The word Renaissance is a French word that means Re-birth. Renaissance was a cultural movement that covered the period around from the 14th to the 17th century. Renaissance began in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spread to the rest of Europe. As a cultural movement, it covered innovative opening of Latin and vernacular literatures. In politics, the Renaissance contributed the development of the treaties of diplomacy, and in science an increased belief on observation.
Although the Renaissance saw revolutions in many intellectual activities, as well as social and political confusion, it is perhaps best known for its artistic developments. Leonardo dad Vinci and Michelangelo were inspired by the term “Renaissance man”. Renaissance influence was felt in literature, philosophy, art, music, politics, science, religion, and other aspects of intellectual study. Renaissance scholars used the humanist method in study, and searched for realism and human emotion in art. The civilizations of Greece and Rome were rediscovered, inspiring an interest in
Classical learning which challenged medieval beliefs and ideas. The population was becoming wealthier which led to an increase in trade and travel and the spread of new ideas. The rise in prosperity also generated an interest in education, supported the flourishing of the arts and promoted scientific discoveries and new inventions. Perhaps the most important of these was the printing press, which allowed the distribution of information to a much wider audience than ever before, further increasing the demand for more knowledgeRenaissance was much more than a rebirth of classical art.
It was a rejection of the middle Ages, which were Just ending. During medieval times, the arts were concerned mainly with religion, with the life of the spirit, with the hereafter. Little importance was given to life on earth except as a preparation for the next world. But as the 1 5th century began, Italians were turning their attention to the world about them. People started to think more about nonstructural, or nonreligious, matters. They began placing faith in their own qualities and their own importance. Discipline, unquestioning faith, obedience to authority–these medieval benefits were o longer blindly accepted.
People asked questions and wanted to find their own answers. Artists were among the first affected by the new spirit of humanism. In their work they began to focus on human life on earth. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE ART The Italian Renaissance was one of the most productive periods in the history of art, with large numbers of outstanding masters to be found in many centers and in all the major fields painting, sculpture, and architecture. In Florence, in the first half of the fifteenth century, there were great innovators in all these fields, whose work raked a beginning off new era in the history of art.
The idea of artistic genius became popular; Michelangelo was called “divine” because of the greatness of his creative powers. In the Renaissance, art and science were closely connected. Both the artist and the scientist strove for the mastery of the physical world, and the art of painting profited by two fields of study that may be called scientific: anatomy, which made possible a more accurate representation of the human body, and mathematical perspective. Humanistic education, based on ethics and the liberal arts, was pushed s a way to create experienced citizens who could actively participate in the political process.
Humanists celebrated the mind, beauty, power, and enormous potential of human beings. They believed that people were able to experience God directly and should have a personal, emotional relationship to their faith. God had made the world but humans were able to share in his glory by becoming creators themselves. INFLUENCE ON PAINTING The painting in France was known as Florentine painting. The techniques favored by the Florentine were tempera and fresco. The Tempera Painting: In tempera painting a dry surface was used. A wooden panel was grounded with several coats of plaster in glue, and the work was then copied from a drawing.
