After the economic and social crisis of the second half of the century caused by bank failures, the Black Death, famine and civil wars that culminated in the Ciompi revolt of 1378,[4] an economic recovery began in Florence. The population began to grow and under the initiative of the bourgeois oligarchy, public projects were restarted. In the Duomo, in 1391, the construction of the Mandorla gate began, on the north side.[5]​ In 1404, the Arti") decorated the exterior niches of the Orsanmichele church.[6]​.

However, the recovery was threatened by the Milanese duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who laid siege to Florence in an attempt to create a national state in Italy under the rule of Milan. However, the Florentines were eager to maintain their independence, drawing on a strong civic pride that appealed to the historical motto of Libertas.[7] With the sudden death of Visconti in 1402, military control over the city was loosened. Economic recovery resumed and Florence conquered Pisa in 1406 and the port of Livorno in 1421.[8]​.

In 1424, Florence suffered a defeat against the Visconti and Lucca.[9]​ The weight of the war and the cost of completing the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore made new taxa necessary.[10]​[11]​ Thus, in 1427, the Signoria imposed the catasto, the first attempt at fiscal equity in modern history, which taxed families based on estimates of their wealth, determining for the first time where it was actually concentrated. the money, that is, in the hands of those families of merchants and bankers who also dominated political activity.[12]​[10]​[11]​.

Perhaps it was at this time, during the 1430s, that a banker like Cosimo de' Medici (the Elder) realized that greater direct control over politics was necessary to protect his interests. Despite his well-known prudence, he began a gradual rise to power, which never saw him as a direct protagonist, but always in the background behind men whom he closely trusted. However, he soon came into conflict with the other powerful families of the city, first of all the Albizzi and the Strozzi), and that became his misfortune and he was forced to go into exile. He expelled his enemies[15] It was the first triumph of the Medici, who from that moment took power and maintained it for three centuries.[To.

In 1439 Cosimo fulfilled his dream of founding a "new Rome" in Florence by moving the council that was being held at that time in Ferrara (Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence) to the city due to the plague. If this council intended to resolve the problem of the Eastern schism, its concrete result was very little visible.[16]​.

The time of Lorenzo de' Medici (in power from 1469 to 1492), after a critical beginning with the Pazzi conspiracy,[17]​ was a period of peace, prosperity and great cultural achievements for the city, which became one of the most refined towns in Italy.[18]​ Florence became an influential center that exported its art and knowledge to other courts in Italy and Europe sending its artists and scholars as ambascerie culturali (“cultural embassies”). In Rome, a group of Florentine artists, including Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio and El Perugino, would carry out the first decoration of the Sistine Chapel.[19]​.

After Lorenzo's death, a time of crisis and rethinking began, dominated by the figure of the Ferrarese Dominican friar Jerónimo Savonarola, who after the expulsion of Pedro II de' Medici had the Republic reinstated and created a state of theocratic inspiration. His proclamations from the pulpit of the Basilica of Saint Mark&action=edit&redlink=1 "Basilica of Saint Mark (Florence) (not yet written)") profoundly influenced Florentine society which, frightened by the political crisis that the Italian peninsula was going through, turned towards a more austere and superstitious religion, in contrast to the humanist ideals inspired by the classical world that had crossed the preceding period. Many artists, such as Botticelli and the young Michelangelo, influenced by Savonarola, abandoned creations of "secular inspiration", sometimes destroying, like Fra Bartolomeo and Botticelli, previous productions, burned in the bonfire of the vanities.[To. 1]​.

The confrontation between Savonarola and Pope Alexander VI Borgia put an end to the influence of the monk, who was condemned as a heretic and burned in the Piazza della Signoria in 1498. Since then the political and social situation became even more confused, with the departure of numerous artists from the city.[To. 1]​

Meanwhile, Lorenzo the Magnificent's son, John, had become cardinal and by force of intimidation of the population (with the terrible sack of Prato in 1512) received the keys to the city. Having ascended to the papal throne under the name of Leo X (1513), he ruled the restless city from Rome through some members of his family. [20]​.

In 1527, the Sack of Rome was the cause of a new rebellion. The Siege of Florence "Siege of Florence (1529-1530)")[21]​ of 1529-1530 put an end to the Florentine Republic, which became a duchy under Cosimo I of Tuscany, who became grand duke after the conquest of Siena, making Florence the capital of a regional state of Tuscany.[22]​.

The Medici were bankers rather than soldiers raised on chivalric ideals, and many of their orders were more deliberately aristocratic than those of their princely counterparts. Much of the knowledge that helped give Florentine art its distinctive form, such as practical mathematics, letters, and numbers, was a product of Florence's mercantile ethic. The corporations representing these interests, from silk and wool merchants to stonemasons and wood carvers, commissioned most public works in the first decades of the century, subjecting them to rigorous control. As princes, they competed for prestige with each other, along with wealthy Florentine businessmen who built increasingly elaborate palaces and private chapels.[23]

The cultural and scientific renewal began in the last decades of the century and the beginning of the century in Florence and had its roots in the rediscovery of the classics, initiated already in the century by Francesco Petrarca and other scholars. In his works, man began to be the central theme more than God (Petrarch's Canzoniere and Boccaccio's Decameron were clear examples of this).

At the beginning of the century, the city's artists were between two main options: adherence to the customs of international Gothic or a more rigorous recovery of classical customs, which had always had an echo in Florentine art since the 19th century. Each artist dedicated himself, more or less consciously, to one of the two paths, although the second one prevailed. However, it would be wrong to imagine a triumphant advance of the Renaissance language against a sclerotic and dying culture, as established by some already obsolete historiography: late Gothic was a language as alive as ever, which in some countries was appreciated well beyond the century, and the new Florentine proposal was at first only a clear minority alternative, unheard of and misunderstood for at least twenty years in Florence itself, as demonstrated for example by the success in those years of artists such as Gentile da Fabriano or Lorenzo Ghiberti.[V-C. 1]​.

The "renaissance" managed to have an extraordinarily wide diffusion and continuity, from which a new perception of man and the world arose, where the individual was only capable of self-determination and cultivating his own talents, with which he could overcome Fortune (in the Latin sense, "luck") and dominate nature by modifying it. Community life was also important, which then acquired a particularly positive value linked to dialectics, the exchange of opinions and information and comparison.

This new concept spread with enthusiasm, but, relying on the strength of individuals, it was not free of hard and distressing aspects, unknown in the reassuring medieval system. The certainties of the Ptolemaic world were replaced by the uncertainties of the unknown, faith in Providence was replaced by the more fickle Fortune and the responsibility of self-determination carried the anguish of doubt, of error, of failure. This inconvenience, more painful and terrifying, was repeated every time the fragile economic, social and political balance failed, eliminating support for the ideals.[V-C. 2]​

The new subjects were, however, the inheritance of a limited elite, who enjoyed an education designed for a future in public office. The ideals of the humanists, however, were shared by the majority of commercial and artisanal bourgeois society, especially because they were effectively reflected in daily life, in the name of pragmatism, individualism, competitiveness, the legitimation of wealth and the exaltation of active life.[V-C. 2] Artists also shared these values, although they did not have an education that could compete with that of men of letters; Despite this, thanks also to the appropriate collaborations and the great technical skills learned in the field, his works aroused great interest at all levels, eliminating elitist differences, since they were more easily accessible than literature, still written rigorously in Latin.[V-C. 2]​.

There were at least three essential elements of the new style:[V-C. 1][24].

• - Formulation of the rules of the centric linear perspective, which organized space as a unit;

• - Attention to man as an individual, both in his physiognomy and in his anatomy and in the representation of emotions;.

• - Repudiation of decorative elements and return to essentiality.

Of these characteristics, the most important was undoubtedly the centered monofocal perspective, built according to a mathematical-geometric and measurable method, developed at the beginning of the century by Filippo Brunelleschi.[25]​[24]​ The ease of application, which did not require particularly sophisticated geometric knowledge, was one of the key factors in the success of the method, which was adopted by workshops with a certain elasticity and in ways that were not always orthodox.

The focused single-focal perspective was only one of the ways of representing reality, but its character was especially adapted to the mentality of Renaissance man, since it gave rise to a rational order of space, according to criteria established by the artists themselves. If, on the one hand, the presence of mathematical rules made perspective an objective matter, on the other, the choices that determined those rules were of a perfectly subjective nature, such as the position of the vanishing point, the distance from the viewer or the height of the horizon.[26]​[24][27][28]​ Ultimately, Renaissance perspective was nothing more than a representational convention, which today is so ingrained that it seems natural, even if some movements of the century, such as Cubism, have shown which is just an illusion.

The Florentine Romanesque was already characterized by a serene geometric harmony reminiscent of ancient works, as in the Baptistery of San Giovanni "Baptistery of Saint John (Florence)") (perhaps from the 10th century) or in San Miniato al Monte (from 1013 to the 19th century). At the end of the century, in the middle of the Gothic period, buildings with semicircular arches were built, such as the Loggia della Signoria or the Loggia del Bigallo"). Even in painting, the city remained substantially outside of Gothic suggestions, which were well developed in the nearby school of Siena, for example. Giotto had established a synthetic and monumental style at the beginning of the century, which was maintained with few evolutions by his numerous followers until the end of the century. [V-C. 3]​.

At the dawn of the century, while Europe and part of Italy were dominated by the painting of the international Gothic style, an artistic debate was developing in Florence that focused on two possible opposing currents: one linked to the acceptance, never full until then, of the sinuous and linear elegance of the Gothic, although filtered by local tradition, and again to a more rigorous recovery of the mode of the Ancients, reinforcing once again the never forgotten link with the Roman origins of Florentia[V-C. 3]​[27]​[24]​.

These two tendencies are visible in the work of the Mandorla door (1391), where, along with the spirals and Gothic ornaments, figures solidly modeled in the ancient style appear in the chambranas (mouldings of the openings).[V-C. 3]​.

But it was above all the competition for the north door of the Baptistery of Florence), called by the Arte di Calimala in 1401, organized to choose the artist who would carry it out, that further highlighted these two trends. The specifications provided for the creation of a formalla, a bas-relief representing the Sacrifice of Isaac. In that competition participated, among others, Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, whose finalist panels have been preserved.[V-C. 3]​.

In Ghiberti's panel the figures were modeled in an elegant style composed of echoes of the Hellenistic style, with the abandonment of physical beauty, of perfection, without expression or implication; On the other hand, Brunelleschi's was inspired by the ancient style in the manner of Giovanni Pisano, a pyramid-shaped scene, which drew attention to the intersection of the perpendicular lines of the hands of Abraham, the Angel, and the body of Isaac, the central point of the scene, according to a less elegant but more disturbing expressiveness. [V-C. 3]​.

The contest was won by a narrow victory for Ghiberti, which testified that the time had not yet come for the change proposed by Brunelleschi.[V-C. 3]​.

• - The Sacrifice of Isaac, Ghiberti (1401), Museo del Bargello.

• - The Sacrifice of Isaac, Brunelleschi (1401), Museo del Bargello.

Contenido

La primera fase del Renacimiento que se desarrolló en las décadas de 1430 y 1440 fue un período de experimentación, caracterizado por un enfoque técnico y práctico en el que los artistas locales adoptaron las innovaciones y los avances.

La primera disciplina que desarrolló ese nuevo lenguaje artístico fue la escultura. La presencia de obras antiguas en el lugar facilitó ese crecimiento. Ya durante los años 1410-1420, el escultor Donatello (1386-1466) desarrolló un estilo original inspirado en la Antigüedad,[29]​[24]​ seguido de una arquitectura dominada por la figura de Filippo Brunelleschi.[30]​ A esta época se remontan las primeras obras del nuevo Ospedale degli Innocenti (1417-1436) y de la Sacristía Vieja de la basílica de San Lorenzo#Sacristía_Vieja "Basílica de San Lorenzo (Florencia)") (1419-1422), ambas diseñadas por Brunelleschi. Finalmente, la pintura estuvo dominada por Masaccio, activo de 1422 a 1428.[31]​[27]​[24]​.

Las mejores creaciones procedieron de concursos entre artistas a los que se pedía trabajar «cara a cara» sobre temas idénticos o similares, como los crucifijos de Brunelleschi y Donatello, las cantorías de la catedral de Donatello y Luca della Robbia y las historias pintadas al fresco de la capilla Brancacci de Masaccio, Masolino y Filippino Lippi[32]​.

Sculpture

Brunelleschi and Donatello were two artists who quickly assimilated the concepts of the new artistic language. Brunelleschi was about ten years older and was probably the guide and pioneer of his younger colleague with whom he traveled to Rome in 1409, where they studied ancient works and sought to discover the techniques that made such creations possible. Despite their convergence of thought, the difference in temperament and sensitivity means that their artistic works present very different characteristics.[To. 2]​[To. 3]​

An example of this was the comparison of two wooden crucifixes, at the center of an anecdote told by Giorgio Vasari, who sees Brunelleschi's criticism of Donatello's Crucifix of the Holy Cross and his response to the Crucifix of Santa Maria Novella that left his colleague stupefied. In reality, it seems that the two works were not made in the same period and the interval would be about ten years, but nevertheless the anecdote remains eloquent.[33]​.

Donatello's Crucifix "Crucifix of the Holy Cross (Donatello)") (c.1406-1408) focuses on human suffering, favoring aesthetics: muscular contractions emphasize the moment of agony and the body is heavy and graceless but gives off vigorous energy.[V-C. 4]​

Brunelleschi's Crucifix (c. 1410-1415), on the other hand, is more idealized and calibrated, the perfection of the forms echoing the divine perfection of the subject.[V-C. 4]​.

The proportions are carefully studied: the span of the open arms is equal to the height of the figure,[34]​ the bridge of the nose points towards the center of gravity of the navel, recalling the typology of Giotto's crucifix"), but with a slight twist to the left, thus creating various "points of view", generating space around it, inviting the viewer to take a semicircular route around the figure.[V-C. 4]​.

According to art historian Luciano Bellosi"), Brunelleschi's Crucifix would be "the first work of Renaissance style in the history of art" and a point of reference for the later developments of Donatello, Nanni di Banco and Masaccio.[35]​.

• - Donatello Crucifix "Crucifix of the Holy Cross (Donatello)") (v. 1406-1408), Basilica of the Holy Cross (Florence) "Basilica of the Holy Cross (Florence)").

• - Crucifix by Brunelleschi (v. 1410-1415), Basilica of Santa María Novella.

In 1406, the Arti") were in charge of decorating the exterior niches of the Orsanmichele church with statues of their patron saints.[36]​ The work was added to that of the cathedral of Santa María del Fiore, which at the time was carried out in a style close to that of Lorenzo Ghiberti, which mixed Gothic elements with ancient elements accompanied by natural and flexible movements, leaving a moderate margin for experimentation.[To. 4]​.

It was in that environment where the slightly younger Florentine artists Donatello and Nanni di Banco (1390-1421) were trained. A collaboration of both artists was established and between 1411 and 1417 both worked in Orsanmichele, which allows their main works to be compared with their own characteristics.[To. 4]​.

Both artists refute Gothic concepts and draw more inspiration from ancient art. They freely place the figures in space, amplifying the plastic force and the physiognomic representation.[To. 4]​.

However, Nanni di Banco reproduced imperial Roman portraits in Four Crowned Saints&action=edit&redlink=1 "Four Crowned Saints (Nanni di Banco) (not yet written)") (1411-1414). Donatello created a "restricted" but energetic and lively figure, as if he would jump from one moment to the next in Saint George "Saint George (Donatello)") (1415-1417), commissioned by the armor makers. This effect was achieved thanks to the geometric and compact shapes that made up the statue. The triangle formed by the legs extended "like a compass", by the ovals of the shield and the cuirass, by the slight lateral deviation of the head in the opposite direction to that of the body, by the detail of the tendons of the neck, by the furrowed eyebrows and by the contrast of deep eyes.[37]​.

In the bas-relief Saint George Saves the Princess "Saint George Saves the Princess (Donatello)") (1416-1417), at the foot of the tabernacle housing Saint George, Donatello sculpted one of the earliest examples of stiacciato (flattened relief) and one of the oldest representations of perspective linéaire centrale.[V-C. 5]​.

Unlike Brunelleschi, whose perspective was a means to fix spatiality a posteriori, Donatello placed the vanishing point behind the characters to highlight the center of the action, creating a contrast effect, as if space were evident behind the characters.[38]​.

• - Nanni di Banco, Four crowned saints&action=edit&redlink=1 "Four crowned saints (Nanni di Banco) (not yet written)") (1411-1414).

• - Donatello, Saint George "Saint George (Donatello)") (1415-1417).

• - Saint George saves the princess "Saint George saves the princess (Donatello)") (1416-1417).

During the 1430s, the creation of the two cantorias for the Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore marked the passing of the baton between the two artistic styles. In 1431 a cantoria was commissioned from Luca della Robbia and in 1433 a second of the same dimensions from Donatello.[39]​[40]​.

Luca della Robbia, then about thirty years old, sculpted a classical tribuna des chantres of six panels, with another four located in the spaces between the corbels. The bas-reliefs describe Psalm 150, the text of which is inscribed in capital letters on the bands, above, below and on the corbels. The groups of sculpted young people who sing, dance and play have the classic orderly beauty that, encouraged by their natural position, expresses feelings in a calm and serene manner.[39]​.

Donatello, who was returning from a second trip to Rome (1430-1432), was inspired by early Christian and Romanesque works, creating a continuous frieze articulated by small columns behind which putti dance frantically on a background decorated with mosaics. The construction with small columns in the foreground creates a kind of scene delimited by the frieze that runs from diagonal lines that contrast with the straight and perpendicular lines of the architecture of the cantoria. The movement is accentuated by the colors of the gold-backed tesserae that embed the background and all the architectural elements.[39]​ The result is an exaltation of movement and expression that becomes the characteristic of Donatello's style that the artist brought to Padua in 1443.[41]​.

• - Cantoria de Luca della Robbia") (1431-1438), Museo dell'Opera del Duomo "Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Florence)"), Florence.

• - Cantoria de Donatello") (1433-1438), Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence.

Architecture

Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) was one of the most prominent figures of the early Florentine Renaissance. Initially active as a sculptor, he dedicated himself to architecture from the first decade of the century, taking advantage of his trips to Rome to perfect his observations on the architecture of ancient monuments, in order to find out the practical rules for their construction. He was first hired by the Florentine Republic to carry out military works, such as the fortifications of Staggia")[42]​ and Vicopisano"),[43]​ to then focus on the problem of the dome of Santa María del Fiore.[To. 5]​.

In his architectural work he addressed technical-structural issues, strictly associating them with the stylistic characteristics of the forms. He used gray serena stone, for example, for the architectural frames that contrasted with the light covering of the walls.

