European Renaissance ...the art and architecture
The Renaissance, as you may well know comes from the French for "rebirth." The European Renaissance occured between the 14th and 17th centuries.
Re-birth is really the only way to describe what happened during this time period. It started in Italy and then moved through the rest of Europe, completely re-shaping the world as they knew it.
I started my undergraduate degree in Interior Design with a minor in Art History (I know, quite different from my path at CICS). My art history classes looked specifically at some of the European Renaissance art and I have spent a great deal of time looking at the Renaissance art and artists.
Art started to take on a linear perspective like we'd never seen previous to this. Artists during this time were names that you may or may not have heard of; Giotto di Bondone, Fillippo Brunellshi, and Leon Battista Alberti. Then there are other names you're sure to have heard of; Leonardo DaVinci, Michealangelo, and of course, Raphael.
Art wasn't the only revamp of the Renaissance, however. Architecture (which we also studied) was given an entirely new purpose and look at this time as well. The piece of architecture that came out of the Renaissance that I enjoyed the most was St. Peters Basilica (Pictures and details of St. Peters) It combined the skills of Michaelangelo, Bramante, Raphael, Sangallo, and Maderno.
Watching the way that civilizations and societies have behaved in the past can give us an idea of how we're going to behave in the future. I think that the occurence of the European Renaissance gives us a good mold for the way the world is sort of being re-organized or 'flattened' now. Just something to ponder.