'The Last Supper' by Leonardo da Vinci is a perfect example of how Renaissance artists drew their viewers into their painting by showcasing a scene filled with emotion and psychology. This kind of effect can be experienced by standing in the middle of a road and looking at the edges receding into the distance. The Vanishing point is a spot on the horizon line to which the receding parallel lines diminish. In the renaissance it was placed near the top rather than at eye level, as this is how we see it from in real life. The Horizontal line is the line dividing the earth from the sky. The objects that were farther away were painted smaller, and the objects that were closer were painted bigger. All the objects in the painting were sized depending on how close or far they were. Linear perspective was rendered by drawing in such a way that someone is looking out of a window and drawing exactly what is seen from that perspective. They incorporated this in their works with the aim to add 3-D space and depth to their art. Shadows, different perspectives and light were efficiently used to bring attention to certain figures in the paintings.Īnother characteristic of renaissance art is that painters of that era rediscovered the ideas of horizon line, vanishing point, linear perspective and others. Renaissance artists incorporated more figures to make complex scenes, allowing a broader perspective to peep into the lives of the rich and the wealthy. Instead, they would use the nude male body for deep spirituality. Artists like Michelangelo and Donatello heavily depicted human body in nude form, but never used it for vulgarity. However, it mainly showcases the nude male body. Renaissance sculpture and architecture primarily reflected the human figure too. Many of the Renaissance paintings included uplifting messages, motivating people to rise and act. Human bodies and faces became more real, and kids looked more like kids rather than miniature forms of human adults. Some of the art works that show anatomically correct bodies are Mona Lisa, David, Frescoes, Birth of Venus and many more. Renaissance humanism also influenced the arts by elevating the concepts of aesthetic beauty and geometric proportions.
We can see his dedication to the study by simply observing his drawings, paintings and even his sculptures. To be able to do this, he performed around 20 autopsies to learn about the human muscles, organ placement and bone structure. He started painting bodies that were anatomically correct. Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance artist from Italy who set higher standards for painting and drawing bodies.