Renaissance in Italy and in Northern Europe - Research Paper Example

?Renaissance in Italy and in Northern Europe Renaissance refers to cultural movement that occurred around the 14th -17th century in Europe. This movement started in Florence before spreading to the rest of Europe. The most remarkable feature about this period is artistic developments and the significant contributions of polymaths like Michelangelo and Leonard da Vinci. Other notable characteristics include revolutions in intellectual pursuits and socio-political improvement. Origins Many theories have been put proposed in an effort to explain the origins of renaissance. These theories mainly focus on various factors that prevailed in Florence especially its civic and social peculiarities, Italy’s political structure and the leadership of the dominant families for example the Medici family. Other factors that contributed to the development of renaissance include the texts brought to Italy when Constantinople fell to the hands of the Ottoman Turks ad the migration of Greek scholars. The following paragraphs provide an exploration of these factors and more. Some historians argue that renaissance had its origin starting from 13th century as depicted by the writings of Francenso Petrarca (1304-1374) and Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), and the painting of Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337). Those who support the view that renaissance started from 1401 point to the rivalry that existed between geniuses Filippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti as the cause of renaissance. Jensen (1992) reveals that the two people competed to for a contract to construct the bronze doors of the Florence Cathedral’s Baptistery. Other historians hold the view that general competition between polymaths and artists like Masaccio, Ghiberti, Brunelleschi and Donatello for artistic missions caused the explosion of the creativity of renaissance (Jensen, 1992). The socio-political structures in Italy general had a good part to play in the emergence of renaissance. This is because there existed a unique political structure in Italy during the Middle Ages. For example, the country did not exist as a political entity. Instead, it was divided into territories and states (Clare and Millen, 1994). Some of the states like the republic of Florence had remarkable merchant Republics for example the Venice Republic. This practice had some features of democracy and the states involved were responsive with belief in liberty and forms of participation in government. Therefore, these states enjoyed a relative political freedom, condition which created conducive environment for artistic and academic advancement. The emergence of renaissance can also be linked to the relative positions of some Italian cities like Venice. These cities were great trading centers and this made them intellectual crossroads. Merchants who came to these cities brought with them ideas from their countries spread over the globe, especially the Levant. Venice was a producer of glass and the gateway for trade between Europe and the East while Florence was the capital of textiles. This brought in much wealth which led to more private and public artistic commissions and people having more leisure time for study (Cronin, 1969). Between 1348-1350, Europe was hit by the Black Plague/Death in Florence. This resulted to a shift in the way the world viewed people and life in general in the 14th-century Italy. For example, familiarity with death caused thinkers to focus more on their lives on earth instead of spirituality and afterlife. The Black Death therefore led to the sponsorship of religious works of art (Clare and Millen, 1994). There was also an unusual social climate in Italy which motivated the development of rare cultural efflorescence. This situation was more pronounced in Florence because it had a unique cultural life which is though to have caused the emergence of renaissance as a cultural movement (Turner, 2005). In 1453, the Byzantine Empire fell and this was accompanied by the closing of higher learning institutions by the Ottoman Turks. This caused the immigration of many Greek scholars to Italy and across Europe. These Greek scholars brought with them Greek manuscripts and information on the classical Greek literature. According to Cronin (1969), the ideas of renaissance were able to spread from Italy to northern Europe through trade due to the great commercial success in Northern Italy. The invention of the printing press increased the speed at which these ideas spread across other parts of Europe. Significance Important economic, cultural and social reformations were experienced during and after the renaissance period. During this time, cities grew and prospered as leaders learned how to impose taxes on people. Renaissance also led to increased trade between states, cities and other countries and as trade increased, renaissance ideas also increased. Trade led to accumulation of wealth in Italy and other parts of Europe and this was important for the sustenance of the social and political changes (Jensen, 1992). Turner (2005) states that more prosperity was experienced in Florence despite its inland location, for example it became the banking centre of Europe in the 14th century. The influence of the rich individuals and families was supported by the fact that during the renaissance period, art and money went hand in hand. For example, artists depended on patrons for financial support and the patrons required money to sustain these geniuses. As a result of this, wealth was brought into Italy in the period of 14-16th century leading to an expansion of trade into Europe and Asia (Turner, 2005). There were crusades during the renaissance period and as people came back home, they brought back luxuries from the eastern world and this increased the prosperity of Venice and Genoa, the territories located in Eastern Europe. These crusades caused Europe to look up to the East cultures for luxuries. Renaissance was significant in the development of artistic improvements. This was mainly promoted by the competition that existed between artists and polymorphs leading to the development of a more realistic linear perspective. For example Giottto di Bondone was the first to treat a painting as a widow into space. This perspective was formalized into art after the demonstrations of Fillipo Brunelleschi an architect and the Leon Alberti’s subsequent writings. This became part of the larger trend towards realism in art (Jensen, 1992). During the renaissance period, painters developed new painting techniques, like studying shadow and light and more famously, human anatomy as demonstrated by Leonardo da Vinci in his Mona Liza Painting. This is because renaissance led to renewal of the desire to bring out the beauty of nature and explore the axioms of aesthetics. These are mainly seen in the works of Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael. The vibrant artistic culture during renaissance included the stylistic development of naturalism in painting. This included the introduction of canvas and oil painting and this made oil on canvas the famous medium of painting. After Leonardo’s Mona Liza painting, artists have focused on presentation of human anatomies with correct proportions. The renaissance period led to changes in humanism as humanistic scholars gave the intellectual landscape a new shape. Humanists wanted to create a universal man whose physical and intellectual excellence could be combined and function honorably in almost every situation. For example, they argued that people should be use all the opportunities they had to shape their destiny and work aggressively (Jensen, 1992). The Black Death caused people to shift from spiritual to real life situations. There were religious reformations and the spread of Protestantism as people begun to see the problems in the Catholic Church. Renaissance period also led to scientific revolution for example it changed the way people viewed the universe and methods used by philosophers to explain natural phenomena. Scientists like Leonardo performed experiments on various subjects like medical dissection, water flow and systematic study of movement. Conclusion Renaissance traces its roots to trade between Italy and other European countries and the East, political freedom in some Italian states like Florence, competition between artist and polymorphs, and the Black Death. Of all the Italian states, Florence had a major part to play in the emergence of renaissance due to its unique culture and socio-political freedom. The major significance of the renaissance period include artistic developments, improvement in humanism and science, socio-economic improvements and growth of cities and states. References Clare, J. and Millen, A. (1994). Italian Renaissance, London. Riverswift. Cronin, V. (1969). The Flowering of the Renaissance. Online: http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/currentunder/honours/history/2004/handbook_mh-fhs_2004-6.pdf. Viewed on 27th April, 2011. Jensen, L. (1992). Renaissance Europe. Online: http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/currentunder/honours/history/2004/handbook_mh-fhs_2004-6.pdf. Viewed on 27th April, 2011. Turner, R. (2005). Renaissance Florence . Online: http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/currentunder/honours/history/2004/handbook_mh-fhs_2004-6.pdf. Viewed on 27th April, 2011. Read More