The Renaissance Period

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than
seen.” “A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in
nature are dark except where exposed by the light.” -Leonardo da Vinci

The renaissance period or also known as the “rebirth” of cultural, political artistic and economics in
Europe. This era took place during the 14th and 17th century, this was the rediscovery of classical
philosophy, art and literature. In this time the focus was more on the human capacity. The
Renaissance period is credited because of bridging the gap of the Middle ages and the modern-day
civilization. Europe during this time had faced changes socially and economically such as the rise of
rational money-credit econom, secularization of their daily lives and increased social mobility.

Arts during this time were under the influence of an individualistic view of man, increased
awareness of nature and revival of classical learning. Some of the famous artists were Leonardo da
Vinci, Sandro Boticelli and Raphael.

Leonardo da Vinci

- Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was born in Anchiano, a town near Florence, Italy on April 14,
1452 and died May 2, 1519. He was known as a painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect and
also an engineer. He studied anatomy to accurately
represent the human body aside from that he also
experimented on methods to show space and three-
dimensional objects into two dimensional surfaces. His
works that are the most influential and popular during the
Renaissance period are Mona Lisa and the Last Supper.
 Mona Lisa
- It is probably the world’s most famous painting. It is also known as La Gioconda and is
painted as oil on wood. The painting shows a woman dressed in Florentine fashion and is
seated on a visionary mountainous landscape. The painting represents the skillful handling
of Leonardo in the artistic technique called the Sfumato and how he is also good in painting
realistically. Today, the painting is owned by the government of France and it is in the Louvre
in Paris.

Sandro Boticelli

-His original name was Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, he was born in 1455 and died on May 17, 1510 in
Florence Italy. He was one of the most famous painters during the Florentine Renaissance. His technique
was influenced by one of the famous painters named Filippo Lippi and also studied the sculptural style of
Antonio Pollaiuolo and Andrea del Verracchio. He was famous for his paintings Birth of Venus and
Primavera.

Birth of Venus
-The painting was painted between the year
1482 and 1485, it shows the goddess of love and
beauty Venus on a shell on a seashore and it’s
said to be on the island of Cyprus. She was
born of the sea spray and is blown by the wind.
The painting was painted on canvas and the
theme of the painting comes from Ovid’s
Metamorphoses, a very important oeuvre of the
Latin literature. The painting is now in the Uffizi
Gallery museum in Florence.
Raphael

-His full name in Raffaello Sanzio or Raffaello Santi is a painter, he was born in April 6, 1483 in
Urbino, Italy and died in April 6, 1520 at Rome, Papal States. He is a master painter and also an
architect of the Italian High Renaissance. He is best known for large compositions in Vatican and for
his achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. Some of his known artworks are The
school of Athens and Sistine Madonna.

The School Of Athens

-This was painted between 1509 and 1511, it was

Raphael’s famous fresco and mural painting. He was
summoned to the Vatican by Pope Julius II for the
decoration of the Papal apartments and here
he was able to paint The School Of Athens
one of the greatest paintings during the
Renaissance period. It depicts a subject form
the Ancient Greece. It is located in the
Stanze di Raffaello, in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.