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Renaissance Essay | Essay on Renaissance for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by Prasanna

Renaissance Essay:  The word renaissance means rebirth. The Renaissance that took place in the periods of 15th and 16th centuries in is probably one of the most celebrated periods of European history. Even though two different periods of history do not have any form of demarcation, but the Renaissance worked to mark the transition from the Medieval Age to the Modern Age.

The Renaissance period is celebrated all around the globe. It has been an important period to pave culture and art in Europe, which eventually spread all around the globe due to colonization.

You can also find more  Essay Writing  articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.

Long and Short Essays on Renaissance for Students and Kids in English

We are providing students with essay samples on a long essay of 500 words and a short essay of 150 words on the topic “Renaissance” for reference.

Long Essay on Renaissance 500 Words in English

Long Essay on Renaissance is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

The meaning of the word renaissance means rebirth. The period was named so as the period was almost sort of a rebirth of human thinking capabilities, art, culture, morals, etc. in Europe between the 14th and 16th centuries (the period is debated over at times). The Renaissance has been associated with the great social change which followed the later medieval period (a period of crisis).

It is said that the period of the Renaissance was a break from the middle ages, but some argue that it was an extension of the Middle Ages. Humanism is what defined the earliest ages of the Renaissance which came into being and formation because of the events of the later Middle Ages, such as the fall of the Roman Catholic Church and intellectual reawakening.

Humanism developed earliest in Italy by secular men like Leonardo Bruni, Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola, etc. instead of scholar clerics who had dominated intellectual awakening in the Middle Ages. Dante was one of the predecessors of Humanism.

The concept of Humanism was derived from the concept of Roman Humanitas and the rediscovery that was done regarding Greek philosophy, one of them being the Protagoras. The fall of Constantinople worked as a boost for Humanism and many scholars arrived in Italy with books and manuscripts from Greece. Humanism emphasized took all forms of human manifestation as a subject emphasized the dignity of man and highlighted about the compatibility and unity of all truth in syncretism.

Art and architecture, science, culture, geography, religion, political establishments and human thinking, all went through massive changes in the period of Renaissance. In art, during the Renaissance, the ‘point perspective’ was established, and artists like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael flourished. Even though Michelangelo and Raphael were contemporaries and both had their unique styles with the touch of Renaissance Art and hence were both celebrated for their differences and similarities. Da Vinci’s work on human anatomy is something that the world will be ever grateful for. Thus, intermingling art and science also led to scientific and medical changes and improvements during the Renaissance.

Europeans set out into the world and found out about the various other continents and established trade connections (which later led to colonization) with them. Christopher Columbus is one big name during this period because he was responsible for the finding of the ‘New World’ (even though Columbus intended to find a different route to India, hence when he landed on the ‘New World’ he thought it was India).In the scientific fieldworks of Copernicus, Vesalius, Galileo, Kepler, etc. are celebrated. Copernicus’ book ‘On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres’ (translated in English) and Vesalius’ book on ‘The Workings of the Human Body’ paved ways for several other scientific innovations and discoveries, which, many historians argue paved the way for the Modern Age to set in. The Renaissance period, to be defined in a single sentence was the period of light, discoveries, rebirth and reawakening.

Short Essay on Renaissance 150 Words in English

Short Essay on Renaissance is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

The time between the Medieval Age and Modern Age in Europe is called the Renaissance French word), which means rebirth. It took place around 14th to 16th centuries which at times are also argued by historians.

Some prefer to segregate the Renaissance as a separate period. In contrast, some say that it was the extension of the later Medieval Age, regardless it worked as a marking period between the medieval age and modern age. Art, architecture, science, literature, geography, human thinking and philosophy, religion and political and social structures, all by mingling with each other, went through a reawakening or rebirth, hence living up to the name of the period in history.

Humanism, beginning in Italy, was one of the earliest characteristic features of the Renaissance which was inspired by the Roman ‘Humanitas’ and was ignited by the fall of Constantinople which led scholars to come into Italy with Greek books and manuscripts. Historians believe that the later developments in science and medicine are what led to the setting in of the Modern Age.

10 Lines on Renaissance in English

• The word Renaissance means ‘rebirth’.
• The Renaissance took place in Europe between the Middle and Modern Ages.
• The time of the Renaissance starts from the 14th century and continues onto the 16th century.
• One main and earliest aspect of the Renaissance was Humanism.
• The fall of Constantinople in 1453 ignited the path for Humanism.
• New continents were discovered during this time, which led to trade and later colonization.
• Ptolemaic astronomy replaced Copernican astronomy.
• Leonardo Da Vinci’s works on the human body and anatomy through his art paved the way for development in science.
• There was an increased interest in Classical Scholarship values.
• The Renaissance is one of the most celebrated historical times.

FAQ’s on Huck Finn Essay

Question 1.  What does the word Renaissance Mean?

Answer:  The French word Renaissance means rebirth.

Question 2.  When did the Renaissance take place?

Answer:  The Renaissance took place between the 14th and 16th centuries.

Question 3.  What is the Renaissance?

Answer: Renaissance is a period in history when in Europe science, art, medicine, astronomy, art, literature, human values flourished and had an awakening, leaving an impact all over the world. It worked as a demarcation point between the middle and modern age.

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The Renaissance: At a Glance

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The Renaissance was a period in European history when new ideas about art and science were developed and when new technologies, such as paper and gunpowder, were widely adopted. It began in Italy during the 14th century, and it marked the end of the Middle Ages . The Renaissance’s influence spread elsewhere in Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries.

The word Renaissance means “rebirth” in French, and it reflects the era’s rediscovery of ancient Greece and Rome . This rediscovery gave rise to the intellectual movement known as humanism , which valued human beings and their accomplishments, rather than religion and the divine, which had been characteristic of the Middle Ages. Humanism was at the heart of the Renaissance.

The Renaissance reached its height in Italy between the 1490s and the 1520s, a period called the High Renaissance. During this period, Leonardo da Vinci painted the Last Supper and the Mona Lisa , Michelangelo sculpted David and painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and Raphael painted School of Athens . Construction also began on St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City . All are masterpieces of the Renaissance.

The Renaissance ended in Italy in 1527, when the Holy Roman emperor Charles V attacked Rome . It continued to influence the work of notable Italian painters Tintoretto , Sofonisba Anguissola , and Paolo Veronese , who were active during the middle and late 16th century.

The Dutch scholar Erasmus and the German artist Albrecht Dürer were notable northern Renaissance figures. The Renaissance came to an end outside Italy by the end of the 16th century, as the Reformation and Counter-Reformation raged.

• Read Britannica’s full article on the Renaissance and its legacy.

timeline of notable events during the Renaissance

early 14th century	the beginning of the Renaissance in Italy
1401−02	enters and wins a competition to design the in ; this is the earliest expression of Renaissance values in the visual arts
1436	completion of in Florence, the most important building of the early Renaissance
1490s through the 1520s	the High Renaissance
between 1495 and 1498	paints the
between 1503 and 1519	Leonardo da Vinci paints the
1501–04	sculpts
1506	work begins on in Vatican City; is chief architect
1508–11	paints
1508–12	Michelangelo paints the ceiling frescoes
1527	Holy Roman Emperor invades Rome, which brings the Renaissance to an end in Italy

Early Renaissance

Summary of Early Renaissance

At the beginning of the 15 th century, Italy experienced a cultural rebirth, a renaissance that would massively affect all sectors of society. Turning away from the preceding Gothic and Romanesque periods' iconography, Florentine artists spurred a rejuvenation of the glories of classical art in line with a more humanistic and individualistic emerging contemporary era. Based in this flourishing new environment that empowered people to fully immerse themselves in studies of the humanities, Early Renaissance artists began to create work intensified by knowledge of architecture, philosophy, theology, mathematics, science, and design. The innovations that emerged in art during this period would go on to cause reverberations, which continue to influence creative and cultural arenas today. This Early Renaissance is also known as the Quattrocento, derived from the Italian mille quattrocento , meaning 1400, and refers primarily to the period dominating the 15 th century in Italian art. It was the forebear to the following High Renaissance , North European Renaissance , Mannerism , and Baroque periods that followed.

Key Ideas & Accomplishments

• An evolution of radically fresh artistic techniques came into practice, departing from the flat-planed and two-dimensional icon artworks that were popular prior. This included the introduction of revolutionary methods such as one point linear perspective, derived from an understanding of math and architecture, rilievo stiacciato , a new style of shallow carving to create atmospheric effect, foreshortening, naturalistic and anatomical detail, proportion, and the use of chiaroscuro and trompe l'oeil to create illusionary realities.
• New subject matter evolved beyond the traditional religious stories that had historically dominated art. This included battle scenes, portraits, and depictions of ordinary people. Art was no longer a way to solely elevate the devotional, but became a way to document the people and events of contemporary times, alongside the historical.
• Early Renaissance artists were highly influenced by the Humanist philosophy that emphasized that man's relationship with the world, the universe, and God was no longer the exclusive province of the Church. This resulted in work that emphasized the emotionally expressive and individualistic characteristics of its subjects in fresh new ways, leading to a more intimate way for viewers to experience art.
• A new standard of patronage in the arts arose during this time, separate from the church or monarchy, the most notable of which was supported by the prominent Medici family. Artists were suddenly in demand to produce work that expressed historical, and often religious, narratives in bold new ways for a community that fostered the arts and nurtured its artists like never before.

Key Artists

Overview of Early Renaissance

Stating, "I propose to build for eternity," architect Filippo Brunelleschi solved the impossible problem of building the Florence Cathedral dome. And thus, he ignited the Italian Renaissance.

