The Renaissance began in Italy between 1400-1600 and saw a revival of art, architecture, and learning that was inspired by ancient Greek and Roman forms and ideals. Key characteristics included more realistic and lifelike depictions of figures and use of perspective. Famous early Renaissance artists included Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo. The invention of the printing press in 1450 helped spread Renaissance ideas more widely. Renaissance architecture featured more symmetrical designs and classical orders of columns while painting placed more emphasis on realism, nature, and secular subjects over religious ones alone.

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Introduction
During the two hundred years between 1400 and 1600, Europe witnessed an
astonishing revival of drawing, fine art painting, sculpture and architecture centred on Italy,
which we now refer to as the Renaissance (rinascimento). It was given this name (French for
'rebirth') as a result of La Renaissance - a famous volume of history written by the
historian Jules Michelet (1798-1874) in 1855 - and was better understood after the
publication in 1860 of the landmark book "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy" (Die
Kultur der Renaissance in Italien), by Jacob Burckhardt (1818-97), Professor of Art History
at the University of Basel. the Renaissance was a period when scholars and artists began to
investigate what they believed to be a revival of classical learning, literature and art. For
example, the followers of the 14th-century author Petrarch began to study texts from Greece
and Rome for their moral content and literary style. Having its roots in the medieval
university, this study called Humanism centered on rhetoric, literature, history and moral
philosophy.
Characteristics of the Renaissance
From the early 14th century, in their search for a new set of artistic values and a response
to the courtly International Gothic style, Italian artists and thinkers became inspired by the ideas
and forms of ancient Greece and Rome. This was perfectly in tune with their desire to create a
universal, even noble, form of art which could express the new and more confidant mood of the
times.
- Artists showed religious and nonreligious scenes
-Art reflected a great interest in nature
- Figures were lifelike and three-dimensional
-Bodies looked active and were shown moving
-Scenes showed real people doing everyday tasks

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-Faces expressed what people were thinking
-Paintings were often symmetrical
-Full backgrounds showed perspective
ORIGINS OF RENAISSANCE ART
The origins of Renaissance art can be traced to Italy in the late 13th and early 14th
centuries. During this so-called “proto-Renaissance” period (1280-1400), Italian scholars and
artists saw themselves as reawakening to the ideals and achievements of classical Roman culture.
Writers such as Petrarch (1304-1374) and Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) looked back to
ancient Greece and Rome and sought to revive the languages, values and intellectual traditions of
those cultures after the long period of stagnation that had followed the fall of the Roman Empire
in the sixth century.
EARLY RENAISSANCE ART (1401-1490S)
Early Renaissance pieces focused on Humanism, a 15th century idea produced by the
Renaissance, or “rebirth of ideas,” where everyday people could be the subject matter or could
be placed alongside famous religious figures. Humanism itself is the revival of classical learning
with a focus on human beings and their personal virtue. This form of learning intended to create
a value system that emphasized which took people out of the “dark” Middle Ages.
In the Early Renaissance, one can see the beginning of perspective. Artists followed
imaginary lines, orthogonals, which met at a single vanishing point on the horizon. Using these
guides, artists could distort or foreshorten objects; making things appear smaller and closer
together the farther away they are from the viewer.
Characteristics:
-figures have depth and reality
-naturalistic details
-naturalistic light source

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Early RenaissanceArt in the North:
-generally painted with oil
-oil on wood – thin layers of oil create a luminescent surface with depth and glow
-iconography – objects in the piece help to tell its story
-more complex compositions with many objects – little space
Early RenaissancePainting and Sculpture in Italy:
-generally painted in frescoes
-very little depth and pigment (due to the medium)
-lighter colors
-more interested in architecture and space versus objects reflecting the story – less cluttered
HIGH RENAISSANCE ART (1490S-1527)
High Renaissance art, which flourished for about 35 years, from the early 1490s to 1527,
when Rome was sacked by imperial troops, revolves around three towering figures: Leonardo
da Vinci (1452–1519),Michelangelo (1475–1564), and Raphael (1483–1520). Each of the three
embodies an important aspect of the period: Leonardo was the ultimate Renaissance man, a
solitary genius to whom no branch of study was foreign; Michelangelo emanated creative power,
conceiving vast projects that drew for inspiration on the human body as the ultimate vehicle for
emotional expression; Raphael created works that perfectly expressed the classical spirit—
harmonious, beautiful, and serene.
Although Leonardo was recognized in his own time as a great artist, his restless researches into
anatomy, the nature of flight, and the structure of plant and animal life left him little time to
paint. His fame rests mainly on a few completed paintings; among them are the Mona
Lisa (1503–05, Louvre), The Virgin of the Rocks (1483–86, Louvre), and the sadly deteriorated
fresco The Last Supper (1495–98; restored 1978–99; Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan).

