The Relationship Between Arts And Growing Scientific Knowledge Of The Human Body

Dissection of human bodies became popular during the Renaissance time as people started to redraw and disprove previous beliefs about human anatomy. Interest in anatomy grew for artistic and medical purposes. Artists such as Raphael and Michelangelo began

Through art, man started to change their view on themselves. Paintings during The Middle Ages focused a lot on God and religious views, but not a lot on man itself. During The Renaissance, however, paintings shifted to being much more realistic with humanistic features. Berlinghiero’s Madonna and Child from 1228 shows a woman holding a small child (Doc. A). There are a few facial and body features added such as on the nose and the hands. It shows Mary holding her child, showing that he is “the way to salvation” (Doc. A).

During the Renaissance, a change in man’s view of man could be seen through anatomy. For example, “a woodcut from the Anatomy book On the Makeup of the Human Body” Doc D) depicted a human body with muscles, bones, organs, and other body parts. The Middle Ages saw humans as being controlled by constellations, such as Aries the Ram controlling the head. Advances made during the Renaissance in anatomy indicated a rise in scientific theory, and a rejection of traditional teachings. As these teachings were being rejected, the Church lost some of its influence. Additionally, “Andreas Vesalius […] dissected human corpses to better explain the human body […]” (Doc D). Vesalius had taken matters into his own hands, and he created a detailed engraving of the human body that challenged Church authority. His findings showed that people had control over themselves and their health, and that they could live their lives how they wanted to. All in all, man’s view of man was changed during the Renaissance, through anatomy, by showing that people had control of their lives.

Differences between the Italian Renaissance and the Reformation can be seen in art. Renaissance art exhibited a secular spirit. Artists, for the first time since the antiquity, painted secular themes. The human body was portrayed as being beautiful in its nature and glorified humans, rather then God. Art was dynamic and vivacious, often seeming as though it was in movement. This portrayal both was a reaction to the iconographic God worshipping art of the Middle Ages, and caused a reaction in Protestants, resulting in their more conservative style. Nude bodies, often seen in Italian Renaissance paintings and sculptures, are never seen in those of the Protestants. Their religious beliefs and way of life, in many ways countering that of the

The political stability and prosperity of the Renaissance Period created an atmosphere where people’s interests returned to the ancient teachings of Rome and Greece. This resulted in an increased interest in art, especially art that highlighted an individual’s experience. During this time there was little turmoil and the economy was flourishing, so people could live more extravagantly. The art of the Renaissance Period reflected this extravagance as well as the time period’s return to an interest in humanism. Humanism arose out of classical thinking in Rome and Greece and was based on the importance of the overall human experience.

Since 1400 to 1700, the population of the world has seen three periods that affect them; the renaissance period, the baroque period and the Rococo period. Each period has a different kind of paintings, a different kind of art, and a different way to affect the society.

According to document 1, artists contributed to anatomy, further explaining their interest in the human

Curiosity of the human body and deeper knowledge about art and literature became two popular areas throughout the Renaissance. Leonardo daVinci drew beautiful pieces of art that depicted the natural and realistic human body and it’s internal muscle and bone structures. The drawings of the human body by daVinci, show that he was not afraid to go the distance and have no limits as to how far he will push himself to understand the human body (Document 6). Leonardo was a true Renaissance man. In addition, another evidential person who leads a reader towards making the inference that the Renaissance is a separate era from the Middle Ages, is Johannes Kepler. Johannes Kepler was an astronomer from Germany that made an observation about people in the Middle Ages that tend to follow and agree with everything the priests say. Johannes said that with the distinct knowledge of the Renaissance, people now had their own education and had the power to question what others said or thought (Document 7).

Artwork was also affected by the uprising of humanism because many people started to see that the church was not very powerful anymore so they started to explore new uncharted territories regarding art. Some paintings happened to show premarital pregnancy while others showed linear perspective. The different types of artwork were more spread out and braud because people were no longer only painting about God and religion, instead they painted what they wanted, and in some cases what went against the church. Many known painters from the Renaissance still painted about christianity but also opened up to painting about topics such as the human anatomy. Leonardo Da Vinci, for example, painted the Last Supper which illustrates the last supper Jesus had with his disciples in the bible. Even though he painted a painting going along with Christianity he also drew pictures about the human anatomy and different weapons or contraptions. Humanism was able to let people be open with how involved they were with the church and their religion.

