Renaissance Sculpture

The discovery of the nature and the human body were more important than the imitation of Antiquity. The polychromes, the gilding and the various techniques employed emphasize the pictorial quality of the works. An innovation was that the artist was no longer content to be a mere craftsman, but he had the mission of adorn. Sculpture and painting are going to be together many times. Projects were important in cities such as Florence were competitions were hold when they had to command an important work, as in the case of the Doors of the Baptistery.

During the Quattrocento there is an intention to define an idealized, perfect bur naturalistic representation of the human body.
The novelty is the concept of beauty embodied by youth, whereas the gerontocracy in power strove to relegate the young and adolescent to the sidelines of social life.
The sculptures have three characteristics:
-Gothic tradition
-Renewal of Antiquity
-Resource to the single point of view that underlines frontality.

Typology

·Tomb sculpture.
The wall tomb was the favourite framework used by the Renaissance sculpture.The backed tombs were contaminated by the successive forms taken by altarpieces: the recess was surrounded by statuette aligned vertically on the pilasters.Artists adopted a tripartite structure, contrasting the central arcade, which emphasized the image of the deceased with lateral niches containing statues of saints or virtues.The development of the representation of the dead denoted a new conception of the portrait. Depiction of faces was often dictated by the concept of the ideal.

·Revival of the equestrian statue
Life-size representation of a horse and rider was and attractive subject for sculptors but did not become possible until the second half of the century, due to the cost of execution and technical problems to cast the bronze. The monuments were reserved to the representation of the civic and secular virtues of illustrious men and took as a model the Marcus Aurelius. Previously other models in short-lived materials were used. The best examples are the Condottiero Gattamelata made by Donatello, and the Condottiero Colleoni, work of Verrochio.

·The portrait
The art of medallist developed. They tended to specify and define the natural features of an individual, with attention to physiognomy and its psychological bearing, and without forgetting the course of the time. Female portraits implied a searching focus on the beauty of woman, and inspired the artist to a celebration of beauty, with a softer and tenderer treatment.

·Nude
There is a predominance of male nudes. They follow the Gothic tradition. Female nudes appear in small bronze statues, imitating the antique statuary. Male nude kept the workshops especially busy. Some of the models are those made by Michelangelo: Bacchus and, later on, David.

Materials and technique
Bronze substituted other precious materials. It was casted and finished by chisel. At the beginning it was not highly polished.Extensive use of marble and fine calcareous stones
Details of images are sometimes gilded.Backgrounds can be coloured.