![]() ![]() There are several answers to that question: Extraordinary wealth accumulated in Florence during this period among a growing middle and upper class of merchants and bankers. Why did the Renaissance begin in Florence? They wanted artists to have the same status as intellectuals and philosophers, unlike the medieval craftsmen that came before them. They argued that their work-which was based on science and math-was a product of their intellect just as much as their hands. Scientific naturalism allowed artists in the Early Renaissance to begin to demand that society think of them as more than just skilled manual laborers. The term “naturalism” describes this effort. The artists of the Early Renaissance used scientific tools (like linear perspective and the study of anatomy and geometry) to make their art more naturalistic, more like real life. Renaissance artists were anxious to gain specialized knowledge of the inner workings of the human body, which would allow them to paint and sculpt the body in many different positions. Even though the Catholic Church prohibited dissection, artists and scientists performed dissection to better understand the body. The best way to learn human anatomy is not just to look at the outside of the body, but to study anatomy through dissection. 1487, pen and ink over metalpoint on prepared paper (Royal Collection, London) ![]() \): Leonardo da Vinci, Écorché (A Dead or Moribund Man in Bust Length), c. ![]()
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