The Renaissance: A Period Of Great Art

The Renaissance is one of the most influential, and one of the most important eras in human history. Occurring directly after the Medieval Ages, The Renaissance saw a great deal of learning, innovation, and the spread of individualistic ideas. However, one of the most prominent things that came from this period was the art. In fact, some of the most influential artists, art pieces, and art techniques arose from this time, forever changing the world of art.

The Renaissance initially started in Florence, Italy, which is why many of the most famous artists and art pieces come from the place. A likely reason for this is due to the amount of wealthy organizations and individuals who commissioned the art, such as the Medici family. Meanwhile churches and cathedrals also wanted art pieces, with many of the Renaissance art depicting religious images like Madonna and the Virgin Mary. Through commissions, consistent great art arose during  three periods, The Proto-Renaissance Period, The Early Renaissance Period, and The High Renaissance Period. 

The Proto-Renaissance, a period that connected the Medieval Ages and the Early Renaissance, very much helped set the foundation for what Renaissance art would be. Florentine painter Giotto was the most famous artist of the era, being able to represent the human body realistically in his art. His frescoes, or his monumental murals, have been believed to have beautify cathedrals in Assisi, Rome, Padua, Florence and Naples.

Following the Proto-Renaissance period, came the Early Renaissance Period. Many prominent sculptors would emerge during this time, such as Lorenzo Ghiberti, a sculptor who designed a set of bronze doors for the Baptistery of the Cathedral of Florence, Filippo Brunelleschi, an architect who created the Dome of the Florence Cathedral, and Donatello, a sculptor, who created the statue David,  the first freestanding bronze nude statue since the Roman Empire. Meanwhile, Masaccio emerged as a famous painter in this time, helping grow the usage of naturalism, and creating frescoes of the Trinity  in the Church of Santa Maria Novella and in the Brancacci Chapel of the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine. 

After The Early Renaissance Period, came The High Renaissance Period, which saw the Renaissance’s most prominent artists and art emerge. During this time, Rome had emerged over Florence as the “Capital of Art”, thanks to the effort of Pope Leo X, who was actually a member of the Medici family. Famous artists like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael emerged. Leonard Da Vinci painted works like the “Mona Lisa”, “The Last Supper”, and “The Virgin of the Rocks”, using art techniques like the utilization of light and shadow, and the emphasis of relationship between physical objects and their background. Meanwhile, Michelangelo was a sculptor who made works like Pietà in St. Peter’s Cathedral and the David in Florence. Raphael Sanzio, who learned from both Da Vinci and Michelangelo, painted “The School of Athens.” Other notable Italian artists during the period were Bramante, Titian and Giorgione, who both developed the usage of painting in oil on a canvas, Correggio, Sandro Botticelli.

While most of the famous artists during the period were from Italy, there were also famous artists from other places as well. These individuals include Flemish painter Jan van Eyck, painter of an altarpiece in the Cathedral at Ghent, and German painters, Albrecht Durer, who revolutionized printmaking into fine art, and Hans Holbein the Younger, who painted The Ambassadors, an infamous double portrait.

Following the High Renaissance Period, the Mannerist style would grow in popularity, whose emphasis on artificiality rejected the Renaissance’s ideas of naturalism, causing the art of the Renaissance to decline. Despite the decline, there is no denying the influence that the Renaissance had on art, both during its time and now. Many techniques were amplified, such as naturalism, the usage of linear perspective, oil painting, contrapposto, sfumato, chiaroscuro, and more. Infamous artists like Donatello, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Michelangelo emerged, along with infamous art works like the “Mona Lisa”, “The School of Athens”, and the statue of David. Overall, the influence of the Renaissance will be forever lasting, with its influence on art being arguably the most significant.