Renaissance Period Essays (Examples)

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1498. This painting demonstrates the harmony of symmetrical balance. The focal point is Christ, with six disciples on each side of him. When compared to Venus, the mood in this painting is significantly somber. Venus depicts the joy of birth, while da Vinci's work focuses on the sorrow of the pain and death in the near future of Christ and his disciples.

St. George and the Dragon by Tintoretto was completed around the years 1555-8, and depicts a mythical Christian theme. In this painting, the central figure is not the focal point. Instead, he is in the background, while the painting is dominated by a fleeing female figure in the foreground and a heavenly figure towards the top of the painting. Like the Venus painting, nature appears to play an important role in the painting, with trees, sky and ocean forming…

Humanities
The Renaissance period changed the world, after the disasters, indecencies and barbarism of the dark ages it was a hope of light for mankind. It gave human beings the cultural upheaval; flourished in Europe it steadily transformed the way of living. The elements introduced and worked on in that era are still present in our daily lives, being enjoyed and cherished more or less by every human being. Its power introduced many new fields and transformed the existing ones; fields like philosophy, art and fine art, music, affairs of state, science, religion, literature and other scholarly aspects. It promoted creativity and introduced humanistic methodology to studies of natural sciences, praised Christianity as a religion and paved way for many inventions one still uses in everyday life. The focus of scholars back to historical texts, its reinterpretation and spread of simpler versions educated the masses in Europe. Among many uncountable contributions…

relationship love sexual desire Renaissance period . Do require, contradict ? I Philip Sidney's "Astrophil Stella" Edmund Spenser's "Amoretti' I love desire require .
Love and Desire in "Astrophil and Stella" and "Amoretti"

hereas the Middle Ages have been a period of censorship in everything related to human sexuality, the Renaissance era addressed a series of controversial concepts and actually promoted them as being a very important part of the human nature. People were typically inclined to believe that love has nothing to do with sexual desire and that it would be immoral for an individual to attempt to associate the latter with the sanctimonious concept of the former. Philip Sidney's "Astrophil and Stella" and Edmund Spenser's "Amoretti" put across ideas pointing toward the belief that love actually has a strong connection with desire and that they are in point of fact interdependent.

Throughout the Renaissance period, artists and philosophers focused on…

omen During the Renaissance Period
The Renaissance (14th to 16th centuries) in European history is widely considered to have been a period of "re-birth" and a turning point for the estern Civilization. It is believed to be the transitory period between the Middle Ages and the Modern Age when the social, cultural, and artistic conservatism of the Middle Age was replaced by the dynamic philosophy of humanism, which emphasized individualism and personal achievement. Despite assertions by historians such as Jacob Burckhardt to the contrary, most subsequent studies of the history of renaissance unfortunately reveal that this much-celebrated individualism almost totally bypassed half the population (the women) whose social, cultural, economic and political condition hardly changed during this period. In this paper we shall discuss the condition of women during the renaissance period, and explore the reasons behind it. e will also take a brief look at some women who, despite the…

Art History
The renaissance period was an important period in terms of culture, history and most importantly art. Art became a way to express ones views in politics, religion and society simply because one could imply subtle images or symbols that could convey their thoughts and opinions. There were many things therefore that inspired various artists in their art work. This paper will focus on Leonardo da Vinci as an artist where he drew his inspiration to for his art work. Leonardo started art around 1469 through apprenticeship from his father to the Verrocchio workshop. Leonardo quickly mastered the art and soon became god at it mastering the challenges that came with perspective art. He was a very famous artist and was known for many paintings in history such as the last supper, monalissa, the baptism of Christ, the annunciation, the battle of Aghiari and many more (Michalko, 2011).

enaissance Italy was…

enaissance and Baroque Periods
The term enaissance 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 enaissance 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 enaissance did mark a period of significant cultural revival. In order to truly understand the enaissance, it is important to understand that the Middle Ages, the time period preceding the enaissance 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 terms of Renaissance philosophy, Galileo Galilei is an example of a humanist who strongly defended the gradual flourishing and subsistence to the scientific revolution happening in his society during the Renaissance period. Galileo was a strong advocate for the usage of science in discovering truth and new knowledge, using the principles of mathematics and philosophy in strengthening the study of astronomy and physics in the society. Through Galileo, the nature of free scientific inquiry prevailed, challenging, though not condemning, philosophical and theological issues that cannot empirically answer truth and reality in life. Dante Alighieri's "Inferno," meanwhile, is a literary piece that represented his inquiry into the spiritual and humanistic foundations of human existence during his time. In a period wherein theological foundations and philosophies are being questioned, Dante's "Inferno" confronted the moral and spiritual issues being questioned by Dante and his society during this challenging period of Renaissance.
Following…

renaissance paintings- VIGIN AND CHILD
Art has always been an important tool for understanding various eras and their influence. It has served as a reflection of the times during which it was created and for this reason, art is considered a very sensitive medium. It quickly absorbs the changes that witnesses in the surrounding culture and society. It is impossible for art to remain static and uninfluenced in the wake of societal upheaval. enaissance art therefore is a completely distinctive breed as it reflects the massive transformation in political and religious mood of the society. It depicts the changes that enaissance era underwent. While some painters paid closer attention to political problems that occurred during 14 and 15th century AD, others focused mainly on religious changes. These changes are most prominent in the several enaissance paintings that depict Virgin and Child theme.

