The Renaissance Was a Time of Tremendous Change and Growth - Essay Example

? The Renaissance Introduction The Renaissance as it is commonly talked about occurred in Italy originally, but as it expanded to other cultured centers of the world it continued to have profound effects. Regardless of location, the Renaissance was a time of tremendous change and growth. The long-dusty ideas of the past, grounded in tradition and defying attempts at progressive thought, were being shaken out, dusted off examined and, in many cases, thrown out with the rest of the garbage. The great societal shifts that were taking place during this period in history saw a tremendous shift in the economic base from one based upon agriculture and its products to one based on the town market and produced consumer goods. It was also a time when a shift was started in the long-held class systems from that of feudal organization made up of the traditionally wealthy and the barely recognized desperately poor to one consisting of a greater stratification of wealth and prestige, in which social mobility was possible with little more than a ready mind and a willingness to make the attempt. Started in Italy as early as the early 1300s, the ideas of the Renaissance didn’t reach England until the 1500s. However, these ideas, once released, would serve to change the fabric of society from the traditional medieval concepts to something more closely approximating modern organization. The Italian Renaissance The Renaissance, as it is discussed today, was not a simultaneous event that occurred throughout Europe all at once, but it is characterized by specific characteristics of thought. “The term ‘Renaissance’ might now be defined as a model of cultural history in which the culture of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Europe is represented as a repudiation of medieval values in favor of the revival of the culture of ancient Greece and Rome.” 1 The word actually means “rebirth” and refers to the tremendous renewal of science and thought that occurred during this period as people rediscovered the skill and knowledge of the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome and adapted it to new discoveries and innovations. It was Italy’s re-focus on the ruins of their past glory that brought forward many of the technical developments made in portraying realistic images. Through these advances, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo were able to communicate the various ideas of the Renaissance outside of Italy, affecting civilizations everywhere through their art. Artists in Florence were able to quickly link the mathematical knowledge of the ancient Greeks and Romans to the proportional focus of their own world as a shared knowledge between artists and businessmen. Painters used their foundational knowledge in geometry to create familiar elements in their paintings that would convey their intentions to the greatest possible audience. “In the same way that a painter could reduce the human form or settings to a play of geometrical figures, so could the merchant simplify all things to geometrical configurations.” 2 By melding mathematics and artistic expression, artists discovered how to provide their figures with a new impression of weight and volume that had not been previously achieved. This new ability to provide realism in a painting and other written expression led to even greater explorations into how the world manifested itself, all of which contributed to an explosion of thought, design and implementation that would change the world. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) revolutionized the artistic world with his explorations in color, light, landscapes and expression. He is considered the master of the sfumato technique as well as chiaroscuro. Both of these techniques are used brilliantly in one of Leonardo’s most well-known portraits, the Mona Lisa. “His use of soft lines and colors created the illusion of movement which became the trademark of High Renaissance art.” 3 Contributing to the High Renaissance style, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) made a splash with his paintings, including free flowing movements, elegantly draped clothing and realistically rounded forms. His most famous painting is, perhaps, the Sistine Chapel. Raphael (1483-1520) further pushed the idea of naturalism with his focus on composition, balance and unity. The influences of the past masters appear in Raphael’s School of Athens, often considered one of the finest examples of the High Renaissance style. In this painting, Raphael created a balance between the horizontal space of the architecture and the movement of the figures, each of which has his own unique stance and gestures. These all seem completely natural yet the harmonious way in which each groups leads to the next continues to bring the focal point back to Plato and Aristotle at the point of convergence. The painting highlights the close connection between art, literature, science and technological mastery that developed as an integral part of Renaissance thinking. 4 Economic change As the population began reasserting itself following the plagues of the 14th and 15th century, the semi-subsistent agrarian lifestyle of the past was no longer sufficient to sustain the population. Land became more expensive, peasants were required to pay larger rents and other duties and many began moving into the towns and villages to pursue crafts or trades that would cater to the growing consumer market. According to Immanuel Wallerstein, 5 those individuals who determined to stay on the land and pay higher rents could only do so by switching their farming techniques from one of subsistence to one of specialized farming that would produce higher profit crops for less effort. This contributed to the growth of towns as a means of trading among various growers just as much as the development of handcraft industries and the beginnings of a middle class. Thus, while the population began to expand, the demographics started shifting to a more social, more innovative culture that had a stronger tendency to share ideas, discuss issues and examine