The artists of the Renaissance had become increasingly concerned with realism, that is three dimensional figures, realistic interactions between man and nature, and the imitation of nature. The artists of that time had regarded Giotto as the first to paint with this new style of realism, but it was years after Giotto that anyone else painted in a similar fashion. The next man to do so was Masaccio (1401-1428). He, like Giotto, painted with realism and his work on the Brancacci Chapel is considered the first major masterpiece of Renaissance art, because so much of the art from then on was modeled after his painting style that stressed realism and the imitation of nature.
While the painting styles of Giotto and Masaccio were often imitated by Renaissance artists they were also changed and soon the realistic style that had made an appearance was taken in two different directions. One placed a special importance on the mathematical side of art and the use of perspective. One Paolo Uccello (1397-1475) was a master of perspective and the people in his paintings were said to have been second to his mastery of math and depth in his art. The other extreme version of Giotto's style placed a special importance on movement and the human structure. This was best exemplified by the work of Antonio Pollaiuolo (c. 1432-1498). His showed the human body in different scenarios and exemplified it. In most cases he worked with nudes as did most of the Renaissance artists as the nude figure became popular at that time.
Soon however other artists began to revisit the art and mythology of Greece and Rome, things that hadn't been examined in years. Previously most artwork was religiously based and mythology was almost heretical. However a daring artists by the name of Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) began a revulsion after painting his Primavera, a piece of art that depicted Greek gods and mystical beings that seemed too removed to be real. It was in this way that Botticelli began to move from the realistic styles of Giotto.
However brilliant and innovative Renaissance painters were the other artists such as sculptors and architects also made equally as magnificent achievements. Men such as Donato di Donatello (1386-1466) studied the old statues of Greece and Rome and brought back to light to art of sculpting. Donatello created the David, a statue of David that signified the victory of Florence over the Milanese. The David was a huge step forward in the world of sculpting because it was the first statue since that time of the Greeks and Romans that was freestanding and nude. A style that was soon to be repeated by sculptors to come.
As mentioned above Renaissance architects also made surprising advancements in their field. A good friend of Donatello's, a man named Brunelleschi (1377-1446), studied the ways of the ancients like Donatello, but instead of sculptures he studied architecture. Upon traveling back to Florence he completely renovated the city. He first finished the formerly incomplete cathedral of Florence and then created the Church of San Lorenzo which was unlike all cathedrals of the Middle Ages, but one that resembled Greece and Rome. His church still conformed to the goal of the Renaissance artists, that is it reflected the human society around it.
The artists of the Early Renaissance were not only achieving realism, but were also beginning to accurately construct facial features and were thus placing the faces of their patrons in paintings or sculpting them as a special honor.