Renaissance Dbq

Before the Renaissance, there was a time period called the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages had its good and bad times. This period brought wars and plague that caused much destruction all over the medieval world. For example, the Hundreds years war and the Bubonic plague struck the medieval world, resulting in many heartbreaks and destruction. When transitioning into the Renaissance, societies flourished with various movements. There were many art, literature, and science advancements during this time that changed people's view on the world. Artists, such as Da Vinci, Durer and Eyck passed many artistic movements. In regards to literature, Shakespeare and Erasmus wrote many secular and individualized stories and plays. Lastly, many developments

and discoveries in means on anatomy and astronomy took place during this time. The Renaissance changed man's view of an in regards to art, literature, and science.
To start of, during the Renaissance period, many new and important artistic movements occurred.

Many techniques were developed, such as humanist influence, linear perspective and secular paintings. The artist Da Vinci painted the “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper”. Specifically looking at the “Mona Lisa”, the painting has “well defined landscapes, natural folds in drapery and three dimensional figures”(Doc. A). This painting has a big humanist influence because of the detail in the face and the dimension shown. Moving onto a different artist, Durer, he created very different pieces of art compares to Da Vinci. Durer did engravings and woodcuts to create realistic figures. An example of his artwork is one that depicts a rhinoceros. This is a very famous piece of his because of the realistic depiction of a rhinoceros. Compared to the Middle ages, this work of art by Durer shows a strict humanist perspective. Also, Eyck is another artist during the Renaissance period that was impacted by many techniques. He paints the piece called the “Arnolfini Portrait”. He shows a man and a women together in the picture with very realistic details regarding clothing, faces and the background. Eyck shows the technique of linear perspective to draw attention to the people in the painting. He also uses a new material called oil paint. In general, the artistic movement during the Renaissance included many techniques and humanist views to create a realistic view within the

artwork.
Along with art, many advancements regarding literature happened over the course of the Renaissance period. Because of this big push in literature, more people became literate and more books were published. One very popular writer during the Renaissance was Shakespeare. He wrote many secular and individualized plays to reveal the souls of men and women in his plays. Shakespeare writes, “What a piece of work is a man”(Doc. B). He showcases men as pieces of art, along with including many humanist views. Secondly, another writer named Erasmus erupted in the Renaissance period. He wrote about how it was better to be loved than feared and incorporated many secular and individualized characters. Erasmus was a very important writer because of his political writing as well as his humanist views. Also, another writer during the Renaissance was Thomas More. He wrote the book “Utopia”, which tells a story about an imaginary land inhabited by peace loving people. This story reflects secular views because it depicts made up characters that does not explain much about religion. Because of the various books being published during this time period the cost of books dropped. Also an important tool called the printing press was developed and even further increased the books being published. Many writers during the Renaissance period were influenced by the secular movement, humanist views, and individualized characters.