Early Renaissance Art - Prints at Imagekind

Early Renaissance art refers to art created during the late 15th to early 16th century. Italy and Northern Europe were the two major centers of Early Renaissance art. The primary themes during this time period were religious and mythological. Figures and perspective held a central roles in paintings and sculpture. The Renaissance period has also been termed the Age of Exploration and this idea of exploring and learning, combined with the idea of rebirth and renewal that the Renaissance was built upon, was the main drive for passion, thinking, and perfection within Early Renaissance art.

Many of these early artists were skilled at implementing perspective in the works. One such Italian artist was Piero della Francesca, a man who was highly interested in the study of geometry and mathematics and brought these skills into his paintings. della Francesca was especially adept at perfectly creating backgrounds and environments in which to place the figures and scenes that he was rendering; most likely, his love for geometry and math made it possible for him to cultivate an eye for perspective. Much like other artists of the Early Renaissance art period, della Francesca mainly painted religious scenes, creating one of the more controversial pieces of art from this time. The Flagellation of Christ depicts Jesus Christ being whipped by Roman soldiers and is largely admired for its perfection of perspective and the detail given to its figures.

Donatello, born Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi, is one of the most well known artists who was involved in Early Renaissance art. Practicing in Florence, hailed as the center of the Italian Renaissance, Donatello created beautiful sculptures out of bronze and marble. One of the most famous of his sculptures was a marble panel with the depiction of St. George Killing the Dragon, again showing the fervor that this time period held for religious pieces. Holding true to the Renaissance idea of renewal and invention, Donatello created a new technique in sculpting when he designed this piece of art. Schiacciato was his new idea for creating space and perspective within a sculpture and gave his pieces an entirely new texture and look than any before him.

One of the premier Northern European Early Renaissance artists was Jan van Eyck, a Flemish oil painter. Van Eyck developed a technique of layering glaze on his canvases which made it possible for him to create detail and also to make the colors he used more vibrant. One of Van Eyck’s most famous portraits is called The Arnolfini Portrait which shows his amazing attention to detail and the beautiful tones of the paint that he so skillfully applied to his canvases.

Before leading to many more famous artists within the High Renaissance art period, Early Renaissance art started a new era of passion, invention, and exploration within the art world. Without the artists of this period, some of the important techniques used by future artists would not have been invented and art would never have been as truly expressed as it was during the Early Renaissance art period.