Introduction
The Renaissance period covers the 200 years between 1400 and 1600; although exact dates are still argued by many specialists. The word “renaissance” literally means “rebirth” and is the French translation of the Italian “rinascita”. The Renaissance style is primarily composed of a revival of the classical forms developed originally by the ancient Greeks and Romans and of the deepened concern for secular life – interest in humanism and assertion of the importance of the individual.
In art history, the Renaissance period corresponds to the start of the great Western age of discovery and exploration. At the time, there was great desire to study all aspects of nature and the world. During the Renaissance, artists became independent personalities. They were no longer considered as mere artisans as they have been in the medieval times. Artists tried to find new solutions to formal and visual problems. Many of them devoted to scientific experimentations. During this time, a lot of mathematical and linear outlooks were developed. This resulted to proportionality and rationality in every aspect of painting and sculpture. Paintings became a window to the natural world and it was the painters’ job to depict this world in their art. Artists at the time dedicated themselves to the rendition of landscape. In addition, artists also developed aerial perspective --- an angle where wherein objects become less distinctive and less sharply colored as the eye moves away.
Painters during the Renaissance period achieved great heights in narrative and picture as they portray figures in a landscape or architectural art in such a way that they act out a specific story either taken from classical mythology of Judeo-Christian tradition. Renaissance painters were able to show a full range of postures and poses and capture the emotions of their characters.
The Renaissance of the arts corresponds with the development of humanism which was characterized by scholarly studies and philosophical texts. Use of classical Latin was revived and more favored at this time. It was also a period of avid exploration. Painters, sculptors and architects demonstrated a sense of adventure and desire for great knowledge and new solutions.
Renaissance in Italy
Renaissance was first developed in Italy due to the fact that works of the ancient Greeks and Romans were readily available to the Italians. Such an example is the Italian language which evolved from the Latin of the Romans. Classical ruins and artifacts are also buried deep within the soils of Italy. Roman architectural designs were stated to be found in almost every town and city of Italy. Roman sculpture, in the form of marble sarcophagi covered with relics, has been known of for centuries.
High Renaissance The artistic revolution of the Early Renaissance or the “birth” of new interest in Classical Greco-Latin matured into what is now known as the High Renaissance. New styles and ways of thinking shifted into high gear right after the Early Renaissance. Historically speaking, this was the time when Medici ruled over Florence, the time of Dante’s writings, a time great wealth and enlightenment.
High renaissance in Italy is considered as the climax of Renaissance art from the years 1500-1525. Craven (1931) commented that the high renaissance was the “fullest bloom of art in the early decades of the 16th century” (pp. 52-53). Craven (1931) describes the High Renaissance as a “time of continual agitation and alarm, of inexpressible inequity, of contrasts and corruption, experiment and prosperity, and most important of all our story, perhaps the most complete emancipation of the mind of man from the fetters of authority and convention that the world has ever seen” (pp. 52-53).
Janson (n.d.) notes the High Renaissance period represents ideals in the depictions of human figure, the climax of the use of perspective space and strong influence of classical art. The period of High Renaissance is characterized by the explosion of creative genius. Renaissance paintings reached its peak in terms of technical competence, rich artistic imagination and heroic composition. There was harmony and balance in all forms of arts. Italian High Renaissance artists accomplished perfect harmony and balance comparable with the works of ancient Greece and Rome.
Renaissance Classicism was a form of art that showed the world as it was. It removed all irrelevant details in the picture. Moreover, the High Renaissance period was also considered as a natural evolution of Italian Humanism.
Why is it called the “High” Renaissance? The period represented a culmination. The tentative artistic explorations of the Proto-Renaissance that flowered during the Early Renaissance burst into full bloom during the High Renaissance. The art of ancient times were no longer pondered at by the artists. They already had the tools, technology, training, as well as the confidence to step on their own directions. They were somehow assured of the knowledge that what they were doing was good, maybe even better, than anything that had been done before. Moreover, the High Renaissance symbolized a convergence of talents focused on the same point during the same small window of time. Indeed this period fueled a new sense of pride and of nationalism. The high renaissance was a change in life and art. The greatest artists ever known were found during the High Renaissance period, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.
