Renaissance : The Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance had two distinct periods during its lifetime. The first being the “Early Renaissance”, which took place between the late 13th and the early 14th centuries. The second period was known as the “High Renaissance”, which took place during the 15th and 16th centuries. These two periods had very distinct foundations and styles behind the art and architecture of their respective periods. The Early Renaissance revived many old themes which later became the foundations for the High Renaissance. While the High Renaissance strayed from previous traditions and had its own form of art and essentially perfected early themes and styles of art and included more scientific/mathematic components.

The Renaissance period is known for the revival of the classical art and intellect born in ancient Greece and Rome. The Renaissance is also a time that is marked by growth, exploration, and rebirth. The Italian Renaissance started in Florence and progressively made its way into Venice and then into the great city of Rome. During the Renaissance, Rome was home to some of the most renowned works of art and the finest architectural masterpieces in the world - too many that still holds true today. Along with the delicate architecture and grand artistry, Rome was also home to a mixture of people and cultures. It is in this cultural context and through the book A Street Life in Renaissance Rome: A Brief History with Documents, that understanding how men, woman, and specifically Jews and Christians lived in Rome becomes important to better understand this period of renewal.

The Renaissance period was between 1400-1600 century. It began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe. The Renaissance time is were self paintings mostly came from. In most of the painting the people were nude. They started making the painting 3D. There are many things about the Renaissance. Renaissance means born a new. The concept enshrined in the world of Renaissance is actually one of rebirth. It was considered the beginning of modern history. The High Renaissance was from about 1495-1527. The Late Renaissance was from about 1527-1600.

The Middle Ages was the time between the fall of Rome and the fall of Constantinople. During this time, there were wars, famines, and diseases. The Renaissance was a time of rebirth of Greek and Roman classics and prosperity. The Renaissance people knew they were different, they learned new things, and succeeded in many different forms of art and science. The many unique advances made the Renaissance a distinct period from the Middle Ages.

Italy can be looked at as the home of the renaissance and consequently the immergence of great art. Artists such as Michelangelo, Botticelli, Da Vinci, and Raphael are some of the greats and are looked at for standards. But what about the artists whose lives are mysteries, and their works that were influenced by the greats? These artists hold just as much importance in the history of art as do the artist’s whose names can be recalled off the top of an average person’s head. During the sixteenth century things began to change in the art world, and that change was the Baroque. This new style of art brought a revolution to how subject matter was painted, it brought upon “… a radical reconsideration of art and its purposes…” (249) and how artists of all ranks could learn to paint the up and coming style of Baroque.

Another technique that was developed was perspective. Perspective was formed with the creation of the vanishing point to make paintings more realistic. Masaccio was one of the great painters of his time because of his skill of recreating lifelike figures and movement, along with portraying a sense of three-dimensionality. One of Masaccio’s greatest paintings is the Holy Trinity which was painted in 1427. This painting has a great use of perspective and chiaroscuro to show realism. Chiaroscuro was another technique that was formed to show light and dark intensities to give the impression of depth and texture as well as a source of light. With the use of different shades of colour, sfumato was a new technique that emerged during this time that produces soft, imperceptible transitions between colours and tones to show blending and oneness. These techniques established a basis of modern art. These techniques are still used till this day and have shaped the way art is currently produced.

Da Vinci’ s the “Mona Lisa”(c.1519) holds Miss. Zirpolo’s statement to be true. When viewing the piece, one can see the exquisite line work and Foreshortening, to linear perspective. This art form shows his attention to detail and his passion for his work. The “Mona Lisa” (c.1519) is a small piece of artwork that became very popular. To this day the “Mona Lisa”(c.1519) still triumphs over Michelangelo’s “Creation Of Adam” (c.1511), which became a part of the “Sistine Chapel.”(C.1512) When one views “The Mona Lisa” they can see the dark color scale that is used, perhaps to depict an unhappy time. Da Vinci through out this piece is able to use an aerial perspective within the background of this portrait. Da Vinci was the first

The Italian Renaissance was a time for great cultural change and achievements, which began in Italy approximately during the 13th century and lasted up until the 16th century. It marked the transition between the Dark Ages and Early Modern Europe. The European Renaissance originated in Central Italy, and centered in the city of Florence.i The distinctive characteristics of northern Italian states such as art, literature, philosophy, and culture produced an atmosphere of learning and artistic expression.

