High Italian Renaissance Art

            When looking at artwork from both the Early and High Italian Renaissance we can see an immense amount of similarities shared between the two periods. However, there are several distinct differences that help us visually differentiate the Early and High Italian Renaissance. For example, when looking at the portrait Battista Sforza and Federico Da Montefeltro from the Early Italian Renaissance and the Mona Lisa from the High Renaissance we can see both similarities and differences in their stylistic characteristics.

            When looking at the Mona Lisa and the Battista Sforza and Federico Da Montefeltro it is easy to immediately point out some obvious differences between the two. First off we can see that the Mona Lisa is depicted in a three-quarter view while the Battista Sforza and Federico Da Montefeltro is shown in profile. Three-quarter view being the preferred way to depict a person in a portrait during the High Renaissance while the profile view was the preferred way to depict a person during the Early Renaissance. The profile view prohibits the viewers to become engaged with the person being depicted in the portrait, while the three-quarter view allows us to get a much better idea of what exactly the person looks like, allowing the viewer to become far more engaged. The Battista Sforza and Federico Da Montefeltro portrait has a much more geometric appearance. This geometric feel makes the painting appear far less naturalistic than the Mona Lisa portrait. The Mona Lisa is very naturalistic and true to life. This is showing the High Renaissance’s emphasis on realism. The figure of Mona Lisa creates a pyramidal form that is often seen in the High Renaissance while the Battista Sforza and Federico Da Montefeltro has a much more rigid appearance lacking a pyramidal form. The background of the Battista Sforza and Federico Da Montefeltro is very clear and easy to make out. The Mona Lisa’s background uses sfumato giving a slight suggestion of a haze. Sfumato is a stylistic characteristic often used in the High Italian Renaissance. While there are a lot of differences between the two portraits we see several similarities that help us relate the Early and High Italian Renaissance periods.

            We can see right away when looking at the two portraits that atmospheric perspective is used in each. We see atmospheric perspective starting to be used in the Early Renaissance and is continued to be used through the High Renaissance. We can also see use of naturalism in each however we can see the advancement in naturalism from the Early to High Renaissance. Both the Mona Lisa and Battista Sforza and Federico Da Montefeltro were created with oil paint on wood panel.

            When looking at artwork from the High Renaissance it has, as pointed out in our textbook, “dynamic unity.” The dynamic unity I see from the High Renaissance is the artist’s ability to relate the person being depicted to what is happening in the background. For example, in the Mona Lisa it looks as if she fits in the setting that she is painted in. However, the Battista Sforza and Derico Da Montefeltro from the Early Renaissance seems to lack that dynamic unity. It looks like the two figures represented were randomly put in that setting and have no connection to the background. It is almost as if the foreground and background are two different paintings.

            When looking at works or art from both the Early and High Renaissance it is generally fairly easy to decipher which works of art are from which periods. Though the two periods do share many stylistic characteristics we can tell the difference because it is as if the artists from the High Renaissance perfected what the Early Italian Renaissance artists started.