1. The Italian Renaissance
Humanism in Art

2. In the Renaissance a new philosophy, HUMANISM, emphasized:
1. INDIVIDUALISM: glorifying potential, talents and accomplishments of individual human beings.
2. CLASSICISM: Re-discovery and appreciation of ancient Greek & Roman culture (especially in Italy…why is that?)
3. SECULARISM: emphasis on this world (the “here & now”) and its material pleasures rather than the afterlife (“hereafter”) or spiritual world.

3. Why the change in philosophy?
The medieval outlook of fatalistic Christianity reflected the realities of the Middle Ages.
Manors were isolated; no change came from the outside.
Life on the manor was traditional & determined by heredity; no change came from within.

4. With nothing changing, it was easy to believe that change wasn’t possible unless God willed it.
Since the Church taught that God had created the world and everything in it, it was logical to assume that God wanted you to do whatever it was you were doing in life.

5. Since the vast majority, the serfs, lived lives of poverty, extremely hard manual labor and overall misery…

6. …it’s not difficult to understand why they were obsessed with the afterlife.

7. By the Renaissance, peoples’ reality had changed, at least in the towns and cities
Wealth increased
A new middle class developed
Trade increased & new products appeared
New skills could be learned
New occupations were created
Prosperity spread

8. An individual could now:
Leave the manor
Learn an occupation different from his parents
Improve his status and economic standing
Acquire nice things and enjoy some of life’s pleasures

9. By no means did this mean rejecting Christianity or questioning the basic teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

10. But it did mean that on the way to the afterlife the possibilities for individual achievement and pleasure in the secular world would be explored and enjoyed in ways inconceivable to the denizens of the medieval manor.

11. Nowhere is this more true than in the Renaissance.
The arts are often an accurate mirror of the society in which they are produced.
Nowhere is this more true than in the Renaissance.

12. INDIVIDUALISM CLASSICISM SECULARISM
Renaissance art clearly depicts the philosophy of humanism in its emphasis on:
INDIVIDUALISM
CLASSICISM
SECULARISM

13. True “Renaissance Man” and all around genius Leonardo da Vinci painted several versions of the Madonna and Child (Virgin Mary and Jesus)

14. Here’s one of them:
The Madonna of the Carnation,

15. Remember the medieval Madonnas?
How is this different?

18. Some basic Renaissance art techniques
atmospheric perspective (hazy)
chiaroscuro(shading)
linear perspective (smaller)
Some basic Renaissance art techniques

19. How does this painting reflect humanism?
INDIVIDUALISM
SECULARISM
“3-D” landscape
Mary is a real person, not a medieval “zombie”
Concern with details
Emphasize the “real world” setting
Why does she look “real?”

20. But this is still a religious painting
The Church is still a major power & art patron
Renaissance Europe is still a very religious society
But the art is now done in a realistic style by professionally trained artists, not untrained monks

21. Here’s Michelangelo’s famous sculpture, the Pieta, 1499
The Pieta is another common theme in Catholic art, just like the Madonna and Child
What is being depicted here?

22. What do these two famous works have in common?
Right! Religious…detailed…realistic…other things?

23. They share a common composition
The triangular organization suggests stability and order, values held by the ancient Greeks & Romans

24. It also suggests the Trinity, a basic aspect of Christian belief
God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit

25. Here’s another famous Renaissance painting: Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, c. 1845

26. How is this similar to Leonardo’s Madonna?
How is it different?

27. Yes, it’s realistic and detailed
But the lady is naked! We haven’t seen that before; certainly not in any medieval art.

28. How does this work reflect humanism? What about her nakedness?

29. What about the subject of the painting?
She’s Venus
Roman goddess of love and beauty
Remember, one of the hallmarks of humanism is CLASSICISM

30. In addition to classical scenes, another type of painting appeared that we didn’t see in the Middle Ages: portraits
Leonardo: Lady with an Ermine, 1490

31. Botticelli: Giuliano de Medici, 1476-7
Raphael: Pope Leo X (detail),

32. CLASSICISM Portraits: what could be a better expression of
INDIVIDUALISM
Remember, too, that the Romans were big on portraits
CLASSICISM

33. That’s the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence on the right
With reminders of their classical past all around them, Italians engaged in a rebirth of Roman architecture
That’s the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence on the right

34. What’s the most noticeable aspect of its architecture?
Right! In fact, this cathedral is usually referred to as Il Duomo, the Dome

35. The 15th century Florentines outdid Rome’s architectural masterpiece, the Pantheon

36. Notice the difference in scale of the Dome compared to a medieval Gothic cathedral

37. The Gothic cathedral is much taller

38. Casting the eye toward heaven, the focus of medieval life

39. The Renaissance cathedral is more down to earth, more human in scale
Appropriate for the Renaissance focus on man & life in the secular world

40. As you have seen, Italian Renaissance art clearly reflects Humanism in its emphasis on:
1. INDIVIDUALISM: glorifying potential, talents and accomplishments of individual human beings.
2. CLASSICISM: Re-discovery and appreciation of ancient Greek & Roman culture
3. SECULARISM: emphasis on this world (the “here & now”) and its material pleasures rather than the afterlife (“hereafter”) or spiritual world.

46. Raphael, The Madonna

48. CIAO!