What is humanism? Today, this word is spoken of all around the world. Many lead their lives following this concept yet many still do not comprehend the meaning of this lexeme. Throughout the course of human history, the hypothesis about the nature of man has evolved to become as we know it today. The presumed ability of humanity has evolved with it as well. In Ancient Greece, humans began to explore the human potential and began to analyse to place that man hold in the hierarchy of beings on this planet. Many have begun to attempt to comprehend the nature of man and nature of their surroundings as well. People began to praise the human body and all of its abilities. Philosophy was flourishing along with multiple thinker that revolutionised the course of human …show more content…
Then, people began their fascination in the works of the Ancient Greeks, notably the study of the human condition. Humanism, an ideology that glorifies and heightens human potential, spread across Europe for the next six-hundred years and continued to be the basis of philosophical studies until this day. When humanism was gaining popularity during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment period, between 1400 and 1800, various philosophers influenced the course of philosophical ideology, scientific advancement and even political and military action. Pico de Mirandola, a thinker from Italy, born in mid-1400’s influenced in great mass the outlook on man during the Renaissance period. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a few centuries later, born in Geneva in early 1700s also swayed the view of many on the role of man in the world. Both of these philosophers played a role in our current view on human nature and on Humanism. Nevertheless, Pico de Mirandola and Rousseau had extremely different convictions on the subject of humanism and on the way for a human to get closer to
According to Nicholas Mann, "Humanism is that concern with the legacy of antiquity, and in particular but not exclusively with its literary legacy... it involves above all the rediscovery and study of Greek and Roman texts, the restoration and interpretation of them, and the assimilation of the ideas and values they contain." The Studia Humanitatis (Studies of Humanity) is a Latin term used by Roman writers describing a cycle of studies in the humanities including, grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and moral philosophy. Francesco Petrarch, an Italian scholar and poet of the fifteenth century, is considered by many to be the father of humanism. Petrarch 's influential texts had circulated widely throughout Florence and made their way into the government. Thus, humanist learning began to shape political ideologies in Florence. By inspiring humanist philosophy, Petrarch helped pave the way for the start of the Renaissance.
During the Renaissance, people were dedicated to studying human works. They would observe from real life to gain inspiration, new ideas, and to try to recreate the world as they saw it in their art. New techniques such as scientific and atmospheric perspective were created, changing art forever. Artists would use their skills to create works for patrons, from the Church, various guilds, and other religious orders. During the High Renaissance, Julius II commissioned Raphael to decorate the Vatican Palace. The first of the rooms he decorated was The “Room of the Signature”, where he painted The School of Athens. Originally, this room housed Julius II’s personal library, but later on it would be the room where papal documents were signed. In 1508, Raphael began painting four frescoes that represented theology, philosophy, law, and the arts. As stated in Janson’s History of Art Volume II, This fresco “represents a summation of High Renaissance humanism, for it attempts to represent the unity of knowledge in one grand scheme.” Raphael’s The School of Athens is a prime example of humanistic art, as evidenced by the subject of the art itself, the classical elements in the piece, and it’s scientific and illusionistic rendering.
The book, Humanism: A Very Short Introduction, most definitely gives a clear and precise understanding of what exactly Humanism is and consists of. There are several different meanings behind the term and it means more than a person’s opinion on whether or not God truly exists. Humanists are very open-minded and believe that science and reasoning are tools that should be used to evaluate the human lifestyle. The history of humanism dates back to Ancient Greece and the days of Confucius who believed in the Golden Rule which is well known as being, “Do not unto another that you would not have him do unto you” (Law, 9). It appears ironic that both religious groups and humanists embrace such rule. In the beginning of the book, the author gives seven characteristics to help the reader better understand what humanism actually is.
During the 15th century, Northern Europe as well as Italy witnessed a serious revival of drawing accompanied by sculpture, painting and architecture. This revival was termed as the Renaissance. The revival effected major changes onto the representation of pictorial space on these two regions. These changes on that occurred on pictorial space representation were mostly driven by new idea of “Humanism”. Humanism philosophy practically outwitted religious and secular belief. As a result, the philosophy shifted a lot f importance to the dignity and value of the individual (Prescott, 2005; Fuga, 2006).
Humanism was a revival of the ancient Greek and Roman thought. It was a way of praising humans rather than divine beings. Some famous humanists include Petrarch and Niccolo Machiavelli. Their goal was to expand the teachings of liberal arts like the Greek and Roman.The humanists did achieve their goal in the Renaissance.
During the renaissance, there was a renewed interest in the arts, and the traditional views of society came into question. People began to explore the power of the human mind. A term often used to describe the increasing interest in the powers of the human mind is humanism. Generally, humanism stresses the individual's creative, reasoning, and aesthetic powers. However, during the Renaissance, individual ideas about humanism differed.
