The term "Renaissance" is usually understood as a period that began in the XIV and ended around the XVII century - something like a bridge between the European culture of the Middle Ages and modern times. Although the term is taken for granted today, it was not the self-name of the era. The historian and artist Giorgio Vasari in the "Biographies of the most famous painters, sculptors and architects" (1550) by the term rinascita (literally "rebirth") contrasted the new art, going from Giotto to Brunel Leschi, Alberti, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and other masters, to the "barbaric" Gothic style. At the same time, he had in mind an artistic breakthrough, and by no means a return to ancient origins. But Francesco Petrarca, who is traditionally considered the first Renaissance writer, called first of all to resurrect the ancient canon, and most importantly, classical Latin, to cleanse the language of the layers of the barbaric Middle Ages. It is not difficult to see that these two authors by “renaissance” meant fundamentally different things.
In the middle of the 19th century, after the publication of Jules Michelet's book "History of France in the 16th Century: Renaissance", historians began to call the entire period from the 14th to the 16th century in French manner. The term stuck: five years later Jacob Burckhardt's textbook “Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italien” (“Culture of Italy in the Renaissance”) was published. Gradually, the word "renaissance", or "rebirth", began to be used more widely, meaning any interest in the renewal of lost knowledge. For example, the flowering of literature, theology, jurisprudence and other knowledge under Charlemagne and his descendants (VIII-IX centuries) is often described as the Carolingian Renaissance, and the XII century Renaissance is called the rise of science, philosophy and poetry in Europe, associated with translation into Latin of many previously unknown texts - not only from Greek, but also from Arabic.
Francesco Petrarca. Engraving by Francesco Allegrini. 1761 year Rijksmuseum, AmsterdamSome modern historians believe that it is more honest to call the era from Petrarch to the 17th century the early modern period. Firstly, such a term absorbs realities that have affected all segments of the population (the lower classes hardly read Greek authors or studied ancient architectural orders). Secondly, the idea of \u200b\u200bthe Middle Ages as a temporary break into darkness, after which the light shone again classical culture, has long been outdated. However, the term “early modern times” did not supplant the “Renaissance”. This is confirmed, for example, by the Renaissance Society of America - an association of about four thousand specialists in the culture, history, science of the Renaissance, holding annual conferences with hundreds of participants. We can safely conclude that both terms are relevant: one more refers to social and economic history, the second - to the history of culture.
2. When was the Renaissance
It is impossible to pinpoint the boundaries of an era; debates on this issue have been going on for decades and are unlikely to ever end. The year 1341 is most often taken as a symbolic starting point, when Francesco Petrarca was crowned with a laurel wreath on the Capitol. In ancient times, a wreath was offered to the winner of poetry competitions, but in the 14th century Petrarch found himself out of competition: he was rightfully recognized as the undisputed triumphant, heir to ancient literature, called upon to revive pure Latin. 1341 is a more than conditional date, but there is a consensus in science that the Renaissance began in Italy in the XIV century, and its first and main center was Florence. When the end came, the question is even more controversial. The final chord of the Renaissance can be considered the discovery of America (1492), and the beginning of the Reformation (1517), and the execution of the philosopher Giordano Bruno (1600), and the end of the Thirty Years War (1648). The last date, in particular, is adhered to by the author of the "Civilization of the Renaissance" Jean Delyumau, and, perhaps, we can agree with him: the signing of the Peace of Westphalia essentially new stage in the history of European states. International relations have lost their strict hierarchy: the kings, electors, princes and landgraves of Europe ceased to consider the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire as a god given to the suzera. The idea of \u200b\u200bsovereign states and non-interference in their internal affairs arose and became firmly established, and the idea of \u200b\u200breligious tolerance appeared. New norms meant offensive new era.
3. Renaissance and Middle Ages
According to widespread beliefs, the Renaissance abandoned medieval superstitions in favor of science and turned to man instead of God. It is generally accepted that the first thing the Renaissance did was to abandon scholasticism, that is, the system of strict philosophical proofs of the existence of God, on which the work of the first universities was based ( schola). Now this word is considered almost a curse, but initially scholasticism was one of the greatest achievements of European intellectual culture. It was she who taught the European man to think logically; a significant role in this process was played by the works of Aristotle, which in the XII century returned to scientific circulation in translations from Arabic.
