Italian Renaissance
Other destinations: gallery
Geography: Europe - Italy - Northern renaissance
Developments and events: art - discovery of Nero's house - printing - printmaking
Artists (Italy): Leonardo Da Vinci - Raphael - Michelangelo
When a young Roman inadvertently fell through a cleft in a Roman hillside at the end of the 15th century, he found himself in a strange cave or grotta filled with painted figures. Soon the young artists of Rome were having themselves let down on boards knotted to ropes to see for themselves. The frescos that were uncovered then have faded to pale gray stains on the plaster now, but the effect of these freshly-rediscovered grottesche decorations was electrifying in the early Renaissance, which was just arriving in Rome.
Leonardo Da Vinci Mona Lisa (1503-06) is among the most widely popular and influential paintings of the Renaissance.
Definition
The Renaissance was an influential cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern European history. It marks the transitional period between the end of the Middle Ages and the start of the Modern Age. The Renaissance is usually considered to have begun in the 14th century in Italy and the 16th century in northern Europe. It is also known as "Rinascimento" (in Italian). --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance [Aug 2005]
See also: Northern renaissance
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