Unit 1: Humanism and Renaissance

Unit 1: Humanism and Renaissance

1. HUMANISM

   • cultural movement that first began in Italian city-states in the 14th century. It developed during the 15th and 16th centuries
     • an alternative to the medieval God-centered world view, although they were still devoted Christians
   • Anthropocentrism:
     • This individualist way of thinking focuses on humans and their capacity of making decisions using reason and intelligence.
   • The revival of Antiquity
     • Humanists believed that a person's prestige not only depended on their wealth and power
   • The love of knowledge:
     • Humanists studied antiquity and revised classical thinking
   • important humanists
     • Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola
     • Erasmus of Rotterdam
     • Thomas Moore
     • Cardenal Cisneros
     • Antonio de Nebrija
   • The spread of knowledge
     • The printing press
       • Around 1440, Johannes Guttenberg, a blacksmith from the Holy Roman Empire, invented the movable-type printing press
         • Consequences: 1. With this new system, Books could be produced more easily. 2. Humanist ideas and knowledge spread more rapidly than in the Middle Ages, when knowledge was spread through books written by hand, mostly by clergymen in monasteries. 3. Intellectual life was no longer restricted those monasteries and universities. 4. It improved literacy, although most of the population still could not read or write at the time
     • Scientific knowledge
       • During the Renaissance, thinkers and academics revived the scientific method used in Ancient Greece and Rome, where the study of nature was based on observation and experimentation.
       • The aim was to find a well-reasoned explanation for natural phenomena and provide empirical evidence1 . However, many of the advantages made were not popular with some societies that were still very traditional. Religious leaders and some politicians were opposed to them. This is because they were devoted to the teachings of the Bible that were impossible to prove.
     • The greatest changes were in the following scientific disciplines:
       • Astronomy
       • Medicine
       • Geography
   • The Renaissance in Italy
     • Renaissance is how we call the period between the 15th and 16th centuries, when all artistic disciplines revived the models of Ancient Greek and Roman art.
     • Architecture
       • A return to classical structural elements
       • The revival of Ancient Roman roofs
       • Harmony
       • The growth of civil architecture
       • The Quattrocento
       • The Cinquecento (
     • Painting
       • The themes were more varied
       • Compositions were balanced and harmonious by displaying carefully the figures avoiding disruptions
       • Proportion was the essential source of beauty
       • Drawing was more important than the color
       • They used the light to create illuminated and shaded areas
       • The Quattrocento
       • The Cinquecento
     • Sculpture
       • A variety of materials
       • New themes
       • two types according to their form
       • Sculptures in the round
       • The Quattrocento
       • The Cinquecento

2. The spread of Renaissance

   • The Renaissance in Europe
     • A wealthy middle class developed in cities demonstrated their power by building and decorating luxurious city palaces and churches
   • Authors:
     • Jan Van Eyck: "The Arnolfini Portrait" o Roger van der Weyden: "The Descent from the Cross"
     • Hieronymus Bosch: "Garden of Earthly Delight