A short guide to the ideas of the European Renaissance.

Renaissance

History and features

Over the course of two hundred years, Europe witnessed an astonishing revival of painting, sculpture and architecture, with Italy at its epicenter. The concept of the “Renaissance” appeared in the 19th century thanks to the works of the historian Michelet and art history professor Jacob Burckhardt.

Characteristic

The Italian Renaissance restored Western art according to the principles of classical Greek art, especially in the fields of sculpture and painting. Since the beginning of the 14th century, in search of a new set of artistic values ​​and a response to the Gothic style, Italian masters and thinkers began to be inspired by the ideas of ancient Greece and Rome, which was in perfect harmony with their desire to create a universal and noble form of art and express the mood of that time.

Humanism

First of all, the art of that time was determined by the philosophical concept of “humanism”, based on existing achievements (for example, democratic ones).

In the visual arts, humanism stands for:

• Creating a unique composition instead of stereotypical and symbolic images.
• Greater realism and attention to detail, which is reflected in the development of theories linear perspective. This approach explains both the veneration of classical sculptures and the fall out of fashion of Byzantine works.
• Emphasis on developing and promoting virtuous action. The leading art theorist of the time, Alberti (1404-1472), stated that “happiness cannot be achieved without good, just and righteous deeds.”

Causes

It is still unclear what caused this change in art. Although the dark ages for Europe are over and Christian church in the 12-13th century it experienced a rebirth; in the 14th century there were serious problems with harvests, a plague epidemic and a war between England and France. Therefore, the reason for the breakthrough in creativity, of course, was a number of factors and historical events.

Positive development trends were observed in Italy at that time. Venice and Genoa grew rich from trade with the East, and Florence became a center of jewelry, wool and silk production. Prosperity gradually comes to Northern Europe, as evidenced by the creation of the Hanseatic League.

The spread of new ideas was facilitated by the invention of printing, which, to some extent, reflected an impatience with slow progress after a thousand years of cultural and intellectual starvation, a desire for rebirth.

Weakness of the Church

The precarious position of the church gave additional impetus to development. This leads to a rise in humanistic views and encourages the clergy to decorate temples and churches and collaborate with architects and sculptors. The reaction to such a change, known as the Counter-Reformation, lasted until the end of the sixteenth century.

Development

The Renaissance also parallels the beginning of the great Western discoveries. Europeans explore new sea routes, explore continents and create new colonies. New research is happening in other areas related to science, nature and peace. Masters of the fine arts demonstrate their own desire for new methods and knowledge. According to the Italian artist, architect and historian Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), not only respect for art and classical antiquity is growing, but also the desire to learn from nature and imitate it.

Epicenter

In addition to its status as the richest trading nation, Italy had a vast number of classical works and artifacts at its disposal. Examples of Roman architecture and sculpture, as well as ancient Greek works, were found in almost every city in the country. In addition, the fall of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, forced many Greek scholars to emigrate to Italy, along with their classical ideas and important texts. All these factors explain why this country became the center of the European Renaissance.

In Northern Europe, the Renaissance is characterized by advances in the representation of light, its propagation and reflection, as reflected in portrait painting and still lifes. This is partly due to the fact that most northern Renaissance artists used oil paints in the early 15th century, preferring them to tempera or fresco, which (for many reasons, including climatic ones) were still preferred and popular in Italy.

IN religious art of that time, the dominant image is of the apostles and members of the Holy Family, who are depicted as living people. Their poses and surroundings express real human emotions. Plots and stories from classical mythology are also popular, illustrating the ideas of humanism.

It is also worth noting that the status of the profession of artists and sculptors is moving to a new level, because now the creation of paintings and sculptures requires mental preparation and serious technology.

Galleries

The following Italian galleries have significant collections of Renaissance paintings or sculptures:

• Uffizi Gallery.
• Pitti Palace.
• Vatican Museums.
• Gallery Doria Pamphilj.
• Capodimonte Museum.
• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Conclusion

The main contribution of the Italian Renaissance to the history of art can be described as the promotion of classical ancient ideals, which resulted in the classical development of Western painting and sculpture. Although contemporary artists and explore new forms of art, for the West the main model remains Greek antiquity and its interpretation in the form of the Renaissance.

Renaissance updated: September 16, 2017 by: Gleb

The Renaissance is a time of cultural flourishing, the heyday of all arts, but the one that most fully expressed the spirit of its time was fine art.