If scholasticism was based on Aristotle, then the Renaissance philosophical system put another ancient author, Plato, at the forefront. His works were first translated into Latin by the Florentine Marsilio Ficino. It was a big European sensation: at the end of the 15th century, almost no one knew Greek, the texts were considered lost and were restored from fragmentary quotations.
In fact, the Renaissance never broke with tradition, Anselm of Canterbury and other great scholastic theologians. New, original and interesting commentaries on Aristotle's translations continued to be written and published until the 17th century. In addition, the Middle Ages never neglected man and his place in the structure of the universe, and the re-nessance authors did not renounce God. On the contrary, it was theology that they considered the main business of their lives. The same Marsilio Ficino sought to subordinate the ideas of Plato to Christian doctrine. His younger contemporary, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, in his theological treatises and philosophical writings, sought to prove the commonality of all the teachings of the world and bring them into a single Christian system.
4. Renaissance humanism
Benozzo Gozzoli. Arrival of the Magi to Bethlehem. Painting in the chapel of the Medici Palazzo - Riccardi. Florence, 1459-1460 The members of the Medici family and their contemporaries are depicted in the image of the Magi and participants in the procession. Getty Images Almost the only direction of Renaissance thought is considered to be humanism, which was not even a full-fledged philosophical system. Humanist scientists Coluccio Salutati, Leonardo Bruni, Niccolo Niccoli only proposed a new educational program - studia humanitatis, that is, in the words of Bruni, "the knowledge of those things that relate to life and morals and improve and adorn a person." Cit. Quoted from: L. M. Batkin. Italian Renaissance: Problems and People. M., 1995.... The program centered around the study of ancient languages \u200b\u200b- Latin, Ancient Greek, and a little later, Hebrew.
The humanists also did not have a formal center: the Platonic Academy in Karaji is most likely a later myth. Cosimo Medici did give Marsilio Ficino a villa in the Careggi hills, but the young men thirsty for knowledge did not flock there for regular classes. The Academy was not an educational institution, but rather a virtual concept - a free association of like-minded people and interlocutors, admirers and commentators of Plato. It was raised to the rank of a de facto state institution in the 16th century. But the Medici dynasty managed to take full advantage of the fact that Plato was first transferred to their city - Florence began to be considered the cultural capital of the Renaissance.
5. Science and magic in the Renaissance
Usually the Middle Ages are accused of superstition, while the Renaissance is considered the time of the victory of reason over prejudice. However, magic played an important role both in the Renaissance picture of the world and in the works of the fathers of the so-called “scientific revolution”. The inventor of the driveshaft, Girolamo Cardano, and the physicist, Galileo Galilei, drew up the horoscopes; the astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler tried to simultaneously reform astrology; astronomer Tycho Brahe, in addition to astrology, was fond of alchemy, just like Isaac Newton. Perhaps Nicolaus Copernicus was not interested in magic, but his only student Johannes Rethick was professionally engaged in astrology.
6. Revolution in art
The art of the Renaissance made a real revolution, but it was not started by the ecclesiastical Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael. One of the most important artistic innovations of the era was oil painting. Since the time of Vasari, it was believed that the Dutch master Jan van Eyck (1390-1441) invented it. In fact, in Afghanistan, pigments diluted in vegetable oil were used in the VI century (archaeologists have discovered this already today, when they began to explore the caves that opened behind the backs of the Bamiyan Buddhas blown up by the Taliban), and oil painting reached Northern Europe by the XII century (it is mentioned in the treatise of Presbyter Theophilus "On Various Arts"). However, it was van Eyck who brought this technique to virgin perfection.
In Italy, oil painting penetrated as an overseas fashion: the Ferrarian Cosimo Tura studied it from the works of the Flemish Rogier van der Weyden from the collection of his patron, Duke Lionello d'Este, and Antonello da Messina mastered the basics at the Neapolitan court, where Alfonso of Aragonese brought the all parts of Europe, including the Netherlands. Along with oil from there, many compositional novelties came to Italy, which we now admire on the canvases of Bellini, Carpaccio and other famous masters - optical and light effects, hidden symbolism, playing with interiors, the approval of secular portrait as an independent genre.
