Why is the Renaissance period so important in the development of Western art?
The Renaissance (rinascimento) was an upsurge of creative activity in all fine arts disciplines, centred in Italy between 1400 and 1530. Divided into two consecutive eras (Early Renaissance 1400-1490; High Renaissance 1490-1530), it firmly re-established Western art according to the principles of Classical Antiquity, especially Greek sculpture, and its theories about aesthetics, and the hierarchy of the genres remained dominant until Pablo Picasso and Cubism. For a chronology of events and details of all periods, styles and artists, see: Renaissance Art. Q. What happened in Florence during the Renaissance? The Renaissance proper – symbolized by the new dome of the Florence Cathedral – was initiated by the Florentine artists Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), Masaccio (c.1401-28) and Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472). New painting techniques were explored by painters like Piero della Francesca (c.1420-92), Antonio Pisanello (c.1395-1455), Domenico Veneziano (c.1410-61), Gentile da Fabria