Renaissance, or Renaissance(fr. “new” + “born”) had global significance in the history of European culture. The Renaissance replaced the Middle Ages and preceded the Age of Enlightenment.
Main features of the Renaissance– the secular nature of culture, humanism and anthropocentrism (interest in man and his activities). During the Renaissance, interest in ancient culture flourished and, as it were, its “rebirth” took place.
The Renaissance arose in Italy - its first signs appeared in the 13th-14th centuries. (Tony Paramoni, Pisano, Giotto, Orcagna, etc.). But it was firmly established in the 20s of the 15th century, and by the end of the 15th century. reached its peak.
In other countries, the Renaissance began much later. In the 16th century a crisis of Renaissance ideas begins, a consequence of this crisis is the emergence of mannerism and baroque.

Renaissance periods

The Renaissance is divided into 4 periods:

1. Proto-Renaissance (2nd half of the 13th century - 14th century)
2. Early Renaissance (beginning of the 15th - end of the 15th century)
3. High Renaissance (end of the 15th - first 20 years of the 16th century)
4. Late Renaissance (mid-16th-90s of the 16th century)

The fall of the Byzantine Empire played a role in the formation of the Renaissance. The Byzantines who moved to Europe brought with them their libraries and works of art, unknown medieval Europe. Byzantium never broke with ancient culture.
Appearance humanism(a socio-philosophical movement that considered man as the highest value) was associated with the absence of feudal relations in the Italian city-republics.
Secular centers of science and art began to emerge in cities, which were not controlled by the church. whose activities were outside the control of the church. In the middle of the 15th century. Printing was invented, which played an important role in the spread of new views throughout Europe.

Brief characteristics of the Renaissance periods

Proto-Renaissance

The Proto-Renaissance is the forerunner of the Renaissance. It is also closely connected with the Middle Ages, with Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic traditions. He is associated with the names of Giotto, Arnolfo di Cambio, the Pisano brothers, Andrea Pisano.

Andrea Pisano. Bas-relief "Creation of Adam". Opera del Duomo (Florence)

Proto-Renaissance painting is represented by two art schools: Florence (Cimabue, Giotto) and Siena (Duccio, Simone Martini). The central figure of painting was Giotto. He was considered a reformer of painting: he filled religious forms with secular content, made a gradual transition from flat images to three-dimensional and relief ones, turned to realism, introduced plastic volume of figures into painting, and depicted interiors in painting.

Early Renaissance

This is the period from 1420 to 1500. Artists of the Early Renaissance of Italy drew motifs from life and filled traditional religious subjects with earthly content. In sculpture these were L. Ghiberti, Donatello, Jacopo della Quercia, the della Robbia family, A. Rossellino, Desiderio da Settignano, B. da Maiano, A. Verrocchio. In their work, a free-standing statue, a picturesque relief, a portrait bust, and an equestrian monument began to develop.
In Italian painting of the 15th century. (Masaccio, Filippo Lippi, A. del Castagno, P. Uccello, Fra Angelico, D. Ghirlandaio, A. Pollaiolo, Verrocchio, Piero della Francesca, A. Mantegna, P. Perugino, etc.) are characterized by a sense of harmonious orderliness of the world, appeal to the ethical and civic ideals of humanism, a joyful perception of the beauty and diversity of the real world.
The founder of Renaissance architecture in Italy was Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) - architect, sculptor and scientist, one of the creators scientific theory prospects.

A special place in the history of Italian architecture occupies Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472). This Italian scientist, architect, writer and musician of the Early Renaissance was educated in Padua, studied law in Bologna, and later lived in Florence and Rome. He created theoretical treatises “On the Statue” (1435), “On Painting” (1435–1436), “On Architecture” (published in 1485). He defended the “folk” (Italian) language as a literary language, and in his ethical treatise “On the Family” (1737-1441) he developed the ideal of a harmoniously developed personality. In his architectural work, Alberti gravitated towards bold experimental solutions. He was one of the founders of new European architecture.

Palazzo Rucellai

Leon Battista Alberti designed new type a palazzo with a facade, rusticated to its entire height and dissected by three tiers of pilasters, which look like the structural basis of the building (Palazzo Rucellai in Florence, built by B. Rossellino according to Alberti’s plans).
Opposite the Palazzo is the Loggia Rucellai, where receptions and banquets for trading partners were held, and weddings were celebrated.