Masaccio. Trinity. Fresco in the Church of Santa Maria Novella. Florence, circa 1427 Wikimedia Commons The laws of perspective were first applied by Tommaso di Giovanni di Simone Cassai, who went down in history under the nickname Masaccio. The most famous example is the "Trinity" from the Florentine church of Santa Maria Novella (1425-1427), but Masaccio began experimenting in his first work - "Triptych of San Jovena le". It is believed that Masaccio mastered the science of perspective under the guidance of Filippo Brunelleschi - a man who for the first time since ancient times swung at the construction of a dome (this technique was completely lost). The Florentine Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, completed by Brunelleschi, became one of the main buildings of the era.
7. What was invented during the Renaissance
A page of the Bible printed by Gutenberg. 1454-1456 years Wurttemberg State Library In addition to the printing press (Johannes Gutenberg, 1440s), the telescope (Galileo Galilei, 1609), the microscope (Zachary Jansen, Cornelius Drebbel - the end of the 16th century) and the swing-resistant magnetic compass, the Renaissance gave the world another important device , which determined the fate of mankind, is a toilet with a flushing cistern. The inventor of the mechanism was the court poet of Elizabeth I, the translator of Ariosto Sir John Harington: he christened his creation "Ajax", and from the assembly manual he managed to make a political satire. One of the first copies (1596) was presented to the queen, but she did not appreciate either the gift or the original form of its description - the author was expelled from the court for several years.
8. What was discovered during the Renaissance
Amerigo Vespucci discovers America. Engraving by Theodore Halle after the original by Stradanus. XVI century Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam First of all, of course, America. The Old World suddenly realized that it was old, and beyond the seas there was still a new one that had to be explored, conquered, divided and properly explored. In addition to gold, exotic treasures poured into the ports of Portugal, Italy, Spain and England: animated truffles (known to us as potatoes), decorative fruits of love (as the poet Sir Walter Raleigh presented to Queen Elizabeth tomatoes), and at the same time in a scarecrow, sunflower, turkeys, cocoa, corn and guinea pigs. And without potatoes, for example, a radical increase in the population of Europe in the 17th-18th centuries would hardly have been possible. But the Great Geographical Discoveries did not end there: the Port Tugals landed in China (1513), the Dutch in Australia (1606), Tasmania and New Zealand (1642); they also explored the Arctic (Willem Barents, 1594-1597) and deduced the principles of modern cartography (Gerard Mercator in the 1540s taught the whole world to use a conformal cylindrical projection - this is how the maps acquired their familiar appearance, with parallel lines of longitude and latitude). Meanwhile, another native of the Netherlands, Andreas Vesalius, thoroughly understood the insides of a person: he found that men and women had the same number of ribs and teeth (before Vesalius, doctors were sure that men should have 32 teeth, and women - 28), and found out how the skeleton, muscles and the vascular system work. By the way, illustrations for the anatomical atlases of Vesalius were drawn by Titian's pupil, Jan Just van Kalkar.
Leiden, NY, 1990.
Berkeley, Los Angeles, 2011.
A short guide to the ideas of the European Renaissance.
Renaissance
History and features
Over the course of two hundred years, Europe has witnessed an amazing renaissance in painting, sculpture and architecture, with Italy as its epicenter. The concept of the "Renaissance" appeared in the 19th century thanks to the works of the historian Michelet and professor of art history Jacob Burkhard.
Characteristic
The Italian Renaissance revived Western art in accordance with the principles of classical Greek art, especially in the fields of sculpture and painting. From the beginning of the 14th century, in search of a new set of artistic values \u200b\u200band a response to the Gothic style, Italian masters and thinkers began to be inspired by the ideas of ancient Greece and Rome, which harmonized perfectly with their desire to create a universal and noble art form and express the mood of the time.
Humanism
First of all, the art of that time was conditioned by the philosophical concept of "humanism", based on existing achievements (for example, democratic).
IN fine arts humanism stands for:
- Creation of a unique composition instead of stereotypical and symbolic images.
- Greater realism and attention to detail, which was reflected in the development of theories linear perspective... This approach explains both the veneration of classical sculpture and the out-of-fashion of Byzantine works.
- Emphasis on developing and promoting virtuous action. The leading art theorist of the time, Alberti (1404-1472), stated that "happiness cannot be achieved without good, just and righteous deeds."
The reasons
It is still unclear what caused this change in art. Although the dark ages for Europe were over and the Christian church experienced a rebirth in the 12-13th century, the 14th century saw serious crop problems, an epidemic of plague and the war between England and France. Therefore, the reason for the breakthrough in creativity, of course, was a number of factors and historical events.
