The Renaissance, which began in Italy in the first quarter of the 15th century, turned the medieval world upside down, changing it forever. Translated from French or Italian, “renaissance” is “born again”, which is associated with the revival of ancient traditions in art. The Renaissance is a magnificent breakthrough of mankind, there can be no doubt about it. At that time, wonderful works of painting, sculpture, architecture were created. Great books have been written (and published). The creations of human genius, created by famous masters of the past, continue to delight to this day and will never lose their charm.
Scary middle ages
It is generally known that the Renaissance era replaced the Middle Ages, which were, as usual, dark, certainly harsh, and were characterized by various religious atrocities - everyone heard about the Inquisition. There are sources that directly declare that because of the machinations of the treacherous Catholic Church, the Renaissance fell into decay.
In part, such a view of things has a right to exist, but hardly the merits of the clergy in this process are so great. It’s just that human society is developing cyclically, every revolution is followed by a reaction, and the Renaissance era became a victim of completely logical processes, especially since many of its ideas were alien to the ignorant society that suffered from numerous epidemics of those times. It is very difficult to inspire a person with his divine essence when he is poor, dependent and in constant fear.
Church as a bastion of civilization
Some historians directly accuse the Middle Ages of various crimes against humanity, even where this is not true. For example, some sources take the liberty of claiming that science did not develop in the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, many modern European universities appeared on the site of former monasteries (Oxford) or through the efforts of clergy (Sorbonne).
There is no point in denying that almost all the education of antiquity was ecclesiastical (and continued to remain so for many decades). This is easily explained: the highest percentage of elementary literate people was concentrated in the clergy, and if so, who should they teach “their unreasonable brothers,” if not to monks and other clerics?
The development of civilization is continuous. Although sometimes humanity had to take a step back, the culture of the Renaissance would never have taken place in the form in which we know it if it had not gone its thorny path in the darkness of the Middle Ages. Thus, great literary works would not have been born if they had not been preceded by the centuries-old work of numerous nuggets (whose work we call folklore only because their names remained unknown). If medieval knightly poetics did not exist, Dante Alighieri and the Petrarch sonnets would hardly have taken place.
Seeds must fall on fertile soil
Contrast the previous era with the next - not too correct. Voltaire argued that history was a myth that everyone agreed. One cannot but recognize the veracity of this witty utterance. The history of the Renaissance, a complex and diverse phenomenon, cannot be interpreted unambiguously. There are a huge number of versions explaining this grand event in the annals of mankind, many of which have a right to exist.
The assurance that the Renaissance artists suddenly discovered ancient culture and began to imitate it together must be recognized as schematic. After all, the works of Greco-Roman art did not disappear, significant works of ancient authors were translated in medieval Europe, starting from the VIII century, but no Renaissance has not happened for another eight centuries.
Of course, the fall of the Second Rome (Constantinople) in 1453, when cultural figures (and not only) , scared by the Muslim horde, rushed to the West, taking with them libraries, icons and (most important) their knowledge and experience, played a huge role. In the end, the influence of Byzantium on the art of the Renaissance is certain. Although the Roman Church rejected iconography, it grew on another field. The icon of the Mother of God and the famous "Sistine Madonna" by Michelangelo, with all the differences, both in technique and in filling, are an image of the same woman with the same baby.
Concurrence of favorable circumstances
The revival became possible due to a combination of many factors and reasons, one of which really lies in the fact that the Renaissance is a kind of response of the Catholic Church, whose influence at that time was enormous, wealth was uncountable, and the desire for power was insatiable. This state of affairs gave rise to strong protest in society: few people like harsh dogma and asceticism prescribed in all areas of life. A person had to constantly feel on himself an upper (and hostile) power, which at every moment could fall upon him, punishing for sins. The demands of the holy church were contrary to human nature itself.