He used classical elements inspired by architectural orders, focusing only on a few modules associated with various ways to avoid repetition, opposing the thousand facets of Gothic architecture. The clarity of its architecture is the result of a precise harmonious union of the different parts of the building, which does not come from geometric shapes, but arises from the simple and intuitive repetition of the basic measurement, often the ten Florentine braccias "Fathom (unit)"), of which the multiples and submultiples generate all the useful dimensions.[44] The Ospedale degli Innocenti (1419-1428), for example, has a portico with semicircular arches supported by columns that form nine sections with a square floor plan. The base module is the length of the column that determines both the span "Light (architecture)") and the depth. In this way, the space appears clear and measurable to the naked eye, according to a harmonious rhythm that is enhanced with some decorative elements.[44]​.

In 1421, Brunelleschi created, for the Basilica of San Lorenzo "Basilica of San Lorenzo (Florence)"), the noble chapel called Sagrestia Vecchia#Old_Sacristy "Basilica of San Lorenzo (Florence)"), before the construction by Michelangelo, in 1521, of the Sagrestia Nuova#New_Sacristy "Basilica of San Lorenzo (Florence)"). It was the first Renaissance building with a centralized plan: a cube crowned by a hemispherical dome with a figurative sky whose vaults rest on pendentives.[45]​.

In 1425 he undertook the reconstruction of the church of San Lorenzo, adopting a basilica plan with three naves.[45]​.

• - The Ospedale degli Innocenti (1419-1427) in the Piazza Santissima Annunziata, a work by Brunelleschi completed by others.

• - Interior nave of the Basilica of San Lorenzo "Basilica di San Lorenzo (Florence)") (ca. 1421-1428).

• - Basilica del Santo Spirito (completed by others).

But the work that involved all his ingenuity and that contained the seeds of many of the later projects, was the construction of the grandiose dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, Duomo in Florence.[27]​[24]​ a work started by Giotto's successors and of which he took the reins.[24]​ Described by Brunelleschi's biographers[46]​ as a kind of modern myth that had the great architect as the only protagonist, with his genius, his tenacity and his trust in reason, which testified to his architectural knowledge, due to the dimensions, the techniques used and the quality of the work carried out,[47]​ in which he put into play his conception of an open space and "decomposed in a rational way."[24]​ Brunelleschi had to overcome the perplexities, criticisms and uncertainties of the Cathedral workers and made an effort to give explanations, make models and write reports on his project, which consisted of the construction of a double-shell dome with a passage in the cavity and which could be built without armor but with self-supporting scaffolding. Brunelleschi used a pointed arch shape for the dome, "more magnificent and bulky", forced by practical and aesthetic needs: in fact the dimensions did not allow the use of a hemispherical shape, and a double shell, that is, two domes, one internal and one external, each one divided vertically into eight sectors or panels. Furthermore, the greater development in height of the pointed arch compensated in height for the exceptional horizontal development of the nave, unifying all the spaces of the dome. A similar effect is perceived from the interior, where the gigantic space of the dome centralizes the spaces of the radial chapels, directing the gaze towards the ideal vanishing point in the oculus of the lantern.[V-C. 6]​.

Paint

The third father of the Renaissance revolution was Masaccio (1401-1428), whose activity was concentrated during a short period of time, from 1422 until his death in Rome in 1428. In 1417 he was present in Florence where he met Brunelleschi and Donatello and, based on his conquests (spatial clarity and plastic strength), he began a rereading of Giotto's work, as he already showed in his first known work, the Triptych of Saint Juvenal (1422) (1422). He set up a workshop in collaboration with Masolino da Panicale but was certainly not his student, as demonstrated by the completely different starting points of his painting. Later both influenced each other as demonstrated by their first studio work Sant'Anna Metterza") exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery.[48] Here Masolino already appears devoid of those linear suggestions of the late Gothic of previous works such as the Virgin of Humility&action=edit&redlink=1 "Virgin of Humility (Masolino or Pesello) (not yet written)"), while Masaccio already He has developed a way of painting that creates solid figures, with a nuance that makes them look like sculptures placed coherently in the pictorial space.[V-C 7]​.

This force in the construction of the characters and their situation in space, which enhanced their human individuality and their emotional intensity, expressions and postures, was further developed in the Pisa Polyptych&action=edit&redlink=1 "Polyptych of Pisa (Masaccio) (not yet written)"), begun in 1426 and today dismembered among several museums, and in the frescoes of the Brancacci chapel begun in 1424 in collaboration with Masolino, continued only by Massaccio from 1426 to 1427 and completed by Filippino Lippi in 1481 and 1482. The work is considered capital for the renewal of painting and has been studied by generations of painters, including Michelangelo.[V-C. 8]​.

The spatial composition was already revolutionary: all the decoration was framed in a unitary architectural cage, with painted pilasters and a toothed frame that separates the scenes, often with the landscape continuing between one and the other; the point of view is unique and designed for a hypothetical viewer located in the center of the chapel, particularly evident in the facing scenes or in the scenes on the sides of the mullioned window on the back wall; The light is generally unified, as if it emerged naturally from the chapel's window, and a unique, clear and bright chromatic range is used. Naturally, between the two hands (not to mention the completion carried out by Filippino Lippi around 1481), there are differences, even substantial ones. Masolino, despite his efforts to create anatomically correct figures well calibrated in space, established relationships between the characters based on rhythm, with generic faces and empty expressions. Masaccio instead used a more violent lighting ((Cacciata dei progenitori") [The expulsion of the progenitors]), which models the bodies and fills them with expressiveness, through essential but very eloquent gestures. His figures give off a dynamism and a human depth unknown to Masolino. The cultured quotes (such as Eve's pose that is reminiscent of a modest Venus) are transfigured by a severe scrutiny of the natural, which makes them alive and fleshy, not academically archaeological: his contemporaries already praised his art as "the excellent imitator of nature", rather than the resurrector of ancient art.[V-C 9]​.

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The innovators of Florentine art achieved great esteem and influenced artistic production. The managers, for their part, were in favor of less radical changes. The best example is that of the rich humanist merchant Palla Strozzi, who entrusted the creation of the altarpiece in the chapel of the Basilica of Santa Trinita "Church of the Holy Trinity (Florence)") to Gentile da Fabriano, who in 1425 completed the Adoration of the Magi "Adoration of the Magi (Gentile da Fabriano)"), still very much imbued with the international Gothic style. The work includes several scenes placed side by side where the gaze is lost in an endless number of small details and anecdotal scenes according to an organization faithful to the Byzantine literary model Ekphrasis, that is, the description, the interpretation of the works of art accessible in Florence since 1415.[V-C. 12].

The "counter" artists such as Lorenzo Monaco or refined personalities whose style was halfway between the Gothic style and the "old-fashioned" novelty such as Lorenzo Ghiberti continue to be popular.[V-C. 12].

The framework that emerged was that of a separation of radical and innovative artistic positions from those of the humanist world that during the first decades marginalized the group of innovators who remained misunderstood. The "old" model that was appreciated by humanists offered eclectic, sometimes opposing points. Artists could be inspired by this heritage, choosing what best responded to the taste and mentality of the moment.[V-C. 12].

Alberti's theorization

León Battista Alberti (1404-1472) settled in Florence in 1434, when the figurative revolution was coming to an end. Starting in 1435, the innovative fervor gave way to the theorization of experimentation and the main actor in this process was the Genoese Alberti, who sought to give a scientific foundation to the work of art.[54]​[24]​ He began to evaluate the results obtained, attenuating the differences between artists in favor of an overall vision that had the "renaissance" as a common denominator.[54]​.

In the treatise De pictura, he inscribed Brunelleschi, Donatello, Ghiberti, Luca della Robbia and Masaccio in the dedication.[V-C. 11]​

Alberti sought the objective foundations and the philosophical path that allowed the emergence of the Renaissance, confronting technical and aesthetic issues. He dedicated three treatises to the three "major arts": De pictura in 1436, De re aedificatoria in 1454 and De statua") in 1462.[54]​ His writings served as a basis for the training of subsequent generations by facilitating the dissemination of the precepts of the Renaissance and the transformation of the artist from being a "medieval craftsman" to a "modern intellectual." [V-C. 11].

Intermediate artists

The next phase took place around the 1450s with a more intellectual codification of earlier innovations. During those years, the political situation of the peninsula was stabilized with the Peace of Lodi (1454) which divided the territory into five large states. In the cities, the political class decided, putting dominant figures in power. Princely families, at the head of city-states, competed to produce the most beautiful objects to express their power. The bourgeoisie, less active, invested in agriculture and behaved like the old aristocracy, far from the ideals of sobriety, stubbornly displaying their wealth. The figurative language of those years was cultivated, ornamented and flexible.[V-C. 13].

Previously an anonymous craftsman, now the artist becomes an important person in society. The great creators were humanists, who knew ancient culture and, often, mathematics.[28] Curious minds, they affirmed their identity in their work. Thus, unlike the works of the Middle Ages, the creations of the moment were usually signed and dated.[55]​.

Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455), Masolino and Michelozzo continued the modern tradition, updating it according to the novelties of the precepts of humanist culture and perspective.[24]​[28]​ After the construction of the north door of the Baptistery of Saint John in Florence "Baptistery of Saint John (Florence)"),[56]​ whose characteristics were similar to those of the south door that had been built in the century XIV in Gothic style by Andrea Pisano, Ghiberti received in 1425 a commission for a new door,[57]​ completed in 1452, today located in the East, which Michelangelo will call the Gate of Paradise.[58]​ This work is emblematic of Ghiberti's "mediator" position.

Indeed, in this execution, the artist shows his freedom of composition and uses perspective and an increasingly less accentuated relief, to arrange a large number of characters in various planes.[59]​The art historian Henri Focillon, in his work on l'Art d'occident, described the door in these terms:.

Masolino da Panicale (1383-1440) was an artist who navigated between the International Gothic and the Renaissance styles. In his works created after the end of his collaboration with Masaccio, he developed a style that was easy to assimilate in places where Gothic culture still predominated, such as in Siena, where Vecchietta was his student and collaborator, or in northern Italy with the frescoes of Castiglione Olona.[60]​.

This cycle of frescoes represents one of the greatest testimonies of the transition from the Gothic to the Renaissance style.[61]​.

Michelozzo (1396-1472), Florentine, was a sculptor and architect, a great connoisseur of Ghiberti, Donatello and Brunelleschi with whom he collaborated. Connoisseur of the Gothic tradition, he uses the new concepts of the Renaissance to purify and enrich the ancient tradition. Cosimo de' Medici was the patron of his most important works, including the construction of his own palace and the restructuring of the former Dominican convent and the library of the convent of Saint Mark "Convent of Saint Mark (Florence)").[62]

La generación siguiente de artistas continuó difundiendo la nueva manera, influenciados en su orientación por el clima social y político, así como por las nuevas demandas de los clientes.

The arts under Cosimo de' Medici

With the return from exile in 1434 of Cosimo de' Medici (r. 1434-1464), the Florentine Republic remained, but gradually saw Cosimo establish his power de facto through a subtle strategy of alliances that allowed control of decision-making bodies by his trusted men, while remaining personally distant. of the city government. The patronage of the Medici began with him, his behavior being similar to the Ciceronian Stoic model that sought the common good, moderation, refuting personal prestige and the display of wealth. From these principles, he commissioned important works and works, had Fra Angelico paint the frescoes of the convent of San Marco "Convent of San Marco (Florence)") and modernized the Medici palace.[V-C. 16]​ He became very interested in art and science and all of Florence followed his example.[To. 1]​.

Private works had different characteristics like Donatello's David "David (Donatello)"), satisfying the demands of a cultivated environment. Its heroic nudity was revolutionary at the time and counteracted the androgynous character of the sculpture. Thus, according to Giorgio Vasari,.

Cosimo conceived the idea of ​​resurrecting "a kind of Academy": in 1459 he founded the Florentine Platonic Academy,[N 3]​[68]​ which ratified the intellectual trends and currents of culture by developing humanist disciplines.[N 4]​[V-C. 17]​[68]​[69]​.

The arts under Peter I de' Medici

Under Peter de' Medici, son of Cosimo, the taste for the "intellectual" was accentuated and public works were oriented towards the collection of precious and often small objects, sought more for their intrinsic value than for their rarity, thus demonstrating social prestige.[V-C. 17] Peter ruled Florence for five years (r. 1464-1469) and resumed the refined fashions of the aristocratic courts, being, by emulation, imitated by the urban aristocracy.[To. 1]​.

The emblematic work of his time was the set of frescoes that cover the walls of the chapel of the Magi by Benozzo Gozzoli, the private chapel of the Medici palace") (1459), decorated on his initiative. In the lavish procession of the Magi the members of the Medici family and their supporters appear transported in the sacred episode in which the myth becomes a pretext to represent the sparkling bourgeois society of the time.[V-C. 17].

Peter de' Medici was a pious man. In 1448, he had Michelozzo build the Tabernacle of the Crucifix in San Miniato al Monte. Around 1450, he entrusted Michelozzo and Luca della Robbia with the creation of his study, which was destroyed in 1659. He was also a great bibliophile: Filarete says that he looked at his books "as if they were a pile of gold."[70] He was also a scholar, like his father, protector of Marsilio Ficino.[To. 1]​.

Sculptors were often inspired by the principle of Copia et Varietas theorized by Alberti, that is, the reproduction of analogous models with slight modifications and refinements to satisfy the taste through a fashionable effect of the donors. In this area, the evolution of funerary monuments was exemplary, starting from the funerary monument of Leonardo Bruni made by Bernardo Rossellino (1446-1450), passing through that of Carlo Marsuppini") by Desiderio da Settignano (1450-1450) to that of Peter and Giovanni de' Medici by Andrea del Verrocchio (1469-1472). In these works, starting from the model common arcosolium, increasingly refined and precious results were reached.[V-C 17]​.

• - Florentine funerary monuments.

• - Funerary monument of Carlo Marsuppini (1453-1455) in Santa Croce, work of Desiderio da Settignano.

• - Funerary monument of Leonardo Bruni (1446-1450) in Santa Croce, work of Bernardo Rossellino.

• - Tombs of Giovanni and Peter de' Medici (1469-1472) in the Basilica of San Lorenzo "Basilica of San Lorenzo (Florence)"), work of Andrea del Verrocchio.

• - Tomb of the Cardinal of Portugal, in San Miniato al Monte, work of Antonio and Bernardo Rossellino.

One of the most significant works of this period was the chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal in San Miniato al Monte, a celebration of James of Portugal, who died in Florence in 1458, and his royal household. The chapel is an example of the typical Florentine taste of the mid-15th century characterized by the diversity of materials and techniques, methods of expression and cultural references. The whole contributes to the creation of an elegant and finely staged effect. The architecture is in the shape of a Greek cross, each arm carrying a decoration different. The whole is unified by a continuous frieze with the arms of the royalty of Portugal and by the use of porphyry and serpentine cladding. All surfaces are decorated, from the pavement in cosmates to the cloister vault with an invetriated terracotta by Luca della Robbia.[V-C 18]​.

The summum is located on the eastern side, where the cardinal's tomb sculpted by Antonio and Bernardo Rossellino is located. The theatrical space is completed with a curtain supported on each side of the large arch by two painted angels. Each decoration contributes to the staging of the cardinal's "triumph from beyond."[V-C. 18]​ The general style is characterized by the richness of the figures and their flexible attitude that create an elegant animation, never before experienced.[V-C. 18]​ The modeling of the sculptures is very delicate, creating illusionistic effects, far from the rational investigation that had animated the Renaissance artists of the first generation. The bas-relief of the sub-basement collects one of the oldest testimonies of ancient myths reused in Neoplatonic and Christian doctrine: the theme of bullfighting of Mithraist descent"), a symbol of resurrection and moral strength, the charioteer on the chariot (Neoplatonic symbol of the thought that guides the soul and dominates the passions), the unicorns that face each other (symbol of virginity) and the geniuses&action=edit&redlink=1 "Genius (art) (not yet written)") sitting on leonine heads (symbol of strength).[71]​ In the center, above the garland, there is a skull surrounded on each side by a lily and a palm, symbols of the purity and immortality of the soul. The symbolic set alludes to the moral virtues of the young prelate, the victory over passions and asceticism. [V-C. 18].

The protagonists

Fra Angelico (1395-1455) was a Dominican friar from Mugello"), near Fiesole, not far from Florence. He learned the profession of painter first as an illuminator then creating religious frescoes in the different convents in which he resided and also panels. An example of this is Coronation of the Virgin "Coronation of the Virgin (Fra Angelico, Louvre)") (today in the Louvre Museum) with its predella, where the typically Gothic rhythms and symmetries are updated through a powerful spatial composition and by a lively color, rich in rehauts") —touches and shading of light pigments (gouache, chalk) that are used to highlight, that is, lighten in some parts, a work executed with dark pigments.— and in shadows that give volume and highlight the materials with sensitivity. His interest in the representation of luminous phenomena leads Fra Angelico towards his phase of maturity to abandon indistinct and generic lighting in favor of an attentive and rational interpretation of lights and shadows where each surface is associated with its specific luster.[V-C. 19].

In 1436, Fra Angelico was one of the Fiesole friars who moved to the newly built convent of San Marco in Florence. Thus he placed himself at the heart of the artistic life of the region, attracting the support of Cosimo de Medici, who had reserved a cell in the convent so he could "retreat from the world." According to Vasari - who attributes to him "a rare and perfect talent" - it was at the behest of Cosimo that Fra Angelico dedicated himself to the task of decorating the convent, which began in 1436 and lasted until the 1450s. This decoration was very important for the Florentine Renaissance, since it included the magnificent fresco in the Chapter House, the much reproduced Annunciation "Annunciation (Fr. Angelico, Florence)") at the top of the stairs that lead to the cells, the Maesta (or Coronation of the Virgin) with Saints (cell 9), and many other devotional frescoes, of smaller format but of notable luminous quality, that represent aspects of the Life of Christ that adorn the walls of each cell,[72]​ that show Saint Dominic who, with his attitude, would serve as an example of the behaviors to be assumed in each episode: meditation, compassion, humility, prostration, etc.[To. 6]​.

Among the frescoes created for the common areas of the convent, *The Madone of the Shadows") stands out for its originality. It is painted in the narrow hallway on the first floor illuminated, on the far left, by the light that enters through a small window. Even in the painting, Beato Angelico seeks to use that same source of lighting, with the shadow of the painted capitals cut in length on the plaster, while on the right, the saints have the reflection of the window in their eyes. [V-C. 19].

Fra Angelico was among Masaccio's first followers and, in his mature phase, played an important role in Florentine art. His culture of Dominican Thomist tradition encouraged him to consolidate the advances of the Renaissance, especially the use of perspective and realism with the values ​​of the medieval world as the didactic function of art. During the 1440s, his production evolved towards "light painting" influenced by Domenico Veneziano, with the rational use of light sources that order and unify all the elements of the scene.[To. 6]​.