Artworks and Artists of Early Renaissance

Expulsion from the Garden of Eden

Artist: Masaccio

This fresco portrays a nude Adam and Eve as they are expelled from the Garden of Eden. They walk out through an arch from which black lines emanate, representing the angry voice of God, with a red clad angel holding a black sword hovering above to usher them on their way. Adam buries his face in his hands, his body language and facial expression conveying deep anguish. Eve 's face is open mouthed and stricken, her hands held in a Venus Pudica pose to cover her breasts and pubic area as if in shame. The background is bare, only earth and a singular rock formation, evoking the hard fate ahead for the expunged couple. The composition is remarkably elegant, emphasizing the pair's banishment with heightened emotion. The line dividing earth and blue sky diagonally runs from left to right to highlight the pair's forward motion, as their opposing feet mirror each other along the path. The nudity of the two figures, classically proportioned, is not sensual but suggests the starkness of their situation, stripped of God's favor. This scene is part of a fresco cycle of Biblical scenes in the Brancacci Chapel painted by Masaccio, as well as Masolino and other artists. In depicting the two naked, the artist departed from the Biblical account in which they wore fig leaves, and also, boldly, created the first nudes in painting since the Roman era. He also added the arch and reduced the multiple cherubs mentioned in the Biblical account to focus on one angel. The scene resides at the left entrance to the Chapel hall, becoming the first image encountered by visitors, launching them into the famous narrative, as Adam and Eve walk out of the arch that is a painted extension of an architectural column. The artist's inclusion of the architecture into the pictorial space was not his only radical innovation. His use of linear perspective, chiaroscuro (the strategic use of shadow and light to create depth), and a realistic figurative approach were in direct opposition to the standard flat iconographic style of presenting religious stories and figures. The result is that Adam and Eve become humanized, rather than relegated on the devotional pedestal as sacred symbols. The pair are fully embodied and expressive, inhabiting real space, their shoulders bent, and their steps weighed down by the enormity of their expulsion. Art critic Clyde Haberman noted that Masaccio "broke with medieval traditions by giving raw realism to human forms and expressions. No one can doubt the anguish of his Adam and Eve as they are expelled from Paradise." Subsequent artists would go on to envision their own work within this new aesthetic paradigm of Masaccio's vision. Both Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci extensively visited the Chapel to study and sketch Masaccio's human figures, which da Vinci called "perfect." Later artists like the sculptor Henry Moore also studied his works.

Fresco - Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence

The Holy Trinity

This fresco depicts the Holy Trinity. Christ, crucified, is the central figure with God the Father standing behind him. A small white dove above Christ's head represents the Holy Spirit. Within the architectural niche that holds the three, Mary can also be seen, dressed in blue on the left while John the Disciple stands at the right, both gazing up at Christ in devotion. On either side of the columns, the commissioned work's unidentified patrons kneel in profile. Below them, a skeleton lies in a tomb bearing the inscription: "I once was what you are and what I am you also will be," representing a Memento Mori, or an object that serves as a warning or reminder of the inevitability of death. Customary to Masaccio's work, this piece helped revolutionize painting with its use of one point linear perspective, creating the illusion of three-dimensional space. The artist intentionally aligned the sighting of the fresco with the existing architecture of the church to enhance the trompe l'oeil effect. To create the work, he used a grid framework etched into the surface, and consulted Brunelleschi on linear perspective, as the perspective of even the nails in the cross show his rigorous approach. The design used a Roman triumphal arch and barrel vault to create a rational but divine space that the life-sized holy figures occupy, while the patrons and the skeleton, placed outside the barrel vault, occupy the space of the viewer. Visitors at the time were amazed at the artist's ability to create a work so realistic that many thought they were peering into a real chapel. A visceral experience of the work was spurred, creating an experience of contemplation in regard to mortality and timelessness. The life-sized figures also present a remarkably naturalistic effect of volume, movement, and deep emotional expression. As Mary McCarthy, art historian, wrote, "The fresco, with its terrible logic, is like a proof in philosophy or mathematics, God the Father, with His unrelenting eyes, being the axiom from which everything else irrevocably flows." At the same time, Mary, her face solemn, creates a bridge between the divine and the human by looking toward the viewer and gesturing toward her son, providing a way into the sacred realm, through contemplation. As Vasari wrote in his Lives of the Artists (1550) about Masaccio's work, "Everything done before him can be described as artificial, whereas he produces work that is living, realistic and natural."

Fresco - Santa Maria Novella, Florence

Dome of Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence Cathedral)

Artist: Filippo Brunelleschi

This photograph shows Brunelleschi's famous octagonal dome crowning the Florence Cathedral. Its red stone, emblematic of the Florentine love of stonework and Medici red, dominates the skyline with one of the world's most recognized and iconic views. Consisting of over four million bricks, it remains the largest masonry dome in the world. Brunelleschi's architectural genius can be seen in the structure's sense of buoyancy with its white ribs emphasizing the vertical lift and the steep curvature narrowing at the top. Brunelleschi also designed the white lantern at its tip, though his friend, the architect Michelozzi, completed it in 1461, fifteen years after Brunelleschi's death. The dome became a visual symbol of "The New Athens," as Florence dubbed itself, as it evoked a sense of classical restraint and proportion, echoing the octagonal shape of the cathedral below and drawing it heavenward. The dome was a revolutionary masterpiece, as the architect dispensed with both the internal scaffolding and the external supports (like buttresses) that were previously thought necessary. Instead, he created a dome within a dome, thus inventing a new system of support, where bricks lain in an inverted arch of herringbone pattern directed weight outward rather than downward. He also manufactured the technology he needed to materialize his project, including the first mechanical hoist and, later, the castello , or horizontal crane. Other structural innovations included the use of a catenary arch, a type of pointed arch, for support and internal wood, stone, and iron chains, formed in octagonals, to work like barrel hoops to hold the dome together. This work was informed by Brunelleschi's careful study of the Pantheon (113-125) and other ancient Roman buildings. Yet, in his customary fashion, the architect kept his discoveries to himself, working without notes or plans. As he was later to say, when he applied for and was awarded the first modern patent for a water transport vehicle, "we must not show to all and sundry the secrets of the waters flowing in ocean and river, or the devices that work on these waters. Let there be convened a council of experts and masters in mechanical art to deliberate what is needed to compose and construct these works." Because of his enigmatic working fashion, many critics initially deemed his designs impossible. He was to prove them wrong. As historian Paulo Galluzi wrote of the Cathedral, "It is one of the most beautiful, technically audacious buildings ever constructed. It unites technology and aesthetics in an astonishingly elegant way. It symbolizes perfectly the union of science and of art." All the architects of the next generation were influenced by Brunelleschi's work, and Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated by both his architecture and the technology he invented.

Sandstone, marble, brick, iron, wood - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence Cathedral), Florence

Artist: Donatello

This iconic five foot tall sculpture shows the Biblical hero David, depicted as a Classical inspired nude. Wearing only boots and a laurel-ringed Florentine hat, he stands in a jaunty contrapposto pose upon Goliath's severed head, holding a sword in his right hand, its point resting on a victory wreath. His right leg meets the diagonal of the sword to create a triangular space that emphasizes the sensuous curve of his hip. The overall effect is an unusually provocative and intimate rendition of David. With his expression of reverie and an enigmatic smile upon his lips, he jauntily assumes his role as the first freestanding nude created since the Roman era. Donatello also revived and refined the classical technique of lost wax casting to create this work. After casting the form, he finished it by hand, adding a thin layer of gold to create a lustrous surface with warm tones. A sense of the tactile informs the work, as the sleek smoothness of the youth's skin contrasts with the rough materials of Goliath's hair and helmet. One of the wings of Goliath's helmet extends up the back of David's leg, as if caressing him, adding a homoerotic element to the work. At the same time on the fallen giant's helmet the sculptor depicted a scene of Bacchus, the Greek god of wine and excess, suggesting that the virtue of beauty has conquered the pagan warrior. Having recently defeated the larger and more powerful city-state of Milan, Florence identified itself with the story of the shepherd boy who defeated the giant warrior Goliath with a single stone from his slingshot. Later depictions of David by Andrea del Verrocchio, Bartolomeo Bellano, and most notably, Michelangelo and Bernini, took Donatello's sculpture as the starting point, whether drawing upon or countering its influence. Vasari wrote of the work, "This figure is so natural in its vivacity and softness that artists find it hardly possible to believe it was not moulded on the living form." Contemporary criticism in The New York Times stated, "Donatello's sculptures are startling, dramatic and unpredictable.... a sustained meditation on time."

Bronze - National Museum of Bargello, Florence

The Annunciation

Artist: Fra Angelico

This fresco, depicting the moment at which an angel announces to Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus, has a classical simplicity. Sitting on a wooden stool in the cloister, Mary, her form a subtle contrast of dark robes that frame her delicate pink tunic, leans forward listening intently. The angel too leans forward, one knee bent, as his robe unfolds in softly curving vertical lines. Both figures have their arms folded across their chests in the shape of a cross, creating a feeling of intimate understanding, emphasized by the matching pink hues of their clothing, cloister walls, floor, and columns. The setting is devoid of many extraneous details, just a patch of grass on the left and a wooden fence with Tuscan cypresses behind it. The emphasis on an ordinary but intimate moment was radically new and reflected Humanism's appreciation of the individual. It also reflects the Early Renaissance's distinct move away from traditional medieval imagery of religious narratives, removing the barriers between the sacred and the everyday in ways that invited viewers to feel part of the devotional tales in more familiar ways. The perspective, emphasizing the repeating diagonal line of Corinthian columns on the left, the arch framing Mary, and the foreground's horizontal edging and column, emphasizes the sacred space the two inhabit, while the viewer stands outside, as if listening in upon a private conversation. The Medici family commissioned this work, along with more than fifty additional frescos and a new altarpiece in 1440, to complete the redesign of the friary of San Marco, which also included the first public library since the Roman Era. Fra Angelico, a Dominican friar, painted small frescos of Biblical scenes in the monks' cells to aid in devotional meditation. His intention was to bring the sacred into the monks' everyday physical reality, and he painted this scene, one of the last frescoes to be painted, in front of the staircase, so that monks returning to their cells would encounter it first. Michael Glover, the art critic, has noted, "austere and more intimate in mood... The whole scene is a masterpiece of quiet understatement."

