The Renaissance ('rebirth') was a very exciting movement. It began in Florence,
Italy in the early 14th century, and continued into the 16th century. Classical philosophy, art, literature and science, were pursued once more and this time produced some of the most influential and beautiful art the world has ever seen.
A major influence to the arts of this era was the return to the philosophies of Greece and Rome.
As such, art subjects were given a humanistic approach. Angel paintings became all the rage, and religious or biblical stories became the muse of many artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael and Botticelli.
Angel Paintings and Michelangelo's Best Works
Michelangelo's early work - The Holy Family, or Doni Tondo shows the power of his talent.
For him, beauty was Divine, and was one way that God chose to communicate with Man. His sculpture David seems to summarize that however beautiful the human body may be, it is still the 'prison of the soul'.
Works tied to religion influenced him greatly and religion became a constant muse in plenty of his works. This same ideal is also expressed in his fresco paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in The Vatican, Rome.
This is probably the reason why despite the conflict of man with himself, as depicted in his paintings, there is always some semblance of hope, or advancement, be it in the present or the after-life. His paintings had angels at play, jovial cherubs who expressed hope in its purest, most innocent form.
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