Wylie. Period 1. Team 6. Renaissance

The Renaissance era was the point in time when artists began to make their art more realistic. And experience art in a more realistic manner. They became aware of proportions, color, and intricate details. But this newfound realism and desire to illustrate truths also reflected their religious beliefs, or lack thereof. Michelangelo painted for many priests and his paintings generally depicted religious stories, however at times he would sneak in references to the mind and the power of creativity and understanding within humans. It was an idea commonly frowned upon by the church. For example in Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel fresco, “The Creation of Man”, the chariot carrying God to Adam models the human brain. This reflects Michelangelo’s idea that man, and not the church, is his own source of inspiration. Michelangelo was an intuitive man and ultimately believed his creativity sparked from within himself, and not by some God. Leonardo Da Vinci possessed similar views. He too was hired to paint religious paintings. For example he painted “The Last Supper”-- a well-known and highly valued depiction of the Last Supper in the Bible. However, Da Vinci too believed more in logic and truth than religious explanations. In this drawing “The Vitruvian Man”, he tries to make sense of man’s proportions and drawing portraits accurately, and realistically as possible. He believed that humans were not “instruments” of God, but rather “machines”—the parts were made from God, but we make the parts work together and control ourselves as a whole. Basically, these two artists and many more of this era were still very religious-- they made most of their money from painting in cathedrals and creating sculptures of religious icons—but ultimately being as creative-minded as they were, they needed answers, and this craving formed foundation of secularism and was thus reflected in their art.

-Team Waka

Lillie Moffett, Lauren Wakabayashi, Nicole Lussier, Sooji Hong