Fresco - Museum of San Marco, Florence

Flagellation of Christ

Artist: Piero della Francesca

This painting, divided vertically down the center by Roman columns, depicts the flagellation of Christ in the background on the left in contrast to three aristocratic Florentine men engaged in conversation in the foreground on the right. In the artist's time, religious subjects that employed perspective would usually focus the vanishing point central on Christ. This innovative use of perspective, though, further emphasized the division between the two scenes, conveying the dissonance between two worlds; the self-preoccupation of the important and wealthy ruling class of Florence implicitly critiqued by the suffering of Christ taking place in the adjacent space. Furthermore, the orthogonal lines divide the frame vertically and, contrasting with the red horizontal bands, create a division between interior and exterior space. A separate light source is portrayed in each scene, furthering a sense of the enigmatic relationship between the two. Various scholarly interpretations have tried to identify the various figures depicted, suggesting the power of the work to both suggest and resist narrative. It was notable as an early example of oil painting on a small panel, for which Della Francesca departed from the large frescos, painted with tempera, favored by the artists of his day. A precision of detail and line is evinced in his treatment of the architectural motifs, as seen in the intricate slats of the building on the far right, and the lines of the figures, with a curiously modern effect. The work conveys a sense of surreal calm and order, its almost architectural harmony contrasting with the flagellation. With its precise delineation and scientific use of perspective, the artist, who was also a mathematician, created a naturalistic work that is both convincing, and yet almost modern in its dissonance. The art historian Kenneth Clark was to rank the painting as one of the ten finest paintings of all time.

Oil and tempera on panel - Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino, Italy

Camera Degli Sposi Frescoes

Artist: Andrea Mantegna

This fresco depicts an illusory oculus, opening to reveal a painted sky. The oculus is ringed with figures looking down into the room below. An orange tree and a peacock, both symbolizing Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage, perch prominently on the edge.. A number of Cupids - one placing a wreath on his head, one holding an arrow while looking out at the sky, and a third holding an apple that seems as if it might suddenly drop, ring the balustrade. Three housemaids, clustered beside the orange tree, gaze down smiling. On the other side of the tree, an aristocratic young woman stands beside a slave woman in a striped turban. Mantegna's fresco was groundbreaking for the time as it was the first example of di sotto in sù , or illusionistic ceiling painting. It also employed trompe l'oeil to create a scene where the architecture and painting become indistinguishable from each other within the fictive space. He incorporated the fresco into the building by painting the ceiling ribs and lozenges to resemble marble, and the triangular areas at the edge to look like mosaics. He also used extreme foreshortening in the figures to tweak the viewer's perception of the height of the ceiling. This work embodied Alberti's argument in his De Pictura (1435) that a painting should be a window into reality. The Gonzaga family commissioned this piece for their Camera degli Sposi, a small square reception room in their Ducal Palace. In addition to the ceiling fresco, he also painted The Court Scene (1465-71), portraying the Gonzaga family on the north wall, and The Meeting (1465-71), with two other smaller scenes on the west wall, and the last two walls with a decorative pattern. Mantegna's work greatly influenced not only Renaissance artists like Raphael, but also artists of the Baroque and Rococo movements.

Fresco - Palazzo Ducale di Mantova, Mantua, Italy

Lamentation over the Dead Christ

This remarkable image shows the dead Christ, lying upon a marble slab, his lower body shrouded by a piece of linen, as the stricken faces of St. John and the Virgin Mary peer over him. The extreme foreshortening and vivid details, like the nail holes visible in Christ's feet, result in an experience of intense intimacy for the viewer. Christ becomes less a divine figure, and merely an affronting human cadaver, His flesh is hyperreal, and a harrowing feeling becomes further emphasized by the bloodlike stain of red that imbues the scene. A static stillness is created by the vertical lines of Christ's body and the edge of the slab contrasted with the horizontals of the bolster, the bottom edge of the slab, and the creases at his elbows and ribs. The placement of the scene within a window frame, cropping the viewer from the mourners, creates the claustrophobic sense of being in a morgue. Also known as The Dead Christ or The Lamentation , the image was painted following the death of two of the artist's sons and was meant to convey suffering and grief. The artist's mastery of foreshortening to create a pictorial plane that becomes architectural, as well as the work's near graphic directness, was not only ground breaking for its time, but potently modern. Mantegna's sculptural sense of the human figure is apparent in the image, but his radical innovation was his sense of the painting as part of a total spatial illusion. His techniques influenced artists of his generation but also later masters, like Leonardo da Vince, Albrecht Dürer, and Correggio. Contemporary art historian Nicholas Fox Weber has called the work, "an unsettling masterpiece," where "Mantegna's vision of agony as a prelude to resurrection and celebration resounds."

Tempera on canvas - Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, Italy

Artist: Sandro Botticelli

This masterpiece is a complex and mysterious allegorical work, depicting figures from classical Greek and Roman mythology in the garden of Venus. The goddess of love, framed by an intricate nimbus of sacred myrtle, stands in the center, raising her right hand in a gesture of welcome associated with the Virgin Mary from the Annunciation. The goddess, traditionally shown nude, wears the discrete clothing of a married woman. Above her, a blindfolded Cupid aims his arrows toward the three graces, who wear diaphanous robes and dance, their hands entwined. To the far left, stands the god Mercury, looking upward as he reaches toward one of the golden fruits that glow like orbs in the overarching canopy. On the far right, the artist has combined two myths from the Roman poet Ovid. In the first myth Zephyrus, the god of the wind, depicted here with bluish green skin and puffed out cheeks, raped the nymph Chloris. In the painting, her nude figure, clothed in a diaphanous gown, falls forward, with feet that have already left the ground. As she turns back to look at him, tendrils and flowers emerge from her mouth, leading forward to the figure of Flora, the goddess of spring. The myth states, that full of remorse, Zephyrus changed Chloris into the goddess of spring. This work, commissioned by the Medici family for a wedding celebration, broke new ground by borrowing from classical mythology for its subject. But it also reflects the integration of scientific observation into art as the artist depicted over 500 identifiable plant species into the piece. Each detail in the work is allusive in meaning. For example, the golden oranges allude to the symbol of the Medici family, the orbs of Hesperus from Greek myth, and to the Garden of Eden. The result is, as art historian Gloria Fossi has written, "one of the most written about, and most controversial paintings in the world." Visually the work also presents an idyll of beauty, its female figures depicted with a linear rhythm, soft contours, and subtle color, to create what art historian Kenneth Clark described as, "one of the most personal evocations of physical beauty in the whole of art."

Tempera on panel - The Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Christ Handing the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter

Artist: Pietro Perugino

The scene is meant to embody the New Testament moment when Jesus said to Saint Peter, "Upon this rock I will build my church... and I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven." The fresco focuses equally on that biblical narrative as well as the architecture, emphasized by the gold diagonal lines of perspective extending toward The Temple of Solomon in the background. Christ is emphasized slightly in scale and by placement, outlined and set apart by the space that surrounds him, and the diagonal that leads to the Temple's entrance of the building, which begins at the top of his head. The key is directly in line with the Temple entrance, and isolated, too, within its own space. Behind, in the middle distance, two scenes from the New Testament are depicted. The scene on the left shows Christ and the disciples paying the tribute money, and the scene on the right shows Christ escaping from an attempted stoning. Two identical arches, resembling the Arch of Constantine, built by the Roman Emperor who in 313 legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan, flank the Temple in the background. Beyond the plaza, mountains recede into the distance, due to the artist's employment of aerial perspective. Behind Christ on the left, and behind Peter on the right, illustrious figures of the era, including a self-portrait of the artist, mingle with the disciples. The central one point perspective married with the calculated composition of the painting's subjects, create a perfectly balanced symmetry. The architecture of the scene reflects many things elemental to the Early Renaissance period. The work, commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV for the Vatican, was meant to illustrate the doctrine of apostolic succession and signal the rising importance of papal patronage in commissioning grand works of religious significance. The transmission of divine authority from Christ to Peter also harkens to the same transmission from Temple to the Vatican. Lastly, it is an example of the principles of science, mathematics, and design being injected into art by the leading artists of the time. The elegant figures in their refined clothes, flowing drapery, and delicate detail reflect the influence of Andrea del Verrocchio's figurative treatments on the artist. Vasari was to credit Perugino with creating a new style that blended the Florentine line with a "delicacy blended with color," and the artist's sense of visual rhythm was to influence later artists, including Vasari himself.

Fresco - Vatican City

The Birth of Venus

This seminal, iconic work, inspired by the Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphoses (8 A.D.), focuses on the birth of Venus, the goddess of love, riding her scallop shell as she arrives on land. To the right, a female with billowing dress and hair leans toward Venus holding out a swirling red robe to clothe her. Flying at a diagonal and also leaning toward Venus, Zephyrus, the god of the wind, puffs out his cheeks, blowing her toward the shore, as pink flowers fill the air around them. Linear flow and movement in the swirling hair of the figures, the billowing draperies that soar along with Zephyrus's flight, and in the curvilinear forms of the figures accentuate the singularity and centrality of the nude. Some have seen in the spirals and swirls of Venus's red hair, Botticelli's allusion to Leon Battista Alberti's words in On Painting , "I am delighted to see seven movements in hair, which is especially pleasing when part of it turns in spirals as if wishing to knot itself, waves in the air like flames, twines around itself like a serpent, while part rises here, part there." The enigmatic work has compelled multiple descriptions. Vasari identified the young woman with her arms entwined around Zephyrus's waist as Aura, a mythological figure personifying light breezes. The woman on the right was thought to represent the Hora of spring, one of three such figures who were attendants of Venus. Other scholars connect this work to Botticelli's earlier Primavera , and have argued that Zephyrus's companion is Chloris, as shown by the symbolism of the flowers, and that the woman on the right is Flora, the goddess of spring. The artist also employed contemporary political symbolism. The laurel trees and Hora's laurel wreath visually pun upon the name "Lorenzo" of the Medici family who commissioned the work, while the motifs and colors of Hora's clothing and the robe she carries allude to the Republic of Florence. The work was innovative for its large scale, for being painted on canvas, as well as it use of alabaster powder to brighten the paint and of gold to create highlights on the wings, the hair, the fabric, and the shell. But these innovations were overshadowed by its unprecedented depiction of the female nude in a pagan setting. While the figure created an impression of classical beauty, the artist has diverged from classical proportions. For instance, her body is off center, and her right leg curves too far over for her left leg to bear her weight. As the art historian Kenneth Clark noted, "Her differences from antique form are...rhythmic and structural. Her whole body follows the curve of a Gothic ivory. It is entirely without that quality so much prized in classical art, known as aplomb. She is not standing but floating." In this too, the artist was innovative, almost modern in his willingness to depart from naturalistic depiction in order to express an imagined internal concept of beauty. The work shows, as contemporary art historian Frederick Ilchman said, "Botticelli's attitude, his yearning to express ideals of beauty and human form." The work also is seen to reflect the era's Neo-Platonic philosophy that the mind could be drawn to the knowledge of divine beauty by contemplation of earthly beauty. During the High Renaissance, Botticelli's works were eclipsed, and he became relatively unknown in the centuries that followed. The title "Birth of Venus" was given to this painting only in the 19 th century when Botticelli's works were revived by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and embraced by the Arts and Crafts movement. Subsequently this work has become one of the world's most recognizable paintings, and artists including Salvador Dalí, Renée Magritte, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, and the Superflat artist Tomoko Nagao have revisited it. The painting has endured fame in popular culture as it has been referenced in film, television, music videos, and has also informed the work of fashion designers like Elsa Schiaparelli and Dolce & Gabbana.

