The Renaissance was a period in Europe, from the 14th to the 17th century, regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It started as a cultural movement in Italy, specifically in Florence, in the late medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe, marking the beginning of the early modern age. Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete.
Though availability of paper and the invention of metal movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century, the changes of the Renaissance were not uniformly experienced across Europe. As a cultural movement, the Renaissance encompassed the innovative flowering of Latin and vernacular literatures, beginning with the 14th-century resurgence of learning based on classical sources, which contemporaries credited to Petrarch; the development of linear perspective and other techniques of rendering a more natural reality in painting; and gradual but widespread educational reform.
In politics, the Renaissance contributed the development of the conventions of diplomacy, and in science an increased reliance on observation. Various theories have been proposed to account for the origins and characteristics of the Renaissance, focusing on a variety of factors, including the social and civic peculiarities of Florence at the time; its political structure; the patronage of its dominant family, the Medici; and the migration of Greek scholars and texts to Italy following the Fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Ottoman Turks.
Desiderius Erasmus — : Scholar from Holland who defined the humanist movement in Northern Europe. Translator of the New Testament into Greek. Rene Descartes — : French philosopher and mathematician regarded as the father of modern philosophy.
Galileo : Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer whose pioneering work with telescopes enabled him to describes the moons of Jupiter and rings of Saturn. Placed under house arrest for his views of a heliocentric universe. Nicolaus Copernicus — : Mathematician and astronomer who made first modern scientific argument for the concept of a heliocentric solar system.
Giotto : Italian painter and architect whose more realistic depictions of human emotions influenced generations of artists. Best known for his frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. William Tyndale — : English biblical translator, humanist and scholar burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English.
Raphael — : Italian painter who learned from da Vinci and Michelangelo. Art, architecture and science were closely linked during the Renaissance. In fact, it was a unique time when these fields of study fused together seamlessly. For instance, artists like da Vinci incorporated scientific principles, such as anatomy into their work, so they could recreate the human body with extraordinary precision.
Architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi studied mathematics to accurately engineer and design immense buildings with expansive domes. Scientific discoveries led to major shifts in thinking: Galileo and Descartes presented a new view of astrology and mathematics, while Copernicus proposed that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the solar system.
Renaissance art was characterized by realism and naturalism. Artists strived to depict people and objects in a true-to-life way. They used techniques, such as perspective, shadows and light to add depth to their work. Emotion was another quality that artists tried to infuse into their pieces. While many artists and thinkers used their talents to express new ideas, some Europeans took to the seas to learn more about the world around them.
In a period known as the Age of Discovery, several important explorations were made. Voyagers launched expeditions to travel the entire globe. Humanism encouraged Europeans to question the role of the Roman Catholic church during the Renaissance. Michelangelo died in Isabella Whitney, the first English woman ever to have written non-religious verses, published "The Copy of a Letter" in Actively scan device characteristics for identification.
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Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Robert Wilde. History Expert. Robert Wilde is a historian who writes about European history. He is the author of the History in an Afternoon textbook series. As a cultural movement, the Renaissance encompassed the innovative flowering of Latin and vernacular literatures, beginning with the 14th-century resurgence of learning based on classical sources, which contemporaries credited to Petrarch; the development of linear perspective and other techniques of rendering a more natural reality in painting; and gradual but widespread educational reform.
In politics, the Renaissance contributed the development of the conventions of diplomacy, and in science an increased reliance on observation. Various theories have been proposed to account for the origins and characteristics of the Renaissance, focusing on a variety of factors, including the social and civic peculiarities of Florence at the time; its political structure; the patronage of its dominant family, the Medici; and the migration of Greek scholars and texts to Italy following the Fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Ottoman Turks.
Many argue that the ideas characterizing the Renaissance had their origin in late 13th-century Florence, in particular in the writings of Dante Alighieri — and Petrarch — , as well as the paintings of Giotto di Bondone —
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