PAINTING

 Perhaps no artistic era was equally rich and as talented with great painters as the Renaissance. Fra Angelico, Botticelli, Mantegna, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Antonello da Messina, to name but a few. And then, Masaccio, Perugino, Supreme Rafael, the Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Paolo Uccello, Lucas Signorelli, the two Lippi, Ghirlandaio, Carpaccio, Cosmè Tura. Any one of them would be enough to make a period and a nation noble. But they all lived in the same country and at the same time, or nearly so. The main features of the painting are: Perspective: the art of figure, in drawing or painting, the various distances, and proportions that have objects seen from a distance, according to the principles of mathematics and geometry; Using chiaroscuro: Painting some illuminated areas and others in shadow, this game of contrasts reinforces the suggestion of volume of the bodies; Realism: The Renaissance artist no longer sees man as a mere observer of the world expressing the greatness of God but as the greatest expression of God Himself. And the world is thought of as a reality to be understood scientifically, not just admired; The use of canvas and oil paint begins; Both painting and sculpture that once appeared almost exclusively as details of architectural works become independent manifestations; The emergence of artists with a personal style, different from the others, since the period is marked by the ideal of freedom and, consequently, by individualism.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was the artist who came closest to the ideal “Renaissance man”, meaning a multi-talented individual who radiated knowledge. He had multiple talents, left notebooks and more notebooks with his research and studies. He had great curiosity and a desire to fly like birds. This constant search to understand the whole “mechanism” that surrounded him, did not leave a large number of works in painting, but its genius is undeniable. He wisely mastered the expressive play of light and shadow, generating an atmosphere that departs from reality, stimulating the viewer's imagination. He possessed a versatile spirit that enabled him to research and do work in various fields of human knowledge.