Loggia Rucellai

High Renaissance

This is the time of the most magnificent development of the Renaissance style. In Italy it lasted from approximately 1500 to 1527. Now the center Italian art moves from Florence to Rome thanks to accession to the papal throne Julia II, an ambitious, courageous, enterprising man, attracted to his court best artists Italy.

Rafael Santi "Portrait of Pope Julius II"

In Rome, many monumental buildings are built, magnificent sculptures are created, frescoes and paintings are painted, which are still considered masterpieces of painting. Antiquity is still highly valued and carefully studied. But imitation of the ancients does not drown out the independence of artists.
The pinnacle of the Renaissance is the work of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) and Raphael Santi (1483-1520).

Late Renaissance

In Italy this is the period from the 1530s to the 1590s-1620s. The art and culture of this time are very diverse. Some believe (for example, British scientists) that “The Renaissance as a holistic historical period ended with the fall of Rome in 1527." The art of the late Renaissance presents a very complex picture of struggle various trends. Many artists did not strive to study nature and its laws, but only outwardly tried to assimilate the “manner” of the great masters: Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo. On this occasion, the elderly Michelangelo once said, watching artists copy his “Last Judgment”: “This art of mine will make fools of many.”
In Southern Europe, the Counter-Reformation triumphed, which did not welcome any free thought, including the glorification of the human body and the resurrection of the ideals of antiquity.
Famous artists of this period were Giorgione (1477/1478-1510), Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), Caravaggio (1571-1610) and others. Caravaggio considered the founder of the Baroque style.

The epoch-making period in the history of world culture, which preceded the Modern Age and was given the name Renaissance, or Revival. The history of the era begins at the dawn of Italy. Several centuries can be characterized as the time of formation of a new, human and earthly picture of the world, which is essentially secular in nature. Progressive ideas found their embodiment in humanism.

Renaissance years and concept

It is quite difficult to set a specific time frame for this phenomenon in the history of world culture. This is explained by the fact that all European countries entered the Renaissance at different times. Some earlier, others later, due to the lag in socio-economic development. Approximate dates include the beginning of the 14th and the end of the 16th century. The years of the Renaissance are characterized by the manifestation of the secular nature of culture, its humanization, and the flourishing of interest in antiquity. By the way, the name of this period is connected with the latter. There is a revival of its introduction into the European world.

General characteristics of the Renaissance

This revolution in the development of human culture occurred as a result of changes in European society and relations in it. An important role is played by the fall of Byzantium, when its citizens fled en masse to Europe, bringing with them libraries and various ancient sources, previously unknown. The increase in the number of cities led to an increase in the influence of the simple classes of artisans, merchants, and bankers. Various centers of art and science began to actively appear, the activities of which the church no longer controlled.

The first years of the Renaissance are usually counted with its onset in Italy; it was in this country that this movement began. Its initial signs became noticeable in the 13-14th centuries, but it took a strong position in the 15th century (20s), reaching its maximum flourishing towards its end. The Renaissance (or Renaissance) era is divided into four periods. Let's look at them in more detail.

Proto-Renaissance

This period dates back to approximately the second half of the 13th-14th century. It is worth noting that all dates refer to Italy. Essentially, this period represents preparatory stage Renaissance. It is conventionally divided into two stages: before and after the death (1137) of Giotto di Bondone (sculpture in the photo), a key figure in the history of Western art, architect and artist.

The last years of the Renaissance of this period are associated with the plague epidemic that struck Italy and the whole of Europe as a whole. The Proto-Renaissance is closely connected with the Middle Ages, Gothic, Romanesque, and Byzantine traditions. Giotto is considered to be the central figure, who outlined the main trends in painting and pointed out the path along which its development would follow.

Early Renaissance period

In time it took eighty years. Early years which are characterized in very two ways, occurred in 1420-1500. Art has not yet completely renounced medieval traditions, but is actively adding elements borrowed from classical antiquity. As if incrementally, year after year, under the influence of changing conditions of the social environment, there is a complete rejection by artists of the old and a transition to ancient art as the main concept.

High Renaissance period

This is the peak, the peak of the Renaissance. On at this stage The Renaissance (1500-1527) reached its apogee, and the center of influence of all Italian art moved to Rome from Florence. This happened in connection with the accession to the papal throne of Julius II, who had very progressive, bold views, was an enterprising and ambitious man. He attracted the best artists and sculptors from all over Italy to the eternal city. It was at this time that the real titans of the Renaissance created their masterpieces, which the whole world admires to this day.

