An overview and contents of the articles outlining the history of the Italian Renaissance, centred on paintings from Florence.
Leonardo
A timeline of milestone paintings, first surviving examples of the achievements of the Italian Renaissance, from 1320-1596.
The significance of Alberti’s textbook on painting and simplified perspective, followed by Piero’s account of perspective, and Vasari’s new history of painting.
From Leonardo’s abandoned Adoration of the Magi from 1482, his development of pyramidal form in composition influenced Raphael and many others.
It was the patrons who funded, enabled, and occasionally directed the movement towards realism and secular subjects, and developed the genres.
At the start of the 15th century, Italian easel paintings used egg tempera. By the end, Leonardo da Vinci was pushing the technical boundaries using oil paint.
Sketches and studies are the richest evidence for the artistic in craft-dominated processes required to turn those into a painting.
Claude Lorrain’s view of Delos, Leonardo’s Virgin of the Rocks, several versions of the Flight to Egypt, including one by William Blake, and more.
The way that distant hills fade in contrast, detail and colour, and how their hue shifts towards cooler colours. From Antonello (1475) to Thomas Girtin.
A brief overview of his career, with some of his finest paintings, and links to more detailed accounts.
The Eclectic Light Company 