of classical art that glorified human beauty and emphasized individual differences had a profound effect on painters of the Renaissance.The Italian painter Giotto, who lived in the 13th century, painted scenes from the New Testament that were full of human drama, naturalistically portrayed. By the time Leonardo began his artistic career, about 140 years’ later, painters were free to create scenes of much more earthly inspiration. They drew many of their subjects from ancient myths, and portrait painting of wealthy patrons and members of their families had become a profitable business for the artist willing, and sufficiently skillful, to flatter his client. Many artists felt at home painting Biblical scenes, myths, and portraits. Leonardo’s contributions to Renaissance painting revolutionized it as completely as Giotto’s contributions had changed medieval painting almost two centuries earlier.The Renaissance of Italy was rich from the banking profits of families like the Medici’s and from expanded trade. It was the age of flourishing artisans and skilled craftsmen. The rich and powerful became patrons of the talented and brilliant, giving artists and thinkers the freedom to create and speculate-and, in their spare time, to immortalize their patrons. As wealth flowed into the coffers of the great Italian cities, art prospered and optimism reigned about man’s potential to understand the universe and his place in it. Behind all the achievements of the Renaissance lies the belief that man has the capacity to improve himself, to grow and to learn.Today, we use the term “Renaissance man” to describe someone who can do many things well. The ideal man of the Renaissance was supposed to be a philosopher, a poet, a scholar, a scientist, an artist, a soldier, and a courtier. One of the most amazing aspects of the Renaissance, is that so many of its prominent figures actually deserved the descripti...
