# High Renaissance

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{{Short description|Period of the most exceptional artistic production during the Italian Renaissance}}{{More citations needed|date=April 2026}}[[File:Raffael Stanza della Segnatura.jpg|thumb|[Raphael](/source/Raphael)'s frescos in the [Raphael Rooms](/source/Raphael_Rooms) of the [Apostolic Palace](/source/Apostolic_Palace) in the [Vatican](/source/Vatican_City), commissioned by [Pope Julius II](/source/Pope_Julius_II).]]
[[File:God2-Sistine Chapel.png|thumb|The ''[Creation of Adam](/source/Creation_of_Adam)'', a scene from [Michelangelo](/source/Michelangelo)'s [Sistine Chapel ceiling](/source/Sistine_Chapel_ceiling) (c. 1508–1512), also commissioned by Pope Julius II.]]
[[File:The Last Supper Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution.jpg|thumb|''[The Last Supper](/source/The_Last_Supper_(Leonardo))'', mural painting by [Leonardo da Vinci](/source/Leonardo_da_Vinci).]]

In [art history](/source/art_history), the '''High Renaissance''' was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly [Rome](/source/Rome), capital of the [Papal States](/source/Papal_States), and in [Florence](/source/Florence), during the [Italian Renaissance](/source/Italian_Renaissance). Most art historians state that the High Renaissance started between 1490 and 1500, and ended in 1520 with the death of [Raphael](/source/Raphael), although some say the High Renaissance ended about 1525, or in 1527 with the [Sack of Rome](/source/Sack_of_Rome_(1527)) by the mutinous army of [Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor](/source/Charles_V%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor), or about 1530.<!--See next section for specific art historians' positions-->

The best-known exponents of painting, sculpture, and architecture of the High Renaissance include [Leonardo da Vinci](/source/Leonardo_da_Vinci), [Michelangelo](/source/Michelangelo), [Raphael](/source/Raphael), and [Bramante](/source/Bramante). In the 21st century, the use of the term has been frequently criticized by some academic art historians for oversimplifying artistic developments, ignoring historical context, and focusing only on a few iconic works.<ref>[Hall, Marcia B.](/source/Marcia_Hall), "Classicism, Mannerism, and the Relieflike Style" in Hall, Marcia B. (ed.), ''The Cambridge Companion to Raphael'' (2005), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 223–236; p. 224.</ref>

==Origin of term==
The art historian [Jill Burke](/source/Jill_Burke) was the first to trace the historical origins of the term ''High Renaissance''. It was first coined in German by [Jacob Burckhardt](/source/Jacob_Burckhardt) (''Hochrenaissance'') in 1855<!-- ARE WE SURE ABOUT THIS DATE? - very early --> and has its origins in the "High Style" of painting and sculpture of the time period around the early 16th century described by [Johann Joachim Winckelmann](/source/Johann_Joachim_Winckelmann) in 1764.<ref>Jill Burke, "[http://www.ashgate.com/pdf/SamplePages/Rethinking_the_High_Renaissance_Intro.pdf Inventing the High Renaissance from Winckelmann to Wikipedia: an introductory essay] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923185831/http://www.ashgate.com/pdf/SamplePages/Rethinking_the_High_Renaissance_Intro.pdf |date=2015-09-23 }}", in: ''Id.'', [http://www.ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=637&calcTitle=1&title_id=10751&edition_id=11076 ''Rethinking the High Renaissance: Culture and the Visual Arts in Early Sixteenth-century Rome''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108153848/http://www.ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=637&calcTitle=1&title_id=10751&edition_id=11076 |date=2014-11-08 }}, Ashgate, 2012</ref> Extending the general rubric of [Renaissance](/source/Renaissance) culture, the visual arts of the High Renaissance were marked by a renewed emphasis upon the classical tradition, the expansion of networks of [patronage](/source/patronage), and a gradual attenuation of figural forms into the style later termed [Mannerism](/source/Mannerism).

