The Interplay of Art and Science: A Study of Anatomical Observation in Renaissance Art

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-541-6_56How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Renaissance Art; Anatomy; Leonardo Da Vinci; Michelangelo; Art–Science Integration

Abstract

The Renaissance marked a turning point in the history of knowledge, when artists and scientists began to look at the world with a new spirit of inquiry. This paper examines how anatomical observation became a crucial link between art and science during this period. The focus lies on the practices of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, two masters whose work demonstrates how dissection and close study combine historical analysis with case studies, drawing on visual evidence from sketches, sculptures, and frescoes alongside recent scholarly interpretations. The findings show that Renaissance artists not only achieved greater realism through anatomy but also developed a language of form that communicated movement, tension, and emotion in unprecedented ways. These practices contributed directly to later traditions of scientific illustration and set a model for collaboration across disciplines. The study concludes that the Renaissance integration of art and science provides enduring insights into the value of cross-disciplinary approaches, offering lessons still relevant for contemporary STEAM education.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Shiting Zhu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/26
TI  - The Interplay of Art and Science: A Study of Anatomical Observation in Renaissance Art
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 5th International Conference on Culture, Design and Social Development (CDSD 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 502
EP  - 508
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-541-6_56
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-541-6_56
ID  - Zhu2026
ER  -