The Renaissance refers to the cultural, literary, and intellectual movement that many historians would argue created modern Europe.

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The rebirth of ancient Greek and Roman artistic and literary styles, languages, and values was at the heart of the Italian Renaissance. The revival of classical texts and the educational curriculum based on them was called humanism. The Renaissance rested on new political and social structures forged in quasi-independent city-states in Italy, called communes, which were dominated by wealthy merchants who became the patrons of artists and scholars. Individualism and secularism developed as new societal values.

Renaissance artists adopted many elements from antiquity, from Roman arches to motifs and themes in painting. Perspective and realism allowed them to imitate nature. Communal bodies, wealthy merchants, and the church were important patrons of the arts The invention of movable type and the printing press in the mid 15 th century allowed for the quick and relatively inexpensive dissemination of new ideas, fostered literacy, and made the Renaissance an international movement.