essay about renaissance and baroque period

Renaissance and the Baroque Periods essay

The Renaissance and Baroque periods are just some of the eras in history that can be considered as the most elegant and artistic in nature. Art, music, and literature flourished well in these cultural movements as well as architectural designs, and a wide diversity of different philosophies. These creative realms are considered as the most fashionable in the eras of Renaissance and Baroque and these were the times wherein artists are appreciated well for their works. (“Wikipedia: Renaissance period,” 2007)

Renaissance, which also means ‘rebirth’ and ‘reconstruction’, was an era that occurred roughly in the 14th to 17th century. As the name suggests, the Renaissance period was the rebirth of humanism and the revival of learning based on classical sources. It is also the time wherein the cultural achievements were reconstructed in all forms of art; influencing literature, philosophy, religion, science, art, and politics. This was the time when the artists became comfortable in displaying individualism and freedom in their works, abandoning the strict ways of the modern era.

The artworks in this period pertain mostly to the church but some also have purely figurative themes. Jacobos de Voragine’s works were the ones that first inspired religious symbolism particularly his creation called The Golden Legend. Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper was also one of the most widely known pieces of art in this period which features the moment of the last supper when Jesus announced that one of his twelve followers is going to betray him.

Artists like Lassus, Byrd, and Palestrina were able to display the distinctive musical qualities of the Renaissance period through their works which have polyphonic styles and imitative and smooth qualities. Keyboard instruments called the clavichord and virginal were invented in this time and the collection of instrumental music also began to grow considerably. (“The Renaissance Period,” 2007) Fillipo Brunelleschi was one of the innovators of the Renaissance architectural style and his approach quickly became popular in France, Germany, England, and Russia.

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The features of Classical Roman architecture were the ones adopted by the Renaissance architects who emphasized the regularity, geometry, symmetry, and proportion of their creations. Examples of these structures were Fillipo Brunelleschi’s Basilica de San Lorenzo which was one of the largest and oldest churches in Florence and Bramante’s San Prieta in Montorio which was inspired by circular Roman temples. (“Wikipedia: Renaissance period,” 2007) Renaissance philosophy is the rebirth of the elements of learning and classical philosophy.

Aristotle who dominated the later part of medieval philosophy was taken over again by Plato and some philosophers’ enthusiasm towards Hermeticism and the occult also grew during this era. Renaissance literature, on the other hand, can also be considered as European literature because of its style. The literary movement created vernacular and Latin poetry, prose fiction, and history which were inspired by classical models. The Canterbuy Tales, Frame Tale, and Decameron were just some of the most famous literary works during this period.

The ancient Portuguese noun ‘barroco’ indicates to a pearl that has an irregular and elaborate shape. The word Baroque was derived from this because this period represents the time wherein the styles were exaggerated and the easily interpreted details were applied to create drama, sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music. The Roman Catholic Church was then considered as the main ‘customer’ of this era since it ordered to use the arts of this period in expressing religious themes. (“Wikipedia:Baroque Period,” 2007)

This era’s visual art was considered extraordinary because it acquires a sense of intensity, immediacy, and individualism in their concepts. Bernini’s work called Saint Theresa in Ecstasy was one of the most frequently quoted example of this art because it combined the concepts of architecture, sculpture, and theater into one. (“Wikipedia:Baroque Period,” 2007) When it comes to architecture, the architects worked more on the colonnades, domes, and the concepts of volume and void. Some of the examples of Renaissance architecture were the Ludwigsburg palace in England and Catherine Palace in Russia.

Ludwigsburg was one of the grandest courts in Europe and was famous for its beautiful baroque garden. Catherine palace, on the other hand, was exceptional because of its enchanting exterior of gilded facades and breath-taking statues on the roof. In music, on the other hand, new musical styles were born like Concerto and symphonia, while the oratoria, cantata, and sonata also flourished. The most popular maestro’s of this time were G. F. Handel and J. S. Bach. (“Wikipedia:Baroque Period,” 2007) Baroque literature used metaphor and allegory as well as realism.

Marino’s Maraviglia used artifices and was created with a pure, mere form. Don Quixote by Cervantes was another example which is a novel about Alfonso Quixano’s belief on the concept of chivalry. The philosophy, however, developed new values and an example of this was virtuosity which gave birth to the concept of virtuoso. It became a common stature in the form of art. Metaphor and allegory was also used to summarize this ethics.

REFERENCES: The Renaissance Period. (2007). Wikipedia: Renaissance period. (2007). Wikipedia:Baroque Period. (2007).

Renaissance vs Baroque Art – What’s the Difference?

Both the Renaissance and Baroque periods produced remarkable art, they had distinct styles and philosophies. The Renaissance focused on classical ideals and harmony, while the Baroque embraced drama and emotion, leading to a more dynamic and ornate aesthetic.

One of the most popular and influential times in art history began in what is known as the Renaissance period, which began in the 1400’s in Italy and would later spread to other areas of Europe.

The Renaissance is arguably the most famous time period in human history as many of the skilled artists worked to produce some of the greatest masterpieces ever created during this time.

According to most art historians, the Renaissance lasted until the end of the final years of the 16th century before the Baroque period emerged as the dominant form of painting in Italy and other countries throughout Europe.

While the Baroque and Renaissance style of painting have many similarities, there are some striking differences that should be noted when comparing both types of art movements to one another.

Renaissance vs Baroque Art

Baroque, like the earlier Renaissance period that preceded it, consisted largely of paintings that centered around religious scenes and stories from the Judeo-Christian Bible.

While Renaissance artists mainly portrayed religious scenes and figures as closely as they could to the descriptions provided in Scripture, Baroque artists took quite a few more creative liberties with their works that focused on religious concepts.

Taking a closer look at this and many other differences between Baroque and Renaissance artists and their paintings reveals some interesting characteristics that are unique to both movements.

Origins of the Renaissance Period

The Renaissance art period emerged in the middle ages in the 15th and 16th centuries. The movement’s epicenter was in Italy where artists were heavily influenced by their Catholic faith as the Roman Catholic church was centered in the country.

The art style was very heavily involved in the Catholic faith and many of the most famous Renaissance masterpieces are devoted to portraying some of the Bible’s most prominent stories and recorded events.

The Renaissance movement was said to be centered in the city of Florence, Italy from the early 15th century, and possibly before this time. The classical Greek style of art and philosophy would also play a major role in shaping the initial direction of the Renaissance movement.

Many Greek scholars and artists themselves moved to Italy during this time since Italy was explosion of trade and growth thanks to its close ties with the church and the rest of the known world at the time.

Some of the most famous artists of all time were born and worked in the Renaissance period. Great artists like Leonardo da Vinci , Michelangelo , Raphael and others were hailed for their brilliant inventive abilities, as well as their ability to paint incredible works of art.

The people of Italy, during this time, experienced a breakthrough in the areas of science, mathematics, literature and other areas that marked a clear improvement over the centuries that had come before them.

Unlike periods that preceded the Renaissance, this movement consisted of artists who were interested in portraying the world in a more realistic manner that seemed to have a greater focus on the individual beauty of each human or animal form, as well as any other object like plants, architecture and other figures.

Also Read: Early vs High Renaissance

The Renaissance, which rose from the ashes in the wake of the Bubonic Plague in the mid-1300’s, finally began to wind down toward the latter half of the 16th century. While many art scholars and historians dispute just when the Renaissance movement is said to have ended, most agree that it faded away in the early 1600’s.

Origins of the Baroque Movement

The Baroque period was born out of the Renaissance during the early-to-mid 1700’s. Many Italian artists began painting in a way that more closely aligned with the Baroque period in the early 1600s, but this art style was mainly centered in Spain and Portugal.

During this time, the Catholic church was still very much as powerful as they had been in the centuries before, at least in Europe. This meant that paintings in the Baroque era would also focus on the stories and recorded events of the Judeo-Christian Bible, as well as popular religious figures from the Catholic church during this time.

The Baroque movement was one that featured paintings by masterful artists who were able to implement a high degree of contrast between light and darkness in their works.

This clear difference in light and dark was mainly aimed at accomplishing a symbolic meaning that goes back to the Biblical teachings that God is light and is always associated with bright lights while evil and demonic influences are often described as being associated with darkness.

In addition to the contrast between light and darkness, Baroque painters worked to achieve a much higher level of realism and detail in every minute aspect of their paintings. This was in clear contrast to many movements that preceded them and is one of the clear defining factors of the Baroque movement.

What was perhaps the most clear difference the Baroque painters had from their Renaissance counterparts was the use of warm and often intense colors in their works. The bright light often helped to bring out high levels of coloration in each specific hue, but overall, the Baroque movement was one of color.

Some of the most prominent Baroque painters like Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Domenichino, Artemisia Gentileschi, and many others shaped the movement with an exciting new flair for both realism and bringing out a high level of beauty in everything they produced.

The Baroque movement was also spread to areas like France and Germany, which produced notable painters like Nicolas Poussin and others that are today remembered as some of the greatest Baroque painters of all time. Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish painter, but could also be included in any list of the top Baroque artists in history.

The Baroque period was highly popular and continued from the early 17th century well into the 1800’s in central Europe, as well as the Iberian Peninsula. Many Baroque painters created masterful paintings that were featured as giant murals in the most popular cathedrals and chapels during this time period.

It was followed by the Rococo art period, both the Baroque and Rococo art movements although often confused are quite different in that Rococo departed from the dramatic symbolism of the church and focused more on the extravagance of the ruling elite classes.

Main Differences in Renaissance vs Baroque Art

The Renaissance period was a time in which artists were seeking to depart from the periods and styles before them in a way that offered the viewer a much greater appreciation for the subjects they depicted.

The introduction of oil painting helped lead this movement’s explosion across Italy and other areas of Europe as painters were then able to achieve a much greater level of detail in the smallest portion of a particular work.

Many oil painters developed their own methods for making and mixing this new art medium which was extremely expensive for the time.

While the Renaissance period offered a higher level of detail from earlier painting styles, it wasn’t until the Baroque movement that artists were able to achieve truly breathtaking levels of realism in their paintings .

The higher level of detail and more realistic depictions of the Baroque period can often be explained by artists who had greater access to better brushes, as well as better colors than the painters who had worked centuries before them. Many Baroque artists were able to paint their subjects with an astounding level of detail, down to the smallest facial expression.

Another notable difference between the Renaissance and the Baroque art periods is the use of light in their works. For Renaissance painters, light was simply used to define their subjects and the overall scenes they intended to portray.

Some painters would use a varying degree of light and darkness, but for the most part, paintings from the Renaissance were evenly-lit and offered the viewer very little difference between light and darkness throughout the entire canvas.

Baroque painters used light in a drastically different manner than their predecessors. For the most prominent artists during this time, light became a subject in and of itself.

Many of the most famous Baroque artists like Caravaggio and others used intense, bright lights to illuminate the canvas in a way that looked as if there was real light beaming in from some distant source.

The high level of contrast between light and darkness also added an element of mysteriousness to Baroque paintings . Many of the greatest Baroque works’ canvases feature large portions of darkness that leave the viewer to image more about the painting than they are actually able to see with their own eyes.

Light contrast and color are some of the most distinguishing differences between these two periods, but art critics and historians note a much deeper level of contrast between the two styles based on subject matter.

While both Renaissance and Baroque painters work to feature many of the same religious scenes in their painting, it is Baroque painters who are known for using a much greater degree of dramatic expression on their subjects than one might see in Renaissance masterpieces.