The return of Donatello (1453-1466)

In 1453, when the Florentine Donatello (1386-1466) returned to his hometown after a ten-year stay in Padua, the gap that had been created between the artists of the first humanism and those of the new generation oriented towards a more varied and decorated artistic taste became evident. His moving Magdalena penitente&action=edit&redlink=1 "Magdalena penitente (Donatello) (not yet written)") (1453-1455), of crude realism and disfigured by asceticism and old age, could not be more antiquated compared to the Magdalena penitente&action=edit&redlink=1 "Magdalena penitente (Desiderio da Settignano) (not yet written)") contemporary of Desiderio da Settignano focused on naturalism and aesthetics.[V-C. 25]​

Donatello thus found himself isolated in Florence and received his last commission, the two pulpits for the Basilica of San Lorenzo "Basilica di San Lorenzo (Florence)"), thanks to the intervention of Cosimo de' Medici. In the Pulpit of the Passion (1460-1466), in scenes such as the Compianto e deposizione, the artist ignored the rules of perspective, order and harmony. It is difficult to distinguish the main characters among the mass of characters. The composition cuts parts of the scene, such as the thieves on the cross, of whom only the feet are visible, giving the sensation of an indeterminate space, amplifying with the imbalance the dramatic pathos of the scene.[V-C. 25].

• - Donatello : Magdalena penitente, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo "Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Florence)").

• - Desiderio da Settignano: Penitent Magdalene, Basilica of Santa Trinita "Church of the Holy Trinity (Florence)").

The artist and the bottle

The Quattrocento saw an important evolution in the image of the artist: from being a figure of the manual craftsman who produced "objects" to order, he evolved towards a more intellectual conception aspiring to be part of the arti liberali.[V-C. 26].

The writings on the theory of León Battista Alberti played a fundamental role. Already in De pictura, he drew the portrait of the cultivated, literate and technically skilled artist who dominated all phases of the work, from idealization to manual production. However, the portrait described by Alberti was idealized and will only be truly effective in the 18th century with the dichotomy between artist and craftsman and the distinction between major and minor Arts, which in the Quattrocento were still little known.[V-C. 26].

The basic cell of artistic production was the bottega (workshop), which is at the same time the place of production, commerce and training. The master's journey began precisely in the workshop where the apprentice entered from a very young age, between thirteen and fifteen years old, in practical contact with the foundations of the profession, starting with the most humble ones such as cleaning and organizing the tools, and then gradually participating in the creation and production of the works.[V-C. 26]​ The practice of drawing was essential regardless of the art chosen. Theoretical preparation was limited to a few fundamental notions of mathematics and geometry. Complex processes such as linear perspective were learned empirically, without knowledge of theoretical principles.[V-C. 26].

The botteghe were concerned at that time with two types of production:[V-C. 26].

• - works commissioned by contract where the characteristics of the object, the materials used, the execution time and the payment conditions were precisely detailed. The workshop used to have complete freedom in matters of composition and style.

• - common productions and marketing such as bridal chests, Desco dapartum (birth trays), votive images, furniture, which in most cases are produced without a specific order. Mass productions, such as Madonnas in stucco, raw or glazed terracotta, are made from moulds, tracings and matrices.

In this case, the products were usually copies of known original works. Even the most innovative pieces ended up entering the common catalog and, therefore, were reproduced. The motifs are taken up and revised, all disciplines are combined, and it was common to find the models indiscriminately in painting, sculpture, architecture and goldsmithing, such as the miniature reproduction of the lantern "Linterna (architecture)") of Santa Maria del Fiore d in the Croce del Tesoro di San Giovanni") in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo "Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Florence)") in Florence, as well as in reliquaries, candelabras and ostensories.[V-C 26]​.

El final del siglo XV vio una desaceleración en el proceso innovador, el gusto tomó formas más variadas en comparación con el rigor del comienzo.

En la escultura, Benedetto da Maiano (1442-1497), intérprete de la medida, entre idealización, naturalismo y virtuosismo, fue autor de una serie de bustos de líneas flexibles y ricos en detalles descriptivos. En la pintura, Domenico Ghirlandaio añadió una parte de sensibilidad y de realismo.[V-C. 27]​.

Hacia 1472, la Cronache de Benedetto Dei[78]​ enumeraba en Florencia más de cuarenta talleres de pintores, cuarenta y cuatro orfebres, más de cincuenta maestri intagliatori (escultores) y más de ochenta legnaiuoli di tarsie (ebanistas).[V-C. 28]​ Este gran número de talleres se explica por una importante demanda de trabajo tanto en Florencia como desde otros centros de la península. A partir de la década de 1480, los más grandes maestros florentinos fueron llamados al exterior para proyectos prestigiosos como la decoración de la capilla Sixtina y la creación por Verrocchio del Monumento ecuestre a Bartolomeo Colleoni (1480-1488) en Venecia.[V-C. 28]​.

Para los artistas de la «tercera generación», la perspectiva lineal ya estaba adquirida y la investigación se dirigía ahora hacia otros centros de interés, como los problemas dinámicos de las masas de figuras o la tensión de las líneas de contorno. Las figuras plásticas y aisladas, en perfecto equilibrio en un espacio mensurable e inmóvil, daban paso ahora a juegos continuos de formas en movimiento con una mayor tensión y una intensidad expresiva.[79]​.

La producción figurativa y la difusión de las ideas de la Academia neoplatonica, en particular gracias a los escritos de Marsilio Ficino, Cristoforo Landino y Pico della Mirandola, dio lugar, entre las diversas doctrinas, a las vinculadas a la búsqueda de la armonía y la belleza como medios para acceder a formas superiores de amor humano o divino y de felicidad. El intento de volver a poner la filosofía clásica en el orden del día en el ámbito de la religión cristiana permitió también una relectura de los mitos como vectores portadores de verdad y testigos de una armonía inaccesible. Se empezaron así a encargar escenas mitológicas a artistas, inscribiéndose en el ámbito de los temas privilegiados de las artes figurativas.[V-C. 27]​.

La relación de Lorenzo el Magnífico con las artes era diferente a la de su abuelo Cosme de Médici: favoreció la creación de obras públicas. Por un lado, para Lorenzo el Magnífico el arte tenía una importante función pública pero orientada hacia estados extranjeros, como embajador del prestigio cultural de Florencia, presentada como la «nueva Atenas». Para ello, favoreció una difusión literaria sistemática como la Raccolta aragonese") a Alfonso V de Aragón, sobre la poesía toscana a partir del Duecento, o la figurativa, enviando a los mejores artistas a las cortes italianas. Estas acciones promovieron el mito de la época laurenciana como una «época dorada», favorecida por el período de paz que logró mantener hasta su muerte, pero por otro lado, estas acciones también estuvieron en el origen del debilitamiento de la vivacidad artística en Florencia, favoreciendo el desarrollo de otros centros, en particular Roma, como centro de novedades.[V-C. 29]​.

Por otro parte, Lorenzo, a través de su mecenazgo, promovió el gusto por los objetos ricos en significado filosófico estableciendo una confrontación intensa y cotidiana con los artistas de su círculo vistos como luminarias creadoras de belleza.[V-C. 29]​ Esto determina un lenguaje precioso, sofisticado y erudito en el que los significados alegóricos mitológicos, filosóficos y literarios se vinculaban de una manera compleja, legible sólo para aquellas elites que poseían las claves interpretativas. Esta dificultad hace que hoy se escapen ciertos significados de obras emblemáticas. El arte se separaba de la vida pública y civil real centrándose en los ideales de escape de la existencia cotidiana tendiendo a la armonía y la serenidad.[V-C. 29]​.

La referencia al señor en las obras era frecuente, pero oculta tras alusiones. En Apolo y Dafne (1483), de Perugino, por ejemplo, Dafne es la versión griega del nombre Laurus (Lorenzo). Al igual que La educación de Pan") (hacia 1490) de Luca Signorelli aborda el tema de la encarnación del dios Pan "Pan (mitología)"), portador de la paz para la familia Médici, como en los versos recitados por los poetas de la corte.[V-C. 29]​.

The Medici Villa of Poggio a Caiano is among the most important achievements desired by Lorenzo de' Medici. This villa was commissioned around 1480 from Giuliano da Sangallo.[V-C. 29]​ Its piano nobile develops with terraces on all sides from a subbase surrounded by a loggia with a continuous arcade. The volume has a square plan on two floors with a large central hall whose height is the same as the two floors with a barrel vault instead of the traditional patio. The cover is provided by a simple roof, projecting on each side of the walls, without a cornice.[To. 7].

The façade presents a tympanum "Tympanum (architecture)") of the Ionic order that gives access to a vestibule covered with a barrel vault whose ceiling is coffered. Inside, the rooms are arranged symmetrically around the living room.[V-C. 30]​.[To. 7].

The villa is open to the garden thanks to the loggia that allows you to gradually go from inside to outside. This characteristic, associated with ancient techniques such as the barrel vault and elements of the Ionic order, makes the villa of Poggio a Caiano a model of private villa architecture that was exported to other cities in Veneto and Rome.[V-C. 30]​.

At that time, the most prestigious botteghe in Florence were those of Verrocchio and that of the Pollaiolo brothers, whose most recognized member was Antonio, active in sculpture, painting and the graphic arts.[80] He created for Lorenzo de' Medici the bronzetto") on the classic theme of *Hercules and Antaeus 1475), where the mythological motif is represented by a game of broken lines that intertwine, generating tensions of great violence.[81]​.

In his works, research on human anatomy allows him to obtain a realistic representation of movement, struggle and tension, resulting in clear and limpid forms, even in small details.[V-C. 31].

Its main feature is the strong and vibrant contour line that gives the figures a dynamic tension that looks like it could burst at any moment. This effect appears on the tablet of Hercules and Antaeus&action=edit&redlink=1 "Hercules and Antaeus (Antonio Pollaiolo, Offices) (not yet written)") in the Uffizi (around 1475), in the Dance of the Nudes"), a fresco from the Villa La Gallina") or the Combat of Naked Men") (1471-1472).[V-C. 31].

The Pollaiolo brothers were among the first to use an oil base both in the preparation of the wooden supports and in the creation of the colors, obtaining a shine reminiscent of that of Flemish works.[82][80]​.

The Florentine Andrea del Verrocchio (ca. 1435-1488), versatile artist, expert in drawing, goldsmithing, painting and sculpture, was inclined towards naturalism and ornamental richness.[V-C. 31]​ During the 1470s, he produced elegant works that little by little became monumental, such as David "David (Verrocchio)"), a theme addressed by other illustrious artists, to which he applied "courtly" canons, in the likeness of a young fugitive and daring, revealing new psychological expressions. The space that is occupied in a complex way requests several points of view from the viewer. The soft modeling, anatomical details and psychology of the figure probably influenced Leonardo da Vinci, a student of Verrocchio.[V-C. 31].

During the 1470s, Verrocchio's versatile workshop was one of the most sought after in Florence, it was the crucible where new talents such as Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Perugino, Lorenzo di Credi and Domenico Ghirlandaio were trained.[V-C. 28].

The Florentine Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) was strongly linked to the Medici court and its ideal of harmony and beauty.[V-C. 32]​ Already in his first dated work, the Fortress "Fortress (Botticelli)") (1470), he showed his skill in the refined use of color and chiaroscuro derived from the lesson of Filippo Lippi, his first teacher, but in it animated by greater solidity and monumentality, as in Verrocchio. with a linear tension learned from Antonio Pollaiolo. Botticelli's style was a particular result of all those influences with the figure appearing to be perched on the surface rather than sitting on the shortened throne, animated by a play of lines that dematerialize physicality. The fundamental characteristic of Botticelli's style is the drawing and obviousness of the contour line.[V-C. 32].

A la muerte del rey Fernando I de Nápoles en 1494, Carlos VIII de Francia tomó el título de rey de Nápoles y de Jerusalén y entró en Italia. Este fue el inicio de la primera guerra italiana (1494-1497). Los equilibrios que regían el frágil sistema político de la «signorie» italiana se vieron socavados, lo que llevó a una primera ola de inestabilidad. En Florencia, un levantamiento popular expulsó a Pedro II de Médicis, hijo de Lorenzo, estableciendo una nueva república guiada espiritualmente por el predicador Jerónimo Savonarola. En 1496, el monje condenó abiertamente las doctrinas neoplatónicas y humanistas, instando a realizar una vigorosa reforma de hábitos y costumbres en sentido ascético. Cayó la exaltación del hombre y de la belleza así como toda producción y colección del «arte profano», culminando con la hoguera de las vanidades. El 23 de mayo de 1497 Savonarola fue excomulgado por Alejandro VI y en 1498 el papa lo acusó de herejía, de profetismo, de sedición y de error religioso y fue quemado en la plaza el 23 de mayo de 1498. Esta ejecución reforzó la confusión espiritual y la crisis social que socavó para siempre el sistema de certeza humanista que fundó el primer Renacimiento.[V-C. 38]​

Estos trágicos acontecimientos tuvieron consecuencias en la producción artística tanto por las nuevas demandas de los clientes «llorones», seguidores de Savonarola, como por la crisis religiosa y la nueva orientación espiritual de ciertos artistas como Fra Bartolomeo, Miguel Ángel Buonarroti y Sandro Botticelli que, después de conocer a Savonarola, dejó de pintar desnudos femeninos.[88]​.

late Botticelli

Sandro Botticelli's last works were all characterized by religious fervor and reflected a reflection on the principles that had guided the artist's previous activity. The retreat towards modes from the beginning of the Quattrocento highlighted the abandonment of traditional figurative systems.[V-C. 32].

The turning point is clearly evident in the allegorical work of The Calumny of Apelles (1496). The work sought to recreate a lost painting by the Greek painter Apelles, which was created to defend himself against an unjust accusation and described by Lucian of Samosata. In a monumental lodge, a bad judge advised by Ignorance and Suspicion sits on the throne; In front of him is Resentment, the ragged man holding the arm of Slander, a beautiful woman, richly dressed, being groomed by Seduction and Deception. Slander drags the defenseless "slandered" to the ground with one hand and with the other she wields a flameless torch, a symbol of false knowledge. The old woman on the left is Remorse and the last female figure is Nuda Veritas, whose gaze turned to heaven indicates the only source of Justice. The dense decoration of the architectural elements and the frenzy of the characters accentuate the dramatic sense of the painting.[V-C. 38]​ The set recreates a kind of "court of history" whose accusation seems directed against the ancient world whose absence of justice, one of the fundamental values ​​of civil life, is bitterly noted.[89]​.

Examples of stylistic regression are the Altarpiece of Saint Mark (1488-1490), with an archaizing golden background, and the Mystical Nativity (1501), where spatial distances are confused, proportions dictated by chosen hierarchies, and expressive poses often accentuated that end up appearing unnatural.[V-C. 38].

• - Florentine works of the late Botticelli.

• - The Altarpiece of San Marcos (1488-1492).

• - The Calumny of Apelles (1496).

• - Mystical Nativity (1501).

Filippino Lippi

Filippino Lippi, son of Fra Filippo Lippi, was one of the first artists to express a feeling of discomfort in his style. Probably present in the Sistine Chapel alongside Botticelli, during his stay he enriched his repertoire of archaeological references, inspired by the desire to commemorate the ancient world.[V-C. 37].

Filippino Lippi was influenced by the Savonarola period and the debate between the two parties, one favorable to the monk (Piagnoni) and the other to the Medici (Palleschi). During those years, the choice fell to the party chosen by the sponsor. Thus, along with the extravagant productions intended for the aristocracy, there are also austere works resulting from the monk's preaching. Filippino Lippi worked for both parties. An intense mysticism can be read in the pair of panels of Saint John the Baptist "Saint John the Baptist (Filippino Lippi)") and Mary Magdalene "María Magdalena (Filippino Lippi)") preserved in the Gallery of the Academy in Florence.[90]​.

Filippino Lippi placed his characters in a landscape that recreated the ancient world in its smallest details, showing the influence of the "grotesque" style that he had seen during his trip to Rome. It was in the frescoes of the Carafa chapel in the Roman church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva where one can detect what. will become the characteristic of Filippino's style: Botticellian elegance and simplicity is complicated by the introduction of increasingly numerous details and fantastic architecture, "where it shows an astonishing archaeological splendor."[91] He thus created an "animation", mysterious and fantastic, but his disturbing style also showed unreality in a kind of nightmare. He thus represented ruthless executioners, deformed and with dark faces who threatened the saints. In the scene of Saint Philip chasing the dragon from Hierapolis, the statue of the "pagan god" Mars "Mars (mythology)") is a menacing figure who appears to challenge the Christian saint.[92]​.

The young Michelangelo

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was born in Caprese, about 100 km from Florence, where his father was a magistrate. After their mother died they returned to Florence. In 1488, at the age of twelve, he entered the workshop of the brothers Daniele and Domenico Ghirlandaio.[N 5]​[N 6][93]​ He copied masters such as Giotto in the Peruzzi chapel) or Masaccio in the Brancacci chapel. Already in these first works, he showed an ease of assimilation of the masters' fundamental stylistic elements, particularly in the plastic and monumental aspects.[V-C. 39]​[93]​.

Having entered under the protection of Lorenzo de' Medici, he studied the classical models made available to the Medici in the garden of the convent of San Marco "Convent of San Marco (Florence)"), where the artist became aware of the indissoluble unity between the images of the myths and the passions that inspired them, quickly becoming capable of reviving the classical style without being a passive interpreter who copied a repertoire.[V-C. 39]​ In this sense, The Battle of the Centaurs "The Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)") (ca. 1492) is an example. The tumultuous movement and strong contrast are reminiscent of the Roman sarcophagi and the bas-reliefs of Giovanni Pisano, and the lost Sleeping Cupid "Sleeping Cupid (Michelangelo)"), presented as a classic work and which deceived Cardinal Riario[94]​ who, once the anger had passed after discovering the deception, wanted to meet the artist, taking him to Rome, where he would create his first masterpieces.[V-C. 40]​[95]​.

But along with these lively and vigorous works, Michelangelo demonstrated the ability to adopt diverse languages, such as in the Virgin on the Staircase (1490-1492), with a more intimate tone. Inspired by Donatello's stiacciato, it showed, in addition to a certain virtuosity, the ability to transmit an impression of blocked energy, given by the unusual position of the Virgin and Child who seem to show their shoulders to the viewer.[V-C. 40]​.

After the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1492, Michelangelo fled Florence and passed through Venice, later settling in Bologna. In the following years, affected by Savonarola's preaching, he abandoned secular themes and loaded his works with psychological and moral meanings.[V-C. 40]​.

