Category: Renaissance

Renaissance or “rebirth” is an artistic movement that started in Italy during the late 14th century and expanded to the early 17th century. It resulted in many impacts, but the greatest impact of the Renaissance is technological advancements. Advancements such as the steam engine, the printing press, telescope, mechanical cloth, rocket launching tubes, magnetic compass, microscope, flush toilets, matches, eyeglasses, thermoscope, and barometer. These items were not necessary to human life but improved and made the quality of everyday life better and easier. It leads to various changes in society, for instance – changing the everyday lifestyle of people. The Renaissance was responsible for many great inventors such as Leonardo Da Vinci, who was also a great artist and architect.

The steam engine was presented in the 1st century by a Greek mathematician known as the ‘Legend of Alexandria’. Basic steam motors were produced from the sixteenth century onwards. Thomas Savery built up the principal water direct fueled by steam and this was considered the primary steam engine of the cutting-edge technology at the time. Thomas Savery’s Steam Engine Savery had invested much vitality and time considering and arranging how to build a steam motor and work it effectively. In 1698 he could effectively develop a steam motor which was known as a fire motor and a working model was given to the Imperial Society of London. He proceeded with the investigations and invested much energy in making the motor perfect and demonstrated the execution of the stream motor before King William III and locked a patent for his development with little delay. Steam engines were used later on in the industrial revolution for factories and mines. This made it easier for producers to complete projects. The steam engine was one of the Renaissance’s greatest inventions, it had various uses for things such as transportation, mines, and factories later on in the industrial revolution.

Johannes Guttenberg, a German and a goldsmith by name built up the primary printing press. Guttenberg began the undertaking of delivering the printing press in AD 1436 with obtained cash and was finished effectively in AD 1440. The printing press created by Guttenberg utilized metal letters that could be placed effectively with different letters. The required metal letters were chosen and applied in lines in their right positions. Printing ink was connected to the plates and the plate was squeezed with high weight on the paper along the lines making the impression of the letters on the paper. To demonstrate the viability of the printing press, he printed the sacred book of scriptures, which contained 42 lines for each page. A few duplicates of the sacred book of scriptures were printed by Gutenberg. His presentation of a quick and simple printing system was a window of a praise raiser for the spread of information and culture over the world. The gathered information of the earlier hundreds of years was made accessible to everyone by the speedy, easy, and simple printing framework created by Guttenberg. This made the production of books easier, and this led to an increase in the stock of books.

The credit for the telescope goes to Galileo Galilei. A Dutch focal point creator offered another instrument that can be utilized to see the inaccessible things amplified. When Galilei came to think about this reality, he began building the gadget himself. In 1609 he started to utilize this instrument known as a telescope to get an understanding and turned into the main individual to do as such.

The main instrument created by him had an amplification intensity of three. With hard work, he could enhance the amplification capacity up to 30 and could lead point-by-point learning about the moon. He additionally found that stars are a piece of the Milky Way and furthermore discovered that Jupiter has four moons. This invention heavily helped with researching things that are beyond this earth.

Before the mechanical clock, humans had more trouble tracking time and had less of an understanding of the concept of time, thankfully the mechanical clock came into place. The advancement of the mechanical clock was an ongoing procedure that took quite a while to achieve its present stage. In the prior mechanical clocks, mercury was permitted to go through the gaps in the drums. These drums had compartments that contained mercury. The development of the drum was controlled by the stream of mercury. With the presentation of the mechanical clocks, it wound up a lot to quantify the day and age of multi-day as twenty-four hours and its divisions. It is trusted that Filippo Brunelleschi in Florence, Italy, created mechanical clocks in 1410.

Leonardo Da Vinci, the well-known inventor, and researcher does not hold the credit for imagining and creating the mechanical clock, however, had contributed significantly to the improvement of the cutting-edge mechanical clock.

