The increased interaction with regions outside Europe ignited a major intellectual and artistic movement known as the Renaissance. Contact with the Islamic world, such as the Muslim territory al-Andalus in the Iberian Peninsula, reintroduced the ancient Greek and Roman texts that had been preserved and developed by Arabs. From the 1300s C.E. through the 1500s C.E., European painters, sculptor, and writers drew inspiration from the Greek and Roman classical past.
The study of these classical texts became known as Renaissance humanism or studia humanitatis (the "studies of humanity"). Renaissance humanism stressed the achievements of human beings. While medieval scholars and artists focused their works on revealing God, humanist scholars and artists attempted to reveal human nature. In Italy, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo used perspective to create realistic masterpieces. Noble families, such as the Medici family, who had grown wealthy from luvrative trade with the Islamic and Byzantine cultures, became patrons of painters, sculptors and scientists.
French Renaissance |
Château de Chambord
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