Renaissance Renaissance was the period of economic progress where the cities were bult.

The term Renaissance came from the French language meaning rebirth. The period stirred enthusiasm for the study of philosophy and artistic values. The ideals of classicism- balance, harmony, proportion and intellectual order became the artistic standard of the time. As the classical Greeks believed in the harmonious development of the person- a sound mind, through the practice of athletics- the Renaissance held up the ideal of the well-rounded man, knowledgeable in a number of fields philosophy, science, arts, including painting and musicapplying his knowledge to productive and creative activity. Some of the great men in the Renaissance period were Michaelangelo was a great painter, sculptor, architect and poet; Leonardo Da Vinci was a painter, architect, scientist and mathematician. It is largely from the Renaissance that we derive our liberal idea of a liberal education with two branches of arts and sciences. Its aim is to provide the person with the values and opportunities to lead a life worthy of mans dignity as an individual and as a member of society. Another highlight during the renaissance period art which arose from the scientific spirit that is new concept of space that is manifested itself in painting and architecture as geometric and linear perspective. The ascendance of man can be seen in the many portraits and self-portraits that were painted during the period- the Florentine youths, ladies of high rank. The emergence of the bourgeoisie, brought out the value of the human personality and of the individual as a unique human being.

The Renaissance period was a period of artistic explanation, so that the artists tried new mediums and techniques in arts. The painters of the first half of the 15th century( Early Renaissance) were Masaccio and Piero della Francesca. Masaccio continued Giotto's preoccupation with volume, made anatomical

studies, and explored chiaroscuro effects. Piero della Francesca, a highly intellectual painter, developed the science of perspective and stressed simple forms and geometric structure. In the High Renaissance, pictorial space deepened even more. The gentle landscapes of the Early Renaissance gave way to dramatic settings and contrasting lights and darks, as well as to mysterious, romantic landscapes of rocks and water. Towards the end of Renaissance period, figures assumed more dramatic postures in painting as in sculpture. Rococo Rococo, from the French rocaille (meaning artificial rockwork and pierced shellwork), was an eighteenth century movement in art that began in France.Rococo style eminated from the pleasureloving court of Louis XV.The Rococo developed in the early part of the 18th century in Paris, France as a reaction against the grandeur, symmetry and strict regulations of the Baroque, especially that of the Palace of Versailles. In such a way, Rococo artists opted for a more jocular, florid and graceful approach to Baroque art and architecture. The artist break the masses , allowing the space to enter the foreground, and open infinite distances behind their little garden parties. The figures are grouped casually with plenty of freedom to move at will to another group or location without constraint or effort.

Embarkation for Cythera. Louvre, Paris, Antoine Watteau