Comparing the two art styles side by side reveals a clearly more intense level of dramatization of each individual in Baroque paintings. Many artists during this time period sought to paint certain Biblical stories and other events in such a way as to depict the very moment of what a playwright would point to as ‘climax.’

Baroque paintings are largely aimed at capturing the very moment certain remarkable events in history occurred. This was something that seemed to drive Baroque artists to deliver more lifelike and profound works than the masters of the Renaissance period had done.

While there may be many more differences between the Renaissance and Baroque art movements, there are also many obvious similarities. These two periods in art history had as much of an impact on humanity as a whole as any two successive art periods have ever made.

One could argue that there are many different degrees of hidden meanings in some of the greatest Renaissance paintings as it is common to observe geometric shapes depicted on the canvas, but Baroque artists had their own way of portraying scenes in a way that was highly impactful on the viewer.

The raw emotion that the Baroque painters depicted their figures and subjects with is something that was initially begun by Renaissance painters many years earlier. These two art styles covered a span of just a few centuries, but one can measure their impact on all humankind by the sheer number of iconic paintings from both eras.

• Corrections

Renaissance vs. Baroque: What Are the Differences?

The Renaissance and Baroque were both significant movements in the history of art, but there are many differences between them.

The Renaissance and Baroque are two European art movements that came after the Middle Ages . Both styles spread across the arts and architecture, shaping the nature of culture across much of Europe. Meanwhile both styles focused heavily on Judeo-Christian or Greco-Roman topics. However, there are distinct differences between the two styles that make them easier to distinguish from one another. The Renaissance came first, lasting roughly from the 14 th to the 17 th century, and the Baroque grew out of advancements made during the Renaissance, lasting roughly from the 17 th to the mid-18 th century. But there are also some key stylistic differences between them which we will go into in more detail below, as well as examining their historical contexts.

The Renaissance Came First

The Renaissance emerged out of the Middle Ages , marking a momentous historical period of transition towards modernity. The rebirth of classical art, along with new understandings about science, nature and human anatomy profoundly shaped the nature of Renaissance art. It’s birthplace was in Florence, but Renaissance ideas quickly gathered pace across much of Europe, with different nations evolving their own stylistic approaches. Meanwhile, the Baroque period grew out of Mannerism, or the late Renaissance period, in which artists began experimenting with greater theatricality and emotional impact. began in Rome during the 17 th century and again spread throughout Europe. 

The Renaissance Was Naturalistic

Renaissance art shows naturalistic depictions of the human body, which artists achieved through the close study of human anatomy. In painting, a series of technical and stylistic breakthroughs allowed artists to achieve startlingly lifelike results. These include elements of foreshortening, sfumato (hazy light effects) and chiaroscuro (dramatic light and shadow) allowed artists to create believable qualities of volume. Meanwhile the discovery of linear perspective in drawing, painting and printing meant artists could create the effects of deep visual space, as seen in Raphael ’s masterful School of Athens, 1511.

Renaissance Art and Design Was Ordered and Stable

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Renaissance art and architecture relied on mathematically precise compositions and designs which explored ideal harmony and the golden ratio. Artists and designers arranged elements of height, width, symmetry and proportion carefully against one another to create calm order and stability. Horizontal and vertical lines were key in helping them achieve these visual effects. Architects used ordered arches, domes, pediments and columns in close accordance with one another, building on the examples set out by classical design.

The Baroque Was Heightened and Dramatic

By contrast, the Baroque took the naturalistic achievements of the Renaissance and ramped them up for heightened theatricality and dramatic effect. In art, key features are high contrast, stark lighting, elongated bodies, and exaggerated elements of motion. Strong diagonal compositions allowed them to create dynamic sensations of tension, disruption and unease. These off-kilter effects create excitement and danger, pulling us into the theatricality of the moment.

One key feature of Baroque art was Tenebrism , or the creation of suspense through stark, high-contrast lighting, as seen in most of Caravaggio ’s paintings. Giovanni Bernini ’s David , 1623-24, is another prime example of Baroque art, showing the Biblical hero caught in the middle of throwing stone, in contrast with the more placid Renaissance depictions of the same character . 

The Baroque Was More Ornate

Today, the word Baroque usually implies that which is highly detailed and elaborate. In Baroque art and architecture, ostentatious details like flapping drapes, overlapping bodies, jutting out foreshortened arms and legs, and wildly contrasting textures of fabric, skin and scenery create sensations of turmoil in stark contrast with the rational order of the Renaissance . In Rubens ’s Raising of the Cross we see multiple figures all caught mid-motion in this terrifying moment of brutality. Baroque sculpture is equally as complex, often featuring figures grouped into dynamic, energized moments like actors in a play, with many different ideal viewing angles. Meanwhile Baroque architecture is, perhaps unsurprisingly, bigger and more grandiose than that of the Renaissance, featuring large masses and vast domes pointing towards the sky.

Medieval Artwork: Jewels of the Middle Ages

By Rosie Lesso MA Contemporary Art Theory, BA Fine Art Rosie is a contributing writer and artist based in Scotland. She has produced writing for a wide range of arts organizations including Tate Modern, The National Galleries of Scotland, Art Monthly, and Scottish Art News, with a focus on modern and contemporary art. She holds an MA in Contemporary Art Theory from the University of Edinburgh and a BA in Fine Art from Edinburgh College of Art. Previously she has worked in both curatorial and educational roles, discovering how stories and history can really enrich our experience of art.

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Comparing and Contrasting Renaissance and Baroque Artistic Styles

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Introduction, historical and cultural context, characteristics of renaissance art, characteristics of baroque art, comparison of renaissance and baroque art.

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Introduction to Art, Renaissance and Baroque Art Essay

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The Renaissance

Baroque art.

Art as a whole and single entity is difficult to define. Many refer to art as an expression of one’s creativity, what is produced as a product of skill and imagination. Art has over the ages evolved to different forms of expression. History has been marked by many different events in art. Art has over the years influenced history in many ways. It is on this background that art continues to influence the environment around as well as the future.

Renaissance is the rebirth of something, to be bringing out the old in a whole new way. Renaissance was characterised as the period between the 14 th and the 16 th centuries. This period marked major changes in the world of art (Witcombe, 2011, 2). This period brought a lot of changes to artist such as sculptors, architects as well as painters. These forms of art that is sculpting, painting as well as architecture began to emerge unlike before where they were simply regarded as artisans or apprentices (Witcombe, 2011, 3).

It is commonly referred to as art of the middle ages, it is believed to have been a revolution having began in Italy (Annenberg, 2011, 3). Renaissance art was influenced by Italian painters, sculptors as well as architects. During the renaissance period, artists are said to have experimented with diverse many forms of art, mixing complex as well as simple ideas of expression. It is with this freedom of expression and an urge to experiment that led to the development of baroque art.

Baroque art has been referred to as the form of art that utilises a lot of ornamentation to create a dramatic effect. It is a period and style that used exaggerated motion and contrast that when interpreted in detail leads to a dramatic effect (Pioch, 2002, 1).

This was a style that was largely popularised by the Catholic Church in Rome and spread rapidly through Europe (Annenberg, 2011, 7).Baroque art is commonly referred to as the art of the seventieth century. As a style, it represents dynamism in transformation as well as continuity of the ideas that the renaissance represents.

Baroque art utilises several varied and different ornaments to create a dramatic motion effect. During the renaissance art and science are said t be connected and the two are used to complement each other. Two great artists in the Baroque art include, Caravaggio and Annibale Carracicci who brought a new dimension to Italian painting. Before then art was artificial lacking a sense of depth and challenge these artists were looking for.

Annibel in his work has an expression that was considered by many as a style of his own. Another artist Caravaggio created his own art and with this he sought to create a great physical prescence. These artist as well as other artists of the baroque art utilised motion to create a deep and intense intention embedded in emotions (Pioch, 2002, 3).

Renaissance led to the development and emphasis to a better description of painting as well as sculptures. This in turn emphasised the need for great knowledge as well intellect to achieve this (Witcombe, 2011, 11). With these developments many works of art were seen as unique and complex and having employed aspects of divine intervention.

Art was see as adopting aspects that imply that art was influenced by religion. During the period of renaissance Plato as well as Platonism was revived. Here art and religion is fused together and as a result art is viewed as divinely inspired. It is through all this that artists, that is sculptors, painters as well as architects began to be regarded as artists the same as poets or writers, for their art.

In the modern day art culture, baroque is used to describe the different works of art. Since the Renaissance, baroque is very well adopted in many forms of modern day art such as architecture, sculpting, theatre, that is in plays and opera and so on, literature as well as philosophy and painting. Many modern day scholars as well as artists believe baroque art as the end as well as the new beginning for renaissance.

Annenberg Media. (2011). Art of the Western World: The early renaissance. Web.

Annenberg Media. (2011). Art of the Western World: The High Renaissance. Web.

Witcombe, C. (2011). Art & Artists : The Renaissance & the rise of the Artist. Web.

Pioch, N. (2002). Baroque Webmuseum. Web.

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Home » Public » People » History » What is the Difference Between Renaissance and Baroque Period

What is the Difference Between Renaissance and Baroque Period

The main difference between Renaissance and Baroque period is that Renaissance art is characterized by a naturalistic and realistic portrayal of the human form and landscape, while Baroque period is characterized by exuberant details and grandeur.  

Renaissance and Baroque periods originated in and spread throughout Europe. Both styles are known to portray realism , but the Baroque style tends to be highly detailed and elaborate.

Key Areas Covered  

1.   What is the Renaissance Period      – Definition, Art, Architecture 2.  What is the Baroque Period      – Definition, Art, Architecture 3.  Similarities Between Renaissance and Baroque Period      – Outline of Common Features 4.  Difference Between Renaissance and Baroque Period      – Comparison of Key Differences

Art, Baroque, Renaissance 

What is the Renaissance Period

Renaissance is the period in European history that marks the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity, covering the 15th and 16th centuries. Renaissance art originated in Florence in the 15th century and reached its peak in the early 16th century, with the masterpieces of  Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Moreover, artists of this era began to reject the flatness of Gothic painting and moved toward greater naturalism. In addition, one of the most distinguishing features of the Renaissance period is the naturalistic representations of the body and landscapes.

Moreover, foreshortening (shortening lines to create the illusion of depth), sfumato (subtle and gradual blending to blur sharp outlines to indicate three-dimensionality), chiaroscuro (the interplay between light and dark to convey a sense of depth), and realistic linear perspective are some other notable features of Renaissance art. Naturalism and realism are important attributes in Renaissance sculpture, as well. Moreover, the use of religious themes, syncretistic influences, and the use of marble are some other notable features of Renaissance sculpture. Michelangelo’s statue of David and the Rome Pieta and Bandinelli’s Hercules and Cacus are some examples.

Although Renaissance architecture has three periods, there are some basic similarities between these periods. These include the use of mathematically precise ratios of height and width, symmetry, proportion, and harmony, and the imaginative use of arches, domes, columns, and pediments.

What is the Baroque Period

Baroque period is a style of painting, sculpture, and other arts that started around 1600 in Rome and spread throughout the European continent. It preceded the Rococo style and followed the Renaissance and Mannerism styles. The term baroque generally implies something highly detailed and elaborate. Paintings and sculptures during the Baroque period had a strong emphasis on Christian themes. In fact, the Catholic church encouraged this style as a way to counter Protestant Reformation. Therefore, the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation are two important factors in this period.

