Term Papers on THE RENAISSANCE IN ITALY

Term Paper Title	THE RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
# of Words	2452
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	9.81

THE RENAISSANCE IN ITALY

The "rebirth" of art in Italy was connected with the rediscovery of ancient philosophy, literature, science, and the evolution of empirical methods of study in these fields.  Increased awareness of classical knowledge created a new resolve to learn by direct observation and study of the natural world.  Consequently, secular themes became increasingly important to artists, and with the revived interest in antiquity came a new repertoire of subjects drawn from Greek and Roman history and mythology . The models provided by ancient buildings and works of art also inspired the development of new artistic techniques and the desire to re-create the forms and styles of classical art.
Central to the development of Renaissance art was the emergence of the artist as a creator, thought of after and respected for his erudition and imagination.  Art, too, became valued, not merely as a vehicle, but for religious and social didacticism, but even more as a mode of personal expression.
Although the evolution of Italian Renaissance art was a continuous process, it is traditionally divided into three major phases: Early, High, and Late Renaissance.  The last phase has been the subject in recent years of complex interpretations that recognize many competing and contrasting trends.  Some scholars date the beginning of the Italian Renaissance from the appearance of Giotto di Bondone in the early 14th century, others regard his prodigious achievements in naturalistic art as an isolated phenomenon.  According to the second view, the consistent development of Renaissance style began only with the generation of artists active in Florence at the beginning of the 15th century.
The principal members of the first generation of Renaissance artists, Donatello in sculpture, Filippo Brunelleschi in architecture, and Masaccio in painting, shared many important characteristics. Central to their thinking was a faith in the theoretical foundations of art and the conviction that development and progress were not only possible but essential to the life and significance of the arts.  Ancient art was revered, not only as an inspiring model but also as a record of trial and error that could reveal the successes of former great artists.  Intending to retrace the creative process rather than to merely imitate the final achievements of antiquity, Early Renaissance artists sought to create art forms consistent with the appearance of the natural world and with their experience of human personality and behavior.  The challenge of accurate representation as it concerned mass sculptural form, or the pictorial considerations of measurable space and the effects of light and color, was addressed in the spirit of intense and methodical inquiry.
Rational inquiry was believed to be the key to success; therefore, efforts were made to discover the correct laws of proportion for architecture and for the representation of the human body and to systematize the rendering of pictorial space.  Although these artists were keenly observant of natural phenomena, they also tended to extrapolate general rules from specific appearances.  Similarly, they made an effort to go beyond straightforward transcription of nature, to instill the work of art with ideal, intangible qualities, endowing it with a beauty and significance greater and more permanent than that actually found in nature.  These characteristics--the rendering of ideal forms rather than literal appearance and the concept of the physical world as the vehicle or imperfect embodiment of monumental spiritual beauty, were to remain fundamental to the nature and development of Italian Renaissance art.
The term Early Renaissance characterizes virtually all the art of the 15th century. Florence, the cradle of Renaissance artistic thought, remained one of the undisputed centers of innovation.  About 1450 a new generation of artists that included such masters as Pollaiuolo and Sandro Botticelli came to the fore in Florence.  Other Italian cities--Milan, Urbino, Ferrara, Venice, Padua, Naples--became powerf...

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