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This article is about the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. For the earlier European Renaissance, see Renaissance Of The 12th Century . The Renaissance ( 2007 ) There is a general — though by no means unchallenged — consensus that the Renaissance began in , Oxford 1998) Various theories have been proposed to explain its origin and characteristics, focusing on an assortment of factors, including the social and civic peculiarities of Florence at this time including its political structure and the patronage of its dominant family, the Medici . The Renaissance has a long and complex 2007 ) The word ''Renaissance'' has also been used to describe other historical and cultural movements, such as the Carolingian Renaissance and the Byzantine Renaissance . OVERVIEW 's Vitruvian Man shows clearly the effect writers of antiquity had on Renaissance thinkers. Based on the specifications in Vitruvius 's De Architectura , da Vinci tried to draw the perfectly proportioned man.]] The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the Early Modern Period . Beginning in Italy, and spreading to the rest of Europe by the 16th century, its influence was felt in Literature , Philosophy , Art , Politics , Science , Religion , and other aspects of intellectual enquiry. Renaissance scholars employed the Humanist method in study, and searched for realism and human emotion in art. Renaissance thinkers sought out learning from Ancient texts, typically written in Latin or Ancient Greek . Scholars scoured Europe's monastic libraries, searching for works of antiquity which had fallen into obscurity. In such texts they found a desire to improve and perfect their worldly knowledge; an entirely different sentiment to the transcendental Spirituality stressed by Medieval Christianity . They did not reject Christianity; quite the contrary, many of the Renaissance's greatest works were devoted to it, and the Church 2007 ) Artists such as 2007 ) In all, the Renaissance could be viewed as an attempt by intellectuals to study and improve the Secular and worldly, both through the revival of ideas from antiquity, and through novel approaches to thought. THE RENAISSANCE'S ORIGINS See Also: Renaissance of the 12th century Italian Renaissance Most historians agree that the ideas that characterized the Renaissance had their origin in late 13th Century Florence , in particular with the writings of Dante Alighieri ( 1265 – 1321 ) and Francesco Petrarch ( 1304 – 1374 ), as well as the painting of Giotto Di Bondone ( 1267 - 1337 ).See below, under "Sources". Yet it remains unclear why the Renaissance began in Italy, and why it began when it did. Accordingly, several theories have been put forward to explain its origins. Assimilation of Greek and Arabic knowledge ]] The Renaissance was so called because it was a "rebirth" of certain classical ideas that had long been lost to Europe. It has been argued that the fuel for this rebirth was the rediscovery of ancient texts that had been forgotten by Western civilization, but were preserved in some 2007 ) The works of Ancient Greek and Hellenistic writers (such as Plato , Aristotle , Euclid , and Ptolemy ) and Muslim Scientists and Philosophers (such as Geber , Abulcasis , Alhacen , Avicenna , Avempace , and Averroes ), were imported into the Christian world, providing new intellectual material for European scholars. Greek and Arabic knowledge were not only assimilated from Spain, but also directly from the Middle East. The study of mathematics was flourishing in the Middle East, and mathematical knowledge was brought back by 2007 ) Social and political structures in Italy Peninsula circa 1494 .]] The unique political structures of late - 2007 ) Many of its cities stood among the ruins of ancient Roman buildings; it seems likely that the classical nature of the Renaissance was linked to its origin in the Roman Empire's heartlands.Jacob Burckhardt, "The Revivial of Antiquity," '' The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy '' (trans. by S.G.C. Middlemore, 1878) Italy at this time was notable for its merchant brought with them ideas from far corners of the globe, particularly The Levant . Venice was Europe's gateway to trade with the East, and a producer of fine Glass , while Florence was a capital of Silk and Jewelry . The wealth such business brought to Italy meant that large public and private artistic projects could be commissioned and individuals had more leisure time for study. The Black Death One theory that has been advanced is that the devastation caused by the , 2006) Cultural conditions in Florence , ruler of Florence and patron of arts.]] It has long been a matter of debate why the Renaissance began in Florence, and not elsewhere in Italy. Scholars have noted several features unique to Florentine cultural life which may have caused such a cultural movement. Many have emphasised the role played by the Medici family in patronising and stimulating the arts. Lorenzo De' Medici devoted huge sums to commissioning works from Florence's leading artists, including Leonardo Da Vinci , Sandro Botticelli , and Michelangelo Buonarroti . The Renaissance was certainly already underway before Lorenzo came to power, however. Indeed, before the Medici family itself achieved hegemony in Florentine society. Some historians have postulated that Florence was the birthplace of the Renaissance as a result of luck, i.e. because ". Arguing that such chance seems improbable, other historians have contended that these "Great Men" were only able to rise to