Unlike the dogmatic nature of religious beliefs observed during medieval…

enaissance and early twentieth century art offer an interesting study in comparison because of their distinctive styles. It is the objective of this paper to describe the definitive characteristics of each period through comparing aphael's Alba Madonna to Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory.
enaissance art is reputed for the unified balance achieved between pictorial considerations of measurable space and the effects of light and color on the one hand, and the artist's personal expression on the other (Pioch, 2002). This unity is evident in aphael's Alba Madonna, a painting that represents the artist's unique style of sweetness of expression. The painting is remarkable because of the manner in which aphael has succeeded in addressing a serious subject within a backdrop of a serene countryside. Indeed, it can be said that he was able to do this precisely because of the use of symmetry, namely, the round format that succeeds in…

Matthew from the Gospel Book made for Archbishop Ebb of Reims, circa 816 to 835 C.E. This illumination which measures about 10 by 8 inches portrays a rather frail-looking saint with his hair almost standing on end and his garment twisted around on his body and deeply wrinkled, perhaps from sitting much too long at his table while transcribing passages for a new edition of the Holy Bible. There is almost no background or landscape in this illumination but what there is of it appears very unnatural and sketchy. Also, the proportions of the saint's body appears to be somewhat unnatural, not to mention his face which appears to be almost a caricature or a cartoon of a real human face.
Also, the expression on the saint's face makes him look as if he is not enjoying the task at hand, being the writing down via dictation from the tiny…

It is of extreme importance in medicine to know accurately the anatomical changes that take place in a certain disease for diagnosis and treatment. The man who created this science was Morgagni who taught us to think anatomically in our approach of a disease. Morgagni studied at Bologna under Valsalva and Albertini, who are notable persons themselves in the history of medicine. Morgagni did this in the form of letters to an unknown friend who inquired about Morgagni's thoughts and observations in the diseases he had seen. These included affections of the pericardium, diseases of the valves, ulceration, rupture, dilation and hypertrophy of the aorta which were detailedly described clinically and anatomically. Of all his entires, the section on aneurysm of the aorta is one of the best he had written. A good example of his letter was about angina pectoris.

The aorta was considerably dilated at its curvature; and, in…

Humanism:
The idea of humanism started in Italy in the 14th Century and thrived throughout the 15th Century. During this period, Italians placed a significant emphasis on education and increasing knowledge, particularly that of the classical ancient times. The Italians also promoted the exploration of human potential, desire to excel, and the devotion to civic responsibility and moral duty. The link between humanism and education and culture appealed to people of high status to an extent that the idea of humanism had its greatest influence on the elite and powerful individuals ("15th Century Italy," n.d.). Given its impact on the then philosophy, the ideas of humanism permeated art from the enaissance onwards.

The ideas of humanism permeated art from the enaissance onwards because of the greatest impact of humanism on the elite and powerful individuals who had the ability to commission art. Actually, the enaissance was a by-product of the artistic…

Perhaps, the woman did give birth to a healthy child and then died, then this portrait would be in the nature of memorializing the wife of the man in this picture and the mother of his heir preserving for the child a likeness of the child's mother since the mother was no longer living and present in the lives of the family.
This is the only double portrait of its kind painted during the Renaissance period that is known and as related in the foregoing material, women were always pictured from a profile view with their hair severely pulled back away from their face and their gaze averted from the viewer since women were believed to be seductresses of men making them weak or otherwise castrating them with rejection though only casting a gaze in their direction.

The hands of the man are displayed in this portrait and he appears to…

Renaissance was beginning to influence Italian painters in adapting their style in order for it to fit the needs of a more advanced world. Fra Angelico is recognized as one of the great early Italian painters from the Renaissance. In his work of decorating the Dominican Monastery of San Marco, he mastered a painting style that was reported to have been partly inspired from Masaccio, with his paintings expressing motion and being filled with linear perspective meant to suggest depth of space.

It had been a common thing for the wealthy and most important families of Florence to hire talented painters to paint for them. Sandro Botticelli had been just one of the many Renaissance painters to paint for the Medici family. Even if Botticelli had spent a large part of his time working for great families, he still found time to perform additional paintings such as the one in Vatican,…

renaissance -- Baroque Music
RENAISSANCE & BAROQUE MUSIC:

A COMPARISON

The music associated with the Renaissance Period, beginning circa 1450 and ending about 1600, brought about a number of significant changes as compared to its predecessor, being the Medieval Period. Musically, the Renaissance Period introduced the use of polyphony and saw the rise of the cantus firmus mass as Europe's first major musical form; in addition, there was an emergence of national schools of composition, a birth of new secular forms, the beginning of truly instrumental music and a series of inter-related developments, such as the use of monody and the bass continuo.

