Humanism And The Renaissance Period

Arguably the greatest and longest impacting movement brought about by the forward thinkers of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanism was a cultural and intellectual movement that emphasized the human potential to attain excellence through direct study of the literature, art, and civilization of the classical Greek and Roman societies (Merriam-Webster). The scholars and believers in humanism sought to change the course of society away from the narrow pedantry of medieval scholasticism and utilitarianism. Humanism was a basic desire for every citizen to be able to speak with eloquence and read and write with clarity, so that common citizens were capable of engaging in the civic life of their communities (Gray). The movement also emphasized the value of a human being as well as the importance of rational thought rather than blind faith in spiritualism or superstition. It also pushed people to explore human desires and pleasures while also enriching their minds. The influential nature of humanism was far reaching and most notable for its effects on Renaissance art, literature, and philosophy.

The Renaissance began in the 1300’s and brought with it many new ideas and ways of thinking. The main one of these ideas being humanism, or that the best that a man can be is greater than the idea of theology. The Italians began to spread this idea and it began to grow. The Italians decided that the best way to express and spread the idea of humanism during the Renaissance was through their sculptures and paintings. This can be seen in many works of art from this time period such as the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, The School of Athens by Raphael, and Michelangelo's David.

Humanism played a huge role in the Italian Renaissance as it changed the landscape of the Italians. The definition of Humanism is “an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.” It relation to the Italian humanism It’s the influence of behavior that relate to the goodness of humanity as all humans are good. The Italians were influenced by the romans because the romans have done great things even though in the views of Christian they deserved to go to hell.

The Renaissance period was impacted by humanism strongly because people were now starting to realize, they weren’t just peasants that worked for a lord but they too were people that could make their own decisions. People valued their self-worth now, and they wanted to learn about reading, writing, and the

Another huge contribution that humanism had on the renaissance was through art. Art has influenced the world during the renaissance through architecture, the way people were portrayed in the paintings that were created, and many famous artists and composers as well. During the renaissance, painters, sculptors and artists based their works around the idea of humanism. They were mainly around religion

The Renaissance is the label we put upon the emergence of a new perspective and set of ideals in Europe. This does not mean that it was sudden, neat and clean. It was gradual, inconsistent, and variable from place to place. The Renaissance had its origins in Italy because a powerful merchant class arose in its cities that replaced the landed aristocracy and clergy as the leaders of society. This new class, along with many aristocrats and clergy, embraced humanist ideals. Generally speaking, humanism was a new worldly ideal to replace the medieval focus on eternal life. Humanism was founded on the idea that humanity is capable of greatness by its own means--through wealth, knowledge, art--and does

Rhiana Bishop CHY4U Mrs.Ritsma September 15th, 2017 Humanism and the Italian Renaissance Many people today do not know what humanism is. Even if they don't what it is, many people in this world are humanist. Humanism is the idea behind humanism is the life on earth can be filled with the value not just items, but abilities and individual worth, as well as that humans, can achieve great things. The humanist movement started with a man named Martin Luther. Luther was a German monk who posted what is now known as the 95 Theses on the door of Wittenberg’s Castle (Newman 50). These theses are what started the Reformation and the Renaissance. In the Renaissance was very influenced by the Martin Luther and humanism. The art the writer and the architecture were all majorly influenced by humanism. This is because that it is more acceptable to have beautiful paintings, awe-inspiring novels, and amazing buildings created not just for religious use but for enjoyment. Leonardo DA Vinci (1452-1519), Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), Donato Donatello (1386-1466), Sofonisba Anguissola (c.1532-1625) these are some of the prodigious artist known all over the world. Every one of these artists started in the Renaissance era of art. Each one of these artists created art that still inspires artist today. Before the reformation and humanism came into the picture almost all became famous for the works that they did in the Renaissance. The reason these artists became more famous is the art that is much more lifelike and that captures more detail than the art that came before the Renaissance. Some of the art done in the Renaissance that is still based on belief.in many paintings, in the Medieval era, there were paintings of Mother Mary and baby Jesus they were portrayed as gods. But as they were painted in the Renaissance era, they were painted as average people from that time. Every artist famous or not became very popular with the growing support of humanism. Niccolò Machiavelli, Edmund Spenser, Desiderius Erasmus and Thomas More. theses are a few of the famous writers in the Renaissance. The most well known are Thomas More was a well-known humanist at the time. More was trained as a lawyer and he dedicated to the classic learning

Humanism had a big impact on the Renaissance and changed the mindset and thought process of people moving forward. Humanism derived from the studies called studia humanities but got called humanism later in the 19th century. There was still always a question about what humanism really was and what it meant. There were discussions about definition of humanism into the study of classical texts as well as how it talked about how people viewed the world. .

