The Renaissance was an intense period of innovation, change and development that began in the 14th century and continued until the 17th century. Its influence affected literature, philosophy, art, politics, science and religion, but also extended beyond these areas into many other aspects of intellectual inquiry.
It is generally believed to have begun in Florence, Italy, in the Late Middle Ages and later spread across the rest of Europe. In part it was a consequence of a renewed interest by the scholars of the time in ancient Latin and Greek literature and history, where before they had focused principally on works of natural science, philosophy and mathematics.
David by Michelangelo, 1504
Vitruvian Man by Leonardo, 1485
Detail from the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo, 1508
Mona Lisa by Leonardo, 1505
But to really understand and appreciate the significance of the Renaissance, in terms of it's influence on Art and Design, it is necessary to look at the kind of artworks that were being made before it. Compare an image made prior to the Renaissance, during what is known as the Medieval period, to one made during it:
Giotto di Bondone, 1310, Tempera on wood
Leonardo da Vinci, 1505, Oil on wood
One way to begin to understand the significance of the Renaissance is to look at the similarities and differences between these two images.
Starting with the similarities, both are of a religious subject, the Virgin mother and child. In each these figures provide the principal focal point, with the other imagery framing them or comprising the background. It is here that we begin to notice some obvious differences between the images. In the first image the background and the figures in the foreground are both pushed up towards what is known as the picture plane, or the surface of the picture. There is a suggestion of depth, but it feels relatively forced and inaccurate. Likewise, the modeling on the figures feels a bit flat and awkward as though the artist is trying to suggest three dimentions but doesn't quite know how to do it. By comparison the second image is much more successfully three dimentionally modeled. As can be seen from the detail below, the figures have a much more successful sense of form, which no longer feels forced or awkward, even where the drawing is still in parts inaccurate.
Although the background to the image still looks somewhat flat, as though it were a theatrical backdrop, it is rendered with far greater detail and the suggestion of depth is much more effective than in the earlier example.
Detail
Here are some more examples of art works from the Medieval period, see if you can identify ways in which they are different from the Renaissance images which follow:
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Ancient Greek and Roman art works:
Laocoon, 1st Century BC
Hermes and Dionysos, 4th Century BC
Discus thrower, 4th Century BC