Portrait of an Old Man with His Grandson

Artist: Domenico Ghirlandaio

This tender portrait vividly evokes a moment of embrace, juxtaposing a man toward the end of his life with a child at his beginning. The older man wears a red fur-lined robe, and the younger, a red doublet and cap. Behind them, the wall of the interior room is depicted in black and grey rectangles, framing a window that opens onto a landscape of winding roads through fields that lead toward a small church at the bottom of a terraced hill. Next to it, a monolithic rock rises out of a lake. The golden locks of the boy, echoed in the folds of his doublet, draw the viewer's eye up to the window, which, framed by somber grey and black, evokes a feeling of contrast between the two subjects' phases of existence. The painting creates a poignant moment marked by a sense of mortality. Ghirlandaio was primarily known for his frescos, often portraying notable Florentines, as seen in his celebrated Tornabuoni Chapel cycle (1485-90). What he brought to Early Renaissance painting most, though, was a vividly detailed and emotionally expressive portrayal of contemporary life and ordinary people, an emphasis that this singular portrait shares. The man's grey hair, the mole on his right forehead, and his deformed nose, indicate that he has the skin disorder rhinophyma. These characteristics are depicted with a remarkable realism that made the painting unique for its time. The work also subverted social attitudes, which associated defects in appearance with defects of character, by emphasizing the man's gentle and wise expression and quiet affection. Art historian Bernard Berenson wrote of this work, "There is no more human picture in the entire range of Quattrocento painting, whether in or out of Italy." Ghirlandaio was also a notable teacher, as his most distinguished student was Michelangelo.

Tempera on panel - Musée du Louvre, Paris

Beginnings of Early Renaissance

The proto-renaissance of the 1300s.

The term Proto-Renaissance refers to artists of the 14 th century who developed the naturalistic approach that came to fruition in the Early Renaissance. The early art historian and painter Giorgio Vasari felt that during the Middle Ages the artists Cimabue and Giotto had kept alive the aesthetic principles of classical art with works, which laid the groundwork for the following Renaissance.

Like most artists of his time, Cenna di Peppi, known as Cimabue, created primarily religious works. Byzantine iconography and stylization dominated the era, depicting human figures in two-dimensional form on flat pictorial planes. Yet in bold contrast, Cimabue's works emphasized naturalistic elements, such as is seen in his Santa Croce Crucifixion (1287-1288). Still placed within Byzantine iconography, the work innovatively drew upon anatomical observation to create a sense of Christ's physical and emotional suffering.

Artists of this period received their training in a master's workshop, and Cimabue's most famous assistant was Giotto de Bendone, known simply as Giotto. A popular anecdote related how Cimabue discovered Giotto as a young boy, while he was drawing and watching his family's sheep.

Giotto was a pioneering figure, his importance acknowledged by his being named Magnus Magister (Great Master) of Florence in 1334. Discarding Byzantine stylization, Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel Frescoes (c.1303-10) in Padua were ground breaking due to their sculptural figurative treatment. Depicted naturalistically, his figures began to take on a three dimensionality, inhabiting real space, and conveying real emotion. This was a radical departure from the Byzantine styles still practiced by many of his contemporaries, and his became a singular influence upon not only his contemporaries like Taddeo Gaddi, Bernardo Daddi, and the noted Masolino, but the painters of the Early Renaissance, including Fra Angelico , Piero della Francesca , and Masaccio .

Defining the Term: The Renaissance

Giorgi Vasari, in his The Lives of the Artists (1550), first coined the term rinascita , meaning rebirth. However, the French-derived term "Renaissance" only became widely used to refer to the historical period later during the mid 19 th century following the historian Jules Michelet's Histoire de France (1855). Subsequently Jacob Burckhardt's model of the period, beginning with Giotto and ending with Michelangelo, defined in his The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860), became widely adopted.

Contemporary scholarship has reconsidered these definitions, as in the 1980s historian Randolph Starn, described the overall Renaissance as, "...a network of diverse, sometimes converging, sometimes conflicting cultures, not a single, time-bound culture," and Stephen Greenblatt defined it as "early modern," when describing the period as a transition from the Middle Ages.

The Early Renaissance, informed by Humanism and Classical Roman and Greek art and architecture , was led by Brunelleschi whose works in architecture and the discovery of linear perspective informed the era, as well as the pioneering work of Donatello in sculpture and Masaccio in painting. Together, the three have been dubbed "the triumvirate of the Early Renaissance," centered in the Republic of Florence, as the rising power of Florence, and the patronage of wealthy families like the Medici, created a welcoming environment for the movement.

The Republic of Florence and the Medicis

The Early Renaissance flourished in the Republic of Florence, which dubbed itself "The New Athens," indicating that the city-state identified itself as heir to the classical tradition. The city was ruled by the merchant class and noble families, primarily the Medici family which was to become a ruling dynasty that lasted until 1737. The Medici family had made their fortune primarily in the textile trade governed by the Arte della Lana, the wool guild in Florence, and in 1377 Giovanni di Bicci di Medici founded the Medici Bank in Florence. His son, Cosimo di Medici, never occupied office, but used his wealth and political alliances to become, in effect, the ruler of Florence. He was an exceptional patron of the arts, spending a good part of his fortune commissioning art works, collecting classical texts, and supporting cultural projects, like founding the first public library. As he said, "All those things have given me the greatest satisfaction and contentment because they are not only for the honor of God but are likewise for my own remembrance. For fifty years, I have done nothing else but earn money and spend money; and it became clear that spending money gives me greater pleasure than earning it." Subsequently private patronage by wealthy families became an important driver of artistic creation, allowing for subjects and treatments that were off limits for religious and civic commissions.

The Baptistery Competition

It has been argued that the Early Renaissance began in 1401 with a competition held by the city of Florence to award a commission for new bronze doors for the Baptistery of St. John, and the consequences of the feud that followed. The doors would contain panels representing scenes from the Old Testament, and seven sculptors were selected to design a single panel showing the Sacrifice of Isaac for the competition. Only Lorenzo Ghiberti's and Filippo Brunelleschi's designs have survived, and both works reflect a humanistic and naturalistic Renaissance style. Admiring both works, the judges declared a tie between Ghiberti and Brunelleschi and suggested the two artists collaborate on the project. However, stung by the loss, Brunelleschi withdrew and Ghiberti alone took on the project, which made him famous. Nonetheless, it was Brunelleschi's subsequent work that became the foundation of the Early Renaissance, as, bitterly disappointed when his design did not win the competition, he abandoned sculpture and turned his attention to architecture.

Filippo Brunelleschi

The path that led to Brunelleschi's discovery of linear perspective, in which the relative size, shape, and position of objects are determined by drawn or imagined lines converging at a point on the horizon, began after his crushing defeat for the Baptistery project, and radically change art and architecture. He sold his small family farm and used the proceeds to go on a self-imposed exile to Rome, accompanied by his friend, the artist Donatello. For several years, often camping in the ruins until the locals mistook them for treasure hunters, the two artists measured buildings, took extensive notes, and researched classical design principles. Abandoning his focus on sculpture for architecture, Brunelleschi developed his theory and practice of perspective and the mathematical principles of design.

Upon returning to Florence, he entered a 1418 competition held by the wool merchant guild to build a dome for the cathedral. A number of previous architects had worked on the cathedral, including Giotto who had designed the bell tower in the 1330s, and by 1418 the building was almost complete, save for a gaping hole awaiting a dome, which no one knew how to build. Once again, Brunelleschi's primary competitor was Ghiberti, who, while a leading artist of the day, had little architectural experience. The competition required that each architect try to stand an egg upright on a marble surface.

Brunelleschi's solution became legendary, as Vasari wrote, "giving one end a blow on the flat piece of marble, [he] made it stand upright ...The architects protested that they could have done the same; but Filippo answered, laughing, that they could have made the dome, if they had seen his design." For in fact, Brunelleschi had already fashioned a technically accomplished model of the dome. To create his design, he conducted further experiments in perspective, and created several devices, involving the use of mirrors and painted panels. He shared his discoveries only with friends like Donatello and Masaccio, as he felt, "To disclose too much of one's intentions and achievements is...to give up the fruits of one's ingenuity." Accordingly, it was Leon Battista Alberti who wrote the early definitive works on perspective and technique, though he acknowledged Brunelleschi's leadership in all arts by dedicating On Painting (1435) to him.

Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, known simply as Donatello, also competed for the commission of the Baptistery Doors, though, at the time, he was only 15 and training in Ghiberti's workshop. His close friendship with Brunelleschi began around the same time. They had much in common, both sculptors having first been trained as goldsmiths, and they were to remain close throughout their lives, described as "inseparable" by contemporaries. In Rome, Donatello studied Roman sculpture and the lost wax casting process used to create classical bronzes. Returning to Florence, his works became the first artworks to use linear perspective, as seen in his marble St. George and the Dragon (c. 1416) where he used perspective and pioneered rilievo stiacciato , a new style of shallow carving, to create atmospheric effect. His bronze relief the Feast of Herod (1423-27) combined emotional expressiveness and classical form with a perspective system based upon orthogonal diagonals and transversals to draw the viewer's eye into the empty space between the two groups at either ends of the table, thus creating a sense of tension.

