This essay investigates Pater’s insightful re-evaluation of Renaissance European paintings, sculptures, and other forms of visual and literary arts, utilizing several recent theoretical perspectives. Major artists examined in this paper include Sandro Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Giorgione. One of the chief theoretical approaches adopted in this paper derives from the recent, interdisciplinary field of visual culture. Another theoretical framework is drawn from the aesthetic ideas formulated by Baumgarten, Shaftesbury, Kant, Schiller, and Hegel, especially their concepts concerning the construction of social order and individual identity.

Key words：Walter Pater, Studies in the History of the Renaissance, Sandro Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Giorgione, early modern visual culture, aesthetic theory, Baumgarten, Shaftesbury, Kant, Schiller, Hegel

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