Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance – An Introduction

The Italian Renaissance was a period of time that does not have a specific date, but the general time is referred to as the 14th century to the 16th centry.   The renaissance was significant because of its noticeably radical shift back to old-fashioned aspects of everyday life. It was a time when artists structured their ideas around the concept of humanism, a philosophy about humans being equal to the deities, and were powerful and great. It was a time when mathematical and scientific studies were growing dramatically, and when the black plague wiped out 30-60% of Europe’s population. It was also the time when art was at its historical peak, and some of the most important artists in history created their best works in the Italian Renaissance Period.
The scientific and mathematical ideas discovered in the Italian renaissance period have contributed hugely to society today. Some examples of these discoveries are the heliocentric theory, which is the idea that the earth revolves around the sun, not the other way around. This theory helped scientists and meteorologists discover more about the earth that was not yet discovered. Another idea was the idea of ratio, which was the relationship between two quantities. This revolutionised the architectural designs, and made it much easier for architects to identify the length of buildings in contrast to the width, etc.
The renaissance in Italy was very significant for the development of famous artworks today. In the renaissance, the concept of humanism was encouraged by artists everywhere. Some examples are Sandro Botticelli, who painted the birth of Venus; Michelangelo, who created the sculpture of David and many more.

Michelangelo’s David (above) was an innovative sculpture that represented the concept of humanism. The sculpture shows David as muscular and god like, which created the sense of being a great race.
Michelangelo’s David (above) was an innovative sculpture that... [continues]

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