Positive development trends were observed at that time in Italy. Venice and Genoa grew rich in trade with the East, and Florence became a center for jewelry, wool and silk production. Prosperity is gradually coming to Northern Europe, as evidenced by the creation of the Hansa Union.
The proliferation of new ideas is facilitated by the invention of printing, which, to some extent, reflects the impatience of slow progress after a thousand years of cultural and intellectual famine, the desire to be reborn.
Weakness of the Church
The precarious position of the church gave an additional impetus to development. This leads to the rise of humanistic views and encourages the clergy to decorate temples and churches, to collaborate with architects and sculptors. The reaction to this change, known as the Counter-Reformation, lasted until the late sixteenth century.
Development
The Renaissance also parallels the beginning of the great Western discoveries. Europeans are exploring new sea routes, conquering continents and creating new colonies. New research is taking place in other areas related to science, nature and the world. The fine arts masters demonstrate their own commitment to new techniques and knowledge. According to italian artist, architect and historian Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), is growing not only respect for art and classical antiquity, but also the desire to learn from nature, to imitate it.
Epicenter
In addition to being the richest trading nation, Italy had a huge number of classical works and artifacts at its disposal. Examples of Roman architecture and sculpture, as well as ancient Greek work, were found in almost every city in the country. In addition, the fall of Constantinople - the capital of the Byzantine Empire - forced many Greek scholars to emigrate to Italy, along with their classical ideas and important texts. All these factors explain why this particular country became the center of the European Renaissance.
In Northern Europe, the Renaissance is characterized by advances in the representation of light, its diffusion and reflection, which is reflected in portrait painting and still lifes. This is due in part to the fact that most northern Renaissance artists used oil paints in the early 15th century, preferring them to tempera or fresco, which (for many reasons, including climatic) were still preferred and popular in Italy.
Religious art of that time is dominated by the depiction of the apostles and members of the Holy Family, who are depicted as living people. Their poses and surroundings express real human emotions. Plots and stories from classical mythology, illustrating the ideas of humanism, are also popular.
Titian.It is worth noting that the status of the profession of artists and sculptors is moving to a new level, because now the creation of paintings and sculptures requires mental preparation and serious technique.
Galleries
The following Italian galleries have significant collections of Renaissance paintings or sculptures:
- Uffizi Gallery.
- Pitti Palace.
- Vatican Museums.
- Doria Pamphilj Gallery.
- Capodimonte Museum.
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Conclusion
The main contribution of the Italian Renaissance to the history of art can be described as the promotion of classical antique ideals, which resulted in the classical development of Western painting and sculpture. Although contemporary artists are exploring new forms of art, for the West, the main model remains Greek antiquity and its interpretation in the form of the Renaissance.
Renaissance updated: September 16, 2017 by: Gleb
The history of the Renaissance begins in This period is also called the Renaissance. The Renaissance changed into culture and became the predecessor of the culture of the New Age. And the Renaissance ended in the XVI-XVII centuries, since in each state it has its own start and end date.
Some general information
Representatives of the Renaissance era are Francesco Petrarca and Giovanni Boccaccio. They became the first poets who began to express lofty images and thoughts in frank, common language. This innovation was received with a bang and spread in other countries.
Renaissance and art
The peculiarities of the Renaissance is that the human body became the main source of inspiration and the subject of research for artists of this time. Thus, the emphasis was placed on the similarity of sculpture and painting with reality. The main features of the art of the Renaissance period include radiance, sophisticated use of the brush, the play of shadow and light, thoroughness in the process of work and complex compositions. For Renaissance artists, images from the Bible and myths were the main ones.
In the similarity a real person with his image on one or another canvas was so close that the fictional character seemed alive. This cannot be said about the art of the twentieth century.
The Renaissance (its main trends are briefly outlined above) perceived the human body as an endless beginning. Scientists and artists regularly improved their skills and knowledge by studying the bodies of individuals. Then the prevailing opinion was that man was created in the likeness and image of God. This statement reflected physical perfection. The main and important objects of Renaissance art were the gods.
The nature and beauty of the human body
Renaissance art paid great attention to nature. The landscapes were characterized by varied and lush vegetation. The skies of blue-blue hue, which were pierced by the rays of the sun that penetrated the clouds of white, provided a magnificent backdrop for the floating creatures. Renaissance art worshiped beauty human body... This feature manifested itself in the refined elements of the muscles and body. Difficult poses, facial expressions and gestures, well-coordinated and clear color palette are characteristic of the work of sculptors and sculptors of the Renaissance period. These include Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt and others.
