the future in a dilapidated form, since the basic techniques and principles are clear to us, but how the overall impression of a work is achieved is a mystery, especially in the artistic depiction of a person, his beauty and sublimity.

It was this era that gave mankind a huge number of comprehensive, titanic, mysterious personalities - Petrarch, Shakespeare, Giotto, Raphael, Titian, Michelangelo, centuries are needed to understand their creativity and human personality.

The anthropocentrism of the Renaissance manifests itself in new semantic coloring microcosmicity - that a person turns in the macrocosm into one of the most alive and active forces. Therefore, do not forget that the Renaissance is not only the era of Leonardo and Michelangelo, but also the era Paracelsus(1493-1541) and Nostradamus (1503-1566).

Conclusion

Main result and main conquest Renaissance - assertion of an active human personality, its optimistic potential and creativity, which led to many great achievements of mankind, amenities, comfort and improved quality of life - by the end of the 15th century. does not fit well with traditional foundations medieval culture and life, threatens to turn into a sharp conflict with it and into a complete break with the medieval whole.

All this further exacerbated the contradictions of the Renaissance, turning them into an acute conflict both within the Renaissance personality itself and between the cultural layers of the era, but at the same time, the Renaissance was the impetus for the creation of a new culture - the culture of the New Age.