Masaccio's fresco The Tribute Money (1427) is a continuous narrative which uses contrapposto, aerial perspective, and humanistic facial expressions and body postures to illustrate purposeful interaction in its portrayal of divine intervention to assuage a resolute IRS man. This concept of "emotions in motion" is even more stunning in his Expulsion from Paradise (1427), and his Holy Trinity (1425) is a brilliant example of the use of architect Brunelleschi's newly-discovered scientific perspective in creating the appearance of three dimensions on a flat surface. These examples typify the techniques and philosophy of Early Renaissance painters in Florentine Italy beginning around 1420. This "rebirth of the classics" from Greek and Roman antiquity spread its influence to Rome and Venice, and its sway is also seen in "Late Gothic" painting north of the Alps, where it is evident in works by Flemish master Jan van Eyck, for example, in his Arnolfini Portrait (1434).

The Early Renaissance in Italy saw the widespread adoption of oil paint, although its "invention" was credited to Northerner Jan van Eyck. Oil was a god

The High Renaissance's progression must be intoned with Raphael, whose paintings such as Sacrifice at Lystra (1515), School of Athens (1511), and Pope Leo X (1518), tell of trouble brewing in the Catholic Church as a result of Luther and the scandal of selling papal indulgences. The High Renaissance closed with the brilliant portraiture of Titian, who used a unique brand of chiaroscuro to thrust characters such as Man with the Glove (c1520) from a dark background. He also introduced the heavy-textured, ambient-light reflecting technique of impasto in Christ Crowned with Thorns (1570).

Further north in Venice a Gothic aura still surrounded the painting, which was obviously influenced by the Flemish masters, but this later merged with High Renaissance style emanating from Rome. We see stark realism and light-bathed landscapes in such works as Mantegna's St. Sebastian (1460) and Bellini's St. Francis in Ecstasy (1485). The symbolism of the North is evident in everyday objects, such as an ass or a bundle of grapes, which signify spiritual phenomena and beings. Bellini's Madonna and Saints (1505) shows the evolution (or perhaps Flemish influence) in the sacra conversazione of the depicted characters from convivial interaction to more transcendental poses. Geography no doubt played an important part in the influence of Flemish painting upon Venetian art, as we know that commerce was common between these areas at this time. The dissemination and the artistic trends of Italy's Renaissance in the genre of painting have now set the stage for the more familiar "big guns" to ply their mastery.

"Intense realism" and "disguised symbolism" can best be used to describe the Northern Flemish, or "late Gothic," aspect of the Renaissance in a sound bite. The use of oil (described earlier) facilitated the Flemish painters in their use of bright colors and sharp contrast, and, conversely, aided the blending technique of aerial perspective. Their biggest challenge was depicting spiritual events within the confines of everyday settings: disguised symbolism sufficed quite well. The Merode Altarpiece (1430) serves to typify the Northern Renaissance. As we "look through a window" at the Annunciation, disguised symbolism abounds in a recently extinguished candl

Some common words found in the essay are:
Crowned Thorns, Northern Renaissance, Northern Flemish, Arnolfini Portrait, Catholic Church, Madonna Saints, Tribute Money, Ghent Altarpiece, Virgin Rocks, Renaissance Rome, van eyck, aerial perspective, da vinci, van eyck's, disguised symbolism, jan van eyck, jan van, christ crowned thorns, crowned thorns, sacra conversazione, scientific perspective, van der, crowned thorns 1570,
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Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)