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Hum 104, Lecture notes 2014, class II

The High Renaissance and Early Mannerism

The High Renaissance lasted only about 26 years (1494-1520) before giving way to Early Mannerism that lasted only until 1564. Both saw continued world exploration and colonization. In addition these 70 years were one of the most brilliantly creative periods in western history. The artists; Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo flourished as painters and sculptors. Machiavelli wrote his famous, The Prince, where he shifted the view of politics from being framed in religious and moral terms to one that made it human and not necessarily conforming to a higher plane. He believed in some form of absolute monarchy where the well to do, or the nobles, or even middle class men could play a role, but all final determinations would be solely the responsibility of the monarch.

Of the great artists of the era, Michelangelo considered himself a sculpture first, and then a painter, poet, and architect. As an artist from Florence, he was a true Renaissance man for most of his career. His painting of the Sistine Chapel showed the hope for man that marked that age. His sculpture, David, also showed that in the classic style with the clean body lines and indications of strength. The pose was natural and free. His statue, Pieta’ (Mary holding the crucified body of Jesus), done in that timeframe had similar attributes. Twenty-five years later, his painting of the Last Judgment and his later sculpture, Pieta’ , showed the anguish he felt after the Medici were forced to sign a treaty that made Florence’s ruling family puppets of a foreign power. The painting also reflected the tension between the halves of the divided church, militant Protestant versus the church now the Roman Catholic Church. The anguish also reflected Michelangelo’s mourning of his own sinfulness and man’s future doom.

Politically, the shift was toward states maintaining a balance of power so that no one nation could be allowed to dominate. Wars great and small were basically always present with only the players changing from time to time.

Chapter 14

After the High Renaissance which lasted from the French invasion of Italy in 1494 until the deaths of Da Vinci in 1519 and Raphael in 1520 ended, Early Mannerism began and lasted until 1564. The sack of Rome by Charles V in 1527 and the theological storm of the Reformation ushered Mannerism to the front. It is a term recognized by far fewer people than many of the other periods. Mannerist painters, sculptors, and architects left the Renaissance’s imitation of nature and its devotion to classical themes and ideals. Instead, odd perspectives and renderings showcased the artists’ technical expertise and their ideas of beauty. In general, the school rejected the idealist version of man and espoused a negative image of human nature. In this time of artistic change, events in Germany were leading to the questioning of the church and to the Reformation. Religiously, Martin Luther challenged the Roman Church and created a permanent schism. His 95 theses dealt with the indulgences and other church corruption. His goal was to reform the one church, but the outcome went far beyond that and led to several wars between the Holy Roman Empire and the secular nation states. The events and writings of the period were more widespread more quickly than those that went before because of the invention of the printing press with movable type in 1450. The Bible and other religious texts were among the first available to a wider audience.

The religious upheaval caused a look to the past. Protestant views saw the church unencumbered by the hierarchy and bureaucracy of the Church at Rome. Martin Luther’s movement saw the dawn of Northern or Christian Humanism. The Protestants held that mankind was adrift in the universe but that they could communicate with God through prayer. The basic tenet was one of returning to the teachings of Jesus, and that anyone of humble heart could pray directly to God. That led to Protestants focusing on the Resurrection while the Catholic Church continued to focus on the Crucifixion. The Roman church continued to believe that it needed to protect mankind from itself and be an intermediary between man and God.

The Dutch scholar, Desiderius Erasmus, was the most outstanding of the early continental Humanists. He also spent time in England with his English counterpart, Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More. There, Humanists believed in the classic education model of the Roman, Cicero, who emphasized study of the classics and in a church modeled after Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. Erasmus believed in man’s freewill which contradicted Luther’s philosophy that only God’s grace could save a man.

When the Reformation split the church, two basic causes were found. One, western society had been changing since about 1350. The second was the timeless spiritual yearnings of humans. The Reformation and split were inevitable because of corruption inside the church, the rise of sovereign nations, the decay of Medieval thought, and the revival of humanism. The Church at Rome might have been able to stem the tide if it had given doing so its full attention by getting the clergy in line, but the 16th century popes were distracted by Italian politics and worldly interests. Also, French and English monarchs had made their churches basically free from papal authority. Germany was still fractured, but many princes used church reform as a rallying cry to weaken the control of Charles V and to make their lands independent states outside papal jurisdiction. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant movement never had one vision and always had several sects and traditions. The Church of England’s Anglicanism steered a course between Catholicism and the strict, angry god of John Calvin. With the Church of England being the country’s state religion, neither Catholics nor Calvinists could be part of English government or other public life for almost 275 years.

A counter-reformation launched under Pope Paul III (1534-1549) saw the now called Roman Catholic Church regain much of its moral ground and new monastic orders sprang up to meet the needs of both the church and its adherents.