What is the Renaissance Age?
Renaissance - This is a world-wide era in the history of European culture, which replaced the Middle Ages and preceded the Enlightenment. It falls - in Italy - at the beginning of the XIV (everywhere in Europe - from the 15-16 centuries) - the last quarter of the XVI centuries and in some cases - the first decades of the XVII century.
The term Renaissance is already found in Italian humanists, for example, in Giorgio Vasari. IN modern meaning the term was coined by the 19th century French historian Jules Michelet. Currently, the term Renaissance has become a metaphor for cultural flowering.
Distinctive features of the Renaissance are anthropocentrism, that is, an extraordinary interest in man as an individual and his activities. It also includes the secular nature of the culture. The society becomes interested in the culture of antiquity, something like its "revival" takes place. Hence, in fact, the name of such an important period of time appeared. Prominent figures of the Renaissance include the immortal Michelangelo, Niccolo Machiavelli and the always alive Leonardo da Vinci.
Renaissance literature is a major trend in literature, an integral part of the entire culture of the Renaissance. It occupies the period from the XIV to the XVI century. It differs from medieval literature in that it is based on new, progressive ideas of humanism. Synonymous with the Renaissance is the term "Renaissance", of French origin.
The ideas of humanism originate for the first time in Italy, and then spread throughout Europe. Also, the literature of the Renaissance spread throughout Europe, but acquired in each individual country its own national character... The term Renaissance means renewal, the appeal of artists, writers, thinkers to the culture and art of antiquity, imitation of its lofty ideals.
In addition to humanistic ideas, new genres are emerging in the literature of the Renaissance, and early realism is formed, which is called "Renaissance realism". As can be seen in the works of Rabelais, Petrarch, Cervantes and Shakespeare, the literature of this time was filled with a new understanding of human life. It demonstrates a complete rejection of the slavish obedience to which the church preached.
Writers present man as the highest creation of nature, revealing the wealth of his soul, mind and beauty of his physical appearance. The realism of the Renaissance is characterized by the grandeur of images, the ability to have a great sincere feeling, the poeticization of the image and a passionate, most often high intensity tragic conflictdemonstrating the collision of a person with hostile forces.
Renaissance literature was characterized by a variety of genres, but still some literary forms dominated. The most popular was the short story. The sonnet is most clearly manifested in poetry. The drama is also very popular, in which the Spaniard Lope de Vega and Shakespeare in England are most famous. It should be noted the high development and popularization of philosophical prose and journalism.
She gave the world a strong-willed, intelligent person, the creator of her own destiny and herself. There have been significant changes in the mindset of people in comparison with the Middle Ages. First of all, secular motives in European culture intensified. Various spheres of social life - art, philosophy, literature, education - have become more and more independent and independent. The main actor epoch, an energetic, liberated person who dreams of realizing his personal earthly ideals, strives for independence in all spheres of his activity, trying to realize diverse interests, challenging established traditions and orders, has become a kind of cultural center.
Its name Revival (in French "Renaissance", in Italian "Renaissance") received from the light hand of the Italian artist, architect and art historian Giorgio Vasari, who in his book "Biographies of Great Painters, Sculptors and Architects" designated this term as the period of Italian art from 1250 to 1550. Thus, he wanted to emphasize the return to the life of society of the cultural ideals of antiquity and define a new cultural and historical era that replaced the Middle Ages.
Preconditions and features of the Renaissance culture
The main prerequisite for the formation of a new type of culture was a new worldview, due to significant changes in the life of many European countries. In Italy, and then in the Netherlands, Germany, France, England, trade developed rapidly, and with it the first industrial enterprises - manufactories - acquired great importance. New living conditions naturally gave rise to new thinking, which was based on secular freethinking. The asceticism of medieval morality did not correspond to the real life practice of new social groups and strata that had come to the fore in public life. The features of rationalism, prudence, awareness of the role of a person's personal needs were increasingly manifested. A new morality has developed, justifying the joys of worldly life, affirming the human right to earthly happiness, to free development and the manifestation of all natural inclinations. Strengthening secular sentiments, interest in the earthly deeds of man had a decisive influence on the emergence and formation of the culture of the Renaissance.
