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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Visual Art Essay Sample

Visual Art Essay Example

The vigorous blossoming forth of art and science with its genius poets, artists, philosophers, scientists, explorers and sailors was caused by many factors. The XV-XVI centuries were characterized with considerable changes in economical, political and cultural life. Rapid growth of cities, development of manufacture and world trade improved the situation in medieval Europe. This transitional period was characterized with changes in all spheres of life and deep crisis of medieval outlook. However new capitalistic system still wasn’t developed to its full extent. These factors influenced the formation of new esthetic thinking. All changes in social life were accompanied by a wide renovation of culture, natural and exact sciences, national literature and art in particular. This renovation was originated in Italy and later came to other European countries. Printing made it possible to distribute literary and scientific works. Later close connections between countries contributed into new artistic trends. The very term “Renaissance” explains the origin of this epoch. Medieval times were considered to be a period of ignorance in the cultural development. At first the term “Renaissance” meant the appearance of new art at the beginning of XVI century. Later this concept gained a wider meaning of the whole period of non-feudal culture. Many people consider Renaissance to be the most progressive turn ever known by humanity.
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Humanism is one of the most important peculiarities of this epoch. According to this outlook humans are the highest value. Humanists proclaimed free and many-sided development of a personality. They believed that people can change their destinies and should be responsible for it. Different kinds of art emphasized the power of inner world. Human feelings, sorrows and joy, hopes and love, beauty and freedom took the major place in people’s ideology.

Great human values gained a considerable meaning and influenced all spheres of science and culture. The amazing variety of talented people brightly illustrates the idea of the harmonic personal development. Being an artist, an architect, a scientist and an engineer at the same time, Leonardo da Vinci, for example, managed to accomplish success in all these spheres. In such a way titans of the Renaissance greatly contributed into the world art and science with their numerous discoveries. Thus, apart from creating masterpieces of art, Leonardo da Vinci invented a range of mechanisms and was first to present the idea of parachute. One may give a great number of similar examples.

During this period there wasn’t such a strict border between science and art, life and culture. Authority of art didn’t interfere with the development of science and crafts. Nowadays people choose to be either serious scientists, or men of art. In the epoch of Renaissance, however, it was possible to combine these occupations. At those times people understood that different forms of human activity are equal in values and rights. Unlike modern art, Renaissance art was democratic and realistic, with people and nature in the centre of it. Although modern art was greatly influenced by the Renaissance, there are many differences, probably because nowadays there are two many trends in art and it’s hard to characterize it on the whole. I consider that both modern and ancient artists vividly depict main contemporary tendencies. They search for more effective ways to show various forms of real world. Renaissance art considered beauty, harmony and grace to be the characteristics of reality. Later many norms and understandings have changed. People turned to other sides of human existence, which brought a gap between art and science, beauty and profit, spiritual and physical life.

On the whole the epoch of Renaissance left a prominent positive trace the history of world culture. Renaissance art personified the ideal of harmony and freedom. Art became the major kind of spiritual activity. The main task of Renaissance art was to express the ideal of harmonic world and human place in it. Science and Art were closely related. It differentiates Renaissance outlook from modern one. Artists strived to depict natural forms on the basis of scientific knowledge. Characteristic features of Renaissance – universality, many-sidedness, creative talent – helped to develop new artistic styles, which defined the blossoming forth of modern culture.
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Warning!!! All free online essays, sample essays and essay examples on Visual Art topics are plagiarized and cannot be completely used in your school, college or university education.

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