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Men's fashion of the 1530s was dominated by the broad-shouldered silhouettes made iconic by King Henry VIII.

These silhouettes that were worn by King Henry VIII influenced others to be like their King.

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Men's fashion of the 1530s was dominated by the broad-shouldered silhouettes made iconic by King Henry VIII. Women's fashion showed greater regional variation, with Italian women establishing trends that would soon spread to the rest of Europe in the second half of the century.

In Italy

In the early 1530s, one finds dress in Italy continuing as it had at the end of the 1520s, with low-cut bodices creating broad shoulder lines extended by bulbous upper sleeves, sometimes with the chest left bare (Figs. 1-2) but often filled in by an embroidered chemise (Figs. 3-8). Gowns are made of sumptuous silk satins and velvets that are variously striped (Figs. 1, 2, 6), embroidered (Figs. 2, 5), slashed and puffed (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 7), or ornamented with bows (Fig. 8).

Italian women often wear or carry gloves (Figs. 3, 6), which were "now part of the wardrobe of all well-to-do people," but also zibellinos, or sable pelts with jeweled heads (Figs. 6-8) (Davenport 499). As François Boucher notes in A History of World Costume in the West (1997): "The balzo (roll of gilt openwork) is the usual head-dress" (220). The large bulbous headdress is also sometimes referred to as a capigliara; first popular in the 1520s, it becomes smaller over the course of the decade.

Several unusual features to point out include the saffron yellow chemise or partlet (rather than the more typical white linen) in Bartolomeo Veneto's Portrait of a Lady in a Green Dress (Fig. 3), which is ornamented with red embroidery. Margherita Paleologo (Fig. 4) wears a black dress of particular complexity in construction, as it is "created from interlaced bands of black fabric (perhaps a heavy silk) edged with gold over a pale crimson undergown" (Royal Collection Trust). Isabella d'Este (Fig. 5) has a lynx fur asymmetrically draped over one shoulder.

Parmigianino's portrait of Antea (Fig. 6) captures a new trend for the decorative wearing of aprons, as Milia Davenport explains in The Book of Costume (1948):

"Towards the end first half XVIc., narrow, pleated, decorative aprons began to appear in rich bourgeoise costume in N. Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Flanders and parts of France.... The apron is worn with a short-waisted bodice and full skirt, which is banded horizontally; or it is the apron with his banded when the skirt is finely pleated." (499)

Camilla Gonzaga (Fig. 7), wife of Pier Maria de Rossi (see Fig. 5 below), with whom she had nine children, wears the "characteristic Venetian bodice, long and pointed in front, pointed but short behind, is often cut extremely low and is fat-bodied" (Davenport 496). Both Camilla Gonzaga and Eleanora Gonzaga (Fig. 8) wear chemises with standing collars with ruffled edges that will evolve into ruffs in the second half of the century. As Davenport remarks, Eleanora Gonzaga, the Duchess of Urbino:

"With her Italian turban... wears the Italian gown from which the rest of Europe, through Catherine de' Medici, will develop its standard costume of the second half XVIc." (498).

In France

While one would assume the Queen of France would embody French fashion trends, Eleanora of Austria (Fig. 9) defied that expectation when she married François I (see Fashion icon, 1520-1529). As Anna Reynolds explains in In Fine Style (2013), Eleanora

"maintained elements of her Spanish style of clothing as a deliberate and politically motivated attempt to preserve her Habsburg identity at the French court. In her portrait by van Cleve, the hairstyle and shape of the fur sleeves can be considered particularly Spanish." (194)

The square-cut gown bodice with a slight rise in the center (typical of France) is made of a beautiful cloth-of-gold brocade and edged in pearls and gemstones (lavish like the dress of her husband). Her sleeves are fuller than was typical in France and are paned with the chemise puffed out in the gaps between brooches; unusual hanging white fur oversleeves drape from her shoulder.

In England

More typical French style elements can be seen, ironically, in the portrait of Anne Boleyn (Fig. 10), who served as a lady-in-waiting to Mary Tudor, Queen of France (see Fashion Icon, 1510-1519). Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII (see Fashion Icon below), became Queen of England in 1533 and brought French fashion trends to the English court, among them the characteristic headdress, the French hood. Her hood is particularly ornate as a "goffered gold gauze border rests on the smooth curve of the hair" (Ashelford 37). Anne's reign saw the increasing adoption of the French hood at the English court. This can be seen in the ca. 1535 portrait of a young woman (Fig. 11), who some believe to be Mary I, daughter of Catherine of Aragon and future Queen of England. As both portraits attest: "Square-cut décolletage was usual throughout the sixteenth century, and the rule from the 1530s" (Cunnington 55). Anne Stafford, lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn, also wears a version of the French hood, though her red satin kirtle sleeves with the bottom seam open and the chemise puffed out are more typically English.

Queen Jane Seymour (Fig. 13), third wife to Henry VIII, who married her in 1536 after beheading Anne, returned to more safely English modes, reverting back to the gabled hood. As Jane Ashelford explains in A Visual History of Costume: The Sixteenth Century (1983):

"Jane wears the final version of the English hood, a style in which the right half of the material was folded or twisted into the shape of a whelk-shell and then secured on top of the head; the remaining half of the material was allowed to fall behind the shoulder. The frontlet and tucked-up lappets are now shorter in length." (color plate 20)

Her red velvet gown has a square-cut bodice and her large turned back cuffs or oversleeves are covered in a fine network of gold cord. Her kirtle, made of silver brocade, is visible through the inverted V-front opening of her gown. Her kirtle sleeves have open seams at the bottom, where they are closed with broaches and her chemise, now with intricate blackwork cuffs, is puffed out in the gaps. The stiffness of the silhouette likely reflects a shift in construction and understructure, as Hill explains:

"By the 1530s, though, the padding evolved into the busk, a torso panel made of layers of linen stitched or pasted over reinforcements of whalebone, wood, horn, or metal. The busk was inserted into the front of the bodice compressing the breasts and smoothing the torso into an inverted cone shape. (Later the term 'busk' was used synonymously for corset in contemporary writings.)" (378)

The construction of such gowns was more complicated than it appears as they were not all in one piece like dresses today. This is suggested, as Ninya Miklaila and Jane Malcom-Davies point out in the Tudor Tailor (2006), by the "row of pins down the side of her bodice. Her veil is pinned up on one side." (43)

Thanks to a rare full-length dynastic portrait (Fig. 15) that includes Jane alongside Henry VIII and his parents, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, we can observe that gown skirts began to shift in shape; they were "trained until 1530 and occasionally until 1540.... Between 1530 and 1540 skirts became ground length all round" (Cunnington 64). Jane like Anne before her became a fashion trendsetter at court as Holbein's sketch of Lady Ratcliffe (Fig. 16) testifies "for a period in the 1530s some fashionable women at court chose to pin up one long black side lappet, with the other hanging down to the shoulder" (Reynolds 65). We saw the same asymmetric pinning in Holbein's 1536 portrait of Jane (Fig. 14).