beliefs across a broad range of the population that was also seeing an increase in prosperity and individual concern. The seeds of capitalism were planted needing only the justification for full-fledged pursuit of personal wealth. The Literary Renaissance With the greater intermingling of society as the towns grew and business began operating more with a dependence upon written communication as a matter of course, more and more people were beginning to read and to appreciate various forms of literature, such as the production of plays as a means of entertainment and moral reinforcement. The predominant guiding principle for the creation of new literature was to re-create or mirror what was observed in human behavior and this concept extended naturally to commentary upon the church and state. The demand for books was high, but the cost of producing them was equally high until the middle of the 15th century and the production of the printing press. By creating metal blocks that contained a single letter each, Johannes Gutenberg was able to create movable type and print multiple copies of complete pages of text in a fraction of the time it used to take to hand-copy or block print with less waste and expense. In keeping with the emerging Humanist ideals that rejected the spoutings of the Catholic church in all its ineptitude and a dependence on the Bible itself as the only true authority, one of the earliest projects for the printing press was a large-scale printing of the Gutenberg Bible that was available for sale to any who could afford it, “the equivalent of three years’ pay for the average clerk.” 6 As the reformation moved forward, translations of the Bible into the various vernacular languages of the European continent and Great Britain and their distribution among the populace was only possible through this earth-shaking invention. The Renaissance comes to England While the Renaissance in Italy is primarily represented through the visual arts that were produced up to the 16th century, the Renaissance in England existed for only about 100 years beginning in the 16th century and is perhaps best traced through its literature. Stephen Greenblatt 7 begins his description of this time in history as a time when “outward appearance is everything and nothing.” He also recognizes a growing concern with the concept of individuation within the Renaissance era as it is at once sharply defined and constantly blurred. Another common concern of Renaissance literature is the idea that the victims of fate are haunted by the ghosts of the possible. These are ideas that can be easily found in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet and Christopher Marlowe’s play Dr. Faustus, both representative of this period in history. One of the chief ways these concepts are demonstrated in Shakespeare’s play is through the portrayal of Hamlet’s madness and the steps he takes to prove the very physical presence of the ghost is valid. Throughout each play, it becomes clear that the world is at once what it must be and also what it shouldn’t have had to be. There is significant questioning of the proper role of man and the meaning of life. This is all the result of a changing time in which it is possible for knowledge to go beyond the strict teachings of the church and when traditional social structures are breaking down. This questioning was aggravated by the efforts of Martin Luther in Germany beginning in 1517 that brought the authority of the church into sharp question and encouraged questioning in other areas of life. Luther’s means of refuting the piratical practice of papal indulgences was to call on the people to reflect upon their need for an intermediary to God. “By attacking the issue of the indulgences, Luther was really attacking the entire theology and structure of the Church. By making salvation dependent on the individual’s faith, Luther abolished the need for sacraments as well as a clergy to administer them. For Luther, faith alone, without the necessity of good works, would bring salvation.” 8 This line of reasoning gained him many followers as the rich identified a means of achieving spiritual salvation without handing their estates over to the church and the poor found a means of retaining some semblance of dignity and respect regardless of what they could pay the church in their simple faith. Whereas religion before had always been about the group body of the Church and congregation, Luther introduced an individual element that would have profound implications for future generations. Again, the primary elements of individuation, dual nature and consideration of possibilities can be found in the thought process. Major changes in England The English Renaissance flowered during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, who encouraged more enlightened views. “Elizabeth is often regarded as rather brilliant. She had a quick mind, was not extravagant, and recognized that her throne was not as secure as her counselors might lead her to believe. She was strong and certainly capable of making hard and difficult decisions; however, perhaps because she was a woman, she was less functionally arrogant than most of her contemporary monarchs.” 9 Although women didn’t achieve a great deal of independence or greater legal rights during this period, the seeds of equal rights were formed during this period. This was largely the result of individualism, which necessarily had some carry-over effect onto the female gender as it made its way through the male population. Female writers such as Elizabeth Cary (1585-1639) and Lady Mary Wroth (1587-1651) were able to gain an audience for novels written in their own name and female artists like Mary Beale (1632-1697) and Susan Penelope Rosse (1652-1700) were able to gain a foothold. Political changes took place during this period as well, not only as a result of a strong female queen but also as a result of an expanding world thanks to developed technology and a stronger international position. “Although she was Queen of England, [Elizabeth] shared some of her rule with Parliament, a body made of men chosen to represent the various areas of England.” 