Library Guides: Renaissance Italy and the Reformation: Art & Culture

Don't forget to cite and reference your sources. For help see the Junior School or Senior School referencing guides, and / or CiteMaker.

Resource Key

When accessing content use the numbers below to guide you:

LEVEL

Brief, basic information laid out in an easy-to-read format. May use informal language. (Includes most news articles)

LEVEL

Provides additional background information and further reading. Introduces some subject-specific language.

LEVEL

Lengthy, detailed information. Frequently uses technical/subject-specific language. (Includes most analytical articles)

General Capabilities

Enduring Understandings

Students understand the significant challenges and developments faced by the society that caused progress or decline, including the Reformation, Renaissance and Age of Exploration.

Essential Questions

What key beliefs and values emerged and how did they influence societies?
Which significant people, groups and ideas from this period have influenced the world today?

Quick Links

See also the following women artists and composers of the Renaissance listed under the Women tab on this guide: Sofonisba Anguissola and Francesca Caccini

Renaissance Italy and the Reformation | Art and Culture: General reading

Painting in the Renaissance by Una D'Elia
ISBN: 9780778745921
Publication Date: 2009
Prepare to immerse yourself in the vibrant and breathtaking works of Michelangelo and other famous Renaissance artists. Painting in the Renaissance offers a telling look inside the art world of the Renaissance. Children will learn about the kinds of art and artists, patronage, and famous painters of the period.
Painters of the Renaissance by Kathleen Kuiper (Contribution by)
ISBN: 9781615308774
Publication Date: 2012
Some of the world's most celebrated works of art—the Mona Lisa and The Birth of Venus, to name just two—were produced during the period of cultural reawakening known as the Renaissance. Painters of the era incorporated new techniques and ideals while reflecting in their works the dramatic social, religious, and political changes of the time. Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and El Greco are just a few of the notable Renaissance artists profiled in this volume, which also includes vibrant images of a number of influential works.
Musicians of the Renaissance by Kathleen Kuiper (Contribution by)
ISBN: 9781615308781
Publication Date: 2012
The score of Western music was writ large during the Renaissance. Secular music rivaled church music for prominence, harmonic lines intertwined and changed music forever with the emergence of polyphony, and, in general, musical composition was taken to new heights. The composers and musicians who provided the soundtrack to this remarkable period are the subject of this comprehensive volume, which also takes an in-depth look at instruments of the day.

Renaissance Art: A Beginner's Guide by Tom Nichols
ISBN: 9781851687244
Publication Date: 2010
The 15th century saw the evolution of a distinct and powerfully influential European culture. But what does the familiar phrase "Renaissance Art" actually describe? Through engaging discussion of timeless works by artists such as Jan van Eyck, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo, Nichols produces a masterpiece of his own as he explores the truly original and diverse character of the artistic Renaissance. Tom Nichols is a lecturer in Renaissance Art History at the University ofAberdeen, UK.

Khan Academy online course
Arts and humanities Europe 1300-1600 Renaissance and after in Italy: 1400s How to recognize Italian Renaissance art.

How to recognize Italian Renaissance art. (Khan Academy, n.d.)
A brief introduction to Italian Renaissance art. Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker.
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Reference / citation: Harris & Zucker (n.d.) or (Harris & Zucker, n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Harris, B., & Zucker, S. How to recognize Italian Renaissance art [Online course]. Khan Academy. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/early-renaissance1/beginners-renaissance-florence/v/recognize-renaissance-art

Renaissance Italy and the Reformation | Art and Culture: Fra Angelico

Fra Angelico - Painter

Fra Angelico (Britannica Middle, n.d.)
Called angelico (angelic) because of his moral virtues, the monk Fra Angelico was also a great painter who combined the best of the austere Gothic tradition with the spontaneity and brightness of the Italian Renaissance. His works have been praised both for their religious qualities and for their artistic excellence. ("Fra Angelico", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Fra Angelico" (n.d.) or ("Fra Angelico", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Fra Angelico. (n.d.). In Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/middle/article/Fra-Angelico/272867.

