renaissance art essay

Early Renaissance

Summary of Early Renaissance

At the beginning of the 15 th century, Italy experienced a cultural rebirth, a renaissance that would massively affect all sectors of society. Turning away from the preceding Gothic and Romanesque periods' iconography, Florentine artists spurred a rejuvenation of the glories of classical art in line with a more humanistic and individualistic emerging contemporary era. Based in this flourishing new environment that empowered people to fully immerse themselves in studies of the humanities, Early Renaissance artists began to create work intensified by knowledge of architecture, philosophy, theology, mathematics, science, and design. The innovations that emerged in art during this period would go on to cause reverberations, which continue to influence creative and cultural arenas today. This Early Renaissance is also known as the Quattrocento, derived from the Italian mille quattrocento , meaning 1400, and refers primarily to the period dominating the 15 th century in Italian art. It was the forebear to the following High Renaissance , North European Renaissance , Mannerism , and Baroque periods that followed.

Key Ideas & Accomplishments

• An evolution of radically fresh artistic techniques came into practice, departing from the flat-planed and two-dimensional icon artworks that were popular prior. This included the introduction of revolutionary methods such as one point linear perspective, derived from an understanding of math and architecture, rilievo stiacciato , a new style of shallow carving to create atmospheric effect, foreshortening, naturalistic and anatomical detail, proportion, and the use of chiaroscuro and trompe l'oeil to create illusionary realities.
• New subject matter evolved beyond the traditional religious stories that had historically dominated art. This included battle scenes, portraits, and depictions of ordinary people. Art was no longer a way to solely elevate the devotional, but became a way to document the people and events of contemporary times, alongside the historical.
• Early Renaissance artists were highly influenced by the Humanist philosophy that emphasized that man's relationship with the world, the universe, and God was no longer the exclusive province of the Church. This resulted in work that emphasized the emotionally expressive and individualistic characteristics of its subjects in fresh new ways, leading to a more intimate way for viewers to experience art.
• A new standard of patronage in the arts arose during this time, separate from the church or monarchy, the most notable of which was supported by the prominent Medici family. Artists were suddenly in demand to produce work that expressed historical, and often religious, narratives in bold new ways for a community that fostered the arts and nurtured its artists like never before.

Key Artists

Overview of Early Renaissance

Stating, "I propose to build for eternity," architect Filippo Brunelleschi solved the impossible problem of building the Florence Cathedral dome. And thus, he ignited the Italian Renaissance.

Artworks and Artists of Early Renaissance

Expulsion from the Garden of Eden

Artist: Masaccio

This fresco portrays a nude Adam and Eve as they are expelled from the Garden of Eden. They walk out through an arch from which black lines emanate, representing the angry voice of God, with a red clad angel holding a black sword hovering above to usher them on their way. Adam buries his face in his hands, his body language and facial expression conveying deep anguish. Eve 's face is open mouthed and stricken, her hands held in a Venus Pudica pose to cover her breasts and pubic area as if in shame. The background is bare, only earth and a singular rock formation, evoking the hard fate ahead for the expunged couple. The composition is remarkably elegant, emphasizing the pair's banishment with heightened emotion. The line dividing earth and blue sky diagonally runs from left to right to highlight the pair's forward motion, as their opposing feet mirror each other along the path. The nudity of the two figures, classically proportioned, is not sensual but suggests the starkness of their situation, stripped of God's favor. This scene is part of a fresco cycle of Biblical scenes in the Brancacci Chapel painted by Masaccio, as well as Masolino and other artists. In depicting the two naked, the artist departed from the Biblical account in which they wore fig leaves, and also, boldly, created the first nudes in painting since the Roman era. He also added the arch and reduced the multiple cherubs mentioned in the Biblical account to focus on one angel. The scene resides at the left entrance to the Chapel hall, becoming the first image encountered by visitors, launching them into the famous narrative, as Adam and Eve walk out of the arch that is a painted extension of an architectural column. The artist's inclusion of the architecture into the pictorial space was not his only radical innovation. His use of linear perspective, chiaroscuro (the strategic use of shadow and light to create depth), and a realistic figurative approach were in direct opposition to the standard flat iconographic style of presenting religious stories and figures. The result is that Adam and Eve become humanized, rather than relegated on the devotional pedestal as sacred symbols. The pair are fully embodied and expressive, inhabiting real space, their shoulders bent, and their steps weighed down by the enormity of their expulsion. Art critic Clyde Haberman noted that Masaccio "broke with medieval traditions by giving raw realism to human forms and expressions. No one can doubt the anguish of his Adam and Eve as they are expelled from Paradise." Subsequent artists would go on to envision their own work within this new aesthetic paradigm of Masaccio's vision. Both Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci extensively visited the Chapel to study and sketch Masaccio's human figures, which da Vinci called "perfect." Later artists like the sculptor Henry Moore also studied his works.

Fresco - Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence

The Holy Trinity

This fresco depicts the Holy Trinity. Christ, crucified, is the central figure with God the Father standing behind him. A small white dove above Christ's head represents the Holy Spirit. Within the architectural niche that holds the three, Mary can also be seen, dressed in blue on the left while John the Disciple stands at the right, both gazing up at Christ in devotion. On either side of the columns, the commissioned work's unidentified patrons kneel in profile. Below them, a skeleton lies in a tomb bearing the inscription: "I once was what you are and what I am you also will be," representing a Memento Mori, or an object that serves as a warning or reminder of the inevitability of death. Customary to Masaccio's work, this piece helped revolutionize painting with its use of one point linear perspective, creating the illusion of three-dimensional space. The artist intentionally aligned the sighting of the fresco with the existing architecture of the church to enhance the trompe l'oeil effect. To create the work, he used a grid framework etched into the surface, and consulted Brunelleschi on linear perspective, as the perspective of even the nails in the cross show his rigorous approach. The design used a Roman triumphal arch and barrel vault to create a rational but divine space that the life-sized holy figures occupy, while the patrons and the skeleton, placed outside the barrel vault, occupy the space of the viewer. Visitors at the time were amazed at the artist's ability to create a work so realistic that many thought they were peering into a real chapel. A visceral experience of the work was spurred, creating an experience of contemplation in regard to mortality and timelessness. The life-sized figures also present a remarkably naturalistic effect of volume, movement, and deep emotional expression. As Mary McCarthy, art historian, wrote, "The fresco, with its terrible logic, is like a proof in philosophy or mathematics, God the Father, with His unrelenting eyes, being the axiom from which everything else irrevocably flows." At the same time, Mary, her face solemn, creates a bridge between the divine and the human by looking toward the viewer and gesturing toward her son, providing a way into the sacred realm, through contemplation. As Vasari wrote in his Lives of the Artists (1550) about Masaccio's work, "Everything done before him can be described as artificial, whereas he produces work that is living, realistic and natural."

Fresco - Santa Maria Novella, Florence

Dome of Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence Cathedral)

Artist: Filippo Brunelleschi

This photograph shows Brunelleschi's famous octagonal dome crowning the Florence Cathedral. Its red stone, emblematic of the Florentine love of stonework and Medici red, dominates the skyline with one of the world's most recognized and iconic views. Consisting of over four million bricks, it remains the largest masonry dome in the world. Brunelleschi's architectural genius can be seen in the structure's sense of buoyancy with its white ribs emphasizing the vertical lift and the steep curvature narrowing at the top. Brunelleschi also designed the white lantern at its tip, though his friend, the architect Michelozzi, completed it in 1461, fifteen years after Brunelleschi's death. The dome became a visual symbol of "The New Athens," as Florence dubbed itself, as it evoked a sense of classical restraint and proportion, echoing the octagonal shape of the cathedral below and drawing it heavenward. The dome was a revolutionary masterpiece, as the architect dispensed with both the internal scaffolding and the external supports (like buttresses) that were previously thought necessary. Instead, he created a dome within a dome, thus inventing a new system of support, where bricks lain in an inverted arch of herringbone pattern directed weight outward rather than downward. He also manufactured the technology he needed to materialize his project, including the first mechanical hoist and, later, the castello , or horizontal crane. Other structural innovations included the use of a catenary arch, a type of pointed arch, for support and internal wood, stone, and iron chains, formed in octagonals, to work like barrel hoops to hold the dome together. This work was informed by Brunelleschi's careful study of the Pantheon (113-125) and other ancient Roman buildings. Yet, in his customary fashion, the architect kept his discoveries to himself, working without notes or plans. As he was later to say, when he applied for and was awarded the first modern patent for a water transport vehicle, "we must not show to all and sundry the secrets of the waters flowing in ocean and river, or the devices that work on these waters. Let there be convened a council of experts and masters in mechanical art to deliberate what is needed to compose and construct these works." Because of his enigmatic working fashion, many critics initially deemed his designs impossible. He was to prove them wrong. As historian Paulo Galluzi wrote of the Cathedral, "It is one of the most beautiful, technically audacious buildings ever constructed. It unites technology and aesthetics in an astonishingly elegant way. It symbolizes perfectly the union of science and of art." All the architects of the next generation were influenced by Brunelleschi's work, and Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated by both his architecture and the technology he invented.

Sandstone, marble, brick, iron, wood - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence Cathedral), Florence

Artist: Donatello

This iconic five foot tall sculpture shows the Biblical hero David, depicted as a Classical inspired nude. Wearing only boots and a laurel-ringed Florentine hat, he stands in a jaunty contrapposto pose upon Goliath's severed head, holding a sword in his right hand, its point resting on a victory wreath. His right leg meets the diagonal of the sword to create a triangular space that emphasizes the sensuous curve of his hip. The overall effect is an unusually provocative and intimate rendition of David. With his expression of reverie and an enigmatic smile upon his lips, he jauntily assumes his role as the first freestanding nude created since the Roman era. Donatello also revived and refined the classical technique of lost wax casting to create this work. After casting the form, he finished it by hand, adding a thin layer of gold to create a lustrous surface with warm tones. A sense of the tactile informs the work, as the sleek smoothness of the youth's skin contrasts with the rough materials of Goliath's hair and helmet. One of the wings of Goliath's helmet extends up the back of David's leg, as if caressing him, adding a homoerotic element to the work. At the same time on the fallen giant's helmet the sculptor depicted a scene of Bacchus, the Greek god of wine and excess, suggesting that the virtue of beauty has conquered the pagan warrior. Having recently defeated the larger and more powerful city-state of Milan, Florence identified itself with the story of the shepherd boy who defeated the giant warrior Goliath with a single stone from his slingshot. Later depictions of David by Andrea del Verrocchio, Bartolomeo Bellano, and most notably, Michelangelo and Bernini, took Donatello's sculpture as the starting point, whether drawing upon or countering its influence. Vasari wrote of the work, "This figure is so natural in its vivacity and softness that artists find it hardly possible to believe it was not moulded on the living form." Contemporary criticism in The New York Times stated, "Donatello's sculptures are startling, dramatic and unpredictable.... a sustained meditation on time."

Bronze - National Museum of Bargello, Florence

The Annunciation

Artist: Fra Angelico

This fresco, depicting the moment at which an angel announces to Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus, has a classical simplicity. Sitting on a wooden stool in the cloister, Mary, her form a subtle contrast of dark robes that frame her delicate pink tunic, leans forward listening intently. The angel too leans forward, one knee bent, as his robe unfolds in softly curving vertical lines. Both figures have their arms folded across their chests in the shape of a cross, creating a feeling of intimate understanding, emphasized by the matching pink hues of their clothing, cloister walls, floor, and columns. The setting is devoid of many extraneous details, just a patch of grass on the left and a wooden fence with Tuscan cypresses behind it. The emphasis on an ordinary but intimate moment was radically new and reflected Humanism's appreciation of the individual. It also reflects the Early Renaissance's distinct move away from traditional medieval imagery of religious narratives, removing the barriers between the sacred and the everyday in ways that invited viewers to feel part of the devotional tales in more familiar ways. The perspective, emphasizing the repeating diagonal line of Corinthian columns on the left, the arch framing Mary, and the foreground's horizontal edging and column, emphasizes the sacred space the two inhabit, while the viewer stands outside, as if listening in upon a private conversation. The Medici family commissioned this work, along with more than fifty additional frescos and a new altarpiece in 1440, to complete the redesign of the friary of San Marco, which also included the first public library since the Roman Era. Fra Angelico, a Dominican friar, painted small frescos of Biblical scenes in the monks' cells to aid in devotional meditation. His intention was to bring the sacred into the monks' everyday physical reality, and he painted this scene, one of the last frescoes to be painted, in front of the staircase, so that monks returning to their cells would encounter it first. Michael Glover, the art critic, has noted, "austere and more intimate in mood... The whole scene is a masterpiece of quiet understatement."

Fresco - Museum of San Marco, Florence

Flagellation of Christ

Artist: Piero della Francesca

This painting, divided vertically down the center by Roman columns, depicts the flagellation of Christ in the background on the left in contrast to three aristocratic Florentine men engaged in conversation in the foreground on the right. In the artist's time, religious subjects that employed perspective would usually focus the vanishing point central on Christ. This innovative use of perspective, though, further emphasized the division between the two scenes, conveying the dissonance between two worlds; the self-preoccupation of the important and wealthy ruling class of Florence implicitly critiqued by the suffering of Christ taking place in the adjacent space. Furthermore, the orthogonal lines divide the frame vertically and, contrasting with the red horizontal bands, create a division between interior and exterior space. A separate light source is portrayed in each scene, furthering a sense of the enigmatic relationship between the two. Various scholarly interpretations have tried to identify the various figures depicted, suggesting the power of the work to both suggest and resist narrative. It was notable as an early example of oil painting on a small panel, for which Della Francesca departed from the large frescos, painted with tempera, favored by the artists of his day. A precision of detail and line is evinced in his treatment of the architectural motifs, as seen in the intricate slats of the building on the far right, and the lines of the figures, with a curiously modern effect. The work conveys a sense of surreal calm and order, its almost architectural harmony contrasting with the flagellation. With its precise delineation and scientific use of perspective, the artist, who was also a mathematician, created a naturalistic work that is both convincing, and yet almost modern in its dissonance. The art historian Kenneth Clark was to rank the painting as one of the ten finest paintings of all time.