==Time period==
Alexander Raunch in ''The Art of the High Renaissance and Mannerism in Rome and Central Italy'', 2007,<ref>Alexander Raunch "Painting of the High Renaissance and Mannerism in Rome and Central Italy" in ''The Italian Renaissance: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Drawing'', Konemann, Cologne, 1995. Pg. 308</ref> states the High Renaissance began in 1490, while [Marilyn Stokstad](/source/Marilyn_Stokstad) in ''Art History'', 2008, states it began in the 1490s.<ref>Marilyn Stokstad ''Art History'', Third Edition, Pearson Education Inc., New Jersey, 2008, Pg 659.</ref> Frederick Hartt states that Leonardo's ''[The Last Supper](/source/The_Last_Supper_(Leonardo))'', the painting of which began in 1495 and concluded in 1498, makes a complete break with the Early Renaissance and created the world in which Michelangelo and Raphael worked,<ref>Frederick Hartt, ''A History of Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture''; Harry N. Abrams Incorporated, New York, 1985, pg. 601</ref> while Christoph Luitpold Frommel, in his 2012 article "Bramante and the Origins of the High Renaissance," states ''The Last Supper'' is the first High Renaissance work but adds that the peak period of the High Renaissance was actually 1505 to 1513.<ref>Christoph Luitpold Frommel, "Bramante and the Origins of the High Renaissance" in ''Rethinking the High Renaissance:  The Culture of the Visual Arts in Early Sixteenth-Century Rome'', Jill Burke, ed. Ashgate Publishing, Oxan, UK, 2002, pg. 172.</ref>

[David Piper](/source/David_Piper_(curator)) in ''The Illustrated History of Art'', 1991, also cites ''The Last Supper'' writing the work announced the High Renaissance and was one of the most influential paintings of the High Renaissance, but contradictorily states that the High Renaissance began just after 1500.<ref>David Piper, ''The Illustrated History of Art'', Crescent Books, New York, 1991, pg. 129</ref>  Burchkardt stated the High Renaissance started at the close of the 15th century,<ref>Jacob Burchhardt, '' Cinerone'' 1841.</ref> while Franz Kugler, who wrote the first "modern" survey text, ''Handbook of Art History'' in 1841, and [Hugh Honour](/source/Hugh_Honour) and [John Fleming](/source/John_Fleming_(art_historian)) in ''The Visual Arts: A History'', 2009, state the High Renaissance started at the beginning of the 16th century.<ref>Franz Kugler ''Handbook of Art History'' 1841; Franz Kugler ''Handbook of Art History'' 1841.</ref><ref>Hugh Honour and John Flemming,''The Visual Arts: A History'', 7th edition, Laurence King Publishing Ltd., Great Britain, 2009, pg. 466</ref> Another seminal work of art which was created in the 1495–1500 timeframe was Michelangelo's ''[Pietà](/source/Piet%C3%A0_(Michelangelo))'', housed in [St. Peter's Basilica](/source/St._Peter's_Basilica), [Vatican City](/source/Vatican_City), which was executed in 1498–99.

In contrast to most of the other art historians, Manfred Wurdram, in ''Masterpieces of Western Art'', 2007, actually states that the dawn of the High Renaissance was heralded by Leonardo's ''[Adoration of the Magi](/source/Adoration_of_the_Magi_(Leonardo))'' of 1481, for which only the [underpainting](/source/underpainting) was completed.<ref>Mandred Wundrum, "Renaissance and Mannerism" in ''Masterpieces of Western Art'', Tashen, 2007.</ref>

As far as the end of the High Renaissance is concerned Hartt, Frommel, Piper, Wundrum, and Winkelman all state that the High Renaissance ended in 1520 with the death of Raphael. Honour and Fleming stated the High Renaissance was the first quarter of the 16th century meaning it would have ended in 1525.  By contrast, [Luigi Lanzi](/source/Luigi_Lanzi), in his ''The History of Painting in Italy, From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century (1809)'', stated it ended with the [Sack of Rome](/source/Sack_of_Rome_(1527)) in 1527,<ref>Luigi Lanzi, ''History of Italian Painting'', 1795–96.</ref> when several artists were killed and many other dispersed from [Rome](/source/Rome), and Stokstad agrees. Raunch asserts that 1530 has been considered to be the end of the High Renaissance. [Hartt](/source/Frederick_Hartt) adds that 1520 to 1530 was a transition period between the High Renaissance and [Mannerism](/source/Mannerism). Traditionally, the end of the High Renaissance in Florence is seen as marked by the end of the [Republic of Florence](/source/Republic_of_Florence) and the beginning of the [Duchy of Florence](/source/Duchy_of_Florence) in 1532.