In Germany

Henry VIII's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves (Fig. 17), was German and is said to have brought a few German trends to the English court, among them the wearing of multiple rings on a hand (Hill 381). The marriage was unconsummated and short-lived (though this Anne survived its ending), allegedly because Henry found her appearance unpleasing. Davenport describes her dress in the portrait Holbein was commissioned to paint in advance of the wedding:

"The lower sleeves are funnel-shaped, like her skirt, which was described as 'without a trayne [train] after the Dutche fassyon,' at a period when English ladies' gowns, almost alone, retain them. The tucker or partlet and the cuff-bands of the shirt are not of the Spanish embroidery seen so far, but of cut-work; this antedates lace, which in fact grew out of cutwork; lace has been made since XVc. and will be common by XVIIc." (432)

Lucas Cranach the Elder's triple portrait of the princesses of Saxony (Fig. 18) reveals other typical Germanic dress elements. Gown sleeves remain narrow (left), sometimes with paned rolls or open seams (center), or paned with regular cuffs cinching them in (right). The low-cut bodice is sometimes filled only with a heavy gold chain or perhaps a very transparent partlet (center). As Davenport notes, "As the waistline becomes lower, the embroidered band of the plastron remains unchanged in width and position: the wide opening of the bodice is laced across the white shirt below" (392). Very full skirts are created through tight pleating at the waist. Two of the sisters wear incredibly thin gloves that are pinked to reveal their rings below. Their headdress styles are also typical:

"In Germany, hats were wide brimmed and pinned into place at an angle over cauls, or hairnets of gold thread.... A profusion of ostrich plumes was often set in a flower-petal arrangement all around the brim." (Hill 381)

Bracelets and earrings were rare in Germany as they could not usually be seen given that long sleeve cuffs almost reached the knuckles and the elaborate headdresses typically hid at least one ear.

Fashion Icon: Henry VIII, King of England

Henry VIII (1497-1547) is perhaps best known for having six wives, three of whom we discussed above: Anne Boleyn (Fig. 10), Jane Seymour (Figs. 14-15) and Anne of Cleves (Fig. 17), but he also masterfully manipulated his own image to project power and authority. The image of Henry VIII in the popular imagination has been set by Hans Holbein's famous portraits (Figs. 2-3), which depict him in middle age when he had grown quite stout, but as a young man he was considered quite attractive. Indeed, as Maria Hayward records in Dress at the Court of King Henry VIII (2007):

"Sebastian Giustianian, the Venetian ambassador, writing on 10 September 1519... described Henry (aged 29) in the following terms: 'he is much handsomer than any other sovereign in Christendom; a great deal handsomer than the King of France; very fair, his whole frame admirably proportioned.'" (2)

Henry was in constant competition with François I, King of France (see Fashion Icon, 1520-1529), throughout his reign, having copied François' beard around 1515. At their famous meeting at the Field of the Cloth of Gold (Fig. 4), the men daily tried to outdo the other in the extravagance of their dress:

"The first day saw Henry in a gown of thickly pleated cloth of silver ribbed with gold, and a doublet of rose velvet. His cap was black velvet encircled with rubies, emeralds and pearls with a white plume. His horse had tissue of cloth of gold over russet velvet, with the gold cut into waves edged with gold to signify the English lordship of the sea." (De Marly 32)

Many descriptions of Henry's clothes like this one have been passed down and royal wardrobe records provide a detailed picture of what exactly he owned. For example, Henry VIII's 1536 Wardrobe Account describes a pair of hose and stockings:

"It'm for making a paire of hoose, upper stocked with carnacion-coloured satten, cutte and embrowdered with golde and also lyned with fyne white clothe, with two paire of nether stockis, the one paire skarlette, and the other paire blacke carsye." (Cunnington 35)

The visual record is more limited, however, as Hayward explains in Rich Apparel: Clothing and the Law in Henry VIII's England (2009):

"The images of Henry VIII that Holbein created in the 1530s are so familiar that it is easy to gain the impression that there is a lot of visual evidence for the king's wardrobe. However, in reality, there are only seven portrait types of the king and only two of these were created by Holbein.... These portraits confirm the use of sable and other dark furs, which were reserved for royal use, along with scarlet velvets, cloth of gold and cloth of silver. All of these were very expensive but there were no instances of the purple silks that the legislation gave him the express right to wear." (154)

Joos van Cleve's early 1530s portrait of Henry (Fig. 1) shows him in a cloth-of-gold doublet that is slashed across the chest and sleeves. The neckline of the doublet is low and straight, while his jeweled shirt fits closely at the neck and is puffed out through the gaps created by the slashes. Ashelford comments:

"Henry's love of jewels and desire for flamboyant display increases as he rapidly puts on weight until the massive surface are of his dress is broken up with slashing and encrusted with applied decoration.... The gown has a wide sable collar that spreads across the shoulders and its sleeves are embroidered with seed pearls." (34)

Holbein's full-length (Fig. 2) and half-length (Fig. 3) portraits of Henry VIII show him in very similar dress. His doublet is cut closer to the neck and the slashes (Fig. 2) and open seams (Fig. 3) are smaller than in the van Cleve portrait, though the shirt is still puffed through. His jerkin has a deep U-shaped opening and full skirt and he wears an extremely broad-shouldered gown with a sable revers. His codpiece is prominent, and he carries a dagger and wears a sword. Ashelford describes the effect:

"Male dress was intended to enhance and exaggerate the wearer's masculinity and this was achieved by creating a massive chest and wide shoulder. Henry adopts the aggressive and dominant stance that was an essential part of this image." (35)

The tight fit of his white stockings suggest they might be knit; knitted hose began to be made in England c. 1530 (Cunnington 37). The Order of the Garter is tied below his left knee and his duckbill shoes have square toes and slashed uppers. Henry passed many sumptuary laws, or laws regulating dress, during his reign; among them, "An order was issued in Henry VIII's reign, limiting the width of the toe to six inches" (Cunnington 38).

The black bonnet with halo brim topped with an ostrich feather and adorned with pearls and gemstones closely resembles that worn by François I (see Fig. 7 below and Fashion Icon 1520-1529). Like François I and his own wives discussed above, Henry VIII set the fashion in England and ensured through sumptuary laws that he would always be the best dressed.

Discussion of Henry VIII above has already introduced the key features of English menswear of the 1530s, so only a few more examples will be added. Holbein's courtship tondo portrait of Simon George of Cornwall shows the standing collar ornamented with blackwork and the narrow opening of the gown and jerkin that reveals the red doublet below that became common. Doublets began fitting around the neck in the 1530s (Cunnington 17). The Cunningtons describe the changes in the shirt:

"By 1530 this was a standing collar edged with a turn-down collar or a frill, the origin of the ruff. The standing collar increased in height as with the doublet. Embroidery in black-work or coloured silks to shirt necks and wrists was very common.... Shirt Sleeve Frills [1530s] began to appear below the doublet sleeve, at the wrist, in the 1530s." (17, 21)

George wears a black bonnet, fashionably tilted, and ornamented with ostrich feather, hat badge and golden flowers and other forms like that favored by Henry VIII.

Henry VIII's illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy (Fig. 2) is shown very unconventionally in a portrait miniature wearing only his shirt, which lays open down his chest, and a linen nightcap with blackwork embroidery. At the opposite end of the scale, an unknown man in red thought to be English (Fig. 3) is shown in an unusual full-length, life-size portrait. His shirt is also decorated with blackwork embroidery at the collar, cuffs and down the front, which is visible thanks to the narrow opening of his jerkin, which is also parted by his large, slashed codpiece. His red hose are paned and loose-fitting, paired with red stockings and slashed red velvet shoes that conform to the natural contours of the foot (unlike Henry VIII's duckbills above). He wears a sword and dagger suspended from his belt, along with a large gold tassel. The Royal Collection Trust describes his gown, whose upper sleeves are paned and closed by aiguillettes:

"These lower sleeves are decorated with 'pullings out' - diaphanous fabric woven with gold thread is pulled through slashes in the layer above. Like most gowns at this date, this one appears to be of velvet. The sheen on the large collar, turned back to reveal the lining of the gown, suggests it is possibly lined with a fabric woven with metal thread. The most expensive fabrics were often reserved for linings."