The High Renaissance (1490-1527) was a period of Italian painting that had the qualities of harmony and balance with dignified, calm movement. It was also a time when painterly techniques of linear perspective, vanishing points, shading (chiaroscuro and sfumato) and other methods of realism were mastered. There were significant changes in the development of early sixteenth century Venetian paintings, in particular, Titian’s paintings during the High Renaissance. I’ve chosen Gallery 607 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art because it has the works of Titian, who was one of the greatest Venetian artists, well known for his remarkable use of color and for his appealing renderings of the human form. Titian created rich, luminous images by layering
Although the movement started in Italy in the 1300s, it later extended to the rest of Europe in in 1500s. The period of Renaissance is deemed as the time in European history when there was essentially a “new life to man”. Resurrected with new understanding of the human existence, individuals based on fundaments of the classical Greek era and followed the philosophies of Aristotelianism and humanism. Aristotelianism is the theory based on the teachings of philosopher and scientist Aristotle. Renaissance humanism, according to Fred Edwords, is “the spirit of learning that developed at the end of the middle ages with the revival of classical letters and a renewed confidence in the ability of human beings to determine for themselves truth and falsehood”. From the 3rd to the 13th centuries religion and the Church possessed, if not all but, most of society’s power and was the core of life and culture in the middle ages. However, at the start of the 14th century when people were introduced to philosophies and literature from the classical Greek such as the Odyssey, the Church’s power started to decline. This decrease was the key motivation for individuals to establish humanism: people’s interest in God, the saints, heaven, hell, and the Lord subsided but instead, more and more were fascinated in themselves, natural world that surrounded them, personal independence, individual expression as well
Humanism is a literary and linguistic movement cultivated during the Renaissance that was founded on revising classical Latin and Greek texts, styles, and values. Humanists encouraged looking to the past to discover what is good and how people should act including leaders. Many humanist wrote about how they believe a prince should act and what he should do to be successful in his rule. Most humanists believed that princes should be virtuous in order to be successful rulers as many ancient leaders were. However, Machiavelli in his work The Prince uses history as a part of his argument to undermine some humanist ideals such as being purely virtuous and morality being the key to good government but also uses it to promote humanist ideals such as looking to the past to discover how a leader should behave.
The two paintings, The conversion of St. Paul by Caravaggio, and lady writing a letter with her maid by Vermeer, reflect the religious conflict between the Protestant and catholic cultures of 16th century Europe.
The issues of interpreting humanism in regards to art are increased by the idea of renaissance art. Some students unhesitatingly talk of the artistry in the age of humanism and even the art of humanism Insofar as they engaged themselves with the visible artistry. Traditional or modern all’antica, they did so because of what they considered typical passions. For their aspect, many performers and performances of art shown a information about sources, preferences and values in favor among not only humanists, but customers and other sections of the community knowledgeable along humanist collections. It is simple to talk, at a typical stage, of numerous parallels, connections and relationships between humanism and the arts; when to brand any particular specialist or perform of art ‘humanist’ is another, and competitive, query.
It focuses on personal growth, self-actualization, and the development of values. Humanism considers the feelings, needs, goals, capabilities, and limitations of individuals.
Ancient Greece is believed to be the birthplace of philosophy as a scholarly element. Many of the worlds most significant intellects called Greece home. It started with the pre-Socratics, for example, Thales and Pythagoras, then proceeded to the likes of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and finally came the great minds of medieval period. Since philosophy is based off of logical standards, a subject that during ancient times was quickly changing, the general theories of the day and age changed in like manner. Through this hole of hundreds of years between the periods, there is actually a touch of disconnection on specific issues through the refining of thoughts and outside impacts. The concept of human nature was one issue that was constantly reevaluated by ancient Greek and medieval philosophers, and as a result a wide variety of opinions were developed.
Humanism is a philosophy that involves the search between truth and morality, through humans means in support of human interests. Humanism rejects transcendental justifications, such as the supernatural and divine disclosure. A common form of this rejections would be The Bible. This philosphy also tends to be even-handed, seeking to make all people equal in terms of wealth and social status. The movie advocates all of these features of humanism.
Perhaps one of the most influential artists characterizing Renaissance Humanism in their work is William Shakespeare. He produced as many as thirty-seven plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems and miscellaneous verse before his death in 1616 (Gaines). In studying his work, numerous authors have found that it is one of the truest representations of the Renaissance Humanism movement. This movement identifies with a shift from the medieval movement, which mostly focused on god and faith, to a more individual approach to life. The focus was more about the human experiences and the optimistic attitude about what people really understood about themselves. In "Renaissance Humanism" Michelle Lee puts together numerous quotes from many authors analyzing the work produced during the humanism movement. The cited material in the article consistently continues to refer back to Shakespeare; how most of his work embodies the humanist thought process. For a Humanist the purpose of cultivating reason was to lead a better understanding of how to act. Many of the reasons cited throughout the article focus on two subjects, divine providence and human free will. Both Paul Siegel and Richard Mallette quote that Shakespeare's work is a reflection of the Elizabethan worldview of his time. Mike Pincombe states that in the play Hamlet, the character of Hamlet is a literary humanist, a man of the theater and a Dane and all three of these traits would evoke a certain stereotype to the audience in the Elizabethan Era. To the audience they would see the man as one who had classical learning, a refinement about oneself, respectable, highly educated, kind, and urbanized. All of these traits are ones that come through the character of Hamlet. Calvinism and ...