Throughout the Roman, Medieval, and Renaissance civilizations, art has been used to express the entire range of human feelings and spiritual beliefs. "Art was a pleasure in itself," according to humanist ideas. So the essential question was asked: What was the relationship between art in the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance? The answer is pure and simple. The relationship between the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance is that art through these ages built off, inspired, and influenced one another.
             Primarily, it should be known who influenced the art of the Roman Empire. It starts with Rome conquering and taking over many countries. These included Carthage, Gaul, Egypt, and Britain. And Rome, being like the great "melting pot" of ancient times, it slowly adopted their traditions, such as the countries' religion and art. The Greeks and the Egyptians, for example, were employed by the Romans to produce art for them, and they used their own methods to do it. Rome probably had the most art influenced by other civilizations, because of the large amount of cultures it contained under the empire. So thus, with Rome, began the great movement of art being influenced by earlier art through history.
             Next, come the Early Middle Ages. Things looked bleak for art in the seventh and eighth centuries in the Middle Ages. There was a general artistic decline in these times, which probably contributed to this time being known as the Dark Ages. Most of the art for the Early Middle Ages was provided by barbarian invaders. The art of the barbarians contained mostly animals transformed into abstract, and decorative designs.
             The light at the end of the tunnel for art during the Early Middle Ages was Charlemagne's launch of the cultural rebirth program known as the Carolingian Renaissance. The Carolingnian period brought together different artistic expressions such as the Roman, Byzantine styles in ivory carving; and ...