It is at the start of the 15th century that scientific discovery begins to take off. This growing interest in scientific knowledge is then showcased through art for the next three centuries, covering the renaissance, baroque and rococo stylistic periods. Although it is not a continually growing interest, the interest is always present and shifting in its use.
This interest starts in early renaissance with Donatello’s sculpture of David. Donatello builds upon the realism previously made popular by the Roman period, by elevating it to a new level. Although the Greek’s and Romans were intrigued by the muscles and bones of the body, they focused solely on action and power poses, with the stances not being natural or realistic in many cases. Donatello changes this with his David, that stands in a contrapposto pose; a very natural stance for the average person. The pose that Donatello puts David in really showcases “correct proportion[s] and feeling the pull of gravity” (Harris, 2016).
Donatello is not the only renaissance man who is interested in understanding the natural movements of people. Leonardo Da Vinci used dissection of corpses to study how muscles played below the skin and how joints worked together to …show more content…
France and the aristocracy takes over and decides that artwork should be based on their lives and their ideal leisure activities. Artwork moves from realistic, natural, spiritual and educational pieces in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, to very frivolous and dramatic pieces in the beginning of the Rococo period. Now, this does not mean that all scientific knowledge is lost, it is just present in a different way. This can be observed through aristocratic furniture, such as the mechanical writing table by Bernard van Risenburgh, which has a series of gears, latches and slides that transforms a beautify piece of furniture into a very useful and secret keeping table (Pierce,
This interest starts in early renaissance with Donatello’s sculpture of David. Donatello builds upon the realism previously made popular by the Roman period, by elevating it to a new level. Although the Greek’s and Romans were intrigued by the muscles and bones of the body, they focused solely on action and power poses, with the stances not being natural or realistic in many cases. Donatello changes this with his David, that stands in a contrapposto pose; a very natural stance for the average person. The pose that Donatello puts David in really showcases “correct proportion[s] and feeling the pull of gravity” (Harris, 2016).
Donatello is not the only renaissance man who is interested in understanding the natural movements of people. Leonardo Da Vinci used dissection of corpses to study how muscles played below the skin and how joints worked together to …show more content…
France and the aristocracy takes over and decides that artwork should be based on their lives and their ideal leisure activities. Artwork moves from realistic, natural, spiritual and educational pieces in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, to very frivolous and dramatic pieces in the beginning of the Rococo period. Now, this does not mean that all scientific knowledge is lost, it is just present in a different way. This can be observed through aristocratic furniture, such as the mechanical writing table by Bernard van Risenburgh, which has a series of gears, latches and slides that transforms a beautify piece of furniture into a very useful and secret keeping table (Pierce,