With polyphony, all of the musical parts are considered to be of equal importance and when combined produce not only an independent horizontal movement but also a vertical, being a combination of chords. The composers of the "ars nova," such as Guillaume de Machaut, created music of great lyrical quality as…

The compositional structure here is actually quite daring. Even though a viewer tends to "read" a painting left-to-right, as with a book, here the left side of the canvas seems to fade away into nothingness. It is not just the empty seascape on the left as compared with the dark richness of the forest on the right. The left half of the painting contains the subject of the painting after all -- Europa and the Bull. It is Rembrandt's genius to have the drama of Europa and the Bull taking place in the lower left corner of a very large painting, almost as though the moment of drama is on its way out, and the viewer is lucky to have caught it. But it is also clever how Rembrandt essentially balances the canvas with two central subjects, equally illuminated from above -- we have Europa and the Bull on the…

Instead of the hobby of kings and professionals, learning was for all -- from soldiers to noblemen ("Renaissance" 2008). In addition, the Renaissance appreciated learning and curiosity for its own sake. In the same way, art was appreciated simply because it was art, instead of being commissioned for a certain purpose. Furthermore, the Renaissance focused more on the individual's ability to make creations and to decide than the occurred during the Middle Ages ("Renaissance" 2008). Although these high ideals of art and learning were praised, patronage was an important feature of the Middle Ages, and patron's major players in the time period. Patrons, which could be wealthy individuals or organizations, could either have a household artist, like one would have a household maid, or commission a specific work from an artist "Discussion of the role" nd). In Florence, the Medicis were major patrons, and popes were also common patrons…

With the decline of the Church, other religious movements emerged dominant among Renaissance thinkers and followers, which included the movement of Protestantism, and later on, Reformation. Under the Protestantism movement, reformed Catholic churches established their own assembly, disassociating from the Catholic Church to form their own religious organization. Protestantism, in fact, preceded the Protestant Reformation, which culminated the Renaissance movement in the 16th century. Under the Protestant Reformation, socio-economic changes were put into place, which involved primarily the transfer of power from the Church to the civil society/citizenry. The Reformation gave birth to a more democratic, independent society, wherein people or the citizens are given more voice in decision-making concerning civil society. Primarily, decentralization of social, economic and political power took place because of the Reformation.
Scientific development became one of the most important areas that developed from the Renaissance. Apart from promoting humanism and intellectual thought, expressed through artworks,…

enaissance and Baroque
An Analysis of Two Davids

The humanism, nobility, and power of the enaissance are reflected in Michelangelo's David (1504). The emphasis on drama, movement, and action is demonstrated in Bernini's David (1624). Both emphasize the heroic and favorite themes of the High enaissance, but it is Vasari who gives the greatest compliment to Michelangelo's David, calling it more excellent than all sculpture of ancient Greece and ome and even contemporary works (Vasari, 1998, p. 424). This paper will analyze the two works and the eras of art that produced them.

Differences between enaissance and Baroque

The most important thing to remember about the difference between the enaissance and the Baroque is that the former rose to glory prior to the feverish pitch of Protestantism, which to some extent put out its flame; the latter was a kind of rejuvenation of the themes posed by the enaissance -- only now they were…

Renaissance Art
The relationship between patronage and art

During Early and High Renaissance of Italy, it was through the vehicle of patronage was the key fashion in which an artist established his artistic identity as well as established himself economically. For instance, in considering Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus," it is important to remember that this vision is not an individualistic picture of a an artist living outside of his society. Rather, the patron who commissioned the Botticelli painting for his country villa was a member of the rich and powerful family of the Medici, and demanded that certain artistic standards and ideals be reflected in the work. (Sandro Bottecelli, ebart, "The Birth of Venus (http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/botticelli/venus/)

The Medici family had a fascination not so much with tale of Venus, but with the Neoplatonic philosophy of beauty this female form had the potential to represent. Venus, it was thought, and all beautifual and idealized…

Considered part of the Northern Renaissance, German Renaissance developed in the 15th and 16th centuries among German thinkers who had traveled to Italy, the cradle of the movement, and had been inspired to import it to Germany. Humanism exerted a strong influence over the arts and sciences in several German principalities, and coincided with a period of political development.

Painting was one of the most prominent ways of artistic expression within the German Renaissance. Also, publishing and printmaking were two areas which developed significantly throughout this period. German art was deeply influenced by its Gothic past, but many painters became increasingly more interested in fusing these Gothic elements with newer developments. Two of the most important figures of German visual arts were Konrad itz, a conservative German painter who was less keen on adopting Italian trends, and Albrecht Durer who was both a painter and a graphic master. In fact, it…

This was even though he received no immediate remuneration, in terms of money or benefits, from developing such interests. Leonardo's notebooks of this period of his life reveal a spirit of scientific inquiry and a mechanical inventiveness that were centuries ahead of his time.
Ivor Hart makes it clear that Leonardo was far more than a great artist: he had one of the best scientific minds of his time. Perhaps Leonardo's great talent was in observing -- he made careful, painstaking observations of the natural world, such as birds in flight. Such careful observations of the natural world are critical, of course, to the eye of a great artist. But Leonardo's eye enabled him to carry out research of precision as well as beauty, in science as well as art.

Perhaps the real paradox is how separate art and science have become in the modern construction of the disciplines. Leonardo studied…

The Renaissance gave them the opportunity to explore and create without restraint. As a result of this, learning took on an entirely different meaning in that it included the human experience as a significant aspect of knowledge, increasing the desire to know more.
A result of a desire to learn resulted in an invigorated self-confidence that only reinforced the belief that mankind had the power within him to understand all things, including nature. This new outlook on life and mankind resulted in an expansion of knowledge, especially in literature and science. Renaissance artists broadened their skills by using oil paints and incorporating realism to their work. Leonardo di Vinci is perhaps one of the most prominent artists of this time. His work illustrates the new trains of thought that mankind was taking. Another artist that cannot be ignored when mentioning the Renaissance is Michelangelo; a man whose art speaks volumes…