Late Renaissance

Covers the time period from 1530 to 1590-1620. The development of culture and art in this period is so heterogeneous and diverse that even historians do not reduce it to one denominator. According to British scholars, the Renaissance finally died out at the moment when the fall of Rome occurred, namely in 1527. plunged into the Counter-Reformation, which put an end to all free-thinking, including the resurrection of ancient traditions.

The crisis of ideas and contradictions in worldview eventually resulted in mannerism in Florence. A style that is characterized by disharmony and artificiality, a loss of balance between the spiritual and physical components, characteristic of the Renaissance era. For example, Venice had its own development path; masters such as Titian and Palladio worked there until the end of the 1570s. Their work remained aloof from the crisis phenomena characteristic of the art of Rome and Florence. The photo shows Titian's painting "Isabella of Portugal".

Great Masters of the Renaissance

Three great Italians are the titans of the Renaissance, its worthy crown:

All their works are the best, selected pearls of world art that the Renaissance collected. Years go by, centuries change, but the creations of great masters are timeless.

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” means “born again,” which is associated with the revival of ancient traditions in art. The Renaissance is a magnificent breakthrough for humanity, there can be no doubt about it. During that period, wonderful works of painting, sculpture, and 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 considered a well-known fact that the Renaissance replaced the Middle Ages, which were, as usual, dark, certainly harsh, and characterized by various religious atrocities - everyone has heard about the Inquisition. There are sources that directly state that due to the machinations of the insidious catholic church The Renaissance fell into disrepair.

In part, this view of things has a right to exist, but it is unlikely that the merits of the clergy in this process are so great. It’s just that human society develops cyclically, each revolution is followed by a reaction, and the Renaissance became a victim of completely natural processes, especially since many of its ideas were alien to the ignorant society of those times suffering from numerous epidemics. It is very difficult to instill in a person his divine essence when he is poor, dependent and in constant fear.

Church as a stronghold 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 asserting 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 education in ancient times was church-based (and continued to be so for many decades). This is easily explained: most high percent elementary literate people were concentrated in the clergy, and if this is so, then who should teach “their foolish brothers” if not monks and other clergy?

The development of civilization is continuous. Even though 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 through 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 centuries of work by numerous nuggets (whose work we call folklore only because their names remained unknown). If medieval chivalric poetics had not existed, it is unlikely that both Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy” and Petrarch’s sonnets would have happened.

The seeds must fall on fertile soil

Contrasting the previous era with the next one is not very correct. Voltaire argued that history is a myth, which everyone agreed upon. It is impossible not to recognize the truth of this witty statement. The history of the Renaissance, a complex and diverse phenomenon, cannot be interpreted unambiguously. There are a huge number of versions explaining this grandiose event in the annals of mankind, many of which have the right to exist.

The school-derived belief that Renaissance artists suddenly discovered it and unanimously began to imitate it must be considered schematic. After all, examples of creativity of Greco-Roman art did not disappear anywhere, significant works of ancient authors were translated starting from the 8th century, but no Renaissance occurred for another eight centuries.

Of course, the fall of the Second Rome (Constantinople) when cultural figures (and others) frightened by the Muslim horde rushed to the West, taking with them libraries, icons and (most importantly) their knowledge and experience, played a huge role. After all, the influence of Byzantium on Renaissance art is undeniable. The Roman Church may have rejected icon painting, but it grew in a different field. Icon Mother of God and the famous “Sistine Madonna” by Michelangelo, with all the differences - both in technique and in content - are an image of the same woman with the same baby.

Confluence of favorable circumstances

The Renaissance became possible due to a confluence of many factors and reasons, one of which is indeed that the Renaissance is a kind of response to the Catholic Church, whose influence in those days was colossal, its wealth incalculable, and its desire for power insatiable. This state of affairs gave rise to a powerful protest in society: few people like the harsh dogmas and asceticism prescribed in all spheres of life. A person had to constantly feel a higher (and hostile) force on him, which at any moment could fall on him, punishing him for his sins. The demands of the Holy Church contradicted human nature itself.

The second factor, of course, is the rapid formation of the state. Secular power, having acquired a harmonious hierarchy and significant means to lead its subjects, was not at all eager to cede the palm to spiritual power. Examples of brutal battles between the church and powerful monarchs are not at all uncommon in history. The Renaissance owes its demise to one of them.