El último período de la República florentina, el del confaloniero vitalicio de Pier Soderini (r. 1502-1512), aunque insignificante desde el punto de vista político, supuso una sorprendente reanudación de la producción artística, favorecida por los encargos tanto públicos como privados. Grandes artistas no florentinos fueron llamados a Florencia con el fin de aumentar el prestigio de la nueva república, generando una rápida y consistente renovación artística.[V-C. 41]​ Los protagonistas principales de este período fueron Leonardo da Vinci y Miguel Ángel, que regresaron a la ciudad después de estancias en otros centros, luego Rafael, que regresó a la ciudad para conocer las novedades de la época.[V-C. 41]​.

Return and departure of Leonardo (1500-1508)

Leonardo returned to Florence shortly before August 1500, after the fall of Ludovico Sforza.[83] A few months later, he exhibited a cartoon of Saint Anne in the Basilica of the Holy Annunciation "Basilica of the Holy Annunciation (Florence)"), which Vasari described:

It now seems accepted that this was not the Cartoon of Saint Anne now kept in the National Gallery in London,[96] but rather a preparatory cartoon used for The Virgin, the Child Jesus and Saint Anne in the Louvre, completed much later.[V-C. 42] However, both works are faithful to the Florentine work. In the London one, the figures are grouped in a single block and articulated in a rich interweaving of gestures and glances, with a fluid modeling of folds and drapes; Close together in the foreground, the figures are monumental and grandiose as in The Last Supper "The Last Supper (Leonardo)"), while the sfumato generated a delicate balance in the alternation of shadows and lights. The emotional component is powerful, especially in the point of force of Saint Anne's gaze directed at the Virgin.[V-C. 42]​ Paris's work is more flexible and natural, with elegant attitudes and a deep rocky landscape that the sfumato connects with the figures.[V-C. 42]​ Leonardo's lesson had a strong impact on local artists, revealing a new formal universe that opened new unexplored horizons in the field of artistic representation.[V-C. 41]​

[83]

For this work, Leonardo experimented with a new technique that allowed him not to be handicapped by the short time needed to create the fresco, drawing inspiration from the encaustic painting described by Pliny the Elder in his Historia naturalis "Natural history (work of Pliny)"). As with The Last Supper "The Last Supper (Leonardo)"), this choice was inappropriate.[97]​ The size of the painting did not allow the fires to reach a sufficient temperature to dry the colors that covered the plaster, and they faded or disappeared. In December 1503, the artist interrupted the transfer of the drawing from the cardboard to the wall, frustrated by this new failure.[97]​.

Among the best copies inspired by Leonardo's cardboard, all partial, is that of Rubens, in the Louvre.[97] The cardboard has been lost and the last vestiges of the work were probably covered in 1557 by Vasari's frescoes. From the preparatory drawings, a strong difference in representation emerges with respect to the ancient battle paintings, organized by Leonardo like a whirlwind with an unprecedented richness of movements and attitudes linked to "bestial madness" (pazzia bestialissima, as the artist designated it.[V-C. 43]​.

La Gioconda, probably a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of "Giocondo", dates from these same years. Leonardo's greatest work, it is characterized by the tiny luminous deaths (sfumato), by the atmospheric perspective of the landscape and by the enigmatic smile that contributed to the development of the myth.[V-C. 43].

In 1508, the artist left first for Milan and then, in 1516, for the court of France, becoming the painter of King Francis I.[To. 8][83].

• - Carton of Sant'Anna"), National Gallery.

• - The Virgin, the Child Jesus and Saint Anne, The Louvre.

• - Study of faces for the Battle of Anghiari.

The return of Michelangelo (1501-1504)

After residing in Rome for four years, in the spring of 1501, Michelangelo also returned to Florence. The consuls of the Arte della Lana") and the workers of the Duomo of Florence entrusted him with a huge block of marble to sculpt a David "David (Michelangelo)"), an exciting challenge on which the artist worked throughout the year 1503, proceeding to the final touches in early 1504. The "colossus", as the sculpture was called at the time, was a triumph of ostentatious virtuosity anatomical, representing David as a dreamy and already victorious adolescent, strongly distancing himself from the traditional iconography of the athletic biblical hero represented until then in the prime of life and preparing to do battle. David's limbs are all in tension and his face is concentrated, showing maximum physical and psychological concentration. morality of the Renaissance man. The initial location planned on the buttresses of the Duomo was quickly walled up and the statue was finally placed in front of the Priors' Palace.[V-C 44]​.

The work aroused strong enthusiasm that consolidated the artist's reputation and guaranteed him a large number of commissions, including a large series of apostles for the Duomo. of which, however, he only sketched *St.

Michelangelo was influenced by Leonardo's Sant'Anna. Indeed, he returned to the theme in some drawings, one of which is preserved in the Ashmolean Museum, in which the circular movement of the group is blocked by deeper chiaroscuro effects, appearing almost sculpted. In the Virgin of Bruges"), we witness the contrast between the cold rigidity of Mary and the dynamism of the Child who seems to be projected towards the viewer, acquiring symbolic meanings. Their figures can be inscribed in an ellipse of great purity and apparent simplicity that exalts their monumentality.[V-C. 45]​.

Given the "unfinished" nature of certain tondi such as the Tondo Pitti and the Tondo Taddei, it is difficult to establish whether Michelangelo intended to draw inspiration from Leonardo's atmospheric sfumato. A clear reaction to such a suggestion is evident in the Tondo Doni,[N 7]​[98]​ probably painted for the wedding of Agnolo Doni and Maddalena Strozzi.[98]​ The figures of the characters, the Holy Family, are linked in a spiral movement with a modeling of clearly differentiated planes of light and shadow, salient profiles and intense colors.[V-C. 46]​

Starting in 1504, Michelangelo worked on an important public commission, the fresco decoration of the Hall of the Five Hundred with the Battle of Cascina"), which was to be a counterpart to the work begun by Leonardo da Vinci. The artist only prepared a cartoon that, admired and highly studied, a victim of its success, was first vandalized and then destroyed. Cardboard had become a fundamental model for the study of the human figure in movement for both local and passing artists. Many figures were represented in extremely lively and dynamic attitudes, with numerous elements taken from antiquity, as demonstrated by the few copies and variants studied in the preparatory drawings.[V-C. 47].

Raphael in Florence (1504-1508)

In 1504, the echo of the novelties revealed by the cartoons of Leonardo and Michelangelo reached Siena, where Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520), a student of Perugino and then a young and promising artist who helped Pinturicchio in the decoration of the Piccolomini Library, was staying.[99] Determined to go to Florence, he had a letter of recommendation prepared for the confaloniere by Giovanna Feltria, duchess. of Sora, sister of the Duke of Urbino Jean della Rovere"). In Florence, Raphael studied the local artistic tradition from the Quattrocento to the most recent innovations, demonstrating an extraordinary capacity for assimilation.[V-C. 48]​.

Rafael worked mainly for private patrons, creating numerous small and medium-sized paintings whose theme was devotion, especially of Virgin with Child and the Holy Family. He also made portraits. In these works he continually varied the theme, looking for new groupings and attitudes, with special attention to naturalness, harmony in a rich and intense color with a background derived from the Umbrian style").[V-C. 48]​.

The starting point of his compositions was multiple, he extracted certain suggestions such as Donatello's Madonna Pazzi in the Madonna of Casa Tempi (1508), Michelangelo's Tondo Taddei in *Cowper's Little Madonna (1505) or The Bridgewater Madonna (c. 1507).[V-C. 48]​ From Leonardo, Raphael adopted the principles of plastic-spatial composition, but He avoided symbolic allusions and implications. Furthermore, he preferred spontaneous and natural feelings to "Leonardian indefinition." This is evident in portraits such as that of Maddalena Doni (or Maddalena Strozzi), where the placement of the half-figure in the landscape, hands crossed, reveals its inspiration in the Mona Lisa but with results where the description of the physical lines, clothing, jewelry and luminosity of the landscape prevail.[V-C. 49].

Alternating trips to Umbria and Urbino, during this period he created a work in Perugia, the Altarpiece of Baglioni"), created in Florence and inspired by Florentine trends. In the central compartment he represented the Translation of Christ or Borghese Deposition "Translation of Christ (Raphael)") (1507), the culmination of his studies and elaborations based on the Lament over the Dead Christ") by Perugino from the Florentine church preserved in the Palatine Gallery of the Pitti Palace in Florence. The artist thus creates a dramatic and dynamic monumental composition in which evident signs of Michelangelo's style and antiquity are evident, particularly in the Morte di Melagro that the artist had been able to see during a trip to Rome in 1506.[V-C. 50]​.

Other artists

During the beginning of the Cinquecento many other artists worked in Florence. They often provided quality alternative styles and content, but they did not significantly mark the period with their imprint.

Among them is Piero di Cosimo, the last great artist in the line of Florentine art that runs from Filippo Lippi to Botticelli and Ghirlandaio. Piero, who owes his nickname to his teacher Cosimo Rosselli, was an ingenious artist gifted with fantasy, capable of creating unique and strange works. His work explores religious painting, portraits and mythological paintings. Many of his paintings play with a dualism between a charming naivety and a problematic eroticism that seems very "modern." Some seem to constitute a continuation of the theme of "Stories of early humanity".[100]

In sculpture, Andrea Sansovino[101]​ was, together with his student Jacopo, an alternative to Michelangelo. Sansovino was a craftsman of slender and vibrant forms.

Other sculptors, although very active and sought after such as Benedetto da Rovezzano,[102] did not renew their repertoire, remaining faithful to the tradition of the 14th century.

In architecture, Giuliano[103]​ and Antonio da Sangallo the Elder excelled in sacred buildings with a "central plan",[104]​ while in private construction Baccio d'Agnolo imported classical models of "Roman style" as in the Bartolini-Salimbeni palace").[105]​.

La nueva generación de pintores no puede ignorar el enfrentamiento con los «grandes» y sus obras que permanecen en la ciudad. Leonardo, Miguel Ángel y Rafael forman una escuela. Sin embargo, se asiste a tendencias que buscan superar su ejemplo enfatizando otras características hasta el punto de exagerar. Estos son los inicios del manierismo.

Friar Bartolomeo

After a four-year pause caused by taking vows, influenced by Savonarola's preaching, Fra Bartolomeo resumed painting in 1504. Originally influenced by his teacher Cosimo Rosselli and the entourage of Domenico Ghirlandaio, he oriented towards a severe and essential conception of sacred images, opening himself to the suggestions of the "greats", in particular Raphael, with whom he became close during the years of his stay in Florence.[V-C. 51].

A trip to Venice enriched his palette as demonstrated by the altarpiece *Eternal in glory between Saints Mary Magdalene and Catherine of Siena") (1508), characterized by an austere and orderly eloquence. In mystical wedding of Saint Catherine of Siena") (1511), he took up the scheme of Raphael's Madone au baldaquin, amplifying the monumentality of the figures and further varying the attitudes of the characters.[V-C. 51].

A trip to Rome allowed him to see the works of Michelangelo and Raphael in the Vatican, which, according to Giorgio Vasari, disturbed him to such an extent that he ended up withdrawing into himself, diminishing his vigor and innovative enthusiasm.[V-C. 51].

Andrea del Sarto

Also for the Florentine Andrea del Sarto (1486-1531), trained in Piero di Cosimo's workshop, the reference point was the works of the three "geniuses" of Florence.

Experimenting with new iconography and techniques, his first works can be found in the Chiostrino dei Voti") of the Basilica of the Holy Annunciation "Basilica of the Holy Annunciation (Florence)") and in the monochromatic frescoes of the Scalzo cloister") in Florence. The modernity of its language, the narrative style and the well-ordered rhythms quickly made it the reference point for a group of contemporary artists such as Franciabigio, Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino, who during the 1510s formed a school known as scuola dell'Annunziata antagonist of that of the convent of San Marco "Convent of San Marco (Florence)") by Fra Bartolomeo and Mariotto Albertinelli, with more solemn and calm stylistic accents.[V-C. 51].

Andrea del Sarto knew how to reconcile the chiaroscuro of Leonardo, the plasticity of Michelangelo and the classicism of Raphael thanks to an impeccable, free and flexible execution in the modeling that earned him the nickname pittore senza errori ('painter without errors').[V-C. 52]​ A model of the genre remains his The Last Supper&action=edit&redlink=1 "The Last Supper (Andrea del Sarto) (not yet written)") in the refectory of San Salvi"), a fresco that took him 16 years to paint (1511-1527).

In 1517, he created his masterpiece, the Virgin of the Harpies, with its pale colors and well-calibrated monumentality without forcing the anatomy like his younger colleagues.[V-C. 52].

In 1518-1519 he entered the court of Francis I of France. In Fontainebleau, he worked in the wake of the elderly Leonardo who died in 1519. He produced several works now lost, as well as La Charité&action=edit&redlink=1 "La Charité (Andrea del Sarto, Paris) (not yet written)"), signed in 1518, a typical work of Florentine culture of pyramidal construction and figurative plasticity. A certain malaise shortened the artist's presence in France, making his stay a "lost opportunity" (he would remain indebted to King Francis for the sums advanced), according to Vasari, called to Florence by his wife.[V-C. 52].

In Florence, he progressively devoted himself to the revision of ancient motifs, the execution of which he entrusted to his workshop, with the exception of some works such as Madonna in Glory with Four Saints (1530) preserved in the Palatine Gallery of the Pitti Palace, whose characteristics anticipate the devotional motifs of the second half of the century.[V-C. 52].

• - Works Andrea del Sartol".

• - La Charité&action=edit&redlink=1 "La Charité (Andrea del Sarto, Paris) (not yet written)") (1518).

• - The Last Supper&action=edit&redlink=1 "The Last Supper (Andrea del Sarto) (not yet written)") (1511-1527).

• - Grisaille series from the Chiostro dello Scalzo, Del Sarto's most ambitious work in terms of the amount of time he devoted to it]].

Pontormo

Jacopo Pontormo (1494-1557) first imitated the narrative style and ordered rhythms of his teacher Andrea del Sarto, then began a process of renewal of traditional schemes. The spatial and narrative organization of the episodes becomes more complex than that of its colleagues, as in Joseph in Egypt").

Jacopo Pontorno meticulously studied his themes, the work was the result of cerebral work whose figures have a suspended and crystallized beauty.[V-C. 53]​.

In 1521 he created Vertumne and Pomone&action=edit&redlink=1 "Vertumne and Pomone (Pontormo) (not yet written)"), a bucolic scene in classical style for a lunette (architecture) "Lunette (architecture)") of the Medici villa of Poggio a Caiano. From 1522 to 1525 he lived in the Charterhouse of Florence, where he was the author of a series of frescoes inspired by the incisions of Albrecht Dürer. This choice of the Nordic model, already very popular throughout northern Italy, confirmed its break with the traditional canons of the Florentine Renaissance. This choice of new reformist ideas from Germany was criticized by Giorgio Vasari.[V-C. 53]​.

Rosso Fiorentino

Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1540), Florentine and also a student of Andrea del Sarto, shared Pontormo's artistic journey until 1523, when he left Florence for Rome. He participated in all the innovations of the time, revising the concepts of tradition. He focused on expressive, almost cartoonish deformation, drawing on the works of Filippino Lippi and Piero di Cosimo. His masterpiece, the Deposition of the Cross&action=edit&redlink=1 "Deposition of the Cross (Rosso Fiorentino) (not yet written)") (1521) preserved in the Communal Pinacoteca of Volterra"), reveals his search for synthetic forms. In this painting, the placement of the characters is governed by an intertwining of almost paradoxical lines, such as the double direction of the stairs placed against the cross. Several characters that have expressions forced, they make frantic and exalted gestures.[V-C 54]​.

In October 1530, Rosso Fiorentino joined the court of Francis I of France. He is considered the founder of the first Fontainebleau school that launched the French Renaissance in the art of painting.[106]​.

Michelangelo in San Lorenzo

In 1515, the solemn visit of Pope Leo Jacopo Sansovino and Andrea del Sarto created the ephemeral façade of the unfinished cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.[V-C. 55]​[108]​ This work impressed the pontiff, who shortly after launched a competition for the creation of another façade that remained unfinished, that of the Basilica of San Lorenzo "Basilica di San Lorenzo (Florence)"), sponsored by the Medici family.[109][108] Projects were presented by, among others, artists such as Giuliano da Sangallo, Raphael, Jacopo and Andrea Sansovino. The pope finally chose that of Michelangelo, characterized by a rectangular profile different from the shape called "à pignons")" of the naves of the basilica.[108]​[110]​ The project, which also provided for extensive decoration composed of marble and bronze sculptures, was carried out at the end of 1517, but a series of events related to the supply of materials slowed down the works and increased costs.[V-C. 55]​.

In 1519, Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino and nephew of the Pope, died after the death of Julian, Duke of Nemours, endangering the dynasty. The pope changed his plans and decided to build a funerary chapel known as Sagrestia Nuova[N 8]​ Michelangelo was in charge of the project.[109][108]​.

Already in 1520, a letter from the artist, in which he complained about the delay in the façade project, recalled that studies had begun for the chapel. tombs of the two dukes Lorenzo and Julian, respectively father and uncle of the pope.[V-C. 55]​[108]​.

Initially, Michelangelo presented a project with a central plan that took up the general lines of the first project for the tomb of Julius II, however the lack of space required an alternative solution with the funerary monuments placed against the walls.[N 10]​[108]​ As for architecture, the scheme of the walls differs from Brunelleschi's model by the insertion of the windows in an intermediate space between the lower wall and the large lunettes under the dome. The tombs are attached to the walls with the statues in the niches and take the form of aedicula over the doors and windows.[V-C. 56]​[108]​[110]​.

In 1521, the death of the pope caused a first suspension of work.[108][110] These were resumed with the election of Clement VII "Clement VII (pope)") (Julius de' Medici), then were interrupted in 1527 after the Sack of Rome and the last establishment of the Republic in Florence.

In 1530, the city was taken by the Medici and Michelangelo frantically resumed work until 1534, the year of his definitive departure for Rome.[109] Thus he created the statues of the two dukes in classical style without stopping in the aspect of the portrait and the four Allegories of Time, elongated figures of the Night "Night (Michelangelo)"), of The day "The day (Michelangelo) Ángel)"), from and from , complementary in theme and pose, as well as . The general theme is that of the survival of the Medicean dynasty and the consolation provided by the religion (the Madonna) towards which the eyes of the two dukes are eternally turned. The other figurative allegories (of the rivers) will remain unresolved, as will the bronze bas-reliefs and the frescoes that would probably decorate the lunettes.[V-C. 56]​[111]​.

Annex: artists of the Florentine Renaissance

Chronology of painters of the Florentine Renaissance:.

Chronology of architects of the Florentine Renaissance:.

Chronology of sculptors of the Florentine Renaissance:.