In various European countries, Baroque art took different forms according to their unique political and cultural backgrounds. Generally, the Baroque style is characterized by contrast, exaggerated motion, exuberant detail, deep colour, and grandeur. Chiaroscuro technique is a common trait of Baroque art. This is the interplay between light and dark, which gives dimly lit scenes a very high contrast and a dramatic atmosphere. Furthermore, Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, and Caravaggio are some well-known Baroque paintings.

In Baroque sculpture, we can often notice groups of figures as well as the dynamic movement and energy of human forms. They can also have multiple ideal viewing angles. Baroque architecture, on the other hand, emphasized large masses, domes, and bold spaces. Queluz National Palace in Portugal is an example of Baroque architecture.

Similarities Between Renaissance and Baroque Period

• Renaissance and Baroque periods originated in and spread throughout Europe.
• Both styles are known to portray realism.
• Art from both periods emphasized strongly on themes from Christianity and Greco-Roman mythology.

Difference Between Renaissance and Baroque Period

Renaissance is the period in European history that marks the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity, covering the 15th and 16th centuries, while the Baroque period is the period of art that started around 1600 in Rome and spread throughout the European continent.

Naturalistic representation of the human body and landscape, foreshortening, sfumato, chiaroscuro, and realistic linear perspective are the notable features of Renaissance art while contrast, exaggerated motion, exuberant detail, deep colour, chiaroscuro, and grandeur are the notable features of Baroque art. 

The use of naturalism, religious themes, syncretistic influences, and use of marble and stone are some notable features in Renaissance sculpture, while the use of groups of figures, dynamic movement and energy of human forms, and multiple ideal viewing angles are the notable features in Renaissance sculpture.

Architecture

Use of mathematically precise ratios of height and width, symmetry, proportion, and harmony, and the imaginative use of arches, domes, columns, and pediments art notable features in Renaissance architecture. Baroque architecture, on the other hand, emphasized on large masses, domes, and bold spaces.

The main difference between Renaissance and Baroque period is that Renaissance art is characterized by a naturalistic and realistic portrayal of the human form and landscape, while the Baroque period is characterized by exuberant details and grandeur.  

1. “ Baroque Period .” Boundless Art History ~ Lumen. 2. “ Renaissance Art .” History.com, A&E Television Networks.

Image Courtesy:

1. “ Expulsion of Heliodorus ” By Raphael – (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia 2. “ Baroque ceiling frescoes (Ljubljana Cathedral) ” By Petar Milošević – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Baroque

Introduction, general overviews.

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Baroque by Anne H. Muraoka LAST REVIEWED: 27 October 2021 LAST MODIFIED: 27 October 2021 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195399301-0177

The Baroque is a name given to a style that dominated western Europe from the late 16th century to the mid-18th century (roughly 1580–1750). It is a style most closely associated with the art and architecture of Italy; however, it is recognized as a pan-European phenomenon, which more recently has also been applied to the arts of Spanish colonies. Its date parameters and geographical boundaries have been extended further by some scholars; nevertheless, the height of the Baroque is generally centered in 17th-century western Europe. The term emerged in the context of art and architecture in the 18th century as a negative word of abuse, and in particular, one that was associated with the bizarre (deviations from classical or neoclassical norms). The “Baroque” was not applied to designate a particular style or period of art until the mid-19th century. The term no longer holds such negative connotations; however, there is still a lack of consensus among scholars about the usefulness of the term as a label for a style that encompasses such a broad period, large geographical boundaries, and diverse stylistic manifestations.

Gage 2014 provides a broad yet useful historical overview of Baroque art and architecture. The questions centering on the value of “Baroque” as a style label and how to qualify its chronological, geographical, and stylistic parameters, however, are reflected in the numerous general surveys on Baroque art and architecture. Riegl 2010 is in agreement with Wölfflin’s idea of continuity between the Renaissance and the Baroque. The author overturns the previous held notion of the Baroque as a decadent and inferior style to the Renaissance by locating its origins to 16th-century Rome and the works of Michelangelo. Held and Posner 1971 frames the Baroque period between the late 16th century and the late 18th century, as does Bazin 1985 . Harbison 2000 , on the other hand, considers the Baroque as a repeated phenomenon extending beyond even the most liberal chronological and geographical parameters, by stretching the discussion to the 20th century and to countries such as Russia and Turkey. The word “Baroque” appears infrequently in Harris 2004 , as the author advocates that style labels hinder our understanding of the art of any given period. Martin 1977 finds the word “Baroque” useful and utilizes the term in the context of predominant artistic trends—naturalism, psychology, visionary experience—and the expressive manipulation of space, light, and movement in 17th-century art. Minor 1999 similarly considers “Baroque” as a valuable and functional term for thinking and writing about eras in art history. Millon 1999 represents a groundbreaking exhibition on Baroque architecture in Europe, which features the various manifestations of Baroque style in a wide range of constructions serving different functions.

Bazin, Germain. Baroque and Rococo . London: Thames and Hudson, 1985.

Charts Baroque style beginning at the end of the 16th century in Italy to sometime after 1800 in Latin America. Divided into two parts—17th and 18th centuries—and then organized into chapters based upon geographical regions, this book functions as a basic survey of 17th- and 18th-century art and architecture.

Gage, Frances. “ Baroque Art and Architecture in Italy .” In Oxford Bibliographies in Renaissance and Reformation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Provides a useful and broad historical overview of Baroque art and architecture.

Harbison, Robert. Reflections on Baroque . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

Applies a broad definition of the Baroque that extends beyond traditional geographical and chronological parameters. Examines Baroque style in not only art but also literature and music. Considers Baroque style in both formal and thematic terms and extends these tendencies into the 20th century.

Harris, Anne Sutherland. Seventeenth-Century Art & Architecture . London: Laurence King, 2004.

Well-organized and detailed survey of 17th-century art and architecture in Italy, Flanders, Spain, France, the Dutch Republic, and England. Particularly strong in its consideration of art in historical context.

Held, Julius S., and Donald Posner. 17th and 18th Century Art: Baroque Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture . New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1971.

Broad and general survey of 17th- and 18th-century European art. Despite its title, half of the book examines art now commonly considered under the “Rococo” stylistic label.

Martin, John Rupert. Baroque . London: Allen Lane, 1977.

Extremely useful introduction to Baroque art that examines the style as a pan-European phenomenon. Addresses the issue of style and definition of Baroque, the role of naturalism, sensual experience, allegorical traditions, and the expressive formal qualities of space, time, and light.

Millon, Henry A., ed. The Triumph of the Baroque: Architecture in Europe, 1600–1750 . New York: Rizzoli International, 1999.

Catalogue for an important exhibition on Baroque architecture in Europe conceived by Henry A. Millon (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 21 May–9 October 2000). Explores Baroque style in European architecture from 1600 to 1750 through architectural models, drawings, paintings, medals, and sculpture maquettes. Examines Baroque churches and chapels, civic architecture, commercial architecture, military architecture, private residences, and royal palaces.

Minor, Vernon Hyde. Baroque and Rococo: Art and Culture . New York: Prentice Hall, 1999.

Survey of Baroque and Rococo art in Europe from 1600 to 1760. Organized thematically, it examines art through social, political, cultural, and artistic contexts, function, site, formal qualities, space, and genres.

Riegl, Aloïs. The Origins of Baroque Art in Rome: Texts and Documents . Edited and translated by Andrew Hopkins and Arnold Witte. Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute, 2010.

English translation of Die Entstehung der Barockkunst in Rom , first published in 1908. Seminal work by Riegl, in which he suggests not only that the Baroque style emerged in Rome, but also that it has its roots in the 16th century, particularly with the work of Michelangelo. Includes three new essays on Riegl, his ideas and text, and an evaluation of the critical response of Riegl’s book.

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Renaissance

By: History.com Editors

Updated: August 11, 2023 | Original: April 4, 2018

The Renaissance was a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages. Generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th century, the Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art.

Some of the greatest thinkers, authors, statesmen, scientists and artists in human history thrived during this era, while global exploration opened up new lands and cultures to European commerce. The Renaissance is credited with bridging the gap between the Middle Ages and modern-day civilization.

From Darkness to Light: The Renaissance Begins

During the Middle Ages , a period that took place between the fall of ancient Rome in 476 A.D. and the beginning of the 14th century, Europeans made few advances in science and art.

Also known as the “Dark Ages,” the era is often branded as a time of war, ignorance, famine and pandemics such as the Black Death .

Some historians, however, believe that such grim depictions of the Middle Ages were greatly exaggerated, though many agree that there was relatively little regard for ancient Greek and Roman philosophies and learning at the time.

During the 14th century, a cultural movement called humanism began to gain momentum in Italy. Among its many principles, humanism promoted the idea that man was the center of his own universe, and people should embrace human achievements in education, classical arts, literature and science.

In 1450, the invention of the Gutenberg printing press allowed for improved communication throughout Europe and for ideas to spread more quickly.

As a result of this advance in communication, little-known texts from early humanist authors such as those by Francesco Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio, which promoted the renewal of traditional Greek and Roman culture and values, were printed and distributed to the masses.

Additionally, many scholars believe advances in international finance and trade impacted culture in Europe and set the stage for the Renaissance.

How the Renaissance Challenged the Church and Influenced the Reformation

As interest in cultural, intellectual and scientific exploration flourished, support for an all‑powerful church diminished.

7 Things You May Not Know About the Medicis

Find out more about the Medici family, who encouraged the careers of such luminaries as Michelangelo and Galileo and whose members included popes, queens and a long line of dukes.

Who posed for Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa?

Over the years, scholars have debated the true inspiration behind the most famous half‑smile in history—and possibly even the world’s most recognizable face. Proposed sitters for the “Mona Lisa” have included da Vinci’s mother Caterina, Princess Isabella of Naples, a Spanish noblewoman named Costanza d’Avalos and an unnamed courtesan, among others. Some of the more […]

Medici Family

The Renaissance started in Florence, Italy, a place with a rich cultural history where wealthy citizens could afford to support budding artists.

Members of the powerful Medici family , which ruled Florence for more than 60 years, were famous backers of the movement.

Great Italian writers, artists, politicians and others declared that they were participating in an intellectual and artistic revolution that would be much different from what they experienced during the Dark Ages.

The movement first expanded to other Italian city-states, such as Venice, Milan, Bologna, Ferrara and Rome. Then, during the 15th century, Renaissance ideas spread from Italy to France and then throughout western and northern Europe.

Although other European countries experienced their Renaissance later than Italy, the impacts were still revolutionary.

