The Art of Anatomy

The Influence of the Renaissance

The historical period known as the Renaissance spans the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. ‘Renaissance' means ‘re-birth' in French and during this time Europe left behind the mindset of the Middle Ages and created the beginnings of the modern world. The civilisations of Greece and Rome were rediscovered, inspiring an interest in Classical learning which challenged medieval beliefs and ideas. The population was becoming wealthier which led to an increase in trade and travel and the spread of new ideas. The rise in prosperity also generated an interest in education, supported the flourishing of the arts and promoted scientific discoveries and new inventions. Perhaps the most important of these was the printing press which allowed the distribution of information to a much wider audience than ever before, further fuelling the clamour for more knowledge.

Italy was the birthplace of the Renaissance. Its importance as a trading centre had created a wealthy society whose money helped establish Italy as a place of learning and culture. Important universities were set up, including one at Padua which had a large medical faculty where anatomy, the study of the body, was taught. Anatomy was also important in Italy due to the many artists who worked there. Employed by wealthy Italians to decorate their houses with paintings and sculpture, they wished to recreate the lifelike images produced 1000 years earlier by the Greeks and the Romans. They studied anatomy and carried out dissections to understand the workings of the body in order to create a more realistic portrayal of the human figure.

Use the information on this page to answer the following questions:

• Which centuries are covered by the term 'Renaissance'?
• Which two civilisations were rediscovered in the 'Renaissance'?
• Why was Italian society so wealthy during this period?
• Apart from people studying medicine, which other group carried out dissections and why?

During the Renaissance it was not just doctors and scientists who were interested in anatomy. Artists also took part in dissections to understand the workings of a human body so they could recreate the realistic images which the Greeks and Romans had produced. This is a page from an illustrated manual for still-life and portrait artists by the German artist Albrecht Durer. Originally printed in 1528, it shows the importance which Renaissance artists placed on the study of anatomy and proportion.