The Art of the Renassaince

The Renaissance started in the 1400's. It was a time when the people started to break away from Catholicism, and when they started thinking outside the box. It all started with art. The breaking away from the Catholic Church was made by Martin Luther. It was known as the protestant reformation. Back then, Europe was in a dark age after the fall of Rome, Islamic culture maintained all the learning from ancient sources. It was about the re-introduction of ancient learning from Greek and Rome and about the adoption of Arabic mathematics. The Renaissance has led the western world to re establish the natural world again. It was during this period that the Protestant religion was born and the printing press was invented. You can still find some buildings created and artwork made still to this day.

I'm here today; live with Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, and Sir Thomas More.

Interview #1

Emily: When and where were you born?

Leonardo da Vinci: I was born on April 15, 1452, in Vinci, Italy, just outside Florence.

Emily: When did you start realizing you loved art?

Leonardo da Vinci: I had access to scholarly texts owned by family and friends, and when I was about 15; my father apprenticed me to the renowned workshop of Andrea del Verrochio in Florence.

Emily: What was your first piece of artwork?

Leonardo da Vinci: My very first has to be when I was asked to paint an angel in Verrochio's "Baptism of Christ," and I was told I was so much better than my master's that Verrochio allegedly resolved never to paint again.

Emily: What kind of education did you have while you were growing up?

Leonardo da Vinci: I was the son of a nobleman and a peasant woman and was educated at home. Some basics were taught by the village priest.

Emily: How many paintings have you created out of your lifetime?

Leonardo da Vinci: I believed I painted about 30, some say 22. But I know that I've made 30 pieces of artwork.

Interview #2

Emily: When and why did you start writing?

William Shakespeare: I'm not sure when I started to write. But I did have a play published in London in 1592.

Emily: How was your childhood and what was it like growing up?

William Shakespeare: I was educated as I grew up in Stratford. Married at 18 to a woman named Anne Hathaway.

Emily: Did any of your life experiences affect your work?

William Shakespeare: I escaped