5


DiScOvErInG HiStOrY


B. Differences between Renaissance Art and Medieval Art


Source A


Looking at the evidence


These two paintings depict the same event but the first was painted c. 1278–1318 by Duccio di Buoninsegna, while the second is by Raphael and was painted c. 1515–16. Examine the two paintings and list the differences, in your opinion, between the two.


Subjects During the Middle Ages, paintings and sculpture mostly showed religious images. Renaissance artists continued to paint and sculpt religious images but due to a revival of interest in stories from ancient Greece and Rome, they also included Greek and Roman myths and legends. Also, wealthy patrons wanted to have individual or family portraits painted.


Realism


Renaissance artists wanted to show human beings as they really were. Their art was far more realistic. People began to look like human beings rather than the cartoon-like figures of the Middle Ages. This was helped by the interest in the 1400s in anatomy (the study of the structure of humans, animals and plants). Renaissance artists used light, shadow and shade in a picture to make it more true to life.


Perspective


The images in medieval paintings often looked unreal. This was sometimes due to the two-dimensional images they painted – people/objects at the front and back of the picture were the same size. However, Renaissance painters used perspective to help pictures look more realistic and give depth to the painting. This made the pictures look more three-dimensional – people/objects at the front of the painting were bigger than those at the back.


118


Fig 5.1 Example of perspective in use


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