Renaissance
Both William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope mocked the times in which they lived in their respective works of literature: The Tempest and The Rape of the Lock. In using elements of the supernatural and pagan universes, these two authors make fun of Church authority, which was in decline during the Renaissance. Shakespeare and Pope portrayed monarchic power in a favorable light relative to their portrayal of the Church. In both The Tempest and in Rape of the Lock, supernatural beings influence royalty. Church authority is depicted as being weak and ineffective because of the inclusion of pagan elements. For example, in The Tempest, Prospero is the exiled Duke of Milan. Stranded on an island, he turns not to the divine authority of the Church but rather to occult powers: he manages to control and enslave a spirit-being named Ariel. Similarly, Belinda in The Rape of the Lock has a spirit…

Apart of this macroeconomic force of which he was a part, was a Europe-wide banking network that facilitated not only international trade, but also state making elsewhere. He financed the Florentine intellectual and artistic breakthroughs we now refer to as "the Renaissance."
Cosimo's power was greatly respected, and by 1434 foreign princes went to Florence to work out international relations. Machiavelli, nearly a century later, still regarded the Medici family as the harbinger of everything good and evil in Florentine life to Cosimo's "deep and ruthless machinations." Despite the influence of Medici, he is portrayed as indecisive and in the background of affairs: "Cosimo was anxious to remain in the background, hiding his great influence, and acting, when need arose, through a deputy. As a result, very little is known of the measures for which he was directly responsible." Cosimo did not expect eternal rule, nor did he ever give…

Renaissance humanism refers to a period of history where there was a move away from the ideas of State and religion as the basis of society and a move towards human experience and interaction. It was a rebirth in that it rejected the ideas of the Middle Ages and reinvented the ideas of the ancient philosophers. The basis of it was a return to the study of the humanities which included music, art, poetry, science, and virtue. The one thing that underlined both the ideas of the ancient philosophers and the ideas of the Renaissance humanists was that the importance of humans lay in their ability to interact as individuals with the world around them and extract meaning from it. Man himself became the measure of all things.
It is first worth noting that the humanist ideas were the ideas of scholars. For this reason, much emphasis was put on what…

Art During Renaissance
The Evolution of Art During the Renaissance

The Renaissance period is defined as a cultural movement that spanned approximately from the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe (rotton 2006, p. 6). This period in the history of art included the painting, decorative arts and sculpture of the period and for many was considered a reawakening or rebirth of historic and ancient traditions based on the classical antiquity and the inclusion of more recent developments by applications of contemporary scientific knowledge.

The Renaissance was seen as a bridge between the Middle Ages and the modern era. The period also marked a cognitive shift from religious perspectives to a more intellectual and social focus. Classical texts previously lost to European scholars became readily available and included science, drama, poetry, prose, philosophy, and new considerations regarding Christian theology.…

art period's styles represent a theme art. Your comparison focus artists period styles. The pair choose drawn period styles. For essay, I compare a High Classical Greek artwork Early Italian Renaissance artwork.
The Artemision ronze vs. Donatello's bronze David

While most people are inclined to look at the Italia Renaissance as being innovative and as bringing new concepts to society, the artistic movement actually inspired from Ancient Greece. y looking at the Early Renaissance period and at the Classical Greek artistic movement one is likely to observe a series of parallels, as the more recent artists did not hesitate to inspire themselves from individuals that they considered to be particularly refined in producing artwork. To a certain degree, one can consider the two movements to have had a similar effect in individuals living contemporary to them, considering that they both brought on artistic revolutions. The Artemision ronze and Donatello's bronze statue…

Venice During Renaissence
Renaissance literally meaning re-birth was a cultural movement that started at the end of middle Ages from 14th to 17th century. The movement started from Italy and spread into whole of the Europe. The age of renaissance is attributed to a heightened sense of toleration and reasoning in every aspect of life. Arts, craft, literature, politics, and science, all were re-shaped in the renaissance era. hile the birth of renaissance is widely attributed to Florence, Venice was another city of Italy that presented an interesting but challenging outlook to a historian. Venice during the renaissance era was an oligarchy but was called Republic of Venice. ith hardly any resemblance with modern day democracy, Venice enjoyed affluence and abundance due being the gateway of trade activities in Europe.

The republic also enjoyed a relatively stable political environment and trade activities thrived in the era. Glassworkers, woodworkers, artisans, and sculptures used…

Lorenzo de Medici especially helped doubling the art collection of the family and provided a liberal and generous material support for the artists. Moreover, his great critical thinking ensured that the true artistic values of the time were promoted. He constructed schools for painting and sculpture and monitored the artists that attended them in his search for artistic value. Under his rule, some of the greatest painters produced their greatest work entirely for him: "Verrocchio did almost all his work for him; that sculptor's graceful tomb in San Lorenzo over Lorenzo's father and uncle, his bronze David, and his fountain of the Boy with a Dolphin, were all executed for Lorenzo."(Young, 205) Botticelli's works in his second period were also produced in totality for Lorenzo the Magnificent. Another dimension of the family's influence over art is the fact that the atmosphere at the court clearly left its mark on the…

Education of omen in Renaissance
Several methods relating to the education of women in Renaissance changed the world. However, these methods of Humanists and the queries of religious reformers had no impact on the lives of early modern European omen. Education, changing drastically between the 15th and 17th centuries was certainly kept from women although the rich and powerful were able to receive some education: it was not always used. Opportunities arose for the daughters of the rich and wealthy. However, the eventuality of all their efforts in education narrowed down to the typical role of a woman: a housewife. They still faced choices and challenges unique to their gender. hile some women did receive this education alongside men, the options of what to do with that education were cut severely. It is evident from the study that women did not have a Renaissance because of lack of education and accompanying…