prominence because of the prevailing cultural conditions at the time.J. Stephens, "Individualism and the cult of creative personality", ''The Italian Renaissance'' (New York, 1990) pp. 121 THE RENAISSANCE'S CHARACTERISTICS Humanism See Also: Renaissance humanism Humanism was not a philosophy per se, but rather a method of learning. In contrast to the medieval Scholastic mode, which focused on resolving contradictions between authors, humanists would study ancient texts in the original, and appraise them through a combination of reasoning and empirical evidence. Humanist education was based on the study of Poetry , Grammar , Ethics and Rhetoric . Above all, humanists asserted "the genius of man... the unique and extraordinary ability of the human mind."As asserted by Gianozzo Manetti in ''On the Dignity and Excellence of Man''. Cited in Clare, J, ''Italian Renaissance''. Humanist scholars shaped the intellectual landscape throughout the early modern period. Political philosophers such as Niccolò Machiavelli and Thomas More revived the ideas of Greek and Roman thinkers, and applied them in critiques of contemporary government. Theologians, notably Erasmus and Martin Luther , challenged the Aristotelian status quo, introducing radical new ideas of Justification and Faith (''for more, see Religion below''). Art See Also: Italian Renaissance painting Early Renaissance painting Renaissance architecture l2=Renaissance painting 's School Of Athens depicts illustrious contemporaries as Classical scholars, with Leonardo central as Plato .]] One of the distinguishing features of Renaissance art was its development of highly realistic linear perspective. 2007 ) To that end, painters also developed other techniques, studying light, shadow, and, famously in the case of Leonardo Da Vinci , Human Anatomy . Underlying these changes in artistic method was a renewed desire to depict the beauty of nature, and to unravel the axioms of Aesthetics , with the works of Leonardo , Michelangelo and Raphael representing artistic pinnacles that were to be much imitated by other artists.Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists'', trans. George Bull, Penguin Classics,(1965), ISBN 0-14-044-164-6 Concurrently, in the 2007 ) In 2007 ) The outstanding architectural work of the High Renaissance was the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica , combining the skills of Bramante , Michelangelo , Raphael , Sangallo and Maderno . Science See Also: History of science in the Renaissance The upheavals occurring in the arts and humanities were mirrored by a dynamic period of change in the sciences. Some have seen this flurry of activity as a " 2006) Science and art were very much intermingled in the early Renaissance, with artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci making observational drawings of anatomy and nature. Yet the most significant development of the era was not a specific discovery, but rather a ''process'' for discovery, the Scientific Method . This revolutionary new way of learning about the world focused on Empirical Evidence , the importance of Mathematics , and discarding the Aristotelian " Final Cause " in favour of a Mechanical Philosophy . Early and influential proponents of these ideas included Copernicus and Galileo . The new scientific method led to great contributions in the fields of astronomy, physics, Biology , and Anatomy . With the publication of Vesalius 's '' De Humani Corporis Fabrica '', a new confidence was placed in the role of Dissection , observation, and a Mechanistic view of anatomy. Religion , a Borgia pope infamous for his corruption.]] See Also: Reformation Counter-Reformation It should be emphasised that the new ideals of humanism, although more secular in some aspects, developed against an unquestioned 2007 ) However, the Renaissance had a profound effect on contemporary Theology , particularly in the way people perceived the relationship between man and God. Many of the period's foremost theologians were followers of the humanist method, including Erasmus , Zwingli , Thomas More , Martin Luther , and John Calvin . The Renaissance began in times of religious turmoil. The late 2007 ) Churchmen such as Erasmus and Luther proposed reform to the Church, often based on humanist Textual Criticism of the New Testament . Indeed, it was Luther who in October 1517 published the 95 Theses , challenging papal authority and criticising its perceived corruption, particularly with regard to its sale of Indulgences . The 95 Theses led to the Reformation , a break with the Roman Catholic Church that previously claimed hegemony in Western Europe . Humanism and the Renaissance therefore played a direct role in sparking the Reformation, as well as in many other contemporaneous religious debates and conflicts. Renaissance self-awareness By the fifteenth century, writers, artists and architects in Italy were well aware of the transformations that were taking place and were using phrases like ''modi antichi'' (in the antique manner) or ''alle romana et alla antica'' (in the manner of the Romans and the ancients) to describe their work. The term "la rinascita" first appeared, however, in its broad sense in , Giotto , and Arnolfo Di Cambio ; the second phase contains Masaccio , Brunelleschi , and Donatello ; the third centers on Leonardo Da Vinci and culminates with Michelangelo . It was not just the growing awareness of classical antiquity that drove this development, according to Vasari, but also the growing desire to study and imitate nature.Philip Sohm, ''Style in the Art Theory of Early Modern Italy'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001) THE RENAISSANCE SPREADS In the 15th century the Renaissance spread with great speed from its birthplace in Florence, first to the rest of Italy, and soon to the rest of Europe. The invention of the Printing Press allowed the rapid transmission of these new ideas. As it spread, its ideas diversified and changed, being adapted to local culture. In the twentieth century, scholars began to break the Renaissance into regional and national movements, including:
The Northern Renaissance See Also: Northern Renaissance , by Jan Van Eyck , painted 1434]]The Renaissance as it occurred in Northern Europe has been termed the "Northern Renaissance". It arrived first in France , imported by King Charles VIII after his invasion of Italy. Francis I imported Italian art and artists, including Leonardo Da Vinci , and at great expense built ornate palaces. Writers such as François Rabelais , Pierre De Ronsard , Joachim Du Bellay and Michel De Montaigne , painters such as Jean Clouet and musicians such as Jean Mouton also borrowed from the spirit of the Italian Renaissance. In the second half of the 15th century, Italians brought the new style to 2007 ) The most important humanists living in Matthias' court were Antonio Bonfini and Janus Pannonius . In 1526 the Ottoman conquest of Hungary put an abrupt end to the short-lived Hungarian Renaissance . An early Italian humanist who came to in 1400. The spirit of the age spread from France to the Low Countries and Germany , and finally by the late 16th Century to England, Scandinavia , and remaining parts of Central Europe. In these areas Humanism became closely linked to the turmoil of the Protestant Reformation , and the art and writing of the German Renaissance frequently reflected this dispute.Review of Lewis Spitz, ''The Religious Renaissance of the German Humanists''. Review by Gerald Strauss, ''English Historical Review'', Vol. 80, No. 314, p.156. Available on JSTOR (subscription required). In England, the Elizabethan Era marked the beginning of the English Renaissance with the work of writers William Shakespeare , Christopher Marlowe , John Milton , and Edmund Spenser , as well as great artists, architects (such as Inigo Jones ), and composers such as Thomas Tallis , John Taverner , and William Byrd . rebuilt from the Gothic style by Giovanni Batista Di Quadro ( 1550 - 1555 ).]] The Renaissance arrived in the Iberian peninsula through the Mediterranean possessions of the Aragonese Crown and the city of Valencia . Early Iberian Renaissance writers include Ausiàs March , Joanot Martorell , Fernando De Rojas , Juan Del Encina , Garcilaso De La Vega , Gil Vicente and Bernardim Ribeiro . The late Renaissance in Spain saw writers such as Miguel De Cervantes , Lope De Vega , Luis De Góngora and Tirso De Molina , artists such as El Greco and composers such as Tomás Luis De Victoria . In Portugal writers such as Sá De Miranda and Luís De Camões and artists such as Nuno Gonçalves appeared. While Renaissance ideas were moving north from Italy, there was a simultaneous southward spread of innovation, particularly in Burgundian School defined the beginning of the Renaissance in that art and the Polyphony of the Netherlanders , as it moved with the musicians themselves into Italy, formed the core of what was the first true international style in Music since the standardization of Gregorian Chant in the 9th Century . The culmination of the Netherlandish school was in the music of the Italian Composer , Palestrina . At the end of the 16th century Italy again became a center of musical innovation, with the development of the polychoral style of the Venetian School , which spread northward into Germany around 1600 . The paintings of the Italian Renaissance differed from those of the Northern Renaissance. Italian Renaissance artists were among the first to paint secular scenes, breaking away from the purely religious art of medieval painters. At first, Northern Renaissance artists remained focused on religious subjects, such as the contemporary religious upheaval portrayed by website. (Retrieved April 5 - 2007 ) THE RENAISSANCE'S HISTORIOGRAPHY Conception It was not until the nineteenth century that the French word ''Renaissance'' achieved popularity in describing the cultural movement that began in the late 13th century. The Renaissance was first defined by French historian view of history in seeing the Renaissance as the origin of the modern world.Randolph Starn, " Renaissance Redux " ''The American Historical Review'' Vol.103 No.1 p.124 (Subscription required for JSTOR link) More recently, historians have been much less keen to define the Renaissance as a historical age, or even a coherent cultural movement. As Randolph Starn has put it, For better or for worse? , an event in the French Wars Of Religion , by François Dubois .]] Much of the debate around the Renaissance has centred around whether the Renaissance truly was an "improvement" on the culture of the Middle Ages. Both Michelet and Burckhardt were keen to describe the progress made in the Renaissance towards the " Modern Age ". Burckhardt likened the change to a veil being removed from man's eyes, allowing him to see clearly. On the other hand, many historians now point out that most of the negative social factors popularly associated with the "medieval" period - poverty, warfare, religious and political persecution, for example - seem to have worsened in this era which saw the rise of , Autumn 1997 (Retrieved on 10-05 - 2007 )
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