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FOCUSED ON SELF-CONFIDENT HUMANISM .WITH THE INVENTION AND USE OF
THE PRINTING PRESS, THERE WAS A GREATER SPREAD OF IDEAS, AND ARTISTS
COULD SELL PRINTS OF THEIR WORK. TRAVEL ALSO INCREASED DURING THE
HIGH RENAISSANCE; THEREFORE, ART BECAME MORE INTERNATIONAL.
CHARACTERISTICS:
HALOS GONE
MORE NATURALISM
DEFINITE LIGHT SOURCE (SHADOWS, THREE-DIMENSIONAL)
SENSE OF STABILITY AND ORDER (STATIC COMPOSITIONS)
COMMISSIONS FROM PRIVATE SOURCES
Renaissance Architecture
The Renaissance began after the plague in the 14th and 15th centuries and was fueled by soldiers
returning from the Crusades. There was renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman art.
Human beings were included in artwork. Artwork was no longer just depictions of holy topics.
There was new interest in science, the environment and philosophy.
The Printing Press — The “Grand Invention”
Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1445. This invention changed the lives of
people in Europe and all over the world. Prior to its invention, books were made by hand. Words
were copied and illustrations were all drawn on parchment paper and animal skins that were
dried and scraped until they were smooth. This made books very expensive. The printing press
could produce books very quickly with little effort. Books were therefore much less expensive
and many more people could afford them. With the knowledge imparted in the books, many
more people were empowered and as a result many changes began to occur.

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Architecture
In the Middle Ages, churches were no longer shaped like crosses. They used the circle to
represent the perfection of God. Symmetry became important. In homes, some of the features of
the period were courtyards, columns as support structures and domed roofs (a very difficult
architectural task).
Painting
Renaissance painters used more realistic depictions than artists in the Middle Ages. The
human figure was drawn as realistically as possible, often with backgrounds of nature. There was
less emphasis on religious art. Gone were the pictures that had people arranged freely and in
came symmetrical groupings. Science helped artists understand the concept of perspective,
where objects that were drawn smaller actually looked as if they were farther away. Use of light
made figures look real. Famous artists of the time include these men:
 Botticelli was a member of the famous Medici family in Florence, Italy. He became very
rich as both a goldsmith and an artist, but died penniless. He painted three frescos in the
Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. Fresco is the art or technique of painting on a moist plaster
surface with colors ground up in water or a limewater mixture.
 Leonardo da Vinci is considered to have one of the greatest minds of all times. He was
an architect, musician, engineer, scientist, mathematician, botanist and inventor. He
invented the first parachute, helicopter, airplane, tank, repeating rifle, swing bridge,
paddleboat and motorcar. He painted the famous “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper.”
 Michelangelo is considered by some to be the greatest artist and sculptor who ever lived.
He was a great leader of the Italian Renaissance. His most famous work and his greatest
glory was painting the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in Rome. It took him four years to do
this. The ceiling shows the history of the Old Testament and includes more than 300
figures. He set the standards for sculpting, painting, poetry and architecture.

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Reference
http://academics.smcvt.edu/awerbel/Survey%20of%20Art%20History%20II/Early%20Renaissance.htm
http://autocww.colorado.edu/~flc/E64ContentFiles/PeriodsAndStyles/Renaissance.
html
http://www.britannica.com/art/Renaissance-art
http://www.history.com/topics/renaissance-art
HTTP://WWW.OXFORDARTONLINE.COM/PUBLIC/PAGE/THEMES/RENA
ISSANCEARTANDARCHITECTURE
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/renaissance-art.htm
http://westernreservepublicmedia.org/middleages/reform_art.htm