High enaissance Movement and Its Most Celebrated Artists
The enaissance is referred to as a period of time where there was a great cultural movement that began in Italy during the early 1300's. It spread into other countries such as England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain. This era continued into the late 1400's and ended during the 1600's. The enaissance times were a period of rebirth and during this time many artists studied the art of ancient Greece and ome. Their desire was to recapture the spirit of the Greek and oman cultures in their own artistic, literary, and philosophic works. The cultures of ancient Greece and ome are often called classical antiquity. The enaissance thus represented a rebirth of these cultures and is therefore also known as the revival of antiquity or the revival of learning.

The artists' works include many aspects of the medieval times and incorporated a religious…

" Initially, the painters were given the assignment to create sample frescoes which were to be evaluated. On the basis of the evaluation, they were to be employed or not. However, their talent was rapidly acknowledged and they were commissioned to continue the work without any other testing. The individual scenes constitute a whole because they comprise typological references to one another. They present Moses as prefiguring Christ. We must mention, however, that, only after Michelangelo's later work (1508-1512) did the Chapel become famous.
After the Medici's expulsion from Florence, otticelli felt the influence of a Dominican monk called Girolamo Savonarola. In Savonarola's point-of-view, everything that wasn't useful in the life of humans didn't deserve any attention. Therefore, he destroyed many works of art, in his "bonfire of vanities." ecause of this man, Sandro was deeply affected and his interior feelings were also reflected in his work.

As a review, we can…

Troubadours actually represent an example of that change in the social set up that signifies individualistic approach. Troubadours represent the rejection of social locks on the ability of people to be romantically in love. Italian critic Mario Casella also attempted to note the significance of troubadours as a special development of Augustinian Philosophy of individualistic approach. (Silverstein, 122)
The troubadours dealt with varied important subjects like war, politics, personal satire and other subjects, yet the main theme of remained love and affection towards women. Most of the ladies for which the troubadours were sung, were married. Only some exceptional troubadours sang for maiden girls. Thus, the concept of love touched through troubadours was conventional type and it rejected marriage as the major objective of love. Some of the genre of troubadours was very satirical and naughty in essence such as Alba, which is the song that is sung by a…

Art
Complete Identifications

Period/date- enaissance 1501- 1504

Location or origin- Florence Italy

Medium and size- Sculpture

Period/date- Baroque 1610

Location or origin- ome

Medium and size- Painting

The story of David and Goliath is one that transcends time. In particular, the story appeals to a wide array of diverse individuals, each with its own views on religion, culture and values. Through the universal appeal of David, many different interpretations have arisen throughout time. These interpretations, although distinct, often convey a fundamental truth prevailing during the period of its creation. Aspects such as war, political policies, civil unrest, and culture values often matriculate into the interpretation of the David of Goliath. Art is no different in this regard. Both the Baroque and enaissance periods gave rise to new and distinct forms of belief and expression. These concepts ultimately matriculated into many of the more commonly know masterpieces of today's time. The sculpture "David," and the painting, "David with the…

Europeans invented a more complex sewer system and sewers spread across Europe's most important cities in a short time.
Mechanical clocks had been invented before the half of the second millennium, but, in the 16th century, they have been perfected by Galileo with the help of the pendulum. Clocks have become more advanced in time as people discovered ways of making the mechanism more precise and also of smaller proportions.

Europeans also became acquainted with the gunpowder in the Renaissance period and warfare had been taken to a whole new level. It is not clear whether Europeans have invented gunpowder alone or if they've been inspired for the concept from the Asians. As a result of this invention, knights had become out-dated as the new armed foot-soldiers became more numerous, replacing them.

The invention of eye-glasses earlier in the millennium led to the invention of the telescope somewhere between the late sixteenth…

Nature Closer to the Ancient than the Renaissance View?
In his book, The Idea of Nature, Collingwood analyzes the principle characteristics of three periods of cosmological thinking in the history of European thought: Greek, Renaissance, and the Modern. By taking such an approach, Collingwood makes it possible for his readers to distinguish the similarities as well as fundamental differences between the modern view of Nature and that of Greek and Renaissance cosmology. But, perhaps Collingwood's work is more valuable because it demonstrates how both Greek and Renaissance schools of thought have made the modern view of nature possible. In other words, the modern view of nature has evolved from both Greek and Renaissance cosmology, with each period laying the foundation for the next to build on. To that extent, an assertion that the modern view of Nature more closely resemblances one period rather than another cannot, strictly speaking, be made…

