{"id":2524,"date":"2018-08-25T00:17:12","date_gmt":"2018-08-25T00:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/?p=2524"},"modified":"2026-03-16T06:11:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T06:11:59","slug":"renaissance-art-and-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/renaissance-art-and-artists\/","title":{"rendered":"Renaissance Art and Artists: A Detailed Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Renaissance art and artists made significant advancements during the timeframe of the Renaissance<\/a>. For instance, the Renaissance marked a shift toward realism, perspective, and human emotion in art. Famous Renaissance artists such as Leonardo da Vinci<\/a> and Michelangelo<\/a> created masterpieces that celebrated the beauty of the human form and the natural world. Their work was often supported by wealthy patrons of the arts and reflected the growing influence of Renaissance humanist ideas during the period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

WHAT WAS THE RENAISSANCE?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0Renaissance\u00a0is an important event in European history that stretched from the 14th century to the 17th century.\u00a0 It was preceded by the\u00a0Middle Ages<\/a>\u00a0in Europe and eventually led to the major events of the\u00a0Age of Enlightenment<\/a>.\u00a0 In historical terms the Renaissance is important because it led to a major shift in European thought and worldview.\u00a0 This shift eventually led to the developments of the Enlightenment and set the stage for the modern western worldview. While the Renaissance is considered to have begun in the\u00a0city-states of the Italian peninsula<\/a>\u00a0in the 14th century, the main ideas of the movement eventually spread to all of Europe<\/a> by the 16th century.\u00a0 The most significant changes that emerged as a result of the Renaissance can be seen in European architecture, art, literature, mathematics, music, philosophy, politics, religion and science.\u00a0 Intellectual thought in these fields flourished during the timeframe of the Renaissance and led to many people questioning long held beliefs about each.\u00a0 This created an environment of discovery and curiosity in which new ideas were constantly being introduced and tested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Renaissance\"
‘The School of Athens’ by Raphael. (1511) It is one of the most renown artworks from the time of the Renaissance and Raphael is considered to be one of the most important Renaissance artists.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

RENAISSANCE ART AND ARTISTS – SUMMARY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A major innovation that occurred during the Renaissance was in the artistic styles and methods used by Renaissance painters.\u00a0 Today, the Renaissance is perhaps best known for the famous artists and their famous works of art.\u00a0 Previous to the Renaissance, in the Middle Ages, art was much more stylized and focused on religious themes.\u00a0 This means that the art in the Middle Ages displayed humans and the world in a more unrealistic but stylized fashion.\u00a0 As well, since\u00a0Christianity\u00a0and the Catholic Church played such a large role in the lives of the people much of the art focused\u00a0on religious figures and scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Renaissance
‘Last Supper’ by Ugolino da Siena from 1325.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

However, in the Renaissance, European artists were inspired to create paintings and sculptures that focused more on the realities of everyday life and real people.\u00a0 While religious themes were still prevalent and important throughout the Renaissance, artists began to display human beings in a much more realistic fashion.\u00a0 For instance, Renaissance artists were very concerned with making images appear to be existing in a three dimensional space, whereas pre-Renaissance art was not as focused on this.\u00a0 This includes not only the stylization of the people but also the types of people being depicted. The shift in art that occurred during the Renaissance was also in part due to the new techniques and methods used by artists at the time.\u00a0 This shift in art was likely due to the influence of\u00a0humanism\u00a0that helped spark the Renaissance.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the two paintings in this section display the changes in art that occurred during the Renaissance.\u00a0 Both paintings depict the Last Supper of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion.\u00a0 Ugolino da Siena’s ‘Last Supper’ is dated from 1325 and clearly shows many common features of pre-Renaissance art.\u00a0 For instance, the figures appear to be flat and lack depth in the space of the room.\u00a0 As well, the angles of the table, bench and corners of the room do not line up in true three dimensional space.\u00a0 Whereas, Leonardo da Vinci’s famous ‘Last Supper’ from the late 1490s has easily defined lines.\u00a0 For example, is examined closely it can be seen that all of the lines of the ceiling, windows, and table connect to a singular point with the central figure of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 As such, da Vinci’s version of the ‘Last Supper’ appears more life-like and contains a more photo-realistic quality than does da Siena’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Renaissance
‘Last Supper’ by Leonardo da Vinci from the 1490s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

