Humanistic Influences During The Renaissance

Intrigued by the beliefs for artists developed in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance bore a new evolution for artistic beliefs. Scholasticism was a popular belief during the Middle Ages that revolved around God. For artists during the Middle Ages, it was to believe that they were no more than craftsmen having God work through them. However, the Renaissance created a new belief as humanism; artists that worked through this time were considered geniuses of their own creations. The position of scholasticism in the Middle Ages reformed into humanism during the Renaissance through the works of artists, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.

Leonardo da Vinci is credited for establishing humanistic influences during the Renaissance. Da Vinci enjoyed incorporating science with art; with his findings he concluded that objects were not made of just outlines, but were three-dimensional bodies that were delineated by shadows and light. He was one of the first to study the physical proportions of humans; men, women, and even children to establish the “ideal” figure. He believed as an artist, one should know not just the rules of perspective, but also the laws of nature. His observations of perspective and proportion paved way for new artistic views

Sanzio’s works focused on the perfection of grace and spatial geometry. He based his work on the influential works of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. He favored the pyramidal composition Leonardo used on the “Mona Lisa”, Leonardo’s new sfumato technique, and Michelangelo's new form of emotion. His works suggested specifically in his proclivity for highly investigative modes. It also reflected as one of the fundamental components of neoclassicism later near the end of the Renaissance. Sanzio’s work based on influential ideas of perfection, grace, and spacial geometry elevated new ways for painting techniques and colors during the