IDEAS AND ART OF THE RENAISSANCE
During the Renaissance, humanism revived interest in the literary works of
ancient Greece and Rome and in classical Latin. While many scholars used classical
Latin, writers such as Dante and Chaucer made literature written in regional languages
more popular. Humanism also became an educational curriculum, and at the core of
humanist schools were the liberal studies. The art, sculpture, and architecture of the
Renaissance reflected a realistic, human-centered world.
Italian Renaissance Humanism
Secularism and an emphasis on the individual characterized the Renaissance.
These characteristics are most noticeable in the intellectual and artistic
accomplishments of the period. A key intellectual movement of the Renaissance was
humanism.
Development of Humanism
Humanism was based on the study of the classics, the literary works of ancient
Greece and Rome. Humanists studied grammar, rhetoric, poetry, moral philosophy,
and history. Today these subjects are called the humanities. Petrarch (PEE•trahrk),
who often has been called the father of Italian Renaissance humanism, did more than
any other individual in the fourteenth century to foster the development of humanism.
Petrarch looked for forgotten Latin manuscripts and set in motion a search for similar
manuscripts in monastic libraries throughout Europe. He also began the humanist
emphasis on using pure classical Latin (Latin as used by the ancient Romans, as
opposed to medieval Latin). Humanists used the works of Cicero as a model for prose
and those of Virgil for poetry. Fourteenth-century humanists like Petrarch had
described the intellectual life as one of solitude. They rejected family and a life of action
in the community. In contrast, humanists in the early 1400s took a new interest in civic
life. They believed that intellectuals had a duty to live an active civic life and to put their
study of the humanities to the state’s service. It is no accident that they served as
secretaries in the Italian city-states and to princes or popes.
Vernacular Literature
The humanist emphasis on classical Latin led to its widespread use in the
writings of scholars, lawyers, and theologians. However, some writers wrote in the
vernacular (the language spoken in their own regions, such as Italian, French, or
German). In the fourteenth century, the literary works of the Italian author Dante
(DAHN•tay) and the English author Geoffrey Chaucer helped make vernacular
literature more popular. Dante’s masterpiece in the Italian vernacular is the Divine
Comedy. It is the story of the soul’s journey to salvation. The lengthy poem has three
major sections: Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, or Paradise. Dante is led on an imaginary
journey through these three realms until he reaches Paradise, where he beholds God.
Chaucer used the English vernacular in his famous work The Canterbury Tales. His
beauty of expression and clear language were important in making his dialect the chief
ancestor of the modern English language. The Canterbury Tales consists of a
collection of stories told by a group of 29 pilgrims journeying to the tomb of Saint
Thomas à Becket at Canterbury, England.
This format gave Chaucer the chance to portray an entire range of English
society. Another writer who used the vernacular was Christine de Pizan, a
Frenchwoman who is best known for her works written in defense of women. In The
Book of the City of Ladies, written in 1404, she denounced the many male writers who
had argued that women, by their very nature, are unable to learn. Women, de Pizan
argued.
Renaissance Education
The humanist movement had a profound effect on education in the 1300s and
1400s. Renaissance humanists believed that education could dramatically change
human beings. They wrote books on education and opened schools based on their
ideas. At the core of humanist schools were the liberal studies. Humanists believed
that liberal studies (or, today, liberal arts) enabled individuals to reach their full
potential. One humanist wrote: “We call those studies liberal by which we attain and
practice virtue and wisdom, which calls forth and develops those highest gifts of body
and mind which ennoble men.”
What, then, were the liberal studies? According to the humanists, students
should study history, moral philosophy, eloquence (or rhetoric), letters (grammar and
logic), poetry, mathematics, astronomy, and music. In short, the purpose of a liberal
education (and thus the reason for studying the liberal arts) was to produce individuals
who follow a path of virtue and wisdom. These individuals should also possess
rhetorical skills so they can persuade others to take this same path of virtue and
wisdom.
Following the Greek ideal of a sound mind in a sound body, humanist educators
also emphasized physical education. Students learned the skills of javelin throwing,
archery, and dancing. They ran, wrestled, hunted, and swam. Humanist educators
thought that a humanist education was a practical preparation for life. Its aim was not
to create great scholars but complete citizens. Humanist education was also
considered necessary for preparing the sons of aristocrats for leadership roles.
Humanist schools were the model for the education of Europe’s ruling classes until the
twentieth century. Females were largely absent from these schools. The few female
students who did attend humanist schools studied the classics and were encouraged
to know some history as well as how to ride, dance, sing, play the lute (a stringed
instrument), and appreciate poetry. They were told not to learn mathematics or
rhetoric. It was thought that religion and morals should be foremost in the education
of “Christian ladies” so that they could become good wives and mothers.
