An Artistic and Intellectual Revolution - Essay Example

? The Renaissance: An Artistic and Intellectual Revolution May 23, The Renaissance: An Artistic and Intellectual Revolution The Renaissance in Europe was the great movement which brought about the awakening of new interest in the old classics. It originated in the 15th century and brought about a transition from faith to reason, from dogma to science. ‘Literally the term Renaissance’ means "rebirth" and signified the revival of the study of old classics. It was basically an enthusiastic study of the masterpieces of ancient Latin and Greek literature, with a new interest. Thus a new outlook was developed in the realm of thought and action.’1 In a broad sense, was the revival of all-round development and broadening horizons. There was a new awareness that the world is full of interest and beauty, and many good things that could be experienced and enjoyed without reference to a larger purpose or destiny. (Pink Monkey, 2011) Renaissance, led to the growth of a spirit of curiosity and investigation, which led to great dissatisfaction with the medieval spirit. Like Hayes, Moon andWayland motion to declare "a representative of the literature, architecture, sculpture and painting, a reaction against the medieval culture."2 Through a bold approach, the Renaissance encouraged the intellectual rebellion of rigid rules and traditions of the middle Ages. (Pink Monkey, 2011) The greatest service that the Renaissance was the liberation of the human spirit and the birth of an original thought. This led to rapid progress in all spheres of activity. It also led to various movements, which took place at the same time, such as the emergence of new geographical discoveries and political reform movement that inaugurated the modern era. Renaissance spirit that emerged during the Middle Ages. Currently in Europe lived in the spiritual tyranny of the church. As the dogmatic attitude of the church was a spiritual concern, as quiet and patient, the development of thought. Seeds of independent thought, which are seeded trees grown in the Middle Ages in modern times. (Pink Monkey, 2011) Several factors have contributed to the success of the Renaissance. Ideas that are not based on reason cannot continue indefinitely. The clergy in the church, in practice, acted contrary to the principles of true Christianity that is preached. This faith in the ideas of commitment to the universal Church and the universal rule. (Pink Monkey, 2011) Original thinkers like Roger Bacon and Peter Abelard succeeded in weakening the intellectual authority of the church with new trails. Peter Abelard (1079 1142) considered it essential to apply the principles of reason to Scripture. In his view, the mysteries of Christianity are not taken for granted. They were examined in the light of reason and intelligence. Another revolutionary thinker was Roger Bacon (1214-1294). Aristotle criticized the church severely. He agreed in the past, everything that was reasonable and worked patiently for the cause of the new spirit. With an open mind and the spirit of scientific research, studied subjects like math, physics, natural sciences and philosophy. He had the vision to anticipate the latest invasions and wrote about the possibility of having a boat without oars, without draft animals, vehicles and flying machines. However, because of the bold approach of Bacon and original thought, he earned the enmity of the church, which was punished, and Peter Abelard. The Fall of Constantinople led to a widespread and systematic study of the Greek heritage. After Constantinople, the great center of civilization and culture, fell to the Ottoman Turks, the Greek scholars fled to various parts of Europe that emit the great ideas of ancient Greece. Thus, the enthusiasm for the study of the classics was injected into the minds of Europeans. (Pink Monkey, 2011) The rapid spread of ideas was made possible by the introduction of printing. A mid-15th century, Johannes Gutenberg was able to operate the first movable type in Mainz in Germany, where the indulgences of Pope Nicholas V runs on 31 lines can be printed in 1454. In 1473, the first book printed in Hungary. Printing presses were also established in 1477 in England by Caxton, and in Italy 1465. The new ideas were imported into Europe because of the Crusades, which caused the Arabs and the connections with other people in the East. (Pink Monkey, 2011) Tours were conducted to new countries as adventurers. Geographic explorers and travelers felt it was important to absorb ideas and is also creating new ideas. Their voyages of exploration and discovery have led to wealth and prosperity, and a broader vision. An important role was played by kings and popes in the gradual promotion of the Renaissance. Thus, Pope Nicolas V was not only a great scholar, but also a generous patron of scholars of classical learning. Similarly, scholarships Renaissance reached its apogee under Pope Leo X. Some of the nobles and wealthy merchants also attended the arts and scholarship. For example, artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci under the patronage of the glorious Medici family in Florence.3 Art is undoubtedly the most familiar and beloved of the Renaissance. Renaissance has produced an extraordinary amount of art and the artist's role differs from the Middle Ages. (Answers, 2011) The Renaissance had a passion for art. Taxes came from kings, popes, princes, nobles and soldiers of fortune lowborn. The leaders of scenes commissioned portraits of themselves their achievements, including successful battles, and famous ancestors. City Council wanted the room decorated with huge murals, frescoes and tapestries illustrating the great moments of civic activities. Monasteries commissioned artists to paint frescoes in the dining halls and cells that would inspire greater devotion to the monks. And civic life, dynastic and religious leaders have hired architects to build buildings, the huge expense of efforts to beautify the city or semi-public housing managers. This art was intended to celebrate and impress. (Answers, 2011) A significant feature of the Renaissance was more