Identify the philosophy underlying the renaissance and how it affected art of the time.

The philosophy underlying the Renaissance was humanism. During the Middle Ages, philosophy was centered entirely around the Church and not around the individual person. However, in humanism, philosophers tended to focus more on human qualities and the power of the individual. Because of this, painters and writers began to depict ordinary people like peasants rather than gods and important government figures, although pieces like that focused on religion certainly still existed. 

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