Fra Angelico (Kuiper, 2010, pp. 53-61)
Angelico knew and followed closely the new artistic trends of his time, above all the representation of space by means of perspective. In works such as the large Last Judgment and The Coronation of the Virgin , for example, the human figures receding toward the rear themselves create a feeling of space. (Kuiper, 2010, pp. 53-61)
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Reference / citation: Kuiper (2010, pp. 53-61) or (Kuiper, 2010, pp. 53-61)
Reference list / Bibliography: Kuiper, K. (2010). Fra Angelico. In Painters of the Renaissance (pp. 53-61). Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tru e&db=nlebk&AN=512431&site=ehost-live&scope=site&au thtype=ip,sso&custid=mggsvic&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_53

Khan Academy online course
Arts and humanities Europe 1300-1600 Renaissance and after in Italy: 1400s Fra Angelico.

Fra Angelico (Khan Academy, n.d.)
Explore the work of Fra Angelico by looking at one of his more famous painting, The Annunciation and Life of the Virgin c. 1426. This painting is now housed in the Prado in Madrid. Click here to explore more.
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Reference / citation: Harris & Zucker (n.d.) or (Harris & Zucker, n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Harris, B., & Zucker, S. Fra Angelico: The Annunciation [Online course]. Khan Academy. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history/renaissance-reformation/early-renaissance1/painting-in-florence/v/fra-angelico-the-annunciation-and-life-of-the-virgin-in-the-predella-c-1426

Renaissance Italy and the Reformation | Art and Culture: Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri - Poet

Dante Alighieri (Britannica Middle, n.d.)
The greatest of Italian poets, Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) is generally considered with Shakespeare and Goethe as one of the universal masters in Western literature. His masterpiece, La divina commedia (The Divine Comedy), continues to be widely read and celebrated more than 650 years after his death. ("Dante Alighieri", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Dante Alighieri" (n.d.) or ("Dante Alighieri", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Dante Alighieri. (n.d.). In Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/middle/article/Michelangelo/275822.

Khan Academy online course
Arts and humanities Europe 1300-1600 Renaissance and after in Italy: 1400sDante’s Divine Comedy in Late Medieval and Early Renaissance art.

Dante’s Divine Comedy in Late Medieval and Early Renaissance art (Khan Academy, n.d.)
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Reference / citation: Collins (n.d.) or (Collins, n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Collins, M., (n.d.) Dante’s Divine Comedy in Late Medieval and Early Renaissance art [Online course]. Khan Academy. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/late-gothic-italy/florence-late-gothic/a/dantes-divine-comedy-in-late-medieval-and-early-renaissance-art

Renaissance Italy and the Reformation | Art and Culture: Sandro Botticelli

Sandro Botticelli - Painter

Sandro Botticelli (Britannica Middle, n.d.)
Sandro Botticelli, original name Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, (born 1445, Florence [Italy]—died May 17, 1510, Florence), one of the greatest painters of the Florentine Renaissance. His The Birth of Venus and Primavera are often said to epitomize for modern viewers the spirit of the Renaissance. ("Sandro Botticelli", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Sandro Botticelli" (n.d.) or ("Sandro Botticelli", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Sandro Botticelli. (n.d.). In Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/middle/article/Sandro-Botticelli/273308.

