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Ancient art was revered, not only as an inspiring model but also as a record of trial and error that could reveal the successes of former great artists. Intending to retrace the creative process rather than to merely imitate the final achievements of antiquity, Early Renaissance artists sought to create art forms consistent with the appearance of the natural world and with their experience of human personality and behavior. The early part of the sixteenth century is a period often referred to as the High Renaissance. The essential feature of High Renaissance art was its unity. Paintings invoked increasing dramatic force with the human forms becoming so life-like; they almost seemed to be breathing. The High Renaissance also heralded a new style called Mannerism. It was characterized by dramatic use of color, distorted figures, violent compositions and a move towards the grotesque and outrageous. Rational inquiry was believed to be the key to success; therefore, efforts were made to discover the correct laws of proportion for architecture and for the representation of the human body and to systematize the rendering of pictorial space. Although these artists were keenly observant of natural phenomena, they al