Renaissance Art

Renaissance Art

     Renaissance Art is the painting, sculpture and decorative arts of that period of European history know as the Renaissance, emerging as a distinct style in Italy in about 1400, in parallel with developments which occurred in philosophy, literature, music and science. Renaissance art, perceived as a royalty of ancient traditions, took as its foundation the art of Classical antiquity, but transformed that tradition by the absorption of recent developments in the art of Northern Europe and by application of contemporary scientific knowledge. Renaissance art, with Renaissance Humanist philosophy, spread throughout Europe, affecting both artist and their patrons with the development of new techniques and new artistic sensibilities. Renaissance art marks the transition of Europe from the medieval period to the Early modern age. In many parts of Europe, Early Renaissance art was created in parallel with Late Medieval art.

     Known as the Renaissance, the period immediately following the Middle Ages in Europe saw a great revival of interest in the classical learning and values of ancient Greece and Rome. Against a backdrop of political stability and growing prosperity, the development of new technologies--including the printing press, a new system of astronomy and the discovery and exploration of new continents--was accompanied by a flowering of philosophy, literature and especially art. The style of painting, sculpture and decoration arts identified with the Renaissance emerged in Italy in the late 14th century; it reached its zenith in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, in the work of Italian masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. In addition to its expression of classical Greco-Roman traditions, Renaissance art sought to capture the experience of the individual and the beauty and mystery of the natural world.

Did you know?

     Leonardo da Vinci, the ultimate "Renaissance man," practiced all the visual arts and studied a wide range of topics, including anatomy, geology, botany, hydraulics and flight. His formidable reputation is based on relatively few completed paintings, including "Mona Lisa," "The Virgin of the Rocks" and "The Last Supper."

Themes and symbolism

     Renaissance artists painted a wide variety of themes. Religious altarpieces, fresco cycles, and small works for private devotion were very popular. for inspiration, painters in both Italy and northern Europe frequently turned to Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend (1260), a highly influential source book for the lives of saints that had already had a strong influence on Medieval artists. The rebirth of classical antiquity and Renaissance humanism also resulted in many Mythological and history paintings. Ovidian stories, for example, were very popular. Decorative ornament, often used in painted architectural elements, was especially influenced by classical Roman motifs or visual arts.

     Renaissance art used some styles like Realism, Idealism, Naturalism, Symbolism and Humanism with subject matters like Humans, Religion, slice of life, Nature and using other work of art (Mannerism). The medium used was bronze, marble, canvas, wood, oil, tempera, plaster, fresco.

Reference

Frederick Hartt, A History of Italian Renaissance Art, (1970)
(N.p.) history.com retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/renaissance-art