The third reason is probably the fact that the Renaissance was a time when cultural life happily left the monasteries, where it had been locked up for many years, and concentrated in rapidly growing and richer cities. Severe dogmas that ordered artists to paint only this way and no other way, restrictions on subject matter, etc. could not arouse delight in truly talented people. They sought 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 grateful descendants owe it to Italy, which was the richest country in those days, for the appearance of this wonderful style. The Renaissance was not born in poverty. The dogma that an artist must be hungry is untenable. The entire Renaissance era is proof of this. The creator must also eat - which means he needs orders, means and space to use his talent.

Blessed Florence

All this was found in Florence, and not least thanks to the ruler of the city, Lorenzo the Magnificent. The nobleman's court was brilliant. The most talented painters, sculptors and architects found a reliable patron in Lorenzo. 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 three periods of the Renaissance, but some researchers include another one - the so-called Proto-Renaissance, still closely associated with the Middle Ages, but already acquiring new, permeated with light features. One of the most notable events of that time is the construction of the Florence Cathedral (XIII century) - a magnificent structure with wonderful interior decoration.

Early Renaissance

After “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 free ourselves from the strict canons dictated by the church and turn to the heritage of our glorious ancestors. During this period, imitation of ancient models became widespread. Images of the 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 frank forms that would have horrified viewers some hundred and fifty years ago.

It cannot be said that such trends were understood by all contemporaries: there were ardent fighters against the Renaissance, who, thanks to their activities, achieved dubious obscurantism in the field eternal glory. The clearest example is the head of the Florentine Dominican monastery - Savonarola. He was an inexhaustible critic of humanistic “obscenity” and did not hesitate to burn works that outraged him so much. Among the irretrievable losses are several paintings by famous masters of the era, including Sandro Botticelli. His brushes include such Renaissance works as “The Birth of Venus”, “Spring”, “Christ in the Crown of Thorns”. It must be said that almost all of the author’s surviving paintings are devoted to biblical themes, and to modern man it is difficult to understand what could outrage the stern Dominican about them.

However, the process was started, and not in human power was to stop him. Savonarola died in 1498, and the Renaissance continued to march across the country, conquering new cities - Rome, Venice, Milan, Naples.

Among the most notable and characteristic representatives The sculptor Donatello and the artists Giotto and Masaccio are called the Early Renaissance. During this period, the laws of perspective, discovered in the 15th century, were first applied in painting. This made it possible to subsequently create three-dimensional, three-dimensional paintings of the Renaissance - this was previously inaccessible to artists.

In architecture vector further development asked Filippo Brunelleschi, creating the magnificent dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

High Renaissance

The peak of the development 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 the great masters, whose names each of us knows: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.

At this time, the cultural capital of Europe was transferred from Florence to Rome. The new Pope Julius II (acceded to the throne in 1503) was an extraordinary man, a great admirer of art and the owner of rather broad views. If it were not for the clergyman, people would not have seen many works of art, which are rightfully considered pearls of the world cultural heritage.

The best craftsmen, marked with the stamp of genius, receive numerous orders. The city is buzzing with 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 Cathedral, the most famous and grandiose temple of the Catholic faith, was designed and began.

painting Sistine Chapel, made by Michelangelo with his own hand, embodies all the meaning, perfection and beauty that the artists of the Renaissance gave us, who chose Man (that’s right, with a capital M) as the center of their Universe: 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 involved in a war with Emperor Charles V, creating the so-called League of Cognac, which included Florence, Milan, Venice, and France. The Pontiff did not want to share his power with the Habsburgs, but he had to pay for it To the Eternal City. In 1527, the army of Charles V, which had not received a salary for a long time (the emperor was overextended during military operations), first besieged and then broke into Rome and plundered its palaces and temples. The great city was depopulated, and the High Renaissance came to an end.

The Encyclopedia Britannica claims that as a whole historical era, the Renaissance, the century (1420-1527) that ruled in blessed Italy, has ended. Those who disagree with the compilers of the world's most famous reference book call the period that began after 1530 the Late Renaissance and still cannot agree on when it ended. There are arguments in favor of the 1590s, and the 1620s, and even the 1630s, but it is unlikely that individual residual phenomena can be signs of an entire era.

