Humanism is defined as a program of study that aimed to replace the scholastic emphasis on logic and philosophy with the study of ancient languages, literature, history, and ethics. They believed that the best possible way to produce political leaders was to educate men in the field of humanities. Those who were humanists preferred old literature, art, and language to the more modern works and language. Latin or Greek was preferred among humanists. Furthermore, the Latin used by humanists was the traditional Latin, not the Latin of the church; this being one of the possible reasons Latin has ceased to be used as a language. Humanism was depicted throughout the Renaissance in the form of both literature and art. As many parts of Western Civilization have, …show more content…
Artists such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Botticelli came from the Renaissance period. Along with these men came new techniques, such as one-point perspective and experimentation with the anatomy and the human body. Many of the works from the Renaissance depicted classic scenes, in keeping with the humanist’s love of the ancient classic works. For example, Leonardo da Vinci’s work The Last Supper depicts a classic scene in the life of a historical figure, Jesus Christ. His technique was also seen as adventurous and he was able to create emotion in the artwork. Botticelli was known for creating scenes of classic mythology such as The Birth of Venus. He stayed away from heavy religious themes in his work, opting for more natural scenes. Michelangelo embraced not only classic and biblical scenes, but also classic art techniques. While he produced several well-known works of art, his most famous is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which he filled with scenes from the book of Genesis. The Creation of Adam is the most recognizable scene on the ceiling today, with both God and Adam reaching for, but not quite touching each
4. Renaissance Humanism was an intellectual movement that involved the study of classical literary works of Greeks and Romans.
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.
The late Renaissance art also has a larger focus on religion, as humanism inspired people in many forms by the use of religion. Humanism came about with the idea that a person should have a very rounded education covering many aspects of society especially history, geometry, and art. During the renaissance as the ideas of humanism spread, especially in its educational sense, more schools and universities were erected and a much higher percentage of people were forma...
Humanism was the main idea of the Renaissance and was influential to people with its ideas. One of its main ideas was education and an importance to the classics, and that plays into the printing press for the reason that people could now learn to read and write more easily and a thirst for education was born. Any person could now learn and this opened a door way that had been locked for the middle class people because now they had the ability to learn and thrive with great minds just as much as the rich. This leads into Scientific Revolution, a major aspect of the “Modern Era” because people wanted to learn more about the world they live in and not just what the Church says, thus creating a curiosity in the people that wasn’t there before.
Humanism is a literary and linguistic movement cultivated during the Renaissance that was founded on revising classical Latin and Greek texts, styles, and values. Humanists encouraged looking to the past to discover what is good and how people should act including leaders. Many humanist wrote about how they believe a prince should act and what he should do to be successful in his rule. Most humanists believed that princes should be virtuous in order to be successful rulers as many ancient leaders were. However, Machiavelli in his work The Prince uses history as a part of his argument to undermine some humanist ideals such as being purely virtuous and morality being the key to good government but also uses it to promote humanist ideals such as looking to the past to discover how a leader should behave.
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.
4).14 Painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City between 1508 and 1512, Michelangelo’s series represent several narratives from the bible. This painting is considered to be the most outstanding series of illustrations depicting biblical stories that were ever produced. It has also been suggested that the figures in the frescoes reflect Michelangelo’s personal Humanist philosophies. He believed that “the body should be celebrated as a reflection of both divine beauty and the beauty of the human soul”.15 The Creation of Adam, in particular, demonstrates the exact moment when God stretches out his finger and gives life to Adam, the first human. In this image, Adam on the left is portrayed completely nude as he sits languidly on the Earth. On the right, God’s presence appears assertive while he floats amongst several biblical figures in the sky. As their fingers do not touch, it is indicated that Adam is yet to receive the gift of intellect and
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 ...
The word humanism is a relatively broad term described by Merriam-Webster as, “a system of values and beliefs that is based on the idea that people are basically good and that problems can be solved using reason instead of religion”. While this seems a perfectly reasonable definition for the present day, it does not adequately apply to medieval society. If such a definition was used by a person from the 12th century, that person would likely be looked at incredulously and then swiftly called a heretic or a blasphemer. The role of religion in medieval society is too ingrained in the medieval world. Richard Southern provides a more likely definition of medieval humanism. He describes humanism as having “elements of dignity, order, reason and
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.