Art of the Renaissance1. What is a "renaissance"?
The word "renaissance" means "rebirth" and "renewal." When written with a capital "R" it refers to 15th century Europe when there was a shift in intellectual thought away from the superstitious medieval culture. Artists, scientists, mathemeticians, and philosophers began to investigate and question the world, and tried to find answers to their questions through careful observation and research. The Renaissance looked back to the knowledge of ancient times that remained buried during the medieval era. Studies of anatomy, physics, art, and intellectual thinking picked up where they were left off in Ancient Greece and Rome. Old texts were reconsidered and culture was "reborn" -- along with new theories of the world featuring human beings a centrally important figures. From artlex.com: The Renaissance - "A revival or rebirth of cultural awareness and learning that took place during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, particularly in Italy, but also in Germany and other European countries. The period was characterized by a renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman art and design and included an emphasis on human beings, their environment, science, and philosophy." |