The Italian Renaissance, commencing in the early 1400’s, was characterized by a rich period of development following the barbaric, solemn dark ages. Out of the Renaissance emerged many new ideas and creations by scientists, writers, painters, architects, and sculptures. Two of these infamous innovators were Da Vinci and Raphael. Through Renaissance paintings we can see the shift from the medieval mindset. Subject matter shifted to a humanist focused matter. We begin to see perspective illusion, science, reason and rhough behind the works. Spiritual beings weren’t necessarily the subject matter; there was a deeper meaning. This can be seen in both Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man and Raphael’s School of Athens.
Da Vinci created the Vitruvian Man based on Vitruvius’, an ancient Roman architect, studies. Vitruvius wrote De Architectura in the 1st Century BC in which he studies city planning, temple construction, and human proportions. Vitruvius believed that buildings should be based on the proportions of a human body which is the model of perfection. He defends this by stating that the human body with arms and legs extended fits into the perfect geometric forms, the circle, and the square. Da Vinci in

ci incorporated such proportions into his drawing of the perfect model – man. His work is the first successful one to depict Vitruvius’ notions. Prior to Da Vinci, Pythagoras and Cesarian both attempted the Vitruvian man but failed. He started by drawing the perfectly proportioned man and then fitted it into the circle and square, which are tangent at the base. “The result is a figure of classical proportions- echoing the divine ratios of the ancient Greeks. (Leonardo Da Vinci Sheet)

Da Vinci’s creation although appearing simplistic involves a lot of scientific and mathematical thought. Some calculations and considerations include: “From the roots of his hair to the bottom of his chin is the tenth of a man's height; from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head is one eighth of his height; from the top of the breast to the roots of the hair will be the seventh part of the whole man.” (Larman, Internet) So while he is creating a work of art he uses science and math, something Da Vinci is known for. Raphael, on the other hand, seeks a work of art. He is able to create a sense of warmth and illusion of space. “The warmth can be interpreted in different ways; for instance, maybe it implies these people enjoy the company of others and find warmth with them or find warmth through the security of the school.” (Antoque, Internet) He expresses illusion of space by the opening to the blue sky at the back of the painting. Raphael’s painting has a variety of different actions while Da Vinci’s is more focused. Raphael uses color, perspective, detailing, and geometric design to illustrate his point while Da Vinci