Throughout the Renaissance era in the 15th and 16th century, several new ideals and ways of thinking about the world around us sprung up in Italy, the Germanic states, and around Europe. Artists, writers, and sculptors helped translate these new ways of thinking into a tangible form of entertainment. Throughout this era hundreds of works supported the three main pillars of the Renaissance. These pillars are humanism fueled by Petrarch’s passionate writing, secularism and Botticelli’s works depicting classical figures, and Michelangelo’s detailed works on the human body for individualism. All of these books vividly paint a picture of their subjects based on their respective ideals.

The Renaissance, a time defined as the rebirth of classical ideals, occurred in Italy between 1350 and 1600. Spreading quickly throughout Europe, with the innovation of the printing press, it caused rippling effects. The Renaissance ultimately altered the aged education of theology from the Dark Ages and renewed it with studies of more ancient, classic works. Classic art and literature grew extremely popular, contrasting the lack of interest in them before. Many artists became prominent advocates for the revival of the ideals of the classical past. The artists, using their masterpieces, tremendously determined how modern historians view the era. While several aspects of the Renaissance contributed and influenced the time, artists like Michelangelo Buonarroti, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raffaello Sanzio had a stronger effect on and are greater representations of the time.

The renaissance was a time of learning, but it wasn’t a time of schools as we know them today. Public schools for everyone were still a long off. In Renaissance Europe, schooling was for those who could afford it. Some people were well educated, while others never attended school. Boys-education for Renaissance boys was of two sorts .There was classical education based on the Latin language for boys who planned to go on to a university. There was also education through apprenticeships for boys who planned to pursue a trade.

Throughout the renaissance and outburst of creativity took place. Unlike Medieval paintings, Renaissance painters represented realism (pg. 328). In order to make these painting lifelike, a new technique was learned, which was, perspective. This taught the artists that making distant objects smaller and arranging objects in certain ways the painters can create the illusions of depth on a flat canvas (pg. 329). Painting by the artist named Giotto were so lifelike that people would try to brush off the fly he created in the painting. These talented artists were what created the High Renaissance. This took place during the 1400’s to 1500’s. Four incredible artists stood out during this time. They were, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Raphael, and Titan. These names are still familiar in today’s society. For example, Da Vinci created the mural The Last Supper and not to forget he painted the Mona Lisa, which is very popular to this day (pg. 329). Also, Michelangelo helped design St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, which is also very famous in today’s world. These impressive artists caused many excellent painting and sculptures which not only affected the people’s creativity during the renaissance, but still to this day has affected people's point of view of the renaissance and the amazing artwork

The Italian renaissance was a period of creative explosion. The term renaissance symbolizes rebirth, which is exactly what occurred in Italy during this time. An entire culture was remade through art. There was a resounding interest in the classics created by ancient artists. The humanist movement encouraged the study of humanity’s history in order to create a deeper understanding of how to move forward as a society. There was a seemingly unquenchable thirst for knowledge and creation. Many new art forms developed in this period, including opera. The Florentine Camerata, a group of scholars, created early forms of opera. Claudio Monteverdi, a renaissance composer, developed opera into the art form that is still performed today. The work of the Florentine Camerata and Claudio Monteverdi worked in harmony to create and develop this new form of music. Monteverdi’s educational background, his rebellious drive to create, his serendipitous career, and his unequaled talent allowed him to develop opera into an art form that no other composer of the time could have produced.

The Renaissance period is known for the revival of the classical art and intellect born in ancient Greece and Rome. The Renaissance is also a time that is marked by growth, exploration, and rebirth. The Italian Renaissance started in Florence and progressively made its way into Venice and then into the great city of Rome. During the Renaissance, Rome was home to some of the renowned works of art and the finest architectural masterpieces in the world - too many that still holds true today. Along with the delicate architecture and grand artistry, Rome was also home to a mixture of people and cultures. It is in this cultural context that understanding how men, woman, and specifically Jews and Christians lived in Rome, becomes important to

The Renaissance began in Florence, Italy around the 1500’s to about the 1700’s. Florence, Italy was the mecca of this rebirth because at the time Florence was extremely wealthy and the people of the city had political freedom and those new ideals of the Renaissance were not being condemned in Florence as they were other cities. This was a time where the arts and the logic of one’s own mind was valued rather than criticized, the antiquated medieval ideals no longer matched the needs of those who were living during the early Renaissance. Eventually, a term for this way of thinking arose and was called Humanism, and what humanism is, is an ideology where humans can lead themselves to create a prosperous life and instead of leaning on supernatural forces for answers. Humanists believe that humans have enough logic to create conclusions themselves. This brand-new way of thinking caused a lot of controversy because it did question God’s ability and the church’s power, but the ideas behind it are still heavily used today, even in the 21st century. Humanism in the early Renaissance is important because it called for thinking with reason, it allowed an appreciation for human body and mind, inspired authors and caused a shift in power.