Aerial or Atmospheric Perspective in Art

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Art of the Italian Renaissance

We have been learning about the artistic techniques that evolved in Italy during the Renaissance period of time, roughly the 15th and early 16th centuries.

Concepts that formed during this time period are:
Importance of the artist
Use of space and proportion
Realistic representation of the figure

This lens contains five paintings that represent the idea of aerial perspective.

Leonardo was the first artist to show objects as less detailed in the distance, contrasts between lights and darks became less distinct in the distance, and there appeared to be a bluish haze.

This is called aerial or atmospheric perspective.

View the paintings below and look for these features.

Lady of the Rocks, 1483-1486 

Leonardo da Vinci

Mona Lisa, 1504-1506 

Leonardo da Vinci

Agony in the Garden, C. 1465 

Giovanni Bellini

Three Philosophers, 1505-1509 

Giorgione

The Tribute Money, 1427-1428 

Masaccio

Follow Up Project 

Go outside and observe in an open place the atmospheric conditions that you can see. As you look in the distance, do the details seem to disappear? Do you see the bluish haze that Leonardo talked about? How about the colors? Are they more or less distinct in the distance?

Try your hand at painting with watercolors the scene you see before you. Try to incorporate the ideas that Leonardo talked about and then demonstrated in his paintings.

Our First Attempt at Showing Aerial Perspective

Mona Lisa - Picture Study 

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More Art Lenses From Harmony Art Mom 

More on Renaissance Artists 

Renaissance Artists Who Inspired the World (Explore the Ages)

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This book of paintings includes all of the images on CD so you can view the artwork on your computer, print it out, or use it for notebook pages. Very versatile and easy to use.

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Eyewitness: Renaissance (Eyewitness Books)

Excellent resource for art of the Renaissance. Typical DK style is easy to read with lots of colored images to illustrate the topics covered. Highly recommend this book.

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Jimmie wrote...

I like how the art is right in the lens. This is a one stop lesson!

ReplyPosted November 17, 2008

by HarmonyArtMom

Mom of four, twelve years of homeschooling and now two children in college, passionate about art, music, and nature study.

We use a mix of Charlotte...

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