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Renaissance art innovations:

In the period immediately following the Middle Ages - known as the renaissance- Europe saw a great
revival of interest when it came to classical learning and values of ancient Greece and Rome. Against a
large amount of political stability and growing prosperity, came the development of new technologiesincluding the printing press, a new astronomy system, and a discovery/exploration of new continents,
came lots of philosophy, literature, and especially art. The style of painting, sculpting, and decorative arts
were identified in the late 14th century in Italy. (Renaissance Art, HISTORY.com)
In the 15th and 16th century, masters of this work were at large, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo,
and Raphael. Renaissance art sought to capture the experience of the individual and the beauty and
mystery of the world (Renaissance Art, HISTORY.com)
By the end of the 15th century, Rome had displaced Florence as the principal center of Renaissance art,
reaching a high point under the powerful and ambitious Pope Leo X (a son of Lorenzo de Medici).
(Renaissance Art, HISTORY.com)

Though the Catholic Church remained a major patron of the arts during the Renaissancefrom popes and
other prelates to convents, monasteries and other religious organizationsworks of art were increasingly
commissioned by civil government, courts and wealthy individuals. Much of the art produced during the
early Renaissance was commissioned by the wealthy merchant families of Florence, most notably the
Medici. (Renaissance Art, HISTORY.com)

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Background: 1400s-1600s (McKay, The Basics of Art: The Renaissance)

The Renaissance began in Italy where the culture was surrounded by the remnants of a once glorious
empire. Italians re-discovered the writings, philosophy, art, and architecture of the ancient Greeks and
Romans and began to see antiquity as a golden age which held the answers to reinvigorating their society.
Humanistic education, based on rhetoric, ethics and the liberal arts, was pushed as a way to create wellrounded citizens who could actively participate in the political process. Humanists celebrated the mind,
beauty, power, and enormous potential of human beings. (McKay, The Basics of Art: The Renaissance)
These new cultural movements gave inspiration to artists, while Italys trade with Europe and Asia
produced wealth that created a large market for art. Prior to the Renaissance Period, art was largely
commissioned by the Catholic Church, which gave artists strict guidelines about what the finished product
was to look like. Medieval art was decorative, stylized, flat, and two-dimensional and did not depict the
world or human beings very realistically(McKay, The Basics of Art: The Renaissance) . A thriving
commercial economy distributed wealth not just to the nobility but to merchants and bankers who were
eager to show their status by purchasing works of art (the Church remained a large patron of the arts as
well). Artists were allowed greater flexibility in what they were to produce, and they took advantage of it
by exploring new themes and techniques. (McKay, The Basics of Art: The Renaissance)

Examples:

Madonna and Child on a Curved Throne, 1200s. Made by Virgin Mary in the Byzantine period.

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Madonna del Cardellino, by Raphael, 1506.

Madonna del Cardellino, by Raphael, 1506.

The Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo, 1511.

Citations:
History.com Staff. "Renaissance Art." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
<http://www.history.com/topics/renaissance-art>

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@artofmanliness. "Renaissance Art Basics: Everything You Need to Know to Sound Smart at a Cocktail Party |
The Art of Manliness." The Art of Manliness. Bret & Julie McKay, 10 Dec. 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
<http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/07/16/man-knowledge-the-basics-of-art-the-renaissance>

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