Over time war has been a part of human history, war between humans has existed since the first humans encountered on Earth. However, weapons over time continued to improve significantly. However, something new was introduced as a result of the Renaissance rocket artillery. Rockets were utilized as a part of the second, third, and fourth Mysore wars. After these wars, some Mysore rockets were transported to England. William Congreve initiated the mission for the advancement of better rockets. In 1805 AD Royal Arsenal, the British furnished power’s innovative work focus showed the utilization of strong rockets by test terminating them. William Congreve made utilization of propelling tubes to enhance the precision of the rockets. This made significant changes to warfare when it was introduced to Western nations.

Another vital development that helped in the development of human advancement was the admirable compass. During this time there were many travelers who walked on foot, the compass was attractive because it would aid them in the right direction. Despite the fact that the compass was developed initially by the Chinese of the Qin line in the second century BC, it was utilized as an instrument for the route by Zheng He, the acclaimed Chinese warrior, and guide. He directed seven voyages through the Indian Ocean with an armada of boats which opened open doors for exchange with India, China, and Africa. The amazing compass was enhanced in the early Renaissance time. This prevents travelers and soldiers from getting lost whilst going on voyages and journeys.

Another significant improvement in the science world was the microscopic lens created in 1590 by Zacharias Janssen and his dad in Holland. It was a microscopic magnifying instrument with two focal lenses. The magnifying instrument was utilized for reviewing things extremely little, making it impossible to be seen by the eye. It utilized sunken and raised focal points to twist light and incredibly amplify pictures. In 1660, Dutch researcher and magnifying lens manufacturer Anton van Leeuwenhoek was the first to think about microbes utilizing a magnifying lens.

His magnifying lens had an amplifying intensity of up to 270 times bigger than genuine size and utilized a single lens. This was thought to be the best accessible power for his chance, used to contemplate microorganisms and human platelets. This allowed scientists to view almost anything that wasn’t visible to the naked human eye. This allowed scientists to better understand microscopic objects and their characteristics.

Toilets before the Renaissance existed but they never had the ability to flush and implement water into their system. In 1596 A.D. Sir John Harrington, the godson of Queen Elizabeth, made the first flush toilet. John made it mainly for himself and the Queen. Unfortunately, his friends made fun of him and he never made another one until two hundred years later Alexander Cumming reinvented it. While Cummings invented the strap, the sliding valve between the bowl and the trap, Samuel Prosser invented the piece at the bottom of the bowl that is on a hinge. Samuel also got a patent on a plunger closet. The effects of the flushing toilet are amazing. Toilets are now extremely sanitary and more efficient than the previous ways. This increases the hygiene of people’s households due to the flush feature.

Robert Boyle the popular scientist was the main individual on earth to deliver fire by the activity of two substances that were made ready for the coordinate boxes. He found that if phosphorus and sulfur are rubbed together they would right away burst into fire. He was persuaded that the rubbing between the two substances isn’t the purpose behind the arrangement of the flares. The advanced matches were produced because of further experimentation in 1827 by John Walker, an English physicist, and pharmacist. He utilized antimony sulfide, potassium chloride, gum, and starch to make the principal set of grinding matches. This is the perfect example of how an invitation if not completed by the inventor himself will later on in history be developed by creators such as John Walker.

It is well-trusted that the eyeglasses were developed by Salvino D’Armate who lived in Florence. While D’Amate was exploring different avenues regarding the refraction of light he got harmed in his eyes. Amid the prior examinations, he had discovered a strategy to build the picture size of the articles by utilizing two curved mirrors. This obviously was a great advancement for people with eyesight problems, if it were not for this invention glasses may have never been invented. This allowed people with eyesight problems to complete everyday activities in a much easier manner.

As opposed to a particular innovation lined up with a particular creator, the thermoscope, rather than precisely estimating temperature, identified changes in temperature. It was to a greater extent an improvement helped along by the trials and errors of different Renaissance time minds. It was Galileo Galilei’s late sixteenth-century thermoscope based on a water-filled glass jar connected to a vertical pipe containing a glass ball that would rise and fall as it changed in temperature, it turned out to be notable, despite the fact that the mercury-based plans that came to be the advanced thermometer were not created until the mid-eighteenth century by German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit. The public world has benefited from this invention ever since it was created, humans can better understand temperature.

