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| Cimabue's Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets Picture taken by Cava Hadikusumo |
According
to Giorgio Vasari, Italian Renaissance art developed in three stages.
The first stage was initiated by the groundbreaking styles of Giotto
and Cimabue. Cimabue's Madonna Enthroned with Angels, the
Patriarch Abraham, and Prophets Jeremiah, David and Isaiah shows
a sense of depth not seen in Byzantine paintings. Although Cimabue
used a gold background common in Byzantine art, the Virgin's throne
shows three-dimensionality and one-point perspective. Gold is used
to show the folds in the Madonna's robe, and the heads and bodies of
the angels overlap, depicting a sense of depth. The second stage of development was
marked by more advanced techniques in perspective and design.
Increasingly sophisticated skills in painting, sculpture, and
architecture were demonstrated by Ghiberti, Donatello, Masaccio, and
Brunelleschi. After several centuries of growth and development,
Italian Renaissance art reached the third stage. Art of this stage
possessed an ephemeral quality, and the artists who created the
masterpieces were regarded by Vasari as geniuses. Vasari believed
that talent improved with education and training, but training was
inadequate to explain the work of geniuses such as Leonardo, Raphael,
and Michelangelo.
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