Explain the massive increase in painting during the Renaissance?

Task: How would you explain the massive increase in painting during the Renaissance? Check out the websites below (there are a lot for this Module – next Module, there will be fewer, though some of these will still be relevant and available to you); listen to the audio files; and don’t forget to post in the Discussion (be sure to check the posting due dates). This week the files are all of the Italian Renaissance. Next week, we’ll look at the Northern European Renaissance. Also, the files this week are larger and more numerous. If you plan on downloading them, then set aside an appropriate amount of computer time. http://www.anadio.com/index.html http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hi/te_index.asp?i=16 http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture29b.html http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture30b.html http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/ (especially check out the first three links under the heading “Topics” and “Suggestions for Beginners”) http://www.teacheroz.com/renaissance.htm http://www.pbs.org/empires/medici/index.html http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1x.html http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/vatican.exhibit/exhibit/c-humanism/Humanism.html http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/humanism.html http://wsu.edu/~dee/REN/HUMANISM.HTM http://www.iep.utm.edu/h/humanism.htm http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHrenaissanceitaly.html Here are some good documentaries to watch if you are interested: The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance (I included a link above to the PBS site for this documentary – it is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen); Monarchy with David Starkey (Acorn Media) Volume 1: episode 3, and Volume 2: episode 4; A History of Britain by Simon Schama (History Channel) episode: King Death.