Renaissance Geniuses

Some of the most famous and groundbreaking Renaissance intellectuals, artists, scientists and writers include the likes of:

• Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519): Italian painter, architect, inventor and “Renaissance man” responsible for painting “The Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper.
• Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536): Scholar from Holland who defined the humanist movement in Northern Europe. Translator of the New Testament into Greek. 
• Rene Descartes (1596–1650): French philosopher and mathematician regarded as the father of modern philosophy. Famous for stating, “I think; therefore I am.”
• Galileo (1564-1642): Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer whose pioneering work with telescopes enabled him to describes the moons of Jupiter and rings of Saturn. Placed under house arrest for his views of a heliocentric universe.
• Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543): Mathematician and astronomer who made first modern scientific argument for the concept of a heliocentric solar system.
• Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679): English philosopher and author of “Leviathan.”
• Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400): English poet and author of “The Canterbury Tales.”
• Giotto (1266-1337): Italian painter and architect whose more realistic depictions of human emotions influenced generations of artists. Best known for his frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua.
• Dante (1265–1321): Italian philosopher, poet, writer and political thinker who authored “The Divine Comedy.”
• Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527): Italian diplomat and philosopher famous for writing “The Prince” and “The Discourses on Livy.”
• Titian (1488–1576): Italian painter celebrated for his portraits of Pope Paul III and Charles I and his later religious and mythical paintings like “Venus and Adonis” and "Metamorphoses."
• William Tyndale (1494–1536): English biblical translator, humanist and scholar burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English.
• William Byrd (1539/40–1623): English composer known for his development of the English madrigal and his religious organ music.
• John Milton (1608–1674): English poet and historian who wrote the epic poem “Paradise Lost.”
• William Shakespeare (1564–1616): England’s “national poet” and the most famous playwright of all time, celebrated for his sonnets and plays like “Romeo and Juliet."
• Donatello (1386–1466): Italian sculptor celebrated for lifelike sculptures like “David,” commissioned by the Medici family.
• Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510): Italian painter of “Birth of Venus.”
• Raphael (1483–1520): Italian painter who learned from da Vinci and Michelangelo. Best known for his paintings of the Madonna and “The School of Athens.”
• Michelangelo (1475–1564): Italian sculptor, painter and architect who carved “David” and painted The Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Renaissance Impact on Art, Architecture and Science

Art, architecture and science were closely linked during the Renaissance. In fact, it was a unique time when these fields of study fused together seamlessly.

For instance, artists like da Vinci incorporated scientific principles, such as anatomy into their work, so they could recreate the human body with extraordinary precision.

Architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi studied mathematics to accurately engineer and design immense buildings with expansive domes.

Scientific discoveries led to major shifts in thinking: Galileo and Descartes presented a new view of astronomy and mathematics, while Copernicus proposed that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the solar system.

Renaissance art was characterized by realism and naturalism. Artists strived to depict people and objects in a true-to-life way.

They used techniques, such as perspective, shadows and light to add depth to their work. Emotion was another quality that artists tried to infuse into their pieces.

Some of the most famous artistic works that were produced during the Renaissance include:

• The Mona Lisa (Da Vinci)
• The Last Supper (Da Vinci)
• Statue of David (Michelangelo)
• The Birth of Venus (Botticelli)
• The Creation of Adam (Michelangelo)

Renaissance Exploration

While many artists and thinkers used their talents to express new ideas, some Europeans took to the seas to learn more about the world around them. In a period known as the Age of Discovery, several important explorations were made.

Voyagers launched expeditions to travel the entire globe. They discovered new shipping routes to the Americas, India and the Far East and explorers trekked across areas that weren’t fully mapped.

Famous journeys were taken by Ferdinand Magellan , Christopher Columbus , Amerigo Vespucci (after whom America is named), Marco Polo , Ponce de Leon , Vasco Núñez de Balboa , Hernando De Soto and other explorers.

Renaissance Religion

Humanism encouraged Europeans to question the role of the Roman Catholic church during the Renaissance.

As more people learned how to read, write and interpret ideas, they began to closely examine and critique religion as they knew it. Also, the printing press allowed for texts, including the Bible, to be easily reproduced and widely read by the people, themselves, for the first time.

In the 16th century, Martin Luther , a German monk, led the Protestant Reformation – a revolutionary movement that caused a split in the Catholic church. Luther questioned many of the practices of the church and whether they aligned with the teachings of the Bible.

As a result, a new form of Christianity , known as Protestantism, was created.

End of the Renaissance

Scholars believe the demise of the Renaissance was the result of several compounding factors.

By the end of the 15th century, numerous wars had plagued the Italian peninsula. Spanish, French and German invaders battling for Italian territories caused disruption and instability in the region.

Also, changing trade routes led to a period of economic decline and limited the amount of money that wealthy contributors could spend on the arts.

Later, in a movement known as the Counter-Reformation, the Catholic church censored artists and writers in response to the Protestant Reformation. Many Renaissance thinkers feared being too bold, which stifled creativity.

Furthermore, in 1545, the Council of Trent established the Roman Inquisition , which made humanism and any views that challenged the Catholic church an act of heresy punishable by death.

By the early 17th century, the Renaissance movement had died out, giving way to the Age of Enlightenment .

Debate Over the Renaissance

While many scholars view the Renaissance as a unique and exciting time in European history, others argue that the period wasn’t much different from the Middle Ages and that both eras overlapped more than traditional accounts suggest.

Also, some modern historians believe that the Middle Ages had a cultural identity that’s been downplayed throughout history and overshadowed by the Renaissance era.

While the exact timing and overall impact of the Renaissance is sometimes debated, there’s little dispute that the events of the period ultimately led to advances that changed the way people understood and interpreted the world around them.

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The Renaissance, History World International . The Renaissance – Why it Changed the World, The Telegraph . Facts About the Renaissance, Biography Online . Facts About the Renaissance Period, Interestingfacts.org . What is Humanism? International Humanist and Ethical Union . Why Did the Italian Renaissance End? Dailyhistory.org . The Myth of the Renaissance in Europe, BBC .

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What are the characteristics of Renaissance art, and how does it differ from the art of the Middle Ages?

When and where did renaissance art start and end, how did humanism and religion affect renaissance art, what made renaissance art revolutionary, what are some famous renaissance artworks.

Renaissance art

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• World History Encyclopedia - Renaissance Art
• Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project - Encounters With the Arts: Readings for ARTC150 (Previous Version) - The Renaissance Model of Art
• Art in Context - Renaissance Art – Europe’s Cultural Rebirth
• Khan Academy - Renaissance art

Renaissance art is marked by a gradual shift from the abstract forms of the medieval period to the representational forms of the 15th century. Subjects grew from mostly biblical scenes to include portraits, episodes from Classical religion, and events from contemporary life. Human figures are often rendered in dynamic poses, showing expression, using gesture, and interacting with one another. They are not flat but suggest mass, and they often occupy a realistic landscape, rather than stand against a gold background as some figures do in the art of the Middle Ages . Renaissance art from Northern Europe emphasized precise detail as a means of achieving a realistic work.

Characteristics of Renaissance art, notably an interest in realistic representation, can be found throughout European art during the 13th century, but they did not dominate art until the 15th century. Experiments in naturalism during the early Renaissance reached their culmination primarily in Italy during the High Renaissance (c. 1490–1520), notably in the works of such legendary figures as Michelangelo , Leonardo da Vinci , and Raphael , whose subjects are not only realistic but have elegant complex postures and personalities. After the deaths of the latter two artists (1519 and 1520, respectively), the High Renaissance gave way to Mannerism , wherein artists complicated realistic representations with a sense of drama and exaggeration.

Interest in humanism , a philosophy that emphasized the individual and the human capacity for fulfillment through reason, transformed the Renaissance artist from an anonymous craftsman to an individual practicing an intellectual pursuit. Artists introduced new subjects to their work, which reflected the growing emphasis on the individual, including portraits, scenes of contemporary life, and historical narratives. Although Renaissance culture was becoming increasingly secular, religion was still important to daily life, especially in Italy, where the seat of Catholicism was located. A good portion of Renaissance art depicted scenes from the Bible or was commissioned by the church. Emphasis on naturalism, however, placed such figures as Christ and the Madonna not on a magnificent gold background, as in the Middle Ages, but in landscapes from the observable world.

The developments of the Renaissance period changed the course of art in ways that continue to resonate. Interest in humanism transformed the artist from an anonymous craftsman to an individual practicing an intellectual pursuit, enabling several to become the first celebrity artists. A growing mercantile class offered artists new patrons that requested novel subjects, notably portraits and scenes from contemporary life. Moreover, scientific observations and Classical studies contributed to some of the most realistic representations of the human figure in art history. Figures have accurate anatomy , stand naturally through the Classical scheme of contrapposto , and have a sense of mass, an accomplishment made easier by the flexibility of oil paint , a medium that was gaining popularity. They also occupy believable space—an achievement based on the development of linear perspective and atmospheric perspective , illusionistic devices to suggest depth on a two-dimensional surface.

Two of the most famous artworks in history were painted during the Renaissance: the Mona Lisa (c. 1503–19) and the Last Supper (c. 1495–98), both executed by Leonardo da Vinci, which show an interest not only in representing the human figure realistically but also in imbuing it with character through expression, gesture, and posture. Other famous artworks include Michelangelo’s sculpture of David (1501–04) and his paintings for the Sistine Chapel (ceiling, 1508–12; Last Judgment , 1536–41), in which the artist pushed the accurate representation of human anatomy to challenging extremes with complicated elegant poses. Raphael’s School of Athens (c. 1508–11) celebrates the intellectual by populating a deep hall, skillfully executed using the recently codified linear perspective, with notable Western thinkers. Donatello ’s David (early 15th century) recalls Classical sculpture through the use of contrapposto, wherein the figure stands naturally with the weight on one leg. Albrecht Dürer exemplifies the Northern European interest in meticulous detail in his Self-Portrait (1500), while Titian ’s Venus of Urbino (1538) illustrates the Venetian interest in representing soft light and vibrant colour.

Renaissance art , painting , sculpture , architecture , music , and literature produced during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries in Europe under the combined influences of an increased awareness of nature, a revival of classical learning, and a more individualistic view of man. Scholars no longer believe that the Renaissance marked an abrupt break with medieval values, as is suggested by the French word renaissance , literally “rebirth.” Rather, historical sources suggest that interest in nature, humanistic learning, and individualism were already present in the late medieval period and became dominant in 15th- and 16th-century Italy concurrently with social and economic changes such as the secularization of daily life, the rise of a rational money-credit economy, and greatly increased social mobility .

In Italy the Renaissance proper was preceded by an important “proto-renaissance” in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, which drew inspiration from Franciscan radicalism. St. Francis had rejected the formal Scholasticism of the prevailing Christian theology and gone out among the poor praising the beauties and spiritual value of nature. His example inspired Italian artists and poets to take pleasure in the world around them. The most famous artist of the proto-renaissance period, Giotto di Bondone (1266/67 or 1276–1337), reveals a new pictorial style that depends on clear, simple structure and great psychological penetration rather than on the flat, linear decorativeness and hierarchical compositions of his predecessors and contemporaries, such as the Florentine painter Cimabue and the Siennese painters Duccio and Simone Martini . The great poet Dante lived at about the same time as Giotto, and his poetry shows a similar concern with inward experience and the subtle shades and variations of human nature . Although his Divine Comedy belongs to the Middle Ages in its plan and ideas, its subjective spirit and power of expression look forward to the Renaissance. Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio also belong to this proto-renaissance period, both through their extensive studies of Latin literature and through their writings in the vernacular . Unfortunately, the terrible plague of 1348 and subsequent civil wars submerged both the revival of humanistic studies and the growing interest in individualism and naturalism revealed in the works of Giotto and Dante. The spirit of the Renaissance did not surface again until the beginning of the 15th century.

