IndexAbstractThe Renaissance PeriodThe Baroque PeriodThe Rococo PeriodAbstractIn this essay I will discuss the relationship between the arts and the growing body of scientific knowledge during the Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo periods. Starting from the Renaissance and continuing through the Baroque and Rococo periods, science and art were closely linked. In the early 1500s, the Renaissance period brought a new way of thinking about art that was contagious and spread throughout the country. In the early 1600s, the Baroque period brought more emotion into art and a less idealistic point of view was represented. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay During this time traditions were put to the test and a deeper knowledge of the world around us was gained. In the early 1700s the Rococo period was said to be the Age of Enlightenment, and art reflected a lighter atmosphere. The Renaissance Period A collective desire for knowledge led Leonardo da Vinci to study anatomy to better understand the body so he could create paintings and sculptures. The Vitruvian Man is a work created by Vinci that merges his love of the arts and his desire to better understand science. “The drawing, in pen and ink on paper, depicts a man in two overlapping positions with his arms and legs spread apart and inscribed in a circle and a square. The drawing and text are sometimes called the Canon of Proportions or, less often, the Proportions of Man. ” (Wikipedia) His work was inspired by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio commonly known as Vitruvius. Vitruvis was a 1st century BC Roman author, architect, civil engineer, and military engineer, and his discussion of perfect proportions in architecture and the human body inspired da Vinci to analyze the proportions of the human body in his drawing of the Vitruvian Man. According to Wikipedia, Da Vinci breaks down the human body to be related to itself, with the navel being the center of the circumference of a perfect circle and the elongated hands and feet forming the perfect square. It also breaks down the human body in relation to itself by measuring parts based on other parts. He noticed that eight heads are the same height, a handbreadth is four fingers, a foot is four handbreadths, a cubit is six handbreadths etc. (A cubit is the length of the forearm from the tip of the middle finger to the bottom of the elbow.) (Wikipedia)The Baroque PeriodIf it ain't baroque, don't fix it! In its early years the term Baroque was actually derogatory. Calling something baroque meant that it was overly exaggerated and full of unflattering details that were real and not idealized like the art of the Renaissance period. It was a new concept that painted the story of an emotion at a moment in time. (New World Encyclopedia) During this period there were great discoveries linking the earth to the stars, and innovations in science mimic these changes with the arts. The tradition was questioned and it was determined that it was no longer useful or beneficial to scientists. An example of this is Galileo Galilei's artwork showing his telescope, the first to be used for astronomical observations. With his telescope, Galileo directly contradicted the Catholic Church's teaching that the earth was the center of the universe. This contradiction was not seen as revolutionary and unfortunately he was placed under house arrest for the rest of his life. Doubt about tradition was inevitably placed in many people's minds, and perhaps it may have changed the art of this time. The Rococo Period Rococo art was an era of enlightenment and the use of light colors, such as pastels, created beautiful pieces..