A distinctive feature of the Renaissance is the secular nature of culture and its anthropocentrism (that is, interest, first of all, in man and his activities). Interest in ancient culture appears, its “revival,” as it were, occurs - and this is how the term appeared.
Term Renaissance already found among Italian humanists, for example, Giorgio Vasari. IN modern meaning the term was coined by the 19th century French historian Jules Michelet. Currently the term Renaissance developed into a metaphor for cultural flourishing: for example, the 9th-century Carolingian Renaissance.
general characteristics
A new cultural paradigm has emerged as a result of fundamental changes public relations in Europe.
The growth of city-republics led to an increase in the influence of classes that did not participate in feudal relations: artisans and artisans, merchants, bankers. The hierarchical system of values created by the medieval, largely ecclesiastical culture and its ascetic, humble spirit were alien to all of them. This led to the emergence of humanism - a socio-philosophical movement that considered a person, his personality, his freedom, his active, creative activity as the highest value and criterion for evaluating public institutions.
Secular centers of science and art began to emerge in cities, the activities of which were outside the control of the church. The new worldview turned to antiquity, seeing in it an example of humanistic, non-ascetic relations. The invention of printing in the middle of the century played a huge role in the spread of ancient heritage and new views throughout Europe.
Periods of the era
Early Renaissance
The period of the so-called “Early Renaissance” covers the time from year to year in Italy. During these eighty years, art has not yet completely abandoned the traditions of the recent past, but has tried to mix into them elements borrowed from classical antiquity. Only later, and only little by little, under the influence of increasingly changing conditions of life and culture, did artists completely abandon medieval foundations and boldly use models ancient art how in general concept of their works and in their details.
While art in Italy was already resolutely following the path of imitation of classical antiquity, in other countries it adhered to traditions for a long time gothic style. North of the Alps, and also in Spain, the Renaissance comes only at the end of the 15th century, and its early period lasts approximately until the middle of the next century, without producing, however, anything particularly remarkable.
High Renaissance
The second period of the Renaissance - the time of the most magnificent development of his style - is usually called the "High Renaissance", it extends in Italy from approximately to 1580. At this time, the center of gravity of Italian art from Florence moved to Rome, thanks to the accession to the papal throne of Julius II, an ambitious, courageous and enterprising man, who attracted the best artists of Italy to his court, entertaining them numerous and important works and who gave others an example of love for the arts. Under this pope and his immediate successors, Rome becomes, as it were, the new Athens of the time of Pericles: many monumental buildings are created in it, magnificent sculptural works are executed, frescoes and paintings are painted, which are still considered the pearls of painting; at the same time, all three branches of art harmoniously go hand in hand, helping one another and mutually influencing each other. Antiquity is now studied more thoroughly, reproduced with greater rigor and consistency; calmness and dignity are established instead of the playful beauty that was the aspiration of the previous period; memories of the medieval completely disappear, and a completely classical imprint falls on all creations of art. But imitation of the ancients does not drown out their independence in artists, and they, with great resourcefulness and liveliness of imagination, freely rework and apply to their work what they consider appropriate to borrow from Greco-Roman art.
Northern Renaissance
The Renaissance period in the Netherlands, Germany and France is usually identified as a separate style movement, which has some differences with the Renaissance in Italy, and is called the “Northern Renaissance”.
The most noticeable stylistic differences are in painting: unlike Italy, the traditions and skills of Gothic art were preserved in painting for a long time, less attention was paid to the study of ancient heritage and knowledge of human anatomy.
Renaissance Man
The science
In general, the pantheistic mysticism of the Renaissance prevailing in this era created an unfavorable ideological background for the development of scientific knowledge. Final becoming scientific method and the subsequent Scientific Revolution of the 17th century. associated with the Reformation movement opposed to the Renaissance.
