The Renaissance And The Renaissance

In times of darkness, there is just an absence of light that is required to illuminate an era of future brilliance. The Middle Ages was the period when a shadow was drawn over the past teachings of its ancient predecessors, the Romans and the Greeks, especially in the subject of art. The use of gold leaf in paintings, unrealistic and very stiff figures, evident religious contexts, reliefs, and more contributed to the regression of paintings and sculptures during medieval times, otherwise known as its proper title, the “Dark Ages.” Then a flame sparked a new era of greatness in human creativity, known as the Renaissance or “rebirth.” Not only did the people of the Renaissance discover and absorb Greek and Roman remnants, they also began to explore the natural world and themselves like never before. Nature was greatly expressed in artwork through its enthusiastic creators who desired to discover and develop. The great innovators of the Renaissance contributed many new characteristics and techniques to sculptures and paintings.

Towards the beginning of the Renaissance, the trait and idea of humanism, a belief geared towards values, freedom from the restrictions of the church (Osmond), individuality, and generally human focus, began to inspire artists who displayed this concept in their artwork. The mixture of art and humanism created a new style known as naturalism or the idea of observing, studying, and incorporating nature into art (Osmond). A leading pioneer of this style was a Florentine painter named Giotto, who lived from around 1267 to 1337 (“Renaissance Art”). His paintings differentiated from medieval images dramatically, since he painted people in more of a life-like manner as the figures posed and appeared in action. He ...

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...shinier. Another Venetian artist, known as Titian, created a technique called impasto or oil paints being applied in thin layers with oil glazes (Hale 112-113).

Ever since the arrival of the Renaissance, new ways of approaching art physically and emotionally have been introduced by some of the most prominent men of the rebirth and by many lesser known people. The innovators of the Renaissance have brought into the art world many new characteristics and techniques to paintings and sculptures. From experimentation, to observation, to getting in touch with the human body and mind, artists of the time period were able to learn and build upon that knowledge. The information and innovations they contributed sculpted the modern world of creativity for us to learn, use, and develop our own styles for future generations in the light of artistic encouragement.

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