Have any of you ever wonder of the history of the theories we know, and the paintings we see in the museum, and how it impacts the society? Before answering this question Have any of you ever heard of the renaissance? The term renaissance means rebirth. This word has been used to describe the historical period from 1400 to 1600. As we know the renaissance began in Italy. At that time Italy was divided into several city-states. Each state had its way of ruling and individual characteristics.
What were the leading causes of the Italian Renaissance? The first leading cause of the Renaissance of Europe was the Black Death. Many people blamed God for the plague. This resentment towards the church led to new beliefs such as Humanism, which was focused more on the individual spirit of a person. Humanism was accompanied by classicism. This is the broad term that refers to the rediscovery of the works of the Greeks and Romans. Within the arts, the challenge of creating more realistic works of art was taken during the renaissance.
During the middle ages, much of the artwork was not realistic proportions. One of the paintings that develop this technique was called ‘chiaroscuro’, which involved the use of light and shade. Another technique of the renaissance was the natural world. This was reflected in the art where landscapes were drawn showing a range of natural scenery. one of the paintings that develop this technique is the ‘ Mona Lisa” one of the most famous artworks from the renaissance period.
The city of Florence was particularly significant for the onset of the renaissance. Ruled by the powerful Medici family, it was at the centre of many of the development during the renaissance. This also includes the work of a significant individual, Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo. Leonardo Da Vinci has made many famous works, the ‘Mona Lisa’, the ‘Vitruvian Man’ and the most well known ‘ the last supper’.
Among other things, Leonardo Da Vinci focuses much of his attention on the study of human and anatomy. Anatomy refers to the different part of the human body such as skeletons, organs and muscles. He was also interested in the religious imagery as seen in ‘The Last Supper’. While Micheal Angelo is famous for his sculptures and he also painted the famous works of art on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome he grew up in Florence and was taught by many famous sculptors and artist. This led to his famous sculptures ‘pieta’ and ‘David’, which showed the influence of the classical era.
When it comes to the renaissance, it refers to more idea and innovation. Have any of you ever wonder about the printer that we always use in our daily life? Johannes Gutenberg from Mainz in Germany in 1450 he invented the printing press. The invention revolution access to books for people, as previously books were handwritten and hand-drawn, which has slow progress. As for now thanks to the invention that Johannes Gutenberg made books could be produced more quickly and therefore cheaply, which meant people had access to a wider range of books.
Furthermore, during the renaissance, there was also an important development in the field of astronomy. The work of Nicholes Copernicus and Galileo Galilei was very important. Copernicus put forward the theory about the sun was the center of the universe rather than the commonly held belief that the Earth was the centre of the universe. This theory was studied by Galileo Galilei who developed Copernicus work by observing further details in the solar system, as well as supporting the claim that the earth orbits the sun. Galileo did this with his invention of an improved version of the telescope, which can allow him to observe more details.
The Renaissance has impacted our world in many ways. Two of those ways are by art and church. They impacted our world through art by having new techniques for artists to use to create paintings and by having art spread from Italy to Northern Europe causing it to become more popular. And also create theory and invent new things to make our life easier. For example the theories of astronomy, that was given by Galileo Galilei and Nicholes Copernicus, and the printing press that was invented by johannes Gutenberg and the study of humanism and the study of classicism where we can invent more invention we need in the future.