Masaccio, an artist whose career lasted only seven years because he died of the plague at age 27, has also been dubbed "a father of the Renaissance." His work employed linear perspective and naturalistic figurative treatments in a new way that revolutionized painting. Little is known of his life or his art training, though by 1426 he was friends with Donatello and Brunelleschi. Brunelleschi's work on perspective influenced Masaccio, as he consulted the older artist on his The Holy Trinity (c.1424-27), considered to be one of the earliest examples of perspective in painting. Masaccio's painting innovations included the use of one point perspective, a trompe l'oeil approach, naturalistic modeling of the human figure, and a single consistent light source casting accurate shadows. He also pioneered the use of chiaroscuro , thus creating the illusion of depth and portrayed his figures with emotional expressiveness, conveying their individuality. As art historian Mark Michael Astarita wrote Masaccio's, "hallmark oeuvre d'art embodied the shift away from the dreary Gothic...and the gradual shift towards paintings that embodied the rebirth, or Renaissance, of classical art and architecture."

Leon Battista Alberti

Leon Battista Alberti was the most important intellectual theorist of the Early Renaissance due to his three volumes, De Statua ( On Sculpture ) (1435), Della Pittura ( On Painting ) (1435), and De Re Aedificatoria ( On Architecture ) (1452). On Sculpture marked the first use of the terms additive sculpture, in which material is added to create a work, and subtractive sculpture, in which material is carved away or removed to reveal a work, while also emphasizing naturalistic treatments and classical proportions.

His On Painting , which consisted of three volumes, described painting "as a projection of lines and colors onto a surface." He codified Brunelleschi's one-point linear perspective, as well as the concepts of composition, proportion, and the use of disegno , design or line, and colorito , coloring, in creating pictorial harmony. He drew upon the contemporary practices of artists like Donatello, Ghiberti, Luca della Robbia, and Masaccio, though positing them within a theoretical basis that drew upon humanist literature and the classical works of the Romans and Greeks.

Early Renaissance: Concepts, Styles, and Trends

Renaissance humanism.

The Renaissance was philosophically driven by Humanism , a belief that placed human life at the center of the universe. The widespread cultural movement, which began in 14 th century Italy advocated for studying and learning the humanities, as seen in works of classical Rome and Greece. Many humanists were priests or church leaders, who felt that enthusiasm for science and its rational discoveries, an interest in geometry and mathematics, understanding of classical ethics and logic, and an aesthetic appreciation of the art and architecture of the classical period would enrich Christian understanding. As a result, a new sophisticated society would emerge, expansive in scope and knowledge.

An early leader of Humanism was the great 14 th century poet Francesco Petrarca, called Petrarch in English, who has been called "the founder of Humanism," as well as a "founder of the Renaissance." A noted scholar and collector of classical texts, he rediscovered the works of classical authors, like the Roman Cicero. His poetry was also revolutionary in that he wrote in Italian, rather than the Latin of medieval Europe, a period for which he coined the term "the Dark Ages." Reviving classical texts became key to Humanist thought. Poggio Bracciolini, whose findings included the rediscovery of Lucretius's De rerum natura ( On the Nature of Things ) in 1417, was a papal advisor, working under seven popes in his lifetime. In Florence, Niccolò de' Niccoli became a leader of Humanist thought primarily due to his extensive library of Latin and Greek classical texts, which became noted fodder for Florentine intellectual life. He was closely associated with Cosimo di Medici.

Architecture

Brunelleschi's buildings and designs were widely employed by later architects. His innovations included the use of round columns with classical capitals, circular arches, and segmented domes, all constructed through mathematical ratios. His early Ospedale degli Innocenti (1419-27), or Hospital of the Innocents, featured a decorative motif that combined white stone walls with grey architectural features, becoming known as the pietra serena , or serene stone, style. His designs for the Florentine churches of San Lorenzo (c. 1425) and Santo Spirito (c. 1428) launched the use of modular design and a church configured in the shape of a Latin cross. For Santa Maria degli Angeli (1434), he pioneered the design of a centrally planned church, which was widely adopted throughout the Renaissance.

Other noted architects were Leon Battista Alberti and Michelozzo di Bartolomeo Michelozzi. Cosimo di Medici commissioned Michelozzi to design his palace, the Palazzo Medici (1444-84) in Florence. Michelozzi used a tripartite division to give the massive building a vertical lift and to reflect a classical sense of harmony and order. The resulting style became known as the Palazzo Style and continued to be popular into the 19 th and 20 th centuries.

In the 1440s, Alberti turned extensively toward the practice of architecture. His De Re Aedificatoria ( On Architecture ) was derived from Brunelleschi and the Roman architect Vitruvius's De Architectura , which advocated proportional harmony based upon the golden mean. In 1450 he undertook his first architectural project, redesigning San Francesco church in Rimini, and subsequently was commissioned to design and complete the façade of Santa Maria Novella (1456-70) in Florence. As an architect, Alberti has been described as a "ghost architect," preferring to focus on design, while seldom engaged in the practical construction matters. Two of his most noted sites, the San Sebastiano church in Mantua and Santa Andrea church in Florence, were completed after his death, and his designs, and particularly his writing, influenced subsequent architecture.

Many of the great works of the Early Renaissance were religious frescos, beginning with Masaccio's Brancacci Chapel frescoes, which were studied by subsequent Renaissance masters. Many of the noted fresco masters, including Fra Lippi, Fra Angelico, Pierro della Francesca, Alessandro Botticelli, and Andrea Mantegna, focused on religious subject matter, while employing the new techniques of perspective, foreshortening, the Florentine emphasis on the fluid line, naturalistic and anatomical detail, and trompe l'oeil .

Oil painting was also introduced, as seen in Antonello da Messina's Sibiu Crucifixion (1454-55). Other artists like Pierro della Francesca in his Flagellation of Christ , (c. 1455) experimentally combined oil with tempera on panels. And some artists brought an innovative emphasis on color and texture to tempera painting, as seen in the pastel pink and green palette of Domenico Veneziano's St. Lucy Altarpiece (1445-47), influenced by the Venetian School.

New subject matter was also introduced. Andrea del Castagno's commissioned fresco Cycle of Famous Men and Women (c.1449-51) depicted portraits of three Tuscan poets, three famous women from antiquity, and three military commanders from Florence. His treatment was also novel, as he painted them within architectural niches to create the illusion of sculpture. Portraits of noble families were much in demand, as seen in Piero della Francesca's Portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino (1465-72), while Domenico Ghirlandaio pioneered the portrait focusing on deeply individualized but ordinary people as seen in his Portrait of an Old Man with His Grandson (1490).

The painter Paolo Uccello pioneered battle painting with his renowned Battle of Romano (1435-60) depicting the 1432 battle between Florence and Siena. Uccello was a noted mathematician who created an idiosyncratic style that combined a pioneering use of perspective with elements of the Late Gothic style. His Funerary Monument (or Equestrian Monument ) to Sir John Hawkwood (1436), like many other works, was a fresco that appeared almost sculptural.

The most noted sculptors of the Early Renaissance were Donatello, Ghiberti, and later in the period, Andrea del Verrocchio. The naturalism and classical proportions of Roman and Greek sculpture inspired their works, though interpreted through the era's emphasis on individuality and Humanism. The period's most noted sculptures were created using the lost wax process, also revived from the Roman era.

Ghiberti was to design two sets of doors for the Baptistery in Florence of which the second, depicting ten panels of scenes from the Old Testament, completed in 1452, became the most famous. In them, Ghiberti perfected his use of perspective and figurative modeling to create works that were admired both for their classical beauty and their emotive individuality. Michelangelo dubbed them "The Gates of Paradise," the name by which the doors, 17 feet tall and gilded in gold, have been called since.

Donatello's Gattamelata (1453), a piece of realistic grandeur, was influenced by the bronze Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius (c. 173-76 C.E). However, Donatello's version revitalized the subject by emphasizing Aurelius' individuality, the anatomical musculature of the horse, and incorporating symbolic elements such as the horse's hoof resting upon a cannon ball. Evoking Venice's military power, it became a signature reflection of the Renaissance.

Donatello was considered to be the greatest sculptor of the Early Renaissance, in part due to his range of subject matter and his capacity for individualistic expression of each. This can be seen in his innovatively eroticized statue of David , or his powerfully expressive later work Penitent Magdalene (1453-55), Andrea del Verrocchio was notably influenced by Donatello's work, as seen in his own bronze David (1473-75) and his Equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni (1480-88).

Later Developments - After Early Renaissance

The impact of the Early Renaissance cannot be overestimated, as rather than ending in the late 1400s, its innovations spread from Florence throughout Italy and Europe. The works of the Early Renaissance artists became foundational to the High Renaissance , North European Renaissance , Mannerism , and Baroque periods that followed. Florence itself continued to be an inspiring artistic environment for the generation that followed, as Michelangelo , Leonardo da Vinci , and Raphael lived and studied there. Michelangelo was particularly influenced by Masaccio, his teacher Ghirlandaio, and his training in the workshops of the Medici family. Leonardo da Vinci was trained by Andrea del Verrocchio. Masaccio's fresco Expulsion from the Garden of Eden , 1426-1427 influenced him, and his studies of Alberti's On Painting (1435), as well as Pierro del Francesca's study of perspective, informed his thought and work.

The designs of Alberti, Michelozzi, Brunelleschi, and Mantegna's trompe l'oeil ceiling painting were to inform various architectural styles and designs into the 19th and 20 th centuries. Botticelli's paintings, rediscovered in the 19 th century, became a noted influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood , and, subsequently among the most popular and artistically revisited works of the 20 th century.

The concept of Humanism that so heavily defined the Early Renaissance period remains an important model for thriving community and a timeless lesson about the benefits of intellectual and creative pursuits informed by a deep knowledge of the arts and sciences within a particular society.

