ITALIAN RENAISSANCE: NEOCLASSIC

The term "Renaissance" means rebirth, many scientific achievements took place throughout this time period. There was an increased attention to the "reality: of the human form in paintings and sculptures. The creation of one-point perspective also occurred during this era. 

Interior design started being more noticeable during this period in Italy. Walls, floors and ceilings started being more detailed and adorned. 

WALLS: The standard composition of a Renaissance residential wall divided it into horizontal bands and fields. Starting at the intersection of wall and floor, a wood work base made the initial transition from horizontal to vertical. Most walls were plaster, frescoes were representational or architectural and were also used to adorn walls. The most expansive options for treating a wall included marble or wood paneling. Wall hangings made of leather or fabric were also used. 

Elaborate tapestries with narrative scenes were the purview of only the wealthiest homes.

FLOORS: Floors were most commonly made of wood. More sophisticated rooms had brick or tilted floors; marble floors in houses were rare because of the heavy weight they would bring to the structure. Some houses had Turkish carpets, although it was not common.

CEILINGS: The ceiling became a field to be designed, yet it followed its own perimeters. Ceilings were also considered a piece of architecture. Joists running in one direction were virtually dominant, these parallel timbers spanned the length of the room and supported the floor above. An alternative strategy were the cross-beams, these made the ceiling into a plane of rectangular planes, this process was called "waffle-grid" or coffers. Some beams were carved with classical details, others were painted. Some plaster ceilings were non-literal representational, some others were covered up and then idealized and painted. 

CURRENT APPLICATIONS:

Luxury Modern carved ceilings

Italian Renaissance style, with carved waffle-grid ceilings

Adorned walls with gold trimming, and Italian Renaissance inspired furniture

Italian Renaissance inspired current architecture

E.C

For those that need something more graphic in order to understand history better, myself included, I found this video explaining the Italian Renaissance with pictures and a song, its actually more like a story telling type of thing, very clever if you ask me. It goes over a lot of stuff we learned in class from the power points and the lectures such as the Medici family, the change in sculptures and how the Italian Renaissance started. I really really recommend this video!!

The Renaissance Man by Jeffrey Lewis

FROM NATALIE'S BLOG: The Palazzo is one of the most important and iconic buildings in Italy from this era. Also, during this era the furniture took a different role, it was now portable and sparse.

FROM DANA'S BLOG: She mentioned the customer-client relationships, I agree with the fact that today society does not value the customer-client relationships, which in this field is important. Also the video she posted about the Florence Cathedral was quite interesting!