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The Renaissance as seen through Art, Artists, Architecture and Literature (1400-1600CE). A return to the lost stylization of the classical world. The Intellectual Renaissance.
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The Renaissance as seen through Art, Artists, Architecture and Literature (1400-1600CE) A return to the lost stylization of the classical world
The Intellectual Renaissance • The wealthy who lived in Italy between 1350 – 1600 believed they were living in a unique period, witnessing a rebirth of classical antiquity –the world of the Greeks and Romans. • To them, this marked a new age, which historians later called the Renaissance (French for “rebirth”). • This movement started in Italy and eventually spread to the rest of Europe.
The Intellectual Renaissance • A new view of humansemerged as those affected by the Italian Renaissance began to emphasize individual ability.
The Intellectual Renaissance • This high regard for human potential gave rise to a new social ideal – that of a well rounded (or “universal”) person that was capable of achievements in many fields (often known as a “Renaissance Man” or “Woman”).
The Intellectual Renaissance • The most important intellectual movement associated with the Renaissance was humanism. • Humanism was based on the study of the classics, the literary works of Greece and Rome, to lead a moral and effective life. • Humanists studied the liberal arts – history, grammar, rhetoric, poetry, and philosophy (ethics). Today we call these the Humanities.
The Intellectual Renaissance • During the Renaissance, to become wealthy and stay wealthy required a high standard of education…one could not be successful in commerce or industry without knowing how to read and write and being skillful with numbers. • Increased business meant more partnership agreements, complicated wills, etc…i.e. more law.
The Intellectual Renaissance • Legal studies became the biggest draw at European universities and professors of law were paid the highest academic salaries. • As city-states grew and governments became more complicated, there was a greater demand for a well-educated secretariat at home and for diplomats who spoke with eloquence abroad.
The Intellectual Renaissance • The influence of the past was strengthened by the fact that the Renaissance had no conception of progress…until the Renaissance men did not believe that society could steadily improve itself by inventing new ways to exploit resources and organize economies and governments. • It seemed to Renaissance thinkers that the ancients had done nearly everything about as well as it could be done.
The Intellectual Renaissance • Early humanists (like Petrarch) believed that the intellectual life should be one of solitude and study. • Later humanists, especially in Florence, believed that it was the duty of an intellectual to live an active life for one’s community and country. • They also believed that their study of the humanities should be put to the service of their community or country.
The Intellectual Renaissance • Petrarch (1304-1374) is often referred to as the “father of Renaissance humanism” because he sought to find forgotten Latin manuscripts and emphasized the use of classical Latin.
The Intellectual Renaissance • Writers addressed more secular subjects like love and lust, valor, individualism, and pride in human achievement. • Humanist writers (like Dante) often criticized the Church (usually by satirizing it) and began writing in Italian.
The Artistic Renaissance • Renaissance artists tried to imitate nature and persuade onlookers of the reality of the object or event they were portraying. • Artistic standards also reflected a new attitude…that humans became the focus of attention, “the center and measure of all things.” “God is supreme but life is human.”
The Artistic Renaissance • This focus was on more worldly subjectsor Greek/Roman classics—including mythology, not just religion (which reflected humanism). • Painting style became three dimensional(unlike earlier styles that were flat/two dimensional).
The Artistic Renaissance • Artists wanted credit for their works and wanted to be known(they sought prestige - a new sign of individualism). • During the Middle Ages to praise man was to praise God (for man was a creation of God)…but Renaissance artists praised man himself as a creator.
The Artistic Renaissance • Each generation of artists was praised for being “more modern” than the last…but “more modern” during the Renaissance really meant closer to the precepts laid down by Classical Rome.
Renaissance vs. Medieval • The major difference between Medieval and the Renaissance style of painting was the use of linear perspective and light and shadow. • These elements gave the figures in Renaissance art form and volume(three dimensional qualities).
Renaissance vs. Medieval • Many art historians credit the works of Giotto (1266-1337) as being the first to lead art back to what was the “classical style.”
Masaccio • The Tribute Money(Florence c. 1427) • This is considered by some art historians as the first major work of the Renaissance.
Leonardo da VinciPortrait of a Young Woman (Ginevra DeBenci c. 1474-78)
Leonardo da VinciLady with an Ermine(CeciliaGallerani 1483-90)
Leonardo da VinciMadonna and Child with a Pomegranate (1475)
Leonardo da VinciCanon of Proportions(commonly called Vetruvian Man c. 1485-90)
Leonardo da Vinci • An example of Leonardo’s “mirror writing”:
Michelangelo • Michelangelo’s painting in the Sistine Chapel has been recognized as a masterpiece since its completion and is a defining moment in artistic history. • He was just 33 years old when he signed a contract with the pope to paint the Sistine Chapel for about $500,000. But he wasn’t happy about the commission, declaring himself a sculptor rather than a painter and preferring to work on an existing commission for the pope’s tomb.
Michelangelo • Michelangelo’s plan was to depict the salvation of the human race by God as told through the allegory of the Old Testament. • For Renaissance Christians, every element and story in the Old Testament had both a literal and a mystical meaning. • The Old Testament had been retained by the Christian Church because it proclaimed the coming of Jesus in the events of the history of Israel.
Michelangelo • The central themes on the great ceiling are from the Old Testament : the creation of the world, the creation of mankind, and the salvation of mankind that came when Noah was rescued from the flood. • The ceiling has nine paintings, which Michelangelo painted in reverse chronological order.
Michelangelo • In the three paintings depicting the creation, we see God’s hand moving across the waters, separating the darkness from the light, and creating the sun and the moon. • The only picture of Christ on the ceiling is the image of a baby poking out from the cloak of God, assuring Christians of the existence of Christ and the Trinity from the beginning.
Michelangelo • God Moving Across the Waters.
Michelangelo • God Creating the Sun and Moon.
Michelangelo • The second set of three paintings depicts man. Here, we see the creation of Adam, the creation of Eve, and the fall of mankind. • The most famous painting, God reaching out to touch the finger of Adam is meant to convey not just the giving of life but the giving of a divine spark—the essence of what it is to be human.
Michelangelo • The Creation of Man (Adam).
Michelangelo • The Creation of Woman (Eve).
Michelangelo • The Fall of Man