==Architecture==
{{Main|Renaissance architecture}}
[[File:Tempietto di San Pietro in Montorio.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|[Bramante's Tempietto](/source/Tempietto_del_Bramante), designed 1502, [San Pietro in Montorio](/source/San_Pietro_in_Montorio), Rome.]]
High Renaissance style in architecture conventionally begins with [Donato Bramante](/source/Donato_Bramante), whose [Tempietto](/source/Tempietto_del_Bramante) at S. Pietro in Montorio at Rome was begun in 1510. The Tempietto, signifies a full-scale revival of ancient [Roman commemorative architecture](/source/Roman_architecture). David Watkin writes that the Tempietto, like Raphael's works in the Vatican (1509–1511), "is an attempt at reconciling Christian and humanist ideals".<ref>D. Watkin, ''A History of Western Architecture'', 4th ed., Watson Guptill (2005) p. 224.</ref>

==Painting==
{{further|Renaissance art}}
The High Renaissance of painting was the culmination of the varied means of expression<ref>Manfred Wundrum "Renaissance and Mannerism" in ''Masterpieces of Western Art'', Tashen, 2007. Page 147</ref> and various advances in painting technique, such as linear [perspective](/source/Perspective_(graphical)),<ref>Alexander Raunch "Painting of the High Renaissance and Mannerism in Rome and Central Italy" in ''The Italian Renaissance: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Drawing'', Konemann, Cologne, 1995. Pg. 308; Wundrum Pg. 147</ref> the realistic depiction of both physical<ref>Frederick Hartt and David G. Wilkins, ''History of Italian Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture'', 2003.</ref> and psychological features,<ref>Raunch pg. 309</ref> and the manipulation of light and darkness, including tone contrast, [sfumato](/source/sfumato) (softening the transition between colours) and [chiaroscuro](/source/chiaroscuro) (contrast between light and dark),<ref>Wundrum pg. 148; Hartt and Wilkins</ref> in a single unifying style<ref>Wundrum pg. 147; Hartt and Wilkins</ref> which expressed total compositional order, balance and harmony.<ref>Frederick Hartt, ''A History of Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture''; Harry N. Abrams Incorporated, New York, 1985, pg. 601; Wundrum pg. 147; Marilyn Stokstad ''Art History'', Third Edition, Pearson Education Inc., New Jersey, 2008. Pg 659</ref> In particular, the individual parts of the painting had a complex but balanced and well-knit relationship to the whole.<ref>Stokstad, Pg. 659</ref> 

[[File:Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci, from C2RMF retouched.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|Leonardo da Vinci's ''[Mona Lisa](/source/Mona_Lisa)'' or ''La Gioconda'' (1503–1505/07) in the [Louvre](/source/Louvre).]]
Painting of the High Renaissance is considered to be the absolute zenith of western painting<ref>Wundrum pg. 145</ref> and achieved the balancing and reconciliation, in harmony, of contradictory and seemingly mutually exclusive artistic positions, such as real versus ideal, movement versus rest, freedom versus law, space versus plane, and line versus colour.<ref>Wundrum pg. 147</ref> The High Renaissance was traditionally viewed as a great explosion of creative genius, following a model of art history first proposed by the Florentine [Giorgio Vasari](/source/Giorgio_Vasari).

