The Renaissance Period

The Renaissance was a period in history that began in Italy dating back to around the 1300s. It followed The Middle Ages and was considered a time of “rebirth”. The people of Europe increased much interest in learning, in the arts and in literature. It also provided the world with a big advancement in science and technology. People questioned old beliefs and were able to turn their miseries into optimism. The Renaissance changed man’s view of man in at least four areas: art, literature, astronomy, and anatomy.

The renaissance is defined as the “rebirth” of civilization in Europe from the 14th to 17th centuries (General Characteristics of the Renaissance). A renewed interest of classical world spread from its beginning in Italy, north to Germany and

The Italian Renaissance had two distinct periods during its lifetime. The first being the “Early Renaissance”, which took place between the late 13th and the early 14th centuries. The second period was known as the “High Renaissance”, which took place during the 15th and 16th centuries. These two periods had very distinct foundations and styles behind the art and architecture of their respective periods. The Early Renaissance revived many old themes which later became the foundations for the High Renaissance. While the High Renaissance strayed from previous traditions and had its own form of art and essentially perfected early themes and styles of art and included more scientific/mathematic components.

The Renaissance period is known for the revival of the classical art and intellect born in ancient Greece and Rome. The Renaissance is also a time that is marked by growth, exploration, and rebirth. The Italian Renaissance started in Florence and progressively made its way into Venice and then into the great city of Rome. During the Renaissance, Rome was home to some of the most renowned works of art and the finest architectural masterpieces in the world - too many that still holds true today. Along with the delicate architecture and grand artistry, Rome was also home to a mixture of people and cultures. It is in this cultural context and through the book A Street Life in Renaissance Rome: A Brief History with Documents, that understanding how men, woman, and specifically Jews and Christians lived in Rome becomes important to better understand this period of renewal.

The Renaissance period was between 1400-1600 century. It began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe. The Renaissance time is were self paintings mostly came from. In most of the painting the people were nude. They started making the painting 3D. There are many things about the Renaissance. Renaissance means born a new. The concept enshrined in the world of Renaissance is actually one of rebirth. It was considered the beginning of modern history. The High Renaissance was from about 1495-1527. The Late Renaissance was from about 1527-1600.

Italy can be looked at as the home of the renaissance and consequently the immergence of great art. Artists such as Michelangelo, Botticelli, Da Vinci, and Raphael are some of the greats and are looked at for standards. But what about the artists whose lives are mysteries, and their works that were influenced by the greats? These artists hold just as much importance in the history of art as do the artist’s whose names can be recalled off the top of an average person’s head. During the sixteenth century things began to change in the art world, and that change was the Baroque. This new style of art brought a revolution to how subject matter was painted, it brought upon “… a radical reconsideration of art and its purposes…” (249) and how artists of all ranks could learn to paint the up and coming style of Baroque.

To understand the greatness of the microscope, the history of the microscope should be made known. The origins of the microscope can be traced back to the Roman invention of glass in the first century A.D. When the Romans experimented with different shapes of glass, they discovered that when the middle of the glass was thicker than the edges, things that were seen through the glass appeared larger. This discovery evolved into the first eye glass, which was made in the thirteenth century. The first true microscope was first invented in 1590 by the Dutch glasses makers Zacharias Janssen and his father, Hans. The first person to build and actually use the microscope scientifically was Anton van Leeuwenhoek in the seventeenth century. He achieved much greater magnification than other scientists had, and because of this, he was able to be the first to see miniscule creatures such as bacteria and microorganisms living in a drop of water.

Earlier on, dating back to the Romans, glass was used to magnify objects for easy viewing and by the 13th century the first glass eyepiece was invented by the Italian inventor Salvino D'Armate. Through the years, methods were developed to created magnifications up to 3x-5x. These primitive lens were frequently used during examination of tiny insects such as ants or fleas.

The Italian Renaissance was a time for great cultural change and achievements, which began in Italy approximately during the 13th century and lasted up until the 16th century. It marked the transition between the Dark Ages and Early Modern Europe. The European Renaissance originated in Central Italy, and centered in the city of Florence.i The distinctive characteristics of northern Italian states such as art, literature, philosophy, and culture produced an atmosphere of learning and artistic expression.

A major work published in 1632 resulted in Galileo's conviction on suspension of heresy and a lifetime house arrest. Galileo built his first telescope at the age of 46. He focused mainly on physics, and astronomy. Galileo was mountains, valleys, and other features indicating change on the moon.

Galileo Galilei was regarded as ‘way ahead of his time’ (ed. Shea ix), as his first biographer, Vincenzio Viviani, wrote in 1654, 12 years after Galileo’s death. Threatened by the Inquisition for daring to contradict the literal truth of the Bible, Galileo’s astronomical discoveries changed the way we perceive the world as well as our place in the universe. His legacy ignited a scientific revolution that inspired all his later great successors, first of Newton. Galileo was continually threatened by the Roman Catholic Church for contradicting the Church and the Bible itself.

Renaissance time period was the beginning of many changes. However, not just in the field of art, but also fields like science, mathematics, biology, and religion the staple of many works of art in the past. This was the beginning stages of change, and Galileo would ultimately pay the price of imprisonment for challenging what we thought we knew. Many great artists would also come from this time. These artists would not just be you typical painters or sculptures from the past, but better rounded knowledge based artists. Artists who would understand the science and mathematics behind everyday events, whether this was when looking at human bodies and how they moved or the stars and how they moved about in our solar system. They began the more realistic thoughts on how things worked and art started to very slowing exit out of the usual biblical and eternal works of art. However, many great artists throughout the renaissance period would be born and

Renaissance era covers the 300 years from 1400 to 1699 and is characterized by a revival of Classical scholarship, wisdom and values. European culture was reborn in the 15th century after a long dormant period in the Middle Ages that extended from the fall of the Roman Empire until the beginning of the 14th century. In addition to the revival of Classical scholarship, the Renaissance period also experienced cultural, scientific and technological advancements such as the discovery and exploration of new continents, the adoption of Copernicus’s and Galileo’s views of the earth and solar system, the decline of the feudal system, the growth of commerce, and the invention of paper, printing press, the mariner’s compass, and gunpowder.

Renaissance literally means rebirth. It refers particularly to the rebirth of learning during this period. There was a tremendous revival of classical literature and art, but in the end it was the joining of this with the intellect of the Italian people that lead to the change of the Western World. This period was definitely more than just a rebirth though, it was also an age of new discoveries, both geographic and intellectual. Both of these resulted in changes of tremendous importance for Western civilization.

With the use of the telescope Galileo was able to provide pivotal evidence for the Copernican Revolution in the early 1600s. Galileo was the first person to use the telescope for astronomy. He was able discover that the sun rotated on an axis by observing the motion of sunspots. By this discovery he concluded that it was very probable that