In the Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire in this period encompassed Spain, the Netherlands, parts of Germany, Italy and Austria, as well as colonies in North and South America, so it is difficult to speak of a single style. Charles V (Fig. 4) was its Emperor and he adopted many Spanish trends as Boucher explains:

"the neck gradually became enclosed to give a high, tightly fastened collar with a purely Spanish, rather prudish character. In the portrait of Charles V by Titian we find one of the first examples of this high collar, and of tight upper stocks." (229)

In the portrait by Titian, Charles also wears a large gown with sable revers and puffed-out shoulder sleeve, with an attached hanging sleeve below. His doublet sleeves are paned; his hose is very tight-fitting and narrowly pinked. His white stockings are paired with white shoes that are slashed and follow the natural shape of his foot.

Hill describes the impact of these Spanish trends:

"The transition of men's clothing styles of the mid-sixteenth century was influenced by the Spanish. Garments encased and distorted the figure. Trouser-like upper stocks, a padded codpiece, and jackets with wide lapels and oversized sleeves exaggerated the masculine silhouette and physical proportions." (356)

Pier Maria Rossi (Fig. 5), served at the court of Charles V and mirrors the trends seen thus far, with the broad masculine silhouette and newly prominent hose, which in his case are white and slashed to reveal the white lining below. There is a companion portrait of his wife above (Fig. 7). Rossi's codpiece is exceptionally prominent given the color contrast with his dark jerkin and robe; indeed,

"Now the codpiece was a tailored accessory-cut and sewn into a projecting horn shape, padded, and accented with ribbons, bows, pinking, and assorted other decorative treatments." (Hill 355)

In France

Charles de Solier (Fig. 6), who served as gentilhomme de la chambre to François I (Fig. 7), was also ambassador to England on several occasions, which is when he had his portrait painted by Holbein. The result is an impressive and imposing frontal portrait in conformance with masculine ideals of the day. His doublet, jerkin and gown are all in dark fabrics, making his face and the bright white of his shirt particularly striking. His doublet sleeves are paned with the gaps between them closed by golden aiguillettes. One gloved hand holds his dagger and a large golden tassel hangs from his waist.

Titian's softer profile portrait of François I (Fig. 7) does not create the same impact. His scarlet satin doublet has long slashes down the chest and a scalloped standing collar. The sleeves are also slashed and he wears a dark gown and black bonnet topped with an ostrich feather.

Holbein's famous painting The Ambassadors (Fig. 8) depicts two different French envoys to the English court, Jean de Dinteville, seigneur de Polisy, and Georges de Selve, Bishop of Lavaur.

Jean de Dinteville wears a scarlet satin doublet like François I's and a broad-shouldered gown lined with lynx fur. Davenport comments on this choice:

"Light, spotted lynx, with which his gown is collared and lined, has become a favorite fur; lines of fur were much used at the seams of the upper puffed sleeve, in both male and female costume." (430)

In Germany and Italy

Lukas Spielhausen (Fig. 9) was a member of the electoral court of Saxony. He wears a low-cut doublet with red pinked strips edged with gold cord and an ample black gown. But the most remarkable feature is his strongly horizontal beard and mustache, as Davenport notes: "Moustaches and short beards at their greatest square width; hair short; hats, caps and embroidered cauls of rich, dignified men" (396). Holbein painted a German merchant, Hermann von Wedigh III (Fig. 10) who, by contrast, is clean shaven, but similarly soberly attired in rich fabrics.

Bronzino's Portrait of a Young Man (Fig. 11) continues the Florentine trends first seen in 1520-1529, but with new severity, here dressed mostly in black. His doublet is slashed all over, but, as the lining is also black, the effect is subtle. His hat is decorated with golden aiguillettes as are the joins between his doublet and hose and his codpiece. The high standing collar of his white shirt has a slight frill that will soon evolve into a ruff. He is dressed quite differently from the men in other countries we've seen, but is, in fact, the forerunner of what is to come in men's fashion.

Microfashion of the 1530s continued to reflect adult trends. As Hill wryly remarks: "Even the hose of prepubescent boys were fashioned with the exaggerated shape of the a padded codpiece" (355). Edward VI, son of Henry VIII (see Fashion Icon above) and Jane Seymour (Fig. 14 above), is dressed much like his father with cloth-of-gold doublet sleeves and a red velvet jerkin ornamented with gold cord and tied with golden aiguillettes. His red velvet bonnet decorated with ostrich feather and again with aiguillettes closely resembles his father's. Davenport notes that the use of aiguillettes here and by the gentry generally was to elevate this "enormously popular hat" to higher status (431).

Two portraits of the young Maximilian of Austria (Figs. 2-3) show the high collars and cropped hair typically seen on young boys (Davenport 496). The bald head of the toddler John, brother of Maximilian, comically contrasts with his lavish adult clothing.

Jan van Scorel's portrait of a young student (Fig. 4) offers a rare look at the dress of a non-royal individual. Jane Huggett and Ninya Mikhalia describe his outfit in The Tudor Child (2013):

"This middle-class schoolboy is plainly but respectably dressed in black with a red knitted cap. He wears a shirt of finely-gathered linen fastened with two thread buttons and loops. Over this, he has a double with a standing collar cut in one piece with the body. His coat has pleated skirts and an opening covered by a front-fastening flap with points on either side of the chest. It also has an integral standing collar." (29)

The rosy-cheeked Eleanor (Fig. 5) was the eighth child of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (before his election as Holy Roman Emperor) and his wife Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, which explains her more Germanic style of dressing with narrow pink sleeves ornamented with black velvet bands and transparent puffs of fabric.

Jan Gossaert's portrait of a young princess, perhaps Dorothea of Denmark (Fig. 6) shows her in a square-cut bodice with a slight rise at the center, with large cream sleeves depicting interlocking blue knots and ornamented with hundreds of pearls. Her French hood style headdress is edged again with many pearls-not an outfit for romping around on the playground!

References:

Ashelford, Jane. A Visual History of Costume: The Sixteenth Century. London: Batsford, 1983. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/748457696.

Boucher, François, Yvonne Deslandres, and John Ross. A History of Costume in the West: With 1188 Illustrations, 365 in Colour. London: Thames and Hudson, 1997. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/443676264.

Cunnington, C. Willett, and Phillis Cunnington. Handbook of English Costume in the Sixteenth Century. London: Faber and Faber, 1954. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/362761.

Davenport, Millia. The Book of Costume. New York: Crown Publishers, 1948. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/922657048.

De Marly, Diana. Fashion for Men: An Illustrated History. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1985. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/752978274.

"German/Netherlandish School, 16th Century - Portrait of a Man in Red." Accessed June 21, 2019. https://www.rct.uk/collection/405752/portrait-of-a-man-in-red.

Hayward, Maria, ed. Dress at the Court of King Henry VIII. Leeds: Maney, 2007. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/997437672.

---. Rich Apparel: Clothing and the Law in Henry VIII's England. Farnham, England: Ashgate, 2009. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/990796848.

