The art of painting, on the achievements and influence, the most prominent Western painting art centered on Europe. It is unique, self-contained system. Its maturity and prosperity began during the European Renaissance. This period generally refers to the 15th and 16th centuries. In Italy, the birthplace and center of the Renaissance movement, it can be traced back to the 14th century. This period was called the "Renaissance" because it was a great intellectual liberation movement that advocated the revival of classical Greek and Roman culture against feudal ideology and Christian theology due to the need for the development of the capitalist economy by the emerging bourgeoisie. This movement, centered in Italy and spreading throughout Europe, contributed to the disintegration of the feudal system and the growth of capitalism in Western Europe, and human society began to move toward the modern age. As Engels pointed out, "It was one of the greatest and progressive transformations that mankind had never experienced."
Renaissance art, as this period advocates humanism that emphasizes the value of human beings as the core, the ideas of the artists were gradually liberated from the shackles of the long-term Christian theology, and they dared to explore, on the one hand, they absorbed nutrients from the classical art of Greece and Rome; on the other hand, through practice and scientific exploration, they invented perspective and solved the problem of realistically expressing the three dimensions of space on the plane. At the same time, the reform of oil painting materials and techniques greatly improved the artistic expression of oil painting, so that the skills of Western painting in depicting objective objects have been unprecedentedly improved, resulting in a number of outstanding painters, such as Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Giorgione, Titian, Jan van Eyck, Bruegel, Dürer, Holbein, etc. The works selected for printing in this book are only a few of the most important works of art. Although the works selected for printing in this book are only a few representative works of some of these painters, the main achievements of Renaissance painting and its characteristics can be seen more clearly.
Botticelli's (1445-1510) tempera painting "Spring" is an important masterpiece of the Italian pre-Renaissance. It expresses the beauty and elegance of spring through characters from Roman mythology. The god of the west wind, depicted with puffed cheeks representing the spring wind, floats in from the right end of the picture, and his hands touch the nymphs of the earth, whose mouths overflow with brightly colored flowers, which flutter and flutter, and unconsciously stain the body of the god of the flowers in front of him, forming a beautiful floral garment, which symbolizes the coming of spring. Thus attracting Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, in the center of the picture. At her head are the flying little goddesses of love, and in front of them are the three gods of beauty dancing against each other and Mercury, the messenger of the gods. All these figures are arranged in horizontal rows from right to left, and the golden grove in which they stand is in full springtime. Clearly, the gods are singing for the coming of spring. The pursuit of beauty and the awakening of love are the themes of this work. It is a hymn eulogizing the victory of Venus' love, reflecting the affirmation and praise of the Renaissance to the classical culture of Greece and Rome. The flat and decorative composition and vivid and delicate characterization reflect Botticelli's unique artistic style.
Da Vinci's fresco The Last Supper is a monumental work of art known throughout the world. It is based on the Christian biblical legend that Jesus was betrayed and sacrificed by Judas, one of his twelve disciples. The artist chose this dramatic moment when Jesus told his disciples that someone had betrayed him, focusing on the inner world of the twelve disciples, including Judas, when they heard Jesus' sudden announcement of this shocking news, which expresses the artist's distinctive love and hate for good and evil, beauty and ugliness, the sublime and the vile. The subtle and profound psychological depiction of the characters reaches an unprecedented height. The composition of the whole painting is also perfect. The disciples are grouped in threes, connected and differentiated. Perspective is applied skillfully in the handling of the space and background of the picture. Thus making it and da Vinci's other masterpiece "Mona Lisa" become a world-famous monumental work.