The Origins of Renaissance Art - Case Study Example

Number: Renaissance Italian renaissance was the earliest manifestation of the general European renaissance. It begun in Italy during the 14th century, it was a period of great of cultural change and achievement which lasted until 16th century .This renaissance marked the transition between medieval and early modern Europe. Renaissance is in essence a modern one that came into currency in the 19th century, in the work of historians. .Although the origins of a movement that was confined largely to the literate culture of intellectual endeavor and patronage can be traced to 14th century. The origins of Renaissance art can be traced to Italy in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. During this so-called “proto-Renaissance” period (1280-1400), Italian scholars and artists saw themselves as reawakening to the ideals and achievements of classical Roman culture. Ancient Greece and Rome and sought to revive the languages, values and intellectual traditions of those cultures after the long period of stagnation that had followed the fall of the Roman Empire in the sixth century.Insipiration as much Renaissance art and literature remains, it is not agreeable to be too idealistic about the circumstances of its production. Cities grew and prospered during the Renaissance and rulers learned to tax the people. Trade grew between cities and other countries (Goldthwaite 95). As trade in goods increased, trade in ideas grew also. The contact between cultures was in some part due to the Crusades during the 11th century. Commerce and trade soon moved inland along the major routes of trade. The Renaissance is generally accepted to have started in Italy. Many believe that this was due to its almost perfect location between Western Europe and the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Italian cities became important as trade centers and as commercial centers. This wealth helped sustain the political and social changes that were occurring at the time Cities and towns were centers of wealth production and of creativity. The urban societies in the Renaissance period were commercialized; every item had a price (Richard 19). The low countries and North Italy were the dense areas of urbanization, they acted as the main hubs for international trade in commodities for instance spices, silk, woolen cloth and silver. With the invention of printing Venice came also to be the centre of the European book trade, ideas travelling rapidly via the well-established commercial network. The Renaissance prince, the aspirant courtier or socially climbing merchant provided a ready market for all these commodities, for expensive fabrics and intricately decorated amour were as much manifestations of magnificentia as paintings or sculpture. And it was only in the town, with its concentration of skilled artisans, that the manufacture of luxury goods and the complex technology of book production was possible. Commerce alone was not enough to amass the largest fortunes however; the richest merchants acted as bankers. Italian banking houses had well established networks in the later middle ages playing for huge stakes as creditors to princes. By the 16th century such loans were also being advanced by the more spectacularly wealthy merchants of the Low Countries and of German towns where profits had been amassed on the strength of the trade in silver (Goldthwaite 95). Expenditure was not just a personal matter; it was a matter of corporate status as well. European cities expressed their sense of corporate pride and identity in public buildings, secular and ecclesiastical. Cities experienced various degrees of autonomy. Claiming the most independence were the few remaining city republics of north Italy, though they were not republics in the sense that we understand the term today. Venice had the most clearly articulated hierarchy: a closed caste of nobility; a broader body of citizens; the plebeians at the bottom of the pile. Power was restricted to members of the nobility who made sure that public building and public spectacle constantly broadcast the virtues of the Venetian state, the unparalleled blessings it brought, the sanctity of the city (Rubinstein 68). Equally conscious of its virtue was the Florentine republic. This too was effectively run by a wealthy elite increasingly dominated by the Medici (Nicolai 68). The Medici, however, were very canny operators in the 15th century and expressed their magnificentia in public works which ostensibly demonstrated their loyalty to the Republic; only within their palaces, in rooms to which just the privileged had access, was the scale of their ambition fully represented in the art they purchased. After the collapse of the Roman Empire around 500ad the only unifying force remaining was the Roman Catholic Church (Findlen 201). Outside invasions declined and the rulers began to consolidate their power and concentrate on self preservation. It was easier to accumulate wealth and industry continued to grow. Cities grew rapidly and the population shifted from agricultural life to city life, where jobs were more plentiful. This increase the number of people being taxed and meant more wealth to fund expansion abroad. Development varied depending on the region. In Italy, as towns grew, Italians demanded self rule and many times the cities developed into strong city-states (Nicolai 68). North of the Alps, national monarchs established their power over the nobility. Both of these trends had their roots in the Medieval Era but neither trend came to dominate. The autonomy of cities and towns varied from state to state. Within the Holy Roman Empire towns might have a considerable degree of independence, for the Empire was a loose confederation of some hundreds of different political units, some of them independent cities. The lack of a centralising bureaucracy in the Empire contrasts with the highly centralized monarchy in England, where, London accepted, towns had little autonomy. But all cities and towns possessed certain shared characteristics: collective authority exercised by a group which was selected or elected, and not hereditary. Usually this meant control by a wealthy elite of magistrates, who influenced by humanist values, liked to think of themselves as patricians. The public buildings they had erected in their cities both reflected and served to create this image of themselves. Economic organization within towns was usually through guilds. Although guilds were intended to protect the employment of members it would be a mistake to equate them with trade unions (Rubinstein 68). Guilds had a strongly religious dimension within Catholic Europe, giving spiritual solidarity through their brotherhood, or confraternity. And guilds were very hierarchical in organization, both internally and in the relationship between guilds. Within the guild masters protected their position against apprentices and journeymen, the very small scale of most industry facilitating this kind of control. The renaissance period made cultural great changes and achievements which are still being felt even in present Italy (Paula 13). The Italian Renaissance clearly influenced Italy, and gradually the whole Europe to experience prospers on various aspects. The era preceding was the late middle ages, which had poor environments. The agricultural productivity was low, and the bubonic plague reduced a third of the European population (Richard 95). Also the church enforced abstinence that brought stagnation throughout the Europe, causing the middle ages to have another name, the Dark ages. This deteriorated situation of the late middle Ages had been recovered during the two Renaissances; the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance. The Italian Renaissance was based on the economic prosperity of Italy. Italy was bounded by Mediterranean, facilitating it to be dominant to international trade. The preeminent cities for commerce were the cities of northern Italy, and they developed additional enterprises such as banking and book printing which accumulated more property to them.   In this abundant condition, the cities of Italy were financially available to support for the development of leisure activities. Moreover, the Italian trade routes covered more than just the Mediterranean, enabling Italy to acquire new culture and knowledge (Findlen 203)). As those factors were combined, property was spent to enhance the culture of Italy.  The cultural achievements were magnificent during the Italian Renaissance, advancing greatly in architecture, sculpture, painting, literature, and philosophy. The cultural achievement is considered the most important achievement of the Italian Renaissance along with the escape from the Dark ages. Work cited Findlen, Paula. Early Modern Things: Objects and Their Histories, 1500-1800. Abingdon, Rubinstein, Nicolai. Florentine Studies: Politics and Society in Renaissance Florence. London: Faber, 1968. Print. Oxon: Routledge, 2013. Print. Goldthwaite, Richard A. Building and Banking in Renaissance Florence. Aldershot, Hampshire, Great Britain: Variorum, 1995. P ‘’ The Renaissance." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Nov. 2014. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. Wiesner, Merry E. Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993. Print Read More