Many of us today have things in our culture that we appreciate without thinking about where they have come from. The things we enjoy so much could be from another culture, and even another place in time. This document will explore the influence of Italian Renaissance art on today's civilization, which has greatly changed the art of today. The Renaissance was a time period that began in the early 1300's and lasted into the 1600's. It was a time when the philosophies of the ancient Greek and Romans were rediscovered, which took place after the Middle Ages. Many of the philosophies of the Middle Ages were no longer accepted, and the Renaissance brought about a revamped way of thinking and learning, based on the Greek and Roman culture. The thinkers and humanists had much to do with the direction of the Renaissance, but the artists also had significant importance. Artists are not philosophers, although in the Renaissance they come very close to sharing in the philosophical enterprise(Gardener 561). The Renaissance was about individualism. Renaissance painters were attempting to do the same as Renaissance writers, who wanted to interpret people and nature realistically (World Book) . Architects of the Middle Ages designed huge cathedrals to emphasize the majesty and grandeur of God. Renaissance architects designed buildings on a smaller scale David2 to help make people aware of their own powers and dignity (World Book). The artists of the Middle Ages focused primarily on religious subjects, not focusing on making their art realistic. During the Renaissance, all that changed. Artists then included an emphasis on human beings and the environment, which shown that this is indication of changes in their culture at the time. Renaissance individualism and realism found their greatest and most lasting representation in the visual arts (Walker 77). There were many great artists spread across the time of the Renaissance.