The birthplace of the Renaissance was Florence, which in the XIII century. was a city of wealthy merchants, owners of manufactures, a huge number of artisans, organized in workshops. In addition, the workshops of doctors, pharmacists, musicians, lawyers, solicitors, and notaries were very numerous for that time. It was among the representatives of this class that circles of educated people began to form, who decided to study cultural heritage Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome... They turned to the artistic heritage of the ancient world, the works of the Greeks and Romans, who at one time created the image of a person who was not constrained by the dogmas of religion, beautiful in soul and body. Therefore, a new era in development european culture received the name "Renaissance", reflecting the desire to return the samples and values \u200b\u200bof ancient culture in new historical conditions.
The revival of the ancient heritage began with the study of the Greek and Latin languages; later, Latin became the language of the Renaissance. The founders of the new cultural era - historians, philologists, librarians - studied old manuscripts and books, compiled collections of antiquities, restored forgotten works of Greek and Roman authors, and re-translated scientific texts distorted in the Middle Ages. These texts were not only monuments of another cultural era, but also "teachers" who helped them to discover themselves, to shape their personality.
Gradually, other monuments of the artistic culture of antiquity, primarily sculptural ones, fell into the circle of interests of these ascetics. At that time, in Florence, Rome, Ravenna, Naples, Venice, there were still quite a lot of Greek and Roman statues, painted vessels, architectural buildings. For the first time in the millennium of the domination of Christianity, antique sculptures were not treated as pagan idols, but as works of art. Later, the ancient heritage was included in the education system, and a wide range of people became acquainted with literature, sculpture, philosophy. Poets and artists, imitating ancient authors, sought to revive ancient art. But, as often happens in culture, the desire for the revival of old principles and forms leads to the creation of a new one. Renaissance culture was not a simple return to antiquity. She developed it and interpreted it in a new way based on the changed historical conditions. Therefore, the culture of the Renaissance was the result of a synthesis of the old and the new. The culture of the Renaissance was formed as a denial, protest, rejection of medieval culture. Dogmatism and scholasticism were denied, theology was deprived of its former authority. The attitude towards the church and the clergy became critical. Researchers agree that in no other era in the history of European culture have so many anti-church writings and sayings been created as in the Renaissance.
However, the Renaissance was not a non-religious culture. Many of the best works of this era were born in the mainstream of church art. Almost all the great masters of the Renaissance created frescoes, designed and painted cathedrals, referring to biblical characters and stories. Humanists re-translated and commented on the Bible and engaged in theological research. Therefore, we can talk about rethinking religion, and not about rejecting it. Man's comprehension of the world filled with divine beauty becomes one of the ideological tasks of this era. The world attracts a person, since he is spiritualized by God, but it is possible to know him only with the help of his own feelings. In this process of cognition, the human eye, according to cultural figures of that time, is the most faithful and reliable means. Therefore, in the era of the Italian Renaissance, there is a keen interest in visual perception, painting and other types of spatial art flourish, allowing you to more accurately and truly see and capture the divine beauty. In the Renaissance, artists more than others determined the content of the spiritual culture of their time, due to which it has a pronounced artistic character.
The formation of the Renaissance image of the world and the artistic style that implements it can be divided into several stages: preparatory, early, high, late and final. Each of them had a different look and was heterogeneous from the inside. At the same time, medieval styles still existed - late Gothic, Proto-Renaissance, Mannerism, etc. Taken together, they form a rich and varied palette of means of expressing the Renaissance worldview.
The art of the Renaissance strove for rationalism, a scientific view of things, imitation of nature. At this time, an exceptional interest in the harmony of nature arises. Imitation of it became the central principle of the Renaissance theory of art and implied adherence to the laws of nature, and not to the external appearance of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world. There was a contamination (a combination of two principles in one work) of the image of nature and creativity according to the laws of nature.
The embodiment of the beauty of man, who was considered as the highest creation of the natural world, acquired particular importance. Artists primarily paid attention to human bodily perfection. If the medieval consciousness considered the body as an outer shell, the focus of animal instincts, a source of sinfulness, then the Renaissance culture considered it the most important aesthetic value. After centuries of neglect of the flesh, interest in physical beauty is growing rapidly.
