THE 23 MOST REPRESENTATIVE WORKS OF THE RENAISSANCE - ART - 2024

Among the most representative works of the Renaissance are Leonardo da Vinci's La Gioconda, Botticelli's The Birth of Venus or Raphael's Transfiguration, but there are many more wonders that were born in this artistically prolific stage.

In this post we will review one of the best-known and most admired paintings in the art world, which are exponents of the Europe of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.

List of Renaissance works

The Mona Lisa

Also known as 'The Mona Lisa', it is considered one of the icons of pictorial art of all time and one of the most copied and reinterpreted in the history of painting.

It was Leonardo da Vinci who made his portrait, on which he worked for more than 4 years. Although there is no exact date of its origin, it is believed that this work was made between 1503 and 1519.

In it, the particular and the universal are combined. Nature appears in the background in movement and the figure of the woman integrating and forming part of it.

The Last Supper

Work carried out between the years 1495 and 1497 by Leonardo Da Vinci. It is considered one of the best paintings in the world, being one of the most famous works of the Renaissance and religious Christian art. It represents one of the last days of the life of Jesus according to the accounts of the Bible.

The Virgin of the Rocks

Also made by Leonardo da Vinci in 1482. There are two versions of the work, the first being entirely painted by Leonardo Da Vinci and the second directed by him, intervening with his own hands in some very spacious details.

The work represents the Virgin, the baby Jesus, Saint John the Baptist and the figure of an angel.

La Sagrada Familia or Tondo Doni

One of the first works made by Michelangelo between 1503 and 1504 in commemoration of the marriage of Agnolo Doni with Maddalena Strozzi. Work that represents the Sagrada Familia, this work being the only wooden panel made by Michelangelo.

Cardinal portrait

It is one of the best known works of Rafael, which is also often called 'El Cardenal'.

It was made in 1510 during the papacy of Julius II, so it is supposed to represent the portrait of one of the cardinals of that time. But the identity of the same is unknown, despite the investigations that have been carried out to find out.

Raphael was very successful in the various works based on portraits, having been the inspiration of another great Renaissance painter, Tiziano Vecellio.

Sistine Madonna

Work carried out by Rafael, between 1513 and 1514. It is in the central period of the development of his works.

There is a belief that it was made to decorate the tomb of Pope Julius II, since the angels in the lower part of the painting represent a funeral ceremony.

The Transfiguration

Another work by Rafael, made between 1517 and 1520, being his last painting. It is even said that when Rafael died the work was not completely finished and it was his student Giulio Romano who finished it.

Saint Mary Magdalene

Work carried out between the years 1530 and 1535 by Tiziano Vecellio, commissioned by Duke Urbino. The image represents the adoration of the shepherds back then, in the Italian Renaissance.

This work is considered one of the most important made by this artist as it laid the foundations for magical impressionism.

The Assumption of the Virgin

Work done by Titian in 1518, which has made him one of the most classic painters in countries other than Rome. It was made for the Church of Santa María dei Frari in Venice, representing the elevation of the Virgin Mary.

The Annunciation

It is a painting done in 1426 by Fra Angélico, also known as Guido Di Prieto da Mugello. It represents the annunciation of the Virgin Mary and the moment in which the archangel Gabriel announces that he is going to be the mother of the child Jesus.

The Borgo Fire

Work of art made by Rafael Bonzio in 1514 with the help of his assistant Giulio Romano. It is currently located in the Vatican Palace.

This work represents a miracle performed by Pope Leo IV, who by making the sign of the cross manages to extinguish the fire that had spread in the city.

Sistine Chapel

This work made by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, consists of a set of paintings that were made to decorate the vault of said chapel, located in Rome.

It consists of more than 300 figures that represent the time of man on earth before the arrival of Jesus Christ.

Among the scenes represented are The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, The Universal Flood, The Creation of Adam or The Last Judgment.

The Transfiguration

Work also known as The Transfiguration of Christ, made by Giovanni Bellini in the year 1480. It represents Christ's revelation of his divine nature to three of his disciples.

The Altarpiece of Pesaro

It is a work also made by Giovanni Bellini around the year 1475 that represents the coronation of the Virgin.

This artist was a famous Venetian Renaissance, considered a revolutionary of Venetian painting and a teacher of Titian.

