High Renaissance
1490-1527
The High Renaissance represents the culmination of Renaissance art in Italy from approximately 1490 to 1527, when artists achieved unprecedented mastery of technique, composition, and the representation of the human form.
Historical Context
The High Renaissance centered in Rome under papal patronage, particularly Julius II and Leo X. This brief but brilliant period saw the creation of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the Mona Lisa, and the School of Athens before ending with the Sack of Rome in 1527.
Key Characteristics
- •Perfect mastery of perspective and proportion
- •Idealized beauty and harmonious compositions
- •Sfumato technique for subtle tonal gradations
- •Monumental scale and grandeur
- •Integration of art, science, and humanism
- •Balanced, pyramidal compositions
Notable High Renaissance Artists
High Renaissance Artworks
Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Columbus (born about 1446, died 1506)
Sebastiano del Piombo (Sebastiano Luciani)
Madonna and Child with Saints and Donors
Sebastiano del Piombo
The Holy Family with the Young Saint John the Baptist
Andrea del Sarto (Andrea d'Agnolo)
Portrait of a Man
Fra Bartolomeo (Bartolomeo di Paolo del Fattorino)
Portrait of a Man
Andrea del Sarto (Andrea d'Agnolo)
Christ Carrying the Cross
Sebastiano del Piombo
Cardinal Bandinello Sauli, His Secretary, and Two Geographers
Sebastiano del Piombo
María Teresa (1638–1683), Infanta of Spain
Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo
Don Gaspar de Guzmán (1587–1645), Count-Duke of Olivares
Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo
Charity
Andrea del Sarto
Alfonso d'Este (1486–1534), Duke of Ferrara
Titian
Venus and the Lute Player
Titian
Doge Andrea Gritti (1455–1538)
Titian
Domenico da Gambassi
Andrea del Sarto
Lucrezia di Lippo di Iacopo Guidi
Andrea del Sarto
The Baptism of Christ
Sebastiano Ricci
The Holy Family with Angels
Sebastiano Ricci
Saints Peter, Martha, Mary Magdalen, and Leonard
Correggio (Antonio Allegri)
Holy Family
Jacopino del Conte
Filippo Archinto (born about 1500, died 1558), Archbishop of Milan
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)
Venus and Adonis
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)
Portrait of a Man
Titian (Tiziano Vecellio)
Grape Vines and Fruit, with Three Wagtails
Bartolomeo Cavarozzi
The Denial of Saint Peter
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi)