Through the ages, artistic activity has often been focused in particular cities or groups of cities. Three of these concentrations stand out, each representative of a different time and era in the history of Western art: The Rome-Florence-Venice triangle (Renaissance and High Renaissance), Paris (Impressionism and Post-Impressionism) and New York (Abstract Expressionism). Continuity is transformed as religious figures, symbols and subject matter become more earthbound and human. As art evolved through each of these time periods, each era brought with it new innovations and techniques. Despite the changes in societal, political, and technological advancement, continuity remained the underlying inspiration for many renowned artists of these
…show more content…
This era’s origins were concentrated in Florence, Rome and Venice, and then gradually spread throughout Europe and beyond spanning the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries. Francesco Petrarca (July 20, 1304 -July 19, 1374), commonly known as Petrarch, one of the earliest humanists and often referred to as the father of Renaissance Humanism, is thought to have initiated the Renaissance “rebirth” by promoting this ideology. Humanism was a cultural movement crucial in the Renaissance era that withdrew from medieval scholasticism and renewed an interest in ancient Greco-Roman thought and teachings. According to Soltes (2011) regarding art, Petrarch’s ideals of creativity should emulate not imitate antiquity by creating its own vocabulary. In the beginning of the Renaissance, Humanism conflicted with the Medieval Byzantine world causing tension between continuity and transformation. The presence of the Black Plague and the church’s inability to stop its destruction contributed to the decline of church’s influence on society and in the arts. Humanism therefore easily attributed more importance to mankind and less importance to God. The study of anatomy and perspective enabled artists to perfect their understanding the natural world, thereby transforming subject matter into an expression of realism …show more content…
Many of the most renowned masterpieces were created within this time period. The quest to improve real world portrayal led to the development of shading techniques such as chiaroscuro, a dramatic effect of contrasted light and shadows created by a source of light falling unevenly or from a particular direction; and sfumato, blending tones of colors that gradually shade into one another softening the outlines. Another technical Renaissance development was the use of vanishing points in linear perspective, which added the illusion of a third dimension to two dimensional images. Statuary became more human than religious such as Michelangelo’s David (1504) as artists pursued an idealized depiction of the perfect human
This era’s origins were concentrated in Florence, Rome and Venice, and then gradually spread throughout Europe and beyond spanning the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries. Francesco Petrarca (July 20, 1304 -July 19, 1374), commonly known as Petrarch, one of the earliest humanists and often referred to as the father of Renaissance Humanism, is thought to have initiated the Renaissance “rebirth” by promoting this ideology. Humanism was a cultural movement crucial in the Renaissance era that withdrew from medieval scholasticism and renewed an interest in ancient Greco-Roman thought and teachings. According to Soltes (2011) regarding art, Petrarch’s ideals of creativity should emulate not imitate antiquity by creating its own vocabulary. In the beginning of the Renaissance, Humanism conflicted with the Medieval Byzantine world causing tension between continuity and transformation. The presence of the Black Plague and the church’s inability to stop its destruction contributed to the decline of church’s influence on society and in the arts. Humanism therefore easily attributed more importance to mankind and less importance to God. The study of anatomy and perspective enabled artists to perfect their understanding the natural world, thereby transforming subject matter into an expression of realism …show more content…
Many of the most renowned masterpieces were created within this time period. The quest to improve real world portrayal led to the development of shading techniques such as chiaroscuro, a dramatic effect of contrasted light and shadows created by a source of light falling unevenly or from a particular direction; and sfumato, blending tones of colors that gradually shade into one another softening the outlines. Another technical Renaissance development was the use of vanishing points in linear perspective, which added the illusion of a third dimension to two dimensional images. Statuary became more human than religious such as Michelangelo’s David (1504) as artists pursued an idealized depiction of the perfect human