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The Renaissance

Art

The most readily recognized aspect of the Renaissance is the art: the painting, especially, but the sculpture and architecture as well. Look at a medieval painting and a Renaissance painting side by side and the differences are startling. The one looks flat and almost cartoonish, while the other has depth and motion and realism.

The change came first in Italy, though a second center grew up independently in Flanders, and was driven by innovations in materials and technique, and was conditioned by changed in theme as well. By the 15th century, there was also a fundamental shift in the relations between artist and customer, and this too had a significant effect on the nature of the works themselves.

Here, I shall look at the factors mentioned above: the innovations in material and technique, the new themes, and the changed relationship between artist and society.