Age of Degeneration

At that time cultural phenomena very diverse, movements appear that are considered manifestations of crisis and degeneration in art (for example, Florentine mannerism). It is characterized by a certain pretentiousness, excessive detail, and a focus on the “artist’s idea,” accessible only to a narrow circle of experts. The sculpture, architecture and painting of the Renaissance, which were in a tireless search for harmony, gave way to the unnatural poses, endless curls and monstrous colors characteristic of the new trend in the art world.

However, it is too early to talk about the final death of the Renaissance. In some cities of Italy, Renaissance artists continue to live, who remain true to the great traditions. Thus, the great Titian, who can be considered the brightest representative Renaissance, worked in Venice until 1576.

Meanwhile, Italy and Europe fell on hard times. Following the freedoms unimaginable in the Middle Ages that the Renaissance brought with it, a severe reaction began. The reformed Holy Inquisition again took the reins of power into its own hands. Bonfires blazed in the squares - the fire devoured both heretics and their works.

Almost all the books included by the new Pope Paul IV in the Roman “Index of Prohibited Books” were destroyed (a little earlier, corresponding lists were published in the Netherlands, Paris and Venice). The work of the inquisitors was difficult, because it was during 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 humanists of the Renaissance did not spread in millions of copies, of course, but the holy fathers had something to do.

Historians say that religious persecution in Italy was the most merciless in Europe - a cruel reckoning for a century of freedom and beauty.

Northern Renaissance - one of the phenomena of the Renaissance

Most often, when they talk about the Renaissance, they mean the Italian Renaissance - this phenomenon was born and reached its greatest flourishing 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 gave the world many beautiful works. Characteristic feature This style was more influenced by medieval Gothic art. Here, less attention was paid to the ancient heritage than in Italy, and greater indifference was shown to the subtleties of anatomy. The creators of the Northern Renaissance include Durer, Van Eyck, Cranach. In literature, this event was marked by the works of Shakespeare and Cervantes.

The influence of the Renaissance on culture cannot be overestimated: it is enormous. Rethinking and enriching ancient culture The Renaissance created its own - and gave humanity a huge number of immortal works of art, which, of course, improved the world in which we live.

The revival is divided into 4 stages:

Proto-Renaissance (2nd half of the 13th century - 14th century)

Early Renaissance (early 15th century - end of 15th century)

High Renaissance (late 15th - first 20 years of the 16th century)

Late Renaissance (mid-16th - 90s of the 16th century)

Proto-Renaissance

The Proto-Renaissance is closely connected with the Middle Ages, with Romanesque and Gothic traditions; this period was the preparation for the Renaissance. This period is divided into two sub-periods: before the death of Giotto di Bondone and after (1337). The most important discoveries, the brightest masters live and work in the first period. The second segment is associated with the plague epidemic that struck Italy. All discoveries were made on an intuitive level. At the end of the 13th century, the main temple building was erected in Florence - the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the author was Arnolfo di Cambio, then the work was continued by Giotto, who designed the campanile of the Florence Cathedral.

Benozzo Gozzoli depicted the adoration of the Magi as a solemn procession of the Medici courtiers

The earliest art of the proto-Renaissance appeared in sculpture (Niccolò and Giovanni Pisano, Arnolfo di Cambio, Andrea Pisano). Painting is represented by two art schools: Florence (Cimabue, Giotto) and Siena (Duccio, Simone Martini). Giotto became the central figure of painting. Renaissance artists considered him a reformer of painting. Giotto outlined the path along which its development took place: filling religious forms with secular content, a gradual transition from flat images to three-dimensional and relief ones, an increase in realism, introduced the plastic volume of figures into painting, and depicted the interior in painting.

Early Renaissance

The period of the so-called “Early Renaissance” covers the period from 1420 to 1500 in Italy. During these eighty years, art has not yet completely abandoned the traditions of the recent past, but has tried to mix into them elements borrowed from classical antiquity. Only later, and only little by little, under the influence of increasingly changing conditions of life and culture, do artists completely abandon medieval foundations and boldly use examples of ancient art, as in general concept of their works and in their details.

While art in Italy was already resolutely following the path of imitation of classical antiquity, in other countries it adhered to traditions for a long time gothic style. North of the Alps, as well as in Spain, the Renaissance came only at the end of the 15th century, and its early period lasts approximately until the middle of the next century.

High Renaissance

The request for "High Renaissance" is redirected here. A separate article is needed on this topic.