Hill, Daniel Delis. History of World Costume and Fashion. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/768100950.

Huggett, Jane, Ninya Mikhaila, Jane Malcolm-Davies, and Michael Perry. The Tudor Child: Clothing and Culture 1485 to 1625. Hollywood: Quite Specific Media, 2013. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/925431430.

Mikhaila, Ninya, and Jane Malcolm-Davies. The Tudor Tailor: Reconstructing 16th-Century Dress. Hollywood: Costume and Fashion Press, 2006. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/937528534.

Reynolds, Anna. In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion. London: Royal Collection Trust, 2013. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/824726826.

Royal Collection Trust. "Giulio Romano (Rome c. 1499-Mantua 1546) - Portrait of Margherita Paleologo." Accessed June 21, 2019. https://www.rct.uk/collection/405777/portrait-of-margherita-paleologo.

Events:

1532 - Hapsburgs repulsed Turks in Hungary.

1535 - Henry VIII became head of the Church of England.

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Digitized Primary/Period Sources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Men's fashion of the 1530s was dominated by the broad-shouldered silhouettes made iconic by King Henry VIII. Women's fashion showed greater regional variation, with Italian women establishing trends that would soon spread to the rest of Europe in the second half of the century.

# data[].attributes.body
Men's clothing often included doublets, hose, and codpieces, while women's attire consisted of gowns with voluminous skirts, tight bodices, and intricate sleeves.

These clothes showed the wealth and power of people during the Renaissance period.

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Renaissance Fashion: A Reflection of Social Status and Wealth

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Unlock the secrets of Renaissance fashion in our detailed guide. Explore how clothing during this period became a canvas reflecting social status and wealth.

# data[].attributes.body
Women's gowns are generally floor-long and have full skirts.

This showed the wealth and class of women.

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epochs-of-fashion: Ladies costume through the ages

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The great renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder lived from about 1475 to October 16, 1553. The artist of German origin painted several women who are all wearing a distinctive style of dress.

This style can be studied in the portrait of Saint Mary Magdalene, painted in 1525.

Basically, the elements of this style are

a slim waist with the help of a tight bodice with a relatively low, square-cut neckline which bares a part of the shoulders, front lacing with black cord

sleeves that are slashed at several places/consist of several pieces which are connected through a lacing and show the puffy undergarment [baragoni those decorative puffs in the upper sleeve are called]

a wide skirt with organ-pipe pleats

very colourful and ornamented attire

Two kinds of fabric dominate the gown: purple velvet (infrequently black) and gold brocade. The latter appears as braid along the neckline down to the waist, as ribbon on the sleeves and in three levels at the lower skirt. Approximately in the middle of the skirt the first and narrowest level is placed. The next level, twice as broad, is located at about a quarter of the skirts length over the hem. The broadest, three time as wide as the narrowest, is at the hem. The measuring of the levels in whole-numbered multiples should create an air of harmony. When notional dividing the space from the front neckline down to the waist in two, the lower half is the lacing. One can see the white under-gown. The upper half is a rectangle of the same gold brocade or other fabric; usually gold or red, too, and embroidered with stitching and pearls (squiggled floral motives or geometric patterns like the diamond pattern). The back of these gowns is in general square-cut and relatively low.

In Lucas Cranach the Elder's painting "Hunting near Hartenfels Castle", 1540, there are curious variations of this style. The sleeves differ but also the colours: two ladies (one standing on a boat, the other on the left shooting a crossbow) are dressed in the Saxon style but in black and a soft yellow or cream, instead of red and gold. Perhaps the strong contrast is a security measure, to be distinctly visible in a hunt can be life-saving. Another woman rowing a boat is dressed all in a cold silverish shade of blue.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The great renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder lived from about 1475 to October 16, 1553. The artist of German origin painted several women who are all wearing a distinctive style of dress. This style can be studied in the portrait of Saint Mary Magdalene, painted in 1525.

# data[].attributes.body
Sleeves are generally detachable so that they could be exchanged between different dresses.

This meant that there was an opportunity to mix up one's clothng.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
epochs-of-fashion: Ladies costume through the ages

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The great renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder lived from about 1475 to October 16, 1553. The artist of German origin painted several women who are all wearing a distinctive style of dress.

This style can be studied in the portrait of Saint Mary Magdalene, painted in 1525.

Basically, the elements of this style are

a slim waist with the help of a tight bodice with a relatively low, square-cut neckline which bares a part of the shoulders, front lacing with black cord

sleeves that are slashed at several places/consist of several pieces which are connected through a lacing and show the puffy undergarment [baragoni those decorative puffs in the upper sleeve are called]

a wide skirt with organ-pipe pleats

very colourful and ornamented attire

Two kinds of fabric dominate the gown: purple velvet (infrequently black) and gold brocade. The latter appears as braid along the neckline down to the waist, as ribbon on the sleeves and in three levels at the lower skirt. Approximately in the middle of the skirt the first and narrowest level is placed. The next level, twice as broad, is located at about a quarter of the skirts length over the hem. The broadest, three time as wide as the narrowest, is at the hem. The measuring of the levels in whole-numbered multiples should create an air of harmony. When notional dividing the space from the front neckline down to the waist in two, the lower half is the lacing. One can see the white under-gown. The upper half is a rectangle of the same gold brocade or other fabric; usually gold or red, too, and embroidered with stitching and pearls (squiggled floral motives or geometric patterns like the diamond pattern). The back of these gowns is in general square-cut and relatively low.

In Lucas Cranach the Elder's painting "Hunting near Hartenfels Castle", 1540, there are curious variations of this style. The sleeves differ but also the colours: two ladies (one standing on a boat, the other on the left shooting a crossbow) are dressed in the Saxon style but in black and a soft yellow or cream, instead of red and gold. Perhaps the strong contrast is a security measure, to be distinctly visible in a hunt can be life-saving. Another woman rowing a boat is dressed all in a cold silverish shade of blue.

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The great renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder lived from about 1475 to October 16, 1553. The artist of German origin painted several women who are all wearing a distinctive style of dress. This style can be studied in the portrait of Saint Mary Magdalene, painted in 1525.

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The humble yet mighty pencil.

This early pencil was intended mainly for carpenters so it was oval in shape, to stop in rolling away.

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The Renaissance is one of the most incredible periods in our human history, when significant advancements were made across all aspects of society, including science, literature, philosophy, mathematics and art. During this momentous period in time many exciting inventions were made, all in the quest to better understand the world around us. Of all the inventions that were made during the Renaissance period, which ones stand out as the most significant and important of all time? Let's take a look through some of the best, many of which we still rely on today.

1. The Pencil: Humble Yet Mighty

Ah, the humble pencil, not to be taken for granted. It was invented during the Renaissance in 1560 by an Italian couple named Simonio and Lyndiana Bernacotti, who discovered that graphite sticks could be inserted into a hollowed out stick of juniper wood to keep it neat and handy. This early pencil was intended mainly for carpenters so it was oval in shape, to stop in rolling away. Even today, many carpenter's pencils are still made in this very same shape. Pencils went on to become mass produced items which were, and still are incredibly popular worldwide, often with the hexagon shape we recognise today, an updated version of the early oval which is even less likely to roll away!

