The Renaissance's Dark Paradox: How an Age of Enlightenment Forged the Ideology of Oppression We picture the Renaissance as a dawn: a glorious awakening from the "dark" Middle Ages. It was the era of Leonardo da Vinci's genius, of Michelangelo's divine David, of Shakespeare's profound humanity. It was a revolution that placed humanity - its potential, its reason, its beauty - at the center of the universe. But every light casts a shadow.