The three panels of the Merode Annunciation triptych show (from left to right) two friends of Mary and Joseph arriving to pay their respects, Mary sitting and reading calmly with the angel Gabriel and the tiny flying figure of the Holy Spirit, and Joseph at a wood-working bench. 

Pieter Bruegel the Elder was known to many at the time of his work as "peasant Bruegels" because he often used commoners and everyday scenes as his subject matter.

Baroque art, popular in Europe from the late sixteenth century through the early eighteenth century, featured intense emotions, exaggerated movement of its subjects, and a high-contrast style of use of light and dark colors. It was often used to represent the emotional depths of the Catholic church, as well as to glorify the church and the monarchy. Caravaggio is a famous painter from this time period who painted in the Baroque style.

Caravaggio is arguably the most famous Baroque painter.  His paintings are often displayed as quintessential examples of the pure Baroque style, and they are very recognizably painted by Caravaggio.

Image: The Crowning with Thorns by Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) (c. 1602–1604). File from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Michelangelo_Merisi%2C_called_Caravaggio_-_The_Crowning_with_Thorns_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg.

None of these answers is correct; the correct answer is the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a cultural and intellectual awakening for Europe. The paintings from the Renaissance tend more toward realism than paintings and artworks before it. Therefore, artists dedicated themselves to studying different aspects of real, three-dimensional spaces, like perspective and shadows. The human form was deeply studied by Leonardo da Vinci and other artists.

Botticelli is responsible for this Venus. Though Titian did render the Venus of Urbino, it is very different from Botticielli's. The other artists were patronized by the Medici, but not for this piece.

Image: The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli (c. 1480–1490). From https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASandro_Botticelli_-_La_nascita_di_Venere_-_Google_Art_Project_-_edited.jpg.

The Madonna and Child with Two Angels by Fra Filippo Lippi is highly representative of Early Italian Renaissance art. While displaying a typical medieval subject, the Virgin Mary with the Christ child, its composition, tone, and perspective set it apart from the Gothic and Romanesque traditions. Lippi has a playful angel holding the Christ child, while the Madonna is set on what looks like a frame, creating more visual interest than typical Gothic art.

Image accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fra_Filippo_Lippi_-_Madonna_and_Child_with_two_Angels_-_Uffizi.jpg

The Italian Renaissance brought about brand new ideals in art regarding composition, form, and perspective, as well as creating new ideologies about art. In the middle sixteenth century, a development of Renaissance art called Mannerism began, which favored all of these notions of perfection to a perhaps absurd extent. This work, Jacopo da Pontormo’s Entombment of Christ, has figures posed in such an elegant manner that they are almost unrealistic and utilizes extremely bright colors, both hallmarks of Mannerism.

Image accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacopo_Pontormo_004.jpg

The Entombment of Christ is highly emblematic of Mannerism, a specific artistic movement popular in the Later Italian Renaissance of the early 16th century, featuring figures posed in elaborate manners and a vivid color palette. While Titian was not strictly a mannerist, his work, including the Venus of Urbino, shares many similarities with many mannerist works. The similarity between the two works is noticeable even though one is a scene from the Christian Gospels and another depicts a Roman goddess.

Image accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacopo_Pontormo_004.jpg

DaVinci even dissected human cadavers in his efforts to understand accurately the human form. His drawings and paintings reflect great attention to reproduction of reality, as seen in his quote. Matisse was a Fauve, Renoir, an Impressionist, and Parmigianino was a Mannerist, whose elongated body features depart from strict realism.