The Renaissance – the Beginning of Famous Art Paintings

The Renaissance is probably the most colorful, excuse the pun, part of the history of art and intellectualism. Many famous art paintings were made or painted in this era and many of these paintings are still carefully preserved in our time, found in museums where they are valued at millions of pounds, francs, or dollars. It spanned more than 300 years starting from the 14th century down to the 16th century. This is the longest revolution in terms of intellectual content throughout the history of the world. Felt mostly in Europe, this movement was made prominent by the likes of Michael Angelo, Rafael, Leonardo da Vinci, and Botticelli. Arguably, people say that it was only luck that these three people lived at the same time that the Renaissance occurred.

Renaissance means rebirth, referring to the cultural rebirth when it all started. This movement served as an inspiration to incite critical and revolutionary thinking and this was done through learning from the past. What happened in this era was that scholars searched old texts and attempted to learn the truth. Today, many scholars argue that famous art paintings of the Renaissance started in Italy before it moved to Europe. This revolution was felt mostly in the world of intellectualism, politics, science, philosophy, and art.

To some people, it is believed that the so-called Black Plague caused this intellectual revolution. Also called the Black Death, it was essentially a viral pandemic that infected and killed many people. As a result, the people of that time learned to value their lives more than anything else and tried to enrich their intellect and creativity. They valued their mortality more than anything else, realizing that life can be so short. The famous art paintings that were spawned in this era are the very manifestations of that cultural revolution.

Three Famous Paintings to Know

It cannot be denied that famous paintings are not hard to come by, especially since we are very rich with historical evidences and artifacts of how good painters were during the Renaissance period, between the 14th and 16th century. Perhaps the most notable of all paintings to note is The Night Watch of Rembrandt and some of Van Gogh’s paintings as well.

The Nigh Watch, called De Nachtwacht in Dutch, was completed by Rembrandt in 1642. There are three key elements as to why this painting is so famous: first is its colossal size, next is the effective use of lighting and shadow balance, and the third is the perception of motion in what could have been a traditional two-dimensional and stationary painting.

The painting shows the movement of militia men led by Captain Frans Banning Cocq He is dressed in black and he is also with his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch. One of the most famous paintings of Rembrandt, this is also noted as the most symbolic.

Another painting worthy of discussion is something from Vincent Van Gogh. One of his most famous paintings is The Potato Eaters. In Dutch, it is called De Aardappeleters. It ws painted in 1885 in Netherlands and is now housed in a museum in Amsterdam. The painting shows a family of peasants in their real livers. Van Gogh wanted to depict poverty and that these people use the same hand to toil, to eat, and to light their oil lamps.

Another painting from Van Gogh is the Starry Night, which, at first galnce, looks like psychedelic image. It was painted in 1889 showing a rotten bark of tree and stars that seem to move and spiral. It is called De sterrennacht in Dutch and it is a depiction of the skies i\outside his sanitatium room every night.