Italian Renaissance

Italian Renaissance (1400 – 1600)

 

Renaissance the period of time, when art, literature, philosophy, and scientific ideas became very important and new art was produced. It began in Florence, Italy.  Many people are likely to think Renaissance as an evolution of design, but actually it is a revolution.  In Italian Renaissance time period, mainly Greek and Roman styles were studied by many designers as precedent study. It was the fusion of revival and the new styles.  Sufficient amount of marble were available at the time and it allowed designers to develop their gorgeous designs.

During this time period, tremendous amount of design with finest quality were introduced in Italy.  All the designers such as architect, painter, furniture designer, sculptor, and many other artists were hired in long-term than previous time periods.  I think it gave them a sufficient time to really focus on what they do for living.  They studied past designs from excavations and applied into their new designs.

Palazzo

Façade of the palazzo shows repetition, alternation, and progression of the design.  The structures and designs are very similar to what we have seen in Greek or Roman classical orders.

Palazzo Davanzati

Interiors were decorated with Frescos, Tapestries, with decorative fireplace. Compared to earlier designs, Renaissance designs are very colorful, rich in materials and quantity of decoration. I realized the interior space of Palazzo was very open concept which is the trends in our society today.  I like how the designers incorporated many windows to allow the daylight to come into interior spaces.  I always enjoy learning history of interior design in a perspective of sustainability.  There are many ideas in the past when they did not even have electricity in their life.  For this particular example, placement of windows and the quantity allows sufficient daylight to light the interior space.

Furniture

Cassone; It was used as Trousseau of a bride.  If you look at the details and the works that has been done to this piece, it tells us that they meant marriage as the important activity in life.  It has large painting on the front of the chest.  It has inlaid panels.  It also has the element of classical orders and moldings.



Saconarola chair; This chair is consist of many X shaped support.  This type of chair was seen in Greek or Roman time period, but Italian Renaissance designers made it more lighter appearance by creating repetition of legs and somehow made it more delicate and sophisticated.

Current application

Style of Italian Renaissance are still admired and satisfying us today.  These are example of current application that I thought they were outstanding.