Humanisms Effect on Renaissance Art

Humanism is any belief, method, or philosophy that has a central emphasis on the human realm. It is this belief that helped influence and direct much of the artistic works done throughout the renaissance. Through this humanist philosophy that stressed the dignity of humanity, humanistic values emphasized on logic and human studies. This influence is shown through many different works of art by emphasizing on human achievement, human anatomy, and human history.

            You can see how humanism clearly effected renaissance art when looking at pieces such as Antonio del Pollaiuolo’s “Battle of the Nudes.” This engraving represents a very clear study of classical sculpture, which shows the appreciation for human history. Not only that, but the engraving shows very good observation of anatomical research. This engraving shows the human male in a very realistic way with the engraving showing a very good depiction of muscles of the male body reacting under tension. Through well represented human anatomy and study of classical sculpture, Antonio del Pollaiulo’s work shows how humanistic values influenced his engraving.

            Humanism, of course, didn’t only effect engravings, it effected painting as well. Humanism can be seen very clearly in the painting “The Delivery of the Keys to St. Peter.” This painting exemplifies the humanistic approach to perfection by using the linear perspective. Through this perspective it helps make the background fall realistically into a single vanishing point. Not only that, but the painter, Perugino, painted a self-portrait of himself into the painting, further showing humanistic values of celebrating his own personal achievement. By trying to achieve perfection through the linear perspective and through putting himself into his own painting, Perugino has shown humanistic values through his artwork.

            Humanistic values also affected sculpture. As seen with Michelangelo’s “David”, this sculpture clearly represents humanistic values through his idealistic portrayal. David’s human body is very realistically sculpted. He has a very strong and toned body that has been sculpted in a very idealistic way. It is through this idealistic approach to the sculpture that Michelangelo portrays a sense of humanism. It is through this perfect portrayal of David that he is celebrating the human body and is striving for perfection. The fact that David is shown in the nude also helps add to the fact that Michelangelo is glorifying and celebrating the human body in its entirety. It is through this idealistic and nude portrayal of David that humanistic values are shown in a “High” renaissance art piece.

            Overall humanism affected much of art through the renaissance. This is exemplified through the focus on human anatomy (such as Antonio del Pollaiuolo’s “The Battle of the Nudes”) and through human achievement (Perugino putting his own portrait in “The Delivery of the Keys to St. Peter” to help show that he had achieved such amazing painting). It is this all-encompassing focus on humans and their achievements that has been one of the main influences on many pieces of renaissance art.

Donatello's sculpture of Erasmo Da Narni

Produced by Donatello between 1443 and 1453, the Equestrian Statue of Erasmo Da Narni stands over 12 feet tall and is located in Piazza del Santo in Padua, Italy.  After examining the sculpture I quickly realized that one of my first reactions to it was it possessed a feeling of power and authority, and after further examination of the sculpture I also recognized that the feelings of power and authority were portrayed in a seemingly cold and gloomy way.

                My first reaction of the sculpture portraying a feeling of power and authority came from the scale of the piece. Standing 12 feet 2 inches the Equestrian Statue of Erasmo Da Narni stands very tall over all who pass it, which would definitely makes me feel as though it projects a broad sense of power. Not only is the statue itself very tall, but after looking at other pictures I realized that it also was mounted on a marble pedestal that made it stand even higher. It is through the combination of its very high pedestal and life like scale of the horse and rider that the sculpture presented me with a feeling as though it ruled over whoever passed by. I think that without the high orientation of the sculpture on the marble pedestal, it would not project the same feelings of power, considering that the horse and rider are for the most part scaled to a realistic size.

It is through this realistic scaling of Erasmo Da Narni that I feel gives the sculpture even more realism and personal relation to it. Unlike some sculptures that use an unrealistically large scale to project power, this sculpture projects it though its realistic size. This realistic scale provides the viewer with a more relatable quality for the everyday citizen to associate with.

Although this feeling of power is mainly derived from the height of the sculpture there is a very cold and gloomy feel about the sculpture as well. One of the reasons for this cold and gloomy side of Esarmo Da Narni comes from the compound in which it is made. The statue is made out of bronze. It is the cold hard texture and feel of bronze that I believe puts across this cold and gloomy side of Esarmo Da Narni. This cold hard texture not only shows his cold and gloomy side but also gives him even more of a sense of power. The hard bronze structure gives the viewer a feeling of strength and toughness. Overall the compound used to sculpt Erasmo Da Narni was a good choice. I feel that it helped show the strength, power, and toughness of this Venetian army general.

The dark color of the aged bronze puts across a solemn and dignified feeling. The horse and its rider are both made of the same dark bronze compound, which does not distinguish one from another but presents them both as one. It is this unity derived from them that seems to separate the sculpture from its more modern surroundings, making it seem as though it’s a glimpse back to the renaissance age in which it was created.  It is through its distinction from its more modern surroundings which further enforces the feelings of solemnness. This feeling of solemnness would not apply to the sculpture during its original time period of course. It would have fit in much better without a ton of cars and busses driving by.

Overall this amazing sculpture created by Donatello brings to the viewer’s eye a glimpse at the past. It is through his realistic scaling and detailing of Erasmo Da Narni which provides a sense of realism. This sense of realism helps give the viewer a feeling of what Erasasmo Da Narni may have actually looked like during his life. With the medium of bronze, the true to life scale of Erasmo Da Narni, and dark color of the whole sculpture, the Erasmo Da Narni sculpture provides an overall amazing sense of power, strength, toughness.

