High Renaissance- 1500-1530 Painting in Italy reached
a peak of technical mastery and artistic expression. Leonardo,
Michelangelo and Raphael contributed to this with innovations
in composition, ideal proportions and perspective. Leonardo
developed techniques of chiaroscuro and easel painting.

Chiaroscuro- means light/dark in Italian. Introduced by
Leonardo, it is the contrast between pronounced light and dark areas
in the painting used to create an illusion of depth and space.

Sfumato[sfoo MAH toh]- A delicate blurring and blending that fuses
one tone on to another. In Italian it means hazy or smudged
and is related to smoke or a smoky quality. Leonardo uses
this smudging instead of lines to define the corner of the eyes
and mouth. The effect gives the illusion of the corners but allows
one to use their imagination in different ways.

Glaze- A thin film of transparent color laid over dried paint.
When several layers are applied (as they are even to the pupils
of Mona Lisa's eyes), it creates the effect of luminosity.
Light penetrates through the transparent layer and reflects
from the under layer through the glaze.

Perspective- the illusion of depth created on a flat surface
to represent three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional
surface. Painters in the early 15th c observed that
angles of shapes, roof tops etc. appeared to converge on a
single point, called the vanishing point known as linear perspective.
The vanishing point in the Mona Lisa occurs behind her head.

Aerial perspective- In landscape painting it is the illusion of recession
created by the depiction of atmospheric effects, mist etc.
The colors in the distance appear progressively fainter and cooler.

Pyramidal composition- Profile portraits and figures grouped on a
horizontal plane gave way to a more three-dimensional
triangular composition. Figures were placed around the central imagery giving the work symmetry and stability. Mona Lisa occupied the painting in a pyramid shape giving her a three-dimensional quality. Her portrait is broader
at the base occupying the foreground while the background recedes in depth.

Three Quarter Pose- Though the Flemish had used the
three-quarter pose in the 1430s, painting in 1500's Florence
was done in profile revealing very little about the sitter.
Leonardo introduced this new three-quarter pose.
The sitter turns the trunk of the body facing frontal to
give life and movement to the portrait and allow eye contact.
This new frontal pose explored the interior as well as the exterior of the sitter.

Tempra- Painting that uses colors made of ground pigment in a
liquid emulsion such as egg yolk or thin glue and water. The pigments
are ground into a paste with a small amount of water and kept in a jar.
When ready to use the artist adds equal parts paste and egg yolk.
In the 15th century egg tempura was not sufficient for the new
innovative techniques and artists began to use oil painting.

Fresco- Italian for fresh. Mural painting technique in which permanent pigments are painted on freshly laid plaster. The pigments are absorbed into the wet wall and become a permanent part of the surface.

Cartoon- Full sized drawings used as models for finished paintings
or frescoes. Pinpricks were often made to outline the images
to be transferred to the final surface.