Western Art and Architecture in A.D. 1400-1600

Art and architecture during A.D. 1400-1600, known as the Renaissance, marked a profound revival of classical ideals, humanism, and a renewed focus on realism and naturalism. Artists and architects in Italy, and later throughout Europe, sought inspiration from ancient Greece and Rome, leading to advancements in perspective, anatomy, and proportion in visual art. Masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael epitomize this era’s emphasis on the beauty of the human form and the harmony of composition. In architecture, this period saw the development of symmetrical, proportionate structures with features like columns, domes, and arches, exemplified by the work of Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti. The Renaissance also fostered a flourishing of secular themes in art, alongside religious subjects, reflecting the era's broader intellectual and cultural transformations.