Oil and tempera on panel - Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino, Italy

Camera Degli Sposi Frescoes

Artist: Andrea Mantegna

This fresco depicts an illusory oculus, opening to reveal a painted sky. The oculus is ringed with figures looking down into the room below. An orange tree and a peacock, both symbolizing Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage, perch prominently on the edge.. A number of Cupids - one placing a wreath on his head, one holding an arrow while looking out at the sky, and a third holding an apple that seems as if it might suddenly drop, ring the balustrade. Three housemaids, clustered beside the orange tree, gaze down smiling. On the other side of the tree, an aristocratic young woman stands beside a slave woman in a striped turban. Mantegna's fresco was groundbreaking for the time as it was the first example of di sotto in sù , or illusionistic ceiling painting. It also employed trompe l'oeil to create a scene where the architecture and painting become indistinguishable from each other within the fictive space. He incorporated the fresco into the building by painting the ceiling ribs and lozenges to resemble marble, and the triangular areas at the edge to look like mosaics. He also used extreme foreshortening in the figures to tweak the viewer's perception of the height of the ceiling. This work embodied Alberti's argument in his De Pictura (1435) that a painting should be a window into reality. The Gonzaga family commissioned this piece for their Camera degli Sposi, a small square reception room in their Ducal Palace. In addition to the ceiling fresco, he also painted The Court Scene (1465-71), portraying the Gonzaga family on the north wall, and The Meeting (1465-71), with two other smaller scenes on the west wall, and the last two walls with a decorative pattern. Mantegna's work greatly influenced not only Renaissance artists like Raphael, but also artists of the Baroque and Rococo movements.

Fresco - Palazzo Ducale di Mantova, Mantua, Italy

Lamentation over the Dead Christ

This remarkable image shows the dead Christ, lying upon a marble slab, his lower body shrouded by a piece of linen, as the stricken faces of St. John and the Virgin Mary peer over him. The extreme foreshortening and vivid details, like the nail holes visible in Christ's feet, result in an experience of intense intimacy for the viewer. Christ becomes less a divine figure, and merely an affronting human cadaver, His flesh is hyperreal, and a harrowing feeling becomes further emphasized by the bloodlike stain of red that imbues the scene. A static stillness is created by the vertical lines of Christ's body and the edge of the slab contrasted with the horizontals of the bolster, the bottom edge of the slab, and the creases at his elbows and ribs. The placement of the scene within a window frame, cropping the viewer from the mourners, creates the claustrophobic sense of being in a morgue. Also known as The Dead Christ or The Lamentation , the image was painted following the death of two of the artist's sons and was meant to convey suffering and grief. The artist's mastery of foreshortening to create a pictorial plane that becomes architectural, as well as the work's near graphic directness, was not only ground breaking for its time, but potently modern. Mantegna's sculptural sense of the human figure is apparent in the image, but his radical innovation was his sense of the painting as part of a total spatial illusion. His techniques influenced artists of his generation but also later masters, like Leonardo da Vince, Albrecht Dürer, and Correggio. Contemporary art historian Nicholas Fox Weber has called the work, "an unsettling masterpiece," where "Mantegna's vision of agony as a prelude to resurrection and celebration resounds."

Tempera on canvas - Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, Italy

Artist: Sandro Botticelli

This masterpiece is a complex and mysterious allegorical work, depicting figures from classical Greek and Roman mythology in the garden of Venus. The goddess of love, framed by an intricate nimbus of sacred myrtle, stands in the center, raising her right hand in a gesture of welcome associated with the Virgin Mary from the Annunciation. The goddess, traditionally shown nude, wears the discrete clothing of a married woman. Above her, a blindfolded Cupid aims his arrows toward the three graces, who wear diaphanous robes and dance, their hands entwined. To the far left, stands the god Mercury, looking upward as he reaches toward one of the golden fruits that glow like orbs in the overarching canopy. On the far right, the artist has combined two myths from the Roman poet Ovid. In the first myth Zephyrus, the god of the wind, depicted here with bluish green skin and puffed out cheeks, raped the nymph Chloris. In the painting, her nude figure, clothed in a diaphanous gown, falls forward, with feet that have already left the ground. As she turns back to look at him, tendrils and flowers emerge from her mouth, leading forward to the figure of Flora, the goddess of spring. The myth states, that full of remorse, Zephyrus changed Chloris into the goddess of spring. This work, commissioned by the Medici family for a wedding celebration, broke new ground by borrowing from classical mythology for its subject. But it also reflects the integration of scientific observation into art as the artist depicted over 500 identifiable plant species into the piece. Each detail in the work is allusive in meaning. For example, the golden oranges allude to the symbol of the Medici family, the orbs of Hesperus from Greek myth, and to the Garden of Eden. The result is, as art historian Gloria Fossi has written, "one of the most written about, and most controversial paintings in the world." Visually the work also presents an idyll of beauty, its female figures depicted with a linear rhythm, soft contours, and subtle color, to create what art historian Kenneth Clark described as, "one of the most personal evocations of physical beauty in the whole of art."

Tempera on panel - The Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Christ Handing the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter

Artist: Pietro Perugino

The scene is meant to embody the New Testament moment when Jesus said to Saint Peter, "Upon this rock I will build my church... and I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven." The fresco focuses equally on that biblical narrative as well as the architecture, emphasized by the gold diagonal lines of perspective extending toward The Temple of Solomon in the background. Christ is emphasized slightly in scale and by placement, outlined and set apart by the space that surrounds him, and the diagonal that leads to the Temple's entrance of the building, which begins at the top of his head. The key is directly in line with the Temple entrance, and isolated, too, within its own space. Behind, in the middle distance, two scenes from the New Testament are depicted. The scene on the left shows Christ and the disciples paying the tribute money, and the scene on the right shows Christ escaping from an attempted stoning. Two identical arches, resembling the Arch of Constantine, built by the Roman Emperor who in 313 legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan, flank the Temple in the background. Beyond the plaza, mountains recede into the distance, due to the artist's employment of aerial perspective. Behind Christ on the left, and behind Peter on the right, illustrious figures of the era, including a self-portrait of the artist, mingle with the disciples. The central one point perspective married with the calculated composition of the painting's subjects, create a perfectly balanced symmetry. The architecture of the scene reflects many things elemental to the Early Renaissance period. The work, commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV for the Vatican, was meant to illustrate the doctrine of apostolic succession and signal the rising importance of papal patronage in commissioning grand works of religious significance. The transmission of divine authority from Christ to Peter also harkens to the same transmission from Temple to the Vatican. Lastly, it is an example of the principles of science, mathematics, and design being injected into art by the leading artists of the time. The elegant figures in their refined clothes, flowing drapery, and delicate detail reflect the influence of Andrea del Verrocchio's figurative treatments on the artist. Vasari was to credit Perugino with creating a new style that blended the Florentine line with a "delicacy blended with color," and the artist's sense of visual rhythm was to influence later artists, including Vasari himself.

Fresco - Vatican City

The Birth of Venus

This seminal, iconic work, inspired by the Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphoses (8 A.D.), focuses on the birth of Venus, the goddess of love, riding her scallop shell as she arrives on land. To the right, a female with billowing dress and hair leans toward Venus holding out a swirling red robe to clothe her. Flying at a diagonal and also leaning toward Venus, Zephyrus, the god of the wind, puffs out his cheeks, blowing her toward the shore, as pink flowers fill the air around them. Linear flow and movement in the swirling hair of the figures, the billowing draperies that soar along with Zephyrus's flight, and in the curvilinear forms of the figures accentuate the singularity and centrality of the nude. Some have seen in the spirals and swirls of Venus's red hair, Botticelli's allusion to Leon Battista Alberti's words in On Painting , "I am delighted to see seven movements in hair, which is especially pleasing when part of it turns in spirals as if wishing to knot itself, waves in the air like flames, twines around itself like a serpent, while part rises here, part there." The enigmatic work has compelled multiple descriptions. Vasari identified the young woman with her arms entwined around Zephyrus's waist as Aura, a mythological figure personifying light breezes. The woman on the right was thought to represent the Hora of spring, one of three such figures who were attendants of Venus. Other scholars connect this work to Botticelli's earlier Primavera , and have argued that Zephyrus's companion is Chloris, as shown by the symbolism of the flowers, and that the woman on the right is Flora, the goddess of spring. The artist also employed contemporary political symbolism. The laurel trees and Hora's laurel wreath visually pun upon the name "Lorenzo" of the Medici family who commissioned the work, while the motifs and colors of Hora's clothing and the robe she carries allude to the Republic of Florence. The work was innovative for its large scale, for being painted on canvas, as well as it use of alabaster powder to brighten the paint and of gold to create highlights on the wings, the hair, the fabric, and the shell. But these innovations were overshadowed by its unprecedented depiction of the female nude in a pagan setting. While the figure created an impression of classical beauty, the artist has diverged from classical proportions. For instance, her body is off center, and her right leg curves too far over for her left leg to bear her weight. As the art historian Kenneth Clark noted, "Her differences from antique form are...rhythmic and structural. Her whole body follows the curve of a Gothic ivory. It is entirely without that quality so much prized in classical art, known as aplomb. She is not standing but floating." In this too, the artist was innovative, almost modern in his willingness to depart from naturalistic depiction in order to express an imagined internal concept of beauty. The work shows, as contemporary art historian Frederick Ilchman said, "Botticelli's attitude, his yearning to express ideals of beauty and human form." The work also is seen to reflect the era's Neo-Platonic philosophy that the mind could be drawn to the knowledge of divine beauty by contemplation of earthly beauty. During the High Renaissance, Botticelli's works were eclipsed, and he became relatively unknown in the centuries that followed. The title "Birth of Venus" was given to this painting only in the 19 th century when Botticelli's works were revived by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and embraced by the Arts and Crafts movement. Subsequently this work has become one of the world's most recognizable paintings, and artists including Salvador Dalí, Renée Magritte, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, and the Superflat artist Tomoko Nagao have revisited it. The painting has endured fame in popular culture as it has been referenced in film, television, music videos, and has also informed the work of fashion designers like Elsa Schiaparelli and Dolce & Gabbana.

Portrait of an Old Man with His Grandson

Artist: Domenico Ghirlandaio

This tender portrait vividly evokes a moment of embrace, juxtaposing a man toward the end of his life with a child at his beginning. The older man wears a red fur-lined robe, and the younger, a red doublet and cap. Behind them, the wall of the interior room is depicted in black and grey rectangles, framing a window that opens onto a landscape of winding roads through fields that lead toward a small church at the bottom of a terraced hill. Next to it, a monolithic rock rises out of a lake. The golden locks of the boy, echoed in the folds of his doublet, draw the viewer's eye up to the window, which, framed by somber grey and black, evokes a feeling of contrast between the two subjects' phases of existence. The painting creates a poignant moment marked by a sense of mortality. Ghirlandaio was primarily known for his frescos, often portraying notable Florentines, as seen in his celebrated Tornabuoni Chapel cycle (1485-90). What he brought to Early Renaissance painting most, though, was a vividly detailed and emotionally expressive portrayal of contemporary life and ordinary people, an emphasis that this singular portrait shares. The man's grey hair, the mole on his right forehead, and his deformed nose, indicate that he has the skin disorder rhinophyma. These characteristics are depicted with a remarkable realism that made the painting unique for its time. The work also subverted social attitudes, which associated defects in appearance with defects of character, by emphasizing the man's gentle and wise expression and quiet affection. Art historian Bernard Berenson wrote of this work, "There is no more human picture in the entire range of Quattrocento painting, whether in or out of Italy." Ghirlandaio was also a notable teacher, as his most distinguished student was Michelangelo.

Tempera on panel - Musée du Louvre, Paris

Beginnings of Early Renaissance

The proto-renaissance of the 1300s.

The term Proto-Renaissance refers to artists of the 14 th century who developed the naturalistic approach that came to fruition in the Early Renaissance. The early art historian and painter Giorgio Vasari felt that during the Middle Ages the artists Cimabue and Giotto had kept alive the aesthetic principles of classical art with works, which laid the groundwork for the following Renaissance.

Like most artists of his time, Cenna di Peppi, known as Cimabue, created primarily religious works. Byzantine iconography and stylization dominated the era, depicting human figures in two-dimensional form on flat pictorial planes. Yet in bold contrast, Cimabue's works emphasized naturalistic elements, such as is seen in his Santa Croce Crucifixion (1287-1288). Still placed within Byzantine iconography, the work innovatively drew upon anatomical observation to create a sense of Christ's physical and emotional suffering.

Artists of this period received their training in a master's workshop, and Cimabue's most famous assistant was Giotto de Bendone, known simply as Giotto. A popular anecdote related how Cimabue discovered Giotto as a young boy, while he was drawing and watching his family's sheep.

Giotto was a pioneering figure, his importance acknowledged by his being named Magnus Magister (Great Master) of Florence in 1334. Discarding Byzantine stylization, Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel Frescoes (c.1303-10) in Padua were ground breaking due to their sculptural figurative treatment. Depicted naturalistically, his figures began to take on a three dimensionality, inhabiting real space, and conveying real emotion. This was a radical departure from the Byzantine styles still practiced by many of his contemporaries, and his became a singular influence upon not only his contemporaries like Taddeo Gaddi, Bernardo Daddi, and the noted Masolino, but the painters of the Early Renaissance, including Fra Angelico , Piero della Francesca , and Masaccio .

