Of Botticelli S Paintings example essay topic

The Renaissance, as defined in Merriam-Webster ='s dictionary, is the transitional movement in Europe between medieval and modern times beginning in the 14th century in Italy, lasting into the 17th century, and marked by a humanistic revival of classical influence expressed in a flowering of the arts and literature and by the beginnings of modern science. Many dramatic changes occurred during this time in the fields of philosophy, literature, and art. New emphasis was placed on enjoying life and the world around man, and talented individuals sought self-gratification through art and philosophy (Vary). In Italy, the Renaissance presented through literary and art themes a new humanistic conception of man.

The rise of the Medici family also held a great role in the sponsorship of the arts. Humanism was considered to be the most significant intellectual movement of the Renaissance. As its name implies, humanism was a philosophy that was characterized by its blending of the concern of the history and actions of all human beings, and their influence in the world, with religious duty (Vary). Humanists thought that every person had respect and worth and therefore commanded the respect of other people. The humanistic movement began during the early Italian Renaissance with the rediscovery of the writings of the classical Greeks and Romans, which were not only models of literary style, but believed to be guides to the understanding of life (Mirkin). Humanists did not see themselves as pagan ='s, and the Church became one of the main reasons why the artistic applications of humanistic values flourished (Jovanovich 84).

Two humanistic philosophers who greatly impacted the Italian Renaissance were Pico della Mirandola and Niccolo Machiavelli. Pico della Mirandola, author of AOration on the Dignity of Man, @ believed and emphasized that humans could perfect their existence on earth because they were divinely given the ability to determine their own fate (Mirandola). He accentuated the superiority of humans and sought to portray man as good due to his creation from God. AOration@ described man as the perfect being and glorified man as the all around perfect creature (Vary).

Mirandola ='s humanistic views go as far to say that man is better than the angels themselves. He used many pagan references and strays away from the Church by using evidence from the Old Testament and quoted Heathens and Greeks. Niccolo Machiavelli wrote AThe Prince@, dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici which was written in order to educate man on successful ruling practices. What made AThe Prince@ so controversial was that it was a direct challenge to the papacy. It addresses how a ruler should gain, maintain, and increase political power by any means necessary and disregards any Christian standards of morality (Mirkin). AThe Prince@ was directly reflected upon Cesare Borgia who began the work of uniting central Italy by ruthlessly conquering and exacting total obedience from the principalities making up the papal states.

Although he shared with other humanists a profound pessimism about human nature, Machiavelli nevertheless argued that the social benefits of stability and security could be achieved even in the face of moral corruption (Vary). He truly believed that humans were not ready to serve their country unless there was a special benefit to them as individuals. Machiavelli characterized men as being self centered and not willing to act in the best interest of the state (Machiavelli). Regardless of the Christian society he lived in, these pessimistic views of humanity led him to maintain that the prince may have to manipulate the people in any way necessary (Mirkin). So while he mocked human nature, he still believed that the ruling Prince should be the only authority that determined every aspect of the state and not the Church (Machiavelli). The new ideas developed by Machiavelli surrounding politics greatly influenced future monarchies and government.

Other pioneers of humanism were Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio. Petrarch was known for his poetry, which was described to be realistic, critical, and at times satirical, like AThe Prince@ was (Vary). Petrarch ='s style is close to those of the classical authors he studied, expressing his view accurately through the use of characters. His most famous contributions to the world of literature were his string of sonnets addressed to ALaura, @ who appeared to be a real person rather than a religious symbol (Mirkin). Pre-Renaissance writing primarily dealt with religious characters and symbols, therefore Petrarch ='s sonnets began the stray from the Church and the belief that man could be his own person. Boccaccio is best known for his masterpiece Decameron, which consisted of 100 stories organized to give the impression of a total view of society.

Like Petrarch, he gave accurate depictions of real life characters and situations. He described a group of men and women fleeing from a plague to the countryside that infested Florence. In seclusion, they hold story telling sessions that tie into Boccaccio ='s own view of society (Vary) Before, this had been unheard of because author ='s were supposed to write about religious issues and not their own personal feelings and views on society. Once again, this demonstrates the start of humanism and the displacement to the Church. The main characteristics of high renaissance art were classical balance, harmony, and restraint, revealed in masterpieces of Botticelli, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Under Medici domination, Florence became a signoria l power and a cultural gem stone.

