Editing Renaissance (section)

===Art===
{{Main|Renaissance art}}

Renaissance art marks a cultural rebirth at the close of the Middle Ages and rise of the Modern world. One of the distinguishing features of Renaissance art was its development of highly realistic linear perspective. [[Giotto|Giotto di Bondone]] (1267–1337) is credited with first treating a painting as a window into space, but it was not until the demonstrations of architect [[Filippo Brunelleschi]] (1377–1446) and the subsequent writings of [[Leon Battista Alberti]] (1404–1472) that perspective was formalized as an artistic technique.<ref>Clare, John D. & Millen, Alan, ''Italian Renaissance'', London, 1994, p. 14.</ref>

[[File:Da Vinci Vitruve Luc Viatour.jpg|thumb|left|[[Leonardo da Vinci]]'s ''[[Vitruvian Man]]'' (c. 1490) demonstrates the effect writers of Antiquity had on Renaissance thinkers. Based on the specifications in [[Vitruvius]]' ''[[De architectura]]'' (1st century BC), Leonardo tried to draw the perfectly proportioned man. ([[Gallerie dell'Accademia]], [[Venice]])]]
The development of [[Perspective (graphical)|perspective]] was part of a wider trend toward [[Realism (arts)|realism]] in the arts.<ref>Stork, David G. ''[http://sirl.stanford.edu/~bob/teaching/pdf/arth202/Stork_SciAm04.pdf Optics and Realism in Renaissance Art] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614023308/http://sirl.stanford.edu/~bob/teaching/pdf/arth202/Stork_SciAm04.pdf |date=14 June 2007 }}'' (Retrieved 10 May 2007)</ref> Painters developed other techniques, studying light, shadow, and, famously in the case of [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[human anatomy]]. Underlying these changes in artistic method was a renewed desire to depict the beauty of nature and to unravel the axioms of [[aesthetics]], with the works of Leonardo, [[Michelangelo]] and [[Raphael]] representing artistic pinnacles that were much imitated by other artists.<ref>Vasari, Giorgio, ''Lives of the Artists'', translated by George Bull, Penguin Classics, 1965, {{ISBN|0140441646}}.</ref> Other notable artists include [[Sandro Botticelli]], working for the Medici in Florence, [[Donatello]], another Florentine, and [[Titian]] in Venice, among others.

In the [[Low Countries]], a particularly vibrant artistic culture developed. The work of [[Hugo van der Goes]] and [[Jan van Eyck]] was particularly influential on the development of painting in Italy, both technically with the introduction of [[oil paint]] and canvas, and stylistically in terms of naturalism in representation. Later, the work of [[Pieter Brueghel the Elder]] would inspire artists to depict themes of everyday life.<ref>''[http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/bio/b/bruegel/pieter_e/biograph.html Peter Brueghel Biography]'', Web Gallery of Art (Retrieved 10 May 2007)</ref>

In architecture, Filippo Brunelleschi was foremost in studying the remains of ancient classical buildings. With rediscovered knowledge from the 1st-century writer [[Vitruvius]] and the flourishing discipline of mathematics, Brunelleschi formulated the Renaissance style that emulated and improved on classical forms. His major feat of engineering was building the dome of [[Florence Cathedral]].<ref>Hooker, Richard, ''[http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/arts/Architec/RenaissanceArchitecture/ArchitectureandPublicSpace/ArchitectureandPublicSpace.htm Architecture and Public Space] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070522160730/http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/arts/Architec/RenaissanceArchitecture/ArchitectureandPublicSpace/ArchitectureandPublicSpace.htm |date=22 May 2007 }}'' (Retrieved 10 May 2007)</ref> Another building demonstrating this style is the [[Basilica of Sant'Andrea, Mantua]], built by Alberti. The outstanding architectural work of the [[High Renaissance]] was the rebuilding of [[St. Peter's Basilica]], combining the skills of [[Bramante]], Michelangelo, Raphael, [[Antonio da Sangallo the Younger|Sangallo]] and [[Carlo Maderno|Maderno]].

During the Renaissance, architects aimed to use columns, [[pilaster]]s, and [[entablatures]] as an integrated system. The Roman orders types of columns are used: [[Tuscan order|Tuscan]] and [[Composite order|Composite]]. These can either be structural, supporting an arcade or architrave, or purely decorative, set against a wall in the form of pilasters. One of the first buildings to use pilasters as an integrated system was in the Old Sacristy (1421–1440) by Brunelleschi.<ref>{{cite book|title=Filippo Brunelleschi: The Buildings|last=Saalman|first=Howard|publisher=Zwemmer|year=1993|isbn=978-0271010670}}</ref> Arches, semi-circular or (in the [[Mannerism|Mannerist]] style) segmental, are often used in arcades, supported on piers or columns with capitals. There may be a section of entablature between the capital and the springing of the arch. Alberti was one of the first to use the arch on a monumental. Renaissance vaults do not have ribs; they are semi-circular or segmental and on a square plan, unlike the [[Gothic style|Gothic]] vault, which is frequently rectangular.

Renaissance artists were not pagans, although they admired antiquity and kept some ideas and symbols of the medieval past. [[Nicola Pisano]] (c. 1220 – c. 1278) imitated classical forms by portraying scenes from the Bible. His ''Annunciation'', from the [[Pisa Baptistry]], demonstrates that classical models influenced Italian art before the Renaissance took root as a literary movement.<ref>Hause, S. & Maltby, W. (2001). ''A History of European Society. Essentials of Western Civilization'' (Vol. 2, pp. 250–251). Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.</ref>