Renaissance art

European visual art from roughly the 14th through 16th centuries, marked by renewed engagement with classical antiquity, naturalism, and linear perspective.

Linear perspective: A method for representing three-dimensional space on a flat surface through converging lines and a vanishing point. It gave painters a systematic way to construct convincing depth.
The Tribute Money: A fresco by Masaccio in the Brancacci Chapel, depicting episodes from the Gospel of Matthew in one landscape. Its unified perspective and naturalistic figures demonstrate early Renaissance painting.
Florence: A city in central Italy that became a major center of Renaissance art, commerce, and political life. Florentine patrons and workshops helped establish early Renaissance styles.
Masaccio: An Italian painter whose early fifteenth-century frescoes helped establish naturalistic figures and coherent perspective. His Brancacci Chapel paintings became a model for generations of Florentine artists.
Gothic art: European art from the twelfth through sixteenth centuries, known for features such as pointed arches, ornate surfaces, and elongated figures. Renaissance artists shifted emphasis from Gothic stylization toward classical form and spatial naturalism.
Chiaroscuro: The use of strong contrasts between light and dark to model volume and create depth. Renaissance artists used tonal transitions to make bodies and objects appear solid.
The Birth of Venus: A tempera painting by Sandro Botticelli showing Venus arriving on shore after her birth from the sea. Its mythological subject shows how classical themes entered Renaissance painting.
Giotto: An Italian painter and architect whose work around 1300 introduced greater volume and emotional presence into religious painting. His figures and staged spaces anticipated later Renaissance naturalism.
Sandro Botticelli: A Florentine painter known for works including The Birth of Venus and Primavera. His elegant line and mythological subjects offer a distinctive alternative to strict naturalism.
International Gothic: A refined late medieval style characterized by elegant figures, intricate detail, and courtly subjects across Europe. Its decorative elegance contrasts with the Renaissance pursuit of measured space and bodily weight.

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