Renaissance Themes
The four new main ideas that came from the Renaissance; individualism, classicism, scientific rationalism, and humanism. Michelangelo showed these themes through his art.
Individualism
Individualism was the belief that each man had an obligation to develop his talents to his full potential. The effects individualism had on art were huge; more portraits of normal people were done, people looked more happy and it became common to see people at the center of the art rather than God or other religious figures. Brighter colors were used to paint and more art depicted important moments for man. Michelangelo's paintings (especially of his painting on the Sistine Chapel's ceiling) showed individualism with vibrant colors. The detail on Michelangelo exemplified it in his life by making the most of his talents.
Humanism
Humanism was based on the idea that "man [was] the measure of all things" and that man could identify, analyze. and solve problems; therefore he could control his own destiny. In art elaborate detail and anatomical accuracy became important in conveying this idea. In Michelangelo's Pieta you could see individual folds in the cloth of Mary's dress and careful and accurate proportions on the bodies of Mary and Jesus. In his sculpture David there was amazing detail. You could see each vain in his hand, and again, anatomical accuracy was clearly what Michelangelo had in mind while making it. This focus on anatomical accuracy was also apparent in his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It was controversial in his time because people thought nude people in a painting in chapel was improper.