2. The Printing Press: Perhaps the Most Significant Tool of the Renaissance

The printing press was one of the most significant inventions of the Renaissance period, allowing for great advancements in communication to take place. It was German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg who invented the first printing press in 1436. He combined moveable panels of metal type with a pressing machine, creating a machine known as the Gutenberg press. Thanks to Gutenberg, newspapers, magazines and books could be reproduced relatively quickly and cheaply, replacing the painstaking scribe work of monks in monasteries. Gutenberg's press was operated entirely by hand, a slow process by today's electronic standards, but he paved the way for the future to come.

3. The Microscope: An Ingenious Discovery

An ingenious spectacle maker of the Renaissance period named Zacharias Janssen is credited with creating the first microscope in 1590. Although Zacharias was a mere teenager at the time, it is thought he and his father created the first microscope prototype together. Their microscope was known as a 'compound' microscope made from at least two lenses, one to pick up the image, and the other to magnify it so we can actually see it with the human eye. The wondrous discovery they made meant we could explore, understand and cultivate the world in a whole new way, and life has never been the same since. When news spread throughout Europe about microscopes, the concept was quickly picked up on and adapted by others, including astronomer, physicist and engineer Galileo Galilei in the early 17th century.

4. The Telescope: Extending the Human Senses

Another canny spectacle maker of the Renaissance era from Holland, named Hans Lippershey, also invented the first telescope in 1608. He initially called his new device a "kijker" (Dutch for "looker"), describing its function, "for seeing things far away as if they were nearby." It was the first instrument of its kind to extend one of the human senses, fascinating and inspiring many to develop his idea further. Following on Lippershey's discovery, Galileo Galilei was quick off the mark again - he went on to make his own updated version of the telescope in around 1609, which he used to make some radical findings about the universe. These include finding Jupiter's four moons, discovering that the sun was the centre of the universe, and that the Earth's moon is not completely spherical - amazing, right? Isaac Newton also succeeded in creating one of the world's first telescopes in 1668, using a reflective mirror mechanism.

5. The Steam Engine: One of the Most Important Inventions of the Renaissance

Today we might think of the steam engine as a symbol of a bygone era, but during the Renaissance, it was one of the hottest discoveries to be made. One of the most important inventions in the centuries leading up to the Industrial Revolution, the steam engine allowed for major developments to be made in agriculture, mining, manufacture and transportation. So, who do we have to thank for this mighty invention? The great English engineer Thomas Savery made the first practical and effective steam engine, designed for pumping out water in 1698, a process he concisely termed "water by fire." His invention relied on steam pressure, which had a tendency to blow up, so it wasn't entirely foolproof. In 1712, an English ironmonger and inventor named Thomas Newcomen came up with a better version, which contained safety valves, and his nifty invention remained in use for over 50 years.

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What Were the Best Inventions of the Renaissance? (Top 5)

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The Renaissance was an incredible period of artistic and scientific breakthrough, and these are the best inventions of the era.

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The printing press.

This allowed for great advancements in communication to take place.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Renaissance is one of the most incredible periods in our human history, when significant advancements were made across all aspects of society, including science, literature, philosophy, mathematics and art. During this momentous period in time many exciting inventions were made, all in the quest to better understand the world around us. Of all the inventions that were made during the Renaissance period, which ones stand out as the most significant and important of all time? Let's take a look through some of the best, many of which we still rely on today.

1. The Pencil: Humble Yet Mighty

Ah, the humble pencil, not to be taken for granted. It was invented during the Renaissance in 1560 by an Italian couple named Simonio and Lyndiana Bernacotti, who discovered that graphite sticks could be inserted into a hollowed out stick of juniper wood to keep it neat and handy. This early pencil was intended mainly for carpenters so it was oval in shape, to stop in rolling away. Even today, many carpenter's pencils are still made in this very same shape. Pencils went on to become mass produced items which were, and still are incredibly popular worldwide, often with the hexagon shape we recognise today, an updated version of the early oval which is even less likely to roll away!

2. The Printing Press: Perhaps the Most Significant Tool of the Renaissance

The printing press was one of the most significant inventions of the Renaissance period, allowing for great advancements in communication to take place. It was German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg who invented the first printing press in 1436. He combined moveable panels of metal type with a pressing machine, creating a machine known as the Gutenberg press. Thanks to Gutenberg, newspapers, magazines and books could be reproduced relatively quickly and cheaply, replacing the painstaking scribe work of monks in monasteries. Gutenberg's press was operated entirely by hand, a slow process by today's electronic standards, but he paved the way for the future to come.

3. The Microscope: An Ingenious Discovery

An ingenious spectacle maker of the Renaissance period named Zacharias Janssen is credited with creating the first microscope in 1590. Although Zacharias was a mere teenager at the time, it is thought he and his father created the first microscope prototype together. Their microscope was known as a 'compound' microscope made from at least two lenses, one to pick up the image, and the other to magnify it so we can actually see it with the human eye. The wondrous discovery they made meant we could explore, understand and cultivate the world in a whole new way, and life has never been the same since. When news spread throughout Europe about microscopes, the concept was quickly picked up on and adapted by others, including astronomer, physicist and engineer Galileo Galilei in the early 17th century.

4. The Telescope: Extending the Human Senses

Another canny spectacle maker of the Renaissance era from Holland, named Hans Lippershey, also invented the first telescope in 1608. He initially called his new device a "kijker" (Dutch for "looker"), describing its function, "for seeing things far away as if they were nearby." It was the first instrument of its kind to extend one of the human senses, fascinating and inspiring many to develop his idea further. Following on Lippershey's discovery, Galileo Galilei was quick off the mark again - he went on to make his own updated version of the telescope in around 1609, which he used to make some radical findings about the universe. These include finding Jupiter's four moons, discovering that the sun was the centre of the universe, and that the Earth's moon is not completely spherical - amazing, right? Isaac Newton also succeeded in creating one of the world's first telescopes in 1668, using a reflective mirror mechanism.

5. The Steam Engine: One of the Most Important Inventions of the Renaissance

Today we might think of the steam engine as a symbol of a bygone era, but during the Renaissance, it was one of the hottest discoveries to be made. One of the most important inventions in the centuries leading up to the Industrial Revolution, the steam engine allowed for major developments to be made in agriculture, mining, manufacture and transportation. So, who do we have to thank for this mighty invention? The great English engineer Thomas Savery made the first practical and effective steam engine, designed for pumping out water in 1698, a process he concisely termed "water by fire." His invention relied on steam pressure, which had a tendency to blow up, so it wasn't entirely foolproof. In 1712, an English ironmonger and inventor named Thomas Newcomen came up with a better version, which contained safety valves, and his nifty invention remained in use for over 50 years.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Were the Best Inventions of the Renaissance? (Top 5)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Renaissance was an incredible period of artistic and scientific breakthrough, and these are the best inventions of the era.

# data[].attributes.body
The microscope.

The wondrous discovery they made meant we could explore, understand, and cultivate the world in a whole new way, and life has never been the same since.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Renaissance is one of the most incredible periods in our human history, when significant advancements were made across all aspects of society, including science, literature, philosophy, mathematics and art. During this momentous period in time many exciting inventions were made, all in the quest to better understand the world around us. Of all the inventions that were made during the Renaissance period, which ones stand out as the most significant and important of all time? Let's take a look through some of the best, many of which we still rely on today.