“Vatican Pieta” by Michelangelo (1499): in the traditional religious plot, simple human feelings are brought to the fore - mother's love and sorrow

The third period of the Renaissance - the time of the most magnificent development of his style - is usually called the “High Renaissance”. It extends in Italy from approximately 1500 to 1527. At this time, the center of influence of Italian art from Florence moved to Rome, thanks to the accession to the papal throne of Julius II - an ambitious, courageous and enterprising man, who attracted the best artists of Italy to his court, occupying them with numerous and important works and giving others an example of love for art. Under this Pope and under his immediate successors, Rome becomes, as it were, the new Athens of the time of Pericles: many monumental buildings are built in it, magnificent sculptural works, frescoes and paintings are painted, which are still considered the pearls of painting; at the same time, all three branches of art harmoniously go hand in hand, helping one another and mutually influencing each other. Antiquity is now studied more thoroughly, reproduced with greater rigor and consistency; calm and dignity replace the playful beauty that was the aspiration of the previous period; memories of the medieval completely disappear, and a completely classical imprint falls on all creations of art. But imitation of the ancients does not drown out their independence in artists, and they, with great resourcefulness and vividness of imagination, freely rework and apply to their work what they consider appropriate to borrow for themselves from ancient Greco-Roman art.

Late Renaissance

Renaissance crisis: the Venetian Tintoretto depicted in 1594 last supper like an underground meeting in the disturbing twilight reflections

The late Renaissance in Italy spans the period from the 1530s to the 1590s to the 1620s. Some researchers consider Late Renaissance and 1630s, but this position is controversial among art critics and historians. The art and culture of this time are so diverse in their manifestations that it is possible to reduce them to one denominator only with a large degree of convention. For example, the Encyclopedia Britannica writes that "The Renaissance as a coherent historical period ended with the fall of Rome in 1527." In Southern Europe, the Counter-Reformation triumphed, which looked warily at any free thought, including the glorification of the human body and the resurrection of the ideals of antiquity as the cornerstones of Renaissance ideology. Worldview contradictions and general feeling crisis resulted in Florence in the “nervous” art of contrived colors and broken lines - mannerism. Mannerism reached Parma, where Correggio worked, only after the artist’s death in 1534. The artistic traditions of Venice had their own logic of development; until the end of the 1570s. Titian and Palladio worked there, whose work had little in common with the crisis in the art of Florence and Rome.

Northern Renaissance

Main article: Northern Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance had little influence on other countries until 1450. After 1500 the style spread across the continent, but many late Gothic influences persisted even into the Baroque era.

The Renaissance period in the Netherlands, Germany and France is usually identified as a separate style movement, which has some differences with the Renaissance in Italy, and is called the “Northern Renaissance”.

“Love Struggle in a Dream” (1499) is one of the highest achievements of Renaissance printing

The most noticeable stylistic differences are in painting: unlike Italy, the traditions and skills of Gothic art were preserved in painting for a long time, less attention was paid to the study of ancient heritage and knowledge of human anatomy.

Prominent Representatives- Albrecht Durer, Hans Holbein the Younger, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Some works of late Gothic masters, such as Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling, are also imbued with the pre-Renaissance spirit.

Dawn of Literature

The intensive flowering of literature during this period is largely associated with a special attitude towards the ancient heritage. Hence the very name of the era, which sets itself the task of recreating, “reviving” cultural ideals and values ​​supposedly lost in the Middle Ages. In fact, the rise of Western European culture does not arise against the background of a previous decline. But in the life of the culture of the late Middle Ages, so much changes that it feels like it belongs to another time and feels dissatisfied with the previous state of the arts and literature. The past seems to the Renaissance man to be an oblivion of the wonderful achievements of antiquity, and he sets about restoring them. This is expressed both in the work of the writers of this era and in their very way of life: some people of that time became famous not for creating any picturesque, literary masterpieces, but for the fact that they knew how to “live in an ancient manner,” imitating the ancient Greeks or Romans in everyday life. The ancient heritage is not just studied at this time, but “restored”, and therefore the Renaissance figures give great importance discovery, collection, preservation and publication of ancient manuscripts.. For lovers of ancient literary

We owe it to the monuments of the Renaissance that we have the opportunity today to read the letters of Cicero or the poem of Lucretius “On the Nature of Things,” the comedies of Plautus or the novel of Long “Daphnis and Chloe.” Renaissance scholars strive not just for knowledge, but for improving their command of Latin and then Greek. They found libraries, created museums, established schools for the study of classical antiquity, and undertook special trips.

