The Renaissance or Rebirth of the European cultural scene spanned the period between the fourteenth and the seventeenth century and it collectively refers to the collection of paintings, murals, sculptures and other works that were created as part of the revival of the classical past of Europe. During this period artists created various works and masterpieces including art, literature and learning ideas, which in turn gave Europe a new cultural foundation to begin with. The work created during this period had a very distinguished style influenced by the remnants of the Middle Ages.
Italian artists and writers wanted to bring back the values, teachings and the civilized culture and tradition left by the Greco-Roman era. During the Middle Ages,
…show more content…
'In Raphael’s Philosophy mural (commonly known as School of Athens, FIG. 22-9) the setting is not a “school” but a congregation of the great philosophers and scientists of the ancient world.' 2 In the center of the piece, the two figures which are said to be Plato and his pupil, Aristotle holding copies of their books. Besides the fact that they are in the central figures, Aristotle's posture shows foreshortening which conveys a strong sense of depth and a powerful feel of distance. The lines on the floor, ceiling and pillars converge to a vanishing point between Plato and Aristotle's heads and hence, draw the most attention even when they are not the closest to the …show more content…
The most common types of perspectives used are one-point, two-point and three-point perspective that contain one, two and three vanishing points respectively. Some of the artistic devices that involve perspective are foreshortening and chiaroscuro. Foreshortening is utilized to give an impression of three-dimensional volume which is seen as a distortion in the artwork's perspective. Chiaroscuro is the strong contrast between light and dark in a painting. It was often used to create a more dramatic effect in a painting. In 1425, Masaccio created a piece called The Tribute Money which had a significant use of light and shadow. He used light which was emitted from outside the picture, projecting the figures in light and dark