The Renaissance: its beginnings in Italy

The significance of the Renaissance in art, thought, and science is explained in terms of its contrast to the mediaeval world, its rediscovery of the ancient and its contribution to the modern. Examples of Renaissance art are taken from the work of Giotto, Michelangelo, Luca della Robbia, Andrea Pisano, Filippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti. The role of the Medicis and the great Italian cities as patrons of art is discussed, and the varied achievements of Leonardo do Vinci are shown as exemplifying the spirit of the Renaissance: a vigorous interest in all aspects of man and the world, and the urge to understand them through science. These led to a new approach to art and laid the foundations of modern science.