The paintings in the Vatican by [Michelangelo](/source/Michelangelo) and [Raphael](/source/Raphael) are said by some scholars such as Stephen Freedberg to represent the culmination of High Renaissance style in painting, because of the ambitious scale of these works, coupled with the complexity of their composition, closely observed human figures, and pointed iconographic and decorative references to [classical antiquity](/source/classical_antiquity), can be viewed as emblematic of the High Renaissance.<ref>Stephen Freedberg, ''Painting of the High Renaissance in Rome and Florence'', 2 vols., Cambridge MA; Harvard University Press</ref>

Even relatively minor painters of the period, such as [Fra Bartolomeo](/source/Fra_Bartolomeo) and [Mariotto Albertinelli](/source/Mariotto_Albertinelli), produced works that are still lauded for the harmony of their design and their technique. The elongated proportions and exaggerated poses in the late works of [Michelangelo](/source/Michelangelo), [Andrea del Sarto](/source/Andrea_del_Sarto) and [Correggio](/source/Correggio) prefigure so-called [Mannerism](/source/Mannerism), as the style of the later Renaissance is referred to in art history.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}

The serene mood and luminous colours of paintings by [Giorgione](/source/Giorgione) and early [Titian](/source/Titian) exemplify High Renaissance style as practiced in [Venice](/source/Venice). Other recognizable pieces of this period include [Leonardo da Vinci](/source/Leonardo_da_Vinci)'s ''[Mona Lisa](/source/Mona_Lisa)'' and [Raphael](/source/Raphael)'s ''[The School of Athens](/source/The_School_of_Athens)''. Raphael's fresco, set beneath an arch, is a virtuoso work of perspective, composition and ''[disegno](/source/disegno)''.

In more recent years, art historians have characterised the High Renaissance as a movement as opposed to a period, one amongst several different experimental attitudes towards art in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. This movement is variously characterised as conservative,<ref>Alexander Nagel, "Experiments in Art and Reform in Italy in the Early Sixteenth Century", in Kenneth Gouwens and Sheryl E. Reiss eds., ''The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture'', Ashgate 2005, 385–409</ref> as reflecting new attitudes towards beauty,<ref>Elizabeth Cropper, "The Place of Beauty in the High Renaissance and its Displacement in the History of Art", in Alvin Vos ed., ''Place and Displacement in the Renaissance'', 1995, 159–205</ref> a deliberate process of synthesising eclectic models, linked to fashions in literary culture,<ref>[David Hemsoll](/source/David_Hemsoll), 'The conception and design of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling: 'wishing to shed a little light upon the whole rather than mentioning the parts', in Jill Burke ed., ''Rethinking the High Renaissance'', Ashgate, 2012</ref> and reflecting new preoccupations with interpretation and meaning.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burke |first=Jill |date=2006-03-01 |title=Meaning and Crisis in the Early Sixteenth Century: Interpreting Leonardo's Lion |url=http://oaj.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/1/77.short |journal=Oxford Art Journal |language=en |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=77–91 |doi=10.1093/oxartj/kci048 |issn=1741-7287 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110703043111/http://oaj.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/1/77.short |archive-date=2011-07-03}}</ref>

==Sculpture==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2026}}[[File:Michelangelo's Pieta 5450 cropncleaned edit.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|[Michelangelo](/source/Michelangelo)'s ''[Pietà](/source/Piet%C3%A0_(Michelangelo))'', 1498–99.]]
High Renaissance sculpture, as exemplified by [Michelangelo](/source/Michelangelo)'s ''[Pietà](/source/Piet%C3%A0_(Michelangelo))'' sculpture and the iconic ''[David](/source/David_(Michelangelo))'', is characterized by an "ideal" balance between stillness and movement. High Renaissance sculpture was normally commissioned by the public and the state, this becoming more popular for sculpture is an expensive art form. Sculpture was often used to decorate or embellish architecture, normally within courtyards where others were able to study and admire the commissioned art work.

Wealthy individuals like cardinals, rulers, and bankers were the more likely private patrons along with very wealthy families; [Pope Julius II](/source/Art_patronage_of_Julius_II) also patronized many artists. During the High Renaissance there was the development of small scale statuettes for private patrons, the creation of busts and tombs also developing. The subject matter related to sculpture was mostly religious but also with a significant strand of classical individuals in the form of tomb sculpture and paintings as well as ceilings of cathedrals.{{cn|date=March 2021}}
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Italian Renaissance art}}
*[http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/High-Renaissance.html Toward The High Renaissance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020161721/http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/High-Renaissance.html |date=2014-10-20 }} at Smarthistory

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [High Renaissance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Renaissance) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Renaissance?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.