Renaissance Art Influence

The Renaissance was a “rebirth” of European intellect, economy, and population. Since the economy was improving and flourishing the wealthy elites were able to fund the arts. The arts became an important part of society and had a major impact on European culture. From paintings, to sculptures, and music, the arts became a trend amongst the wealthy elites. They commissioned artists to create a piece of artwork, therefore the elites had a say in most of the art created during the Renaissance. The artwork created during the Renaissance reflected the social and political events that took place in that time period. During the Renaissance the political views amongst the people began to change. Citizens started to questions the Church’s legitimacy,

They wanted to use the new developed skill of critical thinking. Instead of saying God is the reason for everything in life, they began to believe in human potential to explain things. In addition, to minimizing the involvement of God, humanist began to emphasize political forces and role of others in history. Francesco Guicciardini is an example of a historian that emphasized political and military history in his books “History of Italy” and “History of Florence”. In fact, Machiavelli shared his political ideas in his book “The Prince”. Machiavelli major concerns were about acquisition and the expansion of political power. He claims a Prince has to do what is right and do wrong when necessary. These two men used literature to reflect the political events during the Renaissance. Likewise,

During the Renaissance many intellects had humanist views. Humanist believed in well-rounded citizen. A well-rounded citizen during the Renaissance had to be able to do a lot of different things. Some of them being able to fight, sing, dance and even playing tennis. In fact, to be considered a well-rounded citizen they had to have a fit body. The statue “David” created by Donatello and the statue “David” created by Michelangelo both statues depict a man with a fit body. This shows the standard men were supposed to fit during the Renaissance. Equally important, was the shift that occurred in music during the Renaissance. Guillaume Dufay was an important composer in his era. As a composer he changed the composition of the Mass. He used secular tunes as the melody in Gregorian Chants. It showed that music didn’t have to be played only to worship God, but that it can be used for the enjoyment of the people. Know music wasn’t only played in church, but in courts or cities. The change in music displays the new way of thinking that began during the Renaissance. The social art created during the Renaissance showed how society was more focused on human potential rather than constantly giving worship to