The second factor, of course, is the rapid development of the state. Secular authorities, acquiring a harmonious hierarchy and significant means to manage their subjects, were not at all eager to give way to the spiritual leadership. Examples of fierce battles between the church and powerful monarchs are not uncommon in history. One of them is the Renaissance owes its doom.
The third reason is probably the fact that the Renaissance is a time when cultural life happily left the monasteries, where it was locked for many years, and concentrated in rapidly growing and affluent cities. Severe dogmas that ordered artists to write only in any way, restrictions on the subject, etc., could not cause delight in people who were really talented. They strove for freedom, they got it.
The fourth, important condition for the emergence of the Renaissance, was money, no matter how cynical it may sound. It is no coincidence that it was the richest descendants of Italy at that time that were grateful to the descendants of this wonderful style. The Renaissance was not born in poverty. The dogma that the artist must be hungry is untenable. The entire Renaissance is proof of this. The creator must also eat - which means that he needs orders, means and space to apply his talent.
Blessed florence
All this was found in Florence, and not least thanks to the ruler of the city - Lorenzo the Magnificent. The court of the nobleman was brilliant. The most talented painters, sculptors and architects found in Lorenzo a reliable patron. Numerous palaces, temples, chapels and other architectural works were built in the city. Painters received numerous orders.
As a rule, it is customary to separate the three periods of the Renaissance, but some researchers include another - the so-called Proto-Renaissance, still closely associated with the Middle Ages, but already acquiring new, light-pierced features. One of the most notable events of that time was the construction of the Florence Cathedral (XIII century) - a magnificent building with wonderful interior decoration.
Early Renaissance
After the “preliminary preparation”, the Early Renaissance appeared on the scene: historians call the years of the beginning and end of this period quite unanimously - from 1420 to 1500. It took eighty years to break free from the strict canons dictated by the church and appeal to the heritage of glorious ancestors. During this period, imitation of antique patterns becomes widespread. Images of a naked human body with a loving reflection of the smallest muscles and veins characterize a new style unknown to Catholic Europe. The Renaissance became a real hymn to earthly beauty, which was sometimes sung in such explicit forms that would horrify the audience some one hundred and fifty years ago.
It cannot be said that such trends found understanding among all contemporaries: there were fiery fighters against the Renaissance, who, thanks to their activity, achieved obscurantism in the field of dubious eternal glory. A striking example is the head of the Florentine Dominican monastery - Savonarola. He was an inexhaustible critic of humanistic "indecency" and did not hesitate to burn works that angered him so much. Among the irretrievable losses are several paintings of famous masters of the era, including Sandro Botticelli. His brushes belong to such
famous paintings of the Renaissance as “The Birth of Venus”, “Spring”, “Christ in the Crown of Thorns”. I must say that almost all of the surviving canvases of the author are devoted to biblical themes, and it is difficult for a modern person to understand what could have outraged the harsh Dominican.
However, the process was started, and it was not in human strength to stop it. Savonarola died in 1498, and the Renaissance continued to pace the country, conquering new cities - Rome, Venice, Milan, Naples.
Among the most prominent and characteristic representatives of the Early Renaissance are the sculptors Donatello, artists Giotto and Masaccio. During this period, the laws of perspective, discovered in the 15th century, were first applied in painting. This allowed subsequently to create three-dimensional, three-dimensional paintings of the Renaissance - previously this was not available to artists.
In architecture, the vector of further development was set by Filippo Brunelleschi, creating the magnificent dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.
High Renaissance
The peak of the era was the third period of the Renaissance - the High Renaissance. It lasted only 27 years (1500-1527) and is associated primarily with the work of great masters, the names of which each of us knows: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.
At this time, the cultural capital of Europe moved from Florence to Rome. The new pope Julius II (ascended the throne in 1503) was an outstanding man, a great admirer of art and the holder of fairly broad views. If it were not for the
favor of this clergyman, people would not have seen many works of art that are rightfully considered to be the pearls of world cultural heritage.
