changes of the human figure throughout the renaissance

The period in history known as the renaissance, roughly the 14th century to the 16th century was a great time of changes. It was considered to be the most significant intellectual movement of the Renaissance. It changed and created the world as we known it today. There were changes in religion, in ideas, and behaviour. The great famous artist, mainly in Italy, reflected these changes. The main change of the Renaissance period was a new awareness of man himself as “ Centre of all things”. This came into existence in slow and continuos stages through the 14th Century, through the rediscovery of literature by poets, philosophers, and humanist.

“Definition of the Renaissance as the discovery of man. The essence of humanism is what he calls the ‘mystical ideal of human nobility’; it is external, not tied to a period of time; but was especially influential throughout the Renaissance”. (Burke, 1966)

This definition of humanism explains that the change in human figure is what the renaissance is about, but the word ‘humanism’ is not owned by the period ‘Renaissance’.

I believe by looking at the work before the renaissance period that the artist paintings, drawings, etc looked 2D and lifeless. The Renaissance

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His greatest work was done on the frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. These frescoes had a tremendous impact on Florentine art there of, and were used as a basis to teach new artists like Michelangelo and Raphael.

In Florence, he was commissioned to do a number of paintings, but other interests and tasks kept him from finishing them. Michelangelo portrayed life as it is, even with it’s troubles. If the Italian people had not paved the way for the Renaissance in the rest of Europe, the reality we live in would not be the same. He is one of the most important figures of Western Art. His extensive studies of human anatomy were shown in anatomical drawings, were among the most significant achievements of Renaissance Science. From there his desire for sculpturing became his life. He created an intricate system of decorations and some of the finest pictorial images of all time. He was apathetic to things like personal appearance and worldly materials, and was thus careless with his possessions. The most well known piece to survive from this time period was the famous "Mona Lisa". He constantly studied the idea of perspective in an effort to make his paintings appear natural. It is the technique of overlapping planes to create depth by using a foreground, middle ground, and background. He went to Rome and decorated the walls of the Sistine chapel. In 1470 he owned his own workshop and worked for rich families for money.

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Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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