Renaissance art refers to the paintings, sculptures, architecture, music, and literature produced during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries in Europe, a period of rebirth and awakening for the continent. Improvements in the quality of oil paint meant that paintings could truly express movement on canvas, and sculptures of the time embraced the softness of the human body. The images that emerged from the Renaissance continue to represent beauty and intellect to people around the world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Renaissance began in Italy in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. This period was known as the “proto-Renaissance” period. Italian artists believed they had been awakened to the ideals and achievements of Roman culture. The proto-Renaissance in the 14th century was stifled by plague and war, and its influences did not emerge until the following century. 15th-century artists include Lorenzo Ghiberti, the Filipino Brunelleschi, and Donatello, who would later emerge as the master of early Renaissance sculpture. Another great artist active in this period was Masaccio. The intellectuality, monumentality and naturalism of his works mark him as a fundamental figure in Renaissance painting. Early Renaissance art thrived because, in addition to the Catholic Church, most of the art produced during the early Renaissance was commissioned by the wealthy merchant families of Florence (especially the Medicis), who supported the costs of building and decorating palaces , churches, and monasteries. The most famous artists of the Renaissance hail from the late 15th century, when Rome had replaced Florence as the main center of Renaissance art. Three great masters – Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael – dominated this period, known as the High Renaissance. Leonardo was the "Renaissance man" par excellence. He was an inventor, a painter, a sculptor, a scientist, a musician, a mathematician, an engineer, a writer, a cartographer and much more. He had an incredible breadth of intellect, interest and talent. Although Leonardo was considered a great artist in his day, his incessant research in different branches of study left him little time to paint. His fame is based mainly on some completed paintings: the “Mona Lisa”, “The Virgin of the Rocks” and “The Last Supper”. Michelangelo Buonarroti was the dominant sculptor of the High Renaissance. His sculptures, like Piet? in St. Peter's Cathedral and the David in his native Florence, they display breathtaking technical skill and a penchant for bending the rules of anatomy and proportion. Although Michelangelo initially considered himself a sculptor, his best-known work is the gigantic fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Rome. Raffaello Sanzio, the youngest of the three great masters of the High Renaissance, learned from both Vinci and Michelangelo. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay His greatest work, School of Athens, was painted in the Vatican around the same time Michelangelo was working on the Sistine Chapel. The creator of High Renaissance architecture was Donato Bramante. His first Roman masterpiece, the Tempietto di S. Pietro in Montorio, is a centralized domed structure reminiscent of classical temple architecture. Pope Julius II, who reigned at the time, chose Bramante as papal architect and together they devised a plan to replace the old 4th-century St. Peter's with a new church of.