• - This work contains a translation derived from «Renaissance florentine dans les arts figuratifs» from Wikipedia in French, specifically from this version, published by its editors under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

• - This work contains a translation derived from “Rinascimento fiorentino” from Italian Wikipedia, specifically this version, published by its editors under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

After the economic and social crisis of the second half of the century caused by bank failures, the Black Death, famine and civil wars that culminated in the Ciompi revolt of 1378,[4] an economic recovery began in Florence. The population began to grow and under the initiative of the bourgeois oligarchy, public projects were restarted. In the Duomo, in 1391, the construction of the Mandorla gate began, on the north side.[5]​ In 1404, the Arti") decorated the exterior niches of the Orsanmichele church.[6]​.

However, the recovery was threatened by the Milanese duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who laid siege to Florence in an attempt to create a national state in Italy under the rule of Milan. However, the Florentines were eager to maintain their independence, drawing on a strong civic pride that appealed to the historical motto of Libertas.[7] With the sudden death of Visconti in 1402, military control over the city was loosened. Economic recovery resumed and Florence conquered Pisa in 1406 and the port of Livorno in 1421.[8]​.

In 1424, Florence suffered a defeat against the Visconti and Lucca.[9]​ The weight of the war and the cost of completing the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore made new taxa necessary.[10]​[11]​ Thus, in 1427, the Signoria imposed the catasto, the first attempt at fiscal equity in modern history, which taxed families based on estimates of their wealth, determining for the first time where it was actually concentrated. the money, that is, in the hands of those families of merchants and bankers who also dominated political activity.[12]​[10]​[11]​.

Perhaps it was at this time, during the 1430s, that a banker like Cosimo de' Medici (the Elder) realized that greater direct control over politics was necessary to protect his interests. Despite his well-known prudence, he began a gradual rise to power, which never saw him as a direct protagonist, but always in the background behind men whom he closely trusted. However, he soon came into conflict with the other powerful families of the city, first of all the Albizzi and the Strozzi), and that became his misfortune and he was forced to go into exile. He expelled his enemies[15] It was the first triumph of the Medici, who from that moment took power and maintained it for three centuries.[To.

In 1439 Cosimo fulfilled his dream of founding a "new Rome" in Florence by moving the council that was being held at that time in Ferrara (Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence) to the city due to the plague. If this council intended to resolve the problem of the Eastern schism, its concrete result was very little visible.[16]​.

The time of Lorenzo de' Medici (in power from 1469 to 1492), after a critical beginning with the Pazzi conspiracy,[17]​ was a period of peace, prosperity and great cultural achievements for the city, which became one of the most refined towns in Italy.[18]​ Florence became an influential center that exported its art and knowledge to other courts in Italy and Europe sending its artists and scholars as ambascerie culturali (“cultural embassies”). In Rome, a group of Florentine artists, including Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio and El Perugino, would carry out the first decoration of the Sistine Chapel.[19]​.

After Lorenzo's death, a time of crisis and rethinking began, dominated by the figure of the Ferrarese Dominican friar Jerónimo Savonarola, who after the expulsion of Pedro II de' Medici had the Republic reinstated and created a state of theocratic inspiration. His proclamations from the pulpit of the Basilica of Saint Mark&action=edit&redlink=1 "Basilica of Saint Mark (Florence) (not yet written)") profoundly influenced Florentine society which, frightened by the political crisis that the Italian peninsula was going through, turned towards a more austere and superstitious religion, in contrast to the humanist ideals inspired by the classical world that had crossed the preceding period. Many artists, such as Botticelli and the young Michelangelo, influenced by Savonarola, abandoned creations of "secular inspiration", sometimes destroying, like Fra Bartolomeo and Botticelli, previous productions, burned in the bonfire of the vanities.[To. 1]​.

The confrontation between Savonarola and Pope Alexander VI Borgia put an end to the influence of the monk, who was condemned as a heretic and burned in the Piazza della Signoria in 1498. Since then the political and social situation became even more confused, with the departure of numerous artists from the city.[To. 1]​

Meanwhile, Lorenzo the Magnificent's son, John, had become cardinal and by force of intimidation of the population (with the terrible sack of Prato in 1512) received the keys to the city. Having ascended to the papal throne under the name of Leo X (1513), he ruled the restless city from Rome through some members of his family. [20]​.

In 1527, the Sack of Rome was the cause of a new rebellion. The Siege of Florence "Siege of Florence (1529-1530)")[21]​ of 1529-1530 put an end to the Florentine Republic, which became a duchy under Cosimo I of Tuscany, who became grand duke after the conquest of Siena, making Florence the capital of a regional state of Tuscany.[22]​.

The Medici were bankers rather than soldiers raised on chivalric ideals, and many of their orders were more deliberately aristocratic than those of their princely counterparts. Much of the knowledge that helped give Florentine art its distinctive form, such as practical mathematics, letters, and numbers, was a product of Florence's mercantile ethic. The corporations representing these interests, from silk and wool merchants to stonemasons and wood carvers, commissioned most public works in the first decades of the century, subjecting them to rigorous control. As princes, they competed for prestige with each other, along with wealthy Florentine businessmen who built increasingly elaborate palaces and private chapels.[23]

The cultural and scientific renewal began in the last decades of the century and the beginning of the century in Florence and had its roots in the rediscovery of the classics, initiated already in the century by Francesco Petrarca and other scholars. In his works, man began to be the central theme more than God (Petrarch's Canzoniere and Boccaccio's Decameron were clear examples of this).

At the beginning of the century, the city's artists were between two main options: adherence to the customs of international Gothic or a more rigorous recovery of classical customs, which had always had an echo in Florentine art since the 19th century. Each artist dedicated himself, more or less consciously, to one of the two paths, although the second one prevailed. However, it would be wrong to imagine a triumphant advance of the Renaissance language against a sclerotic and dying culture, as established by some already obsolete historiography: late Gothic was a language as alive as ever, which in some countries was appreciated well beyond the century, and the new Florentine proposal was at first only a clear minority alternative, unheard of and misunderstood for at least twenty years in Florence itself, as demonstrated for example by the success in those years of artists such as Gentile da Fabriano or Lorenzo Ghiberti.[V-C. 1]​.

The "renaissance" managed to have an extraordinarily wide diffusion and continuity, from which a new perception of man and the world arose, where the individual was only capable of self-determination and cultivating his own talents, with which he could overcome Fortune (in the Latin sense, "luck") and dominate nature by modifying it. Community life was also important, which then acquired a particularly positive value linked to dialectics, the exchange of opinions and information and comparison.

This new concept spread with enthusiasm, but, relying on the strength of individuals, it was not free of hard and distressing aspects, unknown in the reassuring medieval system. The certainties of the Ptolemaic world were replaced by the uncertainties of the unknown, faith in Providence was replaced by the more fickle Fortune and the responsibility of self-determination carried the anguish of doubt, of error, of failure. This inconvenience, more painful and terrifying, was repeated every time the fragile economic, social and political balance failed, eliminating support for the ideals.[V-C. 2]​

The new subjects were, however, the inheritance of a limited elite, who enjoyed an education designed for a future in public office. The ideals of the humanists, however, were shared by the majority of commercial and artisanal bourgeois society, especially because they were effectively reflected in daily life, in the name of pragmatism, individualism, competitiveness, the legitimation of wealth and the exaltation of active life.[V-C. 2] Artists also shared these values, although they did not have an education that could compete with that of men of letters; Despite this, thanks also to the appropriate collaborations and the great technical skills learned in the field, his works aroused great interest at all levels, eliminating elitist differences, since they were more easily accessible than literature, still written rigorously in Latin.[V-C. 2]​.

There were at least three essential elements of the new style:[V-C. 1][24].

• - Formulation of the rules of the centric linear perspective, which organized space as a unit;

• - Attention to man as an individual, both in his physiognomy and in his anatomy and in the representation of emotions;.

• - Repudiation of decorative elements and return to essentiality.

Of these characteristics, the most important was undoubtedly the centered monofocal perspective, built according to a mathematical-geometric and measurable method, developed at the beginning of the century by Filippo Brunelleschi.[25]​[24]​ The ease of application, which did not require particularly sophisticated geometric knowledge, was one of the key factors in the success of the method, which was adopted by workshops with a certain elasticity and in ways that were not always orthodox.

The focused single-focal perspective was only one of the ways of representing reality, but its character was especially adapted to the mentality of Renaissance man, since it gave rise to a rational order of space, according to criteria established by the artists themselves. If, on the one hand, the presence of mathematical rules made perspective an objective matter, on the other, the choices that determined those rules were of a perfectly subjective nature, such as the position of the vanishing point, the distance from the viewer or the height of the horizon.[26]​[24][27][28]​ Ultimately, Renaissance perspective was nothing more than a representational convention, which today is so ingrained that it seems natural, even if some movements of the century, such as Cubism, have shown which is just an illusion.

The Florentine Romanesque was already characterized by a serene geometric harmony reminiscent of ancient works, as in the Baptistery of San Giovanni "Baptistery of Saint John (Florence)") (perhaps from the 10th century) or in San Miniato al Monte (from 1013 to the 19th century). At the end of the century, in the middle of the Gothic period, buildings with semicircular arches were built, such as the Loggia della Signoria or the Loggia del Bigallo"). Even in painting, the city remained substantially outside of Gothic suggestions, which were well developed in the nearby school of Siena, for example. Giotto had established a synthetic and monumental style at the beginning of the century, which was maintained with few evolutions by his numerous followers until the end of the century. [V-C. 3]​.

At the dawn of the century, while Europe and part of Italy were dominated by the painting of the international Gothic style, an artistic debate was developing in Florence that focused on two possible opposing currents: one linked to the acceptance, never full until then, of the sinuous and linear elegance of the Gothic, although filtered by local tradition, and again to a more rigorous recovery of the mode of the Ancients, reinforcing once again the never forgotten link with the Roman origins of Florentia[V-C. 3]​[27]​[24]​.

These two tendencies are visible in the work of the Mandorla door (1391), where, along with the spirals and Gothic ornaments, figures solidly modeled in the ancient style appear in the chambranas (mouldings of the openings).[V-C. 3]​.

But it was above all the competition for the north door of the Baptistery of Florence), called by the Arte di Calimala in 1401, organized to choose the artist who would carry it out, that further highlighted these two trends. The specifications provided for the creation of a formalla, a bas-relief representing the Sacrifice of Isaac. In that competition participated, among others, Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, whose finalist panels have been preserved.[V-C. 3]​.

In Ghiberti's panel the figures were modeled in an elegant style composed of echoes of the Hellenistic style, with the abandonment of physical beauty, of perfection, without expression or implication; On the other hand, Brunelleschi's was inspired by the ancient style in the manner of Giovanni Pisano, a pyramid-shaped scene, which drew attention to the intersection of the perpendicular lines of the hands of Abraham, the Angel, and the body of Isaac, the central point of the scene, according to a less elegant but more disturbing expressiveness. [V-C. 3]​.

The contest was won by a narrow victory for Ghiberti, which testified that the time had not yet come for the change proposed by Brunelleschi.[V-C. 3]​.

• - The Sacrifice of Isaac, Ghiberti (1401), Museo del Bargello.

• - The Sacrifice of Isaac, Brunelleschi (1401), Museo del Bargello.

Contenido

La primera fase del Renacimiento que se desarrolló en las décadas de 1430 y 1440 fue un período de experimentación, caracterizado por un enfoque técnico y práctico en el que los artistas locales adoptaron las innovaciones y los avances.

La primera disciplina que desarrolló ese nuevo lenguaje artístico fue la escultura. La presencia de obras antiguas en el lugar facilitó ese crecimiento. Ya durante los años 1410-1420, el escultor Donatello (1386-1466) desarrolló un estilo original inspirado en la Antigüedad,[29]​[24]​ seguido de una arquitectura dominada por la figura de Filippo Brunelleschi.[30]​ A esta época se remontan las primeras obras del nuevo Ospedale degli Innocenti (1417-1436) y de la Sacristía Vieja de la basílica de San Lorenzo#Sacristía_Vieja "Basílica de San Lorenzo (Florencia)") (1419-1422), ambas diseñadas por Brunelleschi. Finalmente, la pintura estuvo dominada por Masaccio, activo de 1422 a 1428.[31]​[27]​[24]​.

Las mejores creaciones procedieron de concursos entre artistas a los que se pedía trabajar «cara a cara» sobre temas idénticos o similares, como los crucifijos de Brunelleschi y Donatello, las cantorías de la catedral de Donatello y Luca della Robbia y las historias pintadas al fresco de la capilla Brancacci de Masaccio, Masolino y Filippino Lippi[32]​.

Sculpture

Brunelleschi and Donatello were two artists who quickly assimilated the concepts of the new artistic language. Brunelleschi was about ten years older and was probably the guide and pioneer of his younger colleague with whom he traveled to Rome in 1409, where they studied ancient works and sought to discover the techniques that made such creations possible. Despite their convergence of thought, the difference in temperament and sensitivity means that their artistic works present very different characteristics.[To. 2]​[To. 3]​

An example of this was the comparison of two wooden crucifixes, at the center of an anecdote told by Giorgio Vasari, who sees Brunelleschi's criticism of Donatello's Crucifix of the Holy Cross and his response to the Crucifix of Santa Maria Novella that left his colleague stupefied. In reality, it seems that the two works were not made in the same period and the interval would be about ten years, but nevertheless the anecdote remains eloquent.[33]​.

Donatello's Crucifix "Crucifix of the Holy Cross (Donatello)") (c.1406-1408) focuses on human suffering, favoring aesthetics: muscular contractions emphasize the moment of agony and the body is heavy and graceless but gives off vigorous energy.[V-C. 4]​

Brunelleschi's Crucifix (c. 1410-1415), on the other hand, is more idealized and calibrated, the perfection of the forms echoing the divine perfection of the subject.[V-C. 4]​.

The proportions are carefully studied: the span of the open arms is equal to the height of the figure,[34]​ the bridge of the nose points towards the center of gravity of the navel, recalling the typology of Giotto's crucifix"), but with a slight twist to the left, thus creating various "points of view", generating space around it, inviting the viewer to take a semicircular route around the figure.[V-C. 4]​.

According to art historian Luciano Bellosi"), Brunelleschi's Crucifix would be "the first work of Renaissance style in the history of art" and a point of reference for the later developments of Donatello, Nanni di Banco and Masaccio.[35]​.

• - Donatello Crucifix "Crucifix of the Holy Cross (Donatello)") (v. 1406-1408), Basilica of the Holy Cross (Florence) "Basilica of the Holy Cross (Florence)").

• - Crucifix by Brunelleschi (v. 1410-1415), Basilica of Santa María Novella.

In 1406, the Arti") were in charge of decorating the exterior niches of the Orsanmichele church with statues of their patron saints.[36]​ The work was added to that of the cathedral of Santa María del Fiore, which at the time was carried out in a style close to that of Lorenzo Ghiberti, which mixed Gothic elements with ancient elements accompanied by natural and flexible movements, leaving a moderate margin for experimentation.[To. 4]​.

It was in that environment where the slightly younger Florentine artists Donatello and Nanni di Banco (1390-1421) were trained. A collaboration of both artists was established and between 1411 and 1417 both worked in Orsanmichele, which allows their main works to be compared with their own characteristics.[To. 4]​.

Both artists refute Gothic concepts and draw more inspiration from ancient art. They freely place the figures in space, amplifying the plastic force and the physiognomic representation.[To. 4]​.

However, Nanni di Banco reproduced imperial Roman portraits in Four Crowned Saints&action=edit&redlink=1 "Four Crowned Saints (Nanni di Banco) (not yet written)") (1411-1414). Donatello created a "restricted" but energetic and lively figure, as if he would jump from one moment to the next in Saint George "Saint George (Donatello)") (1415-1417), commissioned by the armor makers. This effect was achieved thanks to the geometric and compact shapes that made up the statue. The triangle formed by the legs extended "like a compass", by the ovals of the shield and the cuirass, by the slight lateral deviation of the head in the opposite direction to that of the body, by the detail of the tendons of the neck, by the furrowed eyebrows and by the contrast of deep eyes.[37]​.

In the bas-relief Saint George Saves the Princess "Saint George Saves the Princess (Donatello)") (1416-1417), at the foot of the tabernacle housing Saint George, Donatello sculpted one of the earliest examples of stiacciato (flattened relief) and one of the oldest representations of perspective linéaire centrale.[V-C. 5]​.

Unlike Brunelleschi, whose perspective was a means to fix spatiality a posteriori, Donatello placed the vanishing point behind the characters to highlight the center of the action, creating a contrast effect, as if space were evident behind the characters.[38]​.

• - Nanni di Banco, Four crowned saints&action=edit&redlink=1 "Four crowned saints (Nanni di Banco) (not yet written)") (1411-1414).

• - Donatello, Saint George "Saint George (Donatello)") (1415-1417).

• - Saint George saves the princess "Saint George saves the princess (Donatello)") (1416-1417).

During the 1430s, the creation of the two cantorias for the Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore marked the passing of the baton between the two artistic styles. In 1431 a cantoria was commissioned from Luca della Robbia and in 1433 a second of the same dimensions from Donatello.[39]​[40]​.

Luca della Robbia, then about thirty years old, sculpted a classical tribuna des chantres of six panels, with another four located in the spaces between the corbels. The bas-reliefs describe Psalm 150, the text of which is inscribed in capital letters on the bands, above, below and on the corbels. The groups of sculpted young people who sing, dance and play have the classic orderly beauty that, encouraged by their natural position, expresses feelings in a calm and serene manner.[39]​.

Donatello, who was returning from a second trip to Rome (1430-1432), was inspired by early Christian and Romanesque works, creating a continuous frieze articulated by small columns behind which putti dance frantically on a background decorated with mosaics. The construction with small columns in the foreground creates a kind of scene delimited by the frieze that runs from diagonal lines that contrast with the straight and perpendicular lines of the architecture of the cantoria. The movement is accentuated by the colors of the gold-backed tesserae that embed the background and all the architectural elements.[39]​ The result is an exaltation of movement and expression that becomes the characteristic of Donatello's style that the artist brought to Padua in 1443.[41]​.

• - Cantoria de Luca della Robbia") (1431-1438), Museo dell'Opera del Duomo "Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Florence)"), Florence.

• - Cantoria de Donatello") (1433-1438), Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence.

Architecture

Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) was one of the most prominent figures of the early Florentine Renaissance. Initially active as a sculptor, he dedicated himself to architecture from the first decade of the century, taking advantage of his trips to Rome to perfect his observations on the architecture of ancient monuments, in order to find out the practical rules for their construction. He was first hired by the Florentine Republic to carry out military works, such as the fortifications of Staggia")[42]​ and Vicopisano"),[43]​ to then focus on the problem of the dome of Santa María del Fiore.[To. 5]​.

In his architectural work he addressed technical-structural issues, strictly associating them with the stylistic characteristics of the forms. He used gray serena stone, for example, for the architectural frames that contrasted with the light covering of the walls.

