Europe in the 14th century was ravaged by dearth, war, and, the Black Plague was devastating. These extensive crises motivated a mystical religiosity, which emphasized both ecstatic joy and extreme suffering, producing emotionally charged and often graphic depictions of the Crucifixion and the martyrdoms of the saints.

While the great din of cathedral building that had marked the previous century waned, cathedrals continued to serve as the centers of religious life and artistic creation. Opulent patrons sponsored the production of elaborate altarpieces, as well as smaller panel paintings and religious statues for private devotional use. A increasing literate elite created a demand for both richly decorated prayer books and volumes on secular topics. In Italy, the foremost Sienese painter, Duccio, sought to synthesize northern, Gothic influences with eastern, Byzantine ones, while the groundbreaking Florentine Giotto moved toward the depiction of three-dimensional figures in his wall paintings.

In the 14th century the interaction of the Gothic, Byzantine, and antique Roman created a recognizably national culture in Italy. In his panel paintings and frescoes, the Florentine Giotto revolutionized Italian art, increasing a naturalism and drama that marks the first decisive sign of the Renaissance. Though many artists were influenced by Giotto (for example Bernardo Daddi), his advances were not fully developed for a century. At the same time (the first half of the century), Simone Martini was able to breathe new life into the ornate, richly coloured style of Siena, which was a blend of Byzantine and International Gothic. After the Black Death of the mid-14th century, which brought about a deepening of religious feeling, it was the International Gothic style of Siena and Lombardy that gained ascendancy over the more monumental, Giotto-inspired, styles of Tuscany. The work of Orcagna is an example.

In the fifteenth century, artists learned to represent the visual world in a naturalistic mode. They expanded their understanding of light and shadow, of space and anatomy. The idealized statuary of classical antiquity served as models, while in architecture the classical orders were applied to Renaissance buildings.

The wealthy mercantile economy of Florence helped to nurture the arts. Commissions came from the church, the state, and wealthy families. Classical as well as biblical heroes and heroines were portrayed as examples of virtue and moral fortitude.

However, to view the art of the Renaissance as a mere conquest of naturalistic representation would overlook the complexity of the period. Carlo Crivelli painted sumptuous altarpieces in a boldly ornamental manner, and Cosimo Tura frequently departed from logical, naturalistic norms in favor of an energetic idiom with an eccentric elegance.

Portraiture flourished during the Renaissance, and the Venetians, foremost among them Giorgione and Bellini, excelled in their depictions of pastoral landscape.

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