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Humanism in the Renaissance
Influence architecture renaissance
Humanism in the Renaissance
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The renaissance period relished the human body and the talents of a person: humanism, a view where humans are the main importance, inspired many renaissance artists. The word renaissance means “rebirth”, for much of its works, such as art were based off of the works of the past. The Greeks and the Romans cherished the human body and intellect: almost all of the work from that time period focused on the ideal human body and the intellectual ability of man. Great artists and sculptors from Greece and Rome created perfect human bodies, while architects, great thinkers and mathematicians, developed ways to build structures, such as arches, in both ascetically and mathematically pleasing manners. Humans of the renaissance revitalized idealism and humanism; however, they diverged from the “middle ages”, where most art focused on non-human subjects, for the people depicted were mostly unrealistic, without perspective or any dimensions. Greek and Roman art focused intently on the human form, where each aspect of the sculptures and painting were carefully …show more content…
Brunelleschi, an Italian architect, was one of the first of his time. Brunelleschi’s work was highly inspired by Roman architecture. He constructed and engineered the Church of San Lorenzo in 1428. Both the interior and exterior of the church seemingly emerged directly from a roman era. This church is proportional and full of Roman creations, such as domes, columns and arches. The floor of the church is extremely proportional, representing idealism: the aisles and the nave of the church were set up in a proportional manner. The interior of the church is decorated with arches and columns, even the ceiling of the churched is carefully adorned and crafted. The attention to detail in the building mirrors the attention to detail in the sculptures and
Brunelleschi 's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture, written by Ross King, describes the history of the city of Florence and life at the end of the Middle Ages through the genius of Filippo Brunelleschi. The book begins by giving information about the historic competition that led to the impressive dome that sits atop Santa Maria del Fiore. It then gives an account of the history of Florence in the late 1300s and early 1400s and the building of the cathedral and the initial competition for the dome 's design. After providing information about Florence and the cathedral, Ross King gives background information about Filippo Brunelleschi, his experiences as an artist and scientist in both Florence and Rome, and insight into
This rebirth of ideas began with the influence of the knowledge of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, specifically those of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, etc…this is the beginning of Humanism, which as our text describes as “an emphasis on education and on expanding knowledge (especially of Classical Antiquity), the exploration of individual potential and a desire to excel” (Kleiner,F.S p. 448). The artists of the period utilized this information and incorporated it into the study of the human anatomy which allowed them portray the human form in a much more realistic and accurate
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.
Brunelleschi's Chapel In no other time was Roman influence in architecture more profound than in 15th century Florence. Filippo Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel revived interest in Roman architecture. Like Masaccio's The Holy Trinity, the Pazzi Chapel implemented numerous classical architectural elements. Like Masaccio's frescoes, the chapel is a highlight of the Renaissance. The chapel, however, was a Roman avatar.
As Michelangelo once said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it” ("Michelangelo Quotes"). During the Greek/Roman periods prosperity was scarce, and to the early citizens who lived during this time one of the only values was personal religious beliefs/ideas - mostly pagan. The expression of these beliefs/ideas were most commonly portrayed through paintings, sculptures, and buildings. During the Renaissance periods prosperity was on a steady but slow growth. This growth was still accompanied by a flowering of philosophy, literature, and especially art. Renaissance arts mostly portrayed the beliefs of Christianity. Acknowledging the years passed between the Greek/Roman to the Renaissance, art was still valued as one of life’s great prosperities in both times. Against the backdrop of different political stabilities and prosperity statuses both time periods were jointed by the importance of personal desires and one's beliefs. While the Renaissance and Greek/Roman time periods were different in many ways, the two time periods had similarities including the expression of the human form, the confidence with the body, and different religious beliefs.
In 1520, the first Medici pope, Leo X, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, passed the Medici project to Michelangelo, who was at the time working under pressure on his designs for the façade of San Lorenzo, the Medici Church. Michelangelo had constructed a wooden model of the projected design in the end of 1526. Michelangelo was worried about taking on the new commission, which would involve designing the Chapel with all the monuments. The construction had to match Brunelleschi’s Sacristy on the other side of the transept in the Basilica of San Lorenzo. He wanted everything about the new building; the appearance, supporting elements, conception of space, architectonic decoration and ornament, to be original and unexpected.
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).
The Greek believed the human body was the measure of all things, therefore the artists created sculptures in a very detailed fashion which made them very life-like although the size of
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.
Greek art progressed through four divisible periods from ninth century B.C. to the second century B.C. The primary subject matter for all of these periods was humans. (Sowerby, 150) Each period progressed further than the last with developing the human form and making it continually more realistic and natural. (Boardman, 275) The most basic human forms were depicted in the Geometric period where triangles and ovals were used to make a rough human form. The Archaic period came next with artists slowly moving away from set geometric figures and incorporating more human detail into their art. Great change in art came in the Classical period. Sowerby states this by saying: "The classical artist concentrates up...
In Florence, Italy a cathedral stands over the grave of its architect, Filippo Brunelleschi. The Cathedral of Florence that now serves as his monument was one of his largest architectural developments. Little is known about Filippo’s childhood because he was not very famous; however, later in life he made huge accomplishments in the field of architecture. Filippo Brunelleschi’s structures were considered glorious at the time and are still standing today.
The Romans have adopted many features from the Greek style of art and architecture during the third and second centuries B.C. During that time period the Romans discovered that they have taking a liking to Greek statues, which they placed in many different places. The Roman sculptors then decided to also start making statues alongside the Greeks. The statues that the Romans created were realistic looking with, sometime, unpleasant details of the body. The Greeks made statues with, what they thought of, ideal appearances in the statues figure. Sculpture was possibly considered the highest form of art by the Romans, but figure painting was very high considered as well. Very little of Roman painting has survived the tests of time.
The Renaissance took its own version of humanism that was derived from the Roman Humanists and the rediscovery of the classical Greek Philosophy, such as the idea that “man is the measure of all things.” The new thinking became evident in art, architecture, politics, science, and literature. Mannerism is considered as the Late Renaissance, encompasses multiple approaches and reacting to the ideas of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and early Michelangelo. In the High Renaissance art emphasizes proportion, balance and ideal beauty, Mannerism exaggerates such qualities, which would often result in compositions that are unnaturally elegant. This style is notable for a sophisticated yet artificial quality. There is a favor in instability rather than balance, tension, and clarity in early Renaissance
Greek and Roman sculptures act as milestones throughout the development of art. Both types of sculptures played significant roles socially and politically during their corresponding periods. Although the Greek artists had limited materials, they still created gorgeous sculptures; similarly, the Roman sculptors adapted the techniques from the Greeks in order to create magnificent works for their own purposes.
A body is the social site where many political factors such as gender, sexuality, and commodification are intricately interwoven and operate together historically, culturally and politically (Bartky, 1997; Bordo, 2003; Budgeon, 2003; Foucault, 1979; Nettleton & Watson, 2002; Shilling, 2012). In contemporary era where varied industries ensue to produce products related to a body in tandem with today’s commodified culture, the body functions as a symbolic institution beyond a corporeal form, where desires, identities are reflected in socioeconomic, cultural and historical contexts. First, the feminist movement has triggered revealing that historically women’s body has been suppressed and managed by male according to gender system (see Bordo,