The influences of any era is evident through artwork and architecture. During the Middle Ages the main influence was the church, this is evident through the focus on biblical and religious symbols. During the Renaissance the main focus was the study of people. This is shown through the increase in self portraits and classical antiquity-inspired buildings. The change between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is best shown through the art and architecture, demonstrated specifically through an emphasis on religion and classical antiquity, both suggesting a clear cultural change. The culture of both of these eras was greatly shaped by the studies of humanism and theology.
The transformation of cultural studies from theology to philology greatly impacted art and is shown through many paintings from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. During the Renaissance, there was a big focus change from religious figures to the human life (Class Notes). This is shown through many paintings, like the Crucifixion of St Peter by Michelangelo. This picture depicts St. Peter being nailed to a cross while people look on (Class Notes). This painting does have a religious figure, however the focus is spread out through the people. When looking at the painting, your eye is drawn to many parts, not just one. This shows the change from Christianity to humanism (Class Notes). Theology, the study of god, was the major interest of the Middle Ages. Many paintings depict Mary and baby Jesus surrounded by angels (WorldBook). These paintings show the amount of dedication the people gave to religious figures. This shows the change from the worship of the religious figures to the study of people. The paintings from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance show the fo...
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... the Crucifixion of Saint Peter. Symbolisms appeared in the majority of paintings from the Middle Ages and this shows the huge impact religion and the church had on that time period.
Art and architecture show the changes between time periods and cultural change. During the Middle Ages the church was the major focus and that is shown through paintings and buildings. The Renaissance time period was all about people and that is evident through all of the self portraits and the classical antiquity inspired buildings. Art shows the influence and cultural changes of a time period. Focus changes through time and that is evident through art.
Works Cited
Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. "Middle Ages." World Book Student. World Book, 2014. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.
Class Notes
Hankins, James. "Renaissance." World Book Student. World Book, 2014. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.
The European Renaissance occurring from 1450 to 1650, marked a change that led to many developments in art, religion, literature and the economy. The impact of the Renaissance changed the thinking and life. The society saw a rise in creativity, in ambition and in politics. During the Renaissance (the rebirth) achievement in art especially rose, though depending on where the Renaissance was, it was a different experience all around. Renaissance art in Italy and southern Europe had more of a grecian theme, while northern Renaissance focused more on life and mythology.
When a person thinks about the Renaissance, the first thing that comes to mind is more than likely knights in shining armor fighting off dragons and saving the princess. However, lets look at a more realistic approach towards the Renaissance and talk about what really brings out the brilliance and the beauty of this time period, which is nonetheless the art that was informed and inspired by classical antiquity from the Greeks and the Roman civilizations. The artist during the Renaissance was pure genius and masters of draftsmanship and distinguished techniques in displaying a command of lighting, flawless perspectives of image, accurate portrayals of flora and fauna, and the complexities and intricacies of human anatomy and physiology. This period was heavily influenced by religious relic and concepts and these artists expanded beyond the ideas of religious intuitive. Renaissance art was a movement of rediscovering people as individuals as a person and not just another being and this proven through the faces on paintings that have profound and very distinctive displays and expression of emotion. Artwork during the Renaissance became the it thing to do spreading into the households of wealthy merchants, bankers, popes, and princes spending large amounts of money on portraits, miniatures, and still life photographs.
Between the Renaissance and the Reformation, many important changes came along to society. One of the most important was the new idea of humanism which led to magnificent progression in art, architecture, and literature. Another important change was with religion. An example of this would be the creation of Protestantism when people began disagreeing with the decisions of the Catholic Church. All of these changes were important in helping the people still hurting from the Black Death, as well as building a foundation for today’s society.
Christianity has had a major impact in European history as the majority of the populations were Christians, and as many nations started out as Christendom. Even today, it has a profound impact in the decision making of nations and billions of people who follow its doctrine. Therefore, representing Christianity through the medium of art was an important factor artists had to consider. Many artists decided to paint the scene of the Crucifixion of Jesus as it is considered to be the most important scene for many Christians. Some artists, like Christus, opted for a more emotionally muted route while other artists, like Crivelli, went on to capture the emotional distress of the scene. Neither method is objectively better than the other as both artists
The Renaissance started in Italy in the 14th century. It was referred to as the “rebirth” because it brought back attention to art and science. The Middle-Ages was really religion-dominated. The Renaissance turned the attention to being an individual and worldly experiences; they were the main themes of the Renaissance art movement. Art benefited from the patronage of such influential groups as Medici family of Florence, the Sforza family of Milan and the Popes Julius II and Leo X. This movement helped art become more sophisticated. Many ideas from the renaissance art movement spread to different parts of Europe.
