What Is The Role Of Humanism In Italy

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.

All humanists made an alliance with power by acting as spokespeople for the patrician class. Their writings were effusive towards the everyone and everything inside of the cities they lived in. All of their works were written to favor the aristocrats. Leonardo Bruni was an Italian Humanist during the Renaissance. In his Panegyric to the City of Florence, Bruni illustrates his version of what Florence was like for the purpose of inspiring his and future generations of what an ideal city-state should embody.

First introduced within Italy in the 13th and 14th century, then spreading across Western Europe, Renaissance humanism was the study of classical antiquity covering ancient Greece and Rome. Humanists believed that this period was one of greatness; They wanted to recapture as much as they could. The term “Renaissance” translates to “rebirth” ; Deriving old literature and art to depict a better understanding of human achievement.

From art brought on by the Medici family, to literature produced by some of the most well-known and renowned authors, concepts of humanism emerged. This then resulted in a more positive outlook on life during the Italian Renaissance. Moreover, Francesco Petrarch, the “Father of Humanism,” paved the way for successful eras in Florence, the epicenter of the Renaissance. The conditions of Rome as described by both Baldassare Castiglione and Dante Alighieri crucially inspired the artistic and literary Renaissance of Italy. Reviving Rome lead to a faith in humans, allowing revolutions to build off of the past, as opposed to starting from the beginning. Obviously key factors as demonstrated by the infamous writers Baldassare Castiglione and Dante Alighieri forever and crucially impacted western

The Renaissance was the entrance to a change in the overall worldview of man. Humanistic thought began to grow more and more prevalent, and showed itself through art, architecture, and manuscripts. Humanists believe that man is autonomous, that humans are powerful enough to survive, thrive, and conquer without any spiritual help. It is a very self-centered way of thinking, destined to fail. One example of an artist who portrayed this through his work, was Michelangelo. His sculptures “men tearing themselves out of rock” give a bold humanistic statement. Man, as man, with no help is tearing himself out of rock. Man will free himself. Man is great. Leonardo da Vinci, the brilliant chemist, mathematician, musician, architect, anatomist, botanist, mechanical engineer, and artist, understood the end to which humanistic thought would lead.

Before the Renaissance, education wasn’t as important to people, particularly during the the period of the dark ages and the Black Plague. It wasn’t until the rebirth of Italy, that humanist values began to emerge in schools. Referring to literature

Now that many people were educated they had to become active in their community which led to the creation of Civic humanism. Civic humanism originated in Florence, where they are hard working individuals. Before civic humanism the intellectual life seen as a lonely life of solitude. However the Florentines created a new view of the intellectuals life, an active life in one's community or state. Manuals and guides such as The Courtier and The Prince showed people how to life their life in a useful way. They could use their God-given gifts in many ways, such as public speaking or even painting or sculpting. Art became a huge part of the Italian Renaissance and reflected many aspects of humanism like individualism, secularism, Neo-Platonism, and liberal education. Botticelli's Birth of Venus shows that best of these aspects. In the painting

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.

Humanism also encouraged people to help their society by combining the talents. An example of that can be found in Florence where three humanists served as chancellors of the city. Coluccio Salutati, Leonardo Bruni, and Poggio Bracciolini used rhetorical skills to encourage Florentines to revolt against the aggression of Naples and Milan. Both Bruni and Poggio wrote flattering histories of the city. Leon Battista Alberti, another accomplished humanist scholar, was a noted Florentine architect and builder. They were encouraged to combine their skills in history, art, and literature in their every day lives. This made them see the world with a different perspective, which made them into the individuals they aspired to be.

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 1400’s was a time of the Renaissance, which was a change or rebirth in the Italian culture of art, politics and philosophy. Petrarch created a universal concept that changed the way people thought which was called humanism. Humanism is when people start to focus on the values and interests of humans. This idea started to spread with the help of the printing press which was a machine that made printing literature easier. Writers and artists were able to spread their ideas of humanism across Europe during the Renaissance through this machine. Artists like Raphael showed humanism with his painting of “The School of Athens”, Michelangelo’s sculpture of “David” and Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man”.

Mazzocco defines Humanism as “a system of thought that focuses on humans and their values, capacities, and worth; a cultural and intellectual movement of the Renaissance that emphasized human potential to attain excellence and promoted direct study of the literature, art, and civilization of classical Greece and Rome.” In other words, Humanists were more curious about life in the present and focused on the achievements of the individual. Hence, instead of religious issues, humanists examined worldly subjects that the ancient Greeks and Romans had studied. This led the people of the Renaissance to become interested in other areas of science, the natural world, biology and astronomy. Humanism had direct effects on Renaissance paintings, as the

The Renaissance was a time of rebirth and progress in Europe. It started in Italy around the thirteenth century and spread continuously toward the north and west of Europe for the following two centuries It was a period of tremendous development in learning and culture.

The Renaissance began in Florence, Italy around the 1500’s to about the 1700’s. Florence, Italy was the mecca of this rebirth because at the time Florence was extremely wealthy and the people of the city had political freedom and those new ideals of the Renaissance were not being condemned in Florence as they were other cities. This was a time where the arts and the logic of one’s own mind was valued rather than criticized, the antiquated medieval ideals no longer matched the needs of those who were living during the early Renaissance. Eventually, a term for this way of thinking arose and was called Humanism, and what humanism is, is an ideology where humans can lead themselves to create a prosperous life and instead of leaning on supernatural forces for answers. Humanists believe that humans have enough logic to create conclusions themselves. This brand-new way of thinking caused a lot of controversy because it did question God’s ability and the church’s power, but the ideas behind it are still heavily used today, even in the 21st century. Humanism in the early Renaissance is important because it called for thinking with reason, it allowed an appreciation for human body and mind, inspired authors and caused a shift in power.

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