Art History

Instructions: After watching the videos and articles linked below, answer the following questions in a single document (.docx, .pdf etc). Please answer each question.
High Renaissance in Italy

1) About Leonardo:
a) Which different Renaissance rulers (in Italy and beyond) commissioned works from LdV?
b) LdV was often referred to as the true “renaissance man.” What does this mean?
c) Why did LdV dissect and study cadavers and why did the church reject this practice?

2) Leonardo’s Mona Lisa:
a) Who is believed to have commissioned the Mona Lisa?
b) Describe the 3/4 portrait and define sfumato.
c) Leonardo never delivered this portrait to the individual who commissioned it but instead took it with him to France. Speculate as to why she might never have been given over to the family that paid for the portrait? (go wild, there are no rules here, let’s hear your ideas)

3) Raphael School of Athens:
a) How can we as viewers identify Plato and Aristotle? What are the contrasting philosophies of the two men?
b) How are the rest of the figures in the fresco organized?
c) Name two famous Italian Renaissance artists represented by Raphael in this fresco?
d) Identify the two sculptures in the background and describe what they represent in this context.
e) Suggest the overall meaning and significance of the equality Raphael suggests between Plato and Aristotle or more generally of the Sacred and Secular as it relates to the Renaissance.

4) Michelangelo’s David:
a) Explain 2 aspects of the sculpture that embody the Renaissance concept of reviving the “heroic nude” from antiquity.
b) The narrators of the video claim that Michelangelo had “surpassed the Ancient Greeks and Romans.” What do they mean?

5) Michelangelo’s Studies for the Libyan Sibyl
a) Michelangelo’s model for this female figure was a young man. How do see this in the drawing? Give two points of evidence.

6) Titian’s Venus of Urbino
a) Titian is a Venetian artist who becomes well-known for his beautiful nudes. Describe briefly (1-2 sentences) his technique of glazing used for painting this work.
b) Was Titian an influential artist? Why or why not?

  • About Leonardo https://smarthistory.org/about-leonardo/
  • Leonardo’s Last Supper https://smarthistory.org/leonardo-last-supper/
  • Leonardo’s Mona Lisa https://smarthistory.org/leonardo-mona-lisa/
  • Raphael School of Athens https://smarthistory.org/raphael-school-of-athens/
  • Michelangelo’s David https://smarthistory.org/michelangelo-david/
  • Michelangelo’s Studies for the Libyan Sibyl https://smarthistory.org/michelangelo-studies-for-the-libyan-sibyl-recto-studies-for-the-libyan-sibyl-and-a-small-sketch-for-a-seated-figure-verso/
  • Sistine Chapel https://smarthistory.org/michelangelo-ceiling-of-the-sistine-chapel/
  • Titian’s Venus of Urbino https://smarthistory.org/titian-venus-of-urbino/