First Rebirth

This article relates to the Première Renaissance of the Quattrocento, presented from the point of view of the Histoire of art; this artistic movement is in rupture vis-a-vis the art of the Pre-Rebirth. The First Rebirth corresponds to the years 1420 to 1500.

Origins florentines

The origin of the First Rebirth comes from the impulse financed by the dynasty of Mécène S and collectors which the family of Médicis with Florence constitutes.

After the Fall of Constantinople, the scientists and artists of Byzantine civilization flee the Othomans and take refuge in Italy, where accommodate Florentins of the rich person City-State, rival of the République of Venice and the Papal States. Each power finances works of embellishment, initially nuns.
This expansion will generate a climate of emulation on all the Italian boot; the Popes also finance as clients, the embellishment of the Vatican City, over ancient Rome of the Emperors: vault of the Vault Sixtine.
Contributing to this climate, is also the workshops of the Masters who teach with their apprentices, and sometimes paint them (figure of the ragazzo in the Bacchus of the Caravage).

Technical and philosophical evolutions

will hatch of novel methods in painting (Sfumato) and the frescos, but also a new representation of the world, nearer of the man and moving away from the Holy Trinity, the religion and the glory of God having previously remained the only artistic topics. It is the birth of the Humanisme: thought of the dimension of the man in the universe, as a central figure, instead of the Divinity.

Of the current Fiction S such as the Secrecy of the Flemings or delivers it the child of Bruges , showing the Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck, pose the assumption that their techniques of oil-base paint employed for Flemish painting would have been introduced then near the Italian painters. A covering secrecy of the paces of business of State taking into account the importance of Arts at the time.

paintings of Botticelli are known for their subtle mixture of Profane and Sacré, whose allegorical figures are addressed to its public, aristocrat and well-read man:

the identification of the allegorical figures of the Calumny of Calls is not immediate for the uninitiated person;
the central figure of its fresco Spring , does it represent the Virgin Mary with a vegetable aureole, where would be this the allegorical Venus, another subject of predilection of the painter?

In same time, Brunelleschi builds the Dôme of the cathedral, prowess architectural illustrating progress of the building work of the time. Starting from this work of architects, the painters conceptualize and apply the perspective in their works. Masaccio the bracket the first, exceeding its Master Masolino da Panicale whose work will remain with the eyes of the world elegant, but hieratic and fixed. Then, the exhausted subject, they will pass to the Baroque during the High Rebirth.

Redécouverte of the heritage gréco-Roman

by the old texts

This vision rises from the philosophical prospects for the school neoplatonician, founded by Marsile Ficin and to which Pic of Mirandole contributes; it is freed from the medieval vision which hitherto prevailed, for replonger in the reading of the texts gréco-Romans; many among the latter were transmitted to the Occident via the libraries of the world arabo-Moslem such as the Grande Bibliothèque of Alexandria, and work on the philosophy aristotelician with Tolède and Cordoue in Spain arabo-Moslem woman, carried out by characters such as Averroes and Maïmonide.

by the excavations of Rome

The sculptor Michel-Angel, of voyage to Rome during four years, attends the excavation of the ancient statues of Rome of the Emperors. By return to Florence, this vision will inspire it for its sculpture of the David, whose copy is today on the place which faces the Palazzo Vecchio.

new deities for Florence

Proud the Cité with the red lily is not built on a headland, but between hills: thrive, this city attracts covetousnesses.

It is a question of inspiring, by myths coming from the Antiquité, courage and enthusiasm with the population of this still fragile city, which must be defended vis-a-vis its neighbors, even vis-a-vis foreign nations in Italy: the allegorical function is direct here.

Thus, beside the David on the Piazza della Signoria, tie profit of the careers of Marble of Carrara marble of the area, the city of Florence adds other ancient allegorical sculptures, which come to illustrate its advent on the scene of the world: the fountain of Neptune.
As if this place were not sublime enough, comes to associate with it on the side the Loggia dei Lanzi: the removal of Sabines; also, the figure of Judith, slicing the head of the Holopherne conqueror to avoid the bag of its city, is the painting object many, such as that of the palate Pitti . The message delivered to Florence, in comparison with the history of Judith, is that it is necessary to know to be cruel to preserve its interests.

A freedom of your news for the artist

Causes of this stamping

It is finished by it obscure and pessimistic visions of perdition of the Middle Ages, been dependant on the feared year millet; from Italy, the light contained in the color of paintings, the smoothness of the forms will found new guns, thus facing the religious dogmas which maintained painting enluminée in a yoke.

Mow to be submitted to religious clients their commander of sempiternal representations of the broad topics of the religious Painting, the artists carry out from now on large portraits Noble S, which want to show the prestige of their row as a constituent of the talented painters. The art of the portrait (ritrato) develops thus, which shows the gentleman with the bottom of the divine figures, formerly represented only in the painting of the Trecento.

The techniques of painting diversify its typology; one paints in circles (the Tondo S), on the ceilings, mural frescos; the size of paintings decrease compared to the monumental triptychs of the previous time, which allows the refinement of the techniques.

Naked of artistic representation: transgression of an interdict

The interdicts professed on the image of the human body are not followed any more; previously, the naked of artistic representation was tolerated, in the context of a religious topic, only because associated with the state of nature of the Genèse:

- 1485, '' the Birth of Venus '', by Botticelli, constitutes the first artistic representation of a female naked in the catholic western world of confession.

should however be awaited - 1500, the statue of David , by Michel-Angel, to see transgressed the Taboo of the representation of the naked masculine.

An aristocratic play particular to Florence

This freedom of your new remains however subjected to the authorities of good morals, the artist to exert it without falling into the interdict thus will use symbols ambiguities in his representations, and of the expressions of face going until a graphic erotisation of the subject represented; without never delivering these keys of graphic analysis to its client, who either is a hiérarque monk, or an enriched courtier. Painting thus becomes object of a play of intelligence between the painter and his agent, through the coded messages that it hides in the details, or exposes in an indirect way.

Encouraged by their patrons, Botticelli, Michel-Angel, and other artists florentins launch out in the adventure; their art in Florence will be recognized under the name of Néoplatonisme médicéen, since inherited the Néoplatoniciennne School supported by Laurent Splendid the and supported all length by the famous Médicis.

One period of change and influences

In 1497, the Médicis family is driven out of Florence, and its population falls subjugated visions of apocalypse professed by the Monk Dominicain Savonarole in its offices.

See, on this subject, the article dedicated Theocracy to Florence.

This last will have an influence on the artistic style of Botticelli, which is notable by comparing the two representations of the same allegorical figure that he interprets at a few years of interval, that of Venus: the first in the birth of Venus , all in majesty and an allegorical beauty of divinity, the second in the Calumny of Call , this time more marked much by the austerity.

the rupture with the past was given; the next century was going magistralement to continue with the High Rebirth .

See too

Internal bonds

the representation of naked in art
Descriptive related history: Quattrocento

Rebirth in Wikipédia

External bonds

art on '' edelo.net ''
of analysis of the St-Sebastien preserved at Louvre: style of the Italian Rebirth through Andrea Mantegna
photographs of works

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