Highlight the main differences in the style of painting from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Many stylistic features changed from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century. In order to fully understand these changes, it is first important to understand the motivation of each period. The Renaissance was a time of rebirth, with Greek antiquity making a profound impact on all areas of life, art included. Artists attempted to capture the spirit and ideas of classical life through a movement known as Humanism. This idealized beauty and brought mythological subject matter into the art scene.The Baroque was a very different period and this was made evident in the art that was produced. No longer a time of Humanist thinking, the conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism reigned over Europe. Art suddenly was restricted with its main aim being to inspire the devotion of the viewer. Suddenly art was almost dominated by extreme religious subjects (often of the same themes and characters as art was highly policed at this time).One of the most important differences between these two periods was the treatment of realism. Realism during the Renaissance was not always the first interest of the artist. Michelangelo, for example, made his figures extremely idealized, contorting their perfectly muscular forms into almost impossible positions. When comparing this with the art of Caravaggio, there are huge contrasts. Caravaggio used common people as his models, capturing every detail - even the most disgusting. Dirt appeared on the soles of feet and even insects invaded rotting fruit. The Baroque period had no interest in imitating the balanced, squeaky clean style of the Renaissance.