Philosophy
Renaissance philosophers
Literature
The literature of the Renaissance most fully expressed the humanistic ideals of the era, the glorification of a harmonious, free, creative, comprehensively developed personality. The love sonnets of Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) revealed the depth inner world man, his wealth emotional life. In the XIV-XVI centuries, Italian literature experienced a heyday - the lyrics of Petrarch, the short stories of Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), the political treatises of Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), the poems of Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533) and Torquato Tasso (1544-1595) brought it forward among the “classical” (along with ancient Greek and Roman) literatures for other countries.
The literature of the Renaissance was based on two traditions: folk poetry and “book” poetry. ancient literature, therefore, the rational principle was often combined in it with poetic fiction, and comic genres gained great popularity. This manifested itself in the most significant literary monuments era: “The Decameron” by Boccaccio, “Don Quixote” by Cervantes, and “Gargantua and Pantagruel” by Francois Rabelais.
The emergence of national literatures is associated with the Renaissance - in contrast to the literature of the Middle Ages, which was created mainly in Latin.
Theater and drama became widespread. The most famous playwrights of this time were William Shakespeare (1564-1616, England) and Lope de Vega (1562-1635, Spain)
art
Painting and sculpture of the Renaissance are characterized by the rapprochement of artists with nature, their closest penetration into the laws of anatomy, perspective, the action of light and other natural phenomena.
Renaissance artists, painting traditional religious themes, began to use new artistic techniques: building a three-dimensional composition, using a landscape in the background. This allowed them to make the images more realistic and animated, which showed a sharp difference between their work and the previous iconographic tradition, replete with conventions in the image.
Architecture
The main thing that characterizes this era is the return to tsui
To the principles and forms of ancient, mainly Roman art. Particular importance in this direction is given to symmetry, proportion, geometry and order components, as clearly evidenced by surviving examples of Roman architecture. The complex proportions of medieval buildings are replaced by an orderly arrangement of columns, pilasters and lintels; asymmetrical outlines are replaced by a semicircle of an arch, a hemisphere of a dome, niches, and aedicules.
Renaissance architecture experienced its greatest flourishing in Italy, leaving behind two monument cities: Florence and Venice. Great architects worked on the creation of buildings there - Filippo Brunelleschi, Leon Battista Alberti, Donato Bramante, Giorgio Vasari and many others.
Music
In the era of the Renaissance (Renaissance), professional music loses its purely church art and is influenced folk music, is imbued with a new humanistic worldview. High level The art of vocal and vocal-instrumental polyphony is achieved in the work of representatives of “Ars nova” (“New Art”) in Italy and France in the 14th century, in new polyphonic schools - English (XV century), Dutch (XV-XVI centuries), Roman, Venetian, French, German, Polish, Czech, etc. (XVI century).
Appear various genres secular musical art - frottola and villanella in Italy, villancico in Spain, ballad in England, madrigal, which originated in Italy (L. Marenzio, J. Arkadelt, Gesualdo da Venosa), but became widespread, French polyphonic song (C. Janequin, K. Lejeune). Secular humanistic aspirations also penetrate into religious music - among the Franco-Flemish masters (Josquin Depres, Orlando di Lasso), in the art of composers of the Venetian school (A. and G. Gabrieli). During the period of the Counter-Reformation, the question of expelling polyphony from the religious cult was raised, and only the reform of the head of the Roman school Palestrina preserves polyphony for catholic church- in a “purified”, “clarified” form. At the same time, some valuable conquests were reflected in the art of Palestrina secular music Renaissance. New genres of instrumental music are emerging, and national schools of performing the lute, organ, and virginel are emerging. The art of craftsmanship flourishes in Italy bowed instruments with rich expressive capabilities. The clash of different aesthetic attitudes is manifested in the “struggle” of two types of bowed instruments - the viol, which was common in the aristocratic environment, and