Useful Resources on Early Renaissance

• Early Renaissance: Style and Civilization Our Pick By Michael Levey
• Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture Our Pick By Ross King
• The Lives of the Artists (Oxford World Classics) By Giorgio Vasari
• Botticelli By Frank Zollner
• Masaccio and the Brancacci Chapel By Ornella Casazza
• The Genius of Andrea Mantegna (Metropolitan Museum of Art) By Keith Christiansen
• Domenico Ghirlandaio: Artist and Artisan By Jean K. Cadogan and Domenico Ghirlandaio
• The Gates of Paradise Art Institute of Chicago
• The Early Renaissance in Florence: Slide Show and articles Our Pick National Gallery of Art
• The Most Iconic Artists of the Italian Renaissance, from Masaccio to Titian By George Philip LeBourdais / Dec 21, 2015
• A Chapel in Florence Reveals Its Wonders Anew By Clyde Haberman / New York Times / June 9, 1990
• Masaccio's "Holy Trinity" By Bendicò / Globaldispatches / June 11, 2013
• Great works: Annunciation (1438-45), Fra Angelico Our Pick By Michael Glover / Independent / July, 15 2010
• Great Works: The Dead Christ, by Andrea Mantegna c.1480 By Michael Glover / Independent / September 2012
• Moving a Mantegna Our Pick By Nicholas Fox Weber / Art News / September 23, 2014
• Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) By Paul Davies / Architectural Review / January 31, 2013

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Content compiled and written by Rebecca Seiferle

Edited and revised, with Summary and Accomplishments added by Kimberly Nichols

The Renaissance: The ‘Rebirth’ That Changed the World

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The Renaissance refers to the period in European history between the 14 th and 17 th centuries. As a historical era, the Renaissance was preceded by the Middle Ages, and succeeded by the early modern period. Alternatively, the Renaissance is considered more of an intellectual and cultural movement, rather than a historical period. Indeed, today, the Renaissance is commonly thought of as a time when Europe made great advances in the sciences and the arts, as opposed to the Middle Ages. Although the Renaissance is most notably connected with the Italian city-states, as it was there that this movement originated, over time the Renaissance would spread to other parts of Europe as well.

From Darkness to Light: The Origins of the Renaissance

The word ‘renaissance’ comes from the French language, and simply means ‘rebirth’. This term was made popular by the 19 th century French historian Jules Michelet, and became current in the English language during that time. This concept was further developed by Jacob Burckhardt, a Swiss historian who lived around the same time as Michelet. We owe our modern perception of the Renaissance largely to these two historians. The so-called ‘rebirth’ of Europe may be considered from two different angles. On the one hand, it may be taken specifically to mean the ‘re-discovery’ of classical texts and learning, and their application in the sciences and arts. On the other, it may refer more generally to the ‘revitalization’ of Europe as a result of such activities.

The word ‘renaissance’, however, was already in use long before Michelet and Burckhardt. In 1550, the word ‘renascita’, which is Italian for ‘renewal’ or ‘rebirth’ was used by Giorgio Vasari in his book, Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori , which translates to mean Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects . Vasari, commonly considered to be Europe’s first art historian, wrote about the artistic development that was occurring in Italy during his lifetime, as well as during the centuries preceding his time.

Vasari divided his work into three periods, starting with the ‘First Age’. This period included the 13 th / 14 th century painter Giotto, who was one of the first Italian painters to have moved from the stylized depiction of humans, landscape, and architecture to a more naturalistic one. Thus, Vasari credits Giotto with the establishment of a new movement in painting, though modern historians normally consider him to be part of a ‘proto-Renaissance’. The ‘Second Age’ deals with the 15 th century, and includes such artists as Masaccio, Donatello, and Brunelleschi. The ‘Third Age’ deals with Vasari’s own lifetime, i.e. the first half of the 16 th century, and includes such artists as Leonardo , Raphael, and Michelangelo . These artists were said to be working in ‘ la maniera moderna ’ (meaning ‘the modern manner’).

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Known as one of the greatest Renaissance artworks to be completed. (Leonardo da Vinci / Public domain )

Death Before Rebirth

Since the word ‘renaissance’ means ‘rebirth’, it must naturally follow that the era preceding it was a period of ‘death’. Not only does this contrast enhance the meaning of the term the ‘Renaissance’, but it also serves to heighten the significance of this moment in history. One of the negative effects of such a comparison is the reduction of the preceding Middle Ages to a period of ‘darkness’. Thus, the Middle Ages is popularly viewed today as a time when Europe made little intellectual and cultural development, and when the continent was gripped by war, famine, and disease. However, this supposedly grim image of medieval Europe is not entirely true, as scholarship continued during this period, and impressive works of art were made. Nevertheless, such achievements are often overshadowed, and even forgotten, as a result of the comparison between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

It cannot be denied, however, that the thinkers and artists of both periods were looking at the world around them using two very different sets of lenses. During the Middle Ages, Europe was dominated by Christianity . Its thinkers saw their work primarily as a means to glorify God, and the arts were dominated by religious themes. During the Renaissance, on the other hand, a concept known as ‘humanism’ began to develop in Italy, and gradually grew in popularity. One of the important principles promoted by the proponents of humanism was the centrality of the human being. Unlike the medieval scholars and artists, who saw God as the center of the universe, their Renaissance counterparts placed humans at the center of the universe. In other words, the humanists focused their attention on humans, their nature, activities, and achievements.

Byzantine monumental Church mosaics are one of the great achievements of medieval art. These are from Monreale in Sicily from the late 12th century. (Berthold Werner / CC BY-SA 3.0 )

Nevertheless, this does not mean that the humanists rejected Christianity completely. The humanists also believed in a doctrine called syncretism, which suggests that there is a unity and compatibility of truth found in all philosophical schools and religious systems. Another significant feature of humanism is its belief in a rebirth of a lost human spirit and wisdom, and the efforts made by these humanists to recover them. This is one of the reasons for the revival of classical Greek and Roman art, literature, and learning, and its huge influence during the Renaissance.

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• Saint Peter’s Basilica: A Magnificent Renaissance Icon

Biblical Renaissance artwork – ‘Creation of Adam’ by Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel, Rome. ( creedline / Adobe stock)

Where and When it Begun

It has been argued that there is no single starting point, in both place and time, for the Renaissance, as this movement occurred in different parts of Europe at different points in time. Nonetheless, the Italian Renaissance, which is deemed to be ‘the’ Renaissance by most people, is considered almost universally to have begun in central Italy, the city of Florence in particular, during the 14 th century.

One of the key figures of the Renaissance during this stage is Francesco Petrarca (commonly referred to in English as Petrarch), who was born in Arezzo, Tuscany, in 1304. Apart from being a poet, Petrarch was also a scholar and a diplomat. In addition, Petrarch was deeply interested in classical wisdom, and regarded the Roman Empire to be the pinnacle of human achievement. Incidentally, it was Petrarch who coined the term ‘Dark Ages’, as he saw the period following the collapse of the Roman Empire as a time of social decline in Europe. Petrarch also argued that if there was a divine presence guiding the course of history, then human beings are placed at its center. In other words, history is not perceived to be a sequence of religious events, but one of human achievements, which is one of the central tenets of humanism.

Nobles of the Italian City-States

At the same time that humanism was taking shape as an intellectual movement, central and northern Italy saw the rise of the city-states. The political situation in these Italian regions would play an equally important role in the growth of the Renaissance. The Italian city-states were often fiercely independent, and a strong sense of rivalry developed amongst them. Additionally, these city-states were normally led by new noble families, i.e. those that had risen to power not long ago.

One of the most notable of these new nobilities is the Medici family, which ruled over Florence for much of the period between the 15 th and 18 th centuries. The Medicis were originally peasants from Tuscany, and they trace their roots to the village of Cafaggiolo in the Mugello, the valley of the Sieve, north of Florence. Some of these villagers emigrated to Florence, due to the opportunities afforded by commerce, and grew rich.

Renaissance artwork of the Virgin and Child with St Anne and members of the Medici family as saints. (Giovanni Maria Butteri / Public domain )

The Medicis too obtained their wealth by these means, though they were not amongst the leading families. After 1340, however, many of these powerful families were forced into bankruptcy, as a consequence of an economic depression in Europe. Furthermore, around the same time, Europe was struck by the black death, which reached its peak between the 1340s and 1350s. The Medici family managed to survive these disasters, and even seized the opportunity to advance their position in Florentine society. Amongst the most famous members of the Medici family were Cosimo de’ Medici, Lorenzo de’ Medici, and Catherine de’ Medici.

The Medicis, as well as other noble families of the Italian city-states, needed to legitimize their new social and political status, and were keen to display their wealth. As these nobles were also heavily influenced by humanism, they decided to do this through the arts and culture. Thus, these powerful families became important patrons of the arts, and it was their great wealth that funded the Renaissance. As humanists, the Italian nobles had no qualms in drawing inspiration from both the pagan classical world, as well as from Christianity. Whilst the former allowed these nobles to link themselves with the lost glories of ancient Greece and Rome, the latter displayed their piety. Thus, the works of art of the Renaissance had both paganism and Christianity as their subject matter. For instance, at the same time Raphael was painting The School of Athens , Michelangelo was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel , both are considered some of the best Renaissance artworks to be completed by two of the most influential artists.

The School of Athens by Raphael (‘Stanze di Raffaello’) in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. (Raphael / Public domain )

The generous patronage of these Italian noble families resulted in the rise of many distinguished artists, whose works are still admired even today. Some of the most prominent of these Renaissance artists were Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael, all of whom were patronized by the Medicis at some point of time in their careers. In the case of Raphael, he did not work under the Medicis in Florence, as they were in exile for much of Raphael’s life. Instead, he received patronage in Rome from Pope Leo X, who was himself a member of the Medici family.

Although the Renaissance began in Florence, it spread to other Italian city-states as well, including Venice, Genoa, Milan, and Bologna. The Renaissance even arrived in Rome itself during the early 15 th century, thanks to a series of popes collectively known as the ‘Renaissance Papacy’. Although most of the popes from this period were morally bankrupt, they invested heavily in the arts and architecture of Rome, as they saw it as a way to increase the prestige of the Eternal City. The rebuilding of St Peter’s Basilica, for instance, began in 1506, during the reign of Pope Julius II (who, incidentally, chose his papal name in honor of Julius Caesar, and is nicknamed the ‘Warrior Pope’), whilst the Sistine Chapel was painted during the papacies of Sixtus IV, Julius II, Clement VII, and Paul III.