Last but least an invention that came about from Galileo Galilei’s compositions, Rome-conceived physicist and mathematician Evangelista Torricelli is credited with developing the main working indicator in 1643 in the role of taking note. By all means of a test including an amazing 35-foot glass tube the impacts of changes in air pressure force on water levels. Despite the fact that his underlying investigations were fairly inconvenient, Torricelli found that by utilizing a fluid heavier than water mostly, mercury, a substantially shorter tube could be utilized to capture environmental weight. This invention gave the public world an understanding that pressure levels in water increase the deeper the water is.

Finally therefore to conclude all that has been said the Renaissance was a time period between the 14th and 17th centuries that was reasonable for immense amounts of technological inventions such as the steam engine, the printing press, the telescope, mechanical cloth, rocket launching tubes, the magnetic compass, the microscope, flush toilets, matches, eyeglasses, thermoscope, and the other which all enhanced the quality of life and helped with advancements in the global world. If it were not for the Renaissance perhaps all the technologies that exist in 2018 wouldn’t be here. The Renaissance had such a great impact that it was the begging of the modern era.

What made the people of the Renaissance?

When you hear the term ‘Renaissance Man’, the first name that usually appears in a person’s mind is Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo is the epitome of humanistic ideals during the Renaissance. He is not only a prominent painter, but also an engineer, inventor, scientist, and philosopher. Leonardo is the illegitimate son of a wealthy legal notary in Florence. His father kept changing wives, usually marrying women younger than him (16 and 20 years old), but he also took good care of his young son. At the age of 14, Leonardo became an apprentice in the studio of the painter Verrocchio. This apprenticeship is one of the main reasons Leonardo became a man. This put him on the path of becoming an ideal figure in the Renaissance. When you think of a painter’s studio, most people think of some brushes and canvases, but the Renaissance painting studio is much more than that. In fact, it is a small incubator for those who can do all kinds of things.

Verrocchio encourages his students to learn anatomy to draw the human body correctly. Therefore, the young Leonardo spent countless hours studying the body and all its characteristics and even performing anatomy. The painters of that period must also be chemistry experts because they been trying to use new materials to try to create the best possible colors. Proficiency in anatomy and chemistry is only a small part of the works that artists of the Renaissance must understand. This makes them completely different from modern artists. Artists of that period must be experts in all walks of life and resemble scientists in many ways, always trying and trying to find new ways of doing things. He was originally a painter, and this fact made Leonardo particularly interested in his scientific exploration. His way of studying the world is very different from other scientists. His theory closely combines art and painting. Through painting and sketching, he tried to capture what actually happened in order to better study it, and this is the core of his analytical method. Another term used by people in the Renaissance was ‘scholar’. Scholars are people who are proficient in various disciplines and fields of knowledge. Leonardo fits this description very well. He not only drew the Mona Lisa but also worked as an engineer. For example, he designed a mobile roadblock system to protect the city of Venice and painted several very accurate pictures. Maps made many inventions (including specifications for primitive tanks and helicopters) and conducted many scientific experiments. An important aspect of his work is that he keeps very detailed notes and diaries, which include many sketches of various ideas. Interestingly, many of his works are written in mirror scripts. This attempt to keep secrets may raise internal fears that some people may steal your ideas. However, he never left any explanation as to the reason for using this duplication script, so it will likely remain a mystery forever.

