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‘The concern of those architects for proportion caused that clear, measured expression and definition of architectural space and mass that differentiates the Renaissance style from the Gothic and encourages in the spectator an immediate and full comprehension of the building.*

**

*{Gothic – Complex, v[ersus] Renaissance – Simplicity?}

** – ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 13:996] - 997

[Source & ts text continues in next ts journal entry]

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{Renaissance Architecture [continued (3)]}[1st May 1991]

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‘For the Renaissance, proportion was the most important determining factor of beauty. The great Italian Humanist and architect Leon Battisti Alberti (1404-72[ce]) defined beauty in architecture as:

“a Harmony* of all the Parts in whatsoever Subject it appears, fitted together with such Proportion and Connection, the nothing could be added, diminished, or altered, but for the Worse.” (Ten Books on Architecture, trans. by J. Leoni, book VI, Ch 2, 1755).’**

***

*s~

**{also quoted above []}

[reference not found]

*** – ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 13:996]

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{Renaissance Architecture [continued]}[1st May 1991]

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*

‘… The ornate, decorative quality of the Corinthian order was embraced during the early Renaissance, while the masculine simplicity and strength of the Doric was preferred during the Italian High Renaissance.’

**

One might feel that naturalism had little or nothing to do with a revival of classical forms and ornaments, and that the order of the [Classical] Orders suggests a predominantly i[nner] c[ircle] rotation. But we shall see.

***

*{(Read here last extract on [[Redbook9:222][19910430:1230g]{Renaissance Architecture [continued (7)]}[1st May 1991],] p222↓)}

** – ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 13:996]

{(immediately followed by first para[graph] on [[Redbook9:225][19910430:1230l]{Renaissance Architecture [continued (12)]}[1st May 1991],] p225↓)}

***{The Corinthian came after the Doric (& Ionic) in Classical Greece, after all.

(See [[Redbook9:225][19910430:1230m]{Renaissance Architecture [continued (13)]}[1st May 1991],] 225)}

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{Renaissance Architecture}[1st May 1991]

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*

(Renaissance Architecture)

‘The Renaissance style in architecture originated in Florence, Italy, in the early 15^th century [ce] and thence spread throughout most of the Italian peninsula; by the end of the 16^th century [ce] the new style pervaded almost all of Europe, gradually replacing the Gothic style of the late Middle Ages. The concept of the Renaissance, whose goal was the rebirth or re-creation of ancient Classical culture, dates from the period itself. This meant a revival of naturalism, seen in Italian 15th-century [ce] painting and sculpture, and of classical forms and ornament in Architecture, such as the column and round arch, the tunnel vault, and the dome.’

***

*It’s actually rather painful to write** – the slipped disc, I mean – which will perhaps encourage me to be more selective.

[ref [[Redbook9:214][19910430:1230d]{Renaissance Sculpture (and Classical Influence) [continued (4)]}[30th April 1991]fn=#,] 214]

**(initially at least)

*** – E[ncyclopaedia] B[ritannica] 13:996

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{The Explosion of Literature}[30th April 1991]

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[continued]

Alexander Murray, Fellow of University College Oxford, and the author of “Reason and Safety in the Middle Ages’, refers to “a massive explosion in literature from c[irca]1100[ce] onwards’, in the latest T[imes] L[iterary] S[upplement].*

* T[imes] L[iterary] S[upplement] 19910426:4, ‘Making a gesture: Table manners and body language in the Middle Ages’, A. Murray.

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{Renaissance Sculpture [continued (17)](High Renaissance and Mannerism [continued (7)][Mannerist sculpture outside Italy [continued]][30th April 1991]

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(France, 16^th century)

‘In his later works Pilon achieved a freedom of plasticity and feeling for texture that anticipated Baroque developments.’

*

* – ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 27:98]

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[continued]

(Mannerist sculpture outside Italy)

‘[Adriaan de Vries]* “Psyche with Three Cupids[”] (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm) is a characteristic example of his stylishness – a wonderful satin finish, spiralling complexity, and a soaring grace reminiscent of Giambologna’s “Mercury”** (Figure 60).***

****

*(in Prague from 1601[ce])

**[See last previous ts journal entry]

***[Image not included in ms or ts]

**** – ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 27:] 98

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{Renaissance Sculpture [continued (14)](High Renaissance and Mannerism [continued (4)][Benevenuto Cellini, Giambologna][30th April 1991]

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[continued]

dominated Florentine scuplture at the end of the 16^th century, training artists who were to carry late 16th-century ideas into the rest of Europe and prepare the way for the nascent Baroque’

*

* – ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 27:] 97-98

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{Renaissance Sculpture [continued (13)](High Renaissance and Mannerism [continued (3)])[Michelangelo [continued (3)]]}[30th April 1991]

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[continued]

‘The “Pietà”, or “Deposition”, in the museum of the cathedral of Florence dates from around 1550[ce] and may have been intended by Michelangelo for use in his own tomb. The figure of Nicodemus is a self-portrait* and indicates Michelangelo’s deep religious convictions and his growing concern with religion. His final work, the “Rondanini Pietà” (1552-64[ce]), now in the Castello Sforzesco, Milan, is certainly his most personal and most deeply felt expression in sculpture. The artist had almost completely carved the piece when he changed his mind, returned to the block, and drastically reduced the breadth of the figures. He was working on the stome 10 days before he died, and the piece remains unfinished. In its rough state the “Rondanini Pietà” clearly shows that Michelangelo had turned from the rather muscular figure of Christ of his earlier works (as can be seen from the partially detached original right arm) to a more elongated and more dematerialised form.’

**

*(cf Last Judgement?)

[Sistine Chapel altarpiece]

** – ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 27: 97]

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{Renaissance Sculpture [continued (12)](High Renaissance and Mannerism [continued])[Michelangelo [continued]]}[30th April 1991]

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[continued]

‘It is this subtle balance and adjustment of parts to create a unified and harmonious whole that places this work* firmly in the High Renaissance style that was appearing simultaneously in painting and architecture.’

**

*Michelangelo’s “David”

** – ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 27:] 97

(illus[tration] on ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 27:] 96)

[The illustration referred to, captioned ‘Figure 59: “David” marble statue by Michelangelo, 1501-04[ce] in the Accademia, Florence. Height 5.49m.’, is reproduced in the ms but not in the ts]

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{Renaissance Sculpture [continued (11)](High Renaissance and Mannerism)[Michelangelo]}[30th April 1991]

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‘By 1496 [Michelangelo]* was in Rome, where he carved a “Bacchus”, now in the Bargello, Florence. Michelangelo captures the antique treatment of the young male figure by the soft modulation of contours. The figure seems to be slightly off-balance, and the parted lips and hazy eyes suggest that he is under the influence of wine. The little faun also joins in the Bacchic revel by slyly stealing some grapes. In his first major sculptural work the 21-year-old artist succeeded in capturing the spirit of the antique as no artist before him had done.’

**

*[Square brackets per ts]

** – ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 27:] 95-96

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