Amerigo Vespucci 

1454-1512

Place of Birth: Florence, Italy

Biography:

Amerigo Vespucci (March 9, 1454 – February 22, 1512) was an Italian explorer, financier,Navigator and cartographe. Vespucci and his parents, Ser Nastagio and Lisabetta Mini, were friends of the wealthy and tempestuous Medici family, who ruled Italy from the 1400s to 1737. Vespucci's father worked as a notary in Florence. While his older brothers headed off to the University of Pisa in Tuscany, Vespucci received his early education from his paternal uncle, a Dominican friar named Giorgio Antonio Vespucci.
When Amerigo Vespucci was in his early 20s, another uncle, Guido Antonio Vespucci, gave him one of the first of his many jobs. Guido Antonio Vespucci, who was ambassador of Florence under King Louis XI of France, sent his nephew on a brief diplomatic mission to Paris. The trip likely awakened Vespucci's fascination with travel and exploration (from the minds of wikipedia.com)

Legacy:

Explorer Amerigo Vespucci was born March 9, 1451, (some scholars say 1454) in Florence, Italy. On May 10, 1497, he embarked on his first voyage. On his third and most successful voyage, he discovered present-day Rio de Janeiro and Rio de la Plata. Believing he had discovered a new continent, he called South America the New World. In 1507, America was named after him. (from the minds of biography.com)

Renaissance Artist

Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi

 1386 – December 13, 1466

He was commonly known as Donatello. he was also an early Renaissance sculptor from Florence. He was the one of the greatest sculptor before Michelangelo and was the most influential individual artist of the 15th century in Italy. He quickly learned the Gothic Style.

Masterpieces:

"SAINT MARK"

Is a marble statue that stands approximately seven feet and nine inches high housed in a beautiful niche. Details on the carvings show everything from robe layers to the veins in his hands. His left knee is bent and turned slightly to the left, and in his left hand holds a book. 

"EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF GATTAMELATA"

It is the earliest surviving Renaissance equestrian statue and the first to reintroduce the grandeur of Classical equestrian portraiture. Measuring 340 x 390 cm, the statue were all bronze and was made using lost wax method. The statue sits on a pedestal, and both the condottiero and his horse are portrayed in life size.

"DAVID"

The marble David is Donatello's  earliest known important commission. The figure stands in an elegant Gothic sway, face is curiously blank. David is unaware of his foe's head that rests firmly between his feet that some art scholars have depicted a hint of personality such as slight cockiness.

Renaissance Artist

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci

15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519 (aged 67)

Because of his long name, he was usually called as Leornardo da Vinci only. He was an Italian polymath who is also interested in inventing, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music and so on and so for. he was actually considered as one of the greatest painters of all time. and for your information, he was just not a great painter but he was also a great inventor because he was able to invent parachute, helicopter and tank by himself. therefore, he was a genius Renaissance humanist. 

Masterpieces:

"MONA LISA"

A half-length portrait of a woman which has been acclaimed as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world".  Believed to be painted between 1503 and 1506 in oil on poplar. The painting was the portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo.

"THE LAST SUPPER"

It is mural painting created during the period of 1495-98. One of the most famous paintings, and one of the most studied, scrutinized and satirized. It illustrates the scene from the last days of Jesus Christ flanked by his twelve apostles and declared that somebody will betray him. The picture depicts the reaction of each disciple to the news.

"VIRGIN OF THE ROCKS"

This painting has a two versions which is identical except for several significant details. They are both nearly 2 meters high and are painted in oils on wooden panel. The paintings show the Madonna and Child Jesus with the infant John the Baptist and and angel, in a rocky setting.

Renaissance Artist

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino

April 6 or March 28, 1483 – April 6, 1520 (aged 37)

Raffaello Urbino was commonly called as Raphael Santi, an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. He was a productive artist but he died at a young age. He is extremely influential in his lifetime. After his death, the influence of his great rival Michelangelo was more widespread until the 18th and 19th centuries.

Masterpieces:

"SAINT GEORGE AND THE DRAGON"

A small cabinet painting between 1504 and 1506 in oil on wood. Saint George was one of the most popular of Christian saints and a patron saint of England. He was a favorite subject of Renaissance artists, who depicted him slaying the dragon.

"RESURRECTION OF CHRIST"

It is also called the Kinnaird Resurrection as can be attributed to its previous owner named, Lord Kinniard. Created between the years of 1499 to 1502, the medium for this work of art is oil on panel. Raphael used lot of complex geometry for his painting. Even if Jesus was the protagonist of the painting, Raphael did not make him the biggest person in the painting.

"SISTINE MADONNA"

The Sistine Madonna is an oil painting made in 1512. In this painting we can see hold her child as she floats on the swirling carpet of clouds. At the bottom of the painting, we could see that there are two angels (cherubs) who gaze in whistfull contemplation. You can see the sorrow in their eyes especially the expressions of the face of the virgin and the infant Jesus.

Renaissance Artist

Tiziano Vecelli

1488/1490 – 27 August 1576

Tiziano Vecelli or which is commonly called Titian, was a Italian painter. Born in Pieve di Cadore. He was often called da Cadore, from his birth place. One of the most versatile of Italian painters and noted for his mastery of color.

Masterpieces:

"THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN"

It was created by Titian. He executed it in 1516 - 1518. It is a large oil painting which was created in the Renaissance. Depicts the miraculous rising of Mary into heaven bidding her farewell on the ground, below are the apostles who reach up towards Mary's figure. 

"ANNUNCIATION"

Executed between 1559 and 1564. Scholars may call it "the Incarnation of Christ" originally were part of three pieces commissioned by the D'Ánna family. The painting is depicting a scene from the life of Christ, when the Virgin Mary is being told that she is carrying the child of God.  

"VENUS AND ADONIS"

Painted in oil on canvass about 1555-1560. It recounts the tale of Venus's love for Adonis, warning him against hunting the wild boar, her departure, his succumbing to the call of the chase, Adonis's death, Venus lament, and her transformation of the dead youth into the anemone. This painting was intended for King Philip II of Spain. It was designed to be viewed alongside Danae, a painting from the same series with a related composition.

Renaissance Artist

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

6 March 1475 - 18 February 1564 (aged 88)

Michelangelo Buonarroti was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet and engineer of High Renaissance who exerted an unparalleled influence of the great development of Western Art. he was considered as the great artist of all time. Despite of making a few forays beyond the arts, his versatility in the disciplines he took up was of such a high order that he is often considered a  contender for a title of the archetypal Renaissance man.

Masterpieces:

"DAVID"

It was created by Michelangelo in 1501 and finished it on 1504. it is a 15.17 meter statue. It was placed in Galleria dell'Accademia Florence. It is a marble statue of a male that is nude. it actually represents the hero in the bible named David. The statue soon came to symbolize the defense of civil liberties embodied in the Republic of florence.

"THE PIETA"

Created in 1498 - 1499 by Michelangelo. as you can see in the picture that Mary actually carries Jesus because He is wounded. The structure is pyramidal, and the vertex coincides with Mary's head. Much of Mary's body in concealed by her monumental drapery, and the relationship of the figures appears quite natural. Michelangelo's interpretation or the Pieta was far different from those previously created by other artists, as he scupted a young and beautiful Mary rather than an older woman around 50 years of age.

"Sistine Chapel ceiling"

Created also by Michelangelo. He started this plan about 1508 and ended it on 1512. the ceiling's various painted elements form part of a larger scheme of decoration within the Chapel which includes the large fresco The Last Judgement on the sanctuary wall, also by Michelangelo. when you personally look at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel you'll see nine scenes from the Book of Genesis of which The Creation of Adam is the best known , having an iconic standing equalled only by Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, the hands of God and Adam being reproduced in countless imitations. You will also see the hands that are connected in there.

Czar

Name: Gloria Chen 

"Creator of the best blog (wink)"