One can learn a great deal about fourteenth century art by observing and analyzing the subjects ,the central and main focus of the art works at this period.The main subject religion ,in particular Christianity was flourishing in Europe at this time . Christianity was the central and dominate power politically and religiously.Political leaders ruled under a theocratic government.Every aspect of life revolved around religion;Education domestic,and social.Any work of art paintings or architectural,communicates these historical significance in fourteenth century Europe.Before man learned to write they learned how To draw and make art so it's only natural they recorded their history through means of art.The altarpiece triptych series by one of Giotto's pupil .which illustrates significant stages in the life of Christ,shows how centered Christianity was in fourteenth century Europe.
The Renaissance was a time of rebirth, as its name entails. In Italy, more people were becoming literate and more books were being printed. More scientific discoveries were being made and therefore more theories were being published. In this time of intellectual prosperity, art also made a great leap. Perspective was the main change during this time period, and throughout the years, starting around 1400, it became more involved and more intricate. Eventually artists were so adept at using it, that it became the primary way to insert intimacy and feelings of emotion into a painting. This evolution of technique paved the way for later artists to play with new approaches to allow the viewer to experience an image in different ways.
The Renaissance art had well defined landscapes, natural folds in drapery and three dimensional objects or people. The middle ages art was focused on religion and symbolic representations (Doc.A). At the same time the new artistic styles almost kind of mocked the the movements and interest of the new age. That is how the renaissance changed has man’s view of man on art.(doc.A)
The Web. The Web. 23 Nov. 2011. The "Middle Ages - Information, Facts, and Links." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans.
Artistic innovations in the Italian Renaissance era paved a way differentiating from Middle Age art by combining newly-found influences in an increased awareness of nature, a revival of classical learning, and a more prominent individualistic view of man. The Italian Renaissance period was an era of experimentation and technical mastery. As noted by Julie L. Carnagie in The Renaissance and Reformation Reference Library, “During the Middle Ages, art had a religious theme and the artist was an anonymous vehicle for glorifying God. In the Renaissance, however, human beings became the central focus of artistic expression in painting, sculpture, and architecture.” Within European society, the Middle Ages was classified as a time period of darkness consumed with little education or innovation. The medieval period was commonly viewed as an inte...
Much of the art created during the Renaissance was geared toward religion, and with Michelangelo this was no exception. By th...
The shift between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was characterized by great socio-economic, political, and religious changes. Politically, the feudal system of the Middle Ages was exchanged for a more stable centralized republic/monarchy system that gave the people more freedom and input. Religiously, secularism became more important as stability gave people a chance to concern themselves with the “here and now” rather than simply the “hereafter.” Socially, there was a shift from dogma and unshakeable belief to humanism and the ability to interpret things for oneself. The Middle Ages began around 400 CE and lasted until 1400 CE while the Renaissance began around 1200 and continued until 1600. The 200 years that overlap between these two periods contain many pieces of “transition” art in which it is obvious that the change is beginning to take place. These collective changes that took place in this period dictated change in art as well. There were changes in iconography, style, purpose, and patronage that facilitated the overall transformation of art from a sense of illustrating what you are told to believe is true to optical realism and conveying how you yourself interpret that “truth”.
Witcombe, Chris. Art History Resources on the Web. 24 October 1995. Art of the Middle Ages. 17 January 2002.
The introduction of Christianity as a major religion followed the pattern of other ancient religions. Many of the great works of art were done for religious purposes. Some of the most famous artworks in history are religious. Just a few that come immediately to mind are The Last Supper, the ceiling of the Cysteine Chapel, and the Statue of David. Even during the period known as the Dark Ages art was inspired by religion. True, the art was generally dark and full of death and demons, but the art was based upon religious themes, mostly from the book of Revelations. As with the art that preceded it, the religious art of Christianity is full of symbolism. For example, a painting where the man is standing with two fingers upraised on his right hand is generally a religious leader such as a pope or Jesu...
Art is important to religion in many different ways. Perhaps none has analyzed how art and religion have influenced and affected each other through the ages. Pictures painted of past events that help to bring back the feeling and importance of the past have been forgotten by some. To the one’s that haven’t forgotten are able to see the event’s as the bible says they happened. Not only can you see the events, but it also allows the younger students of the church to understand the events. The use of images of God became widespread after the second century. This religious art has defiantly been around for centuries and plays an important role to the history of religion as well as the future.