The Renaissance period is one of the greatest movements in history. From the basic definition, renaissance is a term that is derived from the French language meaning rebirth. It is commonly used to define the phase of transformation that occurred in Europe between the 14 th and 16 th century. These changes led to the revival of classical art, architecture, science, philosophy, and literature. The renaissance can be therefore be used to describe the period of greater cultural, political and social changes throughout the European nations, It was characterized by a series of innovations, creativity, and imagination which led to the reinvigoration and rebirth of Europe’s classic art from past artists.
It is imperative to note that most of the inspiration for these movements came from the attempts of some individuals to emulate and improve the legacies of conventional European societies like Ancient Greece and Rome. This period also serves as a representation of a break from the traditional conformist culture and society in Medieval Europe. Such societies were characterized by a strict method of doing things through practices and rules that had been outlined. The transition, therefore, broke the rigidity of the system through the introduction of new and innovative ideas that started to spread on a wide scale and influence the development of new artwork.
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One of the most important things to note is that even though the renaissance movement later spread out to Europe, it initially started in the cities of Northern Italy during the 14 th century ( König & Woolf, 2013 ). To be specific, the birthplace of this movement is considered to be Tuscan city in Florence. Political officials and Italian merchants commissioned and supported the professional artists during that time and as such, the production of modern artwork in the renaissance flourished within the walls of their cities. Some of the powerful states include the great city of Florence, Milan, the Papal States, and Venice. Each of these cities grew and developed with their own unique character because they had different forms of political authority presiding.
For instance, Rome was ruled by the pope, who had been tasked with the responsibility of running the Catholic Church ( Hollingsworth, 2013 ). Florence, on the other hand, grew as powerful state and a wood-trading post under the governorship of the Medici family. As the power within the Northern cities started to grow, the seta of the papacy which was originally viewed as a religious position, started to be perceived as a political position. Some of the pontiffs who had been appointed for this position gave in to the vices of nepotism and corruption because they believed they were international politicians who could use power to make things run in their favor and pull favors for their close friends and families. Rome, however, flourished once again during the renaissance despite these challenges in leadership under a papal who could see the need to make decisions that would bring the city to greatness once more. Milan and Venice also grew to become great, wealthy, and powerful states as they influenced the politics of Italy and attracted many writers and artists. The nobles and monarchies that led these cities played a very important role as far as the growth of the cities is concerned.
The Renaissance period brought a lot of notable changes and transformations in the fields of architecture, art, literature, science, and philosophy. All the fresh styles and trends emerged in these fields through the inspiration of the ancient history of Europe. The artistic style of the renaissance period was very different from that of the Middle Ages because it placed more emphasis on portraying a life-like perspective in a realist form as opposed to the traditional style which focused on symbolism. Painters during this time started drawing in a style that depicted the human form more accurately, thus providing room for people to better comprehend all the aspects of human anatomy. The anatomical knowledge used had been acquired from the medical discipline and it influenced the pioneer of great discoveries and the fame of great figures such as Leonardo da Vinci.
The movement also marked a great change in the field of literature with poets and writers developing works that had been influenced by looking back at the texts and poems from ancient Rome and Greece. Literature of the renaissance period was focused on the incorporation of human behaviors and characteristics. This was a shift from the earlier medieval poems, books, and plays which strictly conformed to the metaphysical subjects and religious frameworks. According to Hay & Rogers (1977) , the invention of the printing press in the 1440s further impacted the field of education because it made it possible for information to be easily accessible to a majority of the general public.
There was also a transition in philosophy during this period characterized by the existence of new ways of thinking and the development of humanism ( Hollingsworth, 2013 ). The implication of this is that it started to change people’s way of looking at human beings and also the universe itself. Previously (the medieval times), the Catholic Church had majorly influenced the thoughts and beliefs of the people regarding matters of humanity and the universe. Humanism was very different from the Catholic faith because instead of supporting the belief that humans were sinful beings, it was centered on the need for finding reason in everything that we encounter. The spread of humanism during the Renaissance replaced the spiritual philosophies with one that dug deeper into the behavioral traits of humans. The philosophical changes experienced during this period paved way for the development of modern age philosophies and revolutions such as the enlightenment phase.
Science and engineering were other fields that experienced major changes during the Renaissance. Many new and exciting discoveries were made, mainly in the areas of anatomy, astronomy, and physics. Breakthroughs in engineering also paved the way for many of the world's most significant inventions, such as telescopes, clocks, and spectacles. Pioneering Renaissance scientists and inventors included Galileo Galilei and Leonardo da Vinci. The changes and transitions during this period were all influenced by the need to adopt and revive new ways of viewing things in life.
References
Black, R. (Ed.). (2001). Renaissance thought . Abingdon : Psychology Press.
Hay, D., & Rogers D. Spotswood Collection. (1977). The Italian Renaissance in its historical background . Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press.
Hollingsworth, T. (2013). The Renaissance: A rebirth of culture . Huntington Beach, CA: Teacher Created Materials.
König, J., & Woolf, G. (Eds.). (2013). Encyclopaedism from Antiquity to the Renaissance . Cambridge University Press.