№ 14 The Renaissance of Western Europe. Renaissance is a period in cultural and ideological development countries of Western and Central Europe. The Renaissance manifested itself most clearly in Italy, because... There was no single state in Italy (with the exception of the south). The main form of political existence is small city-states with a republican form of government; feudal lords merged with bankers, rich merchants and industrialists. Therefore, in Italy feudalism in its full forms never developed. The atmosphere of rivalry between cities placed first place not on origin, but on personal ability and wealth. There was a need not only for energetic and enterprising people, but also for educated ones. Therefore, a humanistic direction in education and worldview appears. The Renaissance is usually divided into Early (beginning of 14 - end of 15) and High (end of 15 - First quarter of 16). The greatest artists of Italy belong to this era - Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519), Michelangelo Buonarroti(1475 -1564) and Rafael Santi(1483 – 1520). This division applies directly to Italy and, although the Renaissance reached its greatest flowering on the Apennine Peninsula, its phenomenon spread to other parts of Europe. Similar processes north of the Alps are called « Northern Renaissance ». Similar processes occurred in France and in German cities. Medieval people and people of modern times looked for their ideals in the past. During the Middle Ages, people believed that they continued to live in... The Roman Empire, the cultural tradition continued: Latin, the study of Roman literature, the difference was felt only in the religious sphere. But during the Renaissance, the view of antiquity changed, which saw something radically different from the Middle Ages, mainly the absence of the comprehensive power of the church, spiritual freedom, and the attitude towards man as the center of the universe. It was these ideas that became central to the worldview of humanists. Ideals so consonant with new development trends gave rise to the desire to resurrect antiquity in full, and it was Italy, with its huge number of Roman antiquities, that became fertile ground for this. The Renaissance manifested itself and went down in history as a period of extraordinary rise of art. If earlier works of art served church interests, that is, they were objects of worship, now works are created to satisfy aesthetic needs. Humanists believed that life should be enjoyable and they rejected medieval monastic asceticism. The following Italian writers and poets played a huge role in the formation of the ideology of humanism: like Dante Alighieri (1265 - 1321), Francesco Petrarch (1304 - 1374), Giovanni Boccaccio (1313 – 1375). Actually, they, especially Petrarch, were the founders of both Renaissance literature and humanism itself. Humanists perceived their era as a time of prosperity, happiness and beauty. But this does not mean that it was without controversy. The main one was that it remained the ideology of the elite; new ideas did not penetrate the masses. And the humanists themselves were sometimes in a pessimistic mood. Fear of the future, disappointment in human nature, and the impossibility of achieving an ideal in the social order permeate the mood of many Renaissance figures. Perhaps the most significant thing in this sense was the intense anticipation end of the world in 1500. The Renaissance laid the foundations for a new European culture, a new European secular worldview, a new European independent personality.
Renaissance is a time of rethinking the heritage of antiquity, the revival of its ideas. But it is wrong to consider this time a repetition, an imitation of a bygone culture. During the Renaissance, ideas born of the Middle Ages largely influenced the specific worldview of a person of this time.
The following principles can be considered the basic principles of the Renaissance man’s worldview:
The earthly world is a hierarchy of God's creations, where the highest perfection only the person himself has; theocentrism of the worldview is replaced by anthropocentrism;
There is a clear awareness of the problems of life;
Time and space are already assessed within the framework of real existence and are clearly determined by the forms of human activity. Space becomes visible. Time is like the present and quickly flowing. The Renaissance type of personality is distinguished by titanism (he accomplishes so much in his life that many cannot do) and versatility (realizes his abilities in a wide variety of areas);
The ability to create becomes the highest manifestation of human divinity, and the artist becomes the most respected person in society;
Art and nature become equivalent concepts;
The beauty of the world is divided into natural, natural beauty and artificial, man-made beauty; human beauty - spiritual and physical.
