Renaissance and Baroque: artistic and cultural movements

Renaissance and Baroque Periods

The term Renaissance describes, not only a movement in art, but also a corresponding social and cultural movement that moved through Europe at the conclusion of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance period lasted from the 1400s to the 1600s, and spread through most of Europe, though it is probably the most heavily associated with Italy. The term "renaissance" means revival or rebirth, and the Renaissance did mark a period of significant cultural revival. In order to truly understand the Renaissance, it is important to understand that the Middle Ages, the time period preceding the Renaissance was a period of retraction largely due to political instability. However, as Europe emerged from the Middle Ages and became more stable, the surrounding social landscape became supportive of an explosion in the arts and learning. The movement began in Italy in the 1400s and spread into France, northern Europe, and Spain in the 15th and 16th centuries. It ended sometime in the 1600s, depending on the location in Europe.

While the Renaissance was known for an emphasis on learning in a broad variety of areas, it was also specifically known because of several advances in art. Beginning with the Flemish painter Jan van Eyck, Renaissance artists ushered in the technique of paining in oil directly on canvas. Giorgione and Titian were two influential artists who helped develop this oil-on-canvas technique; "this technique of oil painting allowed the artist to rework an image- as fresco painting (on plaster) did not- and it would dominate to the present day" (A & E, 2013).

Just prior to the Renaissance is a period many refer to as the proto-Renaissance, which was mainly confined to Italy. It was during this period that some of the artistic advances most associated with Renaissance art work were developed. For example, earlier painters struggled with perspective and had a difficult time capturing the three dimensional human form on a two dimensional surface. However, the proto-Renaissance painter Giotto made advances in the realistic representation of the human body that were carried forward into the Renaissance period (A&E, 2013). This realistic representation of the human body is one of the hallmarks of Renaissance artwork.

Another change during the Renaissance period reflected changes in culture. Prior to the Renaissance, the Catholic Church was the most significant patron of the arts. As a result, many older works of art have religious themes or subject matter. In fact, even many older portraits worked modern images into religious themes. This began to change during the Renaissance. The Catholic Church remained a significant patron of the arts, but non-church entities, from individuals to government bodies, became increasingly more involved in patronizing the arts. This had two results. The first result was that many artists were freed to move beyond the constraints of religious subject matter. The second result was that art was found outside of the realm of the church; it became, if not an everyday occurrence, something that people were much more likely to encounter than when it was confined to the Church.

The Renaissance is remarkable for a number of different characteristics. As the term "Renaissance man" implies, one of the notable aspects of the Renaissance was that many of its better-known figures were known for being involved in multiple disciplines. Leonardo da Vinci was probably the best known of these famous Renaissance artists. Da Vinci's accomplishments are too extensive to list in a short paper, but in addition to being an artist, he was also an architect, inventor, scientist, and historian (Zimmerman, 2013). This broad interest in a wide variety of subject areas and the overlap between those various areas both characterized him as a Renaissance man. Along with Michelangelo Buonarroti and Raphael Sanzio, da Vinci is considered one of the great Renaissance masters.

Da Vinci's famous painting The Last Supper is an excellent example of Renaissance art. It has a religious theme, which was still very common in Renaissance artwork, depicting the last supper of Jesus and his disciples. The figures are portrayed realistically, with the painting incorporating perspective and dimension. Furthermore, the painting features a remarkable use of light and shadow, which was a trademark of da Vinci's work (A&E, 2013).

The Baroque period followed the Renaissance and built upon the artistic developments made in the prior period. Like the Renaissance, the artwork also reflected the surrounding socio-cultural environment. The Baroque was seen as an era of tremendous scientific advancement, and these advances are reflected in the realism of the subjects in Baroque artwork. In Italy, the Catholic Church remained a major patron of artwork and Italian Baroque work was oftentimes concerned with the divine. However, outside of Italy, Baroque artwork often focused on everyday subjects. In fact, it went beyond the Renaissance where some painters worked in non-religious themes to depicting scenes of peasants and other aspects of everyday life.