2.  Take a look at the image below and tell me what period you believe it comes from & what stands out to you most.

3. The artists made the saint and child larger to help viewers understand that they are the most important figures in the painting. The saints in the painting wore halos (ring or circle of light) around their heads…what does this symbolize? Saints are represented against a gold background, a symbol for the beauty and value of the atmosphere of heaven. The art work is flat, not 3 dimensional. No distinction between what is near and far in artwork. The art does not focus on human detail.

4.  Art shows what is important during the time period.  What was most important was obedience to God & King.  Art constantly reminded citizens of the day to focus on their souls and to remain obedient to God and the church in order to go to heaven.  Art focused on important individuals, kings, nobility, & clergy rather than citizens.  Art reinforced the dominion of rulers; it shows their greatness.

6. Secular Humanism was essential to understanding the art of the renaissance. SH was focused on making the human experience the focal point of all studies and major inquiries. People became less interested in thinking about God, heaven and the saints, and more interested in thinking about themselves, their surroundings and their everyday lives. This shift to SH was shown in most aspects of renaissance life but perhaps as noticeable as in the art.

7.  During the Renaissance art began to show a different emphasis:  During the Renaissance, ordinary people grew to be the same size as saints in paintings.  Saints began to look more like ordinary people.  Halos became fainter and eventually disappeared altogether during the Renaissance.  Saints occupied the same landscape as ordinary people in Renaissance and the landscape was earth instead of heaven.  Emphasis began to be on the beauty of humans and nature rather than the piety of saints  Art showed humans in everyday life

14.  How is secular humanism related to art of the time period?  How is the art of middle ages different than the art of the renaissance?  How do they both reflect the values of the time period?