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Italian Influence On The Renaissance

Decent Essays

When contemplating on the Renaissance and its place in history, immediately reflections of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s David, sculptures of human anatomy, philosophical treatises on the human condition, and among others populate the mind, but how did this output of great work manage to seemingly appear almost simultaneously? Firstly, the Renaissance -a French word literally meaning “rebirth-” was an age of cultural enrichment and achievement where the arts, sciences, and philosophy flourished largely due to the revival and revisitation of ancient Greek and roman texts. Its period is generally dated from the early 14th to the mid-17th centuries beginning in Italy. Italy spawned the Renaissance due to its great wealth giving …show more content…

Luther additionally confronted orthodoxy by translating Christian scripture into German giving the layman access to the holy text. Luther’s actions were iconoclastic and sought to expose the corruption existing within the Catholic Church; who was severely constraining access to both religious and philosophical texts. Luther is simply one example of many figures that embodied this Renaissance spirit of challenge and change giving shape to what is known as the philosophy of the …show more content…

In figure 1, titled The Plaque of Acrobats, is a painting by the French artist Pierre Penicaud is clearly influenced by humanistic and naturalistic thought [1]. The topic of this exceptional plaque is acrobatics; however if we were to widen our scope one can understand the physical and mental agility that’s beneath the goal of brilliant skill. Acrobatics allow for the showcasing of male agility and strength highlighting the humanistic quality for pursuit of excellence. “The use of "grisaille" accentuates the abstract aspects of the design at the expense of realism. The manipulation of anatomy for aesthetic effect is characteristic of the mannerist style [2].” Naturalism is often confused with "realism", a style of art that focuses on realities and truth, rather than the ideals and aesthetics. The difference between Realism and Naturalism is that realism tends to be preoccupied with the content of the art rather than technique or methodology. This means that the primary focus is on the subject – who or what - rather than "how" it is created. “Typically, realist artists depict common people going about their ordinary lives, rather than

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