What was the basis for the cultural changes that arose in Western Europe in the second half of the XV-XVI centuries. (and in Italy - the birthplace of the Renaissance - a century earlier, in the 14th century)? Historians rightly associate these changes with the general evolution of the economic and political life of Western Europe, which has embarked on the path of bourgeois development. The Renaissance is a time of great geographical discoveries - primarily America, the time of the development of navigation, trade, and the emergence of large-scale industry. This is the period when, on the basis of the emerging European nations, national states are formed, no longer devoid of medieval isolation. At this time, there is a desire not only to strengthen the power of the monarch within each state, but also to develop relations between states, to form political unions, negotiate. This is how diplomacy arises - that type of political interstate activity, without which it is impossible to imagine modern international life.

Renaissance is a time when science is intensively developing and the secular worldview begins to, to a certain extent, crowd out the religious worldview, or significantly changes it, preparing the church reformation. But the most important thing is this period when a person begins to feel himself and the world around him in a new way, often to answer in a completely different way those questions that have always worried him, or to pose different ones, difficult questions. The Renaissance man feels himself living in a special time, close to the concept of the golden age thanks to his “golden talents,” as one of the Italian humanists of the 15th century writes. Man sees himself as the center of the universe, directed not upward, to the otherworldly, divine (as in the Middle Ages), but wide open to the diversity of earthly existence. People new era with greedy curiosity they peer into the reality around them, not as pale shadows and signs of the heavenly world, but as a full-blooded and colorful manifestation of existence, which has its own value and dignity. Medieval asceticism has no place in the new spiritual atmosphere, enjoying the freedom and power of man as an earthly, natural being. From an optimistic conviction in the power of man, his ability to improve, there arises a desire and even a need to correlate the behavior of an individual, his own behavior with a specific example of an “ideal personality”, and a thirst for self-improvement is born. This is how a very important, central movement of this culture was formed in the Western European culture of the Renaissance, which was called “humanism”.

You should not think that the meaning of this concept coincides with the commonly used words today “humanism”, “humane” (meaning “philanthropy”, “mercy”, etc.), although there is no doubt that they modern meaning ultimately dates back to Renaissance times. Humanism in the Renaissance was a special complex of moral and philosophical ideas. It was directly related to the upbringing and education of a person on the basis of primary attention not to previous, scholastic knowledge, or religious, “divine” knowledge, but to the humanities: philology, history, morality. It is especially important that humanitarian sciences At this time, they began to be valued as the most universal, that in the process of forming the spiritual image of a person, the main importance was attached to “literature”, and not to any other, perhaps more “practical”, branch of knowledge. As the wonderful Italian Renaissance poet Francesco Petrarca wrote, it is “through the word that the human face becomes beautiful.” The prestige of humanistic knowledge was extremely high during the Renaissance.

In Western Europe at this time, a humanistic intelligentsia appeared - a circle of people whose communication with each other was based not on the commonality of their origin, property status or professional interests, but on the proximity of spiritual and moral quest. Sometimes such associations of like-minded humanists received the name Academies - in the spirit of the ancient tradition. Sometimes friendly communication between humanists was carried out in letters, a very important part of the literary heritage of the Renaissance. The Latin language, which in its updated form became the universal language of culture of various Western European countries, contributed to the fact that, despite certain historical, political, religious and other differences, the figures of the Renaissance of Italy and France, Germany and the Netherlands felt involved in a single spiritual world. The feeling of cultural unity was also enhanced due to the fact that during this period the intensive development of, on the one hand, humanistic education, and on the other, printing began: thanks to the invention of the German Gutenberg from the middle of the 15th century. Printing houses are spreading throughout Western Europe and a larger number of people than before have the opportunity to become familiar with books.

During the Renaissance, the very way of thinking of a person changes. Not a medieval scholastic debate, but a humanistic dialogue, including different points of view, demonstrating unity and opposition, the complex diversity of truths about the world and man, becomes a way of thinking and a form of communication of people of this time. It is no coincidence that dialogue is one of the popular literary genres of the Renaissance. The flourishing of this genre, like the flourishing of tragedy and comedy, is one of the manifestations of the attention of Renaissance literature to the atypical genre tradition. But the Renaissance also knows new genre formations: the sonnet in poetry, the short story, the essay in prose. Writers of this era do not repeat ancient authors, but on the basis of their artistic experience create, in essence, a different and new world literary images, stories, problems