1. Art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance
An Introduction
There are many names for the period of time after the classical period and before the Renaissance: Medieval and Middle Ages. Petrarch, an Italian poet, referred to this time period as the “Dark Ages” in his own time as a result of what he saw as “intellectual darkness” with a lack of emphasis on the classical learning that preceded it. The Middle Ages, therefore, is in and of itself a comparative term that refers to the period of time after antiquity around the 5th century BCE and before the “rebirth” of classical, humanistic learning and ideals in the 15th and 16th centuries, a period of time aptly names the Renaissance, or literally, rebirth.
It makes sense, then, to study these two time periods together for the purpose of comparison. And while Petrarch may not have seen in it in own time, the characteristics of the art of the late medieval art paves the way for the Renaissance art to follow.

2. Characteristics of Medieval Architecture
Romanesque Style (10th-13th c.)
Rounded arches and barrel vaults
Heavy columns
Few windows
Symmetry
The Catholic Church was the main unifying force of the Middle Ages. Therefore, political power was derived from devotion to and relationships with the Church. Unsurprisingly, then, much of Medieval Art and architecture was created as a means of devotion to the church. Architecture of the 10th to 13th Centuries were created in the Romanesque style, named for the influence of ancient Roman architecture, mainly the Roman arch, that signifies the style. This style was marked by large, heavy columns, thick stone walls, rounded arches, barrel vaults, few windows, and symmetry and balance. The style reflects the balance of faith and reason looked for by the medieval subject as well as the formidable nature of the Church at the time.

3. Characteristics of Medieval Architecture
Gothic Style (13th c.)
Large, stained glass windows
Pointed arches and vaults
Spires
Flying Buttresses

4. Characteristics of Romanesque Sculpture and Art
Emphasized the divine / transcendent over naturalistic / classical design
Abstract
Linear
Distorted
Stylized
Relief sculpture and mosaics and paintings often depicted biblical scenes on doors, columns, wall and ceiling of churches and monasteries of the Romanesque period. Romanesque artwork marked a shift from classical emphasis on naturalistic, proportional image in favor of emphasis on the divine images emphasized through more abstract, linear, distorted and stylized pieces.

5. Characteristics of Gothic Art
More ornate style
More realistic images
More dimension that flat / linear images that preceded it
Pictorial style vs. hierarchical style of earlier medieval period
Expression of individuals to reveal psychological depth
Gothic painting and sculpture, like its architecture reflected a more elaborate and ornate style that earlier medieval art. It abandoned the flat, expressionless, stylized images of the Romanesque period in favor or more realistic images that favor a pictorial image over the hierarchical images that exaggerate Christ, the Virgin Mary, etc. Therefore we see the more the beginnings of a humanistic over a spiritual focus that provide the prototypical

6. Renaissance Art From Encyclopedia Britannica:
Renaissance art, painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature produced during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries in Europe under the combined influences of an increased awareness of nature, a revival of classical learning, and a more individualistic view of man. Scholars no longer believe that the Renaissance marked an abrupt break with medieval values, as is suggested by the French word renaissance, literally “rebirth.” Rather, historical sources suggest that interest in nature, humanistic learning, and individualism were already present in the late medieval period and became dominant in 15th- and 16th-century Italy concurrently with social and economic changes such as the secularization of daily life, the rise of a rational money- credit economy, and greatly increased social mobility.

7. Characteristics of Renaissance Art
Human / individual over divine
Perspective / 3D space
Symmetry
Balance
Naturalism
Combination of classical and Christian images