The document discusses key aspects of the Renaissance period in Europe, including the rise of humanism as a dominant intellectual movement. Humanism stressed individualism and education of common people through use of the vernacular language. Artists and thinkers of the Renaissance worked to develop well-rounded individuals through liberal studies and emphasis on history, sciences, arts and literature. Figures like Gutenberg, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello and Leonardo da Vinci made important contributions to education, art, sculpture and painting during this period through developments like the printing press and highly realistic depictions of the human form.