What is Humanism? Why is Humanism often considered the foundation for the Italian Renaissance? Why did Humanism take root in Italy? Why did Humanism drastically change the literature being produced in Italy? These are the key questions to consider when attempting to understand why Humanism a spark to a flame for many in fourteenth century Italy. For Humanism not only brought the Renaissance to Italy, but created a whole new form of documentation, which has persevered throughout time.

Italian Renaissance humanism was an academic movement, which started in the fourteenth century. It was a time for re-awakening of educated thinking and empowering that humans are able to govern one’s life and future rather than allowing church to dictate their path in life. Yet Petrarch the father of humanism began the movement outside of Italy. The Middle Ages had always had a strong humanist tradition of interest in the Latin classics. Based on a deep and historicizing interest in the classical past, this set of interest came to be known as the Italian Renaissance humanism. It gave the classical past more shape and meaning. Humanism became extremely popular during the Renaissance, the pride and worth of the individual was emphasized. Humanism

For centuries, people looked to religion for the answers to their greatest questions. The Church had a firm grip of how people viewed the world. God's will was to be followed without question and any attempt to explain a phenomenon without God's involvement was heresy. When the Renaissance began to spread across Europe, the qualities of humanism became more prominent. Scientific and rational analysis was becoming of great interest compared to supernatural explanations. Renaissance world-view can be characterized by a growing humanistic orientation that can be demonstrated by analyzing cultural artifacts from the era.

You may wonder about, "The Renaissance" and its relationship to another term, "humanism" which fits into the same time period. If you check the dictionary, you will find that both terms can be used in a broad sense or more specifically. Humanism refers generally to a "devotion to the humanities: literary culture." (My definitions come from Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary). According to that definition we should all be humanists.

In the Middle Ages, in medieval Europe, rural life had been governed by a feudalistic society, the king granted large pieces of land called fiefs to noblemen and bishops. The Renaissance, also known as “the rebirth” which started in Italy, was a period between the 14th and 16th century where new ideas were born through the revival of the classical art and intellect of Ancient Greece and Rome. Following the plague of the 14th and 15the centuries the Renaissance was fueled by soldiers returning from the Crusades. There became a renewed interest in Greek and Roman art, humans became included in art pieces, not just depictions of religious or holy topics. Although the Middle Ages and Renaissance were similar through the usage of classic greco-roman literature, there were more differences between the two eras because the Renaissance was more Humanistic shown through the advancements in artistic importance, education and literary enhancements using the printing press.

In general, humanism is considered as a “focus on the actions of human beings.” (Sayre 66). This focus came to light after the Middle Ages, where art only centered around God and religion. The Renaissance period marked a shift from a Christian-centered view to a humanistic emphasis that was expressed in the paintings, music, and sculptures. Renaissance artists were also able to redefine humanism through the “recovery, study, and spread of the art and literature of Greece and Rome, and the application of their principles to education, politics, social life, and the arts in general.” (Sayre 205). A painting that really exemplifies the significance of humanism to the Renaissance period is the School of Athens by Raphael. Raphael created this piece as way of demonstrating the worth of human beings in the midst of their scholarly pursuits. He highlights the recovery of Greek and Roman art and literature through the numerous references and symbols relating to past scholars and gods. Through the use of one-point perspective, the art piece immediately points the attention of the audience to the two figures of Aristotle and Socrates. By putting Aristotle and Socrates in the center, Raphael emphasizes the central theme of humanism through putting humans themselves in the middle. These philosophers also demonstrate how education and pursuit of knowledge became a beacon of the human worth. Another recognizable illustration of humanism is the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da

Humanism allowed people to realize that everyone’s mind and thoughts were endless; the only constraint being the imagination. During the Renaissance the aspect of a human’s education was equally important in the creation of well rounded individuals.