Humanism During The Italian Renaissance

444 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Major contribution of greek and roman literature

The wealthy elites and the renaissance-era writers devoted their time to travelling as they studied various human behaviors, ancient ruins and rediscovering the Greek and Roman texts. The renaissance scholars and philosophers found great knowledge through the exploration of the classical sources. The governing intellectual principle of the Italian renaissance was formed from the scholars’ and the philosophers’ secularism, appreciation of the physical beauty and also the emphasis on the man’s own achievement and expression. This philosophy is referred to as “humanism”.

Renaissance science and technology
Humanism promoted doubt in every information was conveyed to them. It triggered people to questioning al the wisdom that was passed to them especially by the medieval church. People were encouraged to apply observation and experimentation to acquire the necessary information. Many Renaissance intellectuals tried to understand better the laws of nature and the physical world at large. Renaissance artists such as the Leonardo Da Vinci formulated a detailed study on the scientific objects which ranged from the flying ones to the submarines. Additionally, Galileo Galilei who was a scientist and mathematician took to take a detailed investigation on all natural laws that exited. However, despite …show more content…

The renaissance artists applied many humanist principles that they dedicated to their work. For instance, Filippo Brunelleschi who was a known artist in Italy applied the elements of the classical Roman architectural shapes, columns and proportions to his own buildings (Mee & Charles 79). He further designed a way to draw and paint from the perspective of the individual facing the painting so that space would appear to recede into the frame. Later, many artists adopted the use of a technique known as chiaroscuro to create an illusionary three-dimensional space on the

Show More
Related

  • Why Blameworthiness Is The Wrong Question Summary

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, even though

    Read More

  • How Does Castiglione Reflect Renaissance Humanism

    828 Words  | 2 Pages

    2. Castiglione helped developed Italian courtly society with The Book of Courtier. In this book, he talks about certain ideals that aristocrats should have. This book soon became very popular and is a fundamental guidebook for European aristocrats. Castiglione described his ideal courtier with three basic attributes. First, they should have fundamental personality like impeccable character, grace talents, and noble birth. Second, they should do bodily and military exercises and fill his life with arts (musical instrument, drawing, and painting). Finally, nobles have to make good impressions but also be modest. They should show grace in their accomplishments.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Civic Humanism In The Renaissance

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Nicholas Mann, "Humanism is that concern with the legacy of antiquity, and in particular but not exclusively with its literary legacy... it involves above all the rediscovery and study of Greek and Roman texts, the restoration and interpretation of them, and the assimilation of the ideas and values they contain." The Studia Humanitatis (Studies of Humanity) is a Latin term used by Roman writers describing a cycle of studies in the humanities including, grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and moral philosophy. Francesco Petrarch, an Italian scholar and poet of the fifteenth century, is considered by many to be the father of humanism. Petrarch 's influential texts had circulated widely throughout Florence and made their way into the government. Thus, humanist learning began to shape political ideologies in Florence. By inspiring humanist philosophy, Petrarch helped pave the way for the start of the Renaissance.

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Donatello's Statue Of David?

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    The early Renaissance, which had begun in Quattrocento Italy, was sparked by the beginnings of the Humanist movement. Considered a return to classical ideals, harkening to an early time when art, philosophy and architecture focused more on men’s achievements rather than entirely concern with his salvation, which dominated the Middle Ages. Although piety was still a predominant part of everyday life, the nostalgia, which became inspiration during this period, initiated a rediscovery of the ideals from the classical Roman and Greek eras. Whose art and architecture could be seen throughout Italy and Sicily. Thus, higher education became the predominant theme among influential families. From this an immergence of forgotten manuscripts and treatise

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Social Structure In The Renaissance