The Adoration of the Magi

Work made by Giotto Di Bondone in 1301 that represents the first visit of the wise men to the baby Jesus after his birth.

Dante and the Divine Comedy

Work created by Domenico Di Michelino in 1465 to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Dante; Italian poet recognized for writing the Divine Comedy marking the transition from thought corresponding to the Middle Ages to Modern thought.

Spring

Allegory of Spring is a pictorial work of the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli made in 1482. It can be visited in the famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

The painting was commissioned by a member of the Medici family and in it you can see a kind of mythological fable that represents the arrival of spring and the stage of spiritual love typical of that season. However, the interpretation is not fully corroborated.

Hunters in the snow

Painting by the Dutch artist Pieter Brueghel the Elder dated 1565. It is perhaps one of his most iconic for all that it represents.

Carried out during the Habsburg rule in Flanders, some scholars claim that it is a representation of the cruelty and violence exercised in that territory by the Duke of Alba.

Chancellor's Virgin

Oil on panel born from the brush of the great Rolin Jan van Eyck in 1435. Currently it can be visited in the Louvre Museum in Paris (France).

In the work, Foreign Minister Nicolás Rolin appears on the left praying in front of the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus. The most characteristic of the work are not the main characters, but the details seen in the background, being a very novel technique for the time.

The Resurrection of Christ

This work of art was made by Piero Della Francesca between 1463 and 1465. One of the leading artists of the Renaissance.

The Resurrection of Christ and the Polyptych of Mercy are considered two of his masterpieces.

The birth of Venus

It is one of Sandro Botticelli's masterpieces in 1484. In it, Venus is represented by Simonetta Vespucci, who has been a muse and model for Renaissance artists.

Flora

Work that represents the goddess of flowers and spring. It was made by Titian between the years 1515 and 1517.

It is one of the outstanding Renaissance works that tries to represent the fertility of nature and that of marriage.

Venus of Urbino

Also made by Titian in 1538, it is the first piece with which the artist represented Venus.

There are no reliable data on who the woman represented is, but since this work was acquired by the son of Duke Urbino, Giodovaldo della Rovere, it is believed to be a portrait of his wife.

About the Renaissance and its effects

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that began in Italy in the 14th century. It had a significant influx of new ideas and practices, leaving a deep and invaluable cultural legacy.

The term Renaissance describes the resurgence of interest in the artistic achievements of the classical world.

The rise of the Renaissance began in Florence, financially and culturally supported by the ruling Medici family and the Vatican.

This cultural movement was determined to move away from the Middle Ages which was dominated by religion. He directed his attention to the situation of man in society. Thus, the main themes of Renaissance art were individual expression and worldly experience.

Italian Renaissance art ushered in a major cultural change in Europe.

The first artists of this movement began to be interested in nature and the human body portrayed in classical antiquity. With their works they laid the foundations for the rise of the Renaissance and put an end to the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age.

In this way, under the influence of the Renaissance the men of Western Europe came to think and feel, to look at life and the outside world, as did the men of ancient Greece and Rome.

The artistic Renaissance was essentially a return of art to nature. Prior to its emergence, art lacked freedom and naturalness. Since the artists were limited by ecclesiastical restriction.

The models of medieval art were characterized by rigid, angular and lifeless forms. With this movement, art acquired greater freedom and a spirit of life, providing new conceptions of life and the world.

A profound intellectual and moral revolution took place in the Christian West. It revealed to men another state of existence, another world, its principles being a life worth living for itself; and that the desire to know can be satisfied without jeopardizing the integrity and well-being of your soul.

In this way, the Renaissance promoted the progress of man. He inspired humanity with a new spirit destined to do new things in all areas.

References

1. 10 Finest Works of the Early Italian Renaissance Art. (Nd). Retrieved from Historylists.
2. Britannica, TE (2010, Jun 16). Renaissance art. Retrieved from Britannica.
3. Estep, WR (1986). Renaissance and Reformation. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
4. Haskins, CH (1957). The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century. Harvard University Press.
5. Joost-Gaugier, CL (2012). Italian Renaissance Art: Understanding its Meaning. John Wiley & Sons.
6. Myers, PV (1905). THE RENAISSANCE. Retrieved from Shsu.
7. Pater, W. (1980). The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry: the 1893 Text. University of California Press.
8. Thomas P. Campbell, MM (2002). Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence. Metropolitan Museum of Art.