European Art

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European Art

The Renaissance in Europe

Art has always fascinated people . Since the beginning of the human race , man has left his mark on the world through art even if it was only by crude drawings on a cave wall . There have been many transformations in the art world over time . However , there has never been a time when as much emphasis was placed upon the arts as during the European Renaissance

Artist were seen as craftsmen in the Middle

Ages and in the Renaissance there were seen as a part of royalty Patrons changed from just the Church and royalty to wealthy merchants as well , therefore the subjects were no longer just of religious and royal themes they wanted to portray nature as accurately as possible the nude and the beauty of the human body was reintroduced the idea that many parts could be combined to create the perfect human subject was practiced and they utilized the technique of the study of light and its effect on the perception of a subject

We might even say that the Renaissance was the time when the concept of art ' arose , for it was during these centuries that painting sculpture , and architecture began to earn their privileged positions in Western thought (Getlein ch 16

The Renaissance could have happened possibly in Greece because of its splendid past and access to waterways that led to trade with many different nations , but it did not , instead it was Italy . Italy also had a magnificent past on which to draw that the other European nations did not . The location of Italy also spurred the movement because it is a peninsula jutting into the Mediterranean Sea . Therefore it was perfectly situated for trade routes . Italy is also the center for the Catholic Church and the wealth that it possesses has always made it a great patron

As the Renaissance spread throughout Europe , it changed . In Northern Europe there was more of an emphasis on emotion than the reason of Italy . There was much more contrast between light and dark as well as colors . It also became much more ornamental and elaborate . There was an opulence that was incredible . Gianlorenzo Bernini was an artist who epitomized this concept in his works

In architecture and sculpture , however , his gifts rose to the level of genius . Bernini 's talents are on full display in the Cornaro Chapel in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome (Getlein ch 17

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe , it was known as The Age of Kings ' because of the rule of the absolute monarchs of Northern Europe

Frederick the Great of Prussia , Maria Theresa of Austria , Peter the Great and Catherine the Great of Russia , and a succession of grand kings named Louis in France , to name but a few . These monarchs governed as virtual dictators , and their influence dominated social and cultural affairs of the time as well as political...