In the late 13th and early 14th centuries, a revolutionary change in the European cultural sphere placed human beings at the center of learning as the thoughts and works of the man were imbued with humanist ideals. Over time, these values, then widespread in Italy, began to spread to other regions and produce an individual renaissance of each region. Immediately after the Middle Ages, European civilization had begun to be characterized by an interest in classical knowledge and values. This is evident in the very meaning of the term “renaissance” – rebirth. Italian artists and scholars saw themselves as revitalizing the norms and achievements of classical Roman culture; some writers such as Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio studied ancient Rome and Greece and sought to revive the values, languages ​​and intellectual traditions of these cultures after the long period of stagnation that followed the fall of the Roman Empire . Considered a royalty of ancient customs, Renaissance art laid as its foundation the art of classical antiquity, but renovated it with the influences of Northern European art and applications of knowledge contemporary scientists. Renaissance art spread throughout Europe alongside the spread of Renaissance humanist philosophy, affecting both artists and patrons with the development of new artistic sensibilities and techniques. This component of the Renaissance marks the transition from the medieval period to the early modern era. During the Middle Ages, the subject of almost all European art was religion, particularly that of Christianity and the Catholic Church. Although Renaissance artists continued to paint religious paintings, the art of this era branched out to other subjects, middle of paper......painting. Patrons were willing to fund the arts, no matter how controversial the subject. Many of these artists painted Greek myths, among other pagan subjects, and generally experimented further; this set a precedent for art to be more sensual and focused on secular life as opposed to the emphasis on the afterlife characteristic of medieval culture. Art then focused on inspiration, and as a result, Renaissance creators built a procedural scaffolding that remained with artists centuries after that period ended. In addition to providing the foundation for our modern view of composition, there are also some current works that resemble those of the Renaissance. For example, some styles from this period are explicit in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. The modes of sfumato and unione are evident throughout.