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Lesson Plans
Art History ©1999
by Marilyn Stokstad
Focus Lesson 12
Chapter 18: "Renaissance Art in Sixteenth-Century Europe"
AP* Course Description
- Renaissance to Present
- Fourteenth Through Sixteenth Centuries
Key Components
- Instructor's Resource Manual with Tests, Vol. II: pp. 12–16, 69–70, 97–103, 176–180
- Study Guide, Vol. II: pp. 21–36
Key Web Sites
Given the changing nature of the Internet, you may wish to preview these sites. Check the Online Companion Web site for updated information and links to other sites.
Key Words and Terms
- cartouche
- classicism
- piazza
- stringcourses
- moldings
- motifs
- quoins
- brackets
- engaged half columns
- arcade
- pedestal
- base
- shaft
- capital
- segmental pediments
- hemicycles
- blind windows
- colonnades
- one-point perspective
- picture plane
- cartoon
- chiaroscuro
- sfumato
- contraposto
- genre
- chateaux
- turreted
- iconoclastic
- predella
- caduceus
Suggested Pacing
This chapter includes the High Renaissance in Italy and in northern Europe, as well as Mannerism. Allot between two-and-a-half and four weeks to cover this material, depending on how much non-European art you wish to cover in the course. Michelangelo, da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Durer, El Greco, and Palladio are all major figures, any one of whom could be the subject of a class period or more.
Test Strategy
The effects of the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation (Council of Trent) on art of this period is an important theme that students may find on the test. The return of iconoclasm to Europe, as well as the laying down of strict religious guidelines for artists, influenced much of the art of this period, from Michelangelo to Tintoretto. Students may be asked to explain problems faced by Michelangelo in his design for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, or Tintoretto's difficulties with the Council of Trent over religious iconography.
Key Concepts
- Liberal vs. manual arts
The authors of the text note the distinction between old and new ways of perceiving artists that developed in this period. "The belief that artists were divinely inspired creative geniuses became a widespread myth" during the High Renaissance, and an important influence when studying major artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo (p. 683). The spread of humanism, noted in the previous chapter, led to a generation of "Renaissance men," not only in Italy but in northern Europe as well—for example, Durer. - Rise of oil painting
The shift during this period from fresco and tempera to oil painting marks a turning point in the history of art. The technical possibilities presented by oils—for example, da Vinci's sfumato—are an important concept for students to learn and track through the remainder of the course. - Mannerism
Mannerism is one of the least clearly defined artistic styles students will encounter during this introduction to art history. The text discusses the difficulties and pitfalls associated with defining this movement on pp. 714–715.
Summing Up Student Understanding
This activity asks students to analyze the use of geometry in the architecture of Palladio, as well as his use of elements borrowed from Classical sources. Using slides of the Villa Rotunda and Church of San Giorgio Maggiore (both plans and exterior views), ask students to:
- list examples of the basic geometric forms in Palladio's buildings. Ask: How has he arranged these forms? Students should see that symmetry is always a guiding principle in Palladio's work.
- list Classical elements they can identify in Palladio's work. Answers should include: columns, pediments, domes, arches, pedestals, and porticoes. Ask: Was Palladio more influenced by Roman or Greek sources? Roman is the clear answer, as Palladio follows the Roman practice of using Greek temple fronts out of context. He mixes and matches the Classical orders to suit his needs and likes the broken pediment as a visual device. His Renaissance predecessor, Alberti, clearly influenced Palladio's use of Classical elements, including the borrowing of the triumphal arch for use in façades.
For extra credit, have students design their own buildings using Palladian ideals. Symmetry and geometry should be the governing principles, with exterior surfaces recombining Roman ideas.