Twenty years after the death of the King of France, he told Leonardo: ‘No one in the world knows better than Leonardo. He does not know much about painting, sculpture, and architecture, because he is a great man. People. Philosophers.’ Brings ideas from ancient times The humanism of the Renaissance tried to recover the knowledge inherited from antiquity. Humanists of that time searched the library and read a lot, trying to find as much ancient knowledge as possible and trying to learn from it. They then apply these ancient ideas to their world. One of the basic principles of humanism is that human development capacity is unlimited. The ideal of the Renaissance was to try to include all knowledge and develop it as fully as possible. One must receive training in different fields: intelligence, art, society, and body. A person must meet some general prerequisites in order to realize his full potential in society. One must be able to speak the fluent language and write, describe things clearly, and be persuasive. You should also be in good health and have a thorough understanding of various topics. Having all these skills will make you a perfect gentleman, not only will you be able to speak on any subject, but you will also be able to promote the development of several of these fields. office The idea at the time was that Renaissance people should complete all of these tasks effortlessly. Baldassare Castiglione described this in a book entitled ‘The Book of Courtiers’. In this book, he introduces the concept of ‘sprezzatura’, which seems to make things effortless.

The courtiers must be able to show a relaxed means to execute difficult actions, thereby concealing the conscious effort made.’ Modern movies have always tried to show this relaxed and boring attitude in their main roles. Just think about all the protagonists in movies that seem impossible. Things are as easy as heroes. Heroes can easily break into high-security facilities and cross the desert effortlessly while dispatching ten enemies at the same time, using soap on ropes and some wooden sticks to make powerful bombs, or solving difficult problems through powerful deductive skills. A Renaissance man has a good mind and a healthy and strong body. Another Italian humanist who embodies the ideals of the Renaissance is Leon Battista Alberti. At first, he was primarily an architect, but he was a poet, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer. He designed and built many famous buildings in Italy, but he also invented the first multi-letter code. It is worth noting that he did not neglect his body when he engaged in all these intellectual pursuits. Apparently he ‘excelled in all physical exercises; he can tie his feet and jump over standing people; he can toss a coin into the great cathedral and run to the dome from afar. It amuses me to tame wild horses and climb. mountains. The thoughts on people’s self-development capacities proclaimed by these Renaissance scholars have a solid foundation. Modern research also seems to have confirmed the purpose of the Renaissance, that is, human beings have an almost unlimited capacity for development. Its purpose is similar to the ‘growth mindset’ described by some psychologists. Recent scientific research has found that the brain is not a static organ but changes due to external stimuli, which is called brain plasticity. This means that one can learn and improve at any age. The skills of an ideal man of the Renaissance. A rejuvenated person seeks perfection in mind, body, and spirit.

The iconic painting of the ideal man is the Vitruvian Man, painted by Leonardo da Vinci. The Vitruvius was created based on the writings of Vitruvius, an ancient Roman architect. Vitruvius described the ideal proportions of ideal people in his works. Da Vinci accepted these works and used them as a guide in drawing this image. Today, this painting has become a visual synonym for the people of the Renaissance. A Renaissance man tried to develop his skills as much as possible. He has deep knowledge in many fields and extensive experience in certain fields. It is important not only to become an amateur but also to study one or two professional fields in depth. The most important asset of a man in the Renaissance is his huge knowledge base, which he can combine to form different models. You can solve complex problems by looking at them from different directions. It can bring the analogy of one discipline to another, and it can also act as a bridge between different disciplines. Having a broad knowledge base is a valuable asset. A person who only knows a few isolated facts will not know much. These facts must be viewed from a broader perspective. The existence of facts and contexts, and their different combinations, allow us to discover the true workings of the world and then use this knowledge to generate new ideas and put them into practice.

