The Humanism In Renaissance

Humanism was a 14th and 15th Century intellectual movement that revolved around the idea of the individual achieving their full potential. It grew out of the ideals of the Italian poet and philosopher Francesco Petrarca. It rapidly spread to academics, essayists, and civil leaders throughout Italy. It defined humans as emotional, rational, and essentially well-meaning. It was a positive and enthusiastic movement much at odds with the philosophies of fear and damnation of the Christian Church for those who would not conform or repent.

Over time it grew to question some of the fundamental doctrines of the Church. It became the model for the expansion of Renaissance Humanism throughout Europe, advocating a revival of the forgotten values of classical antiquity.

A return to the higher cultural aspirations of Greek and Roman ideals and their inspiration for all walks of life from literature to art to “studia humanitatis,”. In their view, the ancient world was the peak of human aspirations and attainments. The years before and after the ancient period were considered, the dark ages.

The great centres of Humanism were Rome, Venice, Genoa, Florence Mantua, Ferrara, Naples, and Urbino. From these centres, the new philosophy permeated the European landscape. It encouraged a return to the study of the Humanities.

Humanists turned away from the Middle-Ages’ isolated scholasticism and science-based model and preferred studying history, poetry, literature, art, grammar, language, and morality.

Renaissance Humanists wanted a world of orators, philosophers, writers, and artists. They wanted citizens who could govern or be actively involved in their communities. These accomplished citizens would read and write and not just obtain employment, but pursue more knowledge, inspire others to question reality, seek answers beyond God and religion,
and embrace learning.

In their study of the Ancients, Early Renaissance Humanists did not see themselves as being in conflict with Christianity. Instead, they encouraged an open-minded approach that saw the classics combine with Christian Theology.

The outcome was that Humanism frequently celebrated Christianity within the arts, for example encouraging sculpture as a means of expression. They celebrated artists like Filippo Brunelleschi, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Donatello, especially for the classical and erotic statue of the biblical David with the head of Goliath.

Humanism changed the status not only of art but of artists. During the medieval period art was a pursuit of the lower-classes, practiced by craftsmen and servants. In stark contrast, Renaissance Artists were intellectuals who expressed themselves through various mediums.
Art became highly valued and sought after. It attracted great patrons like Cosimo de ’Medici. Furthermore, not all Humanist art revered Christianity, and some looked for more secular subjects.

For Humanists, the expression and capturing of the essence were more significant than the subject matter. For example, Paolo Uccello created depth and captured light for his best-known series of works, “The Battle of San Romano.” He did not sleep but waited nightly to catch the exact moment when the light changed. His obsession with linear perspective led him to try to grasp the vanishing point.

Later going into the 16th century, the discovery of oil paints further transformed painting and its expression. Origins Among early Humanists there were major collectors of ancient manuscripts. Many were intellectuals who worked within the Church and were members of holy orders, like Petrarch, known as the Father of Humanism, or senior members of the church, like Cardinal Basilios Bessarion, a Byzantine Greek theologian who converted from Greek Orthodoxy to the Latin church and was considered for the papacy. These learned scholars from the ranks of the Church used their resources to expand ecclesiastical libraries.
Others were lawyers, bureaucrats, poets, writers, and politicians , such as chancellor of Florence Salutati, who had access to book-copying workshops. Through them Humanist education spread rapidly throughout Italy, and by the mid-15th century it was taught to most of the upper-class, along with the traditional scholastic education.

In Italy, the Humanist educational program quickly gained acceptance. Finally, in the wake of the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders, and the subsequent end of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, Greek Scholars and intellectuals flooded into Italy. They brought their knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman literature, language, and science. Education and Humanism The core ambition of Humanism was to create the ultimate human being.

The essential qualities to achieve this status were physical excellence, intellectual distinction, and honourable behaviours in any situation. It was an ancient Greco- Roman ideal known as uomo universale. If they successfully attained this goal, humans could transcend effortlessly into the afterlife with a perfect mind and body. Achieving this status relied on education, as Humanists believed that considerable change occurred through expanding one’s knowledge.

The classics, mainly history and literature, provided moral understanding and instruction in human behaviour. All citizens were encouraged to learn to read and write and to engage in civic life. They created a network of schools dedicated to Humanist ideas and wrote scholarly books about education. They focused on creating articulate and persuasive individuals, skilled in written and spoken word and capable of exerting pressure on others to live by the values of prudence and virtue.

Renaissance Humanism spread with attention to grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and moral philosophy for the elite. Clergy of various denominations, politicians, and those in practice, including medicine and law, adopted its teachings. By the 16th century, its philosophy was prolific throughout Europe. Humanist Schools Humanists saw education as the cornerstone of life. They endeavoured to enhance the lives of individuals and communities through learning. Their approach merged Christianity and classical learning.

Vittorino da Feltre founded one of the most famous Humanist schools in 1423, in Mantua, a tiny Italian state.

The Duke of Mantua had long wished to offer his children a Humanist education, and the school was a tool to assist him. The essence of Feltre's views were based on earlier classical authors like Cicero and Quintilian. The liberal studies program was the school's mainstay.
Liberal arts were seen as the key to human freedom, allowing people to pursue their dreams and realize their full potential. Philosophy, history, rhetoric, letters, mathematics, poetry, music, and astronomy were among the liberal arts subjects.

The school at Mantua also provided physical instruction, based on the Greek concept of a "sound mind." Archery, dance, hunting, and swimming were among the activities. While education for most Humanist Europe was mostly accessible for children from the upper-class families, its ideology did include offering education to gifted and talented poor from the lower-class. Education did not generally provide for girls, although prevalent thinking encouraged them to pursue dance, history, and an understanding of poetry. Isotta Nogarola, Cassandra Fedele of Venice, and Laura Cereta were exceptions who could overcome female exclusion through their rank and status and substantially impact their communities.

Mannerism Mannerism evolved from the painting of Early and High Renaissance. Mannerist artists rebelled against the ideals of Renaissance art. The 16th Century style and design reacted to the harmonious purposes of the Renaissance masters. They created artificial and illogical arrangements in space with distorted, often elongated figures. Their work held a sophistication and frequently succeeded in sending poignant messages that the High Renaissance failed to capture.

Leading lights in the movement were Rosso Fiorentino, Parmigianino, Pontormo, Bronzino, and Giulio Romano; many were pupils of Raphael and Michelangelo.

To summarize:

Humanists rejected the functional view of education prevalent during the Middle Ages. They wanted a society where citizens spoke and wrote eloquently and were involved in
community life.

Humanism was based on the ideal of people achieving their full potential and grew around the ideas of Italian poet and intellectual Francesco Petrarch. It started as a literary movement that inspired cultural change, re-establishing the value of classical Roman and Greek Art. It culminated in the Renaissance.

The Early and High Renaissance produced great works of sculpture and art, evolving into Mannerism that was characterised by elongated figures.