The rediscovery of ancient texts about the natural and human sciences, and a fascination with classical mythology and antique sculpture, led at the turn of the 15th century to what is known as the Italian Renaissance. A similar flowering of painting and sculpture occurred simultaneously in northern France and the Low Countries where revolutionary new techniques for painting in oil had recently been developed. Among the factors leading to this "rebirth" in the arts was a new awareness of ideal proportions in art and architecture and the introduction of one-point perspective. Of primary concern was the establishment of rational rules for the faithful representation of the natural and built world on the two-dimensional plane. Drawing was not only the first step to achieving this, but a representation of the artist’s and architect’s intellect, playing a key role in the reclassification of painting and sculpture as liberal arts.