Sandro Botticelli (Kuiper, 2010, pp. 86-93)
Botticelli was able to integrate figure and setting into harmonious compositions and to draw the human form with a compelling vitality. He would later display unequaled skill at rendering narrative texts, whether biographies of saints or stories from Boccaccio’s Decameron or Dante’s Divine Comedy, into a pictorial form that is at once exact, economical, and eloquent. (Kuiper, 2010, pp. 86-93)
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Reference / citation: Kuiper (2010, pp. 86-93) or (Kuiper, 2010, pp. 86-93)
Reference list / Bibliography: Kuiper, K. (2010). Sandro Botticelli. In Painters of the Renaissance (pp. 86-93). Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=512431&site=ehost-live&scope=site&authtype=ip,sso&custid=mggsvic&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_86

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Caroline Campbell, The Jacob Rothschild Head of the Curatorial Department, discusses Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli's painting 'Venus and Mars', an intriguing mythological scene depicting Venus, the goddess of Love, and Mars, the god of War. She looks at some possible classical sources for this work of art, and explores the reasons why it might have been painted for Botticelli's patron in Florence.

Source

When using this video don't forget to cite and reference your sources. For more information and help see the Kerferd Library referencing guide and / or CiteMaker.
In text reference / citation: Campbell (2017) or (Campbell, 2017)
Bibliography / Reference list: Campbell, C. (2017). Sandro Botticelli: Venus and Mars in Renaissance Florence, [eVideo]. National Gallery [U.K.], Retrieved from https://youtu.be/jNkHq6QXX30

Renaissance Italy and the Reformation | Art and Culture: Filippo Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi - Architect and Engineer

Filippo Brunelleschi (Britannica Middle, n.d.)
Filippo Brunelleschi, (born 1377, died April 15, 1446), architect and engineer who was one of the pioneers of early Renaissance architecture in Italy. His major work is the dome of the Cathedral in Florence. Brunelleschi rediscovered the principles of linear-perspective. ("Filippo Brunelleschi", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Filippo Brunelleschi" (n.d.) or ("Filippo Brunelleschi", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Filippo Brunelleschi. (n.d.). In Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/middle/article/Filippo-Brunelleschi/273376.

The Birth of Perspective, (Motta, n.d.)
"Renaissance artists focused on developing new techniques and artistic methods of composition and aesthetic effect. In addition to the renewed interest in antiquity, these included the formulation of perspective and the emphasis on architectural forms. Their objective was to create art that would respect proportions and that would closely resemble reality." (Motta, n.d.)
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Reference / citation: Motta (n.d.) or (Motta, n.d.)
Reference list / bibliography: Motta, C. The Birth of Perspective. Retrieved from https://useum.org/Renaissance/Perspective
Depth Perception and the History of Three-Dimensional Art: Who Produced the First Stereoscopic Images? (Brooks, 2017)
"Brunelleschi's experiment, confirming the correspondence between the visual scene and his own perspective drawing, with the use of a (removable) mirror and a small aperture in the picture, which faced away from the observer." (Brooks, 2017)
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Reference / Citation: Brooks (2017) or (Brooks, 2017)
Reference list / Bibliography: Brooks, K. (2017). Depth Perception and the History of Three-Dimensional Art: Who Produced the First Stereoscopic Images? Retrieved from https://useum.org/Renaissance/Perspective

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In 1418, Filippo Brunelleschi was tasked with building the largest dome ever seen at the time. He had no formal architecture training. Yet experts still don't fully understand the brilliant methods he used in contructing the dome, which tops the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence, Italy.

Source

When using this video don't forget to cite and reference your sources. For more information and help see the Kerferd Library referencing guide and / or CiteMaker.
In text reference / citation: National Geographic (2014) or (National Geographic, 2014)
Bibliography / Reference list: National Geographic, (2014). How an Amateur Built the World's Biggest Dome, [eVideo]. National Geographic, Retrieved from https://youtu.be/_IOPlGPQPuM

Renaissance Italy and the Reformation | Art and Culture: Donatello

Donatello - Sculptor and Painter

Donatello (Britannica Middle, n.d.)
One of the towering figures of the Italian Renaissance, Donatello (1386?–1466) was the greatest sculptor of the 15th century. He influenced both the realms of sculpture and painting throughout that century and beyond. ("Donatello", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Donatello" (n.d.) or ("Donatello", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Donatello. (n.d.). In Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/middle/article/Donatello/274037.

