The Art of the Renaissance

The Art of The Renaissance by Maria Large Did you know that most likely the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa, was painted in the time of the Renaissance? The oil painting of the straight faced woman (or man), painted by the famous Leonardo De Vinci, is said to be painted between 1503 to 1506. No one knows who the person in the painting is. No one even knows whether or not it is De Vinci himself, a relative or even a man or a woman! The English name â€Å"Mona Lisa†, came from a description by Renaissance Art historian â€Å"Giorgio Vassar†.There were many exquisite paintings done in the time period of the Renaissance. I'm going to briefly tell you what happened in the time of the Renaissance and what styles or cultural aspects influenced these talented artists. Also, how their faith reflected the artwork they made. The Renaissance first occurred in Italy, spreading throughout the countries starting approximately in the sass's and ending around the sass's . It was after the Middle Ages and after the Black Death had swept through many countries and eventually ending up in Europe killing 1. O 4 million people in total. The Renaissance was a new uprising, it displayed many things, such as freedom, independence, creativity, the rebirth of classical learning, the rediscovery of ancient Rome and Greece, and many other things. In the Middle Ages there were only certain religions allowed and certain ways of living. The people thought of the Middle Ages as a dark time but the Renaissance changed all that. They no longer wanted the old ways so they changed many aspects and ways of living in this time period, including there own language.The Renaissance artwork was typically not done for fun or as a hobby. It was usually used to make money or made for religious reasons. Only the paintings done by the masters hand would sell for big money, all others being of little value. Back then, the church was a big part of the income, resulting in many pai ntings that were religious themed. They would sell their artwork to cathedrals and churches for money. Most of the paintings were based off the Life of Christ, the Life of the Virgin, the Life of the Saint or Salvation.The paintings brought new ideas to artwork such as â€Å"a sense of space†, which makes your eye see 3 dimensional and also the use of perspective. A big part of the art of the Renaissance was religious based. The way the artists painted these paintings portrayed faith very well, even to the point of making the humanists think spirituality instead of thinking with human individuality. There were many famous religious paintings done in the time of the Renaissance such as Leonardo De Vine's paintings called, â€Å"The Last Supper† and â€Å"Virgin of the Rocks†.Another famous piece of art, is the painting of the â€Å"Sistine Chapel Ceiling† by Michelangelo. Also among his famous works are his sculptures, â€Å"David†, representing the David in the bible and â€Å"Pieta†, showing Jesus dead body in the arms of his mother Mary. An interesting fact about the paintings is that in the Middle Ages, because of the strong dedication to Catholicism, they were not allowed to study the human body. After the Middle Ages ended, because people had more freedom of religion, people started studying the human body, which resulted in paintings that coked much more realistic.As you have seen, the Renaissance was a very big historical change for the people of that time as well as the people of today. I have only mentioned a few of the many pieces of artwork created during the Renaissance. The artists and their paintings are still remembered to this day. The styles of their artwork have affected how people create there own art today. We can learn from the styles they used, their use of perspective, colors that showed the time period, and even small things added to their ark that changed the whole picture itself.In one sense, the art of the Renaissance could be said to be the true beginning of art and the pathway that was set for the future artwork that is created today. References: Art and Expression- Renaissance Art by Maria Lacy Kitchen Oracle Think Quest- The Renaissance Period by (unknown) Web Gallery of Art- Welcome to the Gallery by Emil Kern and Daniel Marx Renaissance by Thomas J. Choke, Harold E. Damager and Jose Marie Devalue BBC News- Is Ad Vine's Mona Lisa a self-portrait? By Nick Watt and Mama Snappily