Defining the Term: The Renaissance

Giorgi Vasari, in his The Lives of the Artists (1550), first coined the term rinascita , meaning rebirth. However, the French-derived term "Renaissance" only became widely used to refer to the historical period later during the mid 19 th century following the historian Jules Michelet's Histoire de France (1855). Subsequently Jacob Burckhardt's model of the period, beginning with Giotto and ending with Michelangelo, defined in his The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860), became widely adopted.

Contemporary scholarship has reconsidered these definitions, as in the 1980s historian Randolph Starn, described the overall Renaissance as, "...a network of diverse, sometimes converging, sometimes conflicting cultures, not a single, time-bound culture," and Stephen Greenblatt defined it as "early modern," when describing the period as a transition from the Middle Ages.

The Early Renaissance, informed by Humanism and Classical Roman and Greek art and architecture , was led by Brunelleschi whose works in architecture and the discovery of linear perspective informed the era, as well as the pioneering work of Donatello in sculpture and Masaccio in painting. Together, the three have been dubbed "the triumvirate of the Early Renaissance," centered in the Republic of Florence, as the rising power of Florence, and the patronage of wealthy families like the Medici, created a welcoming environment for the movement.

The Republic of Florence and the Medicis

The Early Renaissance flourished in the Republic of Florence, which dubbed itself "The New Athens," indicating that the city-state identified itself as heir to the classical tradition. The city was ruled by the merchant class and noble families, primarily the Medici family which was to become a ruling dynasty that lasted until 1737. The Medici family had made their fortune primarily in the textile trade governed by the Arte della Lana, the wool guild in Florence, and in 1377 Giovanni di Bicci di Medici founded the Medici Bank in Florence. His son, Cosimo di Medici, never occupied office, but used his wealth and political alliances to become, in effect, the ruler of Florence. He was an exceptional patron of the arts, spending a good part of his fortune commissioning art works, collecting classical texts, and supporting cultural projects, like founding the first public library. As he said, "All those things have given me the greatest satisfaction and contentment because they are not only for the honor of God but are likewise for my own remembrance. For fifty years, I have done nothing else but earn money and spend money; and it became clear that spending money gives me greater pleasure than earning it." Subsequently private patronage by wealthy families became an important driver of artistic creation, allowing for subjects and treatments that were off limits for religious and civic commissions.

The Baptistery Competition

It has been argued that the Early Renaissance began in 1401 with a competition held by the city of Florence to award a commission for new bronze doors for the Baptistery of St. John, and the consequences of the feud that followed. The doors would contain panels representing scenes from the Old Testament, and seven sculptors were selected to design a single panel showing the Sacrifice of Isaac for the competition. Only Lorenzo Ghiberti's and Filippo Brunelleschi's designs have survived, and both works reflect a humanistic and naturalistic Renaissance style. Admiring both works, the judges declared a tie between Ghiberti and Brunelleschi and suggested the two artists collaborate on the project. However, stung by the loss, Brunelleschi withdrew and Ghiberti alone took on the project, which made him famous. Nonetheless, it was Brunelleschi's subsequent work that became the foundation of the Early Renaissance, as, bitterly disappointed when his design did not win the competition, he abandoned sculpture and turned his attention to architecture.

Filippo Brunelleschi

The path that led to Brunelleschi's discovery of linear perspective, in which the relative size, shape, and position of objects are determined by drawn or imagined lines converging at a point on the horizon, began after his crushing defeat for the Baptistery project, and radically change art and architecture. He sold his small family farm and used the proceeds to go on a self-imposed exile to Rome, accompanied by his friend, the artist Donatello. For several years, often camping in the ruins until the locals mistook them for treasure hunters, the two artists measured buildings, took extensive notes, and researched classical design principles. Abandoning his focus on sculpture for architecture, Brunelleschi developed his theory and practice of perspective and the mathematical principles of design.

Upon returning to Florence, he entered a 1418 competition held by the wool merchant guild to build a dome for the cathedral. A number of previous architects had worked on the cathedral, including Giotto who had designed the bell tower in the 1330s, and by 1418 the building was almost complete, save for a gaping hole awaiting a dome, which no one knew how to build. Once again, Brunelleschi's primary competitor was Ghiberti, who, while a leading artist of the day, had little architectural experience. The competition required that each architect try to stand an egg upright on a marble surface.

Brunelleschi's solution became legendary, as Vasari wrote, "giving one end a blow on the flat piece of marble, [he] made it stand upright ...The architects protested that they could have done the same; but Filippo answered, laughing, that they could have made the dome, if they had seen his design." For in fact, Brunelleschi had already fashioned a technically accomplished model of the dome. To create his design, he conducted further experiments in perspective, and created several devices, involving the use of mirrors and painted panels. He shared his discoveries only with friends like Donatello and Masaccio, as he felt, "To disclose too much of one's intentions and achievements is...to give up the fruits of one's ingenuity." Accordingly, it was Leon Battista Alberti who wrote the early definitive works on perspective and technique, though he acknowledged Brunelleschi's leadership in all arts by dedicating On Painting (1435) to him.

Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, known simply as Donatello, also competed for the commission of the Baptistery Doors, though, at the time, he was only 15 and training in Ghiberti's workshop. His close friendship with Brunelleschi began around the same time. They had much in common, both sculptors having first been trained as goldsmiths, and they were to remain close throughout their lives, described as "inseparable" by contemporaries. In Rome, Donatello studied Roman sculpture and the lost wax casting process used to create classical bronzes. Returning to Florence, his works became the first artworks to use linear perspective, as seen in his marble St. George and the Dragon (c. 1416) where he used perspective and pioneered rilievo stiacciato , a new style of shallow carving, to create atmospheric effect. His bronze relief the Feast of Herod (1423-27) combined emotional expressiveness and classical form with a perspective system based upon orthogonal diagonals and transversals to draw the viewer's eye into the empty space between the two groups at either ends of the table, thus creating a sense of tension.

Masaccio, an artist whose career lasted only seven years because he died of the plague at age 27, has also been dubbed "a father of the Renaissance." His work employed linear perspective and naturalistic figurative treatments in a new way that revolutionized painting. Little is known of his life or his art training, though by 1426 he was friends with Donatello and Brunelleschi. Brunelleschi's work on perspective influenced Masaccio, as he consulted the older artist on his The Holy Trinity (c.1424-27), considered to be one of the earliest examples of perspective in painting. Masaccio's painting innovations included the use of one point perspective, a trompe l'oeil approach, naturalistic modeling of the human figure, and a single consistent light source casting accurate shadows. He also pioneered the use of chiaroscuro , thus creating the illusion of depth and portrayed his figures with emotional expressiveness, conveying their individuality. As art historian Mark Michael Astarita wrote Masaccio's, "hallmark oeuvre d'art embodied the shift away from the dreary Gothic...and the gradual shift towards paintings that embodied the rebirth, or Renaissance, of classical art and architecture."

Leon Battista Alberti

Leon Battista Alberti was the most important intellectual theorist of the Early Renaissance due to his three volumes, De Statua ( On Sculpture ) (1435), Della Pittura ( On Painting ) (1435), and De Re Aedificatoria ( On Architecture ) (1452). On Sculpture marked the first use of the terms additive sculpture, in which material is added to create a work, and subtractive sculpture, in which material is carved away or removed to reveal a work, while also emphasizing naturalistic treatments and classical proportions.

His On Painting , which consisted of three volumes, described painting "as a projection of lines and colors onto a surface." He codified Brunelleschi's one-point linear perspective, as well as the concepts of composition, proportion, and the use of disegno , design or line, and colorito , coloring, in creating pictorial harmony. He drew upon the contemporary practices of artists like Donatello, Ghiberti, Luca della Robbia, and Masaccio, though positing them within a theoretical basis that drew upon humanist literature and the classical works of the Romans and Greeks.

Early Renaissance: Concepts, Styles, and Trends

Renaissance humanism.

The Renaissance was philosophically driven by Humanism , a belief that placed human life at the center of the universe. The widespread cultural movement, which began in 14 th century Italy advocated for studying and learning the humanities, as seen in works of classical Rome and Greece. Many humanists were priests or church leaders, who felt that enthusiasm for science and its rational discoveries, an interest in geometry and mathematics, understanding of classical ethics and logic, and an aesthetic appreciation of the art and architecture of the classical period would enrich Christian understanding. As a result, a new sophisticated society would emerge, expansive in scope and knowledge.

An early leader of Humanism was the great 14 th century poet Francesco Petrarca, called Petrarch in English, who has been called "the founder of Humanism," as well as a "founder of the Renaissance." A noted scholar and collector of classical texts, he rediscovered the works of classical authors, like the Roman Cicero. His poetry was also revolutionary in that he wrote in Italian, rather than the Latin of medieval Europe, a period for which he coined the term "the Dark Ages." Reviving classical texts became key to Humanist thought. Poggio Bracciolini, whose findings included the rediscovery of Lucretius's De rerum natura ( On the Nature of Things ) in 1417, was a papal advisor, working under seven popes in his lifetime. In Florence, Niccolò de' Niccoli became a leader of Humanist thought primarily due to his extensive library of Latin and Greek classical texts, which became noted fodder for Florentine intellectual life. He was closely associated with Cosimo di Medici.

Architecture

Brunelleschi's buildings and designs were widely employed by later architects. His innovations included the use of round columns with classical capitals, circular arches, and segmented domes, all constructed through mathematical ratios. His early Ospedale degli Innocenti (1419-27), or Hospital of the Innocents, featured a decorative motif that combined white stone walls with grey architectural features, becoming known as the pietra serena , or serene stone, style. His designs for the Florentine churches of San Lorenzo (c. 1425) and Santo Spirito (c. 1428) launched the use of modular design and a church configured in the shape of a Latin cross. For Santa Maria degli Angeli (1434), he pioneered the design of a centrally planned church, which was widely adopted throughout the Renaissance.

Other noted architects were Leon Battista Alberti and Michelozzo di Bartolomeo Michelozzi. Cosimo di Medici commissioned Michelozzi to design his palace, the Palazzo Medici (1444-84) in Florence. Michelozzi used a tripartite division to give the massive building a vertical lift and to reflect a classical sense of harmony and order. The resulting style became known as the Palazzo Style and continued to be popular into the 19 th and 20 th centuries.

In the 1440s, Alberti turned extensively toward the practice of architecture. His De Re Aedificatoria ( On Architecture ) was derived from Brunelleschi and the Roman architect Vitruvius's De Architectura , which advocated proportional harmony based upon the golden mean. In 1450 he undertook his first architectural project, redesigning San Francesco church in Rimini, and subsequently was commissioned to design and complete the façade of Santa Maria Novella (1456-70) in Florence. As an architect, Alberti has been described as a "ghost architect," preferring to focus on design, while seldom engaged in the practical construction matters. Two of his most noted sites, the San Sebastiano church in Mantua and Santa Andrea church in Florence, were completed after his death, and his designs, and particularly his writing, influenced subsequent architecture.

Many of the great works of the Early Renaissance were religious frescos, beginning with Masaccio's Brancacci Chapel frescoes, which were studied by subsequent Renaissance masters. Many of the noted fresco masters, including Fra Lippi, Fra Angelico, Pierro della Francesca, Alessandro Botticelli, and Andrea Mantegna, focused on religious subject matter, while employing the new techniques of perspective, foreshortening, the Florentine emphasis on the fluid line, naturalistic and anatomical detail, and trompe l'oeil .

Oil painting was also introduced, as seen in Antonello da Messina's Sibiu Crucifixion (1454-55). Other artists like Pierro della Francesca in his Flagellation of Christ , (c. 1455) experimentally combined oil with tempera on panels. And some artists brought an innovative emphasis on color and texture to tempera painting, as seen in the pastel pink and green palette of Domenico Veneziano's St. Lucy Altarpiece (1445-47), influenced by the Venetian School.

New subject matter was also introduced. Andrea del Castagno's commissioned fresco Cycle of Famous Men and Women (c.1449-51) depicted portraits of three Tuscan poets, three famous women from antiquity, and three military commanders from Florence. His treatment was also novel, as he painted them within architectural niches to create the illusion of sculpture. Portraits of noble families were much in demand, as seen in Piero della Francesca's Portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino (1465-72), while Domenico Ghirlandaio pioneered the portrait focusing on deeply individualized but ordinary people as seen in his Portrait of an Old Man with His Grandson (1490).

The painter Paolo Uccello pioneered battle painting with his renowned Battle of Romano (1435-60) depicting the 1432 battle between Florence and Siena. Uccello was a noted mathematician who created an idiosyncratic style that combined a pioneering use of perspective with elements of the Late Gothic style. His Funerary Monument (or Equestrian Monument ) to Sir John Hawkwood (1436), like many other works, was a fresco that appeared almost sculptural.

The most noted sculptors of the Early Renaissance were Donatello, Ghiberti, and later in the period, Andrea del Verrocchio. The naturalism and classical proportions of Roman and Greek sculpture inspired their works, though interpreted through the era's emphasis on individuality and Humanism. The period's most noted sculptures were created using the lost wax process, also revived from the Roman era.

Ghiberti was to design two sets of doors for the Baptistery in Florence of which the second, depicting ten panels of scenes from the Old Testament, completed in 1452, became the most famous. In them, Ghiberti perfected his use of perspective and figurative modeling to create works that were admired both for their classical beauty and their emotive individuality. Michelangelo dubbed them "The Gates of Paradise," the name by which the doors, 17 feet tall and gilded in gold, have been called since.

Donatello's Gattamelata (1453), a piece of realistic grandeur, was influenced by the bronze Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius (c. 173-76 C.E). However, Donatello's version revitalized the subject by emphasizing Aurelius' individuality, the anatomical musculature of the horse, and incorporating symbolic elements such as the horse's hoof resting upon a cannon ball. Evoking Venice's military power, it became a signature reflection of the Renaissance.

