The Renaissance was a period of incredible growth in Europe that rose in the fifteenth century. After the middle, or “dark” ages Europeans thought of this era as the rebirth of humanity full of art and literature that grew from classical elements from their ancestors and Christianity to pull them from decline.
The majority of Renaissance art appear to be based on religion, science or self devotion. The Virgin Mary and her child Jesus Christ seem to be the star models in hundreds of paintings from this time. The exquisite portraiture, which became a huge part of the Renaissance, is due to the wealthy families able to show off their prized portraits. Every detail in every portrait was executed with an almost unattractive realistic quality. One big thing I noticed about art in the Renaissance was the use of background. Italian artists wanted to portray realistic qualities in their art not only with objects and people, but with space. With the advancements in science and education, the mathematical system of linear perspective became the best invention. Space was not solely implied by overlap at this point; artists used foreshortening, placement and change in scale to express a three dimensional space. Art had become so realistic and accurately depicted that our culture today still praises it. During the Renaissance, education and scientific discoveries were all the rage. Artist and inventor, Leonardo Da Vinci, has gone down in history for many things. For example, his fascination with the human body led him to create a proportion scale for the human body that was used in art. I am extremely captivated by human anatomy as well and Da Vinci has always been an inspiration to me. I am looking forward to learning more about this time period!
Hi Brooke! Welcome to 236! I look forward to working with you again.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's interesting that you use the "Dark Ages" as a term to describe the medieval period. That term was actually first used in the Renaissance; Petrarch is attributed to having coined the idea of the "Dark Ages." During the Renaissance period, writers and humanists wanted to set themselves apart from their predecessors by saying that the medieval period was an era of "decline." I think that this terms also helps to imply (even today!) that the Renaissance was full of innovation. Although I personally think that there was a lot of amazing innovation that took place during the medieval era (think of those Gothic cathedrals!), the Renaissance seems to stand out more because it wasn't described by writers as a "dark" period.
-Prof. Bowen