Italian Renaissance vs. Today
Today society often thinks about art in a subjective way, some artists work for themselves and others are still commissioned to do work like in the past. Whereas in the past, artists were usually only commissioned and contracted to certain specifications such as what the cost was, what materials would be used, how long it would take to complete, and what the subject of the work would be. It might not be considered artistic freedom but it had advantages, whereas today most artists create something in the hopes that another person is willing to buy it. With as many brilliantly famous artists that arose to fame from the Italian Renaissance like Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Donatello and others, it is to wonder how fine art has changed from then to now. Who will be remembered 700 years from now for their talent and how will it affect the future as the renaissance did for today? The Renaissance was such an influential period of learning and rebuilding, it is no wonder so many fantastical artists and works of art came about. Today is not much different, in fact we could call our period in time a renaissance as well for all the learning and rebuilding we have been doing to better the world.
Fine art is a visual art that is considered to have been created primarily for aesthetic and intellectual purposes and judged for its beauty and meaningfulness, specifically, painting, sculpture, drawing, watercolor, graphics, and architecture. (Dictionary.com) Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860’s to the 1970’s and denotes the styles and philosophy of the art produced in that era. (Dictionary.com) When modern art and fine art are put together we get artists like Banksy or Mark Bradford, who are both considerably famous and well-known around the world for their art that defies or goes against societal standards. Both artists explore uncomfortable topics between high art and popular culture.
Renaissance art is pieces of art work that include techniques such as painting, sculpture, and decorative arts that emerged in European history, as a distinct style in Italy starting around the 14th century, in this period of time developments in philosophy, literature, music, and science occurred. The biggest artists in the Renaissance were the ones with the best quality of art. They were mostly commissioned to do work for other people so the artists were able to perfect physical realism, since most of the art at this time depicted humans, or religious figures and landscapes. Those were the artists who become the most famous. For example, Michelangelo is sometimes said to be one of the greatest artists of all time because of how well he paid attention to detail when sculpting or painting human figures. Most art in the Renaissance had influence from philosophy, literature, architecture, theology, science, government, and other aspects of society.
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born on March 6th, 1475, better known by his first name Michelangelo. He is known for being one of the greatest artists of the Italian renaissance period, and arguably one of the most known artists in the world today. He was an Italian sculpture, painter, architect, and poet. Because he was so artistically versatile, he is considered a contender for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man along with his rival, Leonardo Da Vinci. Among all of Michelangelo’s work, a number of them are arguably the most famous in existence. The statue of David, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and Pietà are just a few of his most famous pieces of art.
Leonardo Da Vinci, born Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci on April 15th 1452, is known as the Renaissance man for having expertise in many things including invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. Some of his most famous works include the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, The Vitruvian Man, and Salvator Mundi. Leonardo Da Vinci died on May 2nd, 1519 at the age of 67 and is still one of the most well-known artists to this day.
Raphael, born Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino on March 28th, 1483, is another one of the Renaissance’s most famous and influential fine artists. He was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for the quality of the human figure, along with Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci he shares the trinity of great masters in the Renaissance period. His best-known work is the school of Athens in the Vatican. Raphael, Da Vinci, and Michelangelo are all very famous artists who contributed widely to the idea that the Renaissance was a time of rebirth. The art that these artists contributed to this time was so influential and spectacular in quality that people today look back at it in awe still. Quality was one thing when it came to the art that made it so spectacular but another reason it is so influential was because of the ideas, symbols, and motifs that all of these artists hid in their work. The Renaissance shaped modern art today by the traditional realism shown through all of the work in the renaissance. With such high-quality work, artists continue to strive for the ideal perfection that the art of the Renaissance held so fondly. Influences from Renaissance art that was created for the government and the art that was based on the ideas in society at the time can also still be seen. Today art stems widely from the inspiration of society. However, interestingly enough Renaissance artists were commissioned to honor society and high figures or governmental figures. But today, a lot of art is actually renouncing the government and showing all of the uncomfortable topics through the art that is being created. For example, protest art, Black Lives Matter art, renouncing presidential art, and others.
Another example of art that was based off of art from the Renaissance is the entire Met Gala ball in 2018. The theme was, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” Many people were wearing fashion that quite literally had art from the Renaissance recreated into a dress or a suit. For example, Ariana Grande, a 25-year-old singer, actress, and influencer, was wearing a gown made by artist, Vera Wang, that had Michelangelo’s iconic fresco, The Last Judgement, which adorns the wall of the Sistine Chapel. There were many other dresses, gowns, and suits that had the heavenly body signature. Catholicism was very important to the people of the Renaissance. It was depicted in art, through scripture, through entertainment, and through music.
It is no wonder that the Italian Renaissance was called the Renaissance as it truly was a rebirth. At the time this society was so interested in learning and writing and producing whether it was art or ideas, so it truly was a rebirth of a society. Today, one could say that we are having a Renaissance ourselves, with a rebirth of our views and standing up for ourselves and for women and minorities. Many people in America and around the world are inciting change and it shows, as people continue to learn how to unite and embrace people who are not like us or in our same class or color. As a country we are learning how to protect our children and making our schools, our movie theaters, our concerts, and our public events a safer place. People are standing up to stigmas, and raising awareness about mental illnesses and protecting who we are and not changing for anyone whether we are gay, straight, bi, trans, or anything other than who we want to be. There was a Renaissance about 700 years ago and there is a renaissance now. Who knows what time will bring us 700 years from now but could it be a possibility that our grandchildren’s children will read about us in their history books and look back on this time fondly as we do the Italian Renaissance?