Donatello was considered to be the greatest sculptor of the Early Renaissance, in part due to his range of subject matter and his capacity for individualistic expression of each. This can be seen in his innovatively eroticized statue of David , or his powerfully expressive later work Penitent Magdalene (1453-55), Andrea del Verrocchio was notably influenced by Donatello's work, as seen in his own bronze David (1473-75) and his Equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni (1480-88).

Later Developments - After Early Renaissance

The impact of the Early Renaissance cannot be overestimated, as rather than ending in the late 1400s, its innovations spread from Florence throughout Italy and Europe. The works of the Early Renaissance artists became foundational to the High Renaissance , North European Renaissance , Mannerism , and Baroque periods that followed. Florence itself continued to be an inspiring artistic environment for the generation that followed, as Michelangelo , Leonardo da Vinci , and Raphael lived and studied there. Michelangelo was particularly influenced by Masaccio, his teacher Ghirlandaio, and his training in the workshops of the Medici family. Leonardo da Vinci was trained by Andrea del Verrocchio. Masaccio's fresco Expulsion from the Garden of Eden , 1426-1427 influenced him, and his studies of Alberti's On Painting (1435), as well as Pierro del Francesca's study of perspective, informed his thought and work.

The designs of Alberti, Michelozzi, Brunelleschi, and Mantegna's trompe l'oeil ceiling painting were to inform various architectural styles and designs into the 19th and 20 th centuries. Botticelli's paintings, rediscovered in the 19 th century, became a noted influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood , and, subsequently among the most popular and artistically revisited works of the 20 th century.

The concept of Humanism that so heavily defined the Early Renaissance period remains an important model for thriving community and a timeless lesson about the benefits of intellectual and creative pursuits informed by a deep knowledge of the arts and sciences within a particular society.

Useful Resources on Early Renaissance

• Early Renaissance: Style and Civilization Our Pick By Michael Levey
• Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture Our Pick By Ross King
• The Lives of the Artists (Oxford World Classics) By Giorgio Vasari
• Botticelli By Frank Zollner
• Masaccio and the Brancacci Chapel By Ornella Casazza
• The Genius of Andrea Mantegna (Metropolitan Museum of Art) By Keith Christiansen
• Domenico Ghirlandaio: Artist and Artisan By Jean K. Cadogan and Domenico Ghirlandaio
• The Gates of Paradise Art Institute of Chicago
• The Early Renaissance in Florence: Slide Show and articles Our Pick National Gallery of Art
• The Most Iconic Artists of the Italian Renaissance, from Masaccio to Titian By George Philip LeBourdais / Dec 21, 2015
• A Chapel in Florence Reveals Its Wonders Anew By Clyde Haberman / New York Times / June 9, 1990
• Masaccio's "Holy Trinity" By Bendicò / Globaldispatches / June 11, 2013
• Great works: Annunciation (1438-45), Fra Angelico Our Pick By Michael Glover / Independent / July, 15 2010
• Great Works: The Dead Christ, by Andrea Mantegna c.1480 By Michael Glover / Independent / September 2012
• Moving a Mantegna Our Pick By Nicholas Fox Weber / Art News / September 23, 2014
• Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) By Paul Davies / Architectural Review / January 31, 2013

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Content compiled and written by Rebecca Seiferle

Edited and revised, with Summary and Accomplishments added by Kimberly Nichols

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Renaissance

By: History.com Editors

Updated: August 11, 2023 | Original: April 4, 2018

The Renaissance was a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages. Generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th century, the Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art.

Some of the greatest thinkers, authors, statesmen, scientists and artists in human history thrived during this era, while global exploration opened up new lands and cultures to European commerce. The Renaissance is credited with bridging the gap between the Middle Ages and modern-day civilization.

From Darkness to Light: The Renaissance Begins

During the Middle Ages , a period that took place between the fall of ancient Rome in 476 A.D. and the beginning of the 14th century, Europeans made few advances in science and art.

Also known as the “Dark Ages,” the era is often branded as a time of war, ignorance, famine and pandemics such as the Black Death .

Some historians, however, believe that such grim depictions of the Middle Ages were greatly exaggerated, though many agree that there was relatively little regard for ancient Greek and Roman philosophies and learning at the time.

During the 14th century, a cultural movement called humanism began to gain momentum in Italy. Among its many principles, humanism promoted the idea that man was the center of his own universe, and people should embrace human achievements in education, classical arts, literature and science.

In 1450, the invention of the Gutenberg printing press allowed for improved communication throughout Europe and for ideas to spread more quickly.

As a result of this advance in communication, little-known texts from early humanist authors such as those by Francesco Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio, which promoted the renewal of traditional Greek and Roman culture and values, were printed and distributed to the masses.

Additionally, many scholars believe advances in international finance and trade impacted culture in Europe and set the stage for the Renaissance.

Medici Family

The Renaissance started in Florence, Italy, a place with a rich cultural history where wealthy citizens could afford to support budding artists.

Members of the powerful Medici family , which ruled Florence for more than 60 years, were famous backers of the movement.

Great Italian writers, artists, politicians and others declared that they were participating in an intellectual and artistic revolution that would be much different from what they experienced during the Dark Ages.

The movement first expanded to other Italian city-states, such as Venice, Milan, Bologna, Ferrara and Rome. Then, during the 15th century, Renaissance ideas spread from Italy to France and then throughout western and northern Europe.

Although other European countries experienced their Renaissance later than Italy, the impacts were still revolutionary.

Renaissance Geniuses

Some of the most famous and groundbreaking Renaissance intellectuals, artists, scientists and writers include the likes of:

• Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519): Italian painter, architect, inventor and “Renaissance man” responsible for painting “The Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper.
• Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536): Scholar from Holland who defined the humanist movement in Northern Europe. Translator of the New Testament into Greek. 
• Rene Descartes (1596–1650): French philosopher and mathematician regarded as the father of modern philosophy. Famous for stating, “I think; therefore I am.”
• Galileo (1564-1642): Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer whose pioneering work with telescopes enabled him to describes the moons of Jupiter and rings of Saturn. Placed under house arrest for his views of a heliocentric universe.
• Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543): Mathematician and astronomer who made first modern scientific argument for the concept of a heliocentric solar system.
• Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679): English philosopher and author of “Leviathan.”
• Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400): English poet and author of “The Canterbury Tales.”
• Giotto (1266-1337): Italian painter and architect whose more realistic depictions of human emotions influenced generations of artists. Best known for his frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua.
• Dante (1265–1321): Italian philosopher, poet, writer and political thinker who authored “The Divine Comedy.”
• Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527): Italian diplomat and philosopher famous for writing “The Prince” and “The Discourses on Livy.”
• Titian (1488–1576): Italian painter celebrated for his portraits of Pope Paul III and Charles I and his later religious and mythical paintings like “Venus and Adonis” and "Metamorphoses."
• William Tyndale (1494–1536): English biblical translator, humanist and scholar burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English.
• William Byrd (1539/40–1623): English composer known for his development of the English madrigal and his religious organ music.
• John Milton (1608–1674): English poet and historian who wrote the epic poem “Paradise Lost.”
• William Shakespeare (1564–1616): England’s “national poet” and the most famous playwright of all time, celebrated for his sonnets and plays like “Romeo and Juliet."
• Donatello (1386–1466): Italian sculptor celebrated for lifelike sculptures like “David,” commissioned by the Medici family.
• Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510): Italian painter of “Birth of Venus.”
• Raphael (1483–1520): Italian painter who learned from da Vinci and Michelangelo. Best known for his paintings of the Madonna and “The School of Athens.”
• Michelangelo (1475–1564): Italian sculptor, painter and architect who carved “David” and painted The Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Renaissance Impact on Art, Architecture and Science

Art, architecture and science were closely linked during the Renaissance. In fact, it was a unique time when these fields of study fused together seamlessly.

For instance, artists like da Vinci incorporated scientific principles, such as anatomy into their work, so they could recreate the human body with extraordinary precision.

Architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi studied mathematics to accurately engineer and design immense buildings with expansive domes.

Scientific discoveries led to major shifts in thinking: Galileo and Descartes presented a new view of astronomy and mathematics, while Copernicus proposed that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the solar system.

Renaissance art was characterized by realism and naturalism. Artists strived to depict people and objects in a true-to-life way.

They used techniques, such as perspective, shadows and light to add depth to their work. Emotion was another quality that artists tried to infuse into their pieces.

Some of the most famous artistic works that were produced during the Renaissance include:

• The Mona Lisa (Da Vinci)
• The Last Supper (Da Vinci)
• Statue of David (Michelangelo)
• The Birth of Venus (Botticelli)
• The Creation of Adam (Michelangelo)

Renaissance Exploration

While many artists and thinkers used their talents to express new ideas, some Europeans took to the seas to learn more about the world around them. In a period known as the Age of Discovery, several important explorations were made.

Voyagers launched expeditions to travel the entire globe. They discovered new shipping routes to the Americas, India and the Far East and explorers trekked across areas that weren’t fully mapped.

Famous journeys were taken by Ferdinand Magellan , Christopher Columbus , Amerigo Vespucci (after whom America is named), Marco Polo , Ponce de Leon , Vasco Núñez de Balboa , Hernando De Soto and other explorers.

Renaissance Religion

Humanism encouraged Europeans to question the role of the Roman Catholic church during the Renaissance.

As more people learned how to read, write and interpret ideas, they began to closely examine and critique religion as they knew it. Also, the printing press allowed for texts, including the Bible, to be easily reproduced and widely read by the people, themselves, for the first time.

In the 16th century, Martin Luther , a German monk, led the Protestant Reformation – a revolutionary movement that caused a split in the Catholic church. Luther questioned many of the practices of the church and whether they aligned with the teachings of the Bible.

As a result, a new form of Christianity , known as Protestantism, was created.

End of the Renaissance

Scholars believe the demise of the Renaissance was the result of several compounding factors.

By the end of the 15th century, numerous wars had plagued the Italian peninsula. Spanish, French and German invaders battling for Italian territories caused disruption and instability in the region.

Also, changing trade routes led to a period of economic decline and limited the amount of money that wealthy contributors could spend on the arts.

Later, in a movement known as the Counter-Reformation, the Catholic church censored artists and writers in response to the Protestant Reformation. Many Renaissance thinkers feared being too bold, which stifled creativity.

Furthermore, in 1545, the Council of Trent established the Roman Inquisition , which made humanism and any views that challenged the Catholic church an act of heresy punishable by death.

By the early 17th century, the Renaissance movement had died out, giving way to the Age of Enlightenment .

Debate Over the Renaissance

While many scholars view the Renaissance as a unique and exciting time in European history, others argue that the period wasn’t much different from the Middle Ages and that both eras overlapped more than traditional accounts suggest.

Also, some modern historians believe that the Middle Ages had a cultural identity that’s been downplayed throughout history and overshadowed by the Renaissance era.

While the exact timing and overall impact of the Renaissance is sometimes debated, there’s little dispute that the events of the period ultimately led to advances that changed the way people understood and interpreted the world around them.

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High Renaissance Art Essay

Introduction, role of art in high renaissance, leonardo da vinci – the lady with an ermine, michelangelo buonarotti – the creation of adam, comparative and contrastive analysis, works cited.

The historical period of the High Renaissance spanned between 1490 and 1527 and characterizes the culmination of the art of Renaissance, which combined the ideas inherent to classical humanism and the linear artistic perspective inherent to realism. The period of the Early Renaissance was predominantly focused in Florence and was significantly funded by the Medici family; however, Rome was the center for High Renaissance art, which was funded by the Popes. In fact, the lavish founding of the High Renaissance made the city almost bankrupt.

In the course of the development of the High Renaissance, Rome exceeded Florence due to the ambition of the clergy’s ambitions to reinforce the glory of Rome through art. Pope Julius II and Pope Leo X paid a significant amount of money for the services of the greatest Renaissance artist like da Vinci and Michelangelo to paint various images on religious topics. Thus, the majority of paintings or sculptures inherent to the High Renaissance were not intended for an average citizen, on the contrary, they diminished their value through uplifting the role of the Church (“High Renaissance Art” par. 5).

The realistic depiction of the main objects in the paintings was not entirely intended to present the material world, rather, it aspired to show the beauty and harmony of nature. Despite the fact that High Renaissance artists based their works on nature, they studied the classical works of Greeks and Romans to find the perfect balance, which became the heart of their aesthetics.

While Leonardo da Vinci was paid a lot to paint images related to religious themes, he was also appointed to paint some representatives of the upper class, like, for example, his painting of Cecilia Gallerani (Figure 1), the mistress of Ludovico, Duke of Milan. She was a daughter of a rich courtier and was described to be “as beautiful as a flower” (Wilson par. 2).

The painting possesses a number of hidden clues that were characteristic of Leonardo’s style. Since he was obsessed with the dynamics of movement, he introduced a new way of painting movement to the style of portraiture. In the painting, Cecilia is depicted in a half-turn, holding an ermine in her arms.

Ermine was regarded as a symbol of childbirth in art; thus, many historians believe that Cecilia was pregnant with Ludovico’s child when Leonardo painted her. Another reference Leonardo made was in the expensive Jet jewels Cecilia wore on the portrait. Ludovico was known under the nickname of ‘the Moor’ for his quite dark complexion. Thus, the black jewels make a subtle allusion to Cecilia’s lover.

When it comes to the specific artistic attributes, da Vinci used an innovative technique of adding dots of white paint to the irises of Cecilia’s eyes, creating ‘catch-lights’. This technique made Cecilia’s eyes alive as if they were reflecting the light from a candle or an open window. In addition, Cecilia has disproportionately large hands for a woman of her age and size. However, this can be explained by the fact that Leonardo practiced drawing hands separate from people’s bodies – he had numerous sketchbooks with hands drawn in different poses. Most likely, Leonardo lifted previously drawn hands from his sketchbook and completed Cecilia’s portrait.

