Art

The Renaissance was a movement that marked the end of the Middle Ages, ushering the coming of the modern period.  The word itself essentially meant a rebirth in the sense that the period was actually a revival and a resurgence, particularly of the classical culture and influences of the ancient Greeks and Romans. In Italy, where the movement started, the people were constantly surrounded by the ancient ruins which served as a constant reminder of what they were and what they had.  This further gained momentum following the Black Death that decimated half the population of Europe.  Because the established institutions at the time, notably the church, could not address the crises, people sought answers elsewhere, thus giving birth to the humanist movement which tended to put greater emphasis on the individual.  Whenever the word Renaissance is invoked, what would immediately come into mind would be art, and to a certain extent, architecture  the styles, the works, as well as the individuals behind it. They used the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans as their model, putting emphasis on the characteristics of proportion and symmetry.  In the case of the arts, a lot of emphasis was put into depicting subjects as realistically as possible without exaggerating nor skimping on the details to achieve the desired realism, which the artists felt were the right and proper thing to do and they did this by going against the norms at the time which was relatively medieval.

When speaks of the Renaissance, one particular Italian city would stand out  Florence. During those times, Italy was divided and organized along the lines of city-states which enjoyed a great degree of autonomy from one another.  It was one of the prosperous city-states at the time and it proved to be fertile ground for the development artistic and intellectual freedom, sparking movements that would make an impact to at least two specific fields  arts and architecture.   Culturally and intellectually, Greek scholars fled to Italy following the fall of Constantinople, bringing with them classical texts which would prove to be a valuable contribution to the development of the Renaissance.  Its economic prosperity had somewhat given its people a considerable degree of empowerment to better their lives, expressed either in the acquisition of wealth or to seek perfection in what they did and this was entirely on their own initiative without the need of a moral arbiter in the church, whose credibility as a moral arbiter was somewhat compromised during the Black Death.  Politically, Florence was governed by the Medici family who were very influential and served as sponsors for several artists and artisans and in doing so, gave them a free hand and were not disappointed in investing with them.

Artists such as Donatello (art) and Filippo Brunalleschi (architecture) represented a new breed of artists that were influenced by these factors.  They went to Rome and elsewhere to study ancient ruins and art and these had a profound influence on their works.  In the case of architecture, as demonstrated by Brunalleschi, emphasis was put in the use of columns patterned in the classic style, Ionic, Doric and Corinthian styles, for the arcades he designed as well as creating symmetry and harmonious proportions (Fitzpatrick, 2005, pp.11-12) which would rival the styles of the High Middle Ages seen in the majestic churches and cathedrals which were the only architectural wonders then.  Yet, Bruschellis patrons also included the church and helped design such as the Foundling Hospital and the Old Sacristy which was financed by the Medicis (Brucker, 1983, pp.33-34).  Donatello carved free-standing statues instead of bas reliefs and gave them life-like features such as his version of David, depicted as the slayer of Goliath.  It was also very classical in the sense that David is depicted in the nude as well, another trademark of humanistRenaissance art (Fitzpatrick, 2005, pp.11-12).

Besides Donatello, discussing the Renaissance would not be complete without discussing the three other titans of the period such as Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.  Raphael was a painter and most of his subjects are religious in themes such as the Madonna.  His style reflected the vision of humanists in bringing together all belief systems into a grand unifying synthesis of natural and revealed truth (Graham-Dixon, 1999, p.221).

Michelangelo and Da Vinci were perhaps the most prolific artists of the period as they churned out one masterpiece after the other as they had an ongoing rivalry as painters.  But before taking to painting, Michelangelo was a sculptor and had produced impressive works such as the Pieta, Moses and his version of David which differed from Donatellos.  His works also followed the classical lines and he was very masterful in even adding the appropriate expressions on the faces of his subjects, especially the Pieta where the sorrowful Mary cradled the dead Christ in her arms  but he was perhaps more known for his immense murals that adorn the Vatican depicting scenes from the Bible, his most laborious work (Graham-Dixon, 1999, p.200, 213).  Da Vinci was Michelangelos rival and he also created equally great works.  What is perhaps his most notable one is the Mona Lisa where he was able to capture that alluring smile nobody could duplicate ((Graham-Dixon, 1999, p.150-152).
The Reformation, as well as the Counter Reformation, caught up with the Renaissance and it had also influenced other artists such as Bernini whose subjects were a mix of Greek mythological figures as well as Christian personages.  Besides his sculptures, he was famous for helping design St. Peters Basilica to what it is to this day.  Despite the humanistic approach of the Renaissance, it wanted to prove, contrary to what most people assumed, that its ideas did not contradict nor go against the teachings of the Church nor was it anti-Catholic, that it signaled a return to paganism (Graham-Dixon, 1999, p.321).

Neoclassicism is defined as any work that has achieved canonic status but the basis would still be the classical styles of the Renaissance. This was represented in the works of Jacques-Louis David, a painter.  His works make use of the classical style but in doing so, uphold the spirit of the French Revolution.  This was evident in his work, depicting the Tennis Court Oath by members of the Middle Class in an act of defiance from the bloc voting of the Estates-General.  David, showed the requisite proportionality and humanity in the subjects depicted here and at the same time, gave it some spirit or elan to accentuate the sense of superiority of these people in opposing what appeared to be an unjust system (Graham-Dixon, 1999, p.322).

One can conclude that the Renaissance changed the world, not only in art but in the way people think though art was also used to convey that way of thinking as well and it would persist to the present day.