1. The Pencil: Humble Yet Mighty

Ah, the humble pencil, not to be taken for granted. It was invented during the Renaissance in 1560 by an Italian couple named Simonio and Lyndiana Bernacotti, who discovered that graphite sticks could be inserted into a hollowed out stick of juniper wood to keep it neat and handy. This early pencil was intended mainly for carpenters so it was oval in shape, to stop in rolling away. Even today, many carpenter's pencils are still made in this very same shape. Pencils went on to become mass produced items which were, and still are incredibly popular worldwide, often with the hexagon shape we recognise today, an updated version of the early oval which is even less likely to roll away!

2. The Printing Press: Perhaps the Most Significant Tool of the Renaissance

The printing press was one of the most significant inventions of the Renaissance period, allowing for great advancements in communication to take place. It was German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg who invented the first printing press in 1436. He combined moveable panels of metal type with a pressing machine, creating a machine known as the Gutenberg press. Thanks to Gutenberg, newspapers, magazines and books could be reproduced relatively quickly and cheaply, replacing the painstaking scribe work of monks in monasteries. Gutenberg's press was operated entirely by hand, a slow process by today's electronic standards, but he paved the way for the future to come.

3. The Microscope: An Ingenious Discovery

An ingenious spectacle maker of the Renaissance period named Zacharias Janssen is credited with creating the first microscope in 1590. Although Zacharias was a mere teenager at the time, it is thought he and his father created the first microscope prototype together. Their microscope was known as a 'compound' microscope made from at least two lenses, one to pick up the image, and the other to magnify it so we can actually see it with the human eye. The wondrous discovery they made meant we could explore, understand and cultivate the world in a whole new way, and life has never been the same since. When news spread throughout Europe about microscopes, the concept was quickly picked up on and adapted by others, including astronomer, physicist and engineer Galileo Galilei in the early 17th century.

4. The Telescope: Extending the Human Senses

Another canny spectacle maker of the Renaissance era from Holland, named Hans Lippershey, also invented the first telescope in 1608. He initially called his new device a "kijker" (Dutch for "looker"), describing its function, "for seeing things far away as if they were nearby." It was the first instrument of its kind to extend one of the human senses, fascinating and inspiring many to develop his idea further. Following on Lippershey's discovery, Galileo Galilei was quick off the mark again - he went on to make his own updated version of the telescope in around 1609, which he used to make some radical findings about the universe. These include finding Jupiter's four moons, discovering that the sun was the centre of the universe, and that the Earth's moon is not completely spherical - amazing, right? Isaac Newton also succeeded in creating one of the world's first telescopes in 1668, using a reflective mirror mechanism.

5. The Steam Engine: One of the Most Important Inventions of the Renaissance

Today we might think of the steam engine as a symbol of a bygone era, but during the Renaissance, it was one of the hottest discoveries to be made. One of the most important inventions in the centuries leading up to the Industrial Revolution, the steam engine allowed for major developments to be made in agriculture, mining, manufacture and transportation. So, who do we have to thank for this mighty invention? The great English engineer Thomas Savery made the first practical and effective steam engine, designed for pumping out water in 1698, a process he concisely termed "water by fire." His invention relied on steam pressure, which had a tendency to blow up, so it wasn't entirely foolproof. In 1712, an English ironmonger and inventor named Thomas Newcomen came up with a better version, which contained safety valves, and his nifty invention remained in use for over 50 years.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Were the Best Inventions of the Renaissance? (Top 5)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Renaissance was an incredible period of artistic and scientific breakthrough, and these are the best inventions of the era.

# data[].attributes.body
The telescope.

It was the first instrument of its kind to extend one of the human senses.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Renaissance is one of the most incredible periods in our human history, when significant advancements were made across all aspects of society, including science, literature, philosophy, mathematics and art. During this momentous period in time many exciting inventions were made, all in the quest to better understand the world around us. Of all the inventions that were made during the Renaissance period, which ones stand out as the most significant and important of all time? Let's take a look through some of the best, many of which we still rely on today.

1. The Pencil: Humble Yet Mighty

Ah, the humble pencil, not to be taken for granted. It was invented during the Renaissance in 1560 by an Italian couple named Simonio and Lyndiana Bernacotti, who discovered that graphite sticks could be inserted into a hollowed out stick of juniper wood to keep it neat and handy. This early pencil was intended mainly for carpenters so it was oval in shape, to stop in rolling away. Even today, many carpenter's pencils are still made in this very same shape. Pencils went on to become mass produced items which were, and still are incredibly popular worldwide, often with the hexagon shape we recognise today, an updated version of the early oval which is even less likely to roll away!

2. The Printing Press: Perhaps the Most Significant Tool of the Renaissance

The printing press was one of the most significant inventions of the Renaissance period, allowing for great advancements in communication to take place. It was German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg who invented the first printing press in 1436. He combined moveable panels of metal type with a pressing machine, creating a machine known as the Gutenberg press. Thanks to Gutenberg, newspapers, magazines and books could be reproduced relatively quickly and cheaply, replacing the painstaking scribe work of monks in monasteries. Gutenberg's press was operated entirely by hand, a slow process by today's electronic standards, but he paved the way for the future to come.

3. The Microscope: An Ingenious Discovery

An ingenious spectacle maker of the Renaissance period named Zacharias Janssen is credited with creating the first microscope in 1590. Although Zacharias was a mere teenager at the time, it is thought he and his father created the first microscope prototype together. Their microscope was known as a 'compound' microscope made from at least two lenses, one to pick up the image, and the other to magnify it so we can actually see it with the human eye. The wondrous discovery they made meant we could explore, understand and cultivate the world in a whole new way, and life has never been the same since. When news spread throughout Europe about microscopes, the concept was quickly picked up on and adapted by others, including astronomer, physicist and engineer Galileo Galilei in the early 17th century.

4. The Telescope: Extending the Human Senses

Another canny spectacle maker of the Renaissance era from Holland, named Hans Lippershey, also invented the first telescope in 1608. He initially called his new device a "kijker" (Dutch for "looker"), describing its function, "for seeing things far away as if they were nearby." It was the first instrument of its kind to extend one of the human senses, fascinating and inspiring many to develop his idea further. Following on Lippershey's discovery, Galileo Galilei was quick off the mark again - he went on to make his own updated version of the telescope in around 1609, which he used to make some radical findings about the universe. These include finding Jupiter's four moons, discovering that the sun was the centre of the universe, and that the Earth's moon is not completely spherical - amazing, right? Isaac Newton also succeeded in creating one of the world's first telescopes in 1668, using a reflective mirror mechanism.

5. The Steam Engine: One of the Most Important Inventions of the Renaissance

Today we might think of the steam engine as a symbol of a bygone era, but during the Renaissance, it was one of the hottest discoveries to be made. One of the most important inventions in the centuries leading up to the Industrial Revolution, the steam engine allowed for major developments to be made in agriculture, mining, manufacture and transportation. So, who do we have to thank for this mighty invention? The great English engineer Thomas Savery made the first practical and effective steam engine, designed for pumping out water in 1698, a process he concisely termed "water by fire." His invention relied on steam pressure, which had a tendency to blow up, so it wasn't entirely foolproof. In 1712, an English ironmonger and inventor named Thomas Newcomen came up with a better version, which contained safety valves, and his nifty invention remained in use for over 50 years.

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What Were the Best Inventions of the Renaissance? (Top 5)

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The Renaissance was an incredible period of artistic and scientific breakthrough, and these are the best inventions of the era.

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The increasing failure of the Roman Catholic Church.

This provided stability in spiritual and civic life and the rise in importance of city-states and national monarchies.