Renaissance is the birth of humanist ideas that glorify creative potential person. Humanism was clearly manifested in art. Humanists developed (more practically than theoretically) that component of aesthetics that today we call applied. Nature is seen as highest form beauty. Art is one of the forms of creativity carried out according to the laws of natural beauty. If medieval aesthetics considers art to be an application to matter,
a ready-made form, pre-existing in the artist’s soul and laid there by God then in the Renaissance for the first time the idea arises that the artist myself creates and creates this form. Therefore, art is not a simple imitation of nature. It is a completely new phenomenon, which is an act of creative action of a person who manifests his will and individuality through art.
Art is considered as one of the channels of human knowledge of the surrounding world. Art actively interacts with science. The great titans of the Renaissance are not only engaged in artistic creativity, but also make scientific and technical discoveries. It is enough to mention the name Leonardo da Vinci.
Art has not only become independent, but also began to reveal its morphological structure: the specificity begins to clearly appear individual species art. The creator becomes a professional in his field, in which skill and individuality begin to be especially valued.
Thus, art is acquiring an increasingly secular character, characterized by democracy and a desire for realism in reflecting the world. The concept arises "free activities" which include philosophy, history, eloquence, music and poetry. The artist's authority in society begins to grow. The labor expended and the necessary professional knowledge become the criterion of art. Literature and fine arts become the most valued.
During this era, a new one arose - modern literature. The word is understood as highest manifestation Beauty, working on the imagery of words is the highest human purpose. The literature of the Renaissance is filled with a life-affirming character, admiration for the beauty of the world, man and his achievements. Its main theme is the theme of love.
Architecture The Renaissance sought the opportunity to create an ideal lifestyle through the creation of new architectural projects. The ideal of life was realized in 15th-century Florence - an “ideal” city modeled by the imagination and hands of great creators. The “ideal” city was born thanks to the discovery of the perspective outlined Brunelleschi and Leonardo da Vinci, and also due to the realized unity of the spatial-plastic and socio-political vision of the world. For the first time, human space appeared, opposed to natural space. The architecture of the city is considered as a synthesis of the city in general: objective world city, the life of individual citizens, its public life with games, shows and theatre.
One of the tasks visual arts- the importance of observing the canon of beauty, found by the ancients, but in such a way that the realism and vitality of the image do not suffer. Mastery of portrayal
niya becomes a profession. Are developing art schools. The fine arts of the Renaissance are characterized by:
Change of topic - the person becomes the object of increased attention;
Change of image techniques - direct perspective, accuracy of conveying the structure of the human body;
Displacement of pure color by complex, composite colors;
The main means of expressiveness becomes not light, but shadow, which contributes to the development of graphic arts in the fine arts;
Particular interest in landscape;
Predominance easel painting and the emergence of secular painting (portrait);
Development of technology oil painting;
Interest in engraving.
IN sculpture there is a return of interest in the naked body. Sculptor Donatello was the first (after the Middle Ages) to present the naked body in sculpture, created new type round statue and sculptural group, picturesque relief. The naked body of Renaissance sculptures is filled with expression, movement, sensuality, and eroticism. Postures have become dynamic, muscles are tenser, emotions are open. The body, just like in antiquity, is seen as a reflection of the soul. But the emphasis in the depiction of the human body is already different: it must be considered as a manifestation of special states souls. That is why sculptors study the human body so closely in different psychological situations. Looking at the sculptural images of a Renaissance man, we can see, first of all, his soul, state, emotions shown in his posture, tense muscles, and facial expression.
Becoming theater Renaissance associated with names William Shakespeare And Lope de Bega. Main theatrical genres this time are tragedy And comedy, mystery, miracle, farce and soti(types of comedies). The content becomes more secular. The action takes place anywhere (on earth, in heaven, in the underworld) and covers events that last for years and months. At the same time, there is still no integrity of the plot and identified types of characters. Ancient stories are often performed in school productions and are more likely to serve educational purposes. Spectacles theatrical performances were quite boring in terms of plot development, but entertained the audience with dance interludes, decorations and costumes. Renaissance theater became believable, realistic, and acquired the features of stage action, which the viewer observes as if from the outside.