interaction between customer and artist. Environmentalists like Lorenzo de 'Medici (1449-1492) in Florence and the popes Julius II (reined 1503-1513) and Leo X (reined 1513-1521) was an active and enlightened patrons. They proposed programs or guidelines that humanists do for them, the artists follow. At the same time, these results indicate that not stifle originality of the artists. Men and women from many walks of life have had an appetite for art. A wealthy merchant wanted a painting of Jesus, Mary and the saints, small portraits of family members to pray for their homes. Noble could finance decorate a chapel in his parish church to respect the saint, is assigned. The members of the middle class and working class probably wanted small devotional paintings. (Answers, 2011) New styles from Italy, and Italy produced more art than anywhere else in Europe. Works of art and all sorts of luxury goods were the Italian production and exported to countries. In addition, exported artists, such as Leonardo da Vinci, who died in a French court. The world of ancient Rome and Greece, as interpreted by the humanists, had a major influence on Renaissance art. Artists and humanists studied the surviving buildings and monuments, reading old papers available for the first time and drank humanist emphasis on man and his actions and perceptions, and the habit of criticism of medieval style. (Answers, 2011) Stimulated by the old artists of the Renaissance were the first in European history to writing numerous articles on art and themselves. Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) wrote treatises on painting (1435) and Architecture (1452); Raphael wrote a letter to Pope Leo X (ca. 1519) on art. Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) the lives of artists (first edition 1550, revised edition 1568) was a series of biographies of Renaissance artists, with his many comments on the art style. It was the first art history. The goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571) wrote about the artistic practice and a lot more about themselves, no doubt largely fictional, in his autobiography, written between 1558 and 1566. The social and intellectual position of the artist has changed during the Renaissance. The artist began as a craftsman who has a relatively low social and related to his guild, anyone who has followed local traditions and produced paintings for local users. It was a conscious creator of the original artwork for complex arrangements, a person who spoke with the humanists and negotiations with kings and popes. Successful artists enjoyed wealth and honor, such as chivalry, the Emperor Charles V conferred Titian (Tiziano Vercelli, c. 1488-1576) in 1533. (Wikipedia, 2011) The upheavals occurring in the arts and humanities were mirrored by a dynamic period of change in the sciences. Some have seen this flurry of activity as a "scientific revolution", heralding the beginning of the modern age. Others have seen it merely as an acceleration of a continuous process stretching from the ancient world to the present day. Regardless, there is general agreement that the Renaissance saw significant changes in the way the universe was viewed and the methods with which philosophers sought to explain natural phenomena. Science and art were very much intermingled in the early Renaissance, with artists such as Leonardo da Vinci making observational drawings of anatomy and nature. An exhaustive 2007 study by Fritjof Capra  shows that Leonardo was a much greater scientist than previously thought, and not just an inventor. In science theory and in conducting actual science practice, Leonardo was innovative. He set up controlled experiments in water flow, medical dissection, and systematic study of movement and aerodynamics; he devised principles of research method that for Capra classify him as "father of modern science". In Capra's detailed assessment of many surviving manuscripts Leonardo's science is more in tune with holistic non-mechanistic and non-reductive approaches to science which are becoming popular today. Perhaps the most significant development of the era was not a specific discovery, but rather a process for discovery, the scientific method. This revolutionary new way of learning about the world focused on empirical evidence, the importance of mathematics, and discarded the Aristotelian "final cause" in favor of mechanical philosophy. Early and influential proponents of these ideas included Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and Rene Descartes. (Wikipedia, 2011) The new scientific method led to great contributions in the fields of astronomy, physics, biology, and anatomy. With the publication of Vesalius's De humani corporis fabrica, a new confidence was placed in the role of dissection, observation, and a mechanistic view of anatomy. (Wikipedia, 2011) It has always been a long standing argument of whether the Renaissance was actually a separate period in history or another continuation of the Middle Ages. Although the pattern of lifestyle and disintegration continued in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries there was a change in the mindset of the people. This was a period of ‘significant politic, economic, artistic and intellectual change.’ 4 Therefore, this was a period which marked not only endeavors in the field of arts but is also responsible for the introduction of the concept of humanity. Simultaneously the Renaissance brought about an intellectual revolution and can be said to be responsible for the industrial revolution. References Answers.com, Renaissance, 2011, http://www.answers.com/topic/renaissance Pink Monkey, The Causes of Renaissance, accessed 22 May 2011, http://www.pinkmonkey.com/studyguides/subjects/worldhis/chap2/w0202101.asp Pink Monkey, The Origins of Renaissance, accessed 22 May 2011, http://www.pinkmonkey.com/studyguides/subjects/worldhis/chap2/w0202101.asp Ross, James Bruce, and Mary M. McLaughlin, eds. The Portable Renaissance Reader (1977) Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization, Carnage Learning, 2011 Wikipedia, Rennaissance, 2011, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance Read More