Differences between the Lutheran rebels and the Roman Church resulted in war between Charles V’s Spanish forces and Lutheran forces from 1546-1555. In 1556 Phillip II became the Spanish king and champion for the Roman Catholic cause. Catholic leaders ruled Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Austria. Protestants ruled the Scandinavian countries. England was ruled by Catholic Queen Mary, but in 1558 her Protestant half sister, Elizabeth, ascended to the throne. Elsewhere, religious allegiance was still a toss-up. Phillip, flush with new world riches, dominated European politics. He was also able to expel the Muslim Ottomans from Spain. His expansion was halted by the defeat of his grand armada when he sought to invade England in 1588. Phillip died that same year and Spanish fortune began to decline. All of Europe was divided into many states following various Christian religions and sects.

This time period from 1564-1600 is referred to as Late Mannerism. The Spaniard, El Greco, who had also been influenced by Venice and Crete was the most recognized painter. Also in Spain, Miguel Cervantes was writing, and Don Quixote was by far his best known work.

England enjoyed its Golden Age throughout the reign of Elizabeth from 1558-1603. In English literature, the works of William Shakespeare dominated. They have the staying power of classic literature and are still taught, read, and produced today.

Chapter 15

The next age is now known as the Baroque Age, and it lasted from 1600-1715. The term was originally coined by 18th century artists to put down 17th century artists. Like Gothic before it, Baroque no longer has any negative connotation.

By 1600 Europe was no longer concerned with popes and Italian city states. New secular rulers had absolute power. The continent had 5 major and balanced powers: England, France, Austria, Prussia, and Russia. They none shared power with any church. The 5 nations developed professional bureaucrats, and the powers of nobles decreased. Professional diplomats became the norm as did standing armies. France was the first among the equals. Ruled by Henry IV, the Bourbon Dynasty was pretty benign, but the king was assassinated, and the real power went to Cardinal Richelieu. He moved toward absolute power into the rule of King Louis XIV. Cardinal Richelieu was succeeded by the equally powerful Cardinal Mazakahn, but upon his death, King Louis took all power. Louis XIV was the state.

In England after Elizabeth died, King James I (1603-1625) (James VI of Scotland) ruled, but parliament had some power of check and balance. James was succeeded by Charles I (1625-1649) who was forced from the throne by the Puritans who began a republican form of government, the Commonwealth, under Oliver Cromwell. He became a military dictator, was forced from control and succeeded by Charles II. Charles II was forced to abdicate and was followed by his daughter Mary II and her husband, William III (1689-1702). They ruled together and established a limited monarchy sharing power with a parliament.

On the European mainland four powers fought the 30 Years War. It was the last great continental war between Roman Catholics and Protestants. France profited most and Germany suffered most as the largest part of the war was fought on her soil. They basically lost a generation. That became a habit! Prussia emerged as a great power, but Germany remained divided. France struggled against Catholic Spain through another series of wars until defeated by most of the rest of Europe in 1713. Remember balance of power. France kept conquests to its present border; Prussia gained territory; and England got Gibraltar. (This turns out to be a really big deal!) England also got French Canada and became the world’s trading power. Militarily, rifles with bayonets replaced bows and pikes as infantry weapons. Feudal lords as people of power disappeared.

In households heavy painted Gothic furniture was replaced by the refined Italian look. Much decorative stuff was imported from China. Furniture pieces had specific functions. Fireplaces for cooking were built into kitchen walls and replaced open wood fires. Art moved back to church themes as the churches were the artists’ major patrons. Sculpture again became part of architecture. Much of it decorated niches and recessed bays or stood on pedestals in religious structures. Secularly, Louis XIV had the palace and garden at Versailles designed specifically for himself, the Sun King!

In Calvinist lands, restrained Baroque was much more simple and in line with their democratic sentiments and common human experiences. The Calvinist Netherlands was the center for painting until about 1675 when military defeats ended their economic capabilities, and they became also rans. The greatest of their painters was Rembrandt.

Baroque theater was very controlled as it had once been in Greece. Plays had to represent no more than one 24 hour day; there could be no scene changes; and there needed to be a single, uncomplicated plot. None of them survived!

In England, John Milton (1608-1674), a solid Puritan, was a professional bureaucrat to Oliver Cromwell. As a poet, his greatest work was Paradise Lost, which told of Lucifer and the rebellious angels; Adam and Eve’s fall from grace; and Christ’s redemption of humanity. It was partially a response to Dante’s (1265-1321) Divine Comedy, the three book length tale of his imagined journey through Christian after-life and testified to man’s freewill. As different as Milton and Dante were, both believed that man’s destiny depended on man’s decisions.