The Renaissance is the intermediate period between the Middle Ages and the Modern Age (15th and 16th centuries), in which Western Europe experienced a cultural and material rebirth by retaking values and knowledge of Greek and Roman culture. This reunion with classical culture coincides with the rise of new economic and political forces, and a renewed interest in the development of the sciences and the arts. It is a cultural phenomenon that affects and inspires much of Europe (Spain, France, England, the Netherlands and Germany, among others), but has its epicenter in Italy, especially in Florence. And although his influence affected Europeans in different aspects, he is remembered above all for his extraordinary artistic manifestations. Historical context Fewer and fewer historians speak of the period of the Middle Ages (from the 5th to the 15th century), as a "dark" age, although it was a period of evolution that converged with the rise of the Renaissance in Europe. Although the Renaissance is usually located between the 15th and 16th centuries, for some historians and critics it began in the middle of the 14th century. There are several historical factors that feed this cultural movement: the fall of Constantinople in 1453, which displaced many wise men to Italy; the discovery of America, the consolidation of European states and the rise of the financial system in Italy. The Reformation (the division of the Catholic Church, with Martin Luther at the head and his criticism of the ostentation of the papacy and the clergy), the invention of the printing press and the beginning of the scientific revolution, which displaces the center of the universe to the Earth and places the Sun. Similarly, Renaissance humanism moves God from the center where he was found throughout the Middle Ages (theocentrism), to place the human being (humanism). Characteristics of the Renaissance Looking towards the Greco-Roman culture There is a renewed interest in the culture of Greece and Rome, and it is natural that it is in Italy, where numerous ruins of the empire are preserved and some classical studies were maintained , such as Roman law, grammar and Latin rhetoric. Observation and the natural world Artisans and artists from different disciplines aim to reproduce the natural world, studying human forms and pictorial aspects such as perspective. New representation techniques are developed in sculpture, goldsmithing, painting and architecture. The artists pay attention to disciplines such as anatomy or mathematics, which coincides with an awakening of the sciences, with multiple practical applications. The human being as a measure of all things Renaissance humanism promotes a multidisciplinary human being (the uomo universale), interested in everything, whose greatest example in the Renaissance is the figure of Leonardo da Vinci. Patronage The arts and artists receive strong support from merchants and representatives of political power. City states like Florence and Venice, or the Papal States (part of Italy controlled by the papacy), finance artists and numerous works of art. This phenomenon will be repeated in other parts of Europe. Humanism The artistic flourishing of the Renaissance is accompanied by a similar development in the humanities, with figures such as Pico della Mirandola, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Thomas More, François Rabelais, and Niccolò Machiavelli, among others. Periods The Renaissance is divided into two periods or stages: the Quattrocento, corresponding to the 15th century (and also called early Renaissance); and the Cinquecento, or full Renaissance. Artistic disciplines of the Renaissance The artistic disciplines that are most developed and highlighted in the Renaissance are painting, sculpture and architecture. Painting During the Quattrocento (15th century), the rigid forms of the Gothic gradually disappeared and the knowledge of perspective deepened, in the search for a painting that imitated three dimensions and was more natural. During the Renaissance religious painting continued (scenes from the Bible, especially the crucifixion and the Virgin with the Child Jesus), but portraiture also developed and references to Greek and Roman mythology increased. In the Cinquecento, in the midst of the Renaissance, the figures of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Titian, Raphael stand out, and figures outside Italy such as El Greco in Spain, or Bosch and Brueghel, in the Netherlands. Among the most famous paintings of the Renaissance and of the history of art in general, we can mention Gioconda and the Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci, The Birth of Venus and La Primavera, by Sandro Botticelli, and The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, by Greek. Sculpture Sculpture is where the influence of classical art from Greece and Rome is most noticeable, even when the theme of the work is religious. There is a greater interest in human forms and nudes abound. Stone (specifically marble) displaced wood as the main material for sculpture, and during the Renaissance the classic taste for equestrian statues in public spaces was taken up again. Among the great sculptors we can mention Donatello, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Verrocchio and Benvenutto Cellini, among others, but without a doubt the figure that stands out greatly in Renaissance sculpture is that of Michelangelo Buonarroti. Three of the most famous works of the Renaissance belong to this artist: Moses, David and La Piedad. Architecture Interest in the construction of religious buildings shifts to that of civil works and urban development. Medieval Gothic forms become less rigid and classical forms are modernized, as can be seen in the use of columns and hemispherical domes. The monumentalism of medieval cathedrals is abandoned for simpler structures, less overloaded and tailored to the human being (remember, the human is now the measure of all things). Among the most important architects we can mention Filippo Brunelleschi, Leon Battista Alberti. Donato Bramante and Michelangelo. The architectural style spread throughout Europe, from the Basilica of San Pedro, in Rome, or the monastery of El Escorial, in Spain, to the Cathedral of San Basilio in Moscow. Renaissance works and their authors Painting Sandro Botticelli: La Primavera (1481-1482), The Birth of Venus (1484). Leonardo da Vinci: The Last Supper (1495-1498), La Gioconda (1503-1519). Michelangelo: Tondo Doni (1503), Sistine Chapel frescoes (1508-1512, 1536-1541). Highlights The Creation of Adam and The Last Judgment. Rafael Sanzio: The School of Athens (1511), The Parnassus (1511). Tintoretto: The Last Supper (1592-1594). Jheronimus Bosch (Bosco): The Garden of Earthly Delights (1500). Pieter Brueghel the Elder: The Tower of Babel (1563). El Greco: The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (1586). Sculpture Lorenzo Ghiberti: Gate of Paradise (1425-1452). Donatello: Equestrian statue of the condottiero Erasmo de Narni, Gattamelata (1447-1453). Michelangelo: The Pietà (1496), the David (1501-1504). Benvenuto Cellini: Perseus with the Head of Medusa (1545-1554). Architecture Leon Battista Alberti: Basilica of Santa Maria Novella (1456-1470). Bramante, Raphael Sanzio, Michelangelo and Bernini, among others: Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome (1506-1626). Gilles le Breton, Leonardo da Vinci, Philibert Delorme (principal architects): Palace of Fontainebleau (1520-1550). Juan Bautista de Toledo: monastery of El Escorial (1563-1584).