Michelangelo’s painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in the Vatican. ( Sergii Figurnyi / Adobe stock)

Spreading Further Afield

Furthermore, the Renaissance spread from Italy, and subsequently reached different parts of Europe. As these countries lie to the north of the Italian peninsula, it became known as the ‘Northern Renaissance’. Nevertheless, as the Renaissance arrived in these countries, the trajectories it took varied considerably from one country to another. In France, for instance, the Renaissance arrived following Francis I’s involvement in the Italian Wars during the 16 th century. The French monarch was inspired by the Renaissance in Italy, and imported many Italian works of art, as well as artists, including Leonardo da Vinci. The Renaissance in France received a boost in 1533, when the 14-year-old Catherine de’ Medici married Henry II, the son of Francis, and the future king of France. Catherine brought with her the latest arts, music, and science from her native Florence to the French court.   

Funeral sculptures of Henry II and Catherine de’ Medici in Basilique de Saint-Denis, France. (Germain Pilon / CC BY-SA 3.0 )

The Renaissance in Germany, on the other hand, was quite different from that of Italy and France. The Renaissance spread to that area of Europe around the second half of the 15 th century, and subsequently became intertwined with the Protestant Reformation of the early 16 th century. Apart from its involvement in the Protestant Reformation, the German Renaissance is most notable for the printing press, which was invented by Johannes Gutenberg around the middle of the 15 th century. Gutenberg, along with Albrecht Dürer, renowned for his woodcut prints, are two of the biggest names of the German Renaissance.

The Renaissance also made its way to England, arriving around the middle of the 16 th century, and coincided with the Elizabethan era. The Renaissance in England is most notable for its literary achievements, and the playwright William Shakespeare is undoubtedly its brightest stars. Other figures of the English Renaissance include Shakespeare’s fellow playwrights Christopher Marlowe and Ben Johnson, the composer Thomas Tallis, and the courtier-poet Edmund Spenser.

Naturally, the Renaissance could not last forever, and eventually came to an end. Some scholars consider the 16 th century to be the end of the Renaissance, whilst others argue that it ended a century later. In the case of Italy, several factors have been identified as contributing to the demise of the Renaissance. These include economic decline, the political instability as a result of the many wars fought by other European powers on Italian soil, and the Counter-Reformation. Nevertheless, it may be argued that as a movement, the Renaissance did not come to an end. Instead, its ideas were transformed, and continued to be developed, albeit in a different direction.

Top image: ‘The Last Judgment’ fresco by the Renaissance painter Michelangelo covering the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. It is known as one of the greatest pieces of Renaissance artwork.            Source: Francesco  Todaro / Adobe stock

By Wu Mingren

Carter, A., 2016. Did Artists in the Renaissance Know They Were in the Renaissance?. [Online] Available at: https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/did-artists-in-the-renaissance-know-they-were-in-the-renaissance/

Dickson, A., 2017. Key features of Renaissance culture. [Online] Available at: https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/key-features-of-renaissance-culture

Gabriele, M., 2019. There Was No Such Thing As The 'Renaissance'. [Online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewgabriele/2019/03/07/no-such-thing-renaissance/#4776a3635897

History.com Editors, 2019. Renaissance. [Online] Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/renaissance/renaissance

Jones, J., 2010. Jacob Burckhardt: The Renaissance revisited. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2010/jul/10/jacob-burckhardt-civilization-renaissance-italy

New World Encyclopedia, 2015. Renaissance. [Online] Available at: https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Renaissance

Oxford University Press, 2019. Renaissance Art and Architecture. [Online] Available at: https://www.oxfordartonline.com/page/renaissance-art-and-architecture

Szalay, J., 2016. The Renaissance: The 'Rebirth' of Science & Culture. [Online] Available at: https://www.livescience.com/55230-renaissance.html

The Art Story Foundation, 2019. Summary of Early Renaissance. [Online] Available at: https://www.theartstory.org/movement/early-renaissance/

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019. Medici family. [Online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Medici-family

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019. Renaissance. [Online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Renaissance

The Telegraph, 2015. The Renaissance – why it changed the world. [Online] Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/london-culture/renaissance-changed-the-world/

Whitfield, J. H., 2019. Petrarch. [Online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Petrarch

Wilde, R., 2018. A Beginner's Guide to the Renaissance. [Online] Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/guide-to-the-renaissance-1221931

Wu Mingren (‘Dhwty’) has a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient History and Archaeology. Although his primary interest is in the ancient civilizations of the Near East, he is also interested in other geographical regions, as well as other time periods.... Read More

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Essay on Renaissance

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Published: Mar 19, 2024

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Table of contents

I. introduction, ii. artistic achievements of the renaissance, iii. cultural and social changes in the renaissance, iv. intellectual thought and scientific advancements, v. legacy of the renaissance, vi. conclusion.

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The impact of technology on art: a modern renaissance.

Introduction The influence of technology on art is an evolving narrative that reflects the symbiotic relationship between human creativity and innovative tools. From the early use of simple tools to create cave paintings to the digital art technologies of today, the integration of technology in...

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Europe's Cultural Mosaic: Exploring the Diverse Traditions and Beliefs

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Renaissance: Niccolo Machiavelli and Galileo Galilei

The Renaissance fostered great people, art, and ideas, to say the least. A movement that arose within the period was humanism. Humanism emphasizes practice and scientific studies of human nature and relays the idea of man as the measure of all things. Humanism focuses on...

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The Invention Of The Pocket Watch During The Renaissance Period

“The Renaissance was a period in European history, covering the span between the 14th and 17th centuries and marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. The traditional view focuses more on the early modern aspects of the Renaissance and argues that it was...

Impact of The Crusades During the Renaissance Period

The Renaissance wouldn't have occurred without the Crusades. Labeled in history as one of the most significant events to happen in History developed in Europe. They entitled religious wars impacting many Christians throughout Europe during the middle ages. The groundwork for developing towards the Crusades...

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Analysis of Hans Holbein’s The French Ambassadors

The French Ambassadors is a Renaissance era oil painting by Hans Holbein the Younger. Painted in 1533, it is a portrait of Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve, french ambassadors to the court of english King Henry VIII. Holbein, a Lutheran, came from a...

Hans Holbein’s The French Ambassadors: A Masterful Legacy of the Renaissance Period

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Characteristics of the Work The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein

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Philosophy of Humanism In Renaissance Period

The Renaissance was a time of “rebirth” and, for art, that meant a change in style. Humanism is the philosophy emphasizing the worth of the individual, the rational abilities of humankind, and the human potential for good (1111). The concept of humanism is complicated; everyone...

The Renaissance Value of Humanism

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Michelangelo Buonarroti And His World Famous Works

The Sistine Chapel in Rome is certainly one of the most famous monuments of the Italian high Renaissance. The images which adorn the altar wall of this chapel are so engrained into our culture, all thanks to Michelangelo Buonarroti. Michelangelo’s best-known paintings are on the...

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Michelangelo As A Great Figure Of Renaissance

Michelangelo was born in the middle and late Renaissance period, who drew Renaissance art to its peak. Among varieties of Michelangelo’s biographers, much ink was spilled in the work The Last Judgement most of the writers. Giorgio Vasari and Ascanio Condivi, who are both presents...

The Renaissance: the Defining Era of Art

The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were vital times for the development of a modern society. After the subsequent shift away from the Middle Ages, it became apparent that this era in world history would re-examine values that the ancient Greeks and Romans created. These values,...

The Renaissance and the Humanists: Revival of Classics

The Darkness of 1300s was a time of famine, plague, continuous wars, and ignorance. There were very few achievements in science and art due to the crisis. The Renaissance (1350-1550s) is an epoch of the world significance in the history of European culture, which replaced...

Italy as the Birthplace and Center of Renaissance

In Italian the Renaissance is pronounced “Il Rinascimento” and Italy was a primary place when it came to the Rinascimento, but what made Italy the destination of the Renaissance? Other countries such as France, Germany, and England went through similar culture changes, but Italy was...

Edgar Allan Poe, Innovator in Literature of New England Renaissance

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Self-Portrait By Leonardo Da Vinci – A True Renaissance Man

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Best topics on Renaissance

1. The Impact of Technology on Art: A Modern Renaissance

2. Europe’s Cultural Mosaic: Exploring the Diverse Traditions and Beliefs

3. Renaissance: Niccolo Machiavelli and Galileo Galilei

4. The Invention Of The Pocket Watch During The Renaissance Period

5. Impact of The Crusades During the Renaissance Period

6. Analysis of Hans Holbein’s The French Ambassadors

7. Hans Holbein’s The French Ambassadors: A Masterful Legacy of the Renaissance Period

8. Characteristics of the Work The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein

9. Philosophy of Humanism In Renaissance Period

10. The Renaissance Value of Humanism

11. Michelangelo Buonarroti And His World Famous Works

12. Michelangelo As A Great Figure Of Renaissance

13. The Renaissance: the Defining Era of Art

14. The Renaissance and the Humanists: Revival of Classics

15. Italy as the Birthplace and Center of Renaissance

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How the Renaissance Challenged the Church and Influenced the Reformation

By: Lesley Kennedy

Updated: July 11, 2023 | Original: September 27, 2021

The Renaissance , roughly spanning the 14th to 17th centuries, marked a time of cultural, intellectual and scientific advances. From European discoveries of continents and shipping routes to new views of mathematics and astronomy to the advent of the printing press , the period of "rebirth" following the Middle Ages was marked by changing ideas, enduring masterpieces of architecture, art and literature (it was the time of Shakespeare , Galileo , da Vinci and Machiavelli )—and a movement toward political and religious freedoms.

The shift toward political and religious freedom in turn, helped spawn the Reformation movement , which caused a divide within the powerful Catholic Church , leading many Europeans to turn to then-new Protestant faith.

An Era of New Ideas

Stefania Tutino , a history professor at UCLA and intellectual and cultural historian of post-Reformation Catholicism, says the Reformation and Renaissance were two parallel but intertwined movements.