Music for the first time manifests itself as a secular art, based on secular principles and existing without the additional tutelage of other forms of art or religion. The ability to sing and play a musical instrument becomes an indispensable quality of a cultured person.
Completely new genres appear in music: opera and instrumental music. Improvisation was held in special esteem. New ones are also becoming popular musical instruments: clavichord, lute, violin. The organ was considered the instrument most suitable for reproducing images of “high” art. It was in organ art that the so-called monumental style arose - a parallel to the Baroque in painting and architecture, which began to take shape in the 16th century. In the 16th century they appeared in Spain first treatises about musical art.
The revival in art prepared the design of new artistic styles: Baroque, classicism, rococo.
The history of the Renaissance begins in This period is also called the Renaissance. The Renaissance changed into culture and became the forerunner of the culture of the New Age. And the Renaissance ended in the 16th-17th centuries, since in each state it has its own start and end date.
Some general information
Representatives of the Renaissance are Francesco Petrarca and Giovanni Boccaccio. They became the first poets who began to express sublime images and thoughts in frank, common language. This innovation was received with a bang and spread in other countries.
Renaissance and art
The peculiarity of the Renaissance is that the human body became the main source of inspiration and subject of study 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, refined use of the brush, the play of shadow and light, care in the work process and complex compositions. For Renaissance artists, the main images were from the Bible and myths.
In resemblance real person with his image on this or that canvas was so close that 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. The prevailing view then 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.
Nature and beauty of the human body
Renaissance art paid great attention to nature. A characteristic element of the landscapes was varied and lush vegetation. The blue-blue skies that permeated Sun rays that penetrated the clouds white, were a magnificent backdrop for the floating creatures. Renaissance art revered the beauty of the human body. This feature was manifested in the refined elements of the muscles and body. Difficult poses, facial expressions and gestures, a harmonious 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.
The Renaissance is the greatest progressive revolution in human history.
The early 15th century saw huge changes in life and culture in Italy. The townspeople, merchants and artisans of Italy have waged a heroic struggle against feudal dependence since the 12th century. By developing trade and production, the townspeople gradually became richer, overthrew the power of the feudal lords and organized free city-states. These free Italian cities became very powerful. Their citizens were proud of their conquests. The enormous wealth of independent Italian cities was the reason for their vibrant prosperity. The Italian bourgeoisie looked at the world with different eyes, they firmly believed in themselves, in their strength. They were alien to the desire for suffering, humility, and the renunciation of all earthly joys that had been preached to them until now. Respect for to earthly man who enjoys the joys of life. People began to take an active approach to life, eagerly study the world, and admire its beauty. During this period, various sciences were born and art developed.
Italy has preserved many monuments of the art of ancient Rome, so the ancient era began to be revered again as a model, ancient art became an object of worship. Imitation of antiquity gave rise to calling this period in art - Renaissance , which means in French "Renaissance". Of course, this was not an exact repetition of ancient art, it was already a new art, but based on ancient examples.
The Italian Renaissance is divided into three stages : 13th -15th century -Pre-Renaissance (Proto-Renaissance, Trecento) ; 15th century- Early Renaissance(quattrocento ); late 15th - early 16th century-High Renaissance (cinquecento).
Archaeological excavations were carried out throughout Italy, looking for ancient monuments. Newly discovered statues, coins, dishes, weapons, frescoes were carefully preserved and collected in museums specially created for this purpose. Artists learned from these examples of antiquity and painted them from life.
High Renaissance
From the end of the 15th century, Italy began to experience difficult times in economic and political matters. And in this difficult period for the country, a short-lived golden age begins Italian Renaissance. High Renaissance, highest point heyday of Italian art. The art of this time was especially imbued with faith in the creative powers of man, in the fact that man can do anything. Typical paintings High Renaissance strictly balanced in construction. The characters are often united in groups, the landscape, as if drowning in the blue distance, serves as a background for them or is visible through the window.
