The Spirit of the Renaissance essays

The Spirit of the Renaissance essays The Renaissance was a period in history when many different ideas from all across Europe came together in a gigantic reaction to the Dark Ages. A major part of this revolutionary movement is art. Society in Europe, during the Renaissance Period was controlled by the church. This belief at this time was that the one common person could not know God personally and the priest would act as a mediator between God and the people. The Catholic Church had taught for so long that man was a sinner and there was nothing that could be done about it. The Renaissance introduced the philosophy that man could be perfected through deeds by acting like Christ. The idea of religion was not abandoned during this period; it was simply mixed with ideas of humanism ( Hinkleman 288). During the Renaissance, artists were no longer regarded as mere artisans, as they were in the Medieval times. For the first time the artists along with poets and others emerged as creative personalities (Hayes 28). This began to express their ideas, and though the art still remained religious in nature, they contributed many of their own influences and individual style. Art went through many drastic changes and was influenced by many great and famous artists (Aston 129) The Renaissance is known as one of the greatest artistic periods in all of history. These late middle ages witnessed great achievements in fine arts especially in painting, sculptures and architecture. The art of this period, although largely religious in natures was no longer commissioned by the church, and by the 15th century, art was being notably influenced by contemporary humanism. Before the Renaissance there was no attempt to show depth, movement or form in art. Painters began to grapple with problems of perspective and space, always looking for a more realistic view of objects and especially human form. Perspectives were on ...