Final answer:
Exposure to preserved classical works from Byzantine scholars and new ideas through Italian trade routes played a crucial role in the cultural and intellectual rebirth of the Renaissance. This exposure led to the revival of ancient philosophies and advanced the arts and sciences, as seen in the transformative works of Renaissance artists and thinkers.
Step-by-step explanation:
Exposure to preserved classical works and new ideas from the Middle East significantly contributed to the Renaissance. Byzantine scholars who fled to Europe during the fall of the eastern half of the Roman Empire brought with them invaluable texts of ancient Greece and Rome that were otherwise inaccessible to the West. These included complete works of Plato and copies of Aristotle's works, which were instrumental in revitalizing philosophy during the Renaissance of the 12th century.
Additionally, the dissemination of culture and knowledge through Italian trade routes helped integrate new linguistic studies as well as humanistic philosophies. Humanists engaged in monastic library searches and unearthed works by Tacitus and Vitruvius, thus recovering architectural principles of antiquity. This cultural influx encouraged Renaissance artists to reach the heights of the ancients, enhancing the realism in art through techniques like mathematical perspective and accurate anatomical representation. Works by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo epitomized the period's vibrant culture of realism.
The revival of classical Greek philosophy pushed the bounds of human knowledge further during the Renaissance. The emphasis on humanism and the reevaluation of the human form both in art and the understanding of nature were accentuated during this time, owing much to the influx of Middle Eastern as well as Byzantine knowledge and aesthetics.