As the Italian Renaissance progressed, Western culture began to change drastically. Artists and scholars were inspired to go back to the roots of the classical Greek and Roman societies as a means of influencing a new culture. A new idea of humanism became prevalent, and this gave rise to a more secular society. This caused a shift away from traditional society in which the Church was dominant. The following pieces in this exhibit display contrasting ideas from this period in Art History. On the one hand, there are Christian devotional images and on the other hand there are more simple paintings of secular figures.
Madonna in the Meadow, Raphael, 1505/1506, From the collection of: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien
The Virgin with baby Jesus and John the Baptist. This is a religious image depicting the savior and his cosign as innocent children.
The Resurrection of Christ, Giovanni Antonio/Marco Boltraffio/d' Oggiono, around 1491, From the collection of: Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
The Resurrection of Jesus is an extremely important event in Christianity. This image depicts the savior as he triumphantly emerges from the grave.
Bib Old T David Michaelangelo, From the collection of: LIFE Photo Collection
This marble sculpture by Michelangelo depicts the biblical figure David when he was a young man. With sling-shot and stones in his hand, he is ready to defeat Goliath.
Pai Raphael "School Of Athens", 1901, From the collection of: LIFE Photo Collection
This work by Raphael depicts the numerous Greek philosophers. It is a tribute to classical culture. This work carries no ties to Christianity.
Self-Portrait with Velvet Beret, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1634, From the collection of: Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
This self portrait of Rembrandt references the drifting away from sacred art and points toward the development of self portraits, which became popular as the ideas of art became more simplistic.
Jupiter and Io, Antonio Allegri, called Correggio, 1520/1540, From the collection of: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien
This work deals with Roman mythology. The form of Io strongly points to the humanistic ideas of artists during the Renaissance.
Landscape with a Goatherd and Goats, Claude, about 1636-7, From the collection of: The National Gallery, London
Counterpoint: this landscape painting is unlike any other painting that came from the Renaissance. It is a picture of a landscape, and this started to become more common as the Renaissance passed.
Credits: All media
This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.
