The revival was first seen as a separate historical and cultural period only from the second half of the 18th century. This is due to the appearance of Winkelmann's works on European art. The development of the Renaissance culture lasted more than three centuries. It went through four stages:
- Pre-rebirth (from the last third of the 13th century to the beginning of the 14th century);
- Early Renaissance (from the middle of the 14th century to the end of the 15th century);
- High Renaissance (from the end of the 15th century until the first half of the 16th century);
- later Renaissance (from the second half of the 16th century until the beginning of the 17th century).
In the early years of the 19th century, the German word "humanism" came into use. It was used to refer exclusively to the human nature of Jesus Christ. Soon, this term spread to the circles of educated people, this word was often called the leaders of the Renaissance. True, an objective examination of this period shows that not all of them were true carriers of a new worldview. Despite this, it can be said that, in general, the Renaissance actively influenced the formation of a modern understanding of humanism as a position for which universal values are a priority .
During this period, the leaders of the Renaissance put forward the slogan "To the sources!" Thus, they expressed their admiration for the art and literature of antiquity and their critical attitude to contemporary medieval culture. The latter received such an unflattering assessment for not knowing the classics of Ancient Greece and for saturating Latin with foreign expressions.
The culture of the Renaissance was formed under the significant influence of a developing bourgeois society in the city-states of Italy. The fact is that in other European countries the struggle of this layer of the population for their rights ended in the formation of monarchies and the preservation of the old traditions. And only in Italy did the bourgeoisie defeat the feudal lords and establish their order in large cities. It was they, as well as church hierarchs, kings and bankers, who most often acted as customers of works of art and supported writers and artists in every possible way. And among the humanists of the Renaissance there were many representatives of the nobility. Due to the fact that many cities of Italy were then under the control or patronage of Byzantium , the culture of the Renaissance in this country was under the tangible influence of the East. This is especially noticeable in architecture and in decorative art. There was a merger of Islamic and Byzantine traditions with elements of Gothic.
The culture of the Renaissance has much more in common with the late Middle Ages than its leaders would like. Therefore, the representatives of the Renaissance sought to separate themselves by creating their own concepts, and by forming various elite organizations and circles.
If medieval cultural figures from antiquity took only certain knowledge, excerpts, comments, then the creators of the Renaissance were interested in the form of the ancient work, and its essence, its spirit, ideas. But there was no question of discarding the legacy of the Christian world.
The Renaissance culture became a direct continuation of the Western Middle Ages. From there, she took the ideas of personal, social and historical progress, a humane attitude to each person, recognition of the mystical background of life, a tendency to erudition, to the use of symbols and allegories. From the height of the Christian worldview, the heritage of ancient times is also considered. But it had a Renaissance culture and an ideological difference, compared with the Middle Ages. The figures of the Renaissance regarded man as the center of the universe, as the highest part of nature and at the same time as her greatest creation. And the world around was perceived as the result of not only God's hands, but also earthly ones.