Renaissance

The Renaissance was a period of major cultural transformation in Europe, usually dated from the 14th to the 16th century, although its timing varied by region. It developed first in Italian cities such as Florence, Venice, and Rome, where merchants, rulers, and institutions supported artists and scholars.

The period brought renewed interest in the literature, philosophy, art, and history of ancient Greece and Rome. Humanism, an intellectual movement emphasizing human abilities, education, and the study of classical texts, became an important influence. The Renaissance did not simply replace the Middle Ages: many medieval traditions continued alongside new ideas.

Artists sought more natural ways to represent people and space. Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael studied anatomy, light, and perspective, while Michelangelo worked in painting, sculpture, and architecture. Perspective helped create an impression of depth on a flat surface. In literature and scholarship, Petrarch, Erasmus, and Machiavelli developed new approaches to language, history, religion, and politics.

In the mid-15th century, movable-type printing, associated in Europe with Johannes Gutenberg, made texts easier to reproduce and helped ideas circulate more widely. The Renaissance was therefore a group of connected changes in art, learning, literature, and intellectual life, rather than a single revolution.