He used classical elements inspired by architectural orders, focusing only on a few modules associated with various ways to avoid repetition, opposing the thousand facets of Gothic architecture. The clarity of its architecture is the result of a precise harmonious union of the different parts of the building, which does not come from geometric shapes, but arises from the simple and intuitive repetition of the basic measurement, often the ten Florentine braccias "Fathom (unit)"), of which the multiples and submultiples generate all the useful dimensions.[44] The Ospedale degli Innocenti (1419-1428), for example, has a portico with semicircular arches supported by columns that form nine sections with a square floor plan. The base module is the length of the column that determines both the span "Light (architecture)") and the depth. In this way, the space appears clear and measurable to the naked eye, according to a harmonious rhythm that is enhanced with some decorative elements.[44]​.

In 1421, Brunelleschi created, for the Basilica of San Lorenzo "Basilica of San Lorenzo (Florence)"), the noble chapel called Sagrestia Vecchia#Old_Sacristy "Basilica of San Lorenzo (Florence)"), before the construction by Michelangelo, in 1521, of the Sagrestia Nuova#New_Sacristy "Basilica of San Lorenzo (Florence)"). It was the first Renaissance building with a centralized plan: a cube crowned by a hemispherical dome with a figurative sky whose vaults rest on pendentives.[45]​.

In 1425 he undertook the reconstruction of the church of San Lorenzo, adopting a basilica plan with three naves.[45]​.

• - The Ospedale degli Innocenti (1419-1427) in the Piazza Santissima Annunziata, a work by Brunelleschi completed by others.

• - Interior nave of the Basilica of San Lorenzo "Basilica di San Lorenzo (Florence)") (ca. 1421-1428).

• - Basilica del Santo Spirito (completed by others).

But the work that involved all his ingenuity and that contained the seeds of many of the later projects, was the construction of the grandiose dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, Duomo in Florence.[27]​[24]​ a work started by Giotto's successors and of which he took the reins.[24]​ Described by Brunelleschi's biographers[46]​ as a kind of modern myth that had the great architect as the only protagonist, with his genius, his tenacity and his trust in reason, which testified to his architectural knowledge, due to the dimensions, the techniques used and the quality of the work carried out,[47]​ in which he put into play his conception of an open space and "decomposed in a rational way."[24]​ Brunelleschi had to overcome the perplexities, criticisms and uncertainties of the Cathedral workers and made an effort to give explanations, make models and write reports on his project, which consisted of the construction of a double-shell dome with a passage in the cavity and which could be built without armor but with self-supporting scaffolding. Brunelleschi used a pointed arch shape for the dome, "more magnificent and bulky", forced by practical and aesthetic needs: in fact the dimensions did not allow the use of a hemispherical shape, and a double shell, that is, two domes, one internal and one external, each one divided vertically into eight sectors or panels. Furthermore, the greater development in height of the pointed arch compensated in height for the exceptional horizontal development of the nave, unifying all the spaces of the dome. A similar effect is perceived from the interior, where the gigantic space of the dome centralizes the spaces of the radial chapels, directing the gaze towards the ideal vanishing point in the oculus of the lantern.[V-C. 6]​.

Paint

The third father of the Renaissance revolution was Masaccio (1401-1428), whose activity was concentrated during a short period of time, from 1422 until his death in Rome in 1428. In 1417 he was present in Florence where he met Brunelleschi and Donatello and, based on his conquests (spatial clarity and plastic strength), he began a rereading of Giotto's work, as he already showed in his first known work, the Triptych of Saint Juvenal (1422) (1422). He set up a workshop in collaboration with Masolino da Panicale but was certainly not his student, as demonstrated by the completely different starting points of his painting. Later both influenced each other as demonstrated by their first studio work Sant'Anna Metterza") exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery.[48] Here Masolino already appears devoid of those linear suggestions of the late Gothic of previous works such as the Virgin of Humility&action=edit&redlink=1 "Virgin of Humility (Masolino or Pesello) (not yet written)"), while Masaccio already He has developed a way of painting that creates solid figures, with a nuance that makes them look like sculptures placed coherently in the pictorial space.[V-C 7]​.

This force in the construction of the characters and their situation in space, which enhanced their human individuality and their emotional intensity, expressions and postures, was further developed in the Pisa Polyptych&action=edit&redlink=1 "Polyptych of Pisa (Masaccio) (not yet written)"), begun in 1426 and today dismembered among several museums, and in the frescoes of the Brancacci chapel begun in 1424 in collaboration with Masolino, continued only by Massaccio from 1426 to 1427 and completed by Filippino Lippi in 1481 and 1482. The work is considered capital for the renewal of painting and has been studied by generations of painters, including Michelangelo.[V-C. 8]​.

The spatial composition was already revolutionary: all the decoration was framed in a unitary architectural cage, with painted pilasters and a toothed frame that separates the scenes, often with the landscape continuing between one and the other; the point of view is unique and designed for a hypothetical viewer located in the center of the chapel, particularly evident in the facing scenes or in the scenes on the sides of the mullioned window on the back wall; The light is generally unified, as if it emerged naturally from the chapel's window, and a unique, clear and bright chromatic range is used. Naturally, between the two hands (not to mention the completion carried out by Filippino Lippi around 1481), there are differences, even substantial ones. Masolino, despite his efforts to create anatomically correct figures well calibrated in space, established relationships between the characters based on rhythm, with generic faces and empty expressions. Masaccio instead used a more violent lighting ((Cacciata dei progenitori") [The expulsion of the progenitors]), which models the bodies and fills them with expressiveness, through essential but very eloquent gestures. His figures give off a dynamism and a human depth unknown to Masolino. The cultured quotes (such as Eve's pose that is reminiscent of a modest Venus) are transfigured by a severe scrutiny of the natural, which makes them alive and fleshy, not academically archaeological: his contemporaries already praised his art as "the excellent imitator of nature", rather than the resurrector of ancient art.[V-C 9]​.

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The innovators of Florentine art achieved great esteem and influenced artistic production. The managers, for their part, were in favor of less radical changes. The best example is that of the rich humanist merchant Palla Strozzi, who entrusted the creation of the altarpiece in the chapel of the Basilica of Santa Trinita "Church of the Holy Trinity (Florence)") to Gentile da Fabriano, who in 1425 completed the Adoration of the Magi "Adoration of the Magi (Gentile da Fabriano)"), still very much imbued with the international Gothic style. The work includes several scenes placed side by side where the gaze is lost in an endless number of small details and anecdotal scenes according to an organization faithful to the Byzantine literary model Ekphrasis, that is, the description, the interpretation of the works of art accessible in Florence since 1415.[V-C. 12].

The "counter" artists such as Lorenzo Monaco or refined personalities whose style was halfway between the Gothic style and the "old-fashioned" novelty such as Lorenzo Ghiberti continue to be popular.[V-C. 12].

The framework that emerged was that of a separation of radical and innovative artistic positions from those of the humanist world that during the first decades marginalized the group of innovators who remained misunderstood. The "old" model that was appreciated by humanists offered eclectic, sometimes opposing points. Artists could be inspired by this heritage, choosing what best responded to the taste and mentality of the moment.[V-C. 12].

Alberti's theorization

León Battista Alberti (1404-1472) settled in Florence in 1434, when the figurative revolution was coming to an end. Starting in 1435, the innovative fervor gave way to the theorization of experimentation and the main actor in this process was the Genoese Alberti, who sought to give a scientific foundation to the work of art.[54]​[24]​ He began to evaluate the results obtained, attenuating the differences between artists in favor of an overall vision that had the "renaissance" as a common denominator.[54]​.

In the treatise De pictura, he inscribed Brunelleschi, Donatello, Ghiberti, Luca della Robbia and Masaccio in the dedication.[V-C. 11]​

Alberti sought the objective foundations and the philosophical path that allowed the emergence of the Renaissance, confronting technical and aesthetic issues. He dedicated three treatises to the three "major arts": De pictura in 1436, De re aedificatoria in 1454 and De statua") in 1462.[54]​ His writings served as a basis for the training of subsequent generations by facilitating the dissemination of the precepts of the Renaissance and the transformation of the artist from being a "medieval craftsman" to a "modern intellectual." [V-C. 11].

Intermediate artists

The next phase took place around the 1450s with a more intellectual codification of earlier innovations. During those years, the political situation of the peninsula was stabilized with the Peace of Lodi (1454) which divided the territory into five large states. In the cities, the political class decided, putting dominant figures in power. Princely families, at the head of city-states, competed to produce the most beautiful objects to express their power. The bourgeoisie, less active, invested in agriculture and behaved like the old aristocracy, far from the ideals of sobriety, stubbornly displaying their wealth. The figurative language of those years was cultivated, ornamented and flexible.[V-C. 13].

Previously an anonymous craftsman, now the artist becomes an important person in society. The great creators were humanists, who knew ancient culture and, often, mathematics.[28] Curious minds, they affirmed their identity in their work. Thus, unlike the works of the Middle Ages, the creations of the moment were usually signed and dated.[55]​.

Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455), Masolino and Michelozzo continued the modern tradition, updating it according to the novelties of the precepts of humanist culture and perspective.[24]​[28]​ After the construction of the north door of the Baptistery of Saint John in Florence "Baptistery of Saint John (Florence)"),[56]​ whose characteristics were similar to those of the south door that had been built in the century XIV in Gothic style by Andrea Pisano, Ghiberti received in 1425 a commission for a new door,[57]​ completed in 1452, today located in the East, which Michelangelo will call the Gate of Paradise.[58]​ This work is emblematic of Ghiberti's "mediator" position.

Indeed, in this execution, the artist shows his freedom of composition and uses perspective and an increasingly less accentuated relief, to arrange a large number of characters in various planes.[59]​The art historian Henri Focillon, in his work on l'Art d'occident, described the door in these terms:.

Masolino da Panicale (1383-1440) was an artist who navigated between the International Gothic and the Renaissance styles. In his works created after the end of his collaboration with Masaccio, he developed a style that was easy to assimilate in places where Gothic culture still predominated, such as in Siena, where Vecchietta was his student and collaborator, or in northern Italy with the frescoes of Castiglione Olona.[60]​.

This cycle of frescoes represents one of the greatest testimonies of the transition from the Gothic to the Renaissance style.[61]​.

Michelozzo (1396-1472), Florentine, was a sculptor and architect, a great connoisseur of Ghiberti, Donatello and Brunelleschi with whom he collaborated. Connoisseur of the Gothic tradition, he uses the new concepts of the Renaissance to purify and enrich the ancient tradition. Cosimo de' Medici was the patron of his most important works, including the construction of his own palace and the restructuring of the former Dominican convent and the library of the convent of Saint Mark "Convent of Saint Mark (Florence)").[62]

La generación siguiente de artistas continuó difundiendo la nueva manera, influenciados en su orientación por el clima social y político, así como por las nuevas demandas de los clientes.

The arts under Cosimo de' Medici

With the return from exile in 1434 of Cosimo de' Medici (r. 1434-1464), the Florentine Republic remained, but gradually saw Cosimo establish his power de facto through a subtle strategy of alliances that allowed control of decision-making bodies by his trusted men, while remaining personally distant. of the city government. The patronage of the Medici began with him, his behavior being similar to the Ciceronian Stoic model that sought the common good, moderation, refuting personal prestige and the display of wealth. From these principles, he commissioned important works and works, had Fra Angelico paint the frescoes of the convent of San Marco "Convent of San Marco (Florence)") and modernized the Medici palace.[V-C. 16]​ He became very interested in art and science and all of Florence followed his example.[To. 1]​.

Private works had different characteristics like Donatello's David "David (Donatello)"), satisfying the demands of a cultivated environment. Its heroic nudity was revolutionary at the time and counteracted the androgynous character of the sculpture. Thus, according to Giorgio Vasari,.

Cosimo conceived the idea of ​​resurrecting "a kind of Academy": in 1459 he founded the Florentine Platonic Academy,[N 3]​[68]​ which ratified the intellectual trends and currents of culture by developing humanist disciplines.[N 4]​[V-C. 17]​[68]​[69]​.

The arts under Peter I de' Medici

Under Peter de' Medici, son of Cosimo, the taste for the "intellectual" was accentuated and public works were oriented towards the collection of precious and often small objects, sought more for their intrinsic value than for their rarity, thus demonstrating social prestige.[V-C. 17] Peter ruled Florence for five years (r. 1464-1469) and resumed the refined fashions of the aristocratic courts, being, by emulation, imitated by the urban aristocracy.[To. 1]​.

The emblematic work of his time was the set of frescoes that cover the walls of the chapel of the Magi by Benozzo Gozzoli, the private chapel of the Medici palace") (1459), decorated on his initiative. In the lavish procession of the Magi the members of the Medici family and their supporters appear transported in the sacred episode in which the myth becomes a pretext to represent the sparkling bourgeois society of the time.[V-C. 17].

Peter de' Medici was a pious man. In 1448, he had Michelozzo build the Tabernacle of the Crucifix in San Miniato al Monte. Around 1450, he entrusted Michelozzo and Luca della Robbia with the creation of his study, which was destroyed in 1659. He was also a great bibliophile: Filarete says that he looked at his books "as if they were a pile of gold."[70] He was also a scholar, like his father, protector of Marsilio Ficino.[To. 1]​.

Sculptors were often inspired by the principle of Copia et Varietas theorized by Alberti, that is, the reproduction of analogous models with slight modifications and refinements to satisfy the taste through a fashionable effect of the donors. In this area, the evolution of funerary monuments was exemplary, starting from the funerary monument of Leonardo Bruni made by Bernardo Rossellino (1446-1450), passing through that of Carlo Marsuppini") by Desiderio da Settignano (1450-1450) to that of Peter and Giovanni de' Medici by Andrea del Verrocchio (1469-1472). In these works, starting from the model common arcosolium, increasingly refined and precious results were reached.[V-C 17]​.

• - Florentine funerary monuments.

• - Funerary monument of Carlo Marsuppini (1453-1455) in Santa Croce, work of Desiderio da Settignano.

• - Funerary monument of Leonardo Bruni (1446-1450) in Santa Croce, work of Bernardo Rossellino.

• - Tombs of Giovanni and Peter de' Medici (1469-1472) in the Basilica of San Lorenzo "Basilica of San Lorenzo (Florence)"), work of Andrea del Verrocchio.

• - Tomb of the Cardinal of Portugal, in San Miniato al Monte, work of Antonio and Bernardo Rossellino.

One of the most significant works of this period was the chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal in San Miniato al Monte, a celebration of James of Portugal, who died in Florence in 1458, and his royal household. The chapel is an example of the typical Florentine taste of the mid-15th century characterized by the diversity of materials and techniques, methods of expression and cultural references. The whole contributes to the creation of an elegant and finely staged effect. The architecture is in the shape of a Greek cross, each arm carrying a decoration different. The whole is unified by a continuous frieze with the arms of the royalty of Portugal and by the use of porphyry and serpentine cladding. All surfaces are decorated, from the pavement in cosmates to the cloister vault with an invetriated terracotta by Luca della Robbia.[V-C 18]​.

The summum is located on the eastern side, where the cardinal's tomb sculpted by Antonio and Bernardo Rossellino is located. The theatrical space is completed with a curtain supported on each side of the large arch by two painted angels. Each decoration contributes to the staging of the cardinal's "triumph from beyond."[V-C. 18]​ The general style is characterized by the richness of the figures and their flexible attitude that create an elegant animation, never before experienced.[V-C. 18]​ The modeling of the sculptures is very delicate, creating illusionistic effects, far from the rational investigation that had animated the Renaissance artists of the first generation. The bas-relief of the sub-basement collects one of the oldest testimonies of ancient myths reused in Neoplatonic and Christian doctrine: the theme of bullfighting of Mithraist descent"), a symbol of resurrection and moral strength, the charioteer on the chariot (Neoplatonic symbol of the thought that guides the soul and dominates the passions), the unicorns that face each other (symbol of virginity) and the geniuses&action=edit&redlink=1 "Genius (art) (not yet written)") sitting on leonine heads (symbol of strength).[71]​ In the center, above the garland, there is a skull surrounded on each side by a lily and a palm, symbols of the purity and immortality of the soul. The symbolic set alludes to the moral virtues of the young prelate, the victory over passions and asceticism. [V-C. 18].

The protagonists

Fra Angelico (1395-1455) was a Dominican friar from Mugello"), near Fiesole, not far from Florence. He learned the profession of painter first as an illuminator then creating religious frescoes in the different convents in which he resided and also panels. An example of this is Coronation of the Virgin "Coronation of the Virgin (Fra Angelico, Louvre)") (today in the Louvre Museum) with its predella, where the typically Gothic rhythms and symmetries are updated through a powerful spatial composition and by a lively color, rich in rehauts") —touches and shading of light pigments (gouache, chalk) that are used to highlight, that is, lighten in some parts, a work executed with dark pigments.— and in shadows that give volume and highlight the materials with sensitivity. His interest in the representation of luminous phenomena leads Fra Angelico towards his phase of maturity to abandon indistinct and generic lighting in favor of an attentive and rational interpretation of lights and shadows where each surface is associated with its specific luster.[V-C. 19].

In 1436, Fra Angelico was one of the Fiesole friars who moved to the newly built convent of San Marco in Florence. Thus he placed himself at the heart of the artistic life of the region, attracting the support of Cosimo de Medici, who had reserved a cell in the convent so he could "retreat from the world." According to Vasari - who attributes to him "a rare and perfect talent" - it was at the behest of Cosimo that Fra Angelico dedicated himself to the task of decorating the convent, which began in 1436 and lasted until the 1450s. This decoration was very important for the Florentine Renaissance, since it included the magnificent fresco in the Chapter House, the much reproduced Annunciation "Annunciation (Fr. Angelico, Florence)") at the top of the stairs that lead to the cells, the Maesta (or Coronation of the Virgin) with Saints (cell 9), and many other devotional frescoes, of smaller format but of notable luminous quality, that represent aspects of the Life of Christ that adorn the walls of each cell,[72]​ that show Saint Dominic who, with his attitude, would serve as an example of the behaviors to be assumed in each episode: meditation, compassion, humility, prostration, etc.[To. 6]​.

Among the frescoes created for the common areas of the convent, *The Madone of the Shadows") stands out for its originality. It is painted in the narrow hallway on the first floor illuminated, on the far left, by the light that enters through a small window. Even in the painting, Beato Angelico seeks to use that same source of lighting, with the shadow of the painted capitals cut in length on the plaster, while on the right, the saints have the reflection of the window in their eyes. [V-C. 19].

Fra Angelico was among Masaccio's first followers and, in his mature phase, played an important role in Florentine art. His culture of Dominican Thomist tradition encouraged him to consolidate the advances of the Renaissance, especially the use of perspective and realism with the values ​​of the medieval world as the didactic function of art. During the 1440s, his production evolved towards "light painting" influenced by Domenico Veneziano, with the rational use of light sources that order and unify all the elements of the scene.[To. 6]​.

