Light and Darkness of the Renaissance Period - Essay Example

10 December Anachronism: The Light and Darkness of the Renaissance Period Introduction Renaissance marked a new stage in the development of the artistic and human consciousness. Rooted in the ideas of humanism and a close interrelationship between past and present, Renaissance initially sought to erase the boundaries of temporality and chose the past as the principal source of its creative inspiration. The works of antique art were used extensively to preserve the uniqueness of the ancient artistic identity and, simultaneously, reconsider the most vital elements of the creative art. However, the idea of uniting space gradually transformed into a unique paradox, which ultimately put an end to the era of Renaissance: according to Panofsky, “The Middle Ages had left antiquity unburied and alternately galvanized and exrocised its corpse. The Renaissance stood weeping at its grave and tried to resurrect its soul” (in Ermarth 27). Simply stated, instead of preserving the uniqueness of antiquity, Renaissance gradually shifted toward distorting the ideas of the past. Consequentially, anachronism became the dominant trend of substitution, which replaced authentic past with the massive cultural misperceptions and, ultimately, resulted in a colossal failure of the Renaissance to produce a permanent change. Since the earliest years of cultural Renaissance, the idea to erase the boundaries of temporality and develop a new awareness of time and space had been one of the dominant trends. That the Renaissance was the first cultural era to choose a past for itself is difficult to deny (Heller 90). Really, the idea of Renaissance initially rested on a belief in the unity of space and rationalization of time, which aimed at redefining the most important historical events through the prism of the new human consciousness (Ermarth 25). To a large extent, a redefinition of time and space during Renaissance owed a lot to humanism (Ermarth 25). Renaissance had to reduce and deny the discontinuities in the medieval beliefs about history. Further, Renaissance had to build new human awareness about time, the distinctions in which would rely on the contrast between eternity and time, and not a contrast between present and past (Ermarth 25). The elimination of the persistent distinction between past and present during Renaissance implied that historians and creative geniuses during Renaissance considered past and present equally informative (Ermarth 25). Such attitudes toward temporality and space matched the moral purpose of Renaissance, because they helped to represent and preserve the most significant elements of historical achievement (Ermarth 25). However, the striving to emphasize the value of the past resulted in the emergence of a serious paradox. The more Renaissance historians and geniuses sought to reconsider and represent the value of antiquity, the deeper the fell in a colossal cultural misconception. Through the prism of the Renaissance, only a few works of antique art could be considered antiquities, with the rest doomed to be labeled an “anachronism”. Panofsky is correct, when he claims that “the medieval concept of the Antique was so concrete and at the same time so incomplete and distorted; whereas the modern one, gradually developed during the last three or four hundred years is comprehensive and consistent” (in Ermarth 27). Ultimately, that cultural misconception turned anachronism into the dominant trend during Renaissance which, ultimately, put an end to the continuous efforts to revive and re-establish the importance of the past. It should be noted, that the term “anachronism” is associated with a systematic attempt to confuse historic periods and discredit historic scholarship of the previous generations (Cohen 12). More often than not, anachronism presents a serious risk of misconception worth of being taken into account. The period of Renaissance exemplified a gradual shift in consciousness, away from the value of the past toward an even greater divide between antiquity and modernity. Such shift created a serious conflict in the system of the Renaissance values. The questions of when the discussed shift toward anachronism occurred invariably generate continuous disagreement (Ermarth 28). Generally, modern scholars in the Renaissance studies believe that the earliest changes in human awareness about the past and the present date back to the seventeenth century – that was equally the period of efflorescence and a culmination of artistic, historical, and humanist trends that had been evolving for centuries (Ermarth 28). However, even if contemporary scholars fail to define when the principal change toward anachronism occurred, that such change produced a paradox of meanings and values in the Renaissance vision of reality cannot be denied. Basically, anachronism replaced the initial values of unity in time and space and increased a considerable divide between past and present. Why anachronism put an end to the era of Renaissance is one of the most problematic questions. However, this question is not difficult to answer, given the conflicts in values and beliefs which followed gradual expansion of anachronism in the seventeenth century. According to Nagel et al, what happened during Renaissance was a bright example of “bad” anachronism, which was associated with colossal misidentifications and misconceptions about antiquity (407). Contemporary scholars, instead of praising and using the knowledge of antiquity to reproduce its value and uniqueness, sought to inventory all ancient works of art that had been known to them (Nagel 408). Such inventory was associated with numerous misconceptions, as long as it included only a narrow list of works of art that were considered antique (Nagel 408). All “non-antique” works of art were deliberately excluded from the list of the most valuable works – medieval sculptures, Early Christian mosaics and icons, numerous Gothic and Carolingian buildings, etc. (Nagel 408). Renaissance gave up its attempt to accept the uniqueness of antiquity for granted but tried to reconsider its meaning through the prism of modernity. Consequentially, the paradox of substitution left no room for the authentic representation of antique forms and ideas, which had initially marked the beginning of the Renaissance period. Anachronism led Renaissance to the point, where it could no longer reflect the continuity of the antique cultural heritage but presented a serious paradox: “the possibility that a material sample of the past could somehow be both an especially powerful testimony to a distant world and, at the same time, very likely an ersatz for some earlier, now absent artifact” (Nagel et al 408). From the viewpoint of anachronism, Renaissance contemporaries treated a work of antique art as (a) an important artifact and an essential testimony to some distant reality and, simultaneously (b) something that could have been replaced and, for this reason, did not present any historical or cultural value (Nagel et al 408). Following the paradox, many of antique works of art were placed between the two poles, that of authenticity and that of fabrication. By the time Renaissance came to associate itself with the major decision-making force, its ideas, values, and principles had already become obsolete. The anachronism trends, which, according to cultural professionals and contemporary scholars, had to make the representation of antiquity more efficient, killed the spirit of innovation and respect for the past. Anachronism resulted in the ongoing historical and cultural confusion, which increased a cultural cleavage between antiquity and modernity and marked an end to the era of Renaissance. Conclusion Renaissance was the era of novelty and confusion. Initially rested on the ideas of unity across time and space, Renaissance had been the first cultural era to choose a past for itself. The first aim of the Renaissance era had to emphasize a distinction between eternity and time and erase the existing contrast between present and past. With time, the expansion of anachronism turned it into the dominant trend of the Renaissance period. Anachronism emerged as a serious paradox in values and beliefs of Renaissance: instead of praising and re-establishing the value of antiquity, Renaissance tried to inventory the works of art that had been known to them. Renaissance did not accept antiquity for granted but sought to apply the new, contemporary criteria of judgment, to define the value and extent of authenticity in the antique forms. From the viewpoint of anachronism, antique works were an important artifact and something that could have been replaced and lost its value. Anachronism left no room to real values and beliefs of Renaissance and increased a cultural cleavage between antiquity and modernity, which ultimately put an end to the era of Renaissance. Works Cited Cohen, A. Art in the Era of Alexander the Great: Paradigms of Manhood and Their Cultural Traditions. Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print. Ermarth, E.D. Realism and Consensus in the English Novel: Time, Space and Narrative. Edinburg University Press. Print. Heller, A. Renaissance Man. Routledge, 1984. Print. Nagel, A., C.S. Wood, C. Dempsey, M. Cole & C. Fang. “Interventions: Toward a New Model of Renaissance Anachronism.” The Art Bulletin, 87.3 (2005): 403-32. Print. Read More