The origin of the Renaissance was due to the expansion of European trade with Asia. The growing exploration and colonization of the world made fortunes for bankers and merchants, allowing …show more content…
Some of the significant artists active during the Renaissance were Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Botticelli. New artistic techniques, which included fresco painting, the law of perspective, and the study of human anatomy, became the gateway to contemporary art forms.
The prime intellectual movement of the Renaissance, humanism, focused on the value of human life and achievements. While scholars and artists during the Middle Ages generally centered their studies and work around religion, this focus shifted during the Renaissance. Scholars stopped asking questions about God and began looking at humans. Scholars studied the classical Greek and Roman works and developed humanistic tenets that included the necessity of each individual finding truth for himself or herself and the fundamental dignity and worth of all people.
Humanism, by stressing that man was the center of the universe rather than God, led to the expansion of science. Our intellectual communities owe a debt to the Renaissance and the bold affirmation of the human spirit that defined it. Individuals such as