They were definitely not concerned with making their artwork look lifelike, as can be depicted by famous artwork of many medieval painters. Renaissance writers wanted to portray the world realistically in a natural state, with life-like people showing real emotions.<br><br>During the early 1300s and 1400s, several particular artisans stood out among the masses. Giotto is considered the first artist to portray nature realistically. He produced many frescoes with characters that showed real emotions and had realistic settings. All Renaissance painters would take after Giotto's work.<br><br>Brunelleschi was the first Renaissance architect to revive the Roman style of architecture. He incorporated arches, columns, and other elements of classic architectue in his famous designs. One of his best known buildings, the Pazzi Chapel in Florence, was the first building to be designed with such elements. Brunelleschi is also credited with the invention of linear perspective, a mathamatical system painters could use to show space and depth on a flat surface.<br><br>Masaccio is most noted for using Brunelleschi's techniques in a series of frescoes designed for the Church of Santa Maria de Carmine in Florence. The scenes in his paintings …show more content…
People who wanted fame and power in this new world of humanism and self-righteousness had to deserve it. No longer did a supreme authority, such as the pope, appoint officials and leaders. The authority rested in the hands of the person willing to take charge. This approach to gaining wealth and power can be described as Machivellian, named so by the influence of ideologist Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli wrote one of the most influential political books of all time, called the Prince, which is considered the most lasting work on Italian Renaissance. In his novel, Machiavelli writes of " cruelty, well used or badly used," and warns the compassionate and humanistic prince "not to make bad use of this compassion".(Burke p.196) Machiavelli expanded on his belief in the Prince, that Italians should behave with ferocity when it comes to politics, and should back up that ferocity with a unified force. Machiavelli's principles have had a profound effect on the way Europe and the rest of the world have viewed politics over centuries, and truly show the Rennaissance's uncanny trait of promoting individualism and social Darwinism.<br><br>The Italian Renaissance has made a major impact on the rest of Europe, leaving an intellectual and artistic heritage that