During the High Renaissance, three great masters worked in Italy, whose work reflects this wonderful era in its entirety. This - Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael Santi and Michelangelo Buonarotti.
Venetian Renaissance
Painting developed in its own special way in Venice. The humid atmosphere of this city, built on islands, was detrimental to fresco painting- that’s why here, earlier than anywhere else in Italy, artists mastered the technique of oil painting, invented in the Netherlands. It was convenient and provided the artist with more diverse opportunities. A festive mood, a special warm golden color - these are the typical features inherent in the work of the painters of this city.
In the countries located north of Italy - in the Netherlands, Germany, France - a culture called the Northern Renaissance developed in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Like Italian, Northern Renaissance means new stage development of European culture, higher than in the Middle Ages. As in Italy, here the discovery of the world and man in art takes place, man becomes the highest value in art. But if in Italy the Renaissance began with the revival of ancient ideals and the negation of medieval views, then in the North the culture of the 15th and 16th centuries is still very closely connected with the Middle Ages. Unlike Italian art, which strived to be ideal, Northern art is closer to real, real life. Italian art is festive, joyful, and the art of the Northern Renaissance morestern, restrained. In Italy, Renaissance art flourished in all forms - architecture, sculpture, painting, and in the North, new views on art appeared only in painting and graphics. The architecture and sculpture remained mainly Gothic.
Religion continued to occupy a major place in the life of society. But if earlier God was far from man, and man was viewed as an insignificant grain of sand, now man, like God, becomes part of the Universe.
At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, a deep interest in science appeared in the countries of Western Europe, they developed very rapidly. During this period, between scientists in Northern Europe And religious figures There are heated debates - whether the country should be free or feudal, with the dominance of the Catholic Church. These disputes grew into a nationwide movement - Reformation (“purification of faith”). At that time, the Peasant War was taking place in Germany, and in the Netherlands there was a fierce struggle for liberation from Spanish rule. It was in such historical conditions that the art of the Northern Renaissance took shape.
The Northern Renaissance began in Netherlands.
The first shoots of the new art of the Renaissance in the Netherlands are observed in book literature. Great contribution to development book miniature introduced in the Netherlands brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck. Jan van Eyck considered the founder of oil painting. And the artist Pieter Bruegel considered truly popular "Muzhitskiy" as he was called. Since the art of the Renaissance occurred during the period of the anti-Spanish movement in the Netherlands, this could not but be reflected in the works Dutch artists: I. Bosch, P. Bruegel the Elder and others.
At the turn of the 14th-15th centuries Germany was even more fragmented than in previous periods, which contributed to the survivability of feudal foundations in it.
The development of German cities was late even in relation to the Netherlands, and the German Renaissance took shape in comparison with the Italian one a whole century later. The 16th century for Germany begins with a powerful revolutionary movement of the peasantry, knighthood and burghers against the princely power and Roman Catholicism. But this movement was defeated by 1525, but the time of the peasant war was a period of high spiritual upsurge and flowering of German humanism, secular sciences, and German culture. During this period, such great brilliant artists as A. Dürer, G. B. Green, M. Grunewald, G. Holbein Jr., A. Altdofer, L. Cranach St.. and many others.
The beginning of the Renaissance dates back to the middle of the 15th France , in its early stages still closely associated with Gothic art. French artists became acquainted with Italian art, and from the end of the 15th century a decisive break with Gothic traditions began. The French Renaissance had the character of court culture.
As in the Netherlands, realistic tendencies are observed primarily in the miniature of both theological and secular books. First major artist French Renaissance - Jean Fouquet, court painter of Charles VII and Louis XI. In the 16th century, the court of Francis I, an art connoisseur and patron of Leonardo, became the center of French culture. !6th century - the heyday French portrait. He became especially famous in this genre Jean Clouet, court artist of Francis I.
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