The Renaissance was a cultural movement between the 14th-17th centuries that began in Italy and later spread throughout Europe. It was a period of great artistic developments and intellectual transformation characterized by a revival of classical learning. Two iconic artworks from this era were Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Michelangelo's David statue. The Mona Lisa was one of the first half-body portraits and captured realistic human emotion, while Michelangelo's David depicted ideal masculinity through its contrapposto pose and tension. Overall, Renaissance art placed new emphasis on realistic human forms, use of perspective, and balanced compositions that reflected the ideals and developments of the time period.

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Visual Arts Paper
Erick Lamb
University of Phoenix
4/7/2013

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The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th
century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe.
The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historic era, but since the changes of the
Renaissance were not uniform across Europe, this is a general use of the term. As a cultural
movement, it encompassed a resurgence of learning based onclassical sources, the development
of linear perspective in painting, and gradual but widespread educational reform. Traditionally,
this intellectual transformation has resulted in the Renaissance being viewed as a bridge between
the Middle Ages and the Modern era. Although the Renaissance saw revolutions in many
intellectual pursuits, as well as social and political upheaval, it is perhaps best known for its
artistic developments and the contributions of such polymaths as Leonardo da Vinci and
Michelangelo, who inspired the term "Renaissance man".
Many people believe that art is generated from feeling of artists, and that pure feeling
appear in their art pieces. Different artists believe painting is one of the most powerful tools to
facilitate communication with the world around them. Colors and lines easily help them to create
new art pieces and transfer their thoughts and feelings to the viewer. Different pieces of art,
bring new spices to life and introduce a new window to the way one can look at the world. Art
works differ from each other as they represent different feelings and mindsets of their artists. The
Mona Lisa is a famous painting, which was created by Leonardo Da Vinci. The artist’s feelings
are depicted in every part of this piece of art. For example, the Mona Lisareflect Leonardo’s
thoughts and ideas during his period of life(Brown, 1998).
While most artworks of the Renaissance era depict biblical scenes, the Mona Lisa is one
of the first paintings that are distinguishable from other artworks of this period, because, it shows
one of the first half-body portrait painting and it also depicts the importance of nature in the

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Resonance era. According to the “Renaissance Art” article, the goal of most of the Renaissance
artists was to show the importance of people’s daily tasks and nature and the content was not
limited to religion. Also figures were lifelike and three-dimensional, it reflects an increase
knowledge in human anatomy during this period(Brown, 1998).Many of the Renaissance
characteristics that are used in the Renaissance art are noticeable by looking at the Mona Lisa
painting. For example, Mona Lisa’s face is mysterious but it is full of emotion. It is a realistic
and three-dimensional portrait. The landscape on the background reflects a great picture of
nature. Leonardo’s artworks usually reflect the world around him in his era. In the Mona Lisa
painting, the dress and its color represents women's wearing style in the Renaissance period.
Leonardo used “Sfumato” technique or Leonardo smoke in his artworks. Matte colors used in the
Mona Lisa have a trace of this method in the Renaissance era. In the Renaissance era, wealthy
people usually hired an artist to create their portrait(Brown, 1998). The Mona Lisa is a portrait of
Mona Lisa Gioconda also known as “Lisa Gherardin the wife of a wealthy renaissance Florentine
merchant, FrancesodelGiocondo”. The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous art pieces of the
Renaissance era and it captivates viewers’ attention at the first glance.
Michelangelo was yet another great artist in the Renaissance Era. His reputation as a
sculptor was established when he was commissioned to sculpt the Hebrew King David, just as
Donatello had. Unlike Donatello’s David, Michelangelo’s was created with far more skill, as was
Bernini’s(Reifsynder, 2004). However, since Michelangelo’s block of marble was full of cracks,
he had to be extra careful and bring out all of his skills (Reifsynder, 2004). Michelangelo also
uses the artistic style of contrapposto, which is having the figure seemingly putting all of their
weight on one leg. Instead of Michelangelo’s David looking narcissistic like Donatello’s statue
after conquering his enemy. This version seems to have an enormous amount of pent up energy

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and looks as if he is about to move into action quickly(Reifsynder, 2004). Cast over his shoulder
is David's sling, and the stone is clutched in his right hand, his veins in chief anticipation of the
fight. Michelangelo's David depicts the ideal youth who has just reached manhood and is capable
of great physical and intellectual feats, which is part of the Classical tradition(Reifsynder, 2004).
Michelangelo's sculpture is closed in form, like Donatello's David. All the elements move firmly
around a central axis.
In conclusion, in the period of the Renaissance, we can realize that the painting is
harmony and balance in construction. The period represented expressive ideals in the depiction
of the human figure, the apex of the use of space, and a strong influence of classical art. In the
Renaissance, there are many accomplishments that do not really appear before such as: forms,
colors and proportion, light and shade effects.

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References
Brown, D. (1998). Leonardo da vinci. Yale University.
Reifsynder, J. M. (2004). Michelangelo's david. GiuntiEditore.