The return of Donatello (1453-1466)

In 1453, when the Florentine Donatello (1386-1466) returned to his hometown after a ten-year stay in Padua, the gap that had been created between the artists of the first humanism and those of the new generation oriented towards a more varied and decorated artistic taste became evident. His moving Magdalena penitente&action=edit&redlink=1 "Magdalena penitente (Donatello) (not yet written)") (1453-1455), of crude realism and disfigured by asceticism and old age, could not be more antiquated compared to the Magdalena penitente&action=edit&redlink=1 "Magdalena penitente (Desiderio da Settignano) (not yet written)") contemporary of Desiderio da Settignano focused on naturalism and aesthetics.[V-C. 25]​

Donatello thus found himself isolated in Florence and received his last commission, the two pulpits for the Basilica of San Lorenzo "Basilica di San Lorenzo (Florence)"), thanks to the intervention of Cosimo de' Medici. In the Pulpit of the Passion (1460-1466), in scenes such as the Compianto e deposizione, the artist ignored the rules of perspective, order and harmony. It is difficult to distinguish the main characters among the mass of characters. The composition cuts parts of the scene, such as the thieves on the cross, of whom only the feet are visible, giving the sensation of an indeterminate space, amplifying with the imbalance the dramatic pathos of the scene.[V-C. 25].

• - Donatello : Magdalena penitente, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo "Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Florence)").

• - Desiderio da Settignano: Penitent Magdalene, Basilica of Santa Trinita "Church of the Holy Trinity (Florence)").

The artist and the bottle

The Quattrocento saw an important evolution in the image of the artist: from being a figure of the manual craftsman who produced "objects" to order, he evolved towards a more intellectual conception aspiring to be part of the arti liberali.[V-C. 26].

The writings on the theory of León Battista Alberti played a fundamental role. Already in De pictura, he drew the portrait of the cultivated, literate and technically skilled artist who dominated all phases of the work, from idealization to manual production. However, the portrait described by Alberti was idealized and will only be truly effective in the 18th century with the dichotomy between artist and craftsman and the distinction between major and minor Arts, which in the Quattrocento were still little known.[V-C. 26].

The basic cell of artistic production was the bottega (workshop), which is at the same time the place of production, commerce and training. The master's journey began precisely in the workshop where the apprentice entered from a very young age, between thirteen and fifteen years old, in practical contact with the foundations of the profession, starting with the most humble ones such as cleaning and organizing the tools, and then gradually participating in the creation and production of the works.[V-C. 26]​ The practice of drawing was essential regardless of the art chosen. Theoretical preparation was limited to a few fundamental notions of mathematics and geometry. Complex processes such as linear perspective were learned empirically, without knowledge of theoretical principles.[V-C. 26].

The botteghe were concerned at that time with two types of production:[V-C. 26].

• - works commissioned by contract where the characteristics of the object, the materials used, the execution time and the payment conditions were precisely detailed. The workshop used to have complete freedom in matters of composition and style.

• - common productions and marketing such as bridal chests, Desco dapartum (birth trays), votive images, furniture, which in most cases are produced without a specific order. Mass productions, such as Madonnas in stucco, raw or glazed terracotta, are made from moulds, tracings and matrices.

In this case, the products were usually copies of known original works. Even the most innovative pieces ended up entering the common catalog and, therefore, were reproduced. The motifs are taken up and revised, all disciplines are combined, and it was common to find the models indiscriminately in painting, sculpture, architecture and goldsmithing, such as the miniature reproduction of the lantern "Linterna (architecture)") of Santa Maria del Fiore d in the Croce del Tesoro di San Giovanni") in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo "Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Florence)") in Florence, as well as in reliquaries, candelabras and ostensories.[V-C 26]​.

El final del siglo XV vio una desaceleración en el proceso innovador, el gusto tomó formas más variadas en comparación con el rigor del comienzo.

En la escultura, Benedetto da Maiano (1442-1497), intérprete de la medida, entre idealización, naturalismo y virtuosismo, fue autor de una serie de bustos de líneas flexibles y ricos en detalles descriptivos. En la pintura, Domenico Ghirlandaio añadió una parte de sensibilidad y de realismo.[V-C. 27]​.

Hacia 1472, la Cronache de Benedetto Dei[78]​ enumeraba en Florencia más de cuarenta talleres de pintores, cuarenta y cuatro orfebres, más de cincuenta maestri intagliatori (escultores) y más de ochenta legnaiuoli di tarsie (ebanistas).[V-C. 28]​ Este gran número de talleres se explica por una importante demanda de trabajo tanto en Florencia como desde otros centros de la península. A partir de la década de 1480, los más grandes maestros florentinos fueron llamados al exterior para proyectos prestigiosos como la decoración de la capilla Sixtina y la creación por Verrocchio del Monumento ecuestre a Bartolomeo Colleoni (1480-1488) en Venecia.[V-C. 28]​.

Para los artistas de la «tercera generación», la perspectiva lineal ya estaba adquirida y la investigación se dirigía ahora hacia otros centros de interés, como los problemas dinámicos de las masas de figuras o la tensión de las líneas de contorno. Las figuras plásticas y aisladas, en perfecto equilibrio en un espacio mensurable e inmóvil, daban paso ahora a juegos continuos de formas en movimiento con una mayor tensión y una intensidad expresiva.[79]​.

La producción figurativa y la difusión de las ideas de la Academia neoplatonica, en particular gracias a los escritos de Marsilio Ficino, Cristoforo Landino y Pico della Mirandola, dio lugar, entre las diversas doctrinas, a las vinculadas a la búsqueda de la armonía y la belleza como medios para acceder a formas superiores de amor humano o divino y de felicidad. El intento de volver a poner la filosofía clásica en el orden del día en el ámbito de la religión cristiana permitió también una relectura de los mitos como vectores portadores de verdad y testigos de una armonía inaccesible. Se empezaron así a encargar escenas mitológicas a artistas, inscribiéndose en el ámbito de los temas privilegiados de las artes figurativas.[V-C. 27]​.

La relación de Lorenzo el Magnífico con las artes era diferente a la de su abuelo Cosme de Médici: favoreció la creación de obras públicas. Por un lado, para Lorenzo el Magnífico el arte tenía una importante función pública pero orientada hacia estados extranjeros, como embajador del prestigio cultural de Florencia, presentada como la «nueva Atenas». Para ello, favoreció una difusión literaria sistemática como la Raccolta aragonese") a Alfonso V de Aragón, sobre la poesía toscana a partir del Duecento, o la figurativa, enviando a los mejores artistas a las cortes italianas. Estas acciones promovieron el mito de la época laurenciana como una «época dorada», favorecida por el período de paz que logró mantener hasta su muerte, pero por otro lado, estas acciones también estuvieron en el origen del debilitamiento de la vivacidad artística en Florencia, favoreciendo el desarrollo de otros centros, en particular Roma, como centro de novedades.[V-C. 29]​.

Por otro parte, Lorenzo, a través de su mecenazgo, promovió el gusto por los objetos ricos en significado filosófico estableciendo una confrontación intensa y cotidiana con los artistas de su círculo vistos como luminarias creadoras de belleza.[V-C. 29]​ Esto determina un lenguaje precioso, sofisticado y erudito en el que los significados alegóricos mitológicos, filosóficos y literarios se vinculaban de una manera compleja, legible sólo para aquellas elites que poseían las claves interpretativas. Esta dificultad hace que hoy se escapen ciertos significados de obras emblemáticas. El arte se separaba de la vida pública y civil real centrándose en los ideales de escape de la existencia cotidiana tendiendo a la armonía y la serenidad.[V-C. 29]​.

La referencia al señor en las obras era frecuente, pero oculta tras alusiones. En Apolo y Dafne (1483), de Perugino, por ejemplo, Dafne es la versión griega del nombre Laurus (Lorenzo). Al igual que La educación de Pan") (hacia 1490) de Luca Signorelli aborda el tema de la encarnación del dios Pan "Pan (mitología)"), portador de la paz para la familia Médici, como en los versos recitados por los poetas de la corte.[V-C. 29]​.

The Medici Villa of Poggio a Caiano is among the most important achievements desired by Lorenzo de' Medici. This villa was commissioned around 1480 from Giuliano da Sangallo.[V-C. 29]​ Its piano nobile develops with terraces on all sides from a subbase surrounded by a loggia with a continuous arcade. The volume has a square plan on two floors with a large central hall whose height is the same as the two floors with a barrel vault instead of the traditional patio. The cover is provided by a simple roof, projecting on each side of the walls, without a cornice.[To. 7].

The façade presents a tympanum "Tympanum (architecture)") of the Ionic order that gives access to a vestibule covered with a barrel vault whose ceiling is coffered. Inside, the rooms are arranged symmetrically around the living room.[V-C. 30]​.[To. 7].

The villa is open to the garden thanks to the loggia that allows you to gradually go from inside to outside. This characteristic, associated with ancient techniques such as the barrel vault and elements of the Ionic order, makes the villa of Poggio a Caiano a model of private villa architecture that was exported to other cities in Veneto and Rome.[V-C. 30]​.

At that time, the most prestigious botteghe in Florence were those of Verrocchio and that of the Pollaiolo brothers, whose most recognized member was Antonio, active in sculpture, painting and the graphic arts.[80] He created for Lorenzo de' Medici the bronzetto") on the classic theme of *Hercules and Antaeus 1475), where the mythological motif is represented by a game of broken lines that intertwine, generating tensions of great violence.[81]​.

In his works, research on human anatomy allows him to obtain a realistic representation of movement, struggle and tension, resulting in clear and limpid forms, even in small details.[V-C. 31].

Its main feature is the strong and vibrant contour line that gives the figures a dynamic tension that looks like it could burst at any moment. This effect appears on the tablet of Hercules and Antaeus&action=edit&redlink=1 "Hercules and Antaeus (Antonio Pollaiolo, Offices) (not yet written)") in the Uffizi (around 1475), in the Dance of the Nudes"), a fresco from the Villa La Gallina") or the Combat of Naked Men") (1471-1472).[V-C. 31].

The Pollaiolo brothers were among the first to use an oil base both in the preparation of the wooden supports and in the creation of the colors, obtaining a shine reminiscent of that of Flemish works.[82][80]​.

The Florentine Andrea del Verrocchio (ca. 1435-1488), versatile artist, expert in drawing, goldsmithing, painting and sculpture, was inclined towards naturalism and ornamental richness.[V-C. 31]​ During the 1470s, he produced elegant works that little by little became monumental, such as David "David (Verrocchio)"), a theme addressed by other illustrious artists, to which he applied "courtly" canons, in the likeness of a young fugitive and daring, revealing new psychological expressions. The space that is occupied in a complex way requests several points of view from the viewer. The soft modeling, anatomical details and psychology of the figure probably influenced Leonardo da Vinci, a student of Verrocchio.[V-C. 31].

During the 1470s, Verrocchio's versatile workshop was one of the most sought after in Florence, it was the crucible where new talents such as Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Perugino, Lorenzo di Credi and Domenico Ghirlandaio were trained.[V-C. 28].

The Florentine Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) was strongly linked to the Medici court and its ideal of harmony and beauty.[V-C. 32]​ Already in his first dated work, the Fortress "Fortress (Botticelli)") (1470), he showed his skill in the refined use of color and chiaroscuro derived from the lesson of Filippo Lippi, his first teacher, but in it animated by greater solidity and monumentality, as in Verrocchio. with a linear tension learned from Antonio Pollaiolo. Botticelli's style was a particular result of all those influences with the figure appearing to be perched on the surface rather than sitting on the shortened throne, animated by a play of lines that dematerialize physicality. The fundamental characteristic of Botticelli's style is the drawing and obviousness of the contour line.[V-C. 32].

A la muerte del rey Fernando I de Nápoles en 1494, Carlos VIII de Francia tomó el título de rey de Nápoles y de Jerusalén y entró en Italia. Este fue el inicio de la primera guerra italiana (1494-1497). Los equilibrios que regían el frágil sistema político de la «signorie» italiana se vieron socavados, lo que llevó a una primera ola de inestabilidad. En Florencia, un levantamiento popular expulsó a Pedro II de Médicis, hijo de Lorenzo, estableciendo una nueva república guiada espiritualmente por el predicador Jerónimo Savonarola. En 1496, el monje condenó abiertamente las doctrinas neoplatónicas y humanistas, instando a realizar una vigorosa reforma de hábitos y costumbres en sentido ascético. Cayó la exaltación del hombre y de la belleza así como toda producción y colección del «arte profano», culminando con la hoguera de las vanidades. El 23 de mayo de 1497 Savonarola fue excomulgado por Alejandro VI y en 1498 el papa lo acusó de herejía, de profetismo, de sedición y de error religioso y fue quemado en la plaza el 23 de mayo de 1498. Esta ejecución reforzó la confusión espiritual y la crisis social que socavó para siempre el sistema de certeza humanista que fundó el primer Renacimiento.[V-C. 38]​

Estos trágicos acontecimientos tuvieron consecuencias en la producción artística tanto por las nuevas demandas de los clientes «llorones», seguidores de Savonarola, como por la crisis religiosa y la nueva orientación espiritual de ciertos artistas como Fra Bartolomeo, Miguel Ángel Buonarroti y Sandro Botticelli que, después de conocer a Savonarola, dejó de pintar desnudos femeninos.[88]​.

late Botticelli

Sandro Botticelli's last works were all characterized by religious fervor and reflected a reflection on the principles that had guided the artist's previous activity. The retreat towards modes from the beginning of the Quattrocento highlighted the abandonment of traditional figurative systems.[V-C. 32].

The turning point is clearly evident in the allegorical work of The Calumny of Apelles (1496). The work sought to recreate a lost painting by the Greek painter Apelles, which was created to defend himself against an unjust accusation and described by Lucian of Samosata. In a monumental lodge, a bad judge advised by Ignorance and Suspicion sits on the throne; In front of him is Resentment, the ragged man holding the arm of Slander, a beautiful woman, richly dressed, being groomed by Seduction and Deception. Slander drags the defenseless "slandered" to the ground with one hand and with the other she wields a flameless torch, a symbol of false knowledge. The old woman on the left is Remorse and the last female figure is Nuda Veritas, whose gaze turned to heaven indicates the only source of Justice. The dense decoration of the architectural elements and the frenzy of the characters accentuate the dramatic sense of the painting.[V-C. 38]​ The set recreates a kind of "court of history" whose accusation seems directed against the ancient world whose absence of justice, one of the fundamental values ​​of civil life, is bitterly noted.[89]​.

Examples of stylistic regression are the Altarpiece of Saint Mark (1488-1490), with an archaizing golden background, and the Mystical Nativity (1501), where spatial distances are confused, proportions dictated by chosen hierarchies, and expressive poses often accentuated that end up appearing unnatural.[V-C. 38].

• - Florentine works of the late Botticelli.

• - The Altarpiece of San Marcos (1488-1492).

• - The Calumny of Apelles (1496).

• - Mystical Nativity (1501).

Filippino Lippi

Filippino Lippi, son of Fra Filippo Lippi, was one of the first artists to express a feeling of discomfort in his style. Probably present in the Sistine Chapel alongside Botticelli, during his stay he enriched his repertoire of archaeological references, inspired by the desire to commemorate the ancient world.[V-C. 37].

Filippino Lippi was influenced by the Savonarola period and the debate between the two parties, one favorable to the monk (Piagnoni) and the other to the Medici (Palleschi). During those years, the choice fell to the party chosen by the sponsor. Thus, along with the extravagant productions intended for the aristocracy, there are also austere works resulting from the monk's preaching. Filippino Lippi worked for both parties. An intense mysticism can be read in the pair of panels of Saint John the Baptist "Saint John the Baptist (Filippino Lippi)") and Mary Magdalene "María Magdalena (Filippino Lippi)") preserved in the Gallery of the Academy in Florence.[90]​.

Filippino Lippi placed his characters in a landscape that recreated the ancient world in its smallest details, showing the influence of the "grotesque" style that he had seen during his trip to Rome. It was in the frescoes of the Carafa chapel in the Roman church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva where one can detect what. will become the characteristic of Filippino's style: Botticellian elegance and simplicity is complicated by the introduction of increasingly numerous details and fantastic architecture, "where it shows an astonishing archaeological splendor."[91] He thus created an "animation", mysterious and fantastic, but his disturbing style also showed unreality in a kind of nightmare. He thus represented ruthless executioners, deformed and with dark faces who threatened the saints. In the scene of Saint Philip chasing the dragon from Hierapolis, the statue of the "pagan god" Mars "Mars (mythology)") is a menacing figure who appears to challenge the Christian saint.[92]​.

The young Michelangelo

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was born in Caprese, about 100 km from Florence, where his father was a magistrate. After their mother died they returned to Florence. In 1488, at the age of twelve, he entered the workshop of the brothers Daniele and Domenico Ghirlandaio.[N 5]​[N 6][93]​ He copied masters such as Giotto in the Peruzzi chapel) or Masaccio in the Brancacci chapel. Already in these first works, he showed an ease of assimilation of the masters' fundamental stylistic elements, particularly in the plastic and monumental aspects.[V-C. 39]​[93]​.

Having entered under the protection of Lorenzo de' Medici, he studied the classical models made available to the Medici in the garden of the convent of San Marco "Convent of San Marco (Florence)"), where the artist became aware of the indissoluble unity between the images of the myths and the passions that inspired them, quickly becoming capable of reviving the classical style without being a passive interpreter who copied a repertoire.[V-C. 39]​ In this sense, The Battle of the Centaurs "The Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)") (ca. 1492) is an example. The tumultuous movement and strong contrast are reminiscent of the Roman sarcophagi and the bas-reliefs of Giovanni Pisano, and the lost Sleeping Cupid "Sleeping Cupid (Michelangelo)"), presented as a classic work and which deceived Cardinal Riario[94]​ who, once the anger had passed after discovering the deception, wanted to meet the artist, taking him to Rome, where he would create his first masterpieces.[V-C. 40]​[95]​.

But along with these lively and vigorous works, Michelangelo demonstrated the ability to adopt diverse languages, such as in the Virgin on the Staircase (1490-1492), with a more intimate tone. Inspired by Donatello's stiacciato, it showed, in addition to a certain virtuosity, the ability to transmit an impression of blocked energy, given by the unusual position of the Virgin and Child who seem to show their shoulders to the viewer.[V-C. 40]​.

After the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1492, Michelangelo fled Florence and passed through Venice, later settling in Bologna. In the following years, affected by Savonarola's preaching, he abandoned secular themes and loaded his works with psychological and moral meanings.[V-C. 40]​.

