What new ideas and techniques resulted in more realistic and accurate portrayals of people in renaissance paintings?

During the Renaissance, artists became obsessed with mirroring real life. Science also was finding its stride and people believed that art should reflect the world. Sfumato was used to achieve lifelike art. Sfumato is a term created by Da Vinci. It describes when an artist blurs the lines of is art to soften the border between the background and subject.