The Renaissance: At a Glance

The Renaissance was a period in European history when new ideas about art and science were developed and when new technologies, such as paper and gunpowder, were widely adopted. It began in Italy during the 14th century, and it marked the end of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance’s influence spread elsewhere in Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries.

The word Renaissance means “rebirth” in French, and it reflects the era’s rediscovery of ancient Greece and Rome. This rediscovery gave rise to the intellectual movement known as humanism, which valued human beings and their accomplishments, rather than religion and the divine, which had been characteristic of the Middle Ages. Humanism was at the heart of the Renaissance.

The Renaissance reached its height in Italy between the 1490s and the 1520s, a period called the High Renaissance. During this period, Leonardo da Vinci painted the Last Supper and the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo sculpted David and painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and Raphael painted School of Athens. Construction also began on St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. All are masterpieces of the Renaissance.

The Renaissance ended in Italy in 1527, when the Holy Roman emperor Charles V attacked Rome. It continued to influence the work of notable Italian painters Tintoretto, Sofonisba Anguissola, and Paolo Veronese, who were active during the middle and late 16th century.

The Dutch scholar Erasmus and the German artist Albrecht Dürer were notable northern Renaissance figures. The Renaissance came to an end outside Italy by the end of the 16th century, as the Reformation and Counter-Reformation raged.

• Read Britannica’s full article on the Renaissance and its legacy.