At this time, a significant role was assigned to the cult of female beauty. Many artists have tried to unravel the mystery of the charm of the fair sex. This was largely due to the revision of the position of women in real life... If in the Middle Ages her fate was inextricably linked with housekeeping, raising children, detachment from secular entertainment, then during the Renaissance, a woman's living space expanded significantly. The ideal of a relaxed, educated, emancipated lady, who shines in society, is fond of art, who knows how to be an interesting companion, is being formed. She seeks to show her beauty, revealing her hair, neck, arms, wearing low-cut dresses, using cosmetics. The pier includes decoration of clothes with gold, silver embroidery, precious stones, lace. A beautiful, elegant, educated woman seeks to charm, to influence the world with her attractiveness, charm.
Unlike the Middle Ages, which created the ideal of a fragile woman with a slender body, a pale face, a serene look, humble, brought up in prayer, the Renaissance will give preference to physically strong damsels. At this time, curvy female forms are appreciated. The ideal of beauty, aesthetically attractive, was considered a pregnant woman who personified a truly feminine principle, participation in the great mystery of procreation. The signs of male beauty were physical strength, internal energy, will, determination, the ability to achieve recognition, fame. The Renaissance era gave rise to a variety of definitions of beauty, based on the cult of human uniqueness.
All this led to an increase in the role of art in public life, which became the main type of spiritual activity during the Renaissance. For the people of that era, it became what religion was in the Middle Ages, and in modern times - science and technology. The public opinion was dominated by the belief that piece of art is able to most fully express the ideal of a harmoniously organized world, where a person takes the central place. All kinds of art were subordinated to this task to varying degrees.
The role of the artist is especially growing, who is being compared with the creator of the universe. Artists set themselves the goal of imitating nature, they do not believe that art is even higher than nature. Technical skill, professional independence, scholarship, an independent view of things and the ability to create a “living” work of art are increasingly appreciated in their work.
Along with the works of monumental painting and sculpture, which were directly related to architectural structures, the works of easel art, which acquired an independent value, received more and more development. A system of genres began to take shape: along with the religious-mythological genre, which still occupied the main place, at first a few works of the historical, everyday and landscape genres appeared; the revived portrait genre is of great importance; appears and becomes widespread the new kind art - engraving.
In that era, the dominant position of painting predetermined its influence on other arts. If in the Middle Ages it depended on the art of words, limiting its tasks to illustrating biblical texts, then the Renaissance changed places between painting and literature, making literary narration dependent on the image of the visible world in painting. Writers began to describe the world as one could see it.
Italian Renaissance art
The formation and development of the Renaissance culture was a long and uneven process. Italy became the birthplace of the Renaissance, where a new culture was born earlier than in other countries. The chronological framework covers the period from the second half of the XIII century. to the first half of the 16th century. inclusive. During this time, the art of the Italian Renaissance went through several stages of development. Among art historians, these stages are usually called by the name of the centuries: XIII century. called Duchento (literally - two hundredths), XIV century. - trecento (three hundredths), XV century. - Quattrocento (four hundredth), XVI century. - cinquecento (five hundredths).
The first shoots of a new worldview and shifts in artistic creativity appeared at the end of the XIII century, and at the beginning of the XIV century. they were replaced by a wave of Gothic art. These phenomena became a kind of "pre-revival" and received the name of the Proto-Renaissance. New phenomena in the culture of Italy were widely developed in the 15th century. This stage, designated as quattrocento, is also called the early Renaissance. Its full completeness and flourishing art culture It reached a revival by the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century. This period of the highest flowering, which lasted only 30-40 years, is called the High, or classic, Renaissance. On the whole, the Renaissance became obsolete in Italy in the 1530s, but the last 2/3 of the 16th century. it continues to exist in Venice. This period is usually called the late Renaissance.
Proto-Renaissance culture
The beginning of a new era is associated with the work of the Florentine artist Giotto di Bondone. In the visual arts of the Proto-Renaissance, Giotto is a central figure, since the greatest painters of the Renaissance considered him a reformer of painting. Thanks to him, the laborious technique of mosaic was replaced by the technique of fresco, which was more in line with the requirements of painting, allowing more accurate transfer of the volume and density of the material than mosaic with its imperceptibility to matter, and faster to create multi-figure compositions.
Giotto was the first to implement the principle of imitating nature in painting. He began to draw living people from nature, which was not done either in Byzantium or in medieval Europe... If in the works of medieval art disembodied figures with ascetic stern faces barely touched the ground, then Giotto's figures appear voluminous, material. He achieved this effect thanks to light modeling, according to which the human eye perceives the light closer to it, the dark more distant. When working on the frescoes, the artist paid special attention to showing the state of mind of the characters.
