The Renaissance: A Rebirth of Ideas

The Renaissance was a great burst of creativity and learning that began in Italy around 1350 CE and spread across Europe over the next 250 years. Its name means 'rebirth' in French — people rediscovered the ideas of ancient Greece and Rome and built upon them.

Why did it begin in Italy? Wealthy trading cities like Florence and Venice had money to spare, and rich families like the Medici paid artists and thinkers to create beautiful works. These supporters were called patrons, and without them many great masterpieces would never have been made.

Renaissance artists learned to show perspective — the trick of making flat paintings look three-dimensional, with things further away drawn smaller. They also studied real human bodies carefully to make their art look lifelike. Compared with the flat pictures of the Middle Ages, Renaissance art looked amazingly real.