Renaissance period was characterized as the “rebirth period” in Europe with a rise in Classical learning and values. The scholars and thinkers consider it to be a resurgence of Classical learning and wisdom after a long period of cultural unproductivity. At the beginning of the Renaissance, ideas were expressed by the logical movement called humanism. These included the rising disasters of the Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire to provide a stable and uniting structure for the society of spiritual and material life, the rise in reputation of city-states and national monarchies, the improvement of national languages, and the division of the ancient feudal structures. The effects of humanism was to support men to break free from …show more content…
Art in the hands of Leonardo da Vinci was also a science; it created a means for exploring nature and a record of research. Leonardo greatest works was the Mona Lisa, The Virgin of the Rocks, and The Last Supper. While in Florence, he painted “La Gioconda,” but it is best known today as the “Mona Lisa.” The woman mysterious slight smile sparked speculation. During the Renaissance period many believed the woman to be a courtesan, but current research shows that she was Lisa del Giocondo, wife of a Florentine merchant. “The Last Supper,” painting depicts the Passover dinner with Jesus and the Apostles. Leonardo artist abilities shows in the Apostle’s distinct sensitive expression and body language. The art composition in “The Last Supper” has influenced generations of painters. Michelangelo originated creative power, taking on large projects that depicted inspiration on the human body as the channel for emotional expression. Michelangelo’s early sculptures expose a spectacular technical ability to bend the rules of anatomy and proportion in the service of greater power. “The Pietà” and ‘the David” shows Michelangelo’s technical abilities. Michelangelo was considered a sculptor but his best-known work is the giant ceiling fresco of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Rome. This work is an integrated composition that connects traditional Christian theology with Neoplatonic beliefs. In Perspective Renaissance authors stated that “Incandescent work created by Raphael with unequalled grace and composure was introduced during the Renaissance. It was said that he produced the most imposing perspective compositions, with a kind of culmination of a century of perspective exploration.” Raphael created works that perfectly expressed the classical spirit—harmonious, beautiful, and serene. Raphael’s ultimate design, The School of Athens, was painted in the Vatican at the same
Although they were rivals, they dabbled in two different types of art mostly. Leonardo was a profound painter with interest in science, whereas Michelangelo found his way around sculptures. He considered sculptures to be the most important aspect in visual arts. Examining Michelangelo’s works throughout time, a resemblance to contemporary society is shown. Major products of Michelangelo include the statue of David and the fresco ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (History, 2010). The combination of imagination and the technical skills produced renaissance sculptures that contain all aspects of accuracy and harmony. The sculpture of David was considered the greatest sculptor to be produced during the renaissance era. When considered the works from the Sistine Chapel ceilings, the psychological insight, intensity, and the physically visual realism are all combined to produce an excellent painting which showed off his ability in paintings as
4. Renaissance humanism was an intellectual trend that came from interest in Greco-Roman literature. It changed theories and education because it secularized history--events were no longer blamed on God’s will.
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.
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.
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).
The time of the Renaissance reflected views of the individual through humanistic paintings, portraits, and sculptures. During this time new ideas and styles of art were developed and they demonstrated advanced and new perspectives of which one looked at the individual.
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.
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.
The High Renaissance (1490-1527) was a period of Italian painting that had the qualities of harmony and balance with dignified, calm movement. It was also a time when painterly techniques of linear perspective, vanishing points, shading (chiaroscuro and sfumato) and other methods of realism were mastered. There were significant changes in the development of early sixteenth century Venetian paintings, in particular, Titian’s paintings during the High Renaissance. I’ve chosen Gallery 607 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art because it has the works of Titian, who was one of the greatest Venetian artists, well known for his remarkable use of color and for his appealing renderings of the human form. Titian created rich, luminous images by layering
It focused on people rather than religion. The term was first referred to in literature by Jakob Burckhardt in The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, stating that the Renaissance was mostly based upon people recognizing their own individuality, rather than the group they’re affiliated with. The Renaissance allowed people to come to themselves as their own person, who can make up their own minds, not needing God to make every decision for them. Shakespeare expressed this concept through Macbeth by showing Macbeth made his own choices (all of which would soon be his downfall), Macbeth made the choice to kill Banquo as well as to murder Macduff’s family. He believed he was making sure that what the Weird Sisters said would never be fulfilled, but all he did was play into the prophecy’s hands. The Renaissance was home to many concepts, one of which was humanism, allowing people to distance themselves from Roman and Greek views and create their own
The two paintings, The conversion of St. Paul by Caravaggio, and lady writing a letter with her maid by Vermeer, reflect the religious conflict between the Protestant and catholic cultures of 16th century Europe.
A central focus of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanism was an intellectual movement that claimed the heart of the Renaissance. Humanists studied the classical cultures of Greece and Rome. They used their newly acquired knowledge to develop a better understand of their own times. Humanists, although they were mostly Christian, did not focus of religion. Instead they were fixated on worldly subjects. It was believed that education should stimulate one’s creative mind. Humanists emphasized humanities, which are classic subjects such as grammar and poetry.
The Renaissance period started in Italy and took place between the 1400’s and the 1600’s. In French, the term Renaissance means rebirth, which is an accurate way to describe that period since it was then that many people chose to break away from the stagnation, incertitude, and extreme hardships that occurred during the Middle Ages and plagued most of Europe. The Renaissance period is noted for being a time when the population sought educational reform which increased literacy and many were able to master more than one skill set. This led to an intellectual, economic, and artistic revolution that transformed several European nations such as Italy, France, Spain, and several others. During this time, there were several developments within the Catholic Church, such as scandals and controversy. Because of that, many people were driven away from the traditions of the church and sought more freedom of expression and individualism. As economies improved, there was more wealth and a desire for self improvement which greatly influenced the arts.
The Renaissance was a cultural movement and turning point in European history, originating in Italy and lasting from the 14th to the 17th century. Following the Middle Ages, the Renaissance gave rise to humanism, inducing human achievement rather than religion, breaking away from previous medieval scholasticism and reviving the once lost Greek and Roman interests. During the three centuries, the political structure of Europe took several different forms through its numerous political leaders. This organization of politics reflected the ideals and values of the time, as it broke away from the thought process of the past, such as the heavy influence of religion, and accepted newer ideas such as individualism, humanism, and secularism. Through the political leaders, important developments and advancements have been made not only in politics, but in other fields as well, as throughout the modern world. Due to the political structure, under the rule of certain leaders, Europe experienced a political evolution. This gave birth to the foundations of modern politics through the transition from the Middle Ages, composition of significant political literary works, and the development of diplomacy.
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.