The best masters, marked with the seal of genius, receive numerous orders. The city is in full swing from construction. Architects, sculptors and painters work shoulder to shoulder (and sometimes "combining positions"), creating their immortal works. At this time, the construction of St. Peter's Basilica, the most famous and grandiose church of the Catholic faith, is planned and begins.
The painting of the Sistine Chapel, made by Michelangelo with his own hand, embodies the whole meaning, perfection and beauty that the Renaissance artists gave us, who chose Man as the center of their Universe (just like that, with a capital letter): a god-like creature, a creator whose possibilities are almost limitless.
Everything comes to an end
In 1523, Clement VII became Pope and immediately got into a war with Emperor Charles V, creating the so-called Cognac League, which included the Italian city-states of Florence, Milan, Venice, and France. The pope did not want to share power with the Habsburgs, and the Eternal City had to pay for it. In 1527, the army of Charles V, which did not receive a salary for a long time (the emperor abstained in the course of hostilities), first besieged and then burst into Rome and plundered its palaces and temples. The great city was depopulated, and the High Renaissance came to an end.
The British Encyclopedia claims that as a holistic historical era, the Renaissance, the century (1420-1527) that ruled in blessed Italy, ended. Those who do not agree with the compilers of the world's most famous reference book, call the period that began after 1530, the Late Renaissance and still cannot come to a consensus, when did it end. There are arguments in favor of the 1590s, 1620s, and even the 1630s, but it is unlikely that individual residual phenomena can be signs of an entire era.
Age of Degeneration
At this time, cultural phenomena are very diverse, there are trends that are considered manifestations of the crisis and degeneration in art (for example, Florentine mannerism). It is characterized by a certain pretentiousness, excessive details, focusing on the "idea of ​​the artist", accessible only to a narrow circle of experts. The sculpture, architecture and painting of the Renaissance, which were in a relentless search for harmony, gave way to unnatural poses, endless curls and monstrous colors characteristic of a new trend in the world of art.
However, it’s too early to talk about the final death of the Renaissance. In some cities of Italy, artists of the Renaissance continue to live, who remain faithful to great traditions. So, the great Titian, who can be considered the brightest representative of the Renaissance, worked in Venice until 1576.
In the meantime, Italy and Europe suffered hard times. After the freedoms that were unthinkable in the Middle Ages that the Renaissance era brought with it, a tough reaction ensued. The reformed Holy Inquisition again took the reins of government. Bonfires flared in the squares - the fire devoured both heretics and their works.
Almost all the books introduced by the new Pope Paul IV in the Roman "Index of Prohibited Books" were destroyed (a little earlier the corresponding lists were published in the Netherlands, Paris and Venice). The work of the Inquisitors was difficult, because it was in the Renaissance that printing appeared - at the end of the 15th century Guttenberg managed to create the first printed Bible. The heretical appeals of the Renaissance humanists scattered, of course, not in millions of copies, but the Holy Fathers had something to do.
Historians say that the religious persecution in Italy was the most merciless in Europe - a cruel retribution for a century of freedom and beauty.
Northern Renaissance - one of the phenomena of the Renaissance
Most often, when talking about the Renaissance, it is the Italian Renaissance that is meant - this phenomenon was born and reached its peak here. Today in Italy, entire cities can be considered monuments of architecture, painting and sculpture of the era.
However, of course, the Renaissance was not limited to the Apennines alone. The so-called Northern Renaissance originated in Europe closer to the middle of the 16th century and presented the world with many wonderful works. A characteristic feature of this style was the greater influence of medieval Gothic art. Here, the ancient heritage was not paid as much attention as in Italy, and the subtleties of anatomy showed greater indifference. The creators of the Northern Renaissance include DĂĽrer, Van Eyck, Cranach. In literature, this event was marked by the work of Shakespeare and Cervantes.
The influence of the Renaissance on culture cannot be overestimated: it is huge. Rethinking and enriching ancient culture, the Renaissance created its own - and presented to mankind a huge number of immortal works of art, which, of course, improved the world in which we live.