Renaissance
(1420-1600)
Period in Europe from the late fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries, characterized by a renewed interest in human-centered classical art, literature, and learning.
Birth of Venus
by Italian artist Sandro Botticelli
Mona Lisa (1503-1506) painted by the Italian artist Leonard da Vinci,
was also known as La Gioconda, possibly referring to the subject's
husband, banker Zanobi del Giocondo. The artist's use of very deep space in
the background with a close-in portrait is typical of Renaissance painting
style. The painting hangs in the Louvre, Paris.
David, a marble sculpture by the Italian artist Michelangelo, was carved
between 1501 and 1504. Unlike earlier versions of David, in which the hero
is depicted as triumphant over Goliath, this David waits for his enemy, body
centered but tense. This piece is influenced by the classical nudes of the
Greeks but is more emotionally powerful.