Furthermore, Leonardo used a new method of shading, which was called smokiness. The smokiness can be seen on Cecilia’s chest and neck as subtle gradations of tone, which are typical for the technique. The Lady with an Ermine was painted with a unique medium of oil medium which came from the Netherlands to Italy in the 1470’s. The new medium can be regarded as revolutionary for the country that was captured by the classical method of mural paintings, in which paints were made from egg whites and crushed pigments.

In addition to the new technique, Leonardo used a precious pigment of ultramarine to paint the blue mantle Cecilia had on. The bright blue color was achieved by grinding the semi-precious stone ‘lapis lazull’, mined in Afghanistan, and the shipped to Europe.

The Lady with an Ermine is a painting, which showed Leonardo’s obsession with the art of drawing and the study of nature, evidenced by the detailed depiction of the ermine (Cork par. 6). Cecilia Gallerani came alive in paint, with her sparkling eyes and the folds of her dress, in the moving pose of the animal and the soft shading on her neck.

In contrast to da Vinci’s portrait, the second painting chosen for analysis, is Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam, the most known fresco in the Sistine Chapel. Again, the fresco is different from the usual scenes that depict the Creation. God, on the right, is depicted inside a nebula that is made up of many figures of people. Furthermore, God is shown as an elderly man with a gray beard. The image of God is quite remote from the traditional images in which he wears royal garments – in the painting he only wears a light tunic that exposes his legs (Figure 2). Thus, it can be argued that Michelangelo’s depiction of the Creator is much more intimate as he is not unreachable and untouchable to a simple man, but a God that is accessible (“Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam” par. 2).

On the other hand, Adam on the left is shown as a figure that responds to the touch of God. This touch can be regarded as a symbol of life which God first gave to Adam and then to the mankind overall. The shape of Adam’s body is reflective of God’s shape, which implies an idea that Man was created as an image of God – an idea which, supposedly, was supported by Michelangelo.

The Creation of Adam is instrumental in showing the main principles inherent to Michelangelo’s style of painting: the depiction of muscular bodies that twist in the movement, the juxtaposition of the images of the divine and the man, the painting of the bodies that look like live sculptures because Michelangelo was initially specializing in sculpture and had profound knowledge on the structure of the human body.

Due to the fact that Michelangelo was indeed a sculptor, there is an interesting allusion to the science of Anatomy. The nebula which surrounds God is reminiscent of a human skull and the nervous system. Through tracing imaginary lines of a frontal and temporal lobe of a human brain onto the nebula, it can be shown that the nebula is an anatomically correct representation of a human skull (Meshberger 3).

The chosen artistic works of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarotti are different in their techniques, themes, and ideas. While Leonardo’s the Lady with an Ermine is a portrait of a mistress of the Duke of Milan, Michelangelo’s theme is connected with the Creation of Man by God. While Lady with an Ermine was painted with an innovative medium of paint, the Creation of Adam reserved to a traditional fresco method.

However, both works of art included hidden messages that were to be disclosed. Leonardo presented his knowledge of hidden symbols as evidenced by the image of the ermine that suggested Cecilia’s pregnancy. Michelangelo also followed his aesthetic as a sculptor and connoisseur of the human anatomy, hiding an outline of a human skull in the composition of the fresco.

Thus, the ways in which the paintings are perceived by the viewer are polarly different. The Creation of Adam is seen as a scene of interaction between the divine deity and a man, reinforcing the creationist beliefs inherent to the majority of religions. In addition, the fact that the fresco is located on the high ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the observer may have a feeling of being small and powerless compared to God.

Lady with an Ermine, on the other hand, presents a much more realistic theme of a higher class. It brilliantly serves a time capsule for the modern society that is able to see the contrast between the way the members of the high class looked in the fifteenth century and the way they look today.

Cork, Richard. Leonardo da Vinci’s Masterpiece ‘The Lady With the Ermine’ . 2013. Web.

High Renaissance Art . n.d. Web.

“ Leonardo da Vinci – The Lady with an Ermine ” n.d. Web.

Meshberger, Frank. An Interpretation Of Michelangelo’s Creation Of Adam Based On Neuroanatomy. 2011. Web.

Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam . 2012. Web.

“ Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam ” n.d. Web.

Wilson, Andrew. Decoding a da Vinci masterpiece: Behind the Secret Symbols of The Lady With An Ermine . 2011. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2024, April 19). High Renaissance Art. https://ivypanda.com/essays/high-renaissance-art/

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1. IvyPanda . "High Renaissance Art." April 19, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/high-renaissance-art/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "High Renaissance Art." April 19, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/high-renaissance-art/.

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Ceramics in the french renaissance.

Pilgrim bottle with screw top

Workshop of Antoine Syjalon

Figure personifying a spring

Model probably supplied by Guillaume Dupré

Water jar with spout (vase à bec)

Follower of Bernard Palissy

Ian Wardropper Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bernard Palissy and His School The serious study of nature crops up in the work of the ceramist Bernard Palissy (1510–1590), as well as in that of other artists and architects like Philibert De L’Orme. Toward the end of his career, Palissy established a “little academy” in Sedan, in northeastern France, and gave lectures on the natural sciences there and in Paris that were published as the Discours admirables in 1580. Untutored in Latin and Greek , Palissy’s knowledge was practical and based on direct observation. He kept a cabinet of curiosities, and this spirit of taxonomy transferred delightfully to the surface of what he called rustiques figulines [ sic ]. Palissy developed a method of molding from fauna and flora and applying the casts as decoration to large basins. Having closely observed the locomotion of animals, he transformed the slithering or coiling of snakes into motifs that invigorated his clay compositions ( 53.225.52 ). Textures of ferns and leaves contrast with the shiny spiral of the nautilus or sharp rim of the scallop, as he created works that mimic the habitat of a riverbank yet resolve into artistic order. His compositions read sometimes as parables: the cunning serpent preys on innocent creatures , or, in the tradition of tomb symbolism, snakes and frogs may represent the corruptibility of human flesh, while shells stand for eternal life. These tales in clay come brilliantly to life through stunning colors . Having begun his career as a stained-glass artist in Saintes, Palissy experimented with many enamel hues to achieve a rich palette of glazes.

His work was appreciated at the highest levels of society. Anne de Montmorency, one of the most astute art patrons of Renaissance France, collected Palissy’s rustic plates in the late 1550s. To oversee her collection of glazed earthenware, Catherine de’ Medici employed a garde-vaisselle , a ceramist-curator named Jean Charpentier, who mounted pieces on sideboards during festivals. As queen mother, she facilitated the advancement of Palissy’s work by commissioning from him an entire room of clay creatures as a grotto for her Tuileries palace , then under construction after De L’Orme’s designs during the late 1550s and the 1560s. Although it was not finished, many individual parts for the grotto survive, and the kilns Palissy used for the job were recently unearthed in excavations at the Louvre. Despite the prestige of his supporters, the Protestant Palissy was imprisoned for heresy and died in the Bastille in 1590.

Palissy’s art revolutionized the field of ceramics. The potter’s popularity led to a school of followers that over time increasingly emphasized the decorative aspect of his work. A whole class of objects developed in Palissy’s wake that adapted his inventive shapes and colored glazes to human figures and decorative motifs. The “gondola” cup-a contemporary term for this ceramic type of a woman in the bath —for instance, employs Palissy’s saturated colors, textured waves, and shell designs, but they are now tinged with the erotic sensibility of court art ( 53.225.54 ). A number of potters in Avon, the village next to Fontainebleau , produced works such as this partly submerged nude woman personifying a spring, a prevalent theme at this court that was, by tradition, named after a local water source. Probably modeled by Guillaume Dupré, this “gondola” cup maintains Palissy’s sculptural attitude: it is clearly not a vessel but rather a nonfunctional, decorative, and wryly amusing work.

French Ceramics in the Provinces and at Court The town of Saintes has long been associated with the production of pottery. The economy of form of a water jar with spout ( vase à bec ) made in that city in the second half of the sixteenth century testifies to the strength of the city’s tradition in this craft, in paring a work to an essential shape in response to its function ( 1993.25 ). The bold, swelling body echoes in the hoop strap over the neck, and three more straps join neck to waste to facilitate pouring. Its thick lead glaze in bright green finishes and protects its surface. The pilgrim flask ( 41.49.9a,b ), utterly unlike the Saintes water jar, was fired in the same period farther south in Nîmes in 1581. Although its ceramic form derives from a common type, the flask was painted with a sophisticated blend of technique and ornament. Its tin-glaze painting follows the example of contemporary maiolica produced in such Italian towns as Urbino and Faenza. The grotesques of fantastic creatures entwined with strapwork and birds are adapted from designs by the court artist Jacques Du Cerceau.

This range of French pottery from rustic to refined comes together in the most intriguing ware of all, called Saint-Porchaire. It, too, has a connection to the provinces in the southwest, in the town of Saint-Porchaire, in Deux- Sèvres , and nearby Parthenay and Bressuire; as at Saintes, this region is the site of deposits of kaolin-rich white clay, prized for its fine texture and capacity to render precise detail. Yet the ware’s sources are so sophisticated and disparate and its technical construction so complex that it appears to have close links to the court.

The answer to how artisans apparently working in provincial circumstances acquired access to highly sophisticated design models appears to lie partly in the peripatetic nature of artists at the time and partly with the Montmorency-Laval family branch that patronized the small factory. Through dynastic ties to Anne de Montmorency, the potteries must have known collections of prints , bookbindings , metalwork, carved rock crystal, and other works of art that inspired these astonishingly eclectic clay creations. Some scholars, however, believe that such wares could only have been made in Paris.

Although no two pieces are alike, they share certain common motifs and techniques. The most prevalent is the interlace, a pattern popularized by printed books like Francisque Pellegrin’s La fleur de la science de Pourtraitcure [ sic ], published at Fontainebleau in 1530, and often seen on the handsome bookbindings produced in the era of Jean Grolier de Servières, bibliophile and treasurer general of France in 1547. The interlace designs are inlaid by matrices, either directly into the clay body in its leather-hard state before firing, or on sheets of clay that are then applied to it. Contrasting colored clay is then inserted into these depressions, and the final glaze further smoothes the division between the clays. Such an approach is highly unusual in ceramic production and closer in spirit to metalworking techniques such as niello—blackened sulfur fused into gouged designs—as seen on contemporary arms and armor decorations.

The patterned surfaces of Saint-Porchaire wares are often overlaid by other clay additions, such as the handle of a ewer in the Museum’s collection—part tree trunk, part winged dragon, part ram ( 17.190.1740 ). A statuette in relief of the Virgin and Child forms part of the base of its spout, while a miniature building with tiny figures in Gothic arches constitutes the neck. A number of the sixty-odd known examples of Saint-Porchaire ware (seven are in the Museum) are based on humble forms such as biberons , or nursing jugs, with simple hoop handles like the water jar from Saintes. The adroit mixture of court art and peasant form marks this perfect expression of the French Renaissance.

Wardropper, Ian. “Ceramics in the French Renaissance.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cera/hd_cera.htm (April 2008)

Further Reading

Amico, Leonard N. Bernard Palissy: In Search of Earthly Paradise . Paris: Flammarion, 1996.

Babelon, Jean-Pierre. Châteaux de France au siècle de la Renaissance . Paris: Flammarion, 1989.

Barbour, Daphne, and Shelley Sturman, eds. Saint-Porchaire Ceramics . Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1996.

Blunt, Anthony. Art and Architecture in France, 1500–1700 . 5th ed., rev. by Richard Beresford.. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999.

Chastel, André. French Art , vol. 2, The Renaissance, 1430–1620 . Paris: Flammarion, 1995.

Cloulas, Ivan, and Michèle Bimbenet-Privat. Treasures of the French Renaissance . New York: Abrams, 1998.

Cox-Rearick, Janet. The Collection of Francis I: Royal Treasures . New York: Abrams, 1996.

Wardropper, Ian "The Flowering of the French Renaissance." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 62 (Summer 2004).

Zerner, Henri. Renaissance Art in France: The Invention of Classicism . Paris: Flammarion, 2003.

Additional Essays by Ian Wardropper

• Wardropper, Ian. “ Gardens in the French Renaissance .” (April 2008)
• Wardropper, Ian. “ Images of Antiquity in Limoges Enamels in the French Renaissance .” (April 2008)
• Wardropper, Ian. “ Pastoral Charms in the French Renaissance .” (April 2008)

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Renaissance — The Renaissance Art: A Period of Remarkable Contributions

The Renaissance Art: a Period of Remarkable Contributions

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Published: Feb 12, 2024

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Development of renaissance art, the bellini family and florence, themes and techniques in renaissance art, in conclusion, works cited.

• Dunlop, Charles. Renaissance Art: A Historical Perspective. Oxford University Press, 2010. pp. 440-445.
• Haughton, Brian. The Renaissance: A Visual Journey. DK Publishing, 2008. pp. 229-233.

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The Renaissance Art: Impact on the Modern World

The renaissance era, especially during the fifteenth and sixteenth century in Italy, was a time of extensive innovation and exploration. These changes were especially prevalent in art, and the vast leaps in the artists’ methods and skills have continuously influenced contemporary art. Renaissance art saw an increased implementation of realism in painting and other creative ambitions such as architecture and writing. The techniques encouraged tremendous innovation and skill-based improvement, which is why many renaissance artists are still considered some of the most technically advanced. The art pieces of the time placed a substantial amount of importance on things such as perspective, proportion, and realistic illusions, which were aspects of painting that were previously ignored or only partially implemented.

The renaissance also observed shifts from classical antiquity by paying more attention to human identity and rationality. This was a complete transformation from medieval art that was linked to the divine and allegorical. Much of what we currently value in the metaphors of art, such as humanity, nature, everyday life, philosophy, and other thoughtful concepts, began to emerge during the renaissance. As such, the renaissance’s importance cannot be understated, as it has influenced the art of the following centuries and current art. The renaissance paved the way for realism, technical innovation, and perhaps most importantly, for deeper exploration of the thematic aspects of paintings and other art. The renaissance embodied many artists that are widely known today and continue to be studied and looked up to in technical ability and creative choices. The era has influenced many modern art styles and will likely continue to inspire and guide future art.

