Activity 1

As you have read, Italian Renaissance artists revived the Greco-Roman genre of portraiture. Examine the following portraits by Italian painters: Portrait of a Man and Woman by Fra Filippo Lippi (c. 1440); Matteo Oliveri by an anonymous painter (1440/1450); Giuliano d'Medici by Sandro Botticelli (c. 1478); Portrait of a Young Man by Giovanni Bellini (c. 1480); and Portrait of a Young Man by Agnolo Bronzino (1530). How did Italian Renaissance portraiture evolve? What broad stylistic changes over time can you detect in these examples? To what extent did these artists try to represent the unique individuality of the subject? Some of these artists you know: what elements of their signature styles can you see in these portraits?

Activity 2

You have read about the importance of the city-states in the Italian Renaissance. Although the cities of Northern Europe were not autonomous political units, they also played an important role in the European Renaissance. Consider the example of Antwerp located in the Netherlands. By the early 1500s, Antwerp had become one of the most prosperous and cultured cities in Northern Europe. Take a moment to read more about the history of Antwerp during this period. As you read, give special attention to how the city used its wealth to nurture humanist learning and art. When you finish, look at some exemplary works by a few of Antwerp's leading artists: Saint Jerome Penitent (1509/12) by Jan Gossaert; Joris Vezeleer (c. 1518) by Joos van Cleve; Ill-Matched Lovers (1520/25) by Quentin Massys; The Rest on the Flight to Egypt (c. 1530) by Maerten van Heemskerck; The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine (c. 1540) by an anonymous painter; and The Temptation of Saint Anthony (C. 1550/75) by a follower of the Dutch artist, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. What common interests, themes, and/or techniques do these paintings display? Can you detect elements of a distinct Antwerp style? If so, what taste and values does that style represent? How do these works reflect a humanist spirit?