Renaissance
The Renaissance began in the great
city-states of Italy. Italian merchants and political officials supported and
commissioned the great artists of the day, thus the products of the Renaissance
grew up inside their walls. The most powerful city-states were Florence, The
Papal States, Venice, and Milan. Florence, considered the birthplace of the
Renaissance, grew powerful as a trading post, and remained powerful throughout
the Renaissance due to the leadership of the Medici family, who maintained the
city's financials and were intelligent and generous patrons of the arts. The
Pope, who had the responsibility of running the Catholic Church as well, ruled
Rome. As the power of the northern city-states grew, the Papacy increasingly
became the seat of an international politician rather than a spiritual leader.
Nevertheless, Rome, the victim of a decline that had destroyed the ancient city
during the Middle Ages, flourished once again under papal leadership during the
Renaissance. Venice and Milan also grew wealthy and powerful, playing large
roles in Italian politics and attracting many artists and writers to their streets.
Perhaps the most important feature of the Renaissance was the furthering of the arts, and the advancement of new techniques and styles. During the early Renaissance, painters such as Giotto, and sculptors such as Ghiberti experimented with techniques to better portray perspective. Their methods were rapidly perfected and built upon by other artists of the early Renaissance such as Botticelli and Donatello. However, the high artistic talent and production came later, during what is known as the High Renaissance, in the form of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michaelangelo, who remain the best known artists of the Renaissance. The Renaissance also saw the invention of printing in Europe and the rise of literature as an important aspect in everyday life. The Italian writers Boccaccio, Pico, and Niccolo Machiavelli were able to distribute their works much more easily and cheaply because of the rise of the printed book.
Perhaps the most important feature of the Renaissance was the furthering of the arts, and the advancement of new techniques and styles. During the early Renaissance, painters such as Giotto, and sculptors such as Ghiberti experimented with techniques to better portray perspective. Their methods were rapidly perfected and built upon by other artists of the early Renaissance such as Botticelli and Donatello. However, the high artistic talent and production came later, during what is known as the High Renaissance, in the form of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michaelangelo, who remain the best known artists of the Renaissance. The Renaissance also saw the invention of printing in Europe and the rise of literature as an important aspect in everyday life. The Italian writers Boccaccio, Pico, and Niccolo Machiavelli were able to distribute their works much more easily and cheaply because of the rise of the printed book.