How Renaissance Humanism Impacted the Arts and Literature The 14th century came crashing down as a result of disasters like the black plague to the collapse of medieval institutions such as the Catholic Church and feudalism. With these disasters emerged a new modern era in the 15th century known as the Renaissance. The Renaissance brought many new thoughts and feelings that would later transform Europe’s institutions and would be characterized by new human-centered themes like Individualism, Humanism, and Egoism. The arts and the literature of the Renaissance were highly impacted by this rebirth, Humanism took away the focus of the middle age thinkers which emphasized their knowledge on selflessness and the City of God and brought the focus …show more content…
In addition, other new institutions challenged them and replaced them. When a mini ice age began during the 14th century a decline in population arose challenging the principles of inequality associated with Feudalism. With less workers, peasants could demand higher wages for their work and make more money. After that, the Bubonic Plague struck Europe. Trade seized because of the fear of the plague spreading and middle class businesses died down causing the economy to come crashing down as well. The plague caused a massive population wipeout which again caused the remaining peasants to pressure for higher wages. Peasants began to dress like nobility which challenged the idea of inequality in the Feudal system and challenged the entire class structure. The Feudal nobility tried to fight back to maintain the institutions by passing laws but this only lead to the peasants reacting in violent revolts. The Wat Tyler rebellion in England 1381 resulted in rising wages for peasants which made them more independent because they could afford their own land. Again weakening the Feudal system. Taxation on …show more content…
New techniques that emerged in the art that demonstrated Humanism were 3-Dimensions, human in the center, natural colors, the Chiroscurro, neoclassical themes in architecture, etc. The art changed from medieval to Humanism by following realism and neoclassicism, and secularism. Space was no longer something divine but something that was occupied by physical human beings. Furthermore, Leonardo DaVinci demonstrated principles of Humanism in his work. For example the Monalisa was a portrait of a woman who was in the center of the painting with nature in the background. Another one of DaVinci’s art that showed Humanism was The Last Supper, in this painting DaVinci used perspective generously and portrayed Human emotion in Realism. Michaelangelo was another great artist to use the new principles of Humanism in his art. In his sculpture of David a lot of Realism was included. He portrayed a heroic individual in the natural world and celebrated the nobility of the nude human form along with human power. Michaelangelo’s painting The Birth of Adam in the Sistine Chapel depicts Adam in the center and uses 3-Dimensions and perspective along with natural colors to emphasize human creation. Yet another great example of Humanism comes from the artist Rafael. His painting the School of Athens illustrates human knowledge and intelligence. In this painting Plato and Socrates are in the center,
The sculpture David was sculpted between 1501 and 1504 by Michelangelo, and serves as one of the most promising examples of humanism today. The sculpture depicts David, a biblical hero- in a the form of a more realistic and everyday person. David shows how Renaissance artwork differs from the Middle Ages- religious icons still served as subjects just in less popularity. However, religious figures were made to look more like everyday people, which people to relate to them. Humanism allowed artists to do so as they began to more thoroughly understand human nature allowing them to portray their subjects in a realistic way that shows their flaws and impurities. Nudity allows for this as subjects are seen in a more vulnerable way. Even David, a religious figure, is portrayed in the nude which serves as a groundbreaking event as prior to the Renaissance, religious figures were often portrayed in a conservative and flawless way. However, the sculpture David still captures the ideals of human perfection while at the same time, due to humanism, shows the flaws of not just an everyday person, but a biblical hero.
Humanism and individualism both developed during the Renaissance. Humanism is the strong belief that humans have great potential. This also was reflected in those times because it brought out the potential humans had and idolized what humans could accomplish and giving them importance than divine forces. Painting techniques like geometric perspective, chiaroscuro, sfumato, and emotion appear on many famous paintings of today by Michelangelo, Leonardo
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
After the Black Plague crippled Europe, a new period of time erupted known as the Renaissance slowly developed. The Renaissance is known as the “rebirth” for Humans. The reason for this meaning during the 14th century was because of the radical changes in the culture of Europe. The Middle Ages was surrounded by religion in many aspects. The Black Plague helps stimulate the idea that religion is through the individual. Religion in Europe was starting to becoming not so literal, but more of a personal connection with God, instead of a strict public connection. The starts of the renaissance, commoners or nobility were not focused on taking over the family business, but focusing on other career options of interest. The ideas and the development of Humanism were established during the renaissance through the idea of religion being more personal.
