High Renaissance

Giotto di Bondone was an Italian painter and architect from Florence in the late Middle Ages. He is generally considered the first in a line of great artists who contributed to the Italian Renaissance. He was an apprentice to the artist Cimabue, a Florentine painter who also trained Duccio, another famed Italian artist. A legend exists that Cimabue discovered Giotto, who had been tending sheep, drawing on a rock and recognized the boy's talent. Giotto's artistic career began before he was 10 years old; by age 20, he was working independently.The so-called Proto-Renaissance began around ...

Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in Anchiano, Tuscany (now Italy). He is one of the greatest thinkers in all of history. He is best known for his paintings, such as The Last Supper and Mona Lisa, but he also had many skills in science and engineering. DaVinci’s work had a profound impact on the world around us today. His father was Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci, a prominent notary, and his mother was Cateri ...

Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475-1564) was a sculptor, painter, architect and poet. He is arguably one of the most famous artists of the Italian Renaissance.Michelangelo was considered to be one of the greatest artists of all time. His most famous works include his statue of David, the Pieta, and painting frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, including The Creation of Adam.In the middle of his long life, Michelangelo wrote that he could carry his whole fortune in one hand. He was referring, obviously enough, to the masterpieces he had created. As an artist and sculptor, Michelangelo was a giant; as a ...

Raphael Santy was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period.Santi is most famous for his frescoes in the Vatican, which earned him the nickname "the divine," and his classicizing paintings based on Roman sculpture. He is also known for his portraits, both painted and drawn, of contemporary figures and classical subjects. His ...

Donatello was a 15th-century sculptor from Florence. He is generally considered the greatest sculptor of the early Renaissance and was crucial in establishing sculpture as the main art form of the period. His small bronze David, bronze Mary Magdalen, and marble St. Mark are some of his masterpieces that exemplify his style. Donatello's artistry was evident early in life, and he received his first commission at age 21. He gained experience as a sculptor and developed his skill in the design of monuments and tombs, and became famous throughout Italy. He also made a name for himself as an artist ...