In 1401 a competition was held at Florence to award the commission for bronze doors to be placed on the Baptistery of San Giovanni. Defeated by the goldsmith and painter Lorenzo Ghiberti , Filippo Brunelleschi and Donatello left for Rome, where they immersed themselves in the study of ancient architecture and sculpture. When they returned to Florence and began to put their knowledge into practice, the rationalized art of the ancient world was reborn. The founder of Renaissance painting was Masaccio (1404–28). The intellectuality of his conceptions , the monumentality of his compositions, and the high degree of naturalism in his works mark Masaccio as a pivotal figure in Renaissance painting. The succeeding generation of artists— Piero della Francesca , Pollaiuolo, and Andrea del Verrocchio —pressed forward with researches into linear and aerial perspective and anatomy, developing a style of scientific naturalism.

The situation in Florence was uniquely favourable to the arts. The civic pride of Florentines found expression in statues of the patron saints commissioned from Ghiberti and Donatello for niches in the grain-market guildhall known as Or San Michele, and in the largest dome built since antiquity, placed by Brunelleschi on the Florence cathedral. The cost of construction and decoration of palaces, churches, and monasteries was underwritten by wealthy merchant families.

Principal among these were the Medici , who dominated Florence from 1434, when the first pro-Medici government was elected, until 1492, when Lorenzo de Medici died. During their ascendancy the Medici subsidized virtually the entire range of humanistic and artistic activities associated with the Renaissance. Cosimo (1389–1464), made wealthy by his trading profits as the papal banker, was a scholar who founded the Neoplatonic academy and collected an extensive library. He gathered around him the foremost writers and classical scholars of his day, among them Marsilio Ficino , the Neoplatonist who served as the tutor of Lorenzo de Medici, Cosimo’s grandson. Lorenzo (1449–92) became the centre of a group of artists, poets, scholars, and musicians who believed in the Neoplatonic ideal of a mystical union with God through the contemplation of beauty. Less naturalistic and more courtly than the prevailing spirit of the first half of the Quattrocento, this aesthetic philosophy was elucidated by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola , incarnated in painting by Sandro Botticelli , and expressed in poetry by Lorenzo himself. Lorenzo also collaborated with the organist and choirmaster of the Florence cathedral, Heinrich Isaac , in the composition of lively secular choral music which anticipated the madrigal , a characteristic form of the High Renaissance.

The Medici traded in all of the major cities in Europe, and one of the most famous masterpieces of Northern Renaissance art, the Portinari Altarpiece, by Hugo van der Goes ( c. 1476; Uffizi, Florence), was commissioned by their agent, Tommaso Portinari. Instead of being painted with the customary tempera of the period, the work is painted with translucent oil glazes that produce brilliant jewel-like colour and a glossy surface. Early Northern Renaissance painters were more concerned with the detailed reproduction of objects and their symbolic meaning than with the study of scientific perspective and anatomy even after these achievements became widely known. On the other hand, central Italian painters began to adopt the oil painting medium soon after the Portinari Altarpiece was brought to Florence in 1476.

High Renaissance art, which flourished for about 35 years, from the early 1490s to 1527, when Rome was sacked by imperial troops, revolves around three towering figures: Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Michelangelo (1475–1564), and Raphael (1483–1520). Each of the three embodies an important aspect of the period: Leonardo was the ultimate Renaissance man , a solitary genius to whom no branch of study was foreign; Michelangelo emanated creative power, conceiving vast projects that drew for inspiration on the human body as the ultimate vehicle for emotional expression; Raphael created works that perfectly expressed the classical spirit—harmonious, beautiful, and serene.

Although Leonardo was recognized in his own time as a great artist, his restless researches into anatomy, the nature of flight, and the structure of plant and animal life left him little time to paint. His fame rests mainly on a few completed paintings; among them are the Mona Lisa (1503–05, Louvre), The Virgin of the Rocks (1483–86, Louvre), and the sadly deteriorated fresco The Last Supper (1495–98; restored 1978–99; Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan).

Michelangelo’s early sculpture, such as the Pietà (1499; St. Peter’s, Rome) and the David (1501–04; Accademia, Florence), reveals a breathtaking technical ability in concert with a disposition to bend rules of anatomy and proportion in the service of greater expressive power. Although Michelangelo thought of himself first as a sculptor, his best known work is the giant ceiling fresco of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Rome. It was completed in four years, from 1508 to 1512, and presents an incredibly complex but philosophically unified composition that fuses traditional Christian theology with Neoplatonic thought.

Raphael’s greatest work, School of Athens (1508–11), was painted in the Vatican at the same time that Michelangelo was working on the Sistine Chapel. In this large fresco Raphael brings together representatives of the Aristotelian and Platonic schools of thought. Instead of the densely packed, turbulent surface of Michelangelo’s masterpiece, Raphael places his groups of calmly conversing philosophers and artists in a vast court with vaults receding into the distance. Raphael was initially influenced by Leonardo, and he incorporated the pyramidal composition and beautifully modelled faces of The Virgin of the Rocks into many of his own paintings of the Madonna. He differed from Leonardo, however, in his prodigious output, his even temperament, and his preference for classical harmony and clarity.

The creator of High Renaissance architecture was Donato Bramante (1444–1514), who came to Rome in 1499 when he was 55. His first Roman masterpiece, the Tempietto (1502) at S. Pietro in Montorio, is a centralized dome structure that recalls classical temple architecture . Pope Julius II (reigned 1503–13) chose Bramante to be papal architect, and together they devised a plan to replace the 4th-century Old St. Peter’s with a new church of gigantic dimensions. The project was not completed, however, until long after Bramante’s death.

Humanistic studies continued under the powerful popes of the High Renaissance, Julius II and Leo X , as did the development of polyphonic music. The Sistine Choir, which performed at services when the pope officiated, drew musicians and singers from all of Italy and northern Europe. Among the most famous composers who became members were Josquin des Prez ( c. 1450–1521) and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina ( c. 1525–94).

The Renaissance as a unified historical period ended with the fall of Rome in 1527. The strains between Christian faith and classical humanism led to Mannerism in the latter part of the 16th century. Great works of art animated by the Renaissance spirit, however, continued to be made in northern Italy and in northern Europe.

Seemingly unaffected by the Mannerist crisis, northern Italian painters such as Correggio (1494–1534) and Titian (1488/90–1576) continued to celebrate both Venus and the Virgin Mary without apparent conflict. The oil medium, introduced to northern Italy by Antonello da Messina and quickly adopted by Venetian painters who could not use fresco because of the damp climate, seemed particularly adapted to the sanguine , pleasure-loving culture of Venice . A succession of brilliant painters— Giovanni Bellini , Giorgione , Titian, Tintoretto , and Paolo Veronese —developed the lyrical Venetian painting style that combined pagan subject matter, sensuous handling of colour and paint surface, and a love of extravagant settings. Closer in spirit to the more intellectual Florentines of the Quattrocento was the German painter Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), who experimented with optics, studied nature assiduously, and disseminated his powerful synthesis of Renaissance and Northern Gothic styles through the Western world by means of his engravings and woodcuts.

Baroque Music vs. Renaissance Music

What's the difference.

Baroque music and Renaissance music are two distinct periods in the history of Western classical music. Renaissance music, which flourished from the 14th to the 16th century, is characterized by its polyphonic texture, where multiple melodic lines intertwine harmoniously. It often features a cappella vocal compositions, with sacred music being prominent. On the other hand, Baroque music, which emerged in the 17th century, is characterized by its ornate and elaborate style. It is known for its use of basso continuo, a continuous bass line accompanied by harmonies, and the development of instrumental music. Baroque music is more dramatic and emotional, with composers like Bach and Handel creating grandiose compositions. While both periods have their unique characteristics, Baroque music can be seen as an evolution and expansion of the Renaissance style.

Further Detail

Introduction.

Baroque music and Renaissance music are two significant periods in the history of Western classical music. While both periods share some similarities, they also have distinct attributes that set them apart. In this article, we will explore the characteristics of Baroque music and Renaissance music, highlighting their differences and similarities.

Historical Context

The Renaissance period, spanning from the 14th to the 17th century, was a time of great cultural and intellectual flourishing in Europe. It was characterized by a renewed interest in the arts, sciences, and humanism. Music during the Renaissance was primarily vocal, with a focus on choral compositions and sacred music. The Baroque period, which followed the Renaissance, emerged in the early 17th century and lasted until the mid-18th century. It was a time of grandeur, opulence, and dramatic expression, influenced by the Counter-Reformation and the rise of absolute monarchies.

Texture and Melody

In terms of texture, Renaissance music often featured polyphonic textures, with multiple independent melodic lines interweaving harmoniously. The melodies were typically smooth and flowing, with an emphasis on balanced phrases and clear tonal structures. On the other hand, Baroque music embraced a more complex texture, often characterized by the use of basso continuo and the development of intricate contrapuntal techniques. The melodies in Baroque music were often highly ornamented, with elaborate flourishes and virtuosic passages.

Harmony and Tonality

Renaissance music was primarily modal, with composers utilizing modes such as Dorian, Mixolydian, and Phrygian. The harmonies were relatively simple, with a focus on consonance and avoiding dissonance. The tonal language of Renaissance music was more restrained and less adventurous compared to the Baroque period. In contrast, Baroque music embraced the emergence of tonality, with composers exploring major and minor keys extensively. The harmonic language became more complex, with the use of functional harmony and the development of tonal relationships.

Rhythm and Meter

Renaissance music often featured a gentle and flowing rhythm, with a focus on balanced phrases and regular meters. The rhythmic patterns were generally straightforward and predictable. In contrast, Baroque music introduced a more dynamic and varied rhythmic structure. Composers began to experiment with irregular meters, syncopation, and intricate rhythmic patterns. The rhythmic drive in Baroque music became more pronounced, adding a sense of energy and forward momentum to the compositions.

Instrumentation and Performance

Renaissance music was primarily vocal, with choral compositions being the dominant form. Instruments were often used to support and accompany the voices, with the lute, viol, and recorder being popular choices. The performances were typically held in churches or courts, with a focus on sacred or courtly settings. In contrast, Baroque music saw a significant expansion in instrumental music. The orchestra emerged as a prominent ensemble, with the addition of new instruments such as the harpsichord, violin, and cello. The performances became more public, with the rise of concert halls and opera houses.

Expression and Emotion

Renaissance music aimed to express the text and convey the meaning of the words. The compositions were often serene, balanced, and focused on the beauty of the vocal lines. The emotional range was more restrained, with a focus on clarity and purity of sound. Baroque music, on the other hand, embraced a more dramatic and emotional expression. Composers sought to evoke a wide range of emotions, from joy and exuberance to sorrow and despair. The use of dynamic contrasts, ornamentation, and expressive techniques such as terraced dynamics and basso continuo added depth and intensity to the compositions.

While both Baroque music and Renaissance music are significant periods in the history of Western classical music, they have distinct attributes that set them apart. Renaissance music is characterized by its polyphonic texture, modal harmonies, and gentle rhythms, while Baroque music embraces a more complex texture, tonal harmonies, and dynamic rhythms. The instrumentation and performance practices also differ, with Renaissance music primarily vocal and Baroque music expanding into instrumental compositions. Ultimately, both periods contributed immensely to the development of Western classical music, leaving a lasting legacy that continues to inspire musicians and audiences alike.

Comparisons may contain inaccurate information about people, places, or facts. Please report any issues.

