Renaissance
The Renaissance — French for "rebirth" — was a profound cultural movement that began in Florence in the 14th century and spread across Europe over the following three centuries. Artists and scholars turned to ancient Greek and Roman culture as a guide, marrying humanist philosophy with a rigorous new approach to painting: linear perspective, anatomical study, and the careful observation of nature. The result was an art of unprecedented spatial depth, psychological complexity, and technical refinement.
Defining characteristics
- Linear perspective and mathematical space
- Anatomical accuracy and naturalism
- Humanist themes alongside religious subjects
- Classical architectural settings
- Sfumato — subtle tonal gradation
- Idealised yet individuated figures
Early Renaissance
Florentine pioneers who developed perspective and naturalistic figure painting.
Sandro Botticelli
1445–1510 · Key figure
Patronised by the Medici, Botticelli created mythological masterpieces of lyrical grace. His flowing line and rhythmic composition place him among the finest draughtsmen of the era.
The Birth of Venus (c. 1484–1486)
Tempera on canvas · Uffizi Gallery, Florence
The goddess born from the sea — one of the most recognisable images in Western art.
Primavera (c. 1477–1482)
Tempera on panel · Uffizi Gallery, Florence
A complex allegory of spring drawn from classical myth and Medici patronage.
High Renaissance
The brief summit of Renaissance idealism, centred on Rome and Florence ca. 1490–1527.
Leonardo da Vinci
1452–1519 · Universal genius
Painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor — da Vinci embodied the Renaissance ideal of the universal man. His sfumato technique revolutionised oil painting.
Mona Lisa (c. 1503–1519)
Oil on poplar panel · Louvre Museum, Paris
The world's most visited and most written-about painting.
The Last Supper (1495–1498)
Tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic · Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
A masterwork of narrative drama and spatial illusionism.
Michelangelo
1475–1564 · Master
Sculptor and painter of superhuman ambition, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling remains the greatest individual artistic achievement in Western history.
Sistine Chapel Ceiling (1508–1512)
Fresco · Vatican City
Four years on scaffolding produced the defining image of the Renaissance.
Raphael
1483–1520 · Master
The youngest of the High Renaissance triumvirate, Raphael synthesised the achievements of Leonardo and Michelangelo into compositions of serenity and grace.
The School of Athens (1509–1511)
Fresco · Apostolic Palace, Vatican City
A panoramic gathering of ancient philosophers — Plato and Aristotle at its centre.