Renaissance Research Paper

The Renaissance saw the rise of Humanism, an intellectual movement that idealized classical ideas and learning, as well as humans as individuals and their achievements. Renaissance art reflected the ideas of the Humanist movement, as well as the new Enlightenment movements, which both had their key roots in Roman/Greek thinking, mainly the idea of an “ideal citizen”, one who participated in improving themselves and their community. Because of this idealization of Ancient Rome and Greek, the artistic style of the Renaissance was very much inspired by Greek and Roman art.
The Renaissance can be characterized by the renewed interest in art, and the making of art for diverse purposes. During the Byzantine and Gothic art periods, art was commissioned and used to teach Religious stories, and illustrate religious texts. In the Renaissance, art was commissioned to show the power of Aristocratic families, like the Medicis, an Oligarchic family in Florence who commissioned a huge amount of art. It was also used to show the patron's own appreciation of art, as the ability to appreciate art was one of the characteristics of an ideal Renaissance man. …show more content…
This caused art to adopt Roman and Greek inspired styles of art. The human figure became more idealized, seen in Donatello and Michelangelo’s Davids. While there is a continuing religious focus in art, there is also a renewed interest in Greco/Roman mythology, figures like Greek and Roman gods becoming popular subjects for paintings, seen in paintings like Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. People in portraits are often pictured in Roman