anatolys art history: the renaissance and humanism
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Renaissance & HumanismBackground
Anatoly "Tony" Vanetik
It is impossible to write about the length of theRenaissance period while neglecting to mention therise of humanism.Though not strictly an artbasedrevelation, the rise of humanism certainly had an
impact on the art and culture of the period.
Renaissance & HumanismBackground
Anatoly "Tony" Vanetik
Placing a strong focus on humankind, scientificreasoning, man’s image, and how our intellect
reflects on us as a species, humanism’s rise can beattributed in part to the invention of movable printand a surge in the popularity of older philosophical
texts.
HumanismWhat Is It?
Anatoly "Tony" Vanetik
"An outlook or system of thought attaching primeimportance to human rather than divine or
supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress thepotential value and goodness of human beings,
emphasize common human needs, and seek solelyrational ways of solving human problems."
–Dictionary.com
HumanismIn Simpler Terms
Anatoly "Tony" Vanetik
In simple terms, the embrace and rebirth ofhumanism represented a step towards science and
away from religion. This was reflected in the art,culture and people of the time.
Humanism& Art
Anatoly "Tony" Vanetik
The spread of this scientific approach had tangibleimpacts on the art and artists of the time–take for
example, da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man (see background).
There was a heightened concentration on proportionsand on realism in the art that dominated the
period–something that has remained a mainstay insome art today.
Re-Birthof Humanism
Anatoly "Tony" Vanetik
While the Renaissance period represented a rise inhumanism, it certainly did not represent the birth ofthe movement. The texts of the past that were dug upand meticulously studied at the time– classical texts
that had been lost for years.
These texts, which lead to a rise in humanism andintellectualism lead to enormous changes not only in
the style of the art, as mentioned above, but thesubjects as well.
A ShiftFrom Religion
Anatoly "Tony" Vanetik
Most art prior to the High Renaissance was inspired byreligion, a central piece in art for almost as long as art
has existed.
But these rediscovered texts helped lead to a scientificrevolution, pushing some artists away from painting
religion and into the arms of scientific reasoning, studyand deeplyrooted intellectualism.