Baroque and Renaissance

How it works

The Renaissance and the Baroque Eras have many similarities and differences, especially in the seven elements of music. On of the main movements in the Renaissance Era was “”The Reformation”” while in the Baroque was “”The Florentine Camerata”” (founders of the Opera). Both of these movements had key points in shaping music and the style of playing complex pieces. During the Renaissance era, the music was sacred and there were 2 major types of music: mass and motet while in the Baroque Era, a new style of vocal singing became know as recitative.

The four characteristics are: rhythm, melody, texture, and tempo. During the Renaissance era, a great composer of the era was Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina with his famous chant “”Pope Marcellus Mass.”” This mass was part of the mass ordinary. The opening line was monophonic, but later throughout the chant, six voices can be heard in total. There was a frequent change in texture because it varied from the vocal density and also had a serene and celestial character. A great composer for the Baroque era was Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote “”Organ Fugue in G minor”” which was a polyphonic composition based on one primary contrapuntal theme called a subject. The Fugue normally had a fast tempo and the rhythm occasionally repeated itself.

Another great composer of the Renaissance Era was Thomas Weelkes. Weelkes wrote a very famous piece called “”As Vesta was Descending””, which was an English Madrigal. This piece portrayed the idea of text painting and the texts were jovial. The melody consisted of imitation and sequenced and the tempo was fairly slow since it was for the Queen. In the Baroque Era, George Frederic Handel was famous for his oratorio called “”Messiah.”” In this piece, the tempo is fast and it had a relatively fast harmonic rhythm. The timbre was a full Orchestra. The chorus showcased sudden changes between monophonic, homophonic, and polyphonic.

The seven elements in music are different in the Renaissance and Baroque Era. For the Renaissance Era, rhythm were repeating, longer, and simpler. The melody are single melodies, imitation and sequence, and a more narrow range. The texture is homophonic in the vocal music and the timbre are the slyer, viola (cello), and the recorder. The tempo is slow for most pieces. For the Baroque Era, rhythm was florid, virtuosic, and had complicated rhythms. The melody had major and minor modes and the texture was polyphonic, homophonic, and polychoral. The timbre in the Baroque era meant that the instruments were added. Operas, aria, recitatives, oratorios, cantatas, sonatas, fugues, and concertos were added to the form. Finally, the music in the Baroque era had a fast tempo.

The Renaissance and Baroque Eras have each had a great in influence: “”The Reformation”” and “”The Florentine Camerata.”” It is safe to say that the Musical characteristics in these two eras have been very different to meet everyone’s needs. Religion, morals, and revolutions of the population during these eras have had a great influence in the way we listen to music today.