During the reign of Lorenzo de Medici, many great painters, sculptors, and architects flocked to the family to look for sponsorship, knowing the Lorenzo was a great supporter of the arts (Jovanovich 85). The majority of artworks had been made for the church, so there had been very little patronage among the upper class. Yet when the de Medici family came into rule individuals rather than corporate groups began to support the arts as a mean of glorifying themselves and their families (Vary). In Botticelli ='s Adoration of the Magi, the first hint of patronage is displayed due to the fact that while there is still a religious theme, secular people were used in place of the real figures. The Medici are supposed to have been represented as the Magi, once again playing on the theme of patronage (Hartt 324).

It was a strictly historical work painted for the Medici family and intended as an honor of the artist ='s patrons, but the portrait introduced a mood of absolute contemplation (Busignani 18) The different variations of Adoration stray from the church and have humanistic points by replacing biblical figures with secular ones. Botticelli also places himself in the painting which depicts that he wanted to be glorified just as the Medici were. This theme plays upon Mirandola ='s concept of human superiority. Many of Botticelli ='s paintings began to show singular persons with a hint of scenery in the background, once again glorifying man.

Leonardo da Vinci was the model of the Renaissance Man, someone who excels in all areas of art and science (Mirkin). One of his most famous paintings was the portrait Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa is yet another example of patronage, seeing as it is simply a portrait of Lisa di Antonio Maria Gherardini, the wife of the prominent Florentine citizen Francesco del Gio condo (Hartt 456). The Mona Lisa follows Botticelli ='s use of a single subject with a simple background and is simply glorifying a woman who deserved to be respected since she was the wife of a prominent citizen, as opposed to being a religious figure. There are no religious themes whatsoever in the portrait, once again straying from the Church, and this portrait brought the new conception of woman as virtuous and strong, not simply an object for males (Vary).

In many other paintings, Leonardo also depicted the mother ='s happiness in her child and the child ='s joy of being alive, the timidity, delicacy, and refinement of maidenhood, as well as the inexhaustible fascination of the woman in her years of mastery (Berenson 31). Not before the Renaissance had a woman been painted without needing religious symbolism. Michelangelo was adored by and later became the foster son of Lorenzo de Medici (Shirley 93). He spent four years working on the Sistine Chapel, and two major pieces that portrayed the typical conception of God and the universe were Creation and The Last Judgement.

Creation is clearly a religious oriented painting, and gives the impression that God placing the entire world into the hands of Adam. God is leaning forward to give Adam life and strength (Hartt 500), so while Michelangelo is not straying from the Church, he still is glorifying man in his entirety and showing what his importance is on the world. Adam was the beginning, without him there would not have been a world, therefore Michelangelo is just demonstrating the respect man should be given. The Last Judgement was the largest fresco of the Renaissance, painted on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel and it depicted Judgement day. Christ, with a clap of thunder, put into motion the inevitable separation, with the saved ascending on the left side of the painting and the damned descending on the right into hell (Vary). Images of justice, punishment, sacred, and secular were painted.

Customarily, hierarchical structures contain figures that are dressed according to their social position, and Christ, the Virgin, and the Apostles are suitably ent rhone in heaven. However Michelangelo depicted a unified scene without any break, thrones, insignia of rank, or clothing for that matter (Hartt 640). This shows that Michelangelo, while painting for the Church, was putting forth his own personal thoughts, which before the Renaissance was unheard of. The fact that practically all of Michelangelo ='s figures were painted nude, once again is glorifying man for all he is worth.

Raphael was noted for his definition of perspective and complicated use of colors. (Wolters 219) One of his greatest works, School of Athens, shows a humanistic influence of classical Greek and Roman models, showing a group of Greek philosophers studying about a group of stone pillars. The painting was universally recognized as the culmination of the High Renaissance ideal of formal and spatial harmony. It was intended to confront the Dispute ='s theologians of Christianity drawn from all ages with an equally imposing group of philosophers of classical antiquity engaged in solemn discussion (Hartt 509,510). Raphael ='s humanistic approach demonstrates man ='s intelligence, which had not really been displayed in art before this time.

With the focus in the Italian Renaissance being individual achievement, self gratification, and the quest for public appraisal, a great many changes occurred in artworks, philosophy, and literature. The humanist themes that developed in Renaissance Italy helped shape the Reformation and influenced many great European thinkers during the Enlightenment. Had the humanistic views projected during the Italian Renaissance not occurred, the reality in which man lives today would not be the same..