Three Greatest Artists
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) “Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.” --- Leonardo

The resourcefulness and creative power of Leonardo mark him as an ultimate example of a Renaissance genius. His drawings portray scientific precision and consummate artistry ranging from flying machines to caricatures. He also performed intricate anatomical studies of people, animals and plants. The originality and richness in his notebooks show one of the greatest minds of all time. Leonardo was born illegitimate from a Florentine notary and a peasant on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy. At 17, he moved to Florence with his father and became the apprentice of Verrocchio where his brilliance was covered by his master. Leonardo became a member of the painter’s guild of Florence in 1472, where he had contact with other Florentine artists such as Michelangelo. In 1481, he offered his services to the local Duke and left for Milan. During this period, his works included the “Virgin of the Rocks” and “The Last Supper”. In 1499, he traveled again through Mantua, to the Court of Isabella d’Este, Venice and consulted on architecture from 1495-1499. He became a military engineer for Cesare Borgia from 1501-1503 which after he returned to Florence. During the period between 1503 and 1506, he produced his greatest works such as the Mona Lisa. In 1506, he left again for Milan and committed himself to scientific studies and engineering projects. In 1512, he traveled to Rome. During 1513-1516, he was under the protection of Giulliano de Medici, brother of Pope Leo X. here, Leonardo made contact with Raphael and Michelangelo. After Medici’s death, he accepted an invitation from French friends to move in the castle of Clous near Amboise. He stayed there with his faithful student, Melzi, until the end of his life. Leonardo died on May 2, 1519 and was buried in the cloister of San Fiorentino in Ambiose.
Raphael (1483-1520) Raphael, also known as Raffaello Sanzio, Raffaello Santi, Rafaello de Urbino or Rafael Sanzio de Urbino, was a painter and architect of the Florentine school in the Italian high Renaissance. Raphael was born on April 6, 1483 and died on his 37th birthday April 6, 1520 in Urbino. He studied under Pietro Perugino in Perugia. However, he adopted the styles of Leonardo and Michelangelo as he moved to Florence. He his acknowledged for his “Madonnas” and “Holy Families”, as well as his large frescoes in the Vatican Palace. He was called to decorate the Vatican Stanze (rooms) for Pope Julius II in 1509. These works included the famous “School of Athens” and the “Disputation on the Blessed Sacrament”. He was chief architect of St. Peter’s Basilica in 1514 under Pope Leo X. In addition, he was also named as supervisor for the Roman archaeology research. As what was mentioned earlier, Raphael died on his 37th birthday in Rome. His body lay for a while in state in one of the rooms where he had demonstrated his genius. He was also honored with a public funeral. The “Transfiguration”, his last work, was carried before him in the funeral procession
Michelangelo Bounnaroti (1475-1564) “I saw an angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” --- Michelangelo
Michelangelo, born March 6, 1475 in the village of Caprese, Italy, was one of the most important artists of the Italian Renaissance. At age 12, he became the apprentice of Domenico Ghirlandaio, but soon began to study sculpture instead. He grabbed the attention and patronage of Lorenzo de Medici, ruler of Florence. At 23, Michelangelo completed the “Pieta” --- a marble statue showing the Virgin Mary weeping over the dead Jesus. In 1501, he started to work on the colossal figure of “David”. In 1504, the sculpture was placed outside the Palazzo Vecchio. The statue became a symbol for the new republic replacing the Medici rule. “David” was portrayed in such a way that illustrates an ideal man, at the same time an adolescent youth, facing the giant. This for Michelangelo was David’s moment of greatest courage. From 1508 to 1512, Michelangelo worked on his famous project, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Michelangelo greatly regarded himself a sculptor rather than a painter. He once said upon resisting to paint the Sistine Chapel, “I cannot live under pressures from patrons, let alone paint!” However, it was Pope Julius II who forced him. He painted the ceiling with nine scenes from the Old Testament, done on wet plaster, producing the world’s greatest single fresco. Later on, he painted “The Last Judgment” on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel. Toward the end of his life, Michelangelo became more occupied in architecture and poetry. In 1546, he was made chief architect of the partly finished St. Peter’s Church in Rome, where the Pieta is now kept.

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