Though Hamlet can, and does, clearly make a difference in the situation on the physical plane, he may or may not have achieved any change in the world beyond the grave. Hamlet's death at the end of the play ensures that, though Hamlet will inevitably answer all of his metaphysical questions by entering the realm of the dead himself, he is unable to provide any comfort or information to the audience. The difference he made in the physical world, though radical, may only be the very beginning of the events to unfold in the afterlife.
Though there are many other ways in which Hamlet reflects the ideals of the Renaissance, the concept and consideration of death are prominent throughout the work. Shakespeare is able to contemplate these highly Renaissance considerations though a troubled soul to whom the audience can easily relate to -- at least emotionally, if not through the…

life in the enaissance? Do you see different types of style, for example: style that you would definitely connect with Louis XIV and Versailles and other types of style that are very different to Louis XIV's style? You might like to think about prom attire vs. what you wear on an everyday at school for instance, or what you'd wear to an interview vs. what you wear to go over to a friend's to watch TV or a movie.
Life in the enaissance era and the clips are illustrating, how style was a way for the socially elite to express themselves. This occurred with them wearing outfits that highlight the different types of tastes with opulence. A connection occurs through illustrating how Louis the XIV lived and this desire to show off his wealth / power. (Bayard, 2012) ("enaissance," 2005)

There are clearly styles which influenced and are directly associated to…

Art History
In his painting Flight into Egypt, Battista Dossi took great care to tell the story of the Holy Family at the very moment the painting shows. He evokes the urgency in the life of the traveling Holy Family as they flee for the life of their child. All that needs to be said in the painting is told with color and precision, movement and depth, and the entirely personal glimpse into the lives of the Holy Family. Battista's work is at once compelling and evocative of the situation.

The work entitled Flight into Egypt is oil on panel by the Ferrarese artist Battista Dossi, (circa 1490 to 1548) who was the younger brother of Dosso Dossi. The brothers were the primary painters in the court of Ferrara under the Alfonso I'd'Este and Ercole II d'Este. Unfortunately, most of the documented work the brothers did for the court was lost to…

enaissance:
A Comparison between the Italian and Northern European enaissance

World history is a fascinating subject, especially when one takes into account the multi-dimensional, often heavy impact changes that are constantly taking place, and that often change the course of history in a way in which it could have never been imagined. After the Dark Ages, for instance, the enaissance or "rebirth," a period of artistic-related growth across Europe, was one such change that literally pulled Europe out of the deterioration in which it found itself after the fall of the oman Empire, and put it on a path of regrowth that was so replete with creativity that many scholars are still talking about it today. In order to better understand these historical changes, this paper will examine the enaissance, for it was a very complex movement, in order to understand it better, and will do so by comparing the Italian…

In contrast, English baroque has been described as being more secular, with a higher degree of classical inspiration. However, as Daniells states, this form of the Baroque style is not easy to categorize with finality (Daniells). Wellek uses the term 'restraint' to characterize English baroque (Wellek). With regard to the period of the Scientific Revolution, English Baroque drew inspiration from renaissance geometry. As in the Italian or Roman Baroque, there is a strong religious element that permeates all the designs.

The form of Baroque is exemplified by work of Sir Christopher Wren and buildings like St. Paul's Cathedral. The following summary by Soo is reiterated as it encapsulates the link between English baroque and the religious and scientific values of the period. "...as the result of a compromise between native medieval tradition and continental classicism, reconciled by creating a disunity between appearances and reality, the final design of St. Paul's is…

One the right is a statue of Athena, god of wisdom, light, and the city. On the left is Apollo, sun god, holding a lyre. Arching over the top of the painting is a great, wide semi-circle in a space resembling a basilica annex.
Philosophy in the Middle Ages was obsessed with the analytical procedures of Aristotle, whose treatises on many subjects generally worked inductively, determining truth from other truths. A feature of the high Renaissance was the shift towards Platonic thought, but also a continued influence by papal authority. In The School of Athens, Raphael has drawn a portrait of classical philosophy but sanctified it by putting theists and atheists alike in a religious setting.

Thematically, The School of Athens presents Renaissance Humanism, linking the Athenian scene of people together in a fluid, personal picture. The personalities of each philosopher mix in a jumble of activity and motion. Whereas classical…

Martin Luther was offended by the widespread corruptions of the papacy; specifically the proclivity of Popes to engage in governmental matter. He also took instances with widespread practices of simony, the selling of indulgences, and issuing church positions based on money and influence. According to Luther, the individual source of religious authority was God as evinced within the Bible. He believed that the numerous manmade religious positions were actually obfuscating these initial points upon which Christianity was founded. Luther believed that salvation was gained by accepting Jesus Christ and his teachings. Since Jesus crucified and resurrected for the sake of humanity, all people had to do was simply believe in this Christ and live in according to his teachings. Luther advocated religious freedom for individual Christians. He did so because he believed the Roman Catholic Church was corrupt, and that faith in Jesus and his sacrifice was the ultimate form…

Supernatural in Renaissance Drama
There are things in heaven and earth, not dreamt of in the philosophy of Horatio, not simply in "Hamlet" but also in the "Midsummer's Night Dream" of Shakespeare, and the "Dr. Faustus" of Christopher Marlowe. But while all of these plays deal with the theme of human aspirations in a world with a permeable, rather than an impermeable wall between humanity and the supernatural, "Dr. Faustus" suggests that breaking down this wall is initially fun and playful, although it has dire consequences at the end for the play's protagonist. Marlowe's cartoon characters and images of conventional morality, combined with heightened language convey humor rather than horror, until Faustus is condemned to hell for all eternity. The even lighter "Midsummer's Night Dream" also suggests in its early language an initial playfulness for the human and supernatural lovers who engage in transgressing sensual activities. But this comedy set…

