4ST EDITION Vol. 2 Technique

The Renaissance Ninjas:
Did they know something we don’t?
The majority of university students are either
part of generation X or are a 90s kid, so you’re
probably aware of the Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles (TMNT); the comic book, turned animated
90s show, turned merchandising
empire that makes superheroes
out of giant, musclebound
turtles. They are, of course,
based on four of the leading
Renaissance masters:
Donatello, Leonardo,
Michelangelo and
Raphael. Donatello
is credited with
being a part
of the ‘Early
Renaissance’,
in the break
away from the
Gothic style,
paving the way
for the ‘High
Renaissance’,
which many art
historians consider
to be dominated
by the latter three
masters. The unprecedented fame of these four is a
mixed blessing. The widespread distribution of, say,
The Mona Lisa, onto postcards, keychains and even
adverts (and magazines) means that we are all aware
of the “work of art”, but how often do we actually
look at it with fresh eyes, understanding what we see?
The same can be said for any of the work of these
Renaissance ninjas. It’s too easy to forget that the
magic produced at their hands was not miraculous.
The artists were absolutely aware of every vice
used to construct the great illusions on the following
pages: nothing was for free. We need to remember
that the great art is paid for in relentless work by real
artists.
The sculptor Donatello (1386-1466) was a major
creative force behind the Florentine Renaissance,
which then inspired much of Early Renaissance art
throughout Italy. Sculpture was reinvented in that
period. Prior to the Renaissance, a Gothic sculptor
did not aim at the realism we are often accustomed
to today; Gothic art has been described as “otherworldly”.
Donatello broke away from the Medieval
formula, as his sculptures were some of the first since
antiquity to present anatomy correctly.
The marble statue of St. George (1416) is human,
and from our world; the face of his saint shows
evidence of study of real human anatomy, using
14
St. George (1416)
Pazzi Madonna (1430)
David (1416)