An overview and contents of the articles outlining the history of the Italian Renaissance, centred on paintings from Florence.
Masaccio
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.
In Florence, stories told in paintings became increasingly secular, and ingeniously integrated multiple scenes from the single story into one painting.
For over a century, Italian painters had strived to achieve coherent perspective projection, but it was until about 1420 that this was achieved. How essential was it?
Considers what exactly changed in painting in the Renaissance, and when we can establish as those dates, compared with literature, for example.
Latest in a succession of techniques, AR can guide someone to draw, just the camera obscura, photography and projectors did. Do these detract from the art in a painting?
Telling a story in a standalone painting, and telling one in illustrations, are very different. Examples by Masaccio, Poussin, Crane, Rackham, and Hogarth.
Four masterly paintings telling stories. Painted by 3 different hands, each works in 4 dimensions thanks to narrative devices, as explained here.
Easily told in words, stories are harder to paint. Here are five main methods used, explained and shown in examples from the masters.
