One of the most defining periods in Western art history started with the Renaissance, a period of revival of ancient philosophy, humanism, and a new understanding of the world, based on heliocentric theory developed by Nicolaus Copernicus. However, besides returning the human figure to the centre of scientific explorations, the period was also deeply steeped in religious belief, with visual arts supporting and expanding different religious dogmas. The dominance of religious themes in art, however, did not start with this period but was also a characteristic of the previous Medieval and the subsequent Baroque times.
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