A revolution is considered revolutionary, it has to leave a long lasting influence through social, economic and political means. Many debate whether the Renaissance Period, 1300 - 1700, was considered a revolutionary period of history or not. However the Renaissance means “rebirth” and was the cultural bridge to the current era, the Modern Times. The Renaissance was a revolutionary period of history due to it’s changes in art, politics, science and technology, and religion. During this period, art became more realistic, politics became based on merit, science and technology reached its greatest innovation point and lastly, religion began to fade away as humanism started to take its place in society.
During the Renaissance, the production of art was made over a long time. New techniques and characteristics emerged as well as masterpieces that were made by some of the most influential artists in the history of the world. During the Gothic and Romanesque periods, the techniques used for art were not as realistic as the Renaissance’s art; they were flat, one-dimensional, and unproportional. During the Renaissance however, the concept of proportion, perspective, chiaroscuro, and sfumato was formed (R. A. Guisepi). Proportion is the technique of having a greater understanding of portraying objects or people accurately. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman author, architect, mathematician and doctor who described the ideal proportions of a human during his time. He set out certain measurements and values of the human body. In 1414, Vitruvius’ work was rediscovered and implemented into art by many artists like Leonardo di Vinci who created the Vitruvian Man in 1492. Another technique that was developed was perspective. Perspective was formed with the creation of the vanishing point to make paintings more realistic. Masaccio was one of the great painters of his time because of his skill of recreating lifelike figures and movement, along with portraying a sense of three-dimensionality. Most of Masaccio’s paintings have great use of perspective and chiaroscuro to show realism. Chiaroscuro was another technique that was formed to show light and dark intensities to give the impression of depth and texture as well as a source of light. With the use of different shades of color, sfumato was a new technique that emerged during this time that produces soft, unnoticeable transitions between colors and tones to show blending and oneness. These techniques established a basis of modern art. These techniques are still used till this day and have shaped the way art is currently made, changing the lifestyle and way art is shown now (Telegraph).
Along with the different kinds of techniques in art, a shift in artistic themes occurred due to a change in the artist’s perception of life and their values. The Renaissance was an era that was home to some of the most influential artists of all time – Michelangelo Buonarotti, Raffaello Sanzio, and Leonardo di Vinci are few of the many. One main characteristic that made the Renaissance revolutionary was realism; artists began to paint and produce what they saw rather than what an ideal was. These thoughts allowed future generations to take a look at what life was like during the Renaissance and allowed for the expression and communication of political and social power along with family values at the time to be expressed. Classicism was another major theme in art during the Renaissance. Classicism is the Greco-Roman influence on art along with humanism, symmetry and balance. Classicism was also portrayed through sculptures. The most popular sculptures of the Renaissance are the “Three Davids” made by Donatello, Andrea del Verrocchio, and Michelangelo. All three David’s are influenced heavily on the Greco-Roman style. The art of the Renaissance is extremely revolutionary due to much advancement in techniques and a shift in themes and characteristics that were made by some of the greatest artists of all time. Renaissance art allows the world to evolve in ideals from perfectionism and God to realism and humanism.
Politics allow a society to stay civilized and move onward. There are many styles of politics as shifts occur in the way a group of people govern a country era to era. The Renaissance is an example of a shift of power that initiated the new style of politics we have today. The world has always seen a monarchy and God-based society since the beginning of time; people have always believed that the nobles are closer to God and therefore should be rulers in society. This belief has existed for many eras and has been applied into politics almost everywhere. However, the Renaissance begins to change that ideology and form the face of modern politics. The Renaissance is a time period that saw a great shift in power due to a change in social ideologies; people were more concerned about themselves and put God second which allowed room