Italian Renaissance Art

The patrons of the art where more important than the artists themselves. In a high proportion of cases, works were commisioned rather than produced by an artis on his/her own initiative
Religious subjects where the majority, but not all, of the finished works- not aesthetics
Repetition was far more pervasive that the surviving art suggests

Some Points to KEEP in mind about Italian Renaissance Art:

Italy did not exist in the Renaissance. There were no Italians, only Venettian, Florentines, Romans, etc. This fragmentation greatly affected the art
The history has traditionally been represented as a series of biographies of the artists. This is problematic
Modern image of the solitary-atis genius hs little place in the Renaissance
Only a small percentage of all the works of art produced in the Renaissance survives
Contrary to what we see today, the works were not always stationary
Contractual arragements were common between artists and patrons and sometimes between master artists and their apprentices.
Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists (first published in 1550) provided the dominanat critical and historical framework for understanding Italian Renaissance Art
Giorgio Vasari was the most underated artist, and will get a special mention on my behalf
The works fall mostly into one of these categories: wall paintings, panel paintings, oil paintings, sculptures, drawings, architecture, and prints.