El último período de la República florentina, el del confaloniero vitalicio de Pier Soderini (r. 1502-1512), aunque insignificante desde el punto de vista político, supuso una sorprendente reanudación de la producción artística, favorecida por los encargos tanto públicos como privados. Grandes artistas no florentinos fueron llamados a Florencia con el fin de aumentar el prestigio de la nueva república, generando una rápida y consistente renovación artística.[V-C. 41]​ Los protagonistas principales de este período fueron Leonardo da Vinci y Miguel Ángel, que regresaron a la ciudad después de estancias en otros centros, luego Rafael, que regresó a la ciudad para conocer las novedades de la época.[V-C. 41]​.

Return and departure of Leonardo (1500-1508)

Leonardo returned to Florence shortly before August 1500, after the fall of Ludovico Sforza.[83] A few months later, he exhibited a cartoon of Saint Anne in the Basilica of the Holy Annunciation "Basilica of the Holy Annunciation (Florence)"), which Vasari described:

It now seems accepted that this was not the Cartoon of Saint Anne now kept in the National Gallery in London,[96] but rather a preparatory cartoon used for The Virgin, the Child Jesus and Saint Anne in the Louvre, completed much later.[V-C. 42] However, both works are faithful to the Florentine work. In the London one, the figures are grouped in a single block and articulated in a rich interweaving of gestures and glances, with a fluid modeling of folds and drapes; Close together in the foreground, the figures are monumental and grandiose as in The Last Supper "The Last Supper (Leonardo)"), while the sfumato generated a delicate balance in the alternation of shadows and lights. The emotional component is powerful, especially in the point of force of Saint Anne's gaze directed at the Virgin.[V-C. 42]​ Paris's work is more flexible and natural, with elegant attitudes and a deep rocky landscape that the sfumato connects with the figures.[V-C. 42]​ Leonardo's lesson had a strong impact on local artists, revealing a new formal universe that opened new unexplored horizons in the field of artistic representation.[V-C. 41]​

[83]

For this work, Leonardo experimented with a new technique that allowed him not to be handicapped by the short time needed to create the fresco, drawing inspiration from the encaustic painting described by Pliny the Elder in his Historia naturalis "Natural history (work of Pliny)"). As with The Last Supper "The Last Supper (Leonardo)"), this choice was inappropriate.[97]​ The size of the painting did not allow the fires to reach a sufficient temperature to dry the colors that covered the plaster, and they faded or disappeared. In December 1503, the artist interrupted the transfer of the drawing from the cardboard to the wall, frustrated by this new failure.[97]​.

Among the best copies inspired by Leonardo's cardboard, all partial, is that of Rubens, in the Louvre.[97] The cardboard has been lost and the last vestiges of the work were probably covered in 1557 by Vasari's frescoes. From the preparatory drawings, a strong difference in representation emerges with respect to the ancient battle paintings, organized by Leonardo like a whirlwind with an unprecedented richness of movements and attitudes linked to "bestial madness" (pazzia bestialissima, as the artist designated it.[V-C. 43]​.

La Gioconda, probably a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of "Giocondo", dates from these same years. Leonardo's greatest work, it is characterized by the tiny luminous deaths (sfumato), by the atmospheric perspective of the landscape and by the enigmatic smile that contributed to the development of the myth.[V-C. 43].

In 1508, the artist left first for Milan and then, in 1516, for the court of France, becoming the painter of King Francis I.[To. 8][83].

• - Carton of Sant'Anna"), National Gallery.

• - The Virgin, the Child Jesus and Saint Anne, The Louvre.

• - Study of faces for the Battle of Anghiari.

The return of Michelangelo (1501-1504)

After residing in Rome for four years, in the spring of 1501, Michelangelo also returned to Florence. The consuls of the Arte della Lana") and the workers of the Duomo of Florence entrusted him with a huge block of marble to sculpt a David "David (Michelangelo)"), an exciting challenge on which the artist worked throughout the year 1503, proceeding to the final touches in early 1504. The "colossus", as the sculpture was called at the time, was a triumph of ostentatious virtuosity anatomical, representing David as a dreamy and already victorious adolescent, strongly distancing himself from the traditional iconography of the athletic biblical hero represented until then in the prime of life and preparing to do battle. David's limbs are all in tension and his face is concentrated, showing maximum physical and psychological concentration. morality of the Renaissance man. The initial location planned on the buttresses of the Duomo was quickly walled up and the statue was finally placed in front of the Priors' Palace.[V-C 44]​.

The work aroused strong enthusiasm that consolidated the artist's reputation and guaranteed him a large number of commissions, including a large series of apostles for the Duomo. of which, however, he only sketched *St.

Michelangelo was influenced by Leonardo's Sant'Anna. Indeed, he returned to the theme in some drawings, one of which is preserved in the Ashmolean Museum, in which the circular movement of the group is blocked by deeper chiaroscuro effects, appearing almost sculpted. In the Virgin of Bruges"), we witness the contrast between the cold rigidity of Mary and the dynamism of the Child who seems to be projected towards the viewer, acquiring symbolic meanings. Their figures can be inscribed in an ellipse of great purity and apparent simplicity that exalts their monumentality.[V-C. 45]​.

Given the "unfinished" nature of certain tondi such as the Tondo Pitti and the Tondo Taddei, it is difficult to establish whether Michelangelo intended to draw inspiration from Leonardo's atmospheric sfumato. A clear reaction to such a suggestion is evident in the Tondo Doni,[N 7]​[98]​ probably painted for the wedding of Agnolo Doni and Maddalena Strozzi.[98]​ The figures of the characters, the Holy Family, are linked in a spiral movement with a modeling of clearly differentiated planes of light and shadow, salient profiles and intense colors.[V-C. 46]​

Starting in 1504, Michelangelo worked on an important public commission, the fresco decoration of the Hall of the Five Hundred with the Battle of Cascina"), which was to be a counterpart to the work begun by Leonardo da Vinci. The artist only prepared a cartoon that, admired and highly studied, a victim of its success, was first vandalized and then destroyed. Cardboard had become a fundamental model for the study of the human figure in movement for both local and passing artists. Many figures were represented in extremely lively and dynamic attitudes, with numerous elements taken from antiquity, as demonstrated by the few copies and variants studied in the preparatory drawings.[V-C. 47].

Raphael in Florence (1504-1508)

In 1504, the echo of the novelties revealed by the cartoons of Leonardo and Michelangelo reached Siena, where Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520), a student of Perugino and then a young and promising artist who helped Pinturicchio in the decoration of the Piccolomini Library, was staying.[99] Determined to go to Florence, he had a letter of recommendation prepared for the confaloniere by Giovanna Feltria, duchess. of Sora, sister of the Duke of Urbino Jean della Rovere"). In Florence, Raphael studied the local artistic tradition from the Quattrocento to the most recent innovations, demonstrating an extraordinary capacity for assimilation.[V-C. 48]​.

Rafael worked mainly for private patrons, creating numerous small and medium-sized paintings whose theme was devotion, especially of Virgin with Child and the Holy Family. He also made portraits. In these works he continually varied the theme, looking for new groupings and attitudes, with special attention to naturalness, harmony in a rich and intense color with a background derived from the Umbrian style").[V-C. 48]​.

The starting point of his compositions was multiple, he extracted certain suggestions such as Donatello's Madonna Pazzi in the Madonna of Casa Tempi (1508), Michelangelo's Tondo Taddei in *Cowper's Little Madonna (1505) or The Bridgewater Madonna (c. 1507).[V-C. 48]​ From Leonardo, Raphael adopted the principles of plastic-spatial composition, but He avoided symbolic allusions and implications. Furthermore, he preferred spontaneous and natural feelings to "Leonardian indefinition." This is evident in portraits such as that of Maddalena Doni (or Maddalena Strozzi), where the placement of the half-figure in the landscape, hands crossed, reveals its inspiration in the Mona Lisa but with results where the description of the physical lines, clothing, jewelry and luminosity of the landscape prevail.[V-C. 49].

Alternating trips to Umbria and Urbino, during this period he created a work in Perugia, the Altarpiece of Baglioni"), created in Florence and inspired by Florentine trends. In the central compartment he represented the Translation of Christ or Borghese Deposition "Translation of Christ (Raphael)") (1507), the culmination of his studies and elaborations based on the Lament over the Dead Christ") by Perugino from the Florentine church preserved in the Palatine Gallery of the Pitti Palace in Florence. The artist thus creates a dramatic and dynamic monumental composition in which evident signs of Michelangelo's style and antiquity are evident, particularly in the Morte di Melagro that the artist had been able to see during a trip to Rome in 1506.[V-C. 50]​.

Other artists

During the beginning of the Cinquecento many other artists worked in Florence. They often provided quality alternative styles and content, but they did not significantly mark the period with their imprint.

Among them is Piero di Cosimo, the last great artist in the line of Florentine art that runs from Filippo Lippi to Botticelli and Ghirlandaio. Piero, who owes his nickname to his teacher Cosimo Rosselli, was an ingenious artist gifted with fantasy, capable of creating unique and strange works. His work explores religious painting, portraits and mythological paintings. Many of his paintings play with a dualism between a charming naivety and a problematic eroticism that seems very "modern." Some seem to constitute a continuation of the theme of "Stories of early humanity".[100]

In sculpture, Andrea Sansovino[101]​ was, together with his student Jacopo, an alternative to Michelangelo. Sansovino was a craftsman of slender and vibrant forms.

Other sculptors, although very active and sought after such as Benedetto da Rovezzano,[102] did not renew their repertoire, remaining faithful to the tradition of the 14th century.

In architecture, Giuliano[103]​ and Antonio da Sangallo the Elder excelled in sacred buildings with a "central plan",[104]​ while in private construction Baccio d'Agnolo imported classical models of "Roman style" as in the Bartolini-Salimbeni palace").[105]​.

La nueva generación de pintores no puede ignorar el enfrentamiento con los «grandes» y sus obras que permanecen en la ciudad. Leonardo, Miguel Ángel y Rafael forman una escuela. Sin embargo, se asiste a tendencias que buscan superar su ejemplo enfatizando otras características hasta el punto de exagerar. Estos son los inicios del manierismo.

Friar Bartolomeo

After a four-year pause caused by taking vows, influenced by Savonarola's preaching, Fra Bartolomeo resumed painting in 1504. Originally influenced by his teacher Cosimo Rosselli and the entourage of Domenico Ghirlandaio, he oriented towards a severe and essential conception of sacred images, opening himself to the suggestions of the "greats", in particular Raphael, with whom he became close during the years of his stay in Florence.[V-C. 51].

A trip to Venice enriched his palette as demonstrated by the altarpiece *Eternal in glory between Saints Mary Magdalene and Catherine of Siena") (1508), characterized by an austere and orderly eloquence. In mystical wedding of Saint Catherine of Siena") (1511), he took up the scheme of Raphael's Madone au baldaquin, amplifying the monumentality of the figures and further varying the attitudes of the characters.[V-C. 51].

A trip to Rome allowed him to see the works of Michelangelo and Raphael in the Vatican, which, according to Giorgio Vasari, disturbed him to such an extent that he ended up withdrawing into himself, diminishing his vigor and innovative enthusiasm.[V-C. 51].

Andrea del Sarto

Also for the Florentine Andrea del Sarto (1486-1531), trained in Piero di Cosimo's workshop, the reference point was the works of the three "geniuses" of Florence.

Experimenting with new iconography and techniques, his first works can be found in the Chiostrino dei Voti") of the Basilica of the Holy Annunciation "Basilica of the Holy Annunciation (Florence)") and in the monochromatic frescoes of the Scalzo cloister") in Florence. The modernity of its language, the narrative style and the well-ordered rhythms quickly made it the reference point for a group of contemporary artists such as Franciabigio, Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino, who during the 1510s formed a school known as scuola dell'Annunziata antagonist of that of the convent of San Marco "Convent of San Marco (Florence)") by Fra Bartolomeo and Mariotto Albertinelli, with more solemn and calm stylistic accents.[V-C. 51].

Andrea del Sarto knew how to reconcile the chiaroscuro of Leonardo, the plasticity of Michelangelo and the classicism of Raphael thanks to an impeccable, free and flexible execution in the modeling that earned him the nickname pittore senza errori ('painter without errors').[V-C. 52]​ A model of the genre remains his The Last Supper&action=edit&redlink=1 "The Last Supper (Andrea del Sarto) (not yet written)") in the refectory of San Salvi"), a fresco that took him 16 years to paint (1511-1527).

In 1517, he created his masterpiece, the Virgin of the Harpies, with its pale colors and well-calibrated monumentality without forcing the anatomy like his younger colleagues.[V-C. 52].

In 1518-1519 he entered the court of Francis I of France. In Fontainebleau, he worked in the wake of the elderly Leonardo who died in 1519. He produced several works now lost, as well as La Charité&action=edit&redlink=1 "La Charité (Andrea del Sarto, Paris) (not yet written)"), signed in 1518, a typical work of Florentine culture of pyramidal construction and figurative plasticity. A certain malaise shortened the artist's presence in France, making his stay a "lost opportunity" (he would remain indebted to King Francis for the sums advanced), according to Vasari, called to Florence by his wife.[V-C. 52].

In Florence, he progressively devoted himself to the revision of ancient motifs, the execution of which he entrusted to his workshop, with the exception of some works such as Madonna in Glory with Four Saints (1530) preserved in the Palatine Gallery of the Pitti Palace, whose characteristics anticipate the devotional motifs of the second half of the century.[V-C. 52].

• - Works Andrea del Sartol".

• - La Charité&action=edit&redlink=1 "La Charité (Andrea del Sarto, Paris) (not yet written)") (1518).

• - The Last Supper&action=edit&redlink=1 "The Last Supper (Andrea del Sarto) (not yet written)") (1511-1527).

• - Grisaille series from the Chiostro dello Scalzo, Del Sarto's most ambitious work in terms of the amount of time he devoted to it]].

Pontormo

Jacopo Pontormo (1494-1557) first imitated the narrative style and ordered rhythms of his teacher Andrea del Sarto, then began a process of renewal of traditional schemes. The spatial and narrative organization of the episodes becomes more complex than that of its colleagues, as in Joseph in Egypt").

Jacopo Pontorno meticulously studied his themes, the work was the result of cerebral work whose figures have a suspended and crystallized beauty.[V-C. 53]​.

In 1521 he created Vertumne and Pomone&action=edit&redlink=1 "Vertumne and Pomone (Pontormo) (not yet written)"), a bucolic scene in classical style for a lunette (architecture) "Lunette (architecture)") of the Medici villa of Poggio a Caiano. From 1522 to 1525 he lived in the Charterhouse of Florence, where he was the author of a series of frescoes inspired by the incisions of Albrecht Dürer. This choice of the Nordic model, already very popular throughout northern Italy, confirmed its break with the traditional canons of the Florentine Renaissance. This choice of new reformist ideas from Germany was criticized by Giorgio Vasari.[V-C. 53]​.

Rosso Fiorentino

Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1540), Florentine and also a student of Andrea del Sarto, shared Pontormo's artistic journey until 1523, when he left Florence for Rome. He participated in all the innovations of the time, revising the concepts of tradition. He focused on expressive, almost cartoonish deformation, drawing on the works of Filippino Lippi and Piero di Cosimo. His masterpiece, the Deposition of the Cross&action=edit&redlink=1 "Deposition of the Cross (Rosso Fiorentino) (not yet written)") (1521) preserved in the Communal Pinacoteca of Volterra"), reveals his search for synthetic forms. In this painting, the placement of the characters is governed by an intertwining of almost paradoxical lines, such as the double direction of the stairs placed against the cross. Several characters that have expressions forced, they make frantic and exalted gestures.[V-C 54]​.

In October 1530, Rosso Fiorentino joined the court of Francis I of France. He is considered the founder of the first Fontainebleau school that launched the French Renaissance in the art of painting.[106]​.

Michelangelo in San Lorenzo

In 1515, the solemn visit of Pope Leo Jacopo Sansovino and Andrea del Sarto created the ephemeral façade of the unfinished cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.[V-C. 55]​[108]​ This work impressed the pontiff, who shortly after launched a competition for the creation of another façade that remained unfinished, that of the Basilica of San Lorenzo "Basilica di San Lorenzo (Florence)"), sponsored by the Medici family.[109][108] Projects were presented by, among others, artists such as Giuliano da Sangallo, Raphael, Jacopo and Andrea Sansovino. The pope finally chose that of Michelangelo, characterized by a rectangular profile different from the shape called "à pignons")" of the naves of the basilica.[108]​[110]​ The project, which also provided for extensive decoration composed of marble and bronze sculptures, was carried out at the end of 1517, but a series of events related to the supply of materials slowed down the works and increased costs.[V-C. 55]​.

In 1519, Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino and nephew of the Pope, died after the death of Julian, Duke of Nemours, endangering the dynasty. The pope changed his plans and decided to build a funerary chapel known as Sagrestia Nuova[N 8]​ Michelangelo was in charge of the project.[109][108]​.

Already in 1520, a letter from the artist, in which he complained about the delay in the façade project, recalled that studies had begun for the chapel. tombs of the two dukes Lorenzo and Julian, respectively father and uncle of the pope.[V-C. 55]​[108]​.

Initially, Michelangelo presented a project with a central plan that took up the general lines of the first project for the tomb of Julius II, however the lack of space required an alternative solution with the funerary monuments placed against the walls.[N 10]​[108]​ As for architecture, the scheme of the walls differs from Brunelleschi's model by the insertion of the windows in an intermediate space between the lower wall and the large lunettes under the dome. The tombs are attached to the walls with the statues in the niches and take the form of aedicula over the doors and windows.[V-C. 56]​[108]​[110]​.

In 1521, the death of the pope caused a first suspension of work.[108][110] These were resumed with the election of Clement VII "Clement VII (pope)") (Julius de' Medici), then were interrupted in 1527 after the Sack of Rome and the last establishment of the Republic in Florence.

In 1530, the city was taken by the Medici and Michelangelo frantically resumed work until 1534, the year of his definitive departure for Rome.[109] Thus he created the statues of the two dukes in classical style without stopping in the aspect of the portrait and the four Allegories of Time, elongated figures of the Night "Night (Michelangelo)"), of The day "The day (Michelangelo) Ángel)"), from and from , complementary in theme and pose, as well as . The general theme is that of the survival of the Medicean dynasty and the consolation provided by the religion (the Madonna) towards which the eyes of the two dukes are eternally turned. The other figurative allegories (of the rivers) will remain unresolved, as will the bronze bas-reliefs and the frescoes that would probably decorate the lunettes.[V-C. 56]​[111]​.

Annex: artists of the Florentine Renaissance

Chronology of painters of the Florentine Renaissance:.

Chronology of architects of the Florentine Renaissance:.

Chronology of sculptors of the Florentine Renaissance:.

• - This work contains a translation derived from «Renaissance florentine dans les arts figuratifs» from Wikipedia in French, specifically from this version, published by its editors under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

• - This work contains a translation derived from “Rinascimento fiorentino” from Italian Wikipedia, specifically this version, published by its editors under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.