“The former concerned the theological nature and ecclesiological structure of the true Church of Christ,” she says. “The latter concerned the renewal of some key cultural, intellectual and artistic principles in light of the fact that what used to make sense in the Middle Ages was now no longer appropriate or useful or inspiring for a society that had seen many fundamental changes.”

According to Tutino, scientific advancements, including 15th- and 16th-century alternatives to the traditional Aristotelian physics and cosmology, and technological innovations such as the printing press , were important factors of novelty.

“Both Renaissance and Reformation were born out of the realization that the 'old' Medieval order was no longer sustainable, and scientific discoveries and technological innovations were some of the elements that made it clear just how inadequate the old structures were,” she says.

The Humanism Movement

The Renaissance included an intellectual movement known as Humanism. Among its many principles, humanism promoted the idea that humans are at the center of their own universe and should embrace human achievements in education, classical arts, literature and science. As part of this philosophy, scholars, authors, political leaders and others sought to revive the study of Greek and Latin classics.

“Many humanists began applying these principles to the study of the Bible and consequently to the political, cultural, liturgical and theological principles according to which the hierarchy of the Catholic Church governed its flock,” Tutino says. “In the process, a few humanists found much to criticize, and some of their criticisms echoed those of (Martin) Luther and other early Protestant leaders.”

However, she adds, while the aims and goals of the Humanist and Reformation movements were fundamentally different, “there were also areas in which the two of them met.”

According to Ada Palmer, associate professor of early modern European history at the University of Chicago, the Humanism movement broadened the palette of ideas people were thinking about.

“The movement began as an interest in reading the texts of ancient Greece and Rome because Europe—especially Italy— had become so war-torn, desperate and unstable that people really wanted a solution,” she says.

Because ancient Rome was powerful and stable with long periods of strength and unity, Palmer adds, it was believed that reading ancient books from that period might teach people how to replicate Rome's success.

“So they started seeking ancient texts and translating, reading and copying them, until having antiques became something that signaled political power and political ambition,” she says. “Soon everyone who's anyone had to have a classical library as a way of showcasing power.”

But while the goal of increasing stability failed, according to Palmer, one of the unintended effects of the movement was a new demand for books, which led Gutenberg to invent the printing press.

“It also meant there were a whole lot more ideas about big questions like how the world works, how the world was made, what good and bad actions are, how religion works, etc,” she says. “And it also meant they studied Greek more and realized that their old translations of the Bible and other texts had been wrong in a lot of places, and they started making new translations and corrections.”

Martin Luther and Protestantism

Palmer says the Reformation was a climax of long, slow processes which had started before the Renaissance, including the corruption of the Catholic Church. In her forthcoming book on the Renaissance, she describes a “prisoner’s dilemma.” “Bribing the pope or bishop was a huge advantage in politics,” she says. “Anyone who did so would win in a conflict, so no one could afford to not bribe the pope because if anyone else bribed the pope you were doomed.”

Disillusioned by the bribery and other corruptions of the church, including indulgences, which allowed citizens to buy absolution from sins, the German monk Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses in 1517, allegedly nailing them to the chapel door at the University of Wittenberg in Saxony.

“The gradual accumulation of corruption eventually meant that indulgences were the last straw that broke the camel's back,” Palmer says.

The Power of the Printing Press

The printing press allowed the theses to be widely and quickly distributed throughout Europe, and although he was labeled a heretic by the church and excommunicated by Pope Leo X in 1521, Luther’s words connected with many.

“ Luther hit the right moment to be the first pamphlet star preacher, like being one of the first star bloggers, or star YouTubers, and he hit the right political situation for the governments of the region he was in to see him as a great excuse to do something they wanted to do anyway: get out of the giant papal prisoner's dilemma,” Palmer explains.

In this way, Palmer says, the intellectual movements of the Renaissance led to Reformation—by stimulating the demand for books and encouraging people to read more and to think about how to reform the present. This included re-reading the Bible, as Luther did.

Luther, who went on to found the Lutheran Church, translated the New Testament into German. His translation played a part in initiating the split in the Catholic Church into those loyal to the pope and Protestants and those who protested the rules of the Catholic Church.

At roughly the same time, in 1534, King Henry VIII caused further division within the Catholic Church when he made himself head of the Church of England after Pope Clement VII would not allow him to divorce Catherine of Aragon .

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William Shakespeare and the Renaissance Period Research Paper

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Shakespeare and the Renaissance. General Information

How did shakespeare impact the renaissance period, unique characters by william shakespeare in the renaissance period, works cited.

The renaissance was a movement which occurred in Europe between the 14th and 17th century that mainly affected the culture and the lifestyles of people (Mason 5). Due to its nature, the renaissance period is viewed as a transition between the middle ages to the modern era. William Shakespeare’s and the Renaissance are inseparably associated due to the playwright’s impact on the period. The essay shall analyze how the famous playwright’s works influenced the renaissance.

During this period, a lot of changes took place in religion, education system, politics, culture, and lifestyle. It is during this period that Europeans moved away from their traditional beliefs and embraced modern ideology. During the middle ages, people tended to believe that God was the Supreme Being and that he had the absolute power of the whole world.

However, people started to develop different ideologies concerning religion during the renaissance era. Even though they still believed in God, they also began to question his relationship to humanity, an ideology that threatened the influence of the Catholic Church in society.

William Shakespeare was among the people who brought about a lot of changes during the renaissance period in England and transformed literature, thus affecting later culture. His biography evidences that Shakespeare (1564-1616) was among the most prominent poets and authors who ever lived (E-Notes.com 2011).

He is the most famous writer of all times with his works being used even today in many societies in the world. He started his career in London in 1592 when the theatre in England has just begun to flourish.

Due to his excellent work, he had a broad audience, mainly composed of people from the middle class who flocked to the theatres to see his work (McEvoy 92). The most famous and important plays Shakespeare wrote during the renaissance are Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear. Before his retirement, he had made a lot of innovations in the genres, comedy, drama, romance, and other forms of performing arts, which we still use up to the present moment.

Shakespeare is usually referred to as the Renaissance man due to the contributions he had on the lives of people during this period. As stated earlier, there were a lot of cultural changes during this period. Most of these changes were initiated by the elite people in the society who felt that the rights and freedoms of individuals in the community were being violated.

These people noticed that the few people of the upper class were using the law and religion to their advantage, which led them to benefit more from the available resources as compared to the other people of the society who composed the bulk of the community. This led to the emergence of a group of philosophers, artists, writers, and scholars who were inquisitive about their surroundings.

As a result, these elite people advocated for equality of all people in the society, raising a lot of issues that affected the economy, religion, and political stability of the community.

To protect their dignity, the government started to persecute such people and tried to minimize the influence of the movements which such people had created to fight for people’s rights. To avoid persecution, most of these people hid under the umbrella of the public and used public means to air out their grievances and ideologies. William Shakespeare was among the people who embraced the renaissance.

Through his works, he brought out various issues that were affecting society. He brought out the problems which the monarch and the general community were facing, geographical zealotry hand the effects of the renaissance period in the society. While doing so, he also entertained his audience.

The people loved his works because he touched on the key issues which were affecting them at the individual level and as a society. That is why his works were very famous during those days and still are at the present moment.

Shakespeare is credited with having brought about various innovations in the world performing arts. Some of these innovations were used to accommodate the information which he was passing to his audience about the renaissance.

Shakespeare, for example, changed from the traditional two-dimensional writing, a technique that was being used during the pre-renaissance drama and created human characters in his plays that were psychologically complex (Jamieson 2011).

These characters could think and make decisions independently without being influenced by their elders, society, or the law. They did what they felt was right at that point and time, and at the end of the play, these decisions made them successful. Through such plays, Shakespeare was advocating for people to have freedom of choice so that they can choose what is right and avoid what they felt was wrong. This humanism concept was brought out in his work entitled Hamlet.

The renaissance also led to a disruption of the social hierarchy in society. People who were protected by the law because they belonged to a royal family or the monarch were viewed more or less the same as any other individual in society. Shakespeare, therefore, had a chance to explore the character of every individual in the community regardless of the social class which the individual belonged to (Jamieson 2011).

In his plays, he had characters of people from the monarch, the rich, the elite, business people, and peasants. He focused intensely on their lives, their achievements, and failures. In so doing, people started to realize that people faced more or less the same problems regardless of their social status. Thus, William Shakespeare’s plays contributed to renaissance culture by creating complex characters.This, therefore, led to the growth of the spirit of equality among all the individuals of the society.

Shakespeare also utilized the information and knowledge he had concerning the classics, which were of Greek and Italian origin. Initially, these works had been banned from circulation by the Catholic Church.

Shakespeare used this information while writing his literature. Due to this, he was able to put forward the culture of foreign societies in his plays, which not only attracted people from these origins to his audience but also made the English people familiar with foreign customs.

They could, therefore, adopt some aspects of such cultures bringing about the integration of cultures. Some of the things which people adapted were dressing, architecture, accent, cuisine, and music. Thus through the works of Shakespeare, people became aware of what was going on in other societies and cultures (Cody and Spirincorn 18).

William Shakespeare’s contributions to the renaissance were of great significance. He was not just a writer but an advocate of change in the lifestyles of people of Europe, just like the philosophers, artists, and other scholars. Through his works, the popularity of literature, plays, and poems increased.

This is because they all were talking about various issues which the society was facing. As a result, therefore, Shakespeare used his works to enlighten the public on what they were facing and means through which they could face such oppression. This led to the emergence of modern society in which we are living now.

Cody, Gabrielle and Sprinchorn, Evert. The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama. Sussex: Columbia University Press, 2007.

E-notes.com. William Shakespeare. E-notes.com. Web.

Jamieson, Lee. The Renaissance in Shakespeare’s Time. About.com. Web.

Mason, Antony. Everyday Life in Renaissance Times . New York: Black Rabbit Books, 2005.

McEvoy, Sean. Shakespeare: The Basics. Indiana: Taylor & Francis, 2006.

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1. IvyPanda . "William Shakespeare and the Renaissance Period." May 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-shakespeare-affected-the-renaissance-period/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "William Shakespeare and the Renaissance Period." May 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-shakespeare-affected-the-renaissance-period/.