 
The Renaissance was an incredible period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic 'rebirth' following the Middle Ages. Generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th century, the Renaissance saw a rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art. Some of the greatest thinkers, authors, statesmen, scientists, architects, explorers and artists in human history thrived during this era, while global exploration opened up new cultures to European commerce. The Renaissance bridged the gap between the Middle Ages and modern-day civilization. During the Middle Ages, between the fall of ancient Rome in 476 A.D. and the beginning of the 14th century, Europeans made few advances in science and art. Also known as the 'Dark Ages', the era is often described as a time of war, ignorance, famine and pandemics such as the Black Death. While such negative depictions of the Middle Ages may have been exaggerated, many agree that there was relatively little regard for new learning or discovery during all that time. 
In 1450, the invention of the Gutenberg printing press allowed for revolutionary new communication throughout Europe, a means for ideas and techniques to spread more quickly. This allowed, for example, the Copernican idea that the Sun was the centre of our solar system, not the Earth as had been believed for 1400 years, to become widely accepted by scientists and astronomers. It promoted the growth of commerce, and the exchange of ideas between the great thinkers of the time. The Renaissance also saw the discovery and exploration of new continents, the decline of the feudal system, the invention of the mariner's compass, and gunpowder. To the scholars of the day, however, it was mostly a time of the revival of Classical learning after a long period of cultural stagnation. The Renaissance started in Florence, Italy, a place with a rich cultural history where wealthy citizens could afford to support budding artists. Members of the powerful Medici family, which ruled Florence for more than 60 years, were famous backers of the movement. Italian writers, artists, musicians and others recognized that they were in the midst of an intellectual and artistic revolution that would be much different from anything previously seen. The movement first expanded to other Italian city-states, such as Venice, Milan, Bologna, Ferrara and Rome. Then, during the 15th century, Renaissance ideas spread from Italy to France and then throughout western and northern Europe. The spirit of the Renaissance was expressed earliest by an intellectual movement called humanism. Humanism was initiated by non-religious men of learning, rather than by the the Catholic Church scholars who had dominated medieval intellectual life. In place of the medieval ideal of a life of penance as the highest and noblest form of human activity, the humanists looked at man's attempt to exert mastery over nature. Humanism helped men break free from the intellectual confinement imposed by religious orthodoxy, to inspire free inquiry and criticism, the scientific method, and to instill a new confidence in what men were now free to discover and create. Leonardo da Vinci was an artist, a scientist, and an inventor. He saw art as something that should be based on the observation of the visible world and practiced according to mathematical principles of balance, harmony, and perspective, which were developed at this time, and evidenced in the works of artists such as Botticelli, Rafael and Titian; sculptors such as Giovanni Pisano, Donatello and Michelangelo; and architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi. 
Leonardo da Vinci was a 'Renaissance man', a solitary genius to whom no branch of study was foreign.
Although Leonardo was recognized in his own time as a great artist, his researches into anatomy, the nature of flight, and the structure of plant and animal life made him a dominant force in the fields of science, medicine and the natural sciences, but didn't leave him a lot of time to paint.Da Vinci's fame comes from his few amazing completed works such as the well-known Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. 
Michelangelo embodied creative power, conceiving vast projects that drew on the human body as the best vehicle for emotional expression. Michelangelo's early sculptures, such as the Pietà and David, show us his incredible technical ability, along with a willingness to bend rules of anatomy and proportion to better express his ideas. Although Michelangelo thought of himself first as a sculptor, his best-known work is the giant ceiling fresco in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. It was completed in four years, from 1508 to 1512, and presents a wonderfully huge and complex composition to visitors. 
Rafael created works that perfectly expressed the Classical spirit - harmonious, beautiful, and serene. Raphael's greatest work, The School of Athens, was painted in the Vatican at the same time that Michelangelo was working on the Sistine Chapel. In this large fresco Raphael placed groups of calmly conversing philosophers and artists in a vast court with vaults receding into the distance. Raphael was initially influenced by Leonardo, and he incorporated beautifully modelled faces of The Virgin of the Rocks into many of his own paintings of the Madonna. He differed from Leonardo, however, in his prodigious output, his even temperament, and his preference for Classical harmony and clarity. Art, architecture, astronomy, anatomy, mathematics and science were closely linked during the Renaissance. In this unique time, these fields of study fused together seamlessly. For example, artists like da Vinci not only explored and became masters of all of these, but incorporated scientific principles such as anatomy into their art. Architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi studied mathematics to accurately engineer and design immense buildings with expansive domes. Galileo, building on the work of Copernicus, who proposed that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the solar system, the precise measurements of Mars' position made by Tycho Brahe, and the rigourous descriptions of planetary orbits made by Johannes Kepler, as well as the mathematical genius of Rene Descartes, all presented a new view of astronomy and mathematics that revolutionized both subjects. Renaissance art was characterized by realism and naturalism. Artists strived to depict people and objects in a true-to-life way. They used techniques, such as perspective, shadows and light to add depth to their work. Emotion was another quality that artists tried to infuse into their pieces. Some of the most famous artistic works that were produced during the Renaissance include: - The Mona Lisa (Da Vinci) - The Last Supper (Da Vinci) - Statue of David (Michelangelo) - The Birth of Venus (Botticelli) - The Creation of Adam (Michelangelo) Voyagers launched expeditions to travel the entire globe. They discovered new shipping routes to the Americas, India and the Far East and explorers described areas that weren't fully mapped. Famous journeys were taken by Ferdinand Magellan, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci (after whom America is named), Marco Polo, Ponce de Leon, Balboa, and other explorers. As more people learned how to read, write and interpret ideas, they began to closely examine and critique religion as they knew it, which led to the Protestant Reformation in the 1500's. Also, the printing press allowed for texts, including the Bible, to be easily reproduced and widely read by people, themselves, for the first time. Scholars believe the end of the Renaissance was the result of several factors. Numerous wars had plagued the Italian peninsula, causing disruption and instability in the region. Changing trade routes led to a period of economic decline and limited the amount of money that wealthy contributors could spend on the arts and sciences. Later, in a movement known as the Counter-Reformation, the Catholic church censored artists and writers in response to the Protestant Reformation. Many Renaissance thinkers feared being too radical, which stifled creativity. In 1545, the Council of Trent established the Roman Inquisition, which made humanism and any views that challenged the Catholic church an act of heresy, punishable by death. Not even Galileo was immune. By the early 17th century, while scientists like Isaac Newton were building their work on the foundations laid by the Renaissance pioneers, the Renaissance movement had all but died out, eventually giving way to the Age of Enlightenment. Learn more about some well known Renaissance artists, philosophers, scientists, authors, explorers and inventors, all here on our site: Botticelli | Rafael | Michelangelo | Isaac Newton | Vesalius Copernicus | Magellan | Gutenberg | Columbus |