A crucial development in the Renaissance was the ability of artists to successfully imitate nature, naturalism in art is the ability to emulate and represent nature in a lifelike manner whether in painting or through sculpture. As a result, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Giorgionne and Titian were in effect able to transpose nature at its most beautiful and apply it both realistically and convincingly to the canvas.

The Sleeping Venus,
By the Italian Renaissance Master Giorgione
1510 c.
Oil on Cancas, Click to Enlarge

The emergence of a naturalistic vision within Renaissance art was a crucial development (innovation) and was an important factor in the artistic revival taking place at the time.Naturalism in art - a Renaissance development

Symbolism was a late 19th-century movement in the arts. Symbolism originate as a literary movement, but it spread-out into other areas of the arts, namely painting. As an art movement Symbolism was primarily focused in France, the Netherlands, Russia and Belgium. (Read more after Break)
Who were the Symbolists in 19th century French Painting