Renaissance Humanism Essay Example For Students

Renaissance Humanism Essay David C Literature 12 November 4th, 2013 Humanism of the renaissance period was the predominant movement that revolutionized philosophical, intellectual, and literary customs. It first originated in Italy during the fourteenth century and eventually spread to other major areas in Europe such as Greece. One of the most important changes humanism introduced was a secular viewpoint of history; this was done so by endorsing a nonreligious perspective on history. Humanism not only ended the dominance of the church, but it also eventually had a profound impact on everyday life, especially education. Individualism, humanist philosophy, and the printing press were major components of humanism that made it a crucial influence on Europe during the renaissance period. Without the introduction of a revolutionary movement like humanism, Europe may have continued to remain stagnant with its development in terms of philosophy, literature, and the arts (Humanism in the Renaissance). The period from the fourteenth century to the seventeenth advocated the liberation of individuals, which meant that more emphasis was placed on personal beliefs. This led to a more diverse spectrum of ideas in society and increased personal development, hence the ERM individualism. Individualism first began when city-states of northern Italy had come into contact with the diverse customs of the East, which gradually permitted expression in terms of taste and dress (Krebs). This eventually resulted in the ascendancy of honest doubt and curiosity over unreasoning faith. However, it is not completely warranted to believe that individualism was wholly beneficial to people. However, the fact remains that individualism went against the sovereignty of tyrant, feudal lord, class, corporation, and tradition (Krebs) has had a tremendous influence pond the subsequent history of Europe. Because of individualism, freedom of individual expression and opposition to authority was brought to the surface and soon became an integral part of the western intellectual tradition. In context, individualism was in direct opposition to the ideals of medieval Christianity, which restricted personal expression, fostered self-annihilation, and demanded implicit faith and unquestioning obedience. Individualism not only resulted in a less powerful church, but it also triggered an immense change from strict obedience to increased personal expression (Krebs). As a result of the increase of individual expression, new ideas were formed that led to the development of humanist philosophy (Cline). Humanist philosophy soon became an intrinsic component of renaissance life, as there was an increased emphasis on the importance of education. It became necessary for people to learn ancient Greek and Latin in order to even begin to understand the ancient manuscripts. This led to extended education in the arts and philosophies and even the ancient sciences that had had been unprecedented burst of scientific and technological development during the incessant that Europe had not witnessed in centuries (Cline). Additionally, the aforementioned individualism was naturally one of the most crucial components of humanist philosophy, for much of the basis of this type of philosophy was formed from a secular approach (Krebs). One of the most important early humanists was an Italian poet named Patriarch who applied the ideas and values of ancient Greece and Rome to questions about Christian doctrines and ethics that were central topics during the renaissance period. Interestingly enough, many famous humanists like Patriarch were members of the church; however, they were mostly secular rather than spiritual, exhibiting much more interest in literature, art, and philosophy than in theology. To say the least, renaissance humanism was a revolution in thinking and feeling which left no part of society, not even the highest levels of Christianity, untouched (Cline). Finally, the ideas of humanism would not have spread like it did without the use of the printing press, which was invented by a man named Johannes Gutenberg in 1445. Previously, bookmaking entailed copying word-by-word and all the illustrations by hand. As a result of the tedious labor, the price was often very expensive. With the advent of Guttenberg printing press, books could be produced much quicker and with relatively little effort, which made bookmaking much less expensive, allowing more people to buy reading material. Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance EssayRoman times. They differ in the material they were constructed from, with David cast in Bronze and The Birth of Venus, a tempera on panel painting. In addition, David depicts on a biblical character and the birth of Venus on a pagan goddess from Roman mythology. However, both characters are youthful, sensual and in the case of David, slightly feminine. Their bodies are both in a relaxed pose: David is in true contrasts; whereas Venus is twisted in an almost contrasts stance as if she is floating. David is freestanding and the statue embraces the humanist realism so that the observer feels he could freely move about. Davits beauty is contrasted with the gruesomeness of Goliath severed head. Venus, on the other hand, is painted and painting. The linear perspective, beautiful surroundings, the groupings of zephyrs and her maid all draw the viewer to the centre of the painting and the beauty reflected in Venus and her environment. The use of beauty, perspective through natural surroundings reflects the humanist belief that we are all connected to our natural