Renaissance Italy and the Reformation | Art and Culture: Albrecht Durer

Albrecht Dürer - Painter and Engraver

Born in the German city of Nuremberg. Dürer was one of the artist who brought the ideas and techniques of Renaissance art to northern Europe.

Albrecht Dürer (Britannica Middle, n.d.)
The son of a goldsmith, Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) became known as the “prince of German artists.” He was the first to fuse the richness of the Italian Renaissance to the harsher northern European arts of painting, drawing, and engraving. ("Albrecht Dürer", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Albrecht Dürer" (n.d.) or ("Albrecht Dürer", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Albrecht Dürer. (n.d.). In Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/middle/article/Albrecht-D%C3%BCrer/274085.

Albrecht Dürer, (Kuiper, 2012, pp. 179-185)
Born in the German city of Nuremberg. Dürer was one of the artist who brought the ideas and techniques of Renaissance art to northern Europe. "A trip to Italy had a strong effect on Dürer. While in Venice and perhaps also before he went to Italy, Dürer saw engravings by masters from central Italy... Dürer’s secular, allegorical, and frequently self-enamoured paintings of this period are often either adaptations of Italian models or entirely independent creations that breathe the free spirit of the new age of the Renaissance." (Kuiper, 2012, pp. 179-185)
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Reference / citation: Kuiper (2010, pp. 179-185) or (Kuiper, 2012, pp. 179-185)
Reference list / Bibliography: Kuiper, K. (2012). Albrecht Dürer. In Painters of the Renaissance (pp. 53-61). Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=512431&site=ehost-live&scope=site&authtype=ip,sso&custid=mggsvic&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_179

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Art Historian Dr. Vida Hull discusses Albrecht Dürer, and how the Renaissance impacted on his art.

Source

When using this video don't forget to cite and reference your sources. For more information and help see the Kerferd Library referencing guide and / or CiteMaker.
In text reference / citation: Hull (2013) or (Hull, 2013)
Bibliography / Reference list: Hull, V. (2013). ARTH 4007 Albrecht Dürer - Part 1, [eVideo]. East Tennessee State University, Retrieved from https://youtu.be/65ipZ-tLkKM

Renaissance Italy and the Reformation | Art and Culture: Michelangelo

Michelangelo - Painter, Sculptor, Architect and Poet

Michelangelo (Britannica Middle, n.d.)
Sculptor, painter, architect, and poet Michelangelo (1475–1564) was the greatest artist in a time of greatness. He lived during the Italian Renaissance, a period known for its creative activity. In art, the age’s great achievement, Michelangelo led all others. ("Michelangelo", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Michelangelo" (n.d.) or ("Michelangelo", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Michelangelo. (n.d.). In Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/middle/article/Michelangelo/275822.

Michelangelo (Kuiper, 2010, pp. 106-111)
Michelangelo (full name Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni) was considered the greatest living art- ist in his lifetime, and ever since then he has been held to be one of the greatest artists of all time. A number of his works in painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most famous in existence. Although the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are probably the best known of his works today, the artist thought of himself primarily as a sculptor. (Kuiper, 2010, pp. 105-111)
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Reference / citation: Kuiper (2010, pp. 105-111) or (Kuiper, 2010, pp. 105-111)
Reference list / Bibliography: Kuiper, K. (2010). Michelangelo. In Painters of the Renaissance (pp. 105-111). Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=512431&site=ehost-live&scope=site&authtype=ip,sso&custid=mggsvic&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_105

Khan Academy online course
Arts and humanities Europe 1300-1600 Renaissance and after in Italy: 1500s Michelangelo

Michelangelo: Sculptor, Painter, Architect and Poet (Khan Academy, n.d.)
Michelangelo was known as “il divino,” (in English, “the divine one”) and he excelled as a sculptor, painter, architect and poet. Explore Michelangelo's achievements with this Khan Academy online course.
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Reference / citation: Harris & Zucker (n.d.) or (Harris & Zucker, n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Harris, B., & Zucker, S. Michelangelo: Sculptor, Painter, Architect and Poet [Online course]. Khan Academy. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/high-ren-florence-rome/michelangelo/a/michelangelo-sculptor-painter-architect-and-poet

Renaissance Italy and the Reformation | Claudio Monteverdi

Claudio Monteverdi - Composer

Monteverdi's first opera, Orfeo, named after the Greek god Orpheus, and performed in 1607, is the oldest opera still performed today.

