Art of the Renaissance

The word Renaissance means “rebirth”. It is the period from the early 1300’s to approximately 1600 when interest in literature, history and art were renewed. It is the time when study of ancient Greece and Rome was renewed. It was also considered the time when Europe recovered its economy.

Before the Renaissance, literary production was limited. It was characterized by large collection of church hymns, sermons, didactic poems of relative importance, legends of various saints, theological treatises, historical chronicles beginning with Creation and fables. Important original books that time were Exameron by St. Ambrose, Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius and City of God and the Confessions by St. Augustine.

When humanism arises, Art of the Renaissance was born. The ideal of which focused on the world of mankind and concern for the hereafter. Thus, it focused on the goodness of mankind. The Art of the Renaissance touched by the birth of humanism began in Florence, Italy, in an ideal setting with wealthy patrons. It involved the modern discovery of fields like moral and political philosophy, history, poetry, rhetoric, grammar, literature and linguistic study and interpretation. It can be considered as the deliberate revival or renascence of the arts and humanities.

Giotto’s works were considered Arts of the Renaissance. For his works, he was acclaimed to be the Father of the Renaissance. He was known to be the most significant artist on Renaissance painting. His dignified figures seemed to displace space which stands upon the ground with real substance and weight. The figures he made appear to extend both forward towards the spectator’s space and backward into the picture.