By the early 15th century, artists in Italy were becoming increasingly aware that, while Rome had once been the centre of the Western world, its power and prestige had steadily declined since the invading Germanic tribes broke up the empire. The belief that art, science, and scholarship had flourished during the Classical period stimulated the desire for a revival of the values of that period. Both architecture and painting found new inspiration in Greek and Roman models, and the discovery of perspective in painting and drawing added new possibilities, which in turn were to have a profound effect on stage ...(100 of 31765 words)