Art Guide · Art movements
Renaissance
15th – 16th century
The Renaissance was the period of art that began in 15th-century Italy and spread across Europe. With the rediscovery of antiquity, perspective, anatomy and balanced composition became the foundations of painting; Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Botticelli are its masters.
Last updated: · Iconica Society editors
Characteristics
Renaissance painters thought of a picture as a window: they created depth with linear perspective and volume with light and shade. The human body was painted with anatomical accuracy and idealised proportions. Subjects were mostly religious and mythological, though portraiture and landscape grew in importance.
Early, High and Northern Renaissance
One of the most graceful works of the Early Renaissance in Florence is Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. The High Renaissance (c. 1490–1527) peaked with Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling and Raphael’s School of Athens. Meanwhile in northern Europe Jan van Eyck achieved extraordinary detail in oil paint, a tradition continued by Bosch and Bruegel.
Key works
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Mona LisaLeonardo da Vinci, c. 1503–19 The Birth of VenusSandro Botticelli, c. 1485 
The Creation of AdamMichelangelo, c. 1512 
The School of AthensRaffaello, 1509–11 
The Arnolfini PortraitJan van Eyck, 1434 
The Garden of Earthly DelightsHieronymus Bosch, c. 1490–1510 
The Hunters in the SnowPieter Bruegel, 1565 
PrimaveraSandro Botticelli, c. 1480
Frequently asked questions
When did the Renaissance begin?
In the early 15th century in Florence, Italy. The High Renaissance is usually dated c. 1490–1527.