Prelude to the Italian Renaissance
This article briefly covers the period, people and ideas the lead up to the Italian Renaissance. In Florence, a hot spot of commercial activity and feuding families — the Renaissance sprung to life under patronage of the ruling Medici family.
The Renaissance is still felt today
From the Renaissance to modern times, we’ve seen a general decline in religious influence and an increase in individualistic lifestyles.
The Renaissance was, in part, the antithesis of the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages were ushered in after the collapse of Rome. Feudalism developed as landowners took up the necessity of protecting their land and local peasants. Religion thrived in this atmosphere of uncertainty. Individualism was snuffed out as people relied on each other to survive.
As wealth and security increased, Feudalism began to wane under the pressure of rising nation-states like France, England, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire. The culture of spirituality and conservative waned as stability and commerce improved.
A few individuals are credited with laying the intellectual framework for this incredible era in history.
Petrarch
Born Francesco Petrarca (1304–1374).
Petrarch is considered the first humanist and the father of the Italian Renaissance.
His obsession with classical thought started with his discovery of Cicero's letters.
An Aside on Humanism
Humanism is characterized by a revival in the study of the ancients, a focus on the self, and a prioritization of enjoying one's life.
Aristotle and Plato took on a saint-like status in the humanist movement. Roman architecture was reflected in the transition away from Gothic architecture. The Greek study of the body was reflected in the painting and statues.
especially as opposed to practicing traditional virtues and restraining oneself in anticipation of the afterlife.
Humanism valued human qualities, such as reason, and argued that this world had worth and meaning, contrary to Christian teachings.
The individualism characterized by humanism is in its fullest expression today.
Petrarch lived at a time when Italy was divided.
He hoped for and worked toward the unification of Italy.
One of the major causes of Italy's disunity was the papacy. The papacy relied on a strategy of keeping Italy divided in order to maintain control of the church's domain. A united Italy would likely have overtaken the Papal kingdom much sooner.
He focused his energy on living, not on the afterlife. This was unique for his time. He has a thirst for earthly glory.
A noteworthy event in his life was when he hiked up Mount Visuvias and wrote about the experience in a letter to a friend in a very modern tone.
Petrarch honored Rome.
Boccaccio
Born Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375)
Boccaccio was friend of Petrarch and they regularly corresponded.
Boccaccio wrote the masterpiece “Decameron". He lived through and wrote of the black death in Florence.
An aside on the Decameron
A group of narratives told by friends on an outing. The realistic dialogue is progressive for the time and is characteristic of the trends that more fully developed in the Renaissance. It is considered a masterpiece of world literature.
Published in 1353, after the Black Death.
He is also considered an early humanist.
Giotto
Born, Giotto di Bondone (1267–1337)
Giotto revolutionized the depiction of the human form in the 1300s, helping to usher in the Italian Renaissance.
Boccaccio said of Giotto:
brought back to light an art which had been buried for centuries…So faithful did he remain to Nature…that whatever he depicted had the appearance, not of a reproduction, but of the thing itself, so that one very often finds, with the works of Giotto, that people’s eyes are deceived and they mistake the picture for the real thing.
Giotto began to paint things as observed by the eye. His style marks a significant shift from the stiff Byzantine style which was ubiquitous at the time.
See here the transition Giotto initiates in a focus on realism and details that were missing in Gothic-style painting. Notice how the neck appears full and real, and how the clothing spread realistically draped.
Expression
Giotto put on display individual personalities through realistic expressions
Posture
Notice the body language and posture on display
Clothing
Notice how the shirt drapes over and is held up by the belt
Hands and body language
Notice how the baby holds the mother's finger
Settings
Giotto began providing a setting for the picture; rather than holy figures simply displayed with no context.
The Importance of Humanism
Humanism set the stage for the Renaissance persona of an individual seeking earthly fame and glory.
The Italian Renaissance was a period of revival of classic philosophy, art, and architecture as well pagan faith and traditions.
So what
We can learn from both the successes and the failures of the Renaissance. If the Renaissance is in some sense a seed for many aspects of modern culture then we might learn something about ourselves by studying this unique time in history.