10 While this body had voting rights to a greater degree than they’d had in the past as counselors, they were not yet the democratic system of today. At the same time that the English government was becoming more liberal, advances in technology was allowing it to become more global. Sailing ships had been developed with more streamlined shapes and lighter designs, enabling the English navy to assert certain dominance over that of the fabled Spanish Armada, to that point the strongest power on the seas. “Improvements in navigation led to improved maps and charts … As a result of these combined improvements, captains began pushing their ships to more distant lands. New trading routes were secured which led to increased competition in trade and wider availability of exotic products.” 11 Faster, more maneuverable ships and greater range of travel enabled England to begin colonizing far away lands and establish itself as a true world power moving into the 17th century and beyond. While the Renaissance spirit flourished throughout most of Elizabeth’s reign, upon James’ ascension to the throne, England began to experience the more negative side of this spirit. As more and more individuals began to question the established hierarchy of tradition and authoritative positions such as monarchies and the positions of the Catholic church lost their ability to control the masses. While literature, art, music and the sciences continued to flourish during what is now referred to as the Jacobean period, contributing to the rise of the middle class, the country nevertheless experienced a severe economic depression toward the end of James’ reign. “Some experts believe that the rule of James and the explosive changes to the culture contributed greatly to the overthrow of the monarchy by Oliver Cromwell and the English Civil war that shortly followed.” 12 Conclusion The Renaissance traces its beginnings to Italy at the start of the 14th century. This was primarily the result of scientists, artists and philosophers taking a closer look at the ancient knowledge passed down to them from the Greeks and Romans. This knowledge was quickly adopted by the artists emerging during the period, slowly developing artistic techniques through the application of science, mathematics and perspective to create much more realistic images that conveyed a sense of three-dimensionality. This ability to create images that could be envisioned in real space itself led to an explosion of ideas even as these artists were exploring subjects once considered taboo, such as the ancient mythologies of these past civilizations. As the Renaissance advanced, these techniques became increasingly developed and dissipated throughout the known world, particularly into France, Germany and Spain. It took quite a bit longer to reach England, beginning, as the Italians did, with art. The difference was typically that this artwork was imported such as the tapestries based on Raphael’s cartoons of the Acts of the Apostles. The English Renaissance was characterized much more by its explorations in literature and music than it was through the visual arts, but retained much of the same focus and became further influenced by the radical teachings of a man named Martin Luther, who managed to free England from the power of the church through his presentation of Reformation ideas. During this period in history, the church was seen to have turned its back on the common people in favor of money and power even as the common people were struggling to meet rising costs of living, changing world economies and different means of subsistence. These doubts were fostered by natural conditions such as earlier outbreaks of plague in which the church was seen to be as helpless and perhaps more cowardly than the average citizen as well as by internal politics within the church itself that were deliberately aired before the public as a means of garnering support for one greedy Pope or another. Although others had come before and others would come after, Martin Luther’s placement in the center of this continent-wide debate ensured his identification as the touchstone of the revolution, introducing new perspectives on old problems that opened up entirely new vistas to explore as the concept of individual devotion became widespread. Whether in Italy or England, the Renaissance meant for many a realization of a dual nature in things, an increased focus on the individual and the importance of individual development and an incessant exploration of the varied possibilities both in the past and into the future. Bibliography Campbell, Gordon. Renaissance Art and Architecture. New York: Oxford University Press. 2004. Connor, Linda. “Leonardo da Vinci: A Portrait of a Man and His Time.” Computer Application in Education. Manitoba, Canada: University of Manitoba. 2006. Ellis, Jessica. “What was the Jacobean Era.” WiseGeek. Conjecture Corporation. 2008. Available April 2, 2011 from Greenblatt, Stephen (Ed.). The Norton Shakespeare. New York: Norton, 1997. Judkins, David. “Life in Renaissance England.” Texas: University of Houston. 2008. Available April 2, 2011 from Kreis, Steven. “The Printing Press.” The History Guide. May 13, 2004 Available April 2, 2011 from < http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/press.html> Kreis, Steven. “The Protestant Reformation.” The History Guide. October 11, 2006 Available April 2, 2011 from Lemaitre, Alain J. & Lessing, Erich. Florence and the Renaissance. Paris: Terrail Press. 1993. Manley, Frank. “The Nature of Faustus.” Modern Philology. Vol. 66, N. 3, pp. 218-231. 1969. Marlowe, C. “Dr. Faustus”. Masterplots. Ed. S. Flecher. Salem Press, Inc. 1616; reprint 1996. “Masaccio.” The National Gallery. Trafalgar Square, London: The National Gallery. 2006. Available April 2, 2011 from Mona Lisa. Leonardo da Vinci. Oil on poplar. Musee du Louvre, Paris. (1503-1506). School of Athens. Raphael. Fresco. Vatican City, Apostolic Palace. (1509-1510). Wallerstein, Immanuel. The Modern World System I: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World Economy in the Sixteenth Century. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. 1980. Read More