Europe had just suffered the Black Death and several wars were taking place throughout Europe. Over one third of the population died and with it died many artists. Europe was no longer concerned about religion or traditions,but survival. It seemed that the only place that managed to thrive economically after the tragedy was Italy. …show more content…
To master different arts, artists studied the human body, through autopsies. Their findings allowed them to make accurate and intricate paintings of the human body. Their intricate knowledge on the anatomy of the body made it easier for them to know the shadowing of the body.
Many of their researches also involved different sciences. Many great artists excelled in various areas of study, and were nicknamed “Renaissance Men”. Today the term a Renaissance man means someone who is masterful in various topics. The Renaissance man soon became a role model and that every man should strive to become one. This way the arts and sciences took a leading role. Soon the same man could design a building, and decorate it with paintings, carpets or sculptures.
As previously stated the knowledge on the human body allowed artists to create fluid images. A typical characteristic of both Renaissance painting and sculpting is the use of limb positioning to create weight. The different angles of limbs are always used to portray the character of the artwork, for example in Michelangelo’s David his arms are in a defying almost victorious position. This gave more meaning to each work of art. Their knowledge of muscles and bones made it easier for painters to paint a feeble old man, a child, a women or young …show more content…
However, painters found it necessary to further draw attention to the desired subject using a technique called Chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro translates to “Light-Dark”. Chiaroscuro allowed artists to create high contrasts between the foreground and the background. This contrast usually meant using darker and bolder colors in the background, while using paler tones in the foreground.
An often-overlooked characteristic of Renaissance art is the use of geometric figures. Artist would often space out characters or clump them together in triangles. They would also take backgrounds and shape them in arches around the main subject. For example in a portrait the background might be a mountain, but the mountain arches over person. The combination of geometric figures, Chiaroscuro and linear perspective facilitated the painters work to emphasize the main character in their