In the Renaissance, the theory of Humanism, the celebration of human achievement, was believed in by many of the popular artists. During this period of time, the people broke away from the religious demands of the church and focused on their personal interests. Humanists emphasized the moral of personal pleasure, which completely goes against what the church teaches. Realism art also began to arise in the Renaissance, such as paintings of the real body in detail. In thanks to the improved knowledge of anatomy, the artists worked to create an accurate portrayal of the body. The first intricate picture of the body was a woodcut by Andreas Vesalius. He dissected human corpses to “better explain the human body to his medical students.” Art played a major role in the Renaissance and caused man to focus on the things that please them and make them

They also advanced their paintings by adding symmetry, realistic features, nature, light and shading, as well as now drawing animals and mythical creatures (Middle Ages Art.) An artist named Rogier van der Weyden painted the woman below who showed the ideal beauty. She was shy, reserved, and had a fragile body("Portrait of a Lady." Explore This Work. ) In the Renaissance there was a new interest of art. Renaissance translated from French actually mean “rebirth” so it was the rebirth of a classical era. They advanced immensely in the aspect of natural art, human and nature. In this era they discovered the beauty of naked art that shows the raw, vulnerable, perfection of a human man ("Renaissance Art." History.com.) Artists were inspired by the Ancient Greek and Roman society. Nevertheless most of the art was displayed in the church, and showed sacraments that were celebrated. The people created the “Renaissance man” such as Leonardo da Vinci who succeeded in a variety of subjects such as visual art, anatomy, and especially science

He argues that knowledge is also a basic need, and sustains the mind just as food sustains the body. Works of art from the Renaissance also express the importance placed on knowledge during this time, such as Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (Doc. 26). The painting shows Dr. Tulp dissecting the arm of a cadaver, which Rembrandt paints in great detail showing a deep understanding of the human form. The doctor uses his own knowledge and expertise to educate his students on the anatomy of the body. The students also seem to be crowding around Dr. Tulp, eager for a chance to learn. This painting is significant because it illustrates the new importance given to learning and knowledge during the Rensaissance. During the Middle Ages, few people would have the chance to study at a university, and the dissection of human cadavers was entirely prohibited by the Catholic church. The spirit of the Renaissance inspired students to take in all the knowledge available to them, as well as to share this knowledge with others. The artwork created during this time and the ideas of some scholars illustrate the thirst for knowledge and understanding during the Renaissance.

During the shift from the middle ages into the Renaissance period new conceptions of the individual and the human mind quickly came to light. Although art in the Middle Ages was centered predominantly on religion and faith, the incoming art of the Renaissance underwent a drastic change. A vast amount of these changes mainly focused on individualism, secularism, and humanism. Following the collapse of the feudal system, thoughts of individualism quickly rose when people realized that they didn’t have to adhere to a specific group.Throughout the beginning of the Renaissance, religious figures and the Catholic Church began to lose authority which conducted in new ideas of secularism. Comparably, humanistic art and notions became preeminent when individuals focused on glorifying the human body, learning more about it and inclined more towards realistic art.

Art is crucial to human evolution because it is both a medium of expression that allows humans to evolve and is also key evidence of human evolution. The development and evolution of the human conscious has a direct correlation to the art created from each time period and has allowed researchers to interpret it, using it as a gateway into early human life. Art acts as a window into the minds and lifestyles of our ancestors. It has influenced the development, evolution, and the process of natural selection through culture.

At the age of 38, Leonardo started to conduct extensive studies on the human eyes and it was also his early studies on optics that led him to pursue the field of anatomy. Being a successful artist earned him the right to dissect human corpses at various hospitals in Florence as well as Milan. With this advantage, Leonardo became the first anatomist to create anatomical portraits of the human body. His illustrations of human’s as well as other animals’ anatomy and physiology showed not only the appearance but also the functions of the parts that were illustrated. Most if not all of his sketches were incredibly accurate and identical to the ones that scientists use today.