XV CENTURY IN THE REST OF ITALY
Although the fifteenth century gave birth to a huge number of artists operating throughout Italy – including in many places without a previous tradition, from which to draw – no other city has even come close to the level, and the depths of the fifteenth-century Florentine school.
However, despite this,, that the technical innovations initiated in Florence were to play a huge role in the development of art, in no case were they slavishly imitated. Sienese painters proved. that the tradition of colourful narration dating back to the previous century is still fruitful, although it was modified under the influence of foreign gothic. Works of Sassetta (Ok. 1392-1450), often saturated with the mood of mysticism, although they make some concessions to new theories of spatial composition, but this is a side element of the image. The most outstanding Sienese artist of this century was the sculptor Jacopo della Quercia (1374-1438), whose style is basically linear, although the classicizing tendencies are modified by the knowledge of contemporary North European art. The artist received important public commissions in his native city, for example, general supervision of the construction of the baptismal font in the baptistery and Fonte Gaia. Ouercia's masterpiece, however, is his last work., bas-reliefs on the façade of San Petronio in Bologna, where the dynamics of execution completely match the greatest Florentine works. The most important of his followers was Agostino di Duccio (1418-81). another sculptor based on the line, whose work is blown up by neurotic energy. His masterpiece, created in cooperation with Matteo de Pasti (Ok. 1420-67). is a joyful series of shallow reliefs on tempo Malatestiano in Rimini.
Another artist associated with Rimini was Piero della Francesca (1410/20-92) from Umbria, who exerted a dominant influence on the development of painting in central Italy. This tireless artist was also a mathematician. what explains the weight. which he attached in his compositions to perspective and symmetry. His figures are painted with a cool distance, and yet they are distinguished by monumental beauty. Piero was also one of the greatest painters of light, especially in the blues of the sky illuminating its delicate landscapes, as well as in more dramatic effects, for example, in the painting The Dream of Constantine, part of his greatest commission, a series of frescoes in the Church of San Francesco in Arezzo.
Melozzo da Forli (1438-94) he was the most faithful imitator of Piero della Francesca. showing a similar interest in the perspective. He is probably the author of his favorite perspective effect in the Renaissance, called sotto in su. as a result of which the figures painted on the plafond seem to hang in space. Another ingenious student of the same master was Luca Signorelli (1450-1523). He developed the ideas of a dramatic approach to movement., pioneered by Pollaiuolo. Despite obvious faults, such as rough colors, rigid drawing and tendency to reload compositions. Signorelli created some of the most heroic works of his era. His deep anatomical knowledge was to have a huge impact on future generations.; the artist used the nude to create highly spectacular effects, especially on the frescoes in the Cathedral of Onrieto.
Pietro Perugino (1445-1523), probably another student of della Francesca. he went a completely different way than Signorelli, creating calm altar paintings with soft and beautifully modeled figures against the background of cheerful Umbrian landscapes. His collaborator Bernardino Pintoricchio (Ok. 1454-1513) was a purely decorative artist, whose works have no claim to the depths, but they are almost always fresh and pleasing to the eye. especially larger cycles. for example. in Libreria Piccolomini in the Sienese Cathedral.
The first important Renaissance painter in northern Italy was Andrea Mantegna (Ok. 1431-1506), whose works are the apogee of classical influences. Surrounded since childhood by the art of the Romans. Mantegna created an idealized vision of the ancient world permeating almost all of his works and even becoming a dominant element in some religious works.; this vision is combined with phenomenal technical efficiency and the bold application of unusual points of view, which is best seen in the sorrowful painting The Dead Christ in Brera. in Milan. Completely different is the rich decoration of Camera degli Sposi in Mantua, one of the few works of the artist based on direct observation of nature, and not on classic inspirations.