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Timeline of significant events concerning the period of European history known as the Renaissance. During the Renaissance there was a rebirth of interest in ancient Greece and Rome. Europeans took ancient ideas and developed their own. They also produced many new masterworks in fields such as art an…

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The fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the Ottoman Turks.

This marked the end of the Byzantine Empire.

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Research Guides: Renaissance Era: A Resource Guide: Introduction

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The cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” in Europe, referred to as the Renaissance, occurred during the 14th-17th centuries. This guide highlights collection materials at the Library of Congress, as well as useful external online resources

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The discovery of the New World in 1492.

This ushered in the age of exploration.

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Research Guides: Renaissance Era: A Resource Guide: Introduction

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” in Europe, referred to as the Renaissance, occurred during the 14th-17th centuries. This guide highlights collection materials at the Library of Congress, as well as useful external online resources

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The revival of Classical Greek.

It was first learned in Italy and then in Northern Europe.

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Research Guides: Renaissance Era: A Resource Guide: Introduction

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” in Europe, referred to as the Renaissance, occurred during the 14th-17th centuries. This guide highlights collection materials at the Library of Congress, as well as useful external online resources

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Michelangelo.

He was celebrated for his art's complexity, physical realism, psychological tension, and thoughtful consideration of space, light, and shadow.

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Why is Michelangelo so famous? | Britannica

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Why is Michelangelo so famous? Michelangelo first gained notice in his 20s for his sculptures of the Pietà (1499) and David (1501) and cemented his fa

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Leonardo Da Vinci.

He is best known for his dramatic and expressive artwork.

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Gain insight into the mind of a genius and the fundamental scientific and artistic principles he discovered.

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Raphael.

His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition.

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Raphael, Italian in full Raffaello Sanzio or Raffaello Santi, (born April 6, 1483, Urbino, Duchy of Urbino [Italy]-died April 6, 1520, Rome, Papal States [Italy]), master painter and architect of the Italian High Renaissance. Raphael is best known for his Madonnas and for his large figure compositions in the Vatican. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur.

Why is Raphael so important?

What is Raphael famous for?

What was Raphael's family like?

How was Raphael educated?

How did Raphael die?

Early years at Urbino

Raphael was the son of Giovanni Santi and Magia di Battista Ciarla; his mother died in 1491. His father was, according to the 16th-century artist and biographer Giorgio Vasari, a painter "of no great merit." He was, however, a man of culture who was in constant contact with the advanced artistic ideas current at the court of Urbino. He gave his son his first instruction in painting, and, before his death in 1494, when Raphael was 11, he had introduced the boy to humanistic philosophy at the court.

Urbino had become a centre of culture during the rule of Duke Federico da Montefeltro, who encouraged the arts and attracted the visits of men of outstanding talent, including Donato Bramante, Piero della Francesca, and Leon Battista Alberti, to his court. Although Raphael would be influenced by major artists in Florence and Rome, Urbino constituted the basis for all his subsequent learning. Furthermore, the cultural vitality of the city probably stimulated the exceptional precociousness of the young artist, who, even at the beginning of the 16th century, when he was scarcely 17 years old, already displayed an extraordinary talent.

Apprenticeship at Perugia

The date of Raphael's arrival in Perugia is not known, but several scholars place it in 1495. The first record of Raphael's activity as a painter is found there in a document of December 10, 1500, declaring that the young painter, by then called a "master," was commissioned to help paint an altarpiece to be completed by September 13, 1502. It is clear from this that Raphael had already given proof of his mastery, so much so that between 1501 and 1503 he received a rather important commission-to paint the Coronation of the Virgin for the Oddi Chapel in the church of San Francesco, Perugia. The great Umbrian master Pietro Perugino was executing the frescoes in the Collegio del Cambio at Perugia between 1498 and 1500, enabling Raphael, as a member of his workshop, to acquire extensive professional knowledge.

In addition to this practical instruction, Perugino's calmly exquisite style also influenced Raphael. The Giving of the Keys to St. Peter, painted in 1481-82 by Perugino for the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican palace, inspired Raphael's first major work, The Marriage of the Virgin (1504). Perugino's influence is seen in the emphasis on perspectives, in the graded relationships between the figures and the architecture, and in the lyrical sweetness of the figures. Nevertheless, even in this early painting, it is clear that Raphael's sensibility was different from his teacher's. The disposition of the figures is less rigidly related to the architecture, and the disposition of each figure in relation to the others is more informal and animated. The sweetness of the figures and the gentle relation between them surpasses anything in Perugino's work.

Three small paintings done by Raphael shortly after The Marriage of the Virgin- Vision of a Knight, Three Graces, and St. Michael -are masterful examples of narrative painting, showing, as well as youthful freshness, a maturing ability to control the elements of his own style. Although he had learned much from Perugino, Raphael by late 1504 needed other models to work from; it is clear that his desire for knowledge was driving him to look beyond Perugia.

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Raphael | Biography, Artworks, Paintings, Accomplishments, Death, & Facts

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Raphael, master painter and architect of the Italian High Renaissance, best known for his Madonnas and for his large figure compositions in the Vatican. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur.

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Donatello.

He was noted especially for his sculptures in marble, bronze, and wood.

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Donatello, original name in full Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, (born c. 1386, Florence [Italy]-died December 13, 1466, Florence), master of sculpture in both marble and bronze, one of the greatest of all Italian Renaissance artists.

A good deal is known about Donatello's life and career, but little is known about his character and personality, and what is known is not wholly reliable. He never married and he seems to have been a man of simple tastes. Patrons often found him hard to deal with in a day when artists' working conditions were regulated by guild rules. Donatello seemingly demanded a measure of artistic freedom. Although he knew a number of humanists well, the artist was not a cultured intellectual. His humanist friends attest that he was a connoisseur of ancient art. The inscriptions and signatures on his works are among the earliest examples of the revival of Classical Roman lettering. He had a more detailed and wide-ranging knowledge of ancient sculpture than any other artist of his day. His work was inspired by ancient visual examples, which he often daringly transformed. Though he was traditionally viewed as essentially a realist, later research indicates he was much more.

Early career

Donatello (diminutive of Donato) was the son of Niccolò di Betto Bardi, a Florentine wool carder. It is not known how he began his career, but it seems likely that he learned stone carving from one of the sculptors working for the cathedral of Florence (the Duomo) about 1400. Sometime between 1404 and 1407 he became a member of the workshop of Lorenzo Ghiberti, a sculptor in bronze who in 1402 had won the competition for the doors of the Baptistery. Donatello's earliest work of which there is certain knowledge, a marble statue of David, shows an artistic debt to Ghiberti, who was then the leading Florentine exponent of International Gothic, a style of graceful, softly curved lines strongly influenced by northern European art. The David, originally intended for the cathedral, was moved in 1416 to the Palazzo Vecchio, the city hall, where it long stood as a civic-patriotic symbol, although from the 16th century on it was eclipsed by the gigantic David of Michelangelo, which served the same purpose. Still partly Gothic in style, other early works of Donatello are the impressive seated marble figure of St. John the Evangelist (1408-15) for the Florence cathedral facade and a wooden crucifix (1406-08) in the church of Santa Croce. The latter, according to an unproved anecdote, was made in friendly competition with Filippo Brunelleschi, a sculptor and a noted architect.

