2. Historical context
• Before the Renaissance: Middle Ages
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
X – XV century
Theocentrism = God is the center
Irrational faith
Life with religious meaning
Pessimism
Culture in the clergy (Latin)
Europe = Catholic
Feudalism
Social life - three estates : no exchange or possibility of moving
between them
3. Renaissance - Overview
• Cultural movement
• The word „Renaissance‟ means „Rebirth‟
• Generally, from the 15th to the 16th century
o depends on the country
• Beginning in Florence (Italy) in the Late Middle
Ages (14th century)
o The Conquest of Constantinople at the hands of the Ottoman Turks
o Hellenistic culture influence
• Later spreading to the rest of Europe
6. Overview
• Learning based on classical sources
o Greco-Roman
• Historians often argue this intellectual transformation
was a bridge between the Middle Ages and
the Modern era
• Influence in literature, philosophy, art, music, politics,
science, religion, and other aspects of intellectual
inquiry.
7. The beginning
• While in Italy the Renaissance was developing
in the rest of Europe the Gothic remains
o to early 16th century
• Italy coexist with the Roman Antiquity and can
inspire on it.
• Florence (1400s)
o the starting point of the new style
o the first works from here will be extended to the rest of Italy
o the development of a rich bourgeoisie aid the deployment of the forces
of the Renaissance.
o the protection of the Medici
12. Characteristics
•
•
•
•
•
•
Research of Classical Antiquity
Humanism
Positivism
Modern spirit of individuality & Self-awareness
Anthropocentric trend
Realism in sculpture and painting
o New ideal of beauty
•
•
•
•
Scientific development
New relationship with Nature
Search for harmony, balance and serenity
Rational attitude to the world, but without
abandoning religious faith
13. Humanism
• European intellectual, philosophical and cultural
movement
• Revived the ideas of Greek and Roman thinkers
The purpose of humanism was to create a universal man whose
person combined intellectual and physical excellence and who
was capable of functioning honorably in virtually any situation
Hause, S. & Maltby, W. (2001)
14. Humanism
• In spite of formal allegiance to ascetic Christian
doctrine
• The return to favor of the pagan classics stimulated:
o
o
o
o
o
the philosophy of secularism
the appreciation of worldly pleasures
intensified the assertion of personal independence
individual expression
growing secular view of life
• Honest doubt began to replace unreasoning faith
o The importance of reasoning
15. Individualism
• Individualistic conception at all levels of life
• Potential of people to overcome
o Man is conscious of his own worth and intelligence.
• The human is the center
• “The moral worth of the individual”
• Belief in the human capacity to choose between good
and evil, and act accordingly
• Man is the protagonist of destination
16. Individualism
• Freedom of individual expression
• Works of art is signed
o Role/ protagonism of the artist
o Personal growth and dignity
• Expansion of Trade – Capitalism
o growth of prosperity and luxury
17. Spiritual movement
• The Renaissance had a profound effect in the way
people perceived the relationship between man
and God
Theocentrism Anthropocentrism
• Many of the period's foremost theologians were
followers of the humanist method:
o
o
o
o
o
Erasmus
Zwingli
Thomas More
Martin Luther
John Calvin
18. Spiritual movement
• Humanism and the Individualism played a direct
role in sparking the Reformation
• Churchmen such as Erasmus and Luther proposed
reform to the Church, often based on humanist
textual criticism of the New Testament
19. Renaissance periods
1. Quattrocento Florence
o
o
o
o
(15th century)
Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378 - 1458)
Donatello (1382 - 1466)
Fra Angelico (1387- 1455)
Sandro Botticelli (1445 ‐ 1510)
2. Cinquecento Rome
(16th century)
Popes: Julius II, Leo X, Clement VII and Paul III and Medici Family
o
o
o
o
Donato Bramante (1444 –1514)
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 -1564)
Rafael Sanzio (1483 -1520)
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 ‐ 1519)
20. Humanist
ideal
Leonardo Da Vinci
Italian Renaissance
polymath:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Painter
Sculptor
Architect
Musician
Mathematician
Engineer
Inventor
Anatomist
Geologist
Cartographer
Botanist
Writer
23. The influence of the
Renaissance in Germany
• Architecture retained strong influences from
medieval Gothic.
• The artistic renaissance in Germany was not an
attempted resurrection of classical art. It was an
intense renewal of the Germanic spirit, motivated
by the Protestant Reformation.
• The most famous German Renaissance artist:
Albrecht Dürer
(1471 - 1528)
25. The influence of the
Renaissance in Germany
• After the Reformation, the patronage of the
German nobility focused primarily on architecture
o Ability of architecture to show the power and prestige of the rulers
• Most German princes preferred to keep the Gothic
works. Only decorated with Renaissance
ornamentation.
• Habsburg emperors and the Fugger family were the
most important patrons