RENAISSANCE ART AND ARTISTS – INFLUENCE OF HUMANISM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the main features of the Renaissance was the rediscovery by European thinkers of ancient Greek and Roman ideas and texts.\u00a0 For example, the term \u2018renaissance\u2019 in French means \u2018rebirth\u2019.\u00a0 This is in relation to the idea that the intellectual culture of the Renaissance was sparked by the rediscovery of these ancient philosophies and ideas which had largely been ignored in Europe throughout the Middle Ages.\u00a0 Many of these ancient texts were preserved by Islamic and Jewish cultures in the Middle East and were not rediscovered by Europeans until the time of the Renaissance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, Renaissance Humanism<\/a> was the study of ancient Greek and Roman texts with the goal of promoting new norms and values in society.\u00a0 These norms and views varied from those at the time because they focused\u00a0less heavily on a religious worldview.\u00a0 Instead, Renaissance humanists used ancient texts to promote a worldview based on logic and reason.\u00a0 This was to be accomplished through the study of the\u00a0\u2018studia humanitatis\u2019, which today is known as the\u00a0humanities and includes topics such as: grammar, history, poetry, and philosophy.\u00a0 Furthermore, Renaissance humanists promoted the idea that citizens should be educated in these topics in order to allow them to participate in the social and political life of their society.\u00a0 This was a fundamental shift from the\u00a0feudalistic<\/a>\u00a0and religious life that was the reality for most people in the Europe in the Middle Ages<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as Renaissance\u00a0humanist scholars\u00a0such as\u00a0Petrarch<\/a>\u00a0were inspired by earlier Greek and Roman workers, so too were Renaissance artists.\u00a0 This meant realism and the human form were important and central to the new styles of art.\u00a0 Furthermore, Renaissance artists such as\u00a0Leonardo da Vinci<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Michelangelo<\/a>\u00a0pioneered new skills and techniques, such as linear perspective, that allowed them to portray people and the world in news ways.\u00a0 Perspective refers to the artistic technique of showing depth and dimension in a painting.\u00a0 \u00a0Linear perspective was the technique of providing realistic depth to an image.\u00a0 It involved\u00a0creating the illusion of depth by using angled lines and shadowing.\u00a0 Another technique from the Renaissance was sfumato.\u00a0 This was a painting technique whereby the painter would soften the lines and blend the different paints to create blurred areas.\u00a0 This is likely best displayed in da Vinci\u2019s famous \u2018Mona Lisa<\/a>\u2019.\u00a0 The masterful work of art does not focus on religious themes or stylized depictions of the world but rather shows an unknown woman in a realistic fashion.\u00a0 In fact, throughout history the painting has been praised for its use of shading and blending to enhance the photo realistic nature of the art.\u00a0 In addition, Michelangelo\u2019s famous sculpture \u2018David\u2019 displayed the human form in a realistic and proportional nature.\u00a0 Therefore, these innovations in art helped spread the Renaissance ideas as more artists across Europe adopted the new techniques and methods.\u00a0 As well, it helped people view human beings and life in a much different way than they had previously in the earlier centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mona
‘Mona Lisa’ by Leonardo da Vinci. (Between 1503 and 1506)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

RENAISSANCE ART AND ARTISTS – HOW ART INFLUENCED THE RENAISSANCE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the Renaissance, artists travelled and shared their techniques with others throughout Europe.\u00a0 This is one of the main ways that the\u00a0Renaissance ideas first spread\u00a0out of Italy<\/a> and eventually to the rest of Europe.\u00a0 Art also flourished at the time due to the increase in wealth and the many different patrons of the art.\u00a0 For example, art flourished in the Italian city-states of the Renaissance<\/a> and wealthy families such as the\u00a0Medici family<\/a> in\u00a0Florence<\/a>\u00a0commissioned new paintings and sculptures.\u00a0 In France, the French King Francis I was also well known for being a patron of the arts and funded many different artists including Leonardo da Vinci.\u00a0 These wealthy families helped to foster creativity from the Renaissance artists as it allowed many of them to establish their own studios and practise and teach new techniques and methods.\u00a0 As such, artists in the Renaissance were often held in high esteem and became influential figures in Renaissance society.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Renaissance
Renaissance City-States Map by History Crunch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

RENAISSANCE ART AND ARTISTS – FAMOUS ARTISTS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As stated above, there were many different famous artists from the Renaissance across Europe.  Below is a selection of some of the most influential artists from the time.  Click on their names to learn more about each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n