The boundary between Ducento and Trecento (XIII-XIV centuries) turned out to be a turning point in the cultural life of Italy. In a certain sense, it crowns the Middle Ages and at the same time serves as the starting point of the Renaissance. During this period, poetry most fully expressed a new culture and a new sense of the world. It was in the literature that the gravitation towards the new, manifested in other value orientations, was most clearly indicated. The brightest, most talented exponents of new traditions were Dante, Franchsko Petrarca, Giovanni Boccaccio.
Dante Alighieri at the beginning of his poetry, he was closely associated with a new direction in Italian poetry, known as the school of the "new sweet style", in which love for women was idealized and identified with love for wisdom and virtue. His first works were lyric poems of love content, in which Dante acted as an imitator of French courtly poets. The main heroine of his literary work was the young Florentine Beatrice, who died seven years after their meeting, but the poet carried his love for her throughout his life.
Dante entered the history of world culture as the author of the poem "The Divine Comedy". He originally called his epic epic a comedy, following the medieval tradition that any piece of literature with a bad beginning and a good ending was called a comedy. The epithet "Divine" was added to the name at the end of the XIV century. in order to emphasize artistic value and the poetic perfection of the work.
"The Divine Comedy" has a clear structure: three main parts - "Hell", "Purgatory", "Paradise", each of which consists of 33 songs, it was written by terzins - poetic forms in the form of three stanzas. The content of Dante's poem is associated with his theory of four meanings of poetic works - literal, allegorical, moral and analogous (i.e. higher).
The Divine Comedy poem is based on the traditional plot of the “visions” genre, when a person who is mired in his vices is helped by heavenly forces (most often in the guise of his guardian angel) to understand his unrighteousness, making it possible to see hell and heaven. A person falls into a lethargic sleep, during which his soul goes to the afterlife. Dante's plot looks like this: the savior of his soul is his long-dead beloved Beatrice, who sends the ancient poet Virgil to help Alighieri's soul, accompanying him on his journey through hell and purgatory. In paradise, he follows Beatrice herself, since the pagan Virgil has no right to be there.
Dante depicted hell as an underground funnel-shaped abyss, the slopes of which are surrounded by concentric ledges - "circles of hell". Narrowing down, it reaches the center of the globe with an icy lake into which Lucifer is frozen. In the circles of hell sinners are punished; the more terrible their sin, the lower in the circle they are. During his journey, Dante goes through all nine circles of hell - from the first, where unbaptized babies and virtuous non-Christians are, to the ninth, where traitors are tormented, among whom we see Judas. Not all sinners disgust and censure Dante. So, in the interpretation of the love of Francesca and Paolo, the poet's sympathy is manifested, because love for him is not a condemned sin, but a feeling determined by the very nature of life.
Dante presented Purgatory as a huge cone-shaped mountain towering in the middle of the ocean in the southern hemisphere. In accordance with the teachings of Thomas Aquinas, purgatory is a place where the souls of sinners, who have not received forgiveness in earthly life, but also not burdened with mortal sins, before gaining access to heaven, burn in a cleansing fire. (Note that the cleansing fire of purgatory was perceived by some theologians as a symbol of pangs of conscience and repentance, by others as a real fire.) The period of stay of a sinner's soul in purgatory could be shortened by his relatives and friends who remained on earth by performing "good deeds" - prayers, masses, donations to the church.
Paradise, according to Dante, is a wonderful and mysterious area. This radiant abode of God is shaped like a round lake and is the heart of the Paradise rose. The blessed souls who find themselves there take the place corresponding to their exploits and glory.
Dante's great poem is a unique picture of the universe, nature and human existence. Although the world depicted in The Divine Comedy is fictional, it is in many ways similar to earthly pictures: hellish depths and lakes are like terrible sinkholes in the Alps, hellish vats are like the vats of the Venetian arsenal, where tar is boiled for caulking ships, a mountain of purgatory and forests on her are the same as the earthly mountains and forests, and the paradise gardens are like the fragrant gardens of Italy. To this day, The Divine Comedy remains an unsurpassed masterpiece of literature. Dante's powerful fantasy depicted such an unusually convincing world that many of his ingenuous contemporaries sincerely believed in the author's journey to the next world.