Italian Renaissance Art
Renaissance artists sought to imitate nature. They wanted viewers to see the
reality in their subjects. At the same time, these artists were developing a new, human-
focused worldview. As one artist proclaimed, human beings were the “center and
measure of all things.”
New Techniques in Painting
Frescoes by Masaccio (muh•ZAH• chee•oh) are the first masterpieces of Early
Renaissance (1400–1490) art. A fresco is a painting done on fresh, wet plaster with
water-based paints. Human figures in medieval paintings look flat, but Masaccio’s
figures have depth and come alive. By mastering the laws of perspective, Masaccio
could create the illusion of three dimensions, leading to a new, realistic style. Other
fifteenth-century Florentine painters used and modified this new, or Renaissance,
style. Especially important were two major developments. One development stressed
the technical side of painting— understanding the laws of perspective and the
organization of outdoor space and light through geometry. The second development
was the investigation of movement and human anatomy. The realistic portrayal of the
individual, especially the human nude, became one of the chief aims of Italian
Renaissance art.
Sculpture and Architecture
The Renaissance produced equally stunning advances in sculpture and
architecture. The sculptor Donatello studied the statues of the Greeks and Romans.
His works included a realistic, free-standing figure of Saint George. The work of
architect Filippo Brunelleschi (broo•nuhl•EHS•kee) was inspired by the buildings of
classical Rome.
His design of the church of San Lorenzo in Florence reflects this. The classical
columns and rounded arches in the church’s design create an environment that does
not overwhelm the worshiper, as Gothic cathedrals might. The church creates a space
to fit human, and not divine, needs. Like painters and sculptors, Renaissance
architects sought to reflect a human-centered world.
High Renaissance Masters
The final stage of Italian Renaissance painting flourished between 1490 and
1520. Called the High Renaissance, the period is associated with Leonardo da Vinci,
Raphael, and Michelangelo. Leonardo mastered the art of realistic painting and even
dissected human bodies to better see how nature worked. However, he wanted to
advance beyond such realism to create idealized forms that captured the perfection of
nature and the individual—perfection that could not be expressed fully by a realistic
style. At age 25, Raphael was already one of Italy’s best painters. He was admired for
his numerous madonnas (paintings of the Virgin Mary). In these, he achieved an ideal
of beauty far surpassing human standards. Raphael is also well known for his frescoes
in the Vatican Palace. His School of Athens reveals a world of balance, harmony, and
order—the underlying principles of classical Greek and Roman art. Michelangelo, an
accomplished painter, sculptor, and architect, was another master of the High
Renaissance. Fiercely driven by his desire to create, he worked with great passion
and energy on a remarkable number of projects. Michelangelo’s figures on the ceiling
of the Sistine Chapel in Rome depict an ideal type of human being with perfect
proportions. The beauty of this idealized human being is meant to be a reflection of
divine beauty. The more beautiful the body, the more godlike the figure.
The Northern Artistic Renaissance
Like the artists of Italy, the artists of northern Europe became interested in
portraying their world realistically. However, their approach was different from that of
the Italians. This was particularly true of the artists of the Low Countries (present-day
Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands). Circumstance played a role in the
differences. The large wall spaces of Italian churches had given rise to the art of fresco
painting. Italian artists used these spaces to master the technical skills that allowed
them to portray humans in realistic settings. In the north, the Gothic cathedrals with
their stained-glass windows did not allow enough space for frescoes. Thus, northern
European artists painted illustrations for books and wooden panels for altarpieces.
Great care was needed to depict each object on a small scale.
The most important northern school of art in the 1400s was in Flanders, one of
the Low Countries. The Flemish painter Jan van Eyck (EYEK) was among the first to
use and perfect the technique of oil painting. He used a varnish made of linseed oil
and nut oils mixed with resins. This medium enabled van Eyck to use a wide variety
of brilliant, translucent colors. With his oil paints, he could create striking realism in
fine details as in his painting Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride. Like other Northern
Renaissance artists, however, van Eyck imitated nature not by using perspective, as
the Italians did, but by simply observing reality and portraying details as best he could.
By 1500, artists from the north had begun to study in Italy and to be influenced by what
artists were doing there. One German artist who was greatly affected by the Italians
was Albrecht Dürer. He made two trips to Italy and absorbed most of what the Italians
could teach on the laws of perspective.
As can be seen in his famous Adoration of the Magi, Dürer did not reject the use
of minute details characteristic of northern artists. He did try, however, to fit those
details more harmoniously into his works in accordance with Italian artistic theories.
Like the Italian artists of the High Renaissance, Dürer tried to achieve a standard of
ideal beauty that was based on a careful examination of the human form.
