Harlem Renaissance prospered from early 1920 to 1940. It was an African-American’s expression of social thought and culture which occurred in the neighborhood of Harlem in New York City, a newly-formed Black community. Named after The New Negro anthology, it was better known as the “New Negro Movement”. It was expressed through every cultural dance, medium-visual art, music, literature, theatre, history, poetry and politics of Harlem. African-American writers, artists and musicians convey their civil rights and equality through their art and culture instead of direct political means. Thus, Harlem Renaissance Art fired up.

Harlem Renaissance Art is the result of the African-American Cultural Revolution. African-American made this as a way to uplift their spirit and give importance on their life. This serves as their means to voice out and express the real state of their lives as they add sophistication and mirth in their lifestyle. It created a lasting legacy of African-American writings, paintings and music that was realized into their mainstream culture.

Harlem Renaissance Art is presented with the works of William H. Johnson in his Self Portrait with Bandana and Lois Mailou Jones in her Les Fetiches. On the other hand Aaron Douglas was considered as the “Father of African-American Art) through his works such as Idylls of the Deep South and Into Bondage. Other prominent Harlem Renaissance artists are Sir Jacob Epstein (Portrait Bust of Paul Robeson), Jacob Lawrence (Dust to Dust), Ronald Moody (Midonz) and Archibald Motley Jr. (Blues). Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith’s music also comprises the rich artistic legacy of the Harlem Renaissance Period.

Italian Renaissance is a period of great Cultural Revolution in Europe. It marks the transition from Medieval and Early Modern Europe. It was one of the most rewarding periods in art’s history in major fields like sculpture, painting and architecture. It had been known for its cultural achievements. It helped starts the Renaissance Period through its Italian literary revolution. Writers started using their native language, the Italian language, in writing their novels and poetry.

In the early Italian Renaissance Period, studying and translating classic works from Latin and Greek were the main focus. Authors tried to incorporate their own works to the ancient works of Cicero, Salust, Horace and Aristotle and Plato.

Italian Renaissance Art was greatly influenced by the developing science and emerging philosophy. Writer such as Francisco Petrarch wrote poetry in Latin but is well known for his works written in the Italian language. Such works are the Vernacular, Canzoniere and many more sonnets he published in his time.

Another artist that depicts the Italian Renaissance Art is Donatello. He was known for his sculptures. His study leads to the development of classicizing positions and subject matter. He had also influenced one of the greatest artists in time, Michelangelo.

Italian Renaissance Art was not only portrayed in writings and sculptures but as well in music. It corresponded with the activity in the other fields. It increased emphasis on styles and forms, secular sources, spreading of culture and development of new techniques. The musical style was labeled Italian ars nova with the principal forms of Trecento madrigal, ballata and caccia.

Italy was the birthplace of one of the most important periods of human history – the Renaissance period. Renaissance stands for the word “rebirth” in French. The art during this time was inspired by the classics of Rome and Greece. The transformation did not only happen in their form of art alone, it also influenced other fields like literature, science, and architecture.

One of the most significant changes that influence the Renaissance period is the transformation of the society’s social structure. Prior to the Renaissance period, the three major levels of society were the nobility, the churchmen, and the peasants. The emergence of the merchant class started during the Renaissance era. These affluent merchants would like to adorn churches and cathedral with artworks, thus they regularly hire artists to accomplish the task. For large and major projects, guilds of craftsmen would often compete for the commission. Most of the time, wealthy aristocratic families supported and sponsored art projects in the community.

Painting on oil canvas was first introduced in the Renaissance period. By studying and applying special techniques like that of the shadow and light, artists were also able to paint three dimensional images for the first time. Most of the themes of Renaissance artworks revolve around mythological subjects and nature scenes. Most of the paintings portray or show different proportions of images base on their distance and size from the subject matter. The two greatest artists during this time were Leonardo DaVinci whose famous work was Mona Lisa and Michelangelo who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

Renaissance Period is the period when new ideas on art and humanities were revived and renewed. It was a cultural movement that spanned from Italy and spreads out to the rest of Europe. With this rebirth, greater interest emerged for the Ancient Greek and Roman culture. It was the time of a new way of life and culture characterized by the ideas of humanism which gave importance to the goodness of mankind focusing in human beauty and life’s pleasures.

Unlike the Middle Ages Art, the Renaissance Art is much fuller of life. Moreover, the arts that were made seemed to have depth. Giotto was one of the first who used the new style of the Renaissance Period. His works shows great depth and emotion. Thus, he was acclaimed Father of Renaissance.

The Renaissance Art put great emphasis on the significance of the Madonna in art. Attention to shadows showing the balance of light and dark became an important factor to the Renaissance Art. Interests in the human body particularly the nude were also given great importance.

Highly realistic perspective was also one of the distinguished features of Renaissance Art. This perspective as an artistic technique was formalized with the writings of Leon Battista Alberti and Filippo Brunelleschi. This became part in the realistic approach in the arts. Renaissance artists include Leonardo da Vinci who focused in human anatomy and Raphael and Michelangelo who depicted the beauty of nature. Other distinguished artists of this period were Donatello, Sandro Boticceli and Titian.

This major cultural rebirth and revival began in Italy during the 1300’s and spread throughout Europe until around 1650.

Here are a few of the historical milestones during this period of great change.

Lorenzo de Medici (MED-uh-chee) (1449-1492) was a prominent ruler of Florence, Italy who was also a strong patron of many great artists of that era:

Sandro Botticelli created the well know painting: “The Birth of Venus”.

Leonardo Da Vinci created the paintings: “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper”.

Michelangelo sculpted “David” and “Pieta”. He designed the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica and painted the Sistine Chapel frescoes.

As a young man, Michelangelo lived with the Medici family in Florence for a period.

In 1492, Columbus was credited for the discovery of America which was named after the ships navigator, Americus Vaspucci.

The Reformation of the 1500’s was a religious movement which opposed the sale of “Indulgences” by the Roman Catholic Church. Church authorities would absolve and pronounce someone free of guilt for a specific monetary price. The reformation movement opposed the sale of these “Indulgences” and this set the foundations for the Protestant churches. Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Knox were leaders in this movement. Henry VIII declared himself head of the Christian Church in England.

During the Renaissance, the arts, architecture, literature and science received a new breath of life and relief from the relatively bleaker periods of the dark and middle ages.

Lamps, paintings, furniture, architecture and home decor items of all kinds will forever be influenced by RENAISSANCE ART period. A lamp, painting or sculpture showing two people touching hands brings a vision of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and “The Creation of Adam”.

- Jim Hoyle