Copernicus challenged the accepted viewpoint of the Christian West that the Earth stood still as the centermost point of the Universe. This tradition stemmed from the Ptolemaic model of a geocentric universe and correlated well with the religious tradition of the Church that the Earth was where God Himself became Man and walked among His children. Thus, the Earth had a special significance and should be thought of as being the center of the Universe in order to support the notion that people were important to God. Aside from this theological tradition were the scientific or observational facts that Ptolemy had used to describe the geocentric model of the universe, accounting for the movements of the stars, sun and moon. However, as Copernicus pointed out, there was an alternate view of the movements of the stars—the heliocentric model, which could also be found among the work of earlier scholars, scientists…

Renaissance Art
hen discussing with regard to the Old Testament figure of David and to how he was represented during the Renaissance, one would have to consider the current as a whole in order to gain a more complex understanding of why artists directed their attention toward the character. Artists during the Renaissance were determined to restructure social values for the masses to be able to acknowledge the significance of classical values. David had been a symbol of the classical era and artists in the Renaissance wanted to create works that glorified both him and the idea of the natural man in general.

It was probably David's legendary character that influenced artists to express particular interest in wanting to portray him. By looking at how each artist depicted him, one can understand the cultural elements that inspired these respective artists. All things considered, it would be safe to say that particular artists…

Renaissance current can be dated, in Europe, as starting around 1480-1490. Renaissance started in Italy and moved towards Hungary, Germany and England, on one hand, and to France, after the French invasions of the Italian Peninsula, on the other. A similar trend occurred in the fashion industry, but the exchanges were continuous and influences from Northern Europe to Italy were not unprecedented.
The general characteristics of the initial period of Renaissance in Europe include the close-body fitting of the clothing and a detailed attention to ornamentation. Both men and women in the upper and middle classes wore elaborate costumes, made of rich materials. The clothing, particular in the upper classes, as well as in the economically successful middle classes, aimed to showcase the individual's success and his or her position in society. As a consequence, in both Northern and Italian Renaissance, there is an attention to detail and to customizing the…

enaissance refers to the rebirth and revival of art and architecture in the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy. The enaissance is fascinating to study and is still culturally significant even today because of the high level of artistic and architectural production that was able to be produced during this time. Thus, one of the fundamental reasons as to why this period was significant is directly connected to the fact that the works which were captured during this time continue to captivate the imagination of most people, and continue to impress and amaze. The enaissance is important not just because of the high level and innovation of work that was created, but because it demonstrated a higher level of intellectualism and understanding about the human condition that was manifested through art.
The enaissance is significant today, not merely because of the high level of art that was produced, but because this…

Yet, I suggest that while Anne Clifford succeeded in life -- she was at last able to join the fellowship at Penshurst and through long life and tenacity to reclaim her lands -- Aemilia Lanyer succeeds in an imaginative vision: out of marginality, out 'of absence, darkness..., things which are not,' indeed out of weakness, Lanyer creates in Salve Deus a remarkable community of strength, present more powerfully and enduringly in her fiction than in life itself. (Pebworth and Summers 46)
This fictionalization of such a "remarkable community" is one aspect of the rigors of life during this period in history that might escape a casual reader today, but the fact that Lanyer was able to craft such a work during such an otherwise bleak era suggests that she did in fact have some compelling reasons beyond money and fame that drove her work.

John Milton's masque "Comus." Because Europe was…

Even in Catholic France, the Protestant sentiment that God's grace alone can save His fallen, human creation was evident in the humanist king, Francis I's sister, Margaret, Queen of Navarre's novel when she wrote: "We must humble ourselves, for God does not bestow his graces on men because they are noble or rich; but, according as it pleases his goodness, which regards not the appearance of persons, he chooses whom he will."
Shakespeare's Hamlet is haunted by the ghost of his father from Purgatory. Purgatory was a Catholic concept. But rather than trusting the vision of the divine on earth, Hamlet is suspicious about the ability of fallen human beings to enact justice. Rather than finding good in the face of women, Hamlet sees only evil. "In considering the cultural conditions that allow tragedy to revive, we may also want to consider that the plays occurred in Christian Northern Europe;…

Culturally, the development of northern European art was not unlike that of Italy, particularly when powerful princes created individual states based on wealth and leisure which encouraged the growth of the arts based on commerce and on the patronage of the rich merchants who controlled these states.
This new and versatile artistic medium was exactly right for the formal intentions of the northern painters who wished to create sharp-focused, hard-edged and sparkling clarity of detail in the representation of objects and figures. While the Italian artists were interested primarily in the structure behind the appearances, being perspective, composition, anatomy, the mechanics of bodily motion and proportion, the northern painters were intent on creating appearances themselves, being the bright, colored surfaces of objects and figures touched by natural light.

For example, in Renaissance Italy, Leonardo da Vinci's The Virgin of the Rocks (ca. 1485) reflects all of the artistic integrity and beauty…

Art One-Point Linear Perspective in the enaissance
One-Point Linear Perspective in the enaissance

In the context of art, perspective is generally defined as "… the technique an artist uses to create the illusion of three dimensions on a flat surface" (Essak). Perspective is in essence an illusion of depth and realism in the work of art. It is also an intrinsic part of human evolutionary makeup. As Edgerton ( 2006) states, "

Every human being who has ever lived from Pleistocene times to the present, has experienced in vision the apparent convergence of parallel edges of objects as they extend away from our eyes and seem to come together in a single "vanishing point" on the distant horizon… (Edgerton, 2006)

However, from an art historical perspective it is also true that linear or single-point perspective has not always been an accepted part of painting and artistic creation. It is in fact only fairly recently…

distinguishes the Renaissance from the Middle Ages lies in the sociological movements that defines each era. While there are certainly differences in almost every aspect of life - from art to theology - the two eras share common ground in that without one, there would not exist the other.
The era of feudalism that dominated the Middle Ages formed civilizations, communities and bonded like-minded families together. Territorial boundaries were drawn and each nation began creating it's own identity. Identities that were largely dependent upon location which determined agricultural capabilities, architecture, religion, and to some extent, leadership structure.

