CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

PAGE Character of the Fine Arts of the Renaissance not hitherto correctly set forth--The Fine Arts always an expression of the conditions and beliefs of a people--Mediæval Christianity as a source of artistic inspiration--Conditions that gave character to the Fine Arts of the Middle Ages--Artistic productions of the Renaissance qualified by the immoral tendencies of the time--Luxury and extravagance of Florence at the close of the fifteenth century--The Fine Arts made to minister to sensuous pleasure--Best classic art unknown in the Renaissance time--Mixed influences actuating the artist of the Renaissance--The Renaissance and the Middle Ages compared as to development of the individual--Lack of aptitude for construction among the architects of the Renaissance--The Italian genius for painting--The painter’s habits of design shown in the Renaissance use of the orders--Classification of architectural styles--Painting the best art of the Renaissance--Yet Italian painting of the sixteenth century is not all of exemplary character--Best art of the Renaissance founded on the earlier Christian art--A retrospective movement not a vital force in artistic development 1