History of Art in the Renaissance Period
History of Art in the Renaissance Period
The Renaissance was, essentially, a revival or rebirth of cultural awareness and learning that took place during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It followed the Middle Ages, and was basically a time of the revival of learning after the Middle Ages, or Dark Ages, a time with little increase of ideas, inventions or developments. The Renaissance brought many changes to Europe, and the economy was greatly boosted by of all the new explorations. The flourishing economy helped to inspire new developments in art and literature, and from that many new beliefs were formed. With the arts the artists began to think on their own and those movements began to spread. It was not just what the church said anymore that was right. Humanism, one of the new beliefs which was formed during the Renaissance, said that people should read the works of the greats and focus on writing, and the arts. Another of the new beliefs was scholasticism, which was the opposite of humanism. Scholastics thought that people should spend more time the sciences, they also wanted the church and science to be brought together as one. As new scientific discoveries were made many of the churches theories were beginning to be questioned. Some of the new scientific discoveries consisted of theories which went against the churches beliefs.
The renaissance period in art history corresponds to the beginning of the great western age of discovery and exploration, when a general desire developed to examine all aspects of nature and the world. Art, during this period, became valued -- not merely as a vehicle for religious and social identity, but even more as a mode of personal, aesthetic expression. During the Renaissance there were many drastic changes in the style of art. Early renaissance artist sought to create art forms consistent with the appearance of the natural world and with their experience of human personality and behavior, and artists studied the way light hits objects and the way our eyes percieve light. These artists made an effort to go beyond straightforward transcription of nature, to provide the work of art with ideal, intangible qualities, giving it a beauty and significance greater and more permanent than that actually found in nature. A new kind of paint called oil paint was used. This allowed the artist to create texture , mix colors, and allow more time for...