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    Italian Renaissance is looked back today as one of the most important periods that has occurred in this world. It was the earliest manifestation of the Renaissance, as well it was the era of massive cultural change and achievement that started in the 14th century and terminated during the end of the 16th century. Many views of the Italian culture and society remained mostly medieval and the Renaissance didn’t fully develop until the end of the century. As the Renaissance started to develop it began in Central Italy and poured into the cities of Florence and Siena. As time surpassed it spread to Venice where the remains of Greek culture were gathered together, giving humanist scholar’s new texts. Social structure was a key part in the Renaissance

    Read More

  • Renaissance Humanism In The Renaissance During The Renaissance

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the Renaissance, people were dedicated to studying human works. They would observe from real life to gain inspiration, new ideas, and to try to recreate the world as they saw it in their art. New techniques such as scientific and atmospheric perspective were created, changing art forever. Artists would use their skills to create works for patrons, from the Church, various guilds, and other religious orders. During the High Renaissance, Julius II commissioned Raphael to decorate the Vatican Palace. The first of the rooms he decorated was The “Room of the Signature”, where he painted The School of Athens. Originally, this room housed Julius II’s personal library, but later on it would be the room where papal documents were signed. In 1508, Raphael began painting four frescoes that represented theology, philosophy, law, and the arts. As stated in Janson’s History of Art Volume II, This fresco “represents a summation of High Renaissance humanism, for it attempts to represent the unity of knowledge in one grand scheme.” Raphael’s The School of Athens is a prime example of humanistic art, as evidenced by the subject of the art itself, the classical elements in the piece, and it’s scientific and illusionistic rendering.

    Read More

  • Major Changes: Humanism and The Renaissance

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the 15th century, Northern Europe as well as Italy witnessed a serious revival of drawing accompanied by sculpture, painting and architecture. This revival was termed as the Renaissance. The revival effected major changes onto the representation of pictorial space on these two regions. These changes on that occurred on pictorial space representation were mostly driven by new idea of “Humanism”. Humanism philosophy practically outwitted religious and secular belief. As a result, the philosophy shifted a lot f importance to the dignity and value of the individual (Prescott, 2005; Fuga, 2006).

    Read More

  • Humanism During the Renaissance

    1897 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the renaissance, there was a renewed interest in the arts, and the traditional views of society came into question. People began to explore the power of the human mind. A term often used to describe the increasing interest in the powers of the human mind is humanism. Generally, humanism stresses the individual's creative, reasoning, and aesthetic powers. However, during the Renaissance, individual ideas about humanism differed.

    Read More

  • Humanism The Renaissance And M

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    Humanism The introduction of the concept of humanism greatly affected the Renaissance. The Humanistic influence shaped Renaissance art, writing, education and thinkers, its ideas were spread among all aspects of life. Machiavelli’s writings during the Renaissance were also affected by the ideas of humanism. His ideas reflect the thoughts of humanism in the way he thought governments and societies should be organized.

    Read More

  • Analytical Essay on the Renaissance Art Movment

    1305 Words  | 3 Pages

    In science people started to question the church and its power—this may have been because the church's "indulgence" policy was so far out of line; as a result to this curiosity people started to study the natural world, discovering the secrets of the universe. Leonardo da Vinci was a huge part of the advancement in Science, with his inventions and theories. This was also the time period that Galileo discovered that the Earth revolved around the sun—much to the dismay of the church.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Humanism In High Renaissance Art

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hence, instead of religious issues, humanists examined worldly subjects that the ancient Greeks and Romans had studied. This led the people of the Renaissance to become interested in other areas of science, the natural world, biology and astronomy. Humanism had direct effects on Renaissance paintings, as the artists, in particular Titian, incorporated these new ideas in his paintings. Firstly, ordinary people grew to be the same size as saints, and saints began to look more like ordinary people. Secondly, halos became fainter and eventually disappeared. Thirdly, the natural landscape began to appear as a background in paintings, unlike the Middle Ages, when artists represented figures of heaven against a gold background. In fact, the natural landscape introduced the idea of atmospheric perspective. Fourthly, artists became famous for their work, and the human body was depicted in anatomical accuracy, and frequently nude. The perfect human type had proportions, muscular structure, oval face, triangular forehead, straight nose, and balance with the weight on one hip. Lastly, the use of mathematical perspective to represent three-dimensional space in paintings was invented. These ideas that were influences from humanism, laid the foundation of how art would develop in the years that

