The Renaissance was a revival of the arts (literature, painting, sculpting, etc) and was the time of some of the most famous artists and poets in all of history. Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Petrarch are a few. The Renaissance was also the beginning of many new styles of painting and poetry. It also emulated the styles of the Romans or Greeks occasionally.
The Renaissance was based on humanism, which basically taught to focus on what man could do without God. This was such a new idea, but it caused a surge in the interest in the arts because this was something man could do without God. Ironically, many of the paintings were based off of scenes from the bible and of God and of Christianity’s most famous figures.
In short, the Renaissance brought back the love of the arts that was experienced during the age of the Romans, and left us with some of the most impressive works of art to this day.