Now that a basic understanding of the Renaissance period in Europe is given, a little about two of the major artists, Leonardo Da Vinci and Raphael, who were probably the most popular figures of the Renaissance period is essential to provide an accurate picture.
Leonardo Da Vinci
Life history - Leonardo DA VINCI was born out of wedlock, near a small village in the Tuscan region. His father was a landlord of Florentine and his mother was a peasant woman, who got married to an artisan later. He grew up in his father’s estate, where he gained all his education, which made him the knowledgeable and versatile genius that he was. Funnily enough, he was even an extremely lazy person, and left a lot of his paintings incomplete. However, even the ones he completed were enough to make him a legend. Most of them are currently at the Louvre in Paris today, as well as some in other places.
Paintings- His most legendary paintings, other than the Mona Lisa include the Lady and the Ermine, the Last Supper which is currently at a church in Milan, Italy, his sketch of The Vitruvian Man, which is symbolic of the Humanist philosophy( as discussed in part 1) and another one, the Virgin of the Rocks form the major part of his corpus. In his notebook, he had numerous sketches and notes about science experiments.
Raphael
Life History- Raphael was born to Giovanni Santi and Magia di Basti. His father, Giovanni was also an artist and was not considered so famous. However, he did introduce his son to the art world. The place where Raphael was based, Urbino became a center of culture. He was, however, also influenced by artists in Florence and Rome. At the age of 17 years, he began to display immense talent. He joined another famous painter, Pietro Perugino’s workshop where he gained knowledge about the world of painting. Later he moved to Florence to further pursue his art.
Famous paintings- These include his iconic The Marriage of the Virgin, Visions of a Knight, Three Graces, St Michael, The Sistine Maddona, as well as numerous portraits of different people. He was regularly commissioned. However, his most famous painting is probably Maddona in the Meadow and School of Athens. His style was extremely innovative and marked a break from Perugino’s as well!