Despite appearing as a totally novel form of art, the renaissance was the return towards already existing classical Greek and Roman art forms and stylistic choices. In fact, it was the synthetic nature of the renaissance, especially in Italy, that allowed for truly inspirational results. Most Western art emerges as a consequence of the convergence and combinations of styles and practices. The same can be said for the early beginnings of the renaissance, during which the revival of the classical tradition of Greek and Roman was especially prevalent. The art of ancient Greece had always strived to achieve idealized, but naturalistic, three-dimensional forms of the human body.

Symmetry was another aspect that was upheld in the classical tradition, while the realistic proponents of works could be identified in nude figures, mostly males with female figures in later years. The same organic presentation can be observed in the oil paintings of the renaissance which mimic not only the classical tradition as it was preserved but builds on the foundational values that ancient Greek artists have installed in realism, naturalism, and dimensional works.

The fourteenth century’s emergence of the renaissance was not strictly attributed to only artists and sculptors, but to a number of creative minds of the past which became studied more frequently. The university town of Padua, not far from Venice, served as a republican commune and the source of much of the classical revival in fourteenth-century Italy (Adams, 2019). The study of ancient texts, visual arts, and other cultural factors became common and developed into a kind of social phenomenon.

The process became known as the humanist movement, an almost revolution based on the visual arts, recorded ideologies, and discussions. As such, it was integral to several artists of the renaissance, including Giotto, who was considered the father of the Renaissance. Giotto’s work employed an increased volume of figures, approximate perspective, and a depth of emotion that was perceived as human feeling as opposed to the static and passive iconography of the medieval period.

Primarily, the effect of the humanist movement altered the relationship many artists, intellectuals, creators, and viewers of art had with the human body. The humanist curriculum developed in certain elite schools dictated a much more different belief, one that suggested that the human body is inherently composed of dignity. “Man is the measure of things” was a maxim popular in the classical period and became viable again during the renaissance (Chamberlin, 2019). Essentially, it rejected the notion popularized in medieval times that dictated that the physical body was impure and corrupt. An ideological change like the one upheld by the humanists seeped into the world of art, and realism and naturalism became indisputably more relevant than the illusory and allegorical creations of the medieval period.

On the more practical side of the renaissance, art, architecture, sculpture, and a number of other art forms observed massive leaps in technological advancements. These changes included improvements in materials, techniques, and tools. Other art forms, such as music and dance also enjoyed completely new forms of creativity in the early versions of the spinet and ballet. For the visual arts, the introduction of oil paints as they exist in the modern day was perhaps one of the most vital changes to the landscape of painting. Outside the practical changes, the actual practice of painting and sculpture began to evolve to adhere to the recently acquired ideals that were promoted by classical, realist, and naturalist works of the Greeks. The changes included but were not limited to linear perspective, foreshortening, quadratura, and sfumato.

Linear perspective, foreshortening, and quadratura were the sources of a new mastery in the art of illusionistic paintings (Soriano-Colchero & López-Vílchez, 2019). The new works were able to present depth that was not seen in the pieces created by medieval artists. Additionally, sfumato, an oil painting technique, was able to further enhance the naturalism and realism of the faces and figures of subjects of many renaissance pieces.

Following Giotto, Filippo Brunelleschi, a Florentine architect, and engineer was another early creator in the age of the renaissance. His most important contributions to the era included optical experiments that led to the discovery of a mathematical theory of perspective (Asasian, 2019). The method which Brunelleschi uncovered from his experiments was implemented for architectural purposes, but following its publishing in 1435, it was just as efficiently used in the painting of three-dimensional spaces within artworks. Its implementation can be observed in works such as the ‘Holy Trinity’ by Masaccio. Though it is a religious piece and follows many previous rules and standards of earlier works dedicated to the church, ‘Holy Trinity’ depicts a barrel-vaulted ceiling (Asasian, 2019).

The ceiling is able to imitate the actual appearance of the architecture as it would be visible from the point of view of the observer. In addition, the figures are proportionate in their anatomy, which is likely the result of Masaccio’s abilities as a student of sculpture. The newly acquired understanding of perspective was not restricted to the depiction of architecture but appeared in paintings of the human body from a number of different vantage points. Such is the case for the work ‘Lamentation of the Dead Christ’ by Andrea Mantegna, which portrays the subjects lying down, and the observer is placed at the feet of the man in the painting (Asasian, 2019). Not only was it a total innovation in the implementation of perspective, but also allowed the artist to evoke sympathy from the viewer by staging the scene as he did.

The renaissance influenced and was influenced by a few theological and philosophical beliefs over its course. Movements such as humanism spread through not only written and academic works, but directly into art, resulting in thematic pieces that exhibited more human figures and less allegorical messages. Other ideologies that were often central to renaissance pieces included secularism, individualism, and classicism.

Secularism, from the word secular meaning ‘of this world’, was not in direct disagreement with previous religious themes, but an addition to the beliefs that were common in the day. Much of medieval art and theology revolved around the afterlife, salvation, and deep devotion to religious ideals. The shift from art being solely or primarily focused on religious themes to the renaissance’s rise of works that were just as likely to be concerned with themes of daily life, human beauty, and non-religious philosophy was motivated by a number of factors. In fact, the leading components of the change are likely to have been economic and political.

The late middle ages in Western Europe observed an increased interest in the arts from other areas, religions, and form groups with varied values. Such a mix resulted in the renaissance incorporating the secular spirit into art, depicting life before death and heaven as worthwhile as opposed to an ordeal to overcome before dying. However, religion and God remained at the forefront of thematic choices in renaissance work, but the influence of secularism allowed for more diversity and exploration of human existence within art. The concept of humanism was continuously thriving, with artwork reflecting the fact that artists of the renaissance believed that humans were capable of reason, beauty, and the questioning of authority.

Individualism has taken such concepts a step further, by stating that human beings were not only inherently valuable but also held the potential for great accomplishments. This was a substantial change from the previously communal-oriented nature of the middle ages, especially in the world of the arts. For instance, the individualist perspective that was being cultivated during the time allowed artists like Leonardo Da Vinci to fully explore their own potential without being held back by a society that would discourage the questioning of traditional beliefs (Campbell, 2019).

Individualism was also prevalent within the actual works of artists, with newly emerging trends such as artists’ signatures, display of individualistic pride, and increased portraiture. Further still, the communal guild system was morphing into a capitalist-like sales process that prioritized private enterprise. With such models becoming more and more prevalent, the private ownership of art had also increased and wealthier citizens had become more likely to commission works of non-religious nature.

Just as the renaissance was influenced by prior philosophies, ideologies, and artworks, it has left an everlasting mark on the world of art, with much of the principles of renaissance surviving in modern art and theology. A number of works are often either directly referenced or subconsciously referred to in many modern works. Da Vinci’s work and iconography are especially popular in current art, with many parodies or his ‘The Last Supper’ being used to convey humor, satire, politics, or a number of other themes (Perrott, 2019). The easy recognition which the piece instills has allowed several other artists to convey their own messages through the iconic composition, posing, and imagery. Similar things can be said for ‘The Creation of Adam’ and ‘The Birth of Venus’, which have been parodied directly often for commercial or other purposes.

However, the renaissance is also capable of much more subtle influences which are often related to style, technique, and the technical innovations that originated with the time period. This can be seen in the increased ability of modern artists to invoke senses of realism in their pieces. Similarly, the themes of humanism and individualism persist to this day, with massive amounts of art being centered on human relations, identity, existence, and other people-oriented ideologies. Such thematic choices have even influenced completely new mediums, such as film, by setting the standard that stories should involve realistic humans instead of the godliness, perfection, and piety that the medieval arts were committed to.

The influence of the renaissance is undeniable, as without its domination during the fourteenth century, much of modern art may have been constructed from completely different thematic, stylistic, and technical qualities. However, due to the insistent involvement of artistic developments such as realism, technical innovation, and the influence of novel ideologies and philosophies, modern art upholds similar values that observers, critics, and artists find vital. Perhaps most importantly, it is due to the renaissance defiance of social norms that art has become diverse, limitless, and forever changing.

Works Cited

Adams, L. S. (2019). Italian Renaissance Art (2nd e.d.). Routledge.

Asasian, M. (2019). A Fuzzy Method for Meaningful Perspective on Visual Arts. Journal of Advances in Mathematics and Computer Science , 1-16. Web.

Campbell, G. (2019). The Oxford Illustrated History of the Renaissance . Oxford University Press.

Chamberlin, E. R. (2019). The World of the Italian Renaissance . Routledge.

Perrott, A. (2019). Modern Renaissance: 5 Contemporary Works Inspired by the Greats . Singulart Magazine. Web.

Soriano-Colchero, J., & López-Vílchez, I. (2019). The role of perspective in contemporary artistic practice . Cogent Art and Humanities, 6 (1). Web.

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440 Renaissance Essay Topics

Renaissance is a period in European history that followed the Middle Ages and changed the perspective on the world around. It is characterized by growing interest in Classical antiquity and the revival of European art and literature. During that time, even the way of thinking transformed, impacted by numerous inventions, discoveries, and cultural growth.

The key characteristics of the period are a willingness to learn, faith in humanism, the rebirth of naturalism , secularism, and mastery of linear perspective. You can explore them all with our Renaissance essay topics. Our experts have prepared a list of ideas for various academic papers and assignments. Besides, check how to write a Renaissance essay to get the highest score!

🔝 Top 12 Renaissance Topics

🖼️ renaissance topics list: general, 🎨 renaissance art essay topics.

• 🏰 Renaissance Research: Architecture

🧑‍🦱 Renaissance Research Topics: Humanism

🔭 renaissance essay questions: science.

• ➕ 60 More Renaissance Topics

✍️ How to Write a Renaissance Essay

🔗 references.

