Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Renaissance

I’m back! Tennessee was fantastic. The weather was pretty good for most of the long weekend. I saw lots of great bands, met some nice people, and got to spend time with one of my closest friends who lives in Florida.

But you’ve been missing your daily dose of art, I know. . .

Most of you have heard of the Renaissance but some of you are not sure what the word means. You have probably even heard of a lot of famous artists from the time, like Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Leonardo da Vinci. You don’t have to wonder anymore. Today, I’ll tell you about the Renaissance.

The word Renaissance means rebirth. Beginning in the 1400s, artists wanted to create realistic paintings and sculpture like the ancient Greeks and Romans did. The Renaissance was the rebirth of the artistic style of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Artists continued to paint in this style until the 1600s.

The Renaissance began in Italy in the 1400s but spread to England, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, and the Netherlands. I have highlighted these countries in red in the map below.
During the Renaissance, artists were able to create art that was even more realistic than the art of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Renaissance artists were the first to study perspective and use it in their art. (I’ve already posted about perspective. Refresh your memory if you need to.) They also studied the human body and how it worked. Leonardo da Vinci is famous for his studies. He wanted to know exactly how muscles flexed and how bodies bent and moved. It was important that the people in his paintings looked natural. Other Renaissance artists agreed.

The Renaissance was about more than just art. During the Renaissance many scientific discoveries were made. Scientists developed a new way of learning. They looked at the things around them and used what they saw as evidence. Also during the Renaissance, people studied books from ancient Greece and Rome. They used what they read to shape their world.

Tomorrow I’ll post about Leonardo da Vinci.

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1 comment:

PeterParis said...

Just wanted to say "hello" to you and your nice blog.)
Nice to see you back! Now you are starting a big chapter!