The Renaissance 2 lesson

​How did art change during the Renaissance?

Renaissance artists sometimes used new methods. Sculptors made figures more realistic than those from the Middle Ages. Painters used perspective to create the illusion that their paintings were three dimensional. The subject of artwork changed also. Art in the Middle Ages was mostly religious. Renaissance artists reproduced other views of life. Michelangelo showed great skill as an architect, a sculptor, and a painter.

​What ideas about art developed in northern Europe?

The new ideas of Italian art moved to the north, where artists began to use them. Major artists appeared in parts of Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Dürer painted religious subjects and realistic landscapes. Holbein, Van Eyck, and Bruegel painted lifelike portraits and scenes of peasant life. They revealed much about the times. They began to use oil-based paints. Oils became very popular, and their use spread to Italy.

​How did literature change during the Renaissance?

Renaissance writers also achieved greatness. Several wrote in the vernacular. This means they wrote in their native languages. It was a change from the Middle Ages, when most writing was done in Latin. Writers also changed their subject matter. They began to express their own thoughts and feelings. Dante and others wrote poetry, letters, and stories that were more realistic. Niccoló Machiavelli took a new approach to understanding government. He focused on telling rulers how to expand their power.

​What did northern writers write?

Writers of the northern Renaissance combined humanism with a deep Christian faith. They urged reforms in the Church. They tried to make people more devoted to God. They also wanted society to be more fair. In England, Thomas More wrote a book about Utopia, an imaginary ideal society where greed, war, and conflict do not exist.

William Shakespeare is often called the greatest playwright of all time. His plays showed a brilliant command of the English language. They also show a deep understanding of people and how they interact with one another.

​Why was the printing press such an important development?

In 1440, a German, Johann Gutenberg, used a method similar to Chinese moveable type to invent his printing press. The process worked well with European languages because they had many fewer characters. He produced his first book—the Gutenberg Bible—in 1455 on his press. The technology then spread rapidly. By 1500, presses in Europe had printed nearly 10 million books.

The Renaissance prompted changes in both art and society. Artists and writers portrayed people in more realistic ways and celebrated individual achievement. In a larger sense, the Renaissance opened up a world of new ideas to people and led them to examine and question things more closely.