• Exploring the philosophy behind humanism.
• How did Middle Ages influence the Renaissance?
• Niccolò Machiavelli and political science.
• Themes and Characters in Shakespeare’s Plays .
• The Italian Renaissance through literature.
• What is the role of Christian humanism in the Renaissance?
• Comparing the art of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.
• What is the secret behind Mona Lisa’s popularity?
• Renaissance in Italian City-States .
• The impact of the early Renaissance on Western civilization.
• Exploring Albrecht Durer’s importance to the history of printmaking.
• What was the impact of Renaissance ideas on religious reformations?
• The concept and principles of humanism in the Renaissance.
• Understanding the political and social changes during the Renaissance.
• The cultural shift from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance.
• Where and how did the Renaissance start?
• The Renaissance as a period of progress and enlightenment.
• How did the Renaissance help spread the modern Western worldview?
• The impact of the Renaissance on modern art and architecture.
• “Othello” by William Shakespeare .
• How did the Catholic Church shape Renaissance culture?
• The achievements of the Middle Ages that impacted the Renaissance.
• The role of the Medici family in the Renaissance development.
• Factors that drove the beginning of the Renaissance era.
• Exploring how Protestant Reformation influenced the Renaissance.
• The scientific and artistic principles discovered by Leonardo da Vinci.
• Understanding the phenomenon of the High Renaissance.
• “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare: The Character of Gertrude .
• An overview of the greatest Renaissance geniuses and their contributions.
• The main qualities of a Renaissance man.
• The influence of classical mythology on Renaissance art and literature.
• Printing press and knowledge during the Renaissance.
• The relationship between the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution .
• Patronage and the development of art during the Renaissance.
• Women’s contributions to art and sciences during the Renaissance.
• The cultural exchange between Europe and the Ottoman Empire .
• How did the Renaissance change modern education systems and curricula?
• The influence of Renaissance thought on the Enlightenment .
• Leonardo Da Vinci: Biography, Style and Work .
• Understanding the difference between the Renaissance and the Baroque period.
• Renaissance literature and modern storytelling techniques and principles.
• The effect of humanism on philosophy and culture.
• How did the Renaissance challenge the church?
• Establishing the Renaissance’s impact on democracy and individual rights.
• The contributions of Renaissance artists and writers to Western culture.
• How did the Renaissance’s thought impact modern science?
• The relationship between the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration.
• “The Taming of the Shrew” by Shakespeare: Katherine and Petruchio .
• Language and linguistic theories concerning the Renaissance influence.
• The global exchange of ideas during the Renaissance.
• The Renaissance and the development of modern capitalism .
• Exploring the concept of cultural diffusion during the Renaissance.
• The cultural impact of the Renaissance on Shakespeare’s works.
• Trade and commerce during the Renaissance.
• Factors contributing to the Renaissance cities’ cultural and economic growth.
• How did the Renaissance impact the development of modern medicine?
• The influence of Renaissance art on contemporary fashion and design.
• Culinary practices and food culture in the Renaissance context.
• The Art of Drama. ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare .
• The Renaissance and changes in modern banking and financial systems.
• Music and the cultural and social life of Renaissance Europe.
• How did the Renaissance change modern political theory and government?
• Contemporary sports and leisure activities impacted by the Renaissance period.
• Did the Protestant Reformation impact the development of modern Europe?
• How did the Renaissance support the spread of European imperialism ?
• Shakespeare’s poems and plays as the masterpieces of Renaissance literature.
• Cultural values, traditions, and norms during the Renaissance period.
• Examining modern literary forms and styles in connection to the Renaissance.
• The relationship between the Renaissance and contemporary philosophy and theology .
• Women’s social roles during the Renaissance and other historical periods.
• Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare .
• Contemporary art and design movements that originate from the Renaissance.
• Exploring the concept of Renaissance concerning capitalism development.
• What was the relationship between Renaissance science and religion ?
• The spread of knowledge during the Renaissance epoch.
• Understanding the cultural conflicts and intolerance during the Renaissance.
• The core qualities of Renaissance intellectual thought.
• Did the Renaissance contribute to modern communication technologies?
• Modern colonialism and the global cultural exchange during the Renaissance.
• To what extent was the Renaissance a revolutionary period?
• The consequences of the Renaissance colonization for different countries.
• Was the Renaissance a continuation of previous trends and developments?
• Exploring the Renaissance as a period of regression and ignorance.
• “The Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli .
• The outcomes of modern capitalism and economic systems for society.
• The Renaissance as an epoch of cultural exchange and openness.
• Alchemy and the scientific and cultural developments of the Renaissance.
• Renaissance medicine compared to modern medical practices and beliefs.
• The study of magic and astrology during the Renaissance.
• The Renaissance and modern music and musical instruments.
• Religious dissent and heresy in the Renaissance cultural developments.
• Exploring the concept of the occult through the Renaissance lens.
• Modern recreational activities originating from the Renaissance.
• How did the Renaissance shape modern fashion and clothing styles?
• Modern gardening and landscaping techniques and the Renaissance influence.
• Transportation and communication technologies that the Renaissance shaped.
• The most famous artistic works created during the Renaissance.
• John Donne’s Poems .
• Understanding the outcomes of the Renaissance explorers’ journeys.
• The Renaissance as a process of cultural and intellectual change.
• How important was religion during the Renaissance epoch?
• Protestantism as a new form of Christianity.
• The reasons behind the demise of the Renaissance.
• The Counter-Reformation movement and its impact on the Renaissance thinkers.
• Did the Renaissance overshadow the culture of the Middle Ages?
• Changes in the Renaissance people’s perception of the world.
• Was the Renaissance the dawn of a new age?
• Factors that led to the end of the Italian Renaissance.
• The most influential works of art from the Renaissance era.
• What makes the Renaissance unique compared to other historical periods?
• Periodization of the Renaissance and the main characteristics of art.
• Architectural composition during the Renaissance.
• The secret of realistic Renaissance paintings and sculptures.
• The Proto-Renaissance and the greatest artists of this time.
• Features of Giotto di Bondone’s art during Proto-Renaissance.
• The Sistine Madonna as a painting of the High Renaissance.
• Raphael’s Painting “Madonna in a Chair”.
• Why are Leonardo da Vinci’s Renaissance artworks unique?
• Technological advancements and the establishment of musical ideas during the Renaissance.
• First musical instruments during the Renaissance.
• Collections and art of England, France, and Germany in the Renaissance.
• Fine art and its place in the Italian Renaissance perceptions.
• Who were the famous muses in the famous Renaissance paintings?
• The influence of Renaissance development on European music.
• Modern interpretations of Renaissance art.
• Mysteries behind the works of Leonardo da Vinci.
• Italy as the first country to enter the Renaissance.
• Vitruvian Man as a symbol of the Renaissance.
• Locating Shakespeare’s Revisionist Perspective in Henriad .
• The fall of the Byzantine empire and Renaissance art.
• How did the Renaissance influence music?
• Mona Lisa and her role during the Renaissance.
• How did science influence the fine art of the Renaissance?
• The reflection of Renaissance Florence fashion in the paintings.
• Why did Renaissance culture pique the interest of humanists?
• Where did the Renaissance era begin?
• Niccolo Machiavelli as the most influential author of the Renaissance.
• The Pope and the famous Sistine Chapel.
• The origins and ideals of Renaissance art.
• Novels Renaissance Analysis .
• Features of the Italian and Northern Renaissance art.
• Tiziano Vecelli as a famous Late Renaissance Artist.
• The Medici as a famous Italian dynasty patronizing art.
• The difference between Italian art and Northern Renaissance art.
• The Florentine School as the center of Renaissance art innovation.
• La Comedia and Dante Alighieri as symbols of Renaissance literature.
• The main features of Renaissance literature.
• Albrecht Dürer and his techniques in Renaissance paintings.
• A preferable narrative in Renaissance art.
• Dürer’s works that shocked the German townsfolk.
• The types of artwork performed by Titian during the Renaissance.
• European artists who were inspired by Titian’s Renaissance works.
• “Twelfth Night of What You Will” by William Shakespeare: Plots and Themes .
• Michelangelo Buonarroti and his well-known works.
• The main hero in Michelangelo’s works.
• The works of the Renaissance that were destroyed with time.
• The role of religion during the Renaissance .
• Religious motifs in the art of the Renaissance.
• Beauty and harmony in the poems of the Renaissance.
• Which works made the Renaissance artists famous?
• Mythology as an inspirational factor in the Renaissance.
• The role of color and symmetry in Renaissance paintings.
• Prospero’s Books and Shakespeare .
• The breadth of reality coverage in Renaissance paintings.
• The role of Roman and Greek philosophy in Renaissance art.
• What role did education play in forms of Renaissance art?
• The birth of radical ideas during the Proto-Renaissance period.
• The perception of femininity in the paintings of Renaissance artists.
• Perceptions of divine and human in the works of Renaissance writers.
• Geometrical forms in Renaissance art.
• The role of symbolism in Renaissance paintings, music, and literature.
• Renaissance iconography and famous artists.
• The meaning behind nude bodies in Renaissance art.
• How does Renaissance nudity shape the perception of the human body?
• Ancient heritage in Renaissance art.
• Italian Renaissance artists: Lifestyle and thinking.
• Humanism as the dominant feature of Renaissance culture and art.
• How is the principle of humanism connected with art discoveries?
• What was the artistic revolution of the Renaissance?
• “Othello” by Shakespeare: Heroes Analysis .
• The peculiarity of artists’ works of the high Italian Renaissance.
• Renaissance as a cultural and artistic phenomenon.
• Renaissance: the link between the Middle Ages and Modern Times.
• The role of the ancient heritage in Renaissance art.
• The phenomenon of the Islamic Renaissance.
• Filippo Brunelleschi and Early Renaissance architecture.
• Sandro Botticelli and Biblical and antique themes in painting.
• Raphael Santi created the perfect image of a Renaissance man.
• Leonardo da Vinci: the artist and scientist.
• Leonardo da Vinci as the embodiment of the ideal of the Renaissance.
• Hieronymus Bosch and alternatives to the Christian worldview.
• Rembrandt and his portraits as stories about human life.
• Renaissance poetry as a history of personal feeling.
• Petrarch’s poetry and the embodiment of the ideas of humanism.
• Works of William Shakespeare through the prism of humanistic ideals.
• Shakespeare and the heroes fighting for their happiness and freedom.
• Renaissance music through religious to secular themes.
• The presence of realism and anatomy in Renaissance art.
• Linear perspective and light in Renaissance portraits.
• Formation of new genres and early realism in Renaissance literature.
• The difference between Renaissance realism and later stages in literature.
• Who created the term Renaissance and what does it mean?
• Gertrude and Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet Play .
• What cultural perceptions and beliefs are reflected in Renaissance art?
• What instruments were used for the creation of Renaissance paintings?
• Principles of Renaissance architecture and the styles of churches.
• Understanding nature and eternity in Renaissance works.
• The nude figure in Botticelli’s painting The Birth of Venus .
• Innocence and defenselessness against seduction in Renaissance paintings.
• The body as an object of beauty in Renaissance paintings.
• A series of self-portraits by the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio.
• Landscapes in early Dutch paintings in the Northern Renaissance.
• The flagellation of Jesus Christ by the Romans in Renaissance art.
• Perspectives of artists in Renaissance works.
• Shakespeare: Fading Away .

🏰 Renaissance Research Paper Topics: Architecture

• What makes Brunelleschi’s church buildings so unique?
• How would you describe the most distinguishing characteristic of Brunelleschi’s work?
• How much of an impact did Cimabue have on Renaissance architecture?
• Can you explain the distinction between the “Early Renaissance” and the “High Renaissance”?
• To what extent do these individuals exemplify the High Renaissance?
• How did the transition from Renaissance to Mannerism building style occur?
• Is the Pisa Cathedral an excellent example of Romanesque design in Tuscany?
• What role did the church have in shaping Renaissance design?
• What methods were used to spread Renaissance-style buildings across Italy?
• How did the Renaissance improve upon previous building techniques?
• In what ways did the styles of the Italian Renaissance’s buildings evolve?
• What factors led to the development of Renaissance architecture in Italy?
• Does the return to classical play a role in explaining the Renaissance?
• How did Gothic elements find their way into Renaissance buildings?
• What factors led to the growth of the Renaissance architectural style?
• The Renaissance period’s heavy reliance on Greek and Roman architectural styles.
• Can you explain the philosophical underpinnings of Renaissance design?
• How important was the first book dedicated to architecture?
• How did Roman architecture play a role in the development of the Italian Renaissance?
• What makes Tempietto the best of the High Renaissance?
• What did Venice contribute to Renaissance design?
• Where may these characteristics of Palladian architecture be shown in depictions?
• Who or what were the catalysts for the push toward Palladianism?
• For Renaissance architects, Vitruvius was essential to their growth.
• Where did the architects of the Renaissance get their ideas?
• The 15th-century renaissance style of architecture and its aftereffects on the modern world.
• Putting Renaissance design to work in the modern world.
• How did Renaissance architects accomplish such elegant simplicity in their works?
• Why did the Renaissance have such a blatantly violent style of building?
• If symmetry is so important, then what motivates Renaissance architects?
• In what ways were the five classical orders significant?
• How did the Renaissance influence building styles all around the world?
• Where did renaissance architecture have its start?
• What did renaissance architects focus on initially?
• Discuss the impact of socioeconomic stratification on Renaissance building styles.
• Europe’s rise and fall from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.
• Why did the Medici family drive the growth of Italian architecture?
• Which buildings have been most obviously modeled by those of the Italian Renaissance?
• What was different about the Italian Mannerist movement from the traditional Renaissance?
• The history of the Vatican’s connection to Giulio Romano.
• How does Giulio Romano use deception in his artwork?
• Why did Giacomo della Porta draw on so many sources for his creations?
• How was Palladio’s version of classicism different from the norm?
• What changes does the Italian Renaissance bring to the architecture of the Baltic Sea?
• What aspects of the Renaissance did Western culture take on?
• Can it be said that Dürer’s art represents a new phase of the Renaissance?
• Which aspects of the Renaissance may be seen in some Postmodern buildings?
• Why did the Renaissance period prove so popular regarding secular structures in cities?
• Castle of Amboise: a product of the Renaissance?
• The critical role that guilds had in the development of Renaissance architecture.
• What were the effects of the Renaissance on the building trades?
• The influence of medieval theology on Renaissance humanism.
• How did Renaissance humanists respond to medieval scholasticism ?
• What role did literacy play in promoting humanism in the Renaissance period?
• Differences between medieval and Renaissance moral values.
• The goals of the Italian Renaissance humanists’ study of humanities.
• The development of poetry in the Renaissance.
• Humanism and Renaissance Period .
• The evolution of the studia humanitatis concept in the Italian Renaissance.
• What are the cultural causes of Renaissance humanism?
• What are the social causes of Renaissance humanism?
• What are the religious causes of Renaissance humanism?
• How did Christianity impact the principles of Renaissance humanism?
• What are the philosophical premises of Renaissance humanism?
• The similarities and differences between paganism and Renaissance.
• Renaissance humanists’ interpretation of Christianity via Epicureanism.
• The role of Neo-Platonism in the context of Renaissance theology.
• The opposition between humanistic and religious views in the period of the Renaissance.
• What are the implications of “Yates’s thesis” on scientific method development in the Renaissance?
• What role did the reformation play in the evolution of the Renaissance?
• Differences in Eugenio Garin’s and Paul Oskar Kristeller’s views on Renaissance.
• The manifestations of republicanism in Florence and Venice and the Baron thesis.
• Ideas of humanism in the British Reformation literature.
• Ideas of humanism in the British Reformation poetry.
• Ideas of humanism in Italian literature.
• Humanistic themes’ manifestation in the Dutch Renaissance literature
• Ideas of humanism in British Renaissance art.
• Ideas of humanism in Italian Renaissance art.
• Ideas of humanism in the Dutch Renaissance art.
• Human Nature in Philosophy of Locke and Hobbes .
• How did humanists promote civic virtue?
• The opposition between the church and humanists in Spain in the 16th century.
• Moral philosophy schools in Renaissance.
• Renaissance humanists’ beliefs about the importance of education.
• What role did Latin grammar and rhetoric play in the Renaissance’s perception of proper education?
• The contemporary cultural heritage of Renaissance humanism.
• The role of Ancient Greek philosophy in shaping Renaissance ideas.
• The role of Ancient Roman philosophy in shaping Renaissance ideas.
• Want is the meaning of a virtuous individual according to Renaissance humanism?
• Impact of antique literature on Renaissance humanistic doctrines.
• How did the church perceive the promotion of non-religious studies during the early Renaissance?
• Why is Dante Alighieri considered a founding father of the Renaissance?
• Why is Petrarch considered a founding father of the Renaissance?
• Why is Giovanni Boccaccio considered a founding father of the Renaissance?
• Humanistic motifs in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy.
• Humanistic ideas in Petrarch’s poetry.
• Late humanism ideas in Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron.
• Impact of Dante’s terza rima on the poetry of the Renaissance.
• Impact of Boccaccio’s ottava rima on the poetry of the Renaissance.
• Desiderius Erasmus’ views on education in the context of the Renaissance.
• Why did humanists refer to Cicero as an example?
• Women in Shakespeare’s Richard III .
• How did the humanistic ideas of the Renaissance promote science development?
• The manifestations of humanism in Renaissance architecture.
• Why did Renaissance ideas lose their impact in the 16th century?
• Petrarch’s role in reaching an agreement between Christians and classics.
• Coexistence of astronomy and astrology during the Renaissance.
• Cardano’s Ars Magna as a significant contribution to the cubic equation theory.
• Role of Ferrari’s general solution to the quartic equation for the development of mathematics .
• François Viète’s contributions to the theory of equations.
• Regiomontanus’s contributions to the development of trigonometry.
• Role of logarithmic tables in the development of Renaissance mathematics.
• Copernicus’s points of evidence for the heliocentric theory.
• Brahe’s astronomical observations as the evidence of Kepler’s laws of planetary motion.
• Brahe’s arguments against Copernican theory and their impact on the development of astronomy.
• Role of Stevin’s findings for the development of Archimedean tradition in physics.
• Gilbert’s studies on magnetism and magnetic pole.
• Paracelsus’s innovative approach to applying chemistry to medicine .
• Development of Paracelsus’s concept of four elements.
• Alchemy’s challenges due to the development of chemistry in the Renaissance era.
• Role of illustration in establishing knowledge standards in botany during the Renaissance.
• The significance of dissection performances in the development of Renaissance anatomy studies.
• Leonhard Fuchs’s contributions to the development of botany.
• Lobelius’s role in the building classification system for herbs.
• Merian’s findings on metamorphosis in insects.
• Women’s contributions to the development of Renaissance science: the case of Maria Sibylla Merian.
• Role of the Renaissance medical schools in the advancements of animal anatomy.
• Harvey’s discoveries in the human anatomy.
• Harvey’s contribution to the explanation of pulmonary circulation.
• Harvey’s arguments for blood circulation in the human body.
• Gesner’s discoveries of exotic birds and animals.
• Vesalius’s contributions to the knowledge about the human body .
• Jean Fernel’s impact on the development of physiology .
• Relevance of Jean Fernel’s description of human body functions.
• Ambroise Paré’s role in the establishment of new surgery.
• Ambroise Paré’s developments in surgical instruments.
• Ambroise Paré’s contributions to the design of the prosthetics.
• Role of Renaissance mathematics in the development of navigation science.
• Effects of geographical discoveries on the advancements of Renaissance botany and zoology.
• Importance of Da Vinci’s studies on human eye vision.
• Da Vinci’s findings in human physiology.
• Da Vinci’s contribution to the submarine design.
• Role of Bologna and Padua universities in the development of linguistics .
• Reasons behind the increased interest in algebra among Renaissance students.
• Emerging humanities disciplines during the Italian Renaissance.
• The changes in the concept of the cosmos in European Renaissance philosophy.
• Role of geometry in the development of Renaissance urbanism.
• Implications of geometry in the development of Renaissance architecture.
• The significance of Renaissance scientific discoveries in the production of modernized weapons.
• Importance of printing technology emergence for the development of Renaissance science.
• Medici family’s contributions to the development of sciences in Italy.
• Importance of empiricism in the development of sciences during the Renaissance.
• Concept of harmony in Renaissance scientists’ studies of nature.
• Newton’s mathematical description of the motion.
• Newton’s contributions to the science of mechanics.
• D’Armato’s impact on the development of optics.
• Jansen’s early microscope and its contribution to studies in natural sciences .
• Masaccio’s contributions to the study of aerial perspective.
• Impact of the fall of Constantinople on European scientific discoveries.
• Scientific implications in Bramante’s High Renaissance architecture.
• The emergence of acoustic science and the development of polyphonic music during the Renaissance.
• Galileo’s contributions to the invention of the thermometer.
• Torricelli’s invention of the barometer and its role in the advancements in physics.
• Jean-Baptiste Denys’s experiments on blood transfusion and their role in the development of medicine.