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art of the umayyad period in spain (711–1031), art, architecture, and the city in the reign of amenhotep iv / akhenaten (ca. 1353–1336 b.c.), the art, form, and function of gilt bronze in the french interior, arthur dove (1880–1946), an artisan’s tomb in new kingdom egypt, artistic interaction among cultures in medieval iberia, artists of the saqqakhana movement, the arts and crafts movement in america, the arts of iran, 1600–1800, arts of power associations in west africa, the arts of the book in the islamic world, 1600–1800, arts of the greater himalayas: kashmir, tibet, and nepal, arts of the mission schools in mexico, arts of the san people in nomansland, arts of the spanish americas, 1550–1850, asante royal funerary arts, asante textile arts, the ashcan school, asher brown durand (1796–1886), assyria, 1365–609 b.c., the assyrian sculpture court, astronomy and astrology in the medieval islamic world, asuka and nara periods (538–794), athenian vase painting: black- and red-figure techniques, athletics in ancient greece, augustan rule (27 b.c.–14 a.d.), the augustan villa at boscotrecase, auguste renoir (1841–1919), auguste rodin (1840–1917), augustus saint-gaudens (1848–1907), aztec stone sculpture, the bamana ségou state, barbarians and romans, the barbizon school: french painters of nature, baroque rome, baseball cards in the jefferson r. burdick collection, bashford dean and the development of helmets and body armor during world war i, baths and bathing culture in the middle east: the hammam, the bauhaus, 1919–1933, benin chronology, bessie potter vonnoh (1872–1955), birds of the andes, birth and family in the italian renaissance, the birth and infancy of christ in italian painting, the birth of islam, blackwater draw (ca. 9500–3000 b.c.), blackwork: a new technique in the field of ornament prints (ca. 1585–1635), blown glass from islamic lands, board games from ancient egypt and the near east, body/landscape: photography and the reconfiguration of the sculptural object, the book of hours: a medieval bestseller, boscoreale: frescoes from the villa of p. fannius synistor, botanical imagery in european painting, bronze sculpture in the renaissance, bronze statuettes of the american west, 1850–1915, buddhism and buddhist art, building stories: contextualizing architecture at the cloisters, burgundian netherlands: court life and patronage, burgundian netherlands: private life, byzantine art under islam, the byzantine city of amorium, byzantine ivories, the byzantine state under justinian i (justinian the great), byzantium (ca. 330–1453), calligraphy in islamic art, cameo appearances, candace wheeler (1827–1923), capac hucha as an inca assemblage, caravaggio (michelangelo merisi) (1571–1610) and his followers, carolingian art, carpets from the islamic world, 1600–1800, cave sculpture from the karawari, ceramic technology in the seljuq period: stonepaste in syria and iran in the eleventh century, ceramic technology in the seljuq period: stonepaste in syria and iran in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, ceramics in the french renaissance, cerro sechín, cerro sechín: stone sculpture, the cesnola collection at the metropolitan museum of art, charles eames (1907–1978) and ray eames (1913–1988), charles frederick worth (1825–1895) and the house of worth, charles james (1906–1978), charles sheeler (1883–1965), chauvet cave (ca. 30,000 b.c.), childe hassam (1859–1935), chinese buddhist sculpture, chinese calligraphy, chinese cloisonné, chinese gardens and collectors’ rocks, chinese handscrolls, chinese hardstone carvings, chinese painting, the chiton, peplos, and himation in modern dress, the chopine, christian dior (1905–1957), christopher dresser (1834–1904), classical antiquity in the middle ages, classical art and modern dress, classical cyprus (ca. 480–ca. 310 b.c.), classicism in modern dress, claude lorrain (1604/5–1682), claude monet (1840–1926), coffee, tea, and chocolate in early colonial america, collecting for the kunstkammer, colonial kero cups, colossal temples of the roman near east, commedia dell’arte, company painting in nineteenth-century india, conceptual art and photography, constantinople after 1261, contemporary deconstructions of classical dress, contexts for the display of statues in classical antiquity, cosmic buddhas in the himalayas, costume in the metropolitan museum of art, the countess da castiglione, courtly art of the ilkhanids, courtship and betrothal in the italian renaissance, cristobal balenciaga (1895–1972), the croome court tapestry room, worcestershire, the crucifixion and passion of christ in italian painting, the crusades (1095–1291), the cult of the virgin mary in the middle ages, cut and engraved glass from islamic lands, cyprus—island of copper, daguerre (1787–1851) and the invention of photography, the daguerreian age in france: 1839–55, the daguerreian era and early american photography on paper, 1839–60, the damascus room, daniel chester french (1850–1931), daoism and daoist art, david octavius hill (1802–1870) and robert adamson (1821–1848), death, burial, and the afterlife in ancient greece, the decoration of arms and armor, the decoration of european armor, the decoration of tibetan arms and armor, design reform, design, 1900–1925, design, 1925–50, design, 1950–75, design, 1975–2000, the development of the recorder, direct versus indirect casting of small bronzes in the italian renaissance, divination and senufo sculpture in west africa, domenichino (1581–1641), domestic art in renaissance italy, donatello (ca. 1386–1466), drawing in the middle ages, dress rehearsal: the origins of the costume institute, dressing for the cocktail hour, dualism in andean art, duncan phyfe (1770–1854) and charles-honoré lannuier (1779–1819), dutch and flemish artists in rome, 1500–1600, eagles after the american revolution, early cycladic art and culture, early documentary photography, early dynastic sculpture, 2900–2350 b.c., early excavations in assyria, early histories of photography in west africa (1860–1910), early maori wood carvings, early modernists and indian traditions, early netherlandish painting, early photographers of the american west: 1860s–70s, early qur’ans (8th–early 13th century), east and west: chinese export porcelain, east asian cultural exchange in tiger and dragon paintings, easter island, eastern religions in the roman world, ebla in the third millennium b.c., edgar degas (1834–1917): bronze sculpture, edgar degas (1834–1917): painting and drawing, edo-period japanese porcelain, édouard baldus (1813–1889), édouard manet (1832–1883), edward hopper (1882–1967), edward j. steichen (1879–1973): the photo-secession years, edward lycett (1833–1910), egypt in the late period (ca. 664–332 b.c.), egypt in the middle kingdom (ca. 2030–1650 b.c.), egypt in the new kingdom (ca. 1550–1070 b.c.), egypt in the old kingdom (ca. 2649–2130 b.c.), egypt in the ptolemaic period, egypt in the third intermediate period (ca. 1070–664 b.c.), egyptian faience: technology and production, egyptian modern art, egyptian red gold, egyptian revival, egyptian tombs: life along the nile, eighteenth-century european dress, the eighteenth-century pastel portrait, eighteenth-century silhouette and support, eighteenth-century women painters in france, el greco (1541–1614), élisabeth louise vigée le brun (1755–1842), elizabethan england, elsa schiaparelli (1890–1973), empire style, 1800–1815, the empires of the western sudan, the empires of the western sudan: ghana empire, the empires of the western sudan: mali empire, the empires of the western sudan: songhai empire, enameled and gilded glass from islamic lands, english embroidery of the late tudor and stuart eras, english ornament prints and furniture books in eighteenth-century america, english silver, 1600–1800, ernest hemingway (1899–1961) and art, ernst emil herzfeld (1879–1948) in persepolis, ernst emil herzfeld (1879–1948) in samarra, etching in eighteenth-century france: artists and amateurs, the etching revival in nineteenth-century france, ethiopia’s enduring cultural heritage, ethiopian healing scrolls, etruscan art, etruscan language and inscriptions, eugène atget (1857–1927), europe and the age of exploration, europe and the islamic world, 1600–1800, european clocks in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, european exploration of the pacific, 1600–1800, european revivalism, european tapestry production and patronage, 1400–1600, european tapestry production and patronage, 1600–1800, exchange of art and ideas: the benin, owo, and ijebu kingdoms, exoticism in the decorative arts, extravagant monstrosities: gold- and silversmith designs in the auricular style, eynan/ain mallaha (12,500–10,000 b.c.), fabricating sixteenth-century netherlandish boxwood miniatures, the face in medieval sculpture, famous makers of arms and armors and european centers of production, fashion in european armor, fashion in european armor, 1000–1300, fashion in european armor, 1300–1400, fashion in european armor, 1400–1500, fashion in european armor, 1500–1600, fashion in european armor, 1600–1700, fashion in safavid iran, fatimid jewelry, fell’s cave (9000–8000 b.c.), fernand léger (1881–1955), feudalism and knights in medieval europe, figural representation in islamic art, filippino lippi (ca. 1457–1504), fire gilding of arms and armor, the five wares of south italian vase painting, the flavian dynasty (69–96 a.d.), flemish harpsichords and virginals, flood stories, folios from the great mongol shahnama (book of kings), folios from the jami‘ al-tavarikh (compendium of chronicles), fontainebleau, food and drink in european painting, 1400–1800, foundations of aksumite civilization and its christian legacy (1st–8th century), fra angelico (ca. 1395–1455), francisco de goya (1746–1828) and the spanish enlightenment, françois boucher (1703–1770), frank lloyd wright (1867–1959), frans hals (1582/83–1666), frederic edwin church (1826–1900), frederic remington (1861–1909), frederick william macmonnies (1863–1937), the french academy in rome, french art deco, french art pottery, french decorative arts during the reign of louis xiv (1654–1715), french faience, french furniture in the eighteenth century: case furniture, french furniture in the eighteenth century: seat furniture, french porcelain in the eighteenth century, french silver in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, frescoes and wall painting in late byzantine art, from geometric to informal gardens in the eighteenth century, from italy to france: gardens in the court of louis xiv and after, from model to monument: american public sculpture, 1865–1915, the fulani/fulbe people, the function of armor in medieval and renaissance europe, funerary vases in southern italy and sicily, furnishings during the reign of louis xiv (1654–1715), gabrielle “coco” chanel (1883–1971) and the house of chanel, gardens in the french renaissance, gardens of western europe, 1600–1800, genre painting in northern europe, geometric abstraction, geometric and archaic cyprus, geometric art in ancient greece, geometric patterns in islamic art, george inness (1825–1894), george washington: man, myth, monument, georges seurat (1859–1891) and neo-impressionism, georgia o’keeffe (1887–1986), gerard david (born about 1455, died 1523), german and austrian porcelain in the eighteenth century, the ghent altarpiece, gian lorenzo bernini (1598–1680), gilbert stuart (1755–1828), giovanni battista piranesi (1720–1778), giovanni battista tiepolo (1696–1770), gladiators: types and training, glass from islamic lands, glass ornaments in late antiquity and early islam (ca. 500–1000), glass with mold-blown decoration from islamic lands, the gods and goddesses of canaan, gold in ancient egypt, gold in asante courtly arts, gold in the ancient americas, gold of the indies, the golden age of french furniture in the eighteenth century, the golden harpsichord of michele todini (1616–1690), golden treasures: the royal tombs of silla, goryeo celadon, the grand tour, the graphic art of max klinger, great plains indians musical instruments, great serpent mound, great zimbabwe (11th–15th century), the greater ottoman empire, 1600–1800, greek art in the archaic period, greek gods and religious practices, greek hydriai (water jars) and their artistic decoration, the greek key and divine attributes in modern dress, greek terracotta figurines with articulated limbs, gustave courbet (1819–1877), gustave le gray (1820–1884), hagia sophia, 532–37, the halaf period (6500–5500 b.c.), han dynasty (206 b.c.–220 a.d.), hanae mori (1926–2022), hans talhoffer’s fight book, a sixteenth-century manuscript about the art of fighting, harry burton (1879–1940): the pharaoh’s photographer, hasanlu in the iron age, haute couture, heian period (794–1185), hellenistic and roman cyprus, hellenistic jewelry, hendrick goltzius (1558–1617), henri cartier-bresson (1908–2004), henri de toulouse-lautrec (1864–1901), henri matisse (1869–1954), henry kirke brown (1814–1886), john quincy adams ward (1830–1910), and realism in american sculpture, heroes in italian mythological prints, hinduism and hindu art, hippopotami in ancient egypt, hiram powers (1805–1873), the hittites, the holy roman empire and the habsburgs, 1400–1600, hopewell (1–400 a.d.), horse armor in europe, hot-worked glass from islamic lands, the house of jeanne hallée (1870–1924), the housemistress in new kingdom egypt: hatnefer, how medieval and renaissance tapestries were made, the hudson river school, hungarian silver, icons and iconoclasm in byzantium, the idea and invention of the villa, ife (from ca. 6th century), ife pre-pavement and pavement era (800–1000 a.d.), ife terracottas (1000–1400 a.d.), igbo-ukwu (ca. 9th century), images of antiquity in limoges enamels in the french renaissance, impressionism: art and modernity, in pursuit of white: porcelain in the joseon dynasty, 1392–1910, indian knoll (3000–2000 b.c.), indian textiles: trade and production, indigenous arts of the caribbean, industrialization and conflict in america: 1840–1875, the industrialization of french photography after 1860, inland niger delta, intellectual pursuits of the hellenistic age, intentional alterations of early netherlandish painting, interior design in england, 1600–1800, interiors imagined: folding screens, garments, and clothing stands, international pictorialism, internationalism in the tang dynasty (618–907), introduction to prehistoric art, 20,000–8000 b.c., the isin-larsa and old babylonian periods (2004–1595 b.c.), islamic arms and armor, islamic art and culture: the venetian perspective, islamic art of the deccan, islamic carpets in european paintings, italian painting of the later middle ages, italian porcelain in the eighteenth century, italian renaissance frames, ivory and boxwood carvings, 1450–1800, ivory carving in the gothic era, thirteenth–fifteenth centuries, jacopo dal ponte, called bassano (ca. 1510–1592), jade in costa rica, jade in mesoamerica, jain manuscript painting, jain sculpture, james cox (ca. 1723–1800): goldsmith and entrepreneur, james mcneill whistler (1834–1903), james mcneill whistler (1834–1903) as etcher, jan gossart (ca. 1478–1532) and his circle, jan van eyck (ca. 1390–1441), the japanese blade: technology and manufacture, japanese illustrated handscrolls, japanese incense, the japanese tea ceremony, japanese weddings in the edo period (1615–1868), japanese writing boxes, jasper johns (born 1930), jean antoine houdon (1741–1828), jean honoré fragonard (1732–1806), jean-baptiste carpeaux (1827–1875), jean-baptiste greuze (1725–1805), jewish art in late antiquity and early byzantium, jews and the arts in medieval europe, jews and the decorative arts in early modern italy, jiahu (ca. 7000–5700 b.c.), joachim tielke (1641–1719), joan miró (1893–1983), johannes vermeer (1632–1675), johannes vermeer (1632–1675) and the milkmaid, john constable (1776–1837), john frederick kensett (1816–1872), john singer sargent (1856–1925), john singleton copley (1738–1815), john townsend (1733–1809), jōmon culture (ca. 10,500–ca. 300 b.c.), joseon buncheong ware: between celadon and porcelain, joseph mallord william turner (1775–1851), juan de flandes (active by 1496, died 1519), julia margaret cameron (1815–1879), the julio-claudian dynasty (27 b.c.–68 a.d.), kamakura and nanbokucho periods (1185–1392), the kano school of painting, kingdoms of madagascar: malagasy funerary arts, kingdoms of madagascar: malagasy textile arts, kingdoms of madagascar: maroserana and merina, kingdoms of the savanna: the kuba kingdom, kingdoms of the savanna: the luba and lunda empires, kings and queens of egypt, kings of brightness in japanese esoteric buddhist art, the kirtlington park room, oxfordshire, the kithara in ancient greece, kodak and the rise of amateur photography, kofun period (ca. 300–710), kongo ivories, korean buddhist sculpture (5th–9th century), korean munbangdo paintings, kushan empire (ca. second century b.c.