Italian Renaissance Flashcards
Bifora
Mullioned window with two “lights”
Early Renaissance (date)
1400-1500
High Renaissance (date)
1500-1520
Late Renaissance (date)
1520-1600
Arno river
- enabled trade
- WWII destroyed most bridges except Ponte Vecchio
inspiration of Renaissance
based on classical inspiration, but developed into extreme asthetic originality
values during time
Class distinctions of the Middle Ages faded and were replaced by individualism.
Intelligence (regardless of class) had the opportunity to gain power
Proportion
Most important factor taken from antiquity. Everything was measured in human scale.
Art
- supported by patrons of the arts (instead of churches)
- this allowed artists less stress and more time to create art
Inventions
- Gun powder
- printing press
- origins of modern science
- perspective (in art)
- Brunelleschi was inventor and first to apply perspective
Leonardo da Vinci
- military inventions
- painting, engineering, architecture
Michelangelo
- Sistine chapel ceiling
- David sculpture
Raphael
- Madonna in the Meadow
Filippo Brunelleschi
- considered father of renaissance
- trained as goldsmith and sculptor
- father as perspecitve
- created duomo
Duomo
- Eight dome ribs are repeated on the lantern in the form of fluing buttresses
- Architect Filippo Brunelleschi
- one of the Earliest Renaissance constructions
Characteristics of architecture
- Symmetry
- Proportions
- Simple and geometric with many circles and squares
- Use of classical orders and round arches
Palazzo
Palace
Palazzo Medici
- headquarters for the Medici Bank and home for Cosimo il Vecchio
- over 70’ high
- divided into three levels by string courses
- Bifora windows
Piano Nobile
Italian term for the main floor, which is the second floor of
the building, usually containing the main apartments;
Second piano nobile is next up
Cartouche
A French term for a sculpted ornamental panel or tablet usually of oval shape with the edges curled; the tablet is sometimes carved with arms with initials or an inscription.
Palazzo Strozzi
belonged to Strozzi family - banking family, rival of Medici
Palazzo Rucellai
- Designed by Leone Alberti
- utilizes Pilasters
Pilaster
A representation of one of the
architectural orders, yet rectangular and
flattened against a surface to appear as
a visual support; usually projects a third
of its width.
Palazzo Pitti
On other side of Arno river from Medici palazzo.
Wanted to show up the Medici, however Pitti ran out of money and was bought by Medici.
Palazzo Pitti
trompe l’oeil
Villa Rotunda
Andrea Palladio
- Example of smaller palaces and villas typical of time, built for wealthy, which were more modest than in-town homes.
Andrea Palladio
- Studied architecture of ancient romans
- began to integrate concepts from studies into work
- created pattern books
gadroon
A short, oval or egg-shaped form applied around the edges or rim of furniture, silver, or glass and commonly seen on the bulbous legs and supports of Elizabethan and Jacobean furniture. The term is derived from the French word gadron. Also called lobed decoration or thumb molding.
Furniture of Italian Renaissance
- often Walnut
- placed against side of wall
- no longer class-based
Sgabello
- dining chair but also used for sewing and other functions
- geometric seat
- narrow
- inverted triangle back
- armless so that large skirts could fit
- drawer used for sewing utilities and yarn
Savonarola chair
- named after monk
- folding chair
- features Staves (side peices)
- lions paw or animal foot at the end of the runners
- would feature family cartouch
Dante chair
An Italian Renaissance chair with legs
that cross, in front and back, to form
an x-shape and that continue as a
support for the arm. Named for the
great Italian poet, Dante Alighieri.
- stretched leather seat
- no staves
- folding chair
- low upholstered back
- x-form base
- Certosina (inlay technique using bone or ivory)
Certosina
An Italian technique used to inlay bone, ivory, or light-colored wood against a dark background in geometric marquetry patterns.
Intarsia
Inlay of multiple colors of woods
Italian word for chair
Sedia
- Scroll-shaped armrests
- Baluster forms
- Fringe to cover seams
Perimeter stretcher
Stretcher that spans entire perimeter of chair legs
Down-turning arms
arms that slope down and end in a scroll
H-shaped stretcher
Stretcher only on front of chair legs
Cassapanca
- Cushion added to seat
- Sits on Dais / platform
- Gadrooning
Cassone
- Chest
- Wealthy families would get two as wedding gifts
- Coat of arms added on outside
- Most important article of domestic furniture
- stores family valuables and clothing
Polychromed
painted
Marquetry
Decorative veneer work, popular during the Renaissance and in 18th-century England and France, created by inlaying different colored woods and/or other materials such as brass, tortoiseshell, ivory, bone, and mother-of-pearl into furniture, walls, or other surfaces.
Credenza
- Stores utilcils
- Shelving
- Could also be painted
Table
- Balustrade feet
- Would be pushed to wall when not in use
- People were not as concerned with being attacked, so people start sitting at each end
- Would have used turkish rugs and tapestries
Trestle table
- lion paw
- cartouche
Center table
- geometric top
- lion paw legs
Pietra Dura
A mosaic or inlay using pieces of marble and semiprecious stones, cut to fit to create a picture or pattern; especially used to embellish Renaissance cabinets and table tops.
Scagliola
From the Italian term scaglia, meaning chip. A faux marble produced from plaster or cement and marble chips. Evidence shows use of scagliola in ancient Rome. It was also popular during the Italian Baroque and continued through the19th century, particularly with the Adam brothers in England.
Can have shades and highlights, which cannot be done through pietra dura.
Imitation of pietra dura.
Beds
- set on dais
- moderately low headboard
- rectangular head and foot board
Carved wood bed
- may have small, disproportionate headboards
- lion paw
- fluting
- carved cornice on canopy
Italian Renaissance Bedroom
- very large
- bare
- tall ceilings
- stenciled pattern on wall
- Conical fireplace
Fireplace shapes
Conical or pyramidal
Typical interior
- Plastered walls were either white-washed walls or painted
- paint on wall might be trompe-l’oeil to imitate tapestries or wood work
- Wood or plaster ceilings. Could be barrel vaulted, coved, or flat with beams.
- Floors would be tile (terra-cotta or majolica), brick, or marble. (due to warm climate). May be laid in herringbone pattern.
Niche
recessed wall space
Della Robbia panel
Relief w/ majolica
- often blue background with white raised surface
- wreath, garland, vegetable motifs
How was the Italian renaissance disseminated to France, the Netherlands, and England?
Pattern books
