Historical Significance
The term renaissance means rebirth, and the Renaissance was a rebirth of ancient Roman and Greek history. Renaissance artists looked back into this classical past and revived the naturalism and humanism of these earlier periods. The first artists of the Renaissance, painting at the turn of the 15th century, re-introduced the realism of this classic past into art. The leader of this movement was Masaccio, whose use of linear perspective in painting taught all later artists how to create realistic, three-dimensional space. Masaccio also mastered human emotion and anatomy, and was the first Renaissance painter to portray the skin, skeleton and emotions of religious figures in a realistic manner. Studies of art history have clearly shown that Masaccio’s influence on later Renaissance artists, like the great Michelangelo, was profound. The artists of the Renaissance were all required to study under experienced artists to learn the technical skills needed to paint the natural world, as it exists. Masaccio was the painter that built the bridge for all Renaissance artists to cross from an idealistic, two-dimensional medieval past to the modern, humanistic art that defines the greatness of the art and culture of this period.