Definition:
(noun) - The term Proto-Renaissance, first coined by the Swiss art historian Jacob Burckhardt, denotes the period in northern Italian art from (roughly) 1150-1400. Artistic developments in this area, during these years, weren't quite Romanesque, or Gothic, but have come to be classified as precursors to the Renaissance itself.
Pronunciation: pro·toe·ren·uh·sahnse
Also Known As: Pre-Renaissance, Romanesque Italian art, Gothic Italian art
Common Misspellings: Rennaisance
Examples:
"To stress the initiative that Italian art takes at this time and in order that the new epoch not be cut off from its beginnings, we have classified Italian art of the later thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as proto-Renaissance." - Gardner's Art Through the Ages, Sixth Edition