–third century a.d.), la venta: sacred architecture, la venta: stone sculpture, the labors of herakles, lacquerware of east asia, landscape painting in chinese art, landscape painting in the netherlands, the lansdowne dining room, london, lapita pottery (ca. 1500–500 b.c.), lascaux (ca. 15,000 b.c.), late eighteenth-century american drawings, late medieval german sculpture, late medieval german sculpture: images for the cult and for private devotion, late medieval german sculpture: materials and techniques, late medieval german sculpture: polychromy and monochromy, the later ottomans and the impact of europe, le colis de trianon-versailles and paris openings, the legacy of genghis khan, the legacy of jacques louis david (1748–1825), leonardo da vinci (1452–1519), letterforms and writing in contemporary art, life of jesus of nazareth, life of the buddha, list of rulers of ancient egypt and nubia, list of rulers of ancient sudan, list of rulers of byzantium, list of rulers of china, list of rulers of europe, list of rulers of japan, list of rulers of korea, list of rulers of mesopotamia, list of rulers of south asia, list of rulers of the ancient greek world, list of rulers of the islamic world, list of rulers of the parthian empire, list of rulers of the roman empire, list of rulers of the sasanian empire, lithography in the nineteenth century, longevity in chinese art, louis comfort tiffany (1848–1933), louis-rémy robert (1810–1882), lovers in italian mythological prints, the lure of montmartre, 1880–1900, luxury arts of rome, lydenburg heads (ca. 500 a.d.), lydia and phrygia, made in india, found in egypt: red sea textile trade in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, made in italy: italian fashion from 1950 to now, the magic of signs and patterns in north african art, maiolica in the renaissance, mal’ta (ca. 20,000 b.c.), mangarevan sculpture, the manila galleon trade (1565–1815), mannerism: bronzino (1503–1572) and his contemporaries, the mantiq al-tair (language of the birds) of 1487, manuscript illumination in italy, 1400–1600, manuscript illumination in northern europe, mapungubwe (ca. 1050–1270), marcel duchamp (1887–1968), maria monaci gallenga (1880–1944), mary stevenson cassatt (1844–1926), the master of monte oliveto (active about 1305–35), the materials and techniques of american quilts and coverlets, the materials and techniques of english embroidery of the late tudor and stuart eras, mauryan empire (ca. 323–185 b.c.), medicine in classical antiquity, medicine in the middle ages, medieval aquamanilia, medieval european sculpture for buildings, medusa in ancient greek art, mendicant orders in the medieval world, the mesoamerican ballgame, mesopotamian creation myths, mesopotamian deities, mesopotamian magic in the first millennium b.c., the metropolitan museum’s excavations at nishapur, the metropolitan museum’s excavations at ctesiphon, the metropolitan museum’s excavations at qasr-i abu nasr, michiel sweerts and biblical subjects in dutch art, the middle babylonian / kassite period (ca. 1595–1155 b.c.) in mesopotamia, military music in american and european traditions, ming dynasty (1368–1644), minoan crete, mission héliographique, 1851, miyake, kawakubo, and yamamoto: japanese fashion in the twentieth century, moche decorated ceramics, moche portrait vessels, modern and contemporary art in iran, modern art in india, modern art in west and east pakistan, modern art in west asia: colonial to post-colonial, modern materials: plastics, modern storytellers: romare bearden, jacob lawrence, faith ringgold, momoyama period (1573–1615), monasticism in western medieval europe, the mon-dvaravati tradition of early north-central thailand, the mongolian tent in the ilkhanid period, monte albán, monte albán: sacred architecture, monte albán: stone sculpture, monumental architecture of the aksumite empire, the monumental stelae of aksum (3rd–4th century), mosaic glass from islamic lands, mountain and water: korean landscape painting, 1400–1800, muromachi period (1392–1573), music and art of china, music in ancient greece, music in the ancient andes, music in the renaissance, musical instruments of oceania, musical instruments of the indian subcontinent, musical terms for the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, mycenaean civilization, mystery cults in the greek and roman world, nabataean kingdom and petra, the nabis and decorative painting, nadar (1820–1910), the nahal mishmar treasure, nature in chinese culture, the nature of islamic art, the neoclassical temple, neoclassicism, neolithic period in china, nepalese painting, nepalese sculpture, netsuke: from fashion fobs to coveted collectibles, new caledonia, the new documentary tradition in photography, new ireland, new vision photography, a new visual language transmitted across asia, the new york dutch room, nicolas poussin (1594–1665), nineteenth-century american drawings, nineteenth-century american folk art, nineteenth-century american jewelry, nineteenth-century american silver, nineteenth-century classical music, nineteenth-century court arts in india, nineteenth-century english silver, nineteenth-century european textile production, nineteenth-century french realism, nineteenth-century iran: art and the advent of modernity, nineteenth-century iran: continuity and revivalism, nineteenth-century silhouette and support, nok terracottas (500 b.c.–200 a.d.), northern italian renaissance painting, northern mannerism in the early sixteenth century, northern song dynasty (960–1127), northwest coast indians musical instruments, the nude in baroque and later art, the nude in the middle ages and the renaissance, the nude in western art and its beginnings in antiquity, nudity and classical themes in byzantine art, nuptial furnishings in the italian renaissance, the old assyrian period (ca. 2000–1600 b.c.), orientalism in nineteenth-century art, orientalism: visions of the east in western dress, the origins of writing, ottonian art, pablo picasso (1881–1973), pachmari hills (ca. 9000–3000 b.c.), painted funerary monuments from hellenistic alexandria, painting formats in east asian art, painting in italian choir books, 1300–1500, painting in oil in the low countries and its spread to southern europe, painting the life of christ in medieval and renaissance italy, paintings of love and marriage in the italian renaissance, paolo veronese (1528–1588), the papacy and the vatican palace, the papacy during the renaissance, papyrus in ancient egypt, papyrus-making in egypt, the parthian empire (247 b.c.–224 a.d.), pastoral charms in the french renaissance, patronage at the early valois courts (1328–1461), patronage at the later valois courts (1461–1589), patronage of jean de berry (1340–1416), paul cézanne (1839–1906), paul gauguin (1848–1903), paul klee (1879–1940), paul poiret (1879–1944), paul revere, jr. (1734–1818), paul strand (1890–1976), period of the northern and southern dynasties (386–581), peter paul rubens (1577–1640) and anthony van dyck (1599–1641): paintings, peter paul rubens (1577–1640) and anthony van dyck (1599–1641): works on paper, petrus christus (active by 1444, died 1475/76), the phoenicians (1500–300 b.c.), photographers in egypt, photography and surrealism, photography and the civil war, 1861–65, photography at the bauhaus, photography in düsseldorf, photography in europe, 1945–60, photography in postwar america, 1945-60, photography in the expanded field: painting, performance, and the neo-avant-garde, photojournalism and the picture press in germany, phrygia, gordion, and king midas in the late eighth century b.c., the piano: the pianofortes of bartolomeo cristofori (1655–1731), the piano: viennese instruments, pictorialism in america, the pictures generation, pierre bonnard (1867–1947): the late interiors, pierre didot the elder (1761–1853), pieter bruegel the elder (ca. 1525–1569), pilgrimage in medieval europe, poetic allusions in the rajput and pahari painting of india, poets in italian mythological prints, poets, lovers, and heroes in italian mythological prints, polychrome sculpture in spanish america, polychromy of roman marble sculpture, popular religion: magical uses of imagery in byzantine art, portrait painting in england, 1600–1800, portraits of african leadership, portraits of african leadership: living rulers, portraits of african leadership: memorials, portraits of african leadership: royal ancestors, portraiture in renaissance and baroque europe, the portuguese in africa, 1415–1600, post-impressionism, postmodernism: recent developments in art in india, postmodernism: recent developments in art in pakistan and bangladesh, post-revolutionary america: 1800–1840, the postwar print renaissance in america, poverty point (2000–1000 b.c.), the praenestine cistae, prague during the rule of rudolf ii (1583–1612), prague, 1347–1437, pre-angkor traditions: the mekong delta and peninsular thailand, precisionism, prehistoric cypriot art and culture, prehistoric stone sculpture from new guinea, the pre-raphaelites, presidents of the united states of america, the print in the nineteenth century, the printed image in the west: aquatint, the printed image in the west: drypoint, the printed image in the west: engraving, the printed image in the west: etching, the printed image in the west: history and techniques, the printed image in the west: mezzotint, the printed image in the west: woodcut, printmaking in mexico, 1900–1950, private devotion in medieval christianity, profane love and erotic art in the italian renaissance, the pyramid complex of senwosret iii, dahshur, the pyramid complex of senwosret iii, dahshur: private tombs to the north, the pyramid complex of senwosret iii, dahshur: queens and princesses, the pyramid complex of senwosret iii, dahshur: temples, qin dynasty (221–206 b.c.), the qing dynasty (1644–1911): courtiers, officials, and professional artists, the qing dynasty (1644–1911): loyalists and individualists, the qing dynasty (1644–1911): painting, the qing dynasty (1644–1911): the traditionalists, the rag-dung, rare coins from nishapur, recognizing the gods, the rediscovery of classical antiquity, the reformation, relics and reliquaries in medieval christianity, religion and culture in north america, 1600–1700, the religious arts under the ilkhanids, the religious relationship between byzantium and the west, rembrandt (1606–1669): paintings, rembrandt van rijn (1606–1669): prints, renaissance drawings: material and function, renaissance keyboards, renaissance organs, renaissance velvet textiles, renaissance violins, retrospective styles in greek and roman sculpture, rinpa painting style, the rise of macedon and the conquests of alexander the great, the rise of modernity in south asia, the rise of paper photography in 1850s france, the rise of paper photography in italy, 1839–55, the rock-hewn churches of lalibela, roger fenton (1819–1869), the roman banquet, roman cameo glass, roman copies of greek statues, roman egypt, the roman empire (27 b.c.–393 a.d.), roman games: playing with animals, roman glass, roman gold-band glass, roman housing, roman inscriptions, roman luxury glass, roman mold-blown glass, roman mosaic and network glass, roman painting, roman portrait sculpture: republican through constantinian, roman portrait sculpture: the stylistic cycle, the roman republic, roman sarcophagi, roman stuccowork, romanesque art, romanticism, saint petersburg, saints and other sacred byzantine figures, saints in medieval christian art, the salon and the royal academy in the nineteenth century, san ethnography, sanford robinson gifford (1823–1880), the sasanian empire (224–651 a.d.), scenes of everyday life in ancient greece, scholar-officials of china, school of paris, seasonal imagery in japanese art, the seleucid empire (323–64 b.c.), senufo arts and poro initiation in northern côte d’ivoire, senufo sculpture from west africa: an influential exhibition at the museum of primitive art, new york, 1963, seventeenth-century european watches, the severan dynasty (193–235 a.d.), sèvres porcelain in the nineteenth century, shah ‘abbas and the arts of isfahan, the shah jahan album, the shahnama of shah tahmasp, shaker furniture, shakespeare and art, 1709–1922, shakespeare portrayed, shang and zhou dynasties: the bronze age of china, shoes in the costume institute, shōguns and art, shunga dynasty (ca. second–first century b.c.), sienese painting, silk textiles from safavid iran, 1501–1722, silks from ottoman turkey, silver in ancient egypt, sixteenth-century painting in emilia-romagna, sixteenth-century painting in lombardy, sixteenth-century painting in venice and the veneto, the solomon islands, south asian art and culture, southern italian vase painting, southern song dynasty (1127–1279), the spanish guitar, spiritual power in the arts of the toba batak, stained (luster-painted) glass from islamic lands, stained glass in medieval europe, still-life painting in northern europe, 1600–1800, still-life painting in southern europe, 1600–1800, the structure of photographic metaphors, students of benjamin west (1738–1820), the symposium in ancient greece, takht-i sulaiman and tilework in the ilkhanid period, talavera de puebla, tanagra figurines, tang dynasty (618–907), the technique of bronze statuary in ancient greece, techniques of decoration on arms and armor, telling time in ancient egypt, tenochtitlan, tenochtitlan: templo mayor, teotihuacan: mural painting, teotihuacan: pyramids of the sun and the moon, textile production in europe: embroidery, 1600–1800, textile production in europe: lace, 1600–1800, textile production in europe: printed, 1600–1800, textile production in europe: silk, 1600–1800, theater and amphitheater in the roman world, theater in ancient greece, theseus, hero of athens, thomas chippendale’s gentleman and cabinet-maker’s director, thomas cole (1801–1848), thomas eakins (1844–1916): painting, thomas eakins (1844–1916): photography, 1880s–90s, thomas hart benton’s america today mural, thomas sully (1783–1872) and queen victoria, tibetan arms and armor, tibetan buddhist art, tikal: sacred architecture, tikal: stone sculpture, time of day on painted athenian vases, tiraz: inscribed textiles from the early islamic period, titian (ca. 1485/90–1576), the tomb of wah, trade and commercial activity in the byzantine and early islamic middle east, trade and the spread of islam in africa, trade between arabia and the empires of rome and asia, trade between the romans and the empires of asia, trade relations among european and african nations, trade routes between europe and asia during antiquity, traditional chinese painting in the twentieth century, the transatlantic slave trade, the transformation of landscape painting in france, the trans-saharan gold trade (7th–14th century), turkmen jewelry, turquoise in ancient egypt, tutankhamun’s funeral, tutsi basketry, twentieth-century silhouette and support, the ubaid period (5500–4000 b.c.), ubirr (ca. 40,000–present), umberto boccioni (1882–1916), unfinished works in european art, ca. 1500–1900, ur: the royal graves, ur: the ziggurat, uruk: the first city, valdivia figurines, vegetal patterns in islamic art, velázquez (1599–1660), venetian color and florentine design, venice and the islamic world, 828–1797, venice and the islamic world: commercial exchange, diplomacy, and religious difference, venice in the eighteenth century, venice’s principal muslim trading partners: the mamluks, the ottomans, and the safavids, the vibrant role of mingqi in early chinese burials, the vikings (780–1100), vincent van gogh (1853–1890), vincent van gogh (1853–1890): the drawings, violin makers: nicolò amati (1596–1684) and antonio stradivari (1644–1737), visual culture of the atlantic world, vivienne westwood (born 1941) and the postmodern legacy of punk style, wadi kubbaniya (ca. 17,000–15,000 b.c.), walker evans (1903–1975), wang hui (1632–1717), warfare in ancient greece, watercolor painting in britain, 1750–1850, ways of recording african history, weddings in the italian renaissance, west asia: ancient legends, modern idioms, west asia: between tradition and modernity, west asia: postmodernism, the diaspora, and women artists, william blake (1757–1827), william henry fox talbot (1800–1877) and the invention of photography, william merritt chase (1849–1916), winslow homer (1836–1910), wisteria dining room, paris, women artists in nineteenth-century france, women china decorators, women in classical greece, women leaders in african history, 17th–19th century, women leaders in african history: ana nzinga, queen of ndongo, women leaders in african history: dona beatriz, kongo prophet, women leaders in african history: idia, first queen mother of benin, woodblock prints in the ukiyo-e style, woodcut book illustration in renaissance italy: florence in the 1490s, woodcut book illustration in renaissance italy: the first illustrated books, woodcut book illustration in renaissance italy: venice in the 1490s, woodcut book illustration in renaissance italy: venice in the sixteenth century, wordplay in twentieth-century prints, work and leisure: eighteenth-century genre painting in korea, x-ray style in arnhem land rock art, yamato-e painting, yangban: the cultural life of the joseon literati, yayoi culture (ca. 300 b.c.–300 a.d.), the year one, years leading to the iranian revolution, 1960–79, yuan dynasty (1271–1368), zen buddhism, 0 && essaysctrl.themev == 'departments / collections' && essaysctrl.deptv == null">, departments / collections '">.