What is Quattrocento Art?
Quattrocento is formally the art period starting in 1401 with a competition to design the doors of Baptiste in Florence and ending in 1503 with the proclamation of Pope Julius II. The word, of course, comes from the Italian word for the number four hundred (abbreviated for one thousand and four hundred - the era of the fifteenth century ).
In this period, Italian art was steadily progressing to harmony and stability of the Renaissance. Thanks to its start in Florence, the birthplace of Renaissance, Quattrocento is often interchangeably used with Renaissance in general.
The crucifixion of St. Peter by Michelangelo
The main characteristics in different fields of arts where:
- the architecture used more geometric and simmetrical elements with a preference for open spaces and additional light,
- painters started using less tempera and more oils,
- new rationalized view on linear perspective and the use of a single light source caused changes that led to more realistic and three-dimensional painting,
- compositions in painting became more simmetric, pyramid structure dominated,
- a better understanding of human anatomy led to greater popularity of large sculpture of nudes, for the first time after Antique,
- frescoes ( and other large-scale painting ) gained popularity,
- the popularity of mosaics, stained glass, and other decorative arts declined,
- the popularity of religious themes declined as well, while more secular themes found their place in art.
In the fifteenth century, many smaller city-states (like Mantua, where Giambattista Basile'invented' a fairy tale ) led by princes employed so-called court artists who got fixed salaries in exchange for their availability to execute orders by princes. Collaboration between artists became very common. Among their duties was also decor for parties, creation of costumes and masks, burning design, making of gifts for important guests, ... Number of ordered portraits raised.Mona Lisa by Leonardo da VinciGreater stability and economic prosperity led to art sponsorship of more and more citizens like merchants and guild members. The relative length (a full century ) of the piece and competiveness among sponsors and artists helped to develop numerous artistic projects. Huge interest in science and the application of scientific discussions in art had a positive influence as well.Some of the most influential artists from the Quattrocento period where:
- Giovanni Bellini
- Jacopo Bellini
- Sandro Botticelli
- Carlo Crivelli
- Donatello ( Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi )
- Masaccio ( Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone )
- Michelangelo ( Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni )
- Antoniazzo Romano
- Luca Signorelli
- Leonardo da Vinci
Birth of Venus by Botticelli
While it's next to to impossible to clearly distinguish the Quattrocento ( 15th century ) from the Cinquecento ( 16th century ) era because many artists created in both, it's clear the gravity of creative power moved from Florence to Rome, and this is probably the best way to define the end of this influential period.