It started as a cultural movement in Italy, specifically in Florence, in the late medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe, marking the beginning of the early modern age. Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete. Though availability of paper and the invention of metal movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century, the changes of the Renaissance were not uniformly experienced across Europe.
As a cultural movement, the Renaissance encompassed the innovative flowering of Latin and vernacular literatures, beginning with the 14th-century resurgence of learning based on classical sources, which contemporaries credited to Petrarch; the development of linear perspective and other techniques of rendering a more natural reality in painting; and gradual but widespread educational reform.
In politics, the Renaissance contributed the development of the conventions of diplomacy, and in science an increased reliance on observation. Various theories have been proposed to account for the origins and characteristics of the Renaissance, focusing on a variety of factors, including the social and civic peculiarities of Florence at the time; its political structure; the patronage of its dominant family, the Medici; and the migration of Greek scholars and texts to Italy following the Fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Ottoman Turks.
Many argue that the ideas characterizing the Renaissance had their origin in late 13th-century Florence, in particular in the writings of Dante Alighieri — and Petrarch — , as well as the paintings of Giotto di Bondone — Perspective and light and shadow techniques improved and paintings looked more three-dimensional and realistic. Patrons made it possible for successful Renaissance artists to work and develop new techniques. The Catholic Church commissioned most artwork during the Middle Ages, and while it continued to do so during the Renaissance, wealthy individuals also became important patrons, according to Cox.
The most famous patrons were the Medici family in Florence, who supported the arts for much of the 15 th and 16 th centuries. Florence was the initial epicenter of Renaissance art but by the end of the 15 th century, Rome had overtaken it.
Pope Leo X a Medici ambitiously filled the city with religious buildings and art. This period, from the s to the s, is known as the High Renaissance. As with art, musical innovations in the Renaissance were partly made possible because patronage expanded beyond the Catholic Church. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art , new technologies resulted in the invention of several new instruments, including the harpsichord and violin family.
The printing press meant that sheet music could be more widely disseminated. Renaissance music was characterized by its humanist traits.
Composers read classical treatises on music and aimed to create music that would touch listeners emotionally. They began to incorporate lyrics more dramatically into compositions and considered music and poetry to be closely related, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Renaissance literature, too, was characterized by humanist themes and a return to classical ideals of tragedy and comedy, according to the Brooklyn College English Department.
Shakespeare's works, especially "Hamlet," are good examples of this. Themes like human agency, life's non-religious meanings and the true nature of man are embraced, and Hamlet is an educated Renaissance man.
The most prevalent societal change during the Renaissance was the fall of feudalism and the rise of a capitalist market economy, said Abernethy. Increased trade and the labor shortage caused by the Black Death gave rise to something of a middle class.
Marble statue of a wounded Amazon. Marble statue of Herakles seated on a rock. Iphicles Saved from a Serpent by his Brother Hercules. Bacchanal with a Wine Vat Andrea Mantegna. Hypnerotomachia Poliphili Francesco Colonna. The Apollo Belvedere from the Vatican his left hand resting on the tree trunk around which coils a python Marcantonio Raimondi. Triton Giambologna. Farnese Hercules Hendrick Goltzius. Citation Department of European Paintings. The Mirror of the Gods.
New York: Oxford University Press, Central Europe including Germany , — A. Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, — A. Florence and Central Italy, — A. France, — A. Art, architecture and science were closely linked during the Renaissance. In fact, it was a unique time when these fields of study fused together seamlessly. For instance, artists like da Vinci incorporated scientific principles, such as anatomy into their work, so they could recreate the human body with extraordinary precision.
Architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi studied mathematics to accurately engineer and design immense buildings with expansive domes.
Scientific discoveries led to major shifts in thinking: Galileo and Descartes presented a new view of astrology and mathematics, while Copernicus proposed that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the solar system. Renaissance art was characterized by realism and naturalism. Artists strived to depict people and objects in a true-to-life way. They used techniques, such as perspective, shadows and light to add depth to their work. Emotion was another quality that artists tried to infuse into their pieces.
While many artists and thinkers used their talents to express new ideas, some Europeans took to the seas to learn more about the world around them. In a period known as the Age of Discovery, several important explorations were made.
Voyagers launched expeditions to travel the entire globe. Humanism encouraged Europeans to question the role of the Roman Catholic church during the Renaissance. As more people learned how to read, write and interpret ideas, they began to closely examine and critique religion as they knew it. Also, the printing press allowed for texts, including the Bible, to be easily reproduced and widely read by the people, themselves, for the first time.
In the 16th century, Martin Luther , a German monk, led the Protestant Reformation — a revolutionary movement that caused a split in the Catholic church. Luther questioned many of the practices of the church and whether they aligned with the teachings of the Bible. As a result, a new form of Christianity , known as Protestantism, was created. By the end of the 15th century, numerous wars had plagued the Italian peninsula. Spanish, French and German invaders battling for Italian territories caused disruption and instability in the region.
Also, changing trade routes led to a period of economic decline and limited the amount of money that wealthy contributors could spend on the arts. Later, in a movement known as the Counter-Reformation, the Catholic church censored artists and writers in response to the Protestant Reformation. Many Renaissance thinkers feared being too bold, which stifled creativity.
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