---
title: "Secular Art — AP Euro Definition & Renaissance Context"
description: "Secular art is Renaissance artwork on non-religious, often classical, subjects. Know how it connects to humanism and patronage for AP Euro Unit 1."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-euro/key-terms/secular-art"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP European History"
unit: "Unit 1"
---

# Secular Art — AP Euro Definition & Renaissance Context

## Definition

Secular art is artwork centered on non-religious subjects, such as portraits, mythology, and civic life, that flourished in the Italian Renaissance as humanism shifted focus from theology toward human experience and classical models (Topic 1.2, KC-1.1.I).

## What It Is

Secular art is art about this world instead of the next one. Think portraits of merchants and rulers, scenes from Greek and Roman mythology, civic buildings, and depictions of everyday human life rather than altarpieces and saints. In [AP Euro](/ap-euro "fv-autolink"), it shows up in Topic 1.2 as visible proof of a bigger intellectual shift. Renaissance humanists like Petrarch revived [classical texts](/ap-euro/key-terms/classical-texts "fv-autolink"), and some of them pushed the values of **secularism and individualism** (KC-1.1.I.A). Secular art is what those values look like on a canvas or a building.

Here's the catch you need for the exam. Secular art does not mean Italy turned against religion. Popes and rulers commissioned art in [classical styles](/ap-euro/key-terms/classical-styles "fv-autolink") to enhance their own prestige (KC-1.1.III.A), and plenty of religious paintings used new secular techniques like geometric perspective. The shift was about emphasis. Subjects, styles, and patrons' motives became more worldly, more classical, and more focused on the individual human being.

## Why It Matters

Secular art lives in [Unit 1](/ap-euro/unit-1 "fv-autolink") (Renaissance and Exploration), Topic 1.2, and supports learning objectives 1.2.A and 1.2.B. The CED's essential knowledge points all converge here. The revival of Greek and Roman texts produced "secular models for individual and political behavior" (KC-1.1.I.C), challenged the Church's [monopoly](/ap-euro/key-terms/monopoly "fv-autolink") on education and culture (KC-1.1.I.B), and gave rulers and popes a new way to show off their power (KC-1.1.III.A). Secular art is the evidence you cite when an exam question asks how Renaissance culture differed from medieval culture. Medieval art served the Church; Renaissance art increasingly served humanism, civic pride, and the patron's ego. That contrast is one of the cleanest cause-and-effect chains in Unit 1, and it sets up later challenges to Church authority in Unit 2.

## Connections

### [Humanism (Unit 1)](/ap-euro/key-terms/humanism)

[Humanism](/ap-euro/key-terms/humanism "fv-autolink") is the engine and secular art is the output. Once scholars valued human achievement and classical learning, artists started painting humans as worthy subjects in their own right, not just as figures in Bible scenes.

### [Civic humanism (Unit 1)](/ap-euro/key-terms/civic-humanism)

[Italian city-states](/ap-euro/key-terms/italian-city-states "fv-autolink") admired Roman political institutions, so they commissioned public art and architecture celebrating the city itself (KC-1.1.I.C). A statue glorifying Florence instead of glorifying God is civic humanism made visible.

### [Geometric Perspective (Unit 1)](/ap-euro/key-terms/geometric-perspective)

[Perspective](/ap-euro/key-terms/perspective "fv-autolink") is the technical side of the same shift. It used math to show the world as a human eye actually sees it, which treats accurate observation of this world as a goal worth pursuing. That's a secular value baked into technique.

### [Church's authority (Units 1-2)](/ap-euro/key-terms/churchs-authority)

Secular art didn't attack the Church, but it chipped at the Church's cultural monopoly (KC-1.1.I.B). Once education and art had alternatives to theology, the stage was set for the bigger challenges of the Reformation in Unit 2.

## On the AP Exam

Secular art shows up most in multiple choice questions about Renaissance patronage and intellectual change. Typical stems ask why rulers and popes commissioned works in classical styles, and the right answer almost always points to humanism, the revival of classical culture, or enhancing the patron's prestige (KC-1.1.III.A). Another common move pairs secular thinking with Machiavelli, whose *The Prince* judged politics by observed human behavior instead of Christian virtue. That's the same secular impulse applied to political theory instead of painting. No released FRQ has used the phrase "secular art" verbatim, but it's strong evidence for any LEQ or DBQ on Renaissance cultural change, especially a change-and-continuity argument contrasting medieval religious art with Renaissance emphasis on the individual.

## secular art vs Anti-religious art

Secular means non-religious in subject or emphasis, not hostile to religion. Renaissance Italy stayed deeply Catholic, and popes themselves commissioned classical-style art to boost their prestige. Religious paintings even adopted secular innovations like perspective and realistic human anatomy. The exam tests whether you see secular art as a shift in emphasis toward human and classical subjects, not a rejection of Christianity.

## Key Takeaways

- Secular art focuses on non-religious subjects like portraits, mythology, and civic life, and it flourished in the Italian Renaissance.
- It grew directly out of humanism, since the revival of classical texts promoted secularism and individualism (KC-1.1.I.A).
- Secular does not mean anti-religious; popes and rulers commissioned classical-style art to enhance their own prestige (KC-1.1.III.A).
- Admiration for Greek and Roman institutions produced secular models for individual and political behavior, which shows up in both art and Machiavelli's political theory (KC-1.1.I.C).
- Secular art is your go-to evidence for the medieval-to-Renaissance contrast: art serving the Church versus art serving humanism, civic pride, and individual patrons.

## FAQs

### What is secular art in AP Euro?

Secular art is artwork focused on non-religious subjects, like portraits, classical mythology, and civic scenes. It's tested in Topic 1.2 as evidence of the humanist shift toward human experience and classical models during the Italian Renaissance.

### Did Renaissance secular art mean people rejected religion?

No. Italy remained Catholic, and popes were major art patrons who commissioned classical-style works to enhance their prestige (KC-1.1.III.A). Secular art reflects a shift in emphasis toward worldly subjects, not a rejection of Christianity.

### How is secular art different from humanism?

Humanism is the intellectual movement reviving classical texts and valuing human achievement; secular art is one of its visible products. Humanists like Petrarch supplied the ideas, and artists translated those ideas into portraits, mythological scenes, and classical architecture.

### Why did popes commission secular and classical art?

Prestige. The CED states that rulers and popes commissioned classical-style works to enhance their own status (KC-1.1.III.A). Sponsoring famous artists and Roman-inspired buildings signaled power, wealth, and cultural sophistication.

### What are examples of secular themes in Renaissance art?

Portraits of individual patrons, scenes from Greek and Roman mythology, civic architecture modeled on classical styles, and works using geometric perspective to capture the world as humans actually see it. Machiavelli's The Prince is the same secular turn in writing instead of painting.

## Related Study Guides

- [1.2 Italian Renaissance](/ap-euro/unit-1/italian-renaissance/study-guide/RGO3uYzzg18wdUjgwGdK)

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