The full power of Donatello first appeared in two marble statues, St. Mark and St. George (both completed c. 1415), for niches on the exterior of Orsanmichele, the church of Florentine guilds ( St. George has been replaced by a copy; the original is now in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello). Here, for the first time since Classical antiquity and in striking contrast to medieval art, the human body is rendered as a self-activating functional organism, and the human personality is shown with a confidence in its own worth. The same qualities came increasingly to the fore in a series of five prophet statues that Donatello did beginning in 1416 for the niches of the campanile, the bell tower of the cathedral (all these figures, together with others by lesser masters, were later removed to the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo). The statues were of a beardless and a bearded prophet, as well as a group of Abraham and Isaac (1416-21) for the eastern niches; the so-called Zuccone ("Pumpkin," because of its bald head); and the so-called Jeremiah (actually Habakkuk) for the western niches. The Zuccone is deservedly famous as the finest of the campanile statues and one of the artist's masterpieces. In both the Zuccone and the Jeremiah (1427-35), their whole appearance, especially highly individual features inspired by ancient Roman portrait busts, suggests Classical orators of singular expressive force. The statues are so different from the traditional images of Old Testament prophets that by the end of the 15th century they could be mistaken for portrait statues.

A pictorial tendency in sculpture had begun with Ghiberti's narrative relief panels for the north door of the Baptistery, in which he extended the apparent depth of the scene by placing boldly rounded foreground figures against more delicately modeled settings of landscape and architecture. Donatello invented his own bold new mode of relief in his marble panel St. George Killing the Dragon (1416-17). Known as schiacciato ("flattened out"), the technique involved extremely shallow carving throughout, which created a far more-striking effect of atmospheric space than before. The sculptor no longer modeled his shapes in the usual way but rather seemed to "paint" them with his chisel.

Donatello continued to explore the possibilities of the new technique in his marble reliefs of the 1420s and early 1430s. The most highly developed of these are The Ascension, with Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter, which is so delicately carved that its full beauty can be seen only in a strongly raking light; and the Feast of Herod (1433-35), with its perspective background. The large stucco roundels with scenes from the life of St. John the Evangelist (about 1434-37), below the dome of the old sacristy of San Lorenzo, Florence, show the same technique but with colour added for better legibility at a distance.

Meanwhile, Donatello had also become a major sculptor in bronze. His earliest such work was the more than life-size statue of St. Louis of Toulouse (c. 1423) for a niche at Orsanmichele (replaced a half-century later by Verrocchio's bronze group of Christ and the doubting Thomas). About 1460 the St. Louis was transferred to Santa Croce and is now in the museum attached to the church. Early scholars had an unfavourable view of St. Louis, but later opinion held it to be an achievement of the first rank, both technically and artistically. The garments completely hide the body of the figure, but Donatello successfully conveyed the impression of harmonious organic structure beneath the drapery. Donatello had been commissioned to do not only the statue but the niche and its framework. The niche is the earliest to display Brunelleschi's new Renaissance architectural style without residual Gothic forms. Donatello could hardly have designed it alone; Michelozzo, a sculptor and architect with whom he entered into a limited partnership a year or two later, may have assisted him. In the partnership, Donatello contributed only the sculptural centre for the fine bronze effigy on the tomb of the schismatic antipope John XXIII in the Baptistery; the relief of the Assumption of the Virgin on the Brancacci tomb in Sant'Angelo a Nilo, Naples; and the balustrade reliefs of dancing angels on the outdoor pulpit of the Prato Cathedral (1433-38). Michelozzo was responsible for the architectural framework and the decorative sculpture. The architecture of these partnership projects resembles that of Brunelleschi and differs sharply from that of comparable works done by Donatello alone in the 1430s. All of his work done alone shows an unorthodox ornamental vocabulary drawn from both Classical and medieval sources and an un-Brunelleschian tendency to blur the distinction between the architectural and the sculptural elements. Both the Annunciation tabernacle in Santa Croce and the Cantoria (the singer's pulpit) in the Duomo (now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo) show a vastly increased repertory of forms derived from ancient art, the harvest of Donatello's long stay in Rome (1430-33). His departure from the standards of Brunelleschi produced an estrangement between the two old friends that was never repaired. Brunelleschi even composed epigrams against Donatello.

During his partnership with Michelozzo, Donatello carried out independent commissions of pure sculpture, including several works of bronze for the baptismal font of San Giovanni in Siena. The earliest and most important of these was the Feast of Herod (1423-27), an intensely dramatic relief with an architectural background that first displayed Donatello's command of scientific linear perspective, which Brunelleschi had rediscovered only a few years earlier. To the Siena font Donatello also contributed two statuettes of Virtues, austerely beautiful figures whose style points toward the Virgin and angel of the Santa Croce Annunciation, and three nude putti, or child angels. These putti, evidently influenced by Etruscan bronze figurines, prepared the way for the bronze David, the first large-scale free-standing nude statue of the Renaissance. Well proportioned and superbly poised, it was conceived independently of any architectural setting. Its harmonious calm makes it the most classical of Donatello's works. The statue was undoubtedly done for a private patron, but the identity is in doubt. Its recorded history begins with the wedding of Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1469, when it occupied the centre of the courtyard of the Medici palace in Florence. After the expulsion of the Medici in 1496, the statue was placed in the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio and eventually moved to the Bargello.

Whether or not the David was commissioned by the Medici, Donatello worked for them (1433-43), producing sculptural decoration for the old sacristy in San Lorenzo, the Medici church. Works there included 10 large reliefs in coloured stucco and two sets of small bronze doors, which showed paired saints and apostles disputing with each other in vivid and even violent fashion.

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Donatello | Biography, Sculptures, David, & Facts

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Donatello, master of sculpture in both marble and bronze, one of the greatest of all Italian Renaissance artists. He had a more detailed and wide-ranging knowledge of ancient sculpture than any other artist of his day. His work was inspired by ancient visual examples, which he often daringly transformed.

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One of the commonly cited reasons for her fame is the 'Mona Lisa's Smile'. Da Vinci exploited human optical illusion to create a unique smile through perspective and by using shadow work. Da Vinci painted Mona Lisa in such a way that the eyes are the center of the viewer's attention and the mouth is the periphery.

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The L ast Supper symbolizes the last meal shared with Christ and his disciples. The painting is famous for detailing the relationship that each of them had with their Lord. It also has many hidden symbols and meanings for the Holy Trinity and foreshadows what the future held for the group.

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The story of David and Goliath is a biblical one, found in Book 1 Samuel. The teenage David had to defeat the giant Goliath, he could not be defeated by strength since David was smaller. It took cunning and skill to defeat someone bigger than him, and he did so with the slingshot.

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The Birth of Venus is the first example in Tuscany of a painting on canvas. Moreover the special use of expensive alabaster powder, making the colors even brighter and timeless, is another characteristic that makes this work unique.

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The viol (also referred to as the viola da gamba, or gamba) is a European bowed and fretted string instrument played on the leg (da gamba), used at court and in the home primarily during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

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one of several couple dances of French origin that were popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, usually in duple measure, mimetic, accompanied by singing, and danced in groups typically in a circle. 2. : a sideward balance step in a clockwise direction used in branle dances.

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basse danse, (French: “low dance”), courtly dance for couples, originating in 14th-century Italy and fashionable in many varieties for two centuries. Its name is attributed both to its possible origin as a peasant, or “low,” dance and to its style of small gliding steps in which the feet remain close to the ground.

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During the 14th century, the word saltarello became the name of a particular dance step (a double with a hop on the final or initial upbeat), and the name of a meter of music (a fast triple), both of which appear in many choreographed dances.