The Renaissance was a 300-year-long period in Europe from the 14th to 17th century that is considered the connecting phase between the Middle Ages and the modern era.
The Rnaissance, also known as The Age of Enlightenment, marked the revival of classical art, literature, philosophy and wisdom. It was a fervent period of European history that was famous for artists who learned to realistically depict animals, objects, and places in their works of art.
The era became well known for producing some of the most iconic pieces of art created by mankind and the development of new techniques by artists and sculptors, leading to a revolution in realism.
The four main artists of the Renaissance were Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci and Raphael. It is important to know about them to attain some basic cultural literacy about the Renaissance period.
Let’s take a look at the four most famous artists of the Renaissance era you should know:
Donatello
Birth: 1386
Death: December 13, 1466
Skills: Sculptor
Best Known Work: Donatello’s David
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, popularly known as Donatello, was born in the Republic of Florence during the early Renaissance Era. He was a master sculptor who developed the Renaissance style in sculpture after studying Classical Sculpture.
Donatello mastered the use of stone, bronze, wood, wax, stucco and clay and had several assistants. He was able to break away from the un-lifelike mediaeval practice of making statues to pioneer the realism of the Renaissance style.
The sculpted figures created by Donatello were the first to represent the correct anatomy since antiquity. He portrayed genuine reality by adding realistic proportions, expressions and emotionality to his works.
The statue of Saint Mark displayed in the museum of the Orsanmichele church brought back the ideals of classical sculpture and combined them with the new realism, marking a crucial development in the sculpting style of the Renaissance.
The most iconic of his works is the statue of David, assumed to be commissioned by Cosimo de Medici. Inspired by the classic story David and Goliath, the bronze statue portrays a young boy with a small stature wearing a laurel-topped hat and boots, holding the sword of Goliath.
Michelangelo
Birth: March 6, 1475
Death: February 18, 1564
Skills: Sculptor, painter and architect
Best Known Work: The Creation of Adam, the Pieta, the Sistine Chapel ceiling
An accomplished painter, sculptor, poet and architect of the High Renaissance, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was one of the most accomplished artists of the 16th century. He was a rival and contemporary of the Italian polymath, Leonardo da Vinci.
Michelangelo drew inspiration from classical antiquity to create art that provoked a sense of awe in the viewers. The sheer volume of brilliant artwork left by Michelangelo is a testimony to his creative abilities and artistic mastery.
The most well-known artwork created by Michelangelo is The Creation of Adam, a fresco painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It represents God giving life to Adam, the first man and is one of the most replicated paintings of all time.
Another iconic artwork created by Michelangelo is the Pieta, a marble sculpture depicting Mary cradling the body of the dead Jesus Christ.
Raphael
Birth: Spring 1483
Death: April 6, 1520
Skills: Painter and architect
Best Known Work: The School of Athens, Madonna in the Meadow
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael was a part of the traditional trinity of great masters of the High Renaissance alongside Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.
Raphael was born in the small but cultured city of Urbino, where his father worked as a court painter during the spring of 1483. He became a fully trained master by the age of 17 and worked in several cities of northern Italy until 1508, after which he was invited to work at the Vatican Palace by the Pope.
Despite his early demise at age of 37, Raphael left a large body of artwork owing to his huge workshop and high productivity. His most famous artwork is The School of Athens, a fresco painted in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.
The fresco also depicts Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo as Plato and Heraclitus respectively, alongside Aristotle, Pythagoras and Archimedes. It has been described as “Raphael’s masterpiece and the perfect embodiment of the classical spirit of the Renaissance”.
Leonardo da Vinci
Birth: April 15, 1452
Death: May 2, 1519
Skills: Sculptor, painter, scientist, engineer, architect and inventor
Best Known Work: Mona Lisa, Last Supper
Leonardo da Vinci is most likely the best artist of the Renaissance, born out of wedlock in the Republic of Florence to a successful notary. He was not just a painter but a polymath with a plethora of skills.
Often credited as the founder of the High Renaissance, he is one of the most influential painters in history. The innovative painting techniques pioneered by Leonardo da Vinci include precise attention to light, shadow and human anatomy and the layering of paints.
Despite leaving less than 25 attributed major works, the paintings he created are some of the most influential and recognised artworks of the Western world.
Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, is the most visited and well-known painting in the world.