Humanities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Humanities - Essay Example sance’ literally means â€Å"rebirth.† It referred to the ideas of artistic renewal and reawakening that occurred in this time period as people began rediscovering the skill of the ancient world, starting in Italy and spreading to other nations. To them, the remnants of the ancient world represented a golden age of shared culture, reason and creativity. Their refocus on the classical subjects, styles and artistic knowledge can be discovered in various forms of art created during this time period, including paintings. Although artists were strongly influenced by classical thought, shown in their inclusion of ancient myths and legends, the Renaissance was also heavily influenced by contemporary discovery and Christian ideals. At nearly the same time, the church underwent a period of Reformation, in which they rejected their previous focus on material wealth and riches, turning instead to simpler, purer early forms. Many artists during the Renaissance, freed of their stric tly religious patrons, were pulled between Christianity and paganism, heaven and earth, in their subjects and communicated this conflict in the magnificent works of art they produced. When the mathematical focus of the ancient Greeks and Romans was discovered, artists of 15th century Florence quickly linked it to the proportional, focus of their own world. They recognized the geometric and arithmetic formulas as a common factor in both creating great works of art as well as communicating to their largely commercial audience on an immediate basis. â€Å"In an age of non-standard shipping units, one had to be able to calculate contents and quantities of shipments fairly rapidly† (Lemaitre & Lessing, 1993, p. 15). Painters and other artists employed this community-wide foundational knowledge in geometry to present objects and elements in their work that were familiar to the average viewer at the same time that they immediately emphasized the message they wished to portray. â€Å"In the same way