"Claudio Monteverdi", (Britannica, n.d.)
"One of the most significant composers in the transition from the Renaissance to the baroque era, Claudio Monteverdi was both a pioneer and a preservationist. He contributed much to the development of what was then a new form—opera—and successfully combined the old polyphony with a new emotionalism both in his numerous books of madrigals and in his church music."
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Reference / citation: "Claudio Monteverdi" (n.d.) or ("Claudio Monteverdi", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Claudio Monteverdi. (n.d.). In Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/middle/article/Claudio-Monteverdi/275919.

Claudio Monteverdi (Kuiper, 2013, pp. 89-99)
Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi was the most important developer of the then-new genre, the opera. If the madrigals of this time gave him a reputation well outside northern Italy, it was his first opera, Orfeo, named after the Greek god Orpheus, and performed in 1607, that finally established him as a composer of large-scale music rather than of exquisite miniature works. Orfeo is the oldest opera still performed today.
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Reference / citation: Kuiper (2013, pp. 89-99) or (Kuiper, 2013, pp. 89-99)
Reference list / Bibliography: Kuiper, K. (2010). Later Renaissance composers active in Italy: Claudio Monteverdi. In Musicians of the Renaissance (pp. 105-111). Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=512439&site=ehost-live&scope=site&authtype=ip,sso&custid=mggsvic&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_89

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Jordi Savall - La capella Ceial de Catalunya - Le Concert des Nations - Furio Zanasi as Orfeo.

Source

When using this video don't forget to cite and reference your sources. For more information and help see the Kerferd Library referencing guide and / or CiteMaker.
In text reference / citation: Savall (2002) or (Savall, 2002)
Bibliography / Reference list: Savall, J. (Director). Monteverdi: Vi ricorda, o boschi ombrosi from L'Orfeo, [eVideo]. Performed at Gran Teatre Del Liceu, Barcelona. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/u0qkP1kvEdQ

Renaissance Italy and the Reformation | Art and Culture: Raphael

Raphael - Painter

Raphael (Kuiper, 2010, pp. 117-125)
Raphael owed much to Leonardo’s lighting techniques; he made moderate use of Leonardo’s chiaroscuro (i.e., strong contrast between light and dark), and he was especially influenced by his sfumato. Raphael went beyond Leonardo, however, in creating new figure types whose round, gentle faces reveal uncomplicated and typically human sentiments but raised to a sublime perfection and serenity. (Kuiper, 2010, pp. 117-125)
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Reference / citation: Kuiper (2010, pp. 117-125) or (Kuiper, 2010, pp. 117-125)
Reference list / Bibliography: Kuiper, K. (2010). Michelangelo. In Painters of the Renaissance (pp. 117-125). Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=512431&site=ehost-live&scope=site&authtype=ip,sso&custid=mggsvic&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_117

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What can we learn from the composition of Raphael's 'Garvagh Madonna', and how did he paint this impressive work? Find out with Matthias Wivel, our Curator of 16th-century Italian Paintings.

Source

When using this video don't forget to cite and reference your sources. For more information and help see the Kerferd Library referencing guide and / or CiteMaker.
In text reference / citation: Wivel (2018) or (Wivel, 2018)
Bibliography / Reference list: Wivel, M. (2018). Raphael: The Renaissance Virtuoso, [eVideo]. National Gallery [U.K.], Retrieved from https://youtu.be/gleAnyyzbgE