From this sense of community and working for the good of the people and the government that oversees that community, came the individuality and the humanistic values that dominated the Renaissance. With roots well-planted and generations of families growing up in the same house, in the same country, doing the same thing their forefathers…

Luther's thought incited anti-Roman sentiment and thought initially in his native Germany. He strongly influenced sympathetic local princes to confiscate church lands and property and to redistribute these. He urged for the end of the practice of granting indulgences. Through his work, 95 Theses, he questioned the worth and truthfulness of indulgences. The Roman Catholic Church "granted" indulgences to absolve one's sin from a "treasury of merits" of the Church. Luther could not accept the clergy's ability to absolve sin and that it was something, which could be bought. He held that there was no biblical basis for indulgences and that the ible should be the sole basis and center of Christian theology. Outside of the ible, the clergy had no sure and valid foundation for their interpretations (Hermansen).
The foremost Reformation figure after Luther and Huldreich Zwingli, a Swiss pastor, was John Calvin, a French Protestant theologian (Microsoft Encarta…

African-American culture flourished during the Harlem Renaissance. Although often characterized by and punctuated with the “double consciousness” of being both black and an American, the work of Harlem Renaissance writers and poets was variable and diverse. Countee Cullen is unique among Harlem Renaissance poets. Many of his works reflect the English poetic traditions, even more so than American or African-American ones. “Cullen considered the Anglo-American poetic heritage to belong as much to him as to any white American of his age,” (“Harlem Renaissance: American Literature and Art”). Implicit in Cullen’s poetic styles and formats was the belief in a blended identity, and yet the poem “Simon the Cyrenian Speaks” shows that Cullen indeed did struggle with the double consciousness. Langston Hughes took a different approach than Cullen did, in terms of poetic style, subject matter, and approaches to race. Contrary to Cullen, Hughes believed “black poets should create a distinctive…

Da Vinci and Michaelangelo
During the Renaissance, artists evolved many of the techniques which are now employed in creating works of art. There are many great artists who came out of this historical time period and while they have somewhat similar techniques and similar subject matters, they all have unique attributes as well. In this time, one of the biggest differences between artists of the Renaissance and ones that came before is the interest that artists had in the human body and the human form. Before this time, people were painted in a flat way, but Renaissance painters tried to make the people seem more realistic, which many were very successful in accomplishing this. Two of the artists in the Renaissance who are considered to be the best are Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo. When looking at their most famous works, "The Mona Lisa" and "The Sistine Chapel Ceiling" respectively, the…

In addition, Lett (1987) emphasizes that, "Cultural materialists maintain that a society's modes of production and reproduction determine its social structure and ideological superstructure, but cultural materialists reject the metaphysical notion of Hegelian dialectics that is part of dialectical materialism" (80). Indeed, according to Bradshaw (1993), "the British cultural materialist knows that the 'radical,' 'subversive,' 'marginal,' or 'dissident' perspective is always superior (9). This author maintains that British cultural materialist readings of Shakespeare tend to assign particular characters or speeches a privileged, supra-dramatic significance that may override meaningful analysis if care is not taken (Bradshaw 9).
According to Bate (1994), it has become increasingly common in recent years for scholars to adopt either the new historicism or cultural materialist perspective alone when considering these literary works, particularly as they apply to Shakespeare. In this regard, MacDonald (1994) suggests that the New Historicist camp enjoys a clear advantage because they "define…

French omantic painter, Eugene Delacroix, is well-known from this period. Delacroix often took his subjects from literature but added much more by using color to create an effect of pure energy and emotion that he compared to music. He also showed that paintings can be done about present-day historical events, not just those in the past (Wood, 217). He was at home with styles such as pen, watercolor, pastel, and oil. He was also skillful in lithography, a new graphic process popular with the omantics. His illustrations of a French edition of Goethe's "Faust" and Shakespeare's "Hamlet" still stand as the finest examples in that medium.

Delacroix' painting "Massacre at Chios" is precisely detailed, but the action is so violent and the composition so dynamic that the effect is very disturbing (Janson, 678). With great vividness of color and strong emotion he pictured an incident in which 20,000 Greeks were killed…

The second stage was of the Ionic order and with windows, rising to the level of the first apartments of the papal palace and of those of the Belvedere; to form subsequently a loggia more than four hundred paces on the side towards ome and another towards the wood, with the valley between, so that it was necessary to bring all the water of the Belvedere and to erect a beautiful fountain" (Vasari, 2006, Donato Bramante).
The work combined elements of a variety of sacred and secular oman architecture in its inspiration and design. Its "axiality recalled the ancient temple complex at Palestrina, the symbolism of the Cortile del Belvedere (1507-7) combined overtones of oman villa and theatre" (Donato Bramante, 2011, Encyclopedia of Art). Unlike the anonymous artists of the Gothic era, Bramante proudly created a frieze on the front of the Belvedere which bore the name of his patron…