“The history of the world can be told through accounts of great battles, the lives of kings and queens, and the discoveries and inventions of scientists and explorers. But the history of the way people think and feel about themselves and the world is told through art.” This is particularly true to the Renaissance era, a period in which classicism, individualism, humanism and secularism flourished. These main ideals of the Renaissance are best represented through its artistic achievements, by such individuals as Michelangelo, Leonardo de Vinci, Palestrina, and Brunelleschi. Artists of the age were able to capture in their art the concept that people were beginning to expand their worldview, and to flirt with the idea that man was capable of uncovering nature’s secrets. A considerable cultural impact was made by art during the Renaissance, but the same art also helps people today understand the ideals of the age.
During the era of classicism, artists were heavily influenced by the antiquity of Europe, identifying and copying classical Greek and Roman culture, rejecting immediate medieval past
“upon achievements of the Classical period to achieve a new era of greatness in the name of Christianity” . These artists inherited the “classical ideals of reason, moderation, and proportion” , reinforced by a new understanding of perspective space and volume. Characteristics included structural overtones of orderliness, predictability, the importance of rigorous discipline, as well as pedagogy. For instance, many architects, painters, and sculptors including Filippo Brunelleschi and Donatello went to Rome, and other ancient cities to study their ruins. The result was incredible and priceless creations such as the 29 pieces of sculpture that Donatello created for the Basilica di Sant’Antonio’s High Alter of St. Anthony , or the well acclaimed David by Michelangelo. Similarly, science was huge game changer in the world of art, as Leonardo da Vinci dissected cadavers to...