environment. ) Compare and contrast The Birth of Venus by Sandra Poetical with the Last Supper by Leonardo Dad Vinci The Birth of Venus portrays the humanist aloes of beauty, sensuality, eroticism, and neo-platonic pagan beliefs from the Classical roman and Greek periods. On the other hand, Dad Vines painting of The Last Supper reflects the humanist movement in Renaissance art through the use of perspective, light, spirituali ty and naturalism. His use of geometry suggests heavenly perfection and was used extensively in classical Greek paintings and shows Dad Vines ability to reconcile Greek philosophy with Christian theology. Both used classical Greek and Roman artistic conventions that were frequently used in the renaissance humanist movement. For example, Poetical focused on the beauty of a pagan goddess from Roman mythology and Dad Vinci use of geometry and realism, perspective and light, showed his interest in Classical Greek techniques. Dad Vinci, as a typical humanist, experimented with new media in his painting of the Last Supper in the use of tempera and oil on dry plaster, whereas Poetical used the more traditional, using tempera on panel. Both artists used perspective to bring a greater sense of humanity and realism to the paintings, however, Botulisms painting was more linear in nature and Dad Vines was more geometrical. The two artists also used groupings within their paintings to help bring a sense of realism and perspective to the paintings as was commonly found in humanist paintings. For example, Poetical used three groups, the zephyrs, the goddess and her maid. These three groups emphasized movement in the painting, as well as beauty and perspective. Dad Vinci used four groups of three apostles to depict a range of human emotions in their reactions to the news Jesus has told them. The groupings also made the scene more realistic and emphasized the central figure in Jesus. Both paintings depicted the humanist love of nature. Botulisms painting shows Venus in a natural setting that celebrates the beauty in the main characters and surrounding scene. Botulisms natural setting is seen as true paradise, which typifies beauty and harmony. Dad Vinci shows his love of nature through the windows in the scene. The natural environment as seen outside of the windows is true paradise. C) compare and contrast The Last Supper by Leonardo Dad Vinci with David by Denotable Dad Vines painting of the last supper reflects the humanist movement in Renaissance art through the use of perspective, light, spirituality, geometry and naturalism. On he contrasts, the sensual and erotic nakedness, the use of bronze casting and the freestanding form. Both artists used techniques that showed a return to the art of the Greek and Roman Classical period, which was a key focus of the humanist movement during the Renaissance. Both Denotable and Dad Vinci used the humanist artistic values of portraying the human body with the correct dimensions in a realistic perspective with real human emotions. The characters seem to come to life in both art works, despite the fact that they used two completely different media, Denotable used a nude, freestanding bronze casting and Dad Vinci experimented with ampere and oil on dry plaster. Both artworks were of religious characters, Denotable depicted the moment of victory of David over Goliath and Dad Vinci illustrated the moment in the Last Supper where Jesus tells his apostles that one of them will betray him. These are both highly emotive moments and both artists use the humanist approach of portraying the powerful raw emotions held by all of the characters. Both artists departed from the styles and forms middle ages, by bringing raw humanity, realism, sensuality, and emotion into religious events. Task 4: Significance of these artworks and how they relate to humanist theory The three paintings used in this project, David by Denotable, The Birth of Venus by Poetical and The Last Supper by Dad Vinci, all reflect aspects of humanist theory from the Renaissance. They were contemporaries, worked in Florence and were commissioned by patrons of the arts. They all were strongly influenced by the humanist theory that they portrayed in their art work according to their individual skills and interests. Denotable and Botulisms love of the human form is portrayed in their nude characters in these works of art. This nudity embraces the humanist return to the Greek and Roman love and respect for the human form. This is a bold departure from the Middle Ages where the naked body was seen as a pathway to corruption and was not used in mainstream art. All three artists used perspective, realism, neo-Platonism, emotion and movement to bring humanist values into their artworks. Dad Vinci, in particular used geometry to draw attention to Jesus, the main character of the painting. His use of geometry suggests heavenly perfection and was used extensively in classical Greek paintings and shows dad Vines ability to reconcile Greek philosophy with Christian theology. The use of geometry and light became popular during the intellectual rebirth of animus of the renaissance. Denotable, on the other hand, used contrasts, and a freestanding statue to suggest freedom and movement of the human form, whereas, Poetical used an almost surreal floating movement to idealist the beauty of the Poetical further outwardly embraced the humanist pagan beliefs from the Greek and Roman mythology by focusing on the goddess Venus in his painting. Denotable was subtler in his interest in Greek mythology, and the helmet with laurel on David suggests the character might be the god Hermes instead of the Biblical character, David.