Understanding Renaissance Humanism
Translated by
ScribdTranslationsUnderstanding Renaissance Humanism
Translated by
ScribdTranslationsThe Renaissance, yesterday and today
I. The Renaissance and Humanism
1. Historical context
Read the following information about the context of the Renaissance and Humanism.
0) Introduction
au16ecentury, is a period of transition between the
The Renaissance, a period running from the 15th
and
Middle Ages and the Modern Era. This period is characterized by a series of
political, economic, social, and intellectual changes. At this time, appears
also humanist movement: a philosophy that places the human being and values
humans at the center of thought. Humanism is characterized by a return to texts
antiques and by the modification of lifestyles, writing, and thinking. The
transformations in scientific and technical fields are considerable and
announces a new type of economic organization. Significant advances are being made in
surgery, mapping, astronomy.
1) Origin of the Renaissance
There is no exact date of birth, but several important events allow for
to explain the birth of the Renaissance:
a) 1453: fall of Constantinople: Byzantine prelates, artists, and men of science
refugees in the West, particularly in Italy. They bring their knowledge, their ideas
and their libraries of ancient manuscripts. Italian scholars and artists then take advantage
of the knowledge accumulated in the East.
b) 1450 : invention of the printing press by Gutenberg (see below)
c) 1492: discovery of the new world: this changes the balance of European societies and
the way we see the world.
These are the Italian wars, waged by the kings of France starting from the end of the 15th [Link], who
to introduce the wonders of Italian art to the French. The kings of France seek to
to create at the court of France the brilliant atmosphere of the Italian courts.
Improvement of living conditions
Trade exchanges allow for a relative prosperity, the countryside regains
peace, the harvests are better, epidemics are receding. The population
urban areas are increasing, which leads to a change in mentalities and the arts. Urban dwellers
from 16
and
century need to know how to read, write, count, but also to get information about what is happening
done elsewhere. They seek to open up to a broader commercial and cultural world. The
cities therefore create colleges in which the teachers are laypeople and take on
They have an open culture, speak Latin but also Greek, Arabic,
Hebrew. These colleges will be the main vectors of the new spirit. This creates
tensions with the Church which had until then been solely responsible for education.
3) Economic Growth
At 15ecentury, Europe is in full economic expansion. The Italian cities benefit
the first transformations of the West due to its geographical location.
Thanks to the economic and banking advancement of Italy, it is experiencing a real explosion.
artistic.
In the MA, the powerful were the landowners at a time when agriculture was
the predominant activity but during the Renaissance, the new masters became the greats
merchants and bankers, they always owned land but also other types
assets: cash, goods, precious items, or securities.
Centralization of the State
With the emergence of the banking and trading bourgeoisie, which replaces feudalism,
The Europe of States is created and gives rise to national sentiment. England,
Spain and France are organizing into powerful states around a strong central government.
Sciences and techniques
a) Invention of the printing press 1450: Gutenberg
Before the invention of this process by Gutenberg in 1453, the writing of books was done by hand.
masters, by desclercs, who were the only ones capable of mastering writing techniques; they
also adorned the manuscripts with illuminations. Moreover, the language used
In the manuscripts was Latin. The universities had a near-monopoly in
education and the dissemination of information. The law was one of the main disciplines
in these universities. Knowledge was thus reserved for the clergy, who had access to education
necessary for the understanding of texts. Printing suddenly allowed to open
access to knowledge of other circles.
b) Copernican Revolution: Copernicus' Heliocentrism
In 1543, the famous work On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres by Nicolaus Copernicus was published.
this work upsets the dogmas of official science by exposing the system
heliocentric. The latter will raise scientific-religious controversies during the
century that will follow. We then move from a geocentric model, according to Ptolemy (earth at
center of the universe), to the heliocentric model (sun at the center of the world) defended by
Nicolaus Copernicus
c) Development of medicine: Erasmus
Great French figure of the 16th century, Ambroise Paré is the surgeon of the fields of
battle, the father of modern surgery. He is the inventor of many instruments.
The new use of firearms leads to new wounds that are cauterized with a red-hot iron.
or with boiling oil at the risk of killing the wounded. Erasmus developed the ligation of the arteries.
that they substitute for cauterization, in amputations. Ambroise Paré is also the
surgeon of kings.
Cultural Revolution
a) Arrival of the humanists
e
From the 14th century, in Italy, Petrarch, then other scholars, exhumed manuscripts
ancients translate ancient texts and seek to match the talent of ancient authors in
Italian language. In the 16the, travel, exchanges, the dissemination of books, and manuals
of teaching complete the spread of humanism in Europe.
Principles of humanism:
Return to the texts of Antiquity
Personal relationship to the texts: we no longer go through the intermediary of comments.
Coexistence of ancient and Christian references
Critical spirit
- Preferred themes: progress and knowledge for all (one is not born a man, one becomes one),
education, happiness, religion, justice, freedom, belief in man
Strong taste for mythological references
Study of languages: Greek, Latin, Hebrew
At the artistic level:
Between medieval art and Renaissance art, a new vision of the body appears. So
that medieval art represented religious subjects featuring characters in distress
to suffering, to divine punishment (e.g., Christ on the cross), Renaissance art represents
mainly on mythological subjects with characters whose nudity breathes the
force, life, desire. It's a hymn to life, an invitation to pleasures including in the
themes. This evolution is made possible by the growing knowledge of anatomy(
At the time, they practiced the dissection of bodies to advance medicine) and the
rediscovery of the ancient nude which will nevertheless be tempered by the notion of modesty. The Church will
worried about this advance of nudity, flesh, and the absence of religiosity:
the human prevails over the divine.
The pictorial domain enters the era of representative art which aims to show the visible, life.
on earth. Thus, the Renaissance painter no longer represents the divine (God appearing
in the sky, angels, demons, etc.) but represents the individual. Man takes precedence over the
divine without excluding it: the divine becomes human, Jesus and the saints resemble
ordinary men. Nevertheless, representational art still retains a symbolic charge
(praise and idealization of the individual, of humanity). Finally, representational art relies on a
important innovation technique: perspective, technique for representing objects in
three dimensions, which accentuate the effect of visible, of real.
b) New status of the French language
The 16th century is marked by the emergence of modern French, supported by the
royal power ofFrancis Iwho, with the Edict of Villers-Cotterêts (1539), gives to this
language its status of official language of the rights of the administration of the kingdom of France.
The use of Latin begins to decline, the dialects continue to be spoken by the majority.
majority of the population. The century is marked by a break with medieval literature.
Now watch the two videos you have received. Then answer the following questions.
Video 1: The Renaissance - A Little History
Who are the humanists?
2) During the Renaissance, what is the place given to man?
3) What invention makes the Renaissance a European movement? Give all the
information you were able to gather about this.
What happened in 1492.
Copernicus makes a discovery that changes the conception that had been held for some time.
centuries of the universe. What is it?
6) Who are the great leaders of this period?
What will they put in place to reinforce their power?
Video 2: Renaissance - The Keys to the Renaissance
1) List below the characteristics of Renaissance art (as opposed to the Middle Ages)
presented in this video.
Exercise. You justify the belonging of a painting to a movement.
Now that everything is clear. You do the exercise too. Here are two paintings.
Renaissance and medieval painting. Analyze them and try to justify their belonging to the
Renaissance or in the Middle Ages considering what you have discovered.
a) Hans Holbein - The Ambassadors, 1533. Oil. 207 x 209 cm. National Gallery London.
b) Michel-Ange -La création d'Adam, 1508-1512. Fresque. 280 x 570cm. Chapelle Sixtine, Vatican.