Northern Renaissance: The Supreme Art

            After watching "Northern Renaissance: The Supreme Art” I noticed that one of the main themes that seemed to play a part in a majority of the art pieces was the Christian religion. Many of the art pieces in the movie showed depictions of Christian characters. One of the first shown was the “Well of Moses”, a sculpture depicting 6 characters, David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, Zacharias and of course Moses. Not only did sculptures depict Christian characters, but many paintings done during the time did as well, such as “The Ghent Alterpiece”, painted by Jan van Eyck. Many of the paintings and sculptures of the Northern Renaissance clearly showed the importance of religion within their culture. I think that the importance of family was highly valued within their culture as well, which is showed within some of the art pieces produced. When looking at pieces such as "The Arnolfini Portrait" by Jan van Eyck, you can see that Arnolfini valued his wife very much by having this painting done. In this same painting you can also see how religion played a part in their lives as well, with the mirror in the background depicting the story of Christ. There is an endless amount of evidence within northern renaissance art that supports the importance of religion and family within their culture.

          Another thing that is shown very clearly in northern renaissance art is the fine attention to detail, shown within much of the arts naturalistic style. Many of the art pieces, sculptures and paintings alike, show very clear and precise attention to detail. I think that this precise attention to detail provides the evidence showing that realism played a large part within their culture. The paintings produced by Jan van Eyck represent this incredible style of art. These paintings show very incredible detail that had to be done through many thin layers of oil based paint. It was through these many layers of paint that he was able to produce such amazing works of art that looked as though they were part of the real world, almost ready to hop out of the painting and into the room itself. One of my favorite pieces shown in the documentary was “The Ghent Altarpiece.” This piece of art showed how Jan van Eyck used light within his painting to give it an even more realistic sense. I loved how he created the light in the painting to come from the same direction that the light comes from in the actual room it was designed for. This allowed the picture and the characters within, to become part of the room itself. It is through the naturalistic style that much of northern renaissance art is defined.

          The naturalistic style of art created by northern renaissance artists defined their cultures values. As said in the documentary “Christians sought above all to visualize the person they worshiped.”(Northern Renaissance) I believe that this is why much of northern renaissance art contains many depictions of Christian characters, such as that of Christ. This reinforces why they emphasized the naturalistic style so much. They wanted to see these biblical characters for what they would really look like in real life. It is this Christian visualization that helped drive that naturalistic style of art to becoming such a popular and important part of the northern renaissance.

Northern Renaissance: The Supreme Art. DocuWatch, Web. 11 Jan 2012. <http://art.docuwat.ch/videos/?alternative=1&channel_id=0&skip=0&subpage=video&video_id=89>.

The Renaissance and Culture

I believe that the renaissance has been held in such high regard because of the amazing advances that were made during that time period. There were many different advances in philosophy, with philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Jean-Jacques Rousseau contributing greatly to the philosophy of the time period. (Art and Popular Culture) Advances in the field of science during the renaissance were also very important. Astronomy was one field of science impacted greatly by the renaissance period with big names like Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei producing many great works during their time. Advances in literature were very important as well due to the creation of the printing press by Johannaes Gutenberg. (New World Encyclopedia)  This invention allowed books to be distributed much quicker along with encouraging authors to write in their native tongue, widening the reading audiences and helping spread the ideas of the Renaissance. With all of these technological and scientific advancements, it is no wonder why the renaissance was such an important time period.

When it comes to the art of the renaissance period, I believe it has proved to be popular mainly because of the quality of work being produced during that time, with artists such as Michelangelo producing works such as the Statue of David, Leonardo Da Vinci painting the Mona Lisa, and Raphael painting the Stanza della Segnatura. With all of these amazing artists coming out of the same period is is very clear why renaissance has become such a popular area of study for artists.

                Some may wonder why there is such a large focus on Michaelangelo and Leonardo; I believe that the answer lies within the amazing work that they produced throughout their lives. Not only did they produce amazing works of art but they were also very well educated people involved in the scientific community. Michaelangelo was a great artist, but he was also a great architect, poet, and engineer. Leonardo was famous for his works of art, but also became famous for his contributions to the scientific community. Leonardo was basically a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor and anatomist. With well-educated artists such as Michaelangelo and Leonardo, it helped bring art and science into the same workplace. This is seen very clearly with Leonardo’s work within the science community. Producing over 13,000 pages of notes and drawings, Leonardo studied the human anatomy (Vitruvian Man), Engineering (drawing a flying machine), along with many other scientific studies. (Museum of Science) It is because of his amazing background in science and his beautiful works of art that have solidified his place in 16^th century history. It is because of intelligent and unique artists like Michaelangelo and Leonard that the renaissance period has become such popular topic for scholars and artists alike.

                The main reason the renaissance has become such a highly regarded time period is because of the culture that surrounded it. The Renaissance was a movement that affected the intellectual way of life. It influenced many changes within literature, philosophy, art, politics, science, and religion. With all of these major changes and influences happening during the same time, it is no wonder why this time period has spawned so much curiosity and interest.

Works Cited:

 "19th century philosphy." Art and Popular Culuture. N.p., 4/22/2011. Web. 6 Jan 2012. <http://www.artandpopularculture.com/19th_century_philosophy>.

 "Johannas Gutenberg." New World Encyclopedia. N.p., 4/2/2008. Web. 6 Jan 2012. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Johannes_Gutenberg>.

  

 "Leonardo." Museum of Science. N.p., 1997. Web. 6 Jan 2012. <http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/>.