➕ 60 More Renaissance Topics to Write About

• The reformation of the Church during the Renaissance period.
• Christian humanists and their impact on society of the fourteenth century.
• The influence of antiquity on art from the Renaissance era.
• Analysis of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”
• Reasons behind the popularity of humanism in Italy during the early 14th century.
• The Medici family’s role and contributions to the development of the Renaissance movement.
• The analysis of the works and influence of Leonardo da Vinci.
• Shakespeare’s Hamlet Relation to Death and Life .
• What ideological changes separate the Middle Ages from the Renaissance era?
• The shifts in song topics between the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries.
• How has the decreased role of the Church affected art?
• The causes of the Protestant Reformation during the 16th century.
• The public’s views on the Bible during the Renaissance era.
• What factors caused the Renaissance period to end?
• History of Alexander the Great .
• The importance of the geopolitical location of Italy in the spread of humanism.
• The impact of the Renaissance on western and Northern European countries.
• The emergence of the middle class during the Renaissance.
• The public’s perception of food as a marker of one’s social class in the 15th century.
• The political side of poetry in the Renaissance period.
• Donne’s and Marvell’s Stories Comparison .
• The comparison of the oratory skills of Renaissance and Antique philosophers.
• The return of classical architecture during the fourteenth century.
• The psychological portrait of a true Renaissance man.
• Portraits as symbols of social status during the Renaissance.
• Famous Italian Renaissance muses and their impact on art.
• The influence of Greece and Rome on the formation of the Renaissance.
• The shift of the public’s views on consumerism in the 14th century.
• Machiavelli’s “The Prince” and Bad Characters in Movies .
• Why Petrarch earned his title as the “father of humanism?”
• The role of women in Renaissance society.
• Prominent women of the Renaissance period and their influence on society.
• Realism in Renaissance-era sculptures and paintings.
• Raphael Sanzio’s works and how they reflect his era.
• Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Review of Tragedy .
• The prevalent trends among Renaissance writers.
• The views on morals during the Renaissance period.
• Machiavelli and his influence on politics during the 16th century.
• The expansion of educational programs in 15th-century Italy.
• The development of astronomy during the Renaissance.
• Common themes of English Renaissance poets.
• Western Ideologies – Journal on Each Philosopher.
• What northern traditions were incorporated into Renaissance art in the fifteenth century?
• The spread of Renaissance styles in European countries.
• Humanism-inspired social reforms in Northern Europe during the Renaissance period.
• How do the works of William Shakespeare reflect Renaissance values?
• How did the printing press help people spread humanism?
• Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”: Character Analysis on Public Speaking .
• Discoveries prompted by newly formed humanistic social values.
• The decreasing political power of the Church in the 16th century and its impact on politics.
• Issues of the Catholic Church during the Renaissance period.
• Martin Luther’s goals during the Reformation of the Church.
• How did the Renaissance lead to the establishment of the Inquisition?
• The rise of Protestantism in England during the 16th century.
• Death as the Mystery in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” .
• How do the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci reflect humanistic values?
• Why is the Renaissance era also called the Age of Discovery?
• Renaissance philosophers and their inspiration from the Ancient period.
• What are the distinct qualities of the High Renaissance period?
• The Challenge of Adapting the Plays of Shakespeare into West Side Story and Kiss Me Kate, and Problems Posed by the Hays Code .

Most probably, any history course about Renaissance will require students to write an essay on the period. You can choose an idea for your paper by browsing the above topics. As for the writing itself, in this section, we’ll explain how to nail a Renaissance essay.

• Study your topic. When you get a task or pick a paper idea, take time to understand what you’re dealing with. Read it out loud and pay attention to specific keywords such as “explain,” “discuss,” and “analyze.” These words tell you what approach you need to take in defending or exploring your viewpoint. Then, do some preliminary research to understand the Renaissance topic and what it entails.
• Be careful in your research. With so many sources about Renaissance, you should focus only on the materials that are relevant to you. Imagining the scope of work will set realistic expectations for you. So, identify what literature is available to you and what areas lack information. Keep in mind that you need only trustworthy sources for your paper. You can start your research from websites like Renaissance.com and History.com – they will lead you to credible materials.
• First, you can write a linear plan , which is helpful for papers with a rigid structure. Here, you offer a breakdown of your points in chronological order. For instance, if you are going to give an account of some events, this method will be excellent.
• Second, you can try creating a tabular plan . It is the best for comparative assignments and if you need to visualize data. For example, when examining two Renaissance artists, you will find a tabular plan convenient. It’s the central message of your paper that will lead both the argumentation and the readers.
• Create your first draft. Now you can start writing your essay. Ensure your first draft has an introduction with a thesis statement and a clear purpose. Then, write at least two body paragraphs demonstrating your points and supporting evidence. Finally, your conclusion should reflect the first paragraph and summarize your arguments.
• Double-check and proofread. This last step will determine how polished and well-written your Renaissance essay is. Scan the whole paper slowly and carefully. Ask someone to read it for you or use our text-to-speech tool . It is a great way to “hear” your writing to determine what needs to be fixed or changed. Maybe you repeat some words too often, or something isn’t clear. Afterward, check for grammar and punctuation mistakes.

Thank you for reading the article to the very end! We hope you found it helpful, and all the best with finding the best Renaissance essay topic that works for you.

• Renaissance: Definition, Meaning, History, Artists, Art, & Facts – Britannica
• Renaissance Philosophy — Internet Encyclopedia of Phylosophy
• General Characteristics of the Renaissance – Brooklyn College
• Color in Renaissance Painting — The J. Paul Getty Museum
• Architecture in Renaissance Italy – The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• A Guide to Renaissance Humanism – ThoughtCo
• Humanism in Art: A Guide to Renaissance Humanism – MasterClass

Renaissance art - List of Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

Renaissance art emerged in Europe from the 14th to the 17th century, marking a period of significant progress in art, architecture, and literature. Essays on Renaissance art could explore the distinguishing features of Renaissance art, its influential figures like Leonardo da Vinci or Michelangelo, and its impact on the broader Renaissance movement. Delving into the exploration of human emotion, use of perspective, or the reflection of religious and philosophical ideas in the art of this period can provide a rich understanding of both the art and the socio-cultural context in which it was created. We’ve gathered an extensive assortment of free essay samples on the topic of Renaissance Art you can find at Papersowl. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Exemplary Renaissance Art Work

The goal of this paper is to describe in detail an exemplary Renaissance art work. I will explain and discuss how this masterpiece is a perfect representation in respect to specific tendencies of the Renaissance period and its style. The piece chosen for the main topic is the 'Mona Lisa'. The Mona Lisa is thought to have been painted by the artist Leonardo Da Vinci between 1503 and 1506. During the Renaissance era artist strived for humanism artwork were created […]

Renaissance Art: the Madonna of the Rocks

Interpreting historical paintings is as interesting as they are challenging, more so considering that the artist who made them did not write prefaces to enlighten viewers about the theme of their work and the purpose they served. This omission leaves these works to several, sometimes conflicting interpretations. One such painting is The Madonna of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci, which depicts the Virgin Mary, the angel Gabriel, baby Jesus and baby John the Baptist in a cave. I chose […]

Biography of Raphael – from Birth to Death

On April 8, 1483, Raphael was born. He would go on to ranked among the greatest artists to ever live. He became one of the great master artist of the Renaissance period. He was very active and prolific, despite him dying when he was thirty-seven, and many of his works of art remain around today. His works continue to be viewed highly, even today for their great clarity and striking elements. Raphael’s father, Giovanni, was the court painter for the […]

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About the Renaissance Art

Following the Middle and Higher Middle Ages came the Renaisance Era. The word renaissance means rebirth. It refers to the renewing interest in the Greek and Roman culture. The Renaissance began in Italy. Many wonder why it started there and not somewhere else. One of the main reasons it began in Italy is because it was the first counrty to rise and overcome economically from all of the chaos that happened during the Middle Ages. During this era, many new […]

Renaissance Art: the Clash between Secularism and Religious Influence

It’s difficult to find a time to see Ginevra de’ Benci at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. when it is not surrounded by people. Being one of Leonardo Da Vinci’s fifteen completed paintings, this smaller-than-expected portrait of a young Venetian girl draws thousands a year and is a show-stopper by all means. Looking into her hazel eyes, one can see none of the same joy or kindness that is held in the eyes of Da Vinci’s Mona […]

Michelangelo and Raphael in in the Renaissance

“When one is painting one does not think,” That quote was said from Raphael, whom is one of the most influential painters back in the 1500s. Raphael was known for being skilled in creating perspective and in the delicate use of color. Leonardo made the High Renaissance, and Michelangelo joined in, and Raphael finished the trinity. For some reason, Raphael had a bitter rivalry with Michelangelo. In the year 1517, he had became the most important artist in Rome. Raffaello […]

An Analysis of Great Quattrocento and High Renaissance Art

An interesting tradition among the dining rooms of convents and monasteries in Italy is the depiction of the Last Supper, where Christ administered the Eucharist to his Disciples on the night he was betrayed. Both Andrea del Castagno’s and Leonardo da Vinci’s depictions of the Last Supper are intimate, as monks and nuns dine with Christ and his disciples each evening. With diverse facial expression and hand gesture, Del Castagno’s The Last Supper is indicative in style of the Quattrocento, […]

Religion and the Renaissance

Religion is not easy to define. Many people have their own definitions of religion based on how they perform their religious beliefs. Religion can be a specific underlying set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or faith community. In the dictionaries religion is defined as “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.” The Florence Cathedral depicts religion through the artifacts inside that have a religious […]

Italian and Northern Renaissance

The Italian and Northern Renaissance were both a reawakening of art and science after the middle ages. They both were focused on art, literature, science, and religion. Even though they were both focused on the same subjects, their styles are very different. The Italian Renaissance started before the Northern Renaissance. This is because of the amount of trade Italy had with Africa and the Middle East. It was also because of the Crusades. People from Africa and the Middle East […]

High Renaissance and the Amazing Artists

"In week two we discussed the High Renaissance and the amazing artists, arts, and styles that were brought up during that time. The High Renaissance was a time period beginning in the 1490’s in the Italian states that truly had amazing artistic production. This time period was greatly dominated by three famous and intellectual artists named Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci. This time period flourished for about 35 years, from the 1490’s to 1527. The High Renaissance originated in […]

Art in the Renaissance

During the fourteenth century, Italy was composed of states of various sizes. Though all of the population of all of these states spoke the same language, the local dialects were very different, along with most of their local customs and their types of government. Naples was governed by a king, while around Rome, the central Italy areas were governed by the Pope. In the North, there were multiples rulers for each small area, the large Duchy of Milan, and the […]

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