The Black Plague: Art In The Italian Renaissance

Manny innovative thinkers and artists lived in the Italian Renaissance, a time of revival and rediscovery, helping Italy recover from the lack of progression in Medieval society. The Black Plague that swept through Italy in the 1300s caused political disorder and economic consequences, hindering Italy’s progression. However, in the early 15th century, Italy began to recover from the effects of the Black Plague. A revival of Greco-Roman antiquity, a restored emphasis on the potential and capacity of individuals, and the value of individual success in certain trades became evident in Renaissance society. Humanist thinkers such as Petrarch, Mirandola, and Castiglione abandoned the Medieval mindset of the 14th century, and embraced a mindset reflecting

that of Greece and Rome. Because various thinkers of the time like Petrarch, Mirandola, and Castiglione valued individual capacity and potential, artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael illustrate new potential for the individual.
Humanists embraced the Renaissance mindset inspired by Greco-Roman values. The Renaissance mindset embraced classical learning and the potential of individuals. First, a man named Petrarch known as the “father of modern humanism” paved the pathway for Renaissance thinking. He searched libraries that held classical works so that he can study the classics. In Medieval society, most members of society were illiterate, however Petrarch challenged this notion through seeking to study Classical Greek works. He even wrote letters to Cicero, an ancient Roman scholar, who shared similar beliefs as Petrarch. Next, Pico della Mirandola, another intellectual, studied philosophy and wrote nine hundred theses made for argument and debate. As an introduction to these theses, he wrote a lecture titled On the Dignity of Man, where Mirandola emphasizes the potential and capacity of individuals. Mirandola explains, “there are no limits to what man can accomplish.” Third, Castiglione presented correct etiquette for a noble. While nobles were still expected to serve his prince like a knight was supposed to in Medieval times, society expected nobles to study classic literature. Castiglione describes how one of three basic attributes that a noble needed to acquire included being knowledgeable in Ancient Greek philosophy and works. An embrace of Greco-Roman culture and rejecting of Medieval values is evident through these three Renaissance thinkers.
An artist that exemplifies the aspect of humanism that values an individual’s capacity to succeed is Michelangelo. Excelling in the fields of sculpting, painting, and human anatomy, Michelangelo embodies Mirandola’s belief that no limits exist on man’s success. Cutting open dead cadavers, Michelangelo learned the human anatomy, which would therefore aid his growth as a sculptor and painter through understanding true human proportions. Understanding human anatomy helped Michelangelo present his figures in the realistic yet idealistic way that Greco-Romans valued. From sculpting the Pieta, an idealistic representation of Mother Mary holding Jesus, to finishing the inconceivable job of painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo accomplished what many may consider impossible. However, he embraced his individual capacity to achieve great things in many fields, allowing him to progress as an artist.
Similar to Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci was a jack of all trades. Science, anatomy, painting, music, architecture, and astronomy are all fields da Vinci studied. Studying anatomy, da Vinci sketched anatomical sketches. One of his sketches “In the Womb” portrays an accurate representation of a baby in the fetal position, crouching in the womb. To gain a deeper understanding of the human body, da Vinci also cut open dead bodies like Michelangelo in order to gain more information of the human body. In astronomy, da Vinci was one of the first individuals to create a telescope, where he examined the sky through using concave mirrors. Leonardo da Vinci also studied blood vessels, and discovered circulation. While many believe William Harvey, an English physician living nearly 100 years after da Vinci, discovered the circulation of blood between vessels, da Vinci first developed the idea. Evidently, da Vinci was not just a man of the arts, he studied various areas of science and contributed to different field.
As well as being a well-rounded artist, Michelangelo excelled in what he did.

For example, his statue David exemplifies Michelangelo’s success as a sculptor. Out of a block of marble remaining from a previous commission, Michelangelo created the seventeen feet high sculpture according to Greco-Roman standards. David stands in the Greek contrapposto stance, where his left arm is bent and his right leg is straight, while his right arm is straight and his left leg is bent. David’s body is rendered in the ideal physique, every muscle on his body is visible to the viewer. In Greco-Roman society, many believed that gods and goddesses were perfect, so artists depicted their statues in an ideal, godly way to show that humans are godlike. Michelangelo applies this Greco-Roman technique of rendering a body to make David look godly and divine. David’s colossal height towers over every man, and his glorified body appears more muscular and perfect than normal humans, exhibiting his heavenly presence. Also, Michelangelo chose to depict David right before his battle with Goliath, and his head looks off into the distance. This anticipation created by depicting Goliath before the battle adds to the emotional complexity of the work, capturing towering emotion. Many thinkers of the Renaissance share the common belief of individual potential and Michelangelo excelled above and beyond in his rendering of David, exceeding expectations of human

capability.
In 1509, Pope Julius II commissioned Raphael, a skilled painter, to paint a painting that corresponded to one of the sections in his library. The sections included Philosophy, Poetry, Law, and Theology, and Raphael painting the School of Athens for the Philosophy section. A congregation of Greco-Roman figures, scientists and philosophers, gather together in a colossal hall reminiscent of Roman architecture. Statues of Athena and Apollo, Greek gods, flank the center of the hall. Raphael included Greek philosophers, Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, and astronomers Zoroaster and Ptolemy. Each thinker developed their own beliefs, and Raphael portrayed each one individually, so that their expression matched their belief. Raphael exhibits the Renaissance value on Greco-Roman culture through including great thinkers of Greco-Roman society and including a Roman inspired architectural structure as the setting for this congregation of people. Also, Raphael’s rendering of each thinker with an individual expression illustrates the importance the Renaissance placed on the individual. In this painting, Raphael created a vanishing point, where all the lines converge to Plato’s hand. As well as including a vanishing point, the hall is shown in linear perspective, where the structure recedes into the background, creating a sense of architectural depth. Like Michelangelo, Raphael reached success in his trade. This painting represents Raphael’s perfected skills as a painter, and it shows how he had reached excellence in his trade through creating a work perfect through Greco-Roman standards.
As Italy transitioned from the Medieval times to the Italian Renaissance, a revived emphasis emerged on the individual, originating in Classical Greece and Rome. Thinkers like Petrarch, Mirandola, and Castiglione embraced this restored notion, making the value of an individual even more common in Italy. Also in this society, emerging artists accepted and applied the belief in individuals, and created innovative artistic techniques such as linear perspective and including a vanishing point. Mirandola said in On the Dignity of Man, “To [man] it is granted to have whatever he chooses, to be whatever he wills.” Mirandola believes that whatever humans wish to pursue, he can pursue it without limitations. Martin Luther highlights Mirandola’s belief by stand up against the corruption of the Catholic Church. Publicly posting heretic theses attacking indulgences, Luther openly battled the wrongdoings of the church. Because of his background in law and his confidence in himself as an influential individual, Martin Luther did what no man had ever done and spoke out against dishonesty of the Catholic church. Despite being only one individual, Luther changed the course of history, creating Lutheranism, a whole new sect of Christianity. We must apply Mirandola’s belief that humans are capable of achieving anything, like Luther, to battle injustices that exist in our lives.