The Renaissance began in Italy during the 1300s in which a of rebirth of the arts, economy, science, and culture of Europe occurred. Before this time, during the Middle Ages, war and disease precluded advances in art and literature and the powerful influence of the Catholic church limited significant advances in science and philosophy. The Renaissance took influence from classical Greek and Rome and expressed and expanded upon many of the ideas of that time. Art became more realistic and focused on the human figure as humanistic ideals became more prevalent, and subjects shifted from chiefly religious scenes to scenes of daily life, of classical mythology, portraits, sculptures, and many more. The economy flourished as a wealthy merchant
Beginning roughly around the year 1400 an era in Europe began; one that would shape the ideas and the lives of men. This era of rebirth or renaissance came within the fifteenth century through the revival of classical texts. One central effect of the Renaissance was the production of a new intellectual idea: humanism. Humanism being defined as a, “[t]erm invented in the 19th century. . . [regarding] developments relating to the revival of Classical literature and learning in European culture from roughly 1300 to 1600” left its mark on all of Europe leaving nothing untouched not even the artist. Both northern and southern art would be affected by humanism but in different ways ranging from changes in the human form, new choices of
As humanist ideas increased, people's understanding of rights for individuals and that humans could improve their lot in life has slowly developed and has helped shape our world today. The theory of Humanism influenced art heavily and is present within a great deal of Renaissance artworks. Before the rise of humanism it was common to have a hieratic scale portrayed in paintings by different sizing of saints and ordinary people to show that saints and God are important in comparison to general people. Halos were typically represented by a ring or circle of light surrounding their heads and was one of the characteristic of Renaissance art before humanism was introduced. Artworks embraced religion and traditions as that is what the essential belief was.
The Middle Ages and Renaissance where microcosms apart in every aspect of human life with the “Renaissance” literally means “awakening” or “rebirth”. In areas of art, tools such as perspective, realism, and individualism showed the great leap in creativity during the Renaissance. Likewise, the worldly individual, or the “Renaissance Man”, was an improvement over the ignorant, spiritual man of the middle Ages. Also, the revival of classical learning and education that occurred in the Renaissance was the exact opposite of the suppression of learning during the Middle Ages compared to the renaissance philosophy of humanism that emphasize the potential of individual achievement and stipulating that humans were rational beans capable of truth and goodness. The amount of unique advances made in the Renaissance in all areas cannot be paralleled by the progress set forth during the Middle Ages. So if I had the opportunity to be transferred back in time and I can only choose between the renaissance and the Middle Ages, The renaissance would be my first choice, with such philosophies as humanism, neoclassicism sought to reconcile humanism with Christianity, to blend the teachings of Plato and other ancient philosophers with the teachings of the Church. Neo-Platonism flourished throughout Italy as the primary philosophy by which artists rationalized their more secular works. We're on the other hand Middle Ages had to deal with the reality of feudalism, a combined economic and social
The Renaissance humanism began in Italy for a multitude of reasons, the number one being location, especially in relation to Greco-Roman civilization and the ability for trade. Italy was built in the ruins of the ancient Roman and Greek civilizations, which meant that they had access to artifacts, buildings, and writings that were left behind. In addition, the Latin language was closer to Italian than any other language in Europe, meaning that the Italians had an easier time understanding it. The things that they learned from the ancient civilizations helped them to form new ideas and to reform the education system to reflect more humanist ideas. The second reason humanism flourished in Italy was due to trade. Trading not only brought new ideas,
Humanism was a big role in the beginning of renaissance. Humanism was taught to students to educate each on good practices. This education method was urged by Italian fathers seeking for their sons to be prepared for a genuinely good future in life. Humanism education was a method that taught and prepared the students by teaching them how to act out and do more honorable than wrongs and the differences in decisions of wrong. Humanism taught the “absolute right from wrong,” as my class lecture put it. Humanism was taught in medieval universities, to enrich the students with the skills they needed to have in order to handle the future. These skills of good and right choices of life prepared the students to become society leaders. Civic humanism
The Renaissance began around the fourteenth century and created a “rebirth” of cultural ideals. The Renaissance was a period when ideas began to move away from the restrictive ideas of the Middle Ages. “The period can be described as the rise of humanism, which was an intellectual movement that emphasized secular ideas found in literature from Ancient Greece and Rome” (Atkinson). One of the most important newfound ideas during the Renaissance was individualism. Unlike the Middle Ages, the Renaissance brought new interest in art. The religious hierarchy became less important while people became more curious about the capabilities of man.
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.
In the 15th century at the start of the Renaissance, painters mostly incorporated classicism and physical realism. Early Renaissance artists such a Botticelli, Giotto, and Masaccio developed and refined such techniques. Most works during this time continued to depict Christian stories from the bible, however, characters and narratives from classical mythology were introduced in order to illustrate their humanistic beliefs. The standard of humanism attached more importance to man and less importance to God. It gave Christianity a human face and religious figures were portrayed as real life people. Early Renaissance art strove to achieve greater realism in its works; faces became more life-like, bodies were painted in more realistic postures
How did humanism affect Renaissance world views? There definitely was a drastic oppression to stature variances. Lower-class vs upper-class. It changed the way a person viewed their personal circumstances such as job and self-worth. Providing optimism and encouragement. Allowing them to change their status from a peasant to a businessman or merchant. They learned to achieve ultimate status and personal best. The feudal system began to break down as people began to move out of their current social classes. Urban areas were established and economy boomed a new merchants opened up their own businesses. Consumer demand and productivity increased. The middle class emerged as wealth allowed them to buy more opulent goods. People began to realize
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.