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How Humanism Influenced Italian Renaissance Art
During the Renaissance period of history, many scholars and intellectuals in Europe began appreciating Greek and Roman culture. The reason why was that many believed that the past was the seed of everything that existed during their time, and that it was of the utmost importance to study it. With this, many began learning Greek and Latin dialects, as well as examining Greek and Roman ruins and debris. This importance of examining the history of European culture was then labelled Humanism. Also during the Renaissance period, artists, musicians, and sculptors alike began emerging. The combination of the two created art that was heavily influenced by the Humanistic movement. The first example I have is Raphael’s “School of Athens”. This piece is probably one of the most obvious examples of Humanisms influence upon Renaissance art. In the painting, many influential Greek philosophers sit around a large building, discussing among each other and working on their respective contributions to society. Two obvious figures in the painting are Plato and Aristotle. Plato was the founder of The Academy in Athens and one of the most famous Greek philosophers/mathematicians. To have him painted during the italian Renaissance is quite an obvious sign that Raphaels piece is inspired by humanism. Humanism, during the Renaissance period not only involved the study of ancient culture, but it also instilled a sense of respect towards human beings. Many artists at the time focused on the beauty and elegance of the human body. One of these artists was Michelangelo, a sculptor and painter. One of his most famous pieces of work was “David”, a 17 foot tall statue of a man. Michelangelo focused on making the statue as realistic as possible, in order to capture said elegance and beauty. Also, due to the context of the statue being directly after David had slain the goliath, Michelangelo chose “David” to be in a victorious pose. This
During the Renaissance period of history, many scholars and intellectuals in Europe began appreciating Greek and Roman culture. The reason why was that many believed that the past was the seed of everything that existed during their time, and that it was of the utmost importance to study it. With this, many began learning Greek and Latin dialects, as well as examining Greek and Roman ruins and debris. This importance of examining the history of European culture was then labelled Humanism. Also during the Renaissance period, artists, musicians, and sculptors alike began emerging. The combination of the two created art that was heavily influenced by the Humanistic movement. The first example I have is Raphael’s “School of Athens”. This piece is probably one of the most obvious examples of Humanisms influence upon Renaissance art. In the painting, many influential Greek philosophers sit around a large building, discussing among each other and working on their respective contributions to society. Two obvious figures in the painting are Plato and Aristotle. Plato was the founder of The Academy in Athens and one of the most famous Greek philosophers/mathematicians. To have him painted during the italian Renaissance is quite an obvious sign that Raphaels piece is inspired by humanism. Humanism, during the Renaissance period not only involved the study of ancient culture, but it also instilled a sense of respect towards human beings. Many artists at the time focused on the beauty and elegance of the human body. One of these artists was Michelangelo, a sculptor and painter. One of his most famous pieces of work was “David”, a 17 foot tall statue of a man. Michelangelo focused on making the statue as realistic as possible, in order to capture said elegance and beauty. Also, due to the context of the statue being directly after David had slain the goliath, Michelangelo chose “David” to be in a victorious pose. This