    Read More

  • Renaissance Art

    1822 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Italian Renaissance developed in cities such as Florence, Milan, and Venice, which had emerged during the 12th and 13th centuries as new commercial developments allowed them to expand (Paolucci 12). This mercantile society contrasted sharply with the rural, tradition bound society of medieval Europe. A significant break with tradition came in the field of history, as Renaissance historians rejected the medieval Christian views of history (Cole 40). Studies such as the Florentine History (1525) of Niccolo Machiavelli revealed a secular view of time and a critical attitude toward sources (Cole 44). This secular view was expressed by many Renaissance thinkers known as humanists. Humanism was another cultural break with medieval tradition; under its ideas scholars valued classical texts on their own te...

    Read More

  • History Of The Italian Renaissance

    1438 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...in Renaissance Italy deteriorating during invasions, culture persistently continued to impressively flourish as the Renaissance reached its highest artistic expression through its classical models and invention of new artistic customs, which proves how vital culture remained to this point in history. Humanism remained an impacting dominant cultural force in Renaissance Italy, gaining popularity amongst style and customs amongst Italian Renaissance artists and their modernized style of creating art. Historically, an artist’s individuality and consideration for untraditional customs had never been previously assumed imperative until the impacts of Italian Renaissance culture. Not only was the Italian Renaissance a movement associated with Greek and Latin Works, but more importantly it established a strong, forever impacting sense of culture among European history.

    Read More

  • Renaissance Humanism and William Shakespeare

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    Perhaps one of the most influential artists characterizing Renaissance Humanism in their work is William Shakespeare. He produced as many as thirty-seven plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems and miscellaneous verse before his death in 1616 (Gaines). In studying his work, numerous authors have found that it is one of the truest representations of the Renaissance Humanism movement. This movement identifies with a shift from the medieval movement, which mostly focused on god and faith, to a more individual approach to life. The focus was more about the human experiences and the optimistic attitude about what people really understood about themselves. In "Renaissance Humanism" Michelle Lee puts together numerous quotes from many authors analyzing the work produced during the humanism movement. The cited material in the article consistently continues to refer back to Shakespeare; how most of his work embodies the humanist thought process. For a Humanist the purpose of cultivating reason was to lead a better understanding of how to act. Many of the reasons cited throughout the article focus on two subjects, divine providence and human free will. Both Paul Siegel and Richard Mallette quote that Shakespeare's work is a reflection of the Elizabethan worldview of his time. Mike Pincombe states that in the play Hamlet, the character of Hamlet is a literary humanist, a man of the theater and a Dane and all three of these traits would evoke a certain stereotype to the audience in the Elizabethan Era. To the audience they would see the man as one who had classical learning, a refinement about oneself, respectable, highly educated, kind, and urbanized. All of these traits are ones that come through the character of Hamlet. Calvinism and ...

    Read More

  • Renaissance Humanism

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many diverse ideas flourished during the European Renaissance which had a lasting impact on the world. Humanism is a worldview and a moral philosophy that considers humans to be of primary importance. The aspect of humanism first thrived in 14th century Italy, and later spread north in the 15th century. Initially humanistic ideas about education were quickly adopted by the Italian upper class. The Italian ideas and attitudes towards life and learning impacted nobility in other parts of Europe. They were able to accept and adapt to this new lifestyle. Humanism during the Renaissance helped to spread ideas about the basic nature of human beings, how people should be educated to become well rounded individuals, and how education impacts an individual’s life.

    Read More

More about Humanism During The Italian Renaissance

Open Document