Tutak Art Studio

Anthony - 24K Gold point on paper....

The High Renaissance period of the Cinquecento (that's Italian for 16th c.) set the standard for Western artists for centuries. Only in the late 19th c. did it ...begin to be challenged in England and France. Until the Counter-Reformation and Spanish domination of Italy cast a pallor over artistic spirits and palettes, it was a generally "sunny" time -- despite the continual political feuding -- one characterized by ambitious projects and a widespread faith in the values of the new Humanism. The work of its two greatest and best-known figures -- Michelangelo and Raphael -- has already appeared in MWW galleries devoted to them. This gallery presents the work of two dozen lesser-known artists of the period. A word about how the gallery is organized, which deviates a little from our standard practice of presenting the pictures in strict chronological order. The first section (roughly a third) has 128 works by the four major artists of the period not named Michelangelo or Raphael -- 41 from the Venetian Giovanni Bellini (c. 1426-1516), followed by 32 from Correggio (1489-1534), followed by an even dozen by Leonardo da Vinci, and then 43 from Giorgione ( 1478-1510). Each artist's work is presented chronologically in this section. The second section (roughly the final two-thirds) has nearly 250 works by over twenty other artists who flourished during this the first half of the century, chief among them Andrea Solario, Bachiacca, Bramantino, Bronzino, Dosso Dossi , Lorenzo Lotto, Bernardino Luini, Parmigianino, Perugino, Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, Andrea del Sarto, Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo, Sebastiano del Piombo, Il Sodoma. The works in this section are arranged in chronological order, without respect to artist. Needless to say, the selections are meant to be representative rather than comprehensive. Most of the pictures have lengthy "comments" giving background on the work, the artist or the subject portrayed. They're worth a look. (Click "See More" in the box to right of the large image to read them.) These artists also did a lot of fine portraits and drawings. There wasn't room to include many of them here, but more will appear in the two MWW "Renaissance Men & Women" portrait gallery. For more classic Italian art, see these current or future MWW exhibits: * From Giotto to Botticelli I: The 14th c. Italian Masters * From Giotto to Botticelli II: The 15th c. Italian Masters * Cinquecento I: Raphael - The Paintings & Vatican Frescos * Cinquecento III: The Mannerists (1540-80) * The Sistine Chapel Up Close as well as the MWW Sculpture and Prints Special Collections, which both include many works by Italian artists.