Birth of Venus is one of the most famous paintings around the world. Botticelli was born in 1444 in Florence, Italy, and was an early Renaissance artist (Kleiner 239-240). Even though he was a goldsmith at 14, he preferred to paint so he became an apprentice under Fra Filippo Lippi, and later to Antonio del Pollaiuolo, both of them were master artists of the early Renaissance, Florence. Lippi had a significant influence on Botticelli’s delicate style, such as techniques of panel painting and control of linear perspective. Botticelli used clear and pure colors to paint elegance of line to paint graceful depictions of women (“Sandro Botticelli”). “Botticelli painted Birth of Venus for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, one of Lorenzo the Magnificent’s cousins” in 1484-1486 ca in Florence, Italy (Kleiner 239-240). paintings. However, its disadvantage was quick drying time, which made the smooth blending of tones very difficult (Kleiner 220) so Botticelli’s tempera gesso was modified by the addition of oil to make the paint more transparent (‘Tempera painting’). Emphasizing the artists’ brushstroke techniques gave artists to “build up deep tones through the repeated glazing” (Kleiner 220). Even though the canvas was lighter and more easily portable than the wood panel, Birth of Venus was the first instance of painting on canvas in the early Renaissance because canvas became popular until in the late 16th century (‘Early Renaissance Artworks’, Kleiner 220). In the Birth of Venus, figures were done by careful underpainting in charcoal, freehand without a cartoon, and using a stylus to enhance lines of features. Botticelli established a powerful outline to highlight its elegant image and contacted modeling with light to dark tones. He used gold paint to represent highlights on the wings, the hair, the fabric, and the shell (‘Early Renaissance Artworks’) and also laid in the foundation colors to varied areas, for instance, ‘white lead, or the unprimed gesso, provided a base for the flesh tones, carbon black or malachite for the trees and landscape ‘(Dempsey). He developed his rich color schemes in that period. “Botticelli created a style of visual poetry parallel to the love poetry of famous patron Lorenzo de Medici” (Kleiner 240).

Birth of Venus is a masterpiece of the early Renaissance. The Renaissance lasting from about 1400 to 1600 was a great cultural movement that began in Italy and spread to other European countries. In this period, the Italian Renaissance provided an intellectual and cultural environment for artists to create art. The artists and artworks were appreciated due to their intrinsic merits. Renaissance art concentrated on the display of classical history and mythology in a more emotive and theatrical system. The artists convey that they explore the natural world to a perfect understanding of subjects such as anatomy and perspective. Artists turned to present the effects of light in nature and the proportions of man (‘Western painting’). Italy experienced the rebirth of ancient Greek and Roman culture. It contributed to classical Greek values of humanism, which includes values such as human consciousness, and individualism was highly valued (“Early Renaissance”).

Birth of Venus is a rebirth of mysterious allegorical work from classical Greek and Roman mythology in the garden of Venus (‘Early Renaissance Artworks’). The artistic activity was looking back at the ancient Greek and Roman style because of nudes to make figures more fully physical realization of the ideal human image (Lightbown). Botticelli broke down classical to work innovation for its large scale, painted on canvas by using gold to emphasize tones. For instance, the artwork uses the centric dividing line as the position of Venus, but ‘Venus is floating which deviated from classical proportions as ‘her body is off-center, and her right leg curves too far over for her left leg to bear her weight,’ to express naturalistic of beauty. The laurel trees and Hora’s laurel, on the right side, as well as the pattern and colors of Hora’s clothing and the robe she carries allude to the name ‘Lorenzo’ of the Medici family and the Republic of Florence (‘Early Renaissance Artworks’).

Birth of Venus was originally owned by the descendants of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici (Kleiner 239). The Medici family was a significant influencer on the love of Renaissance art as well as politics and commerce. At that time, most commissioned artworks were linked to Florentine customs of marriage, to decorate a newly married couple of noble houses (“Sandro Botticelli”). Nowadays, this artwork is not running privately proprietary. Even though it also cannot be touched, all individual has an opportunity to travel at Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. Therefore, the original and present viewing positions have different meanings. The museum is successful to provide limited information for an individual to connect with a lost culture.

In conclusion, “Europe experienced the calamities of plague, war, and social upheaval,’ in the 14th century and 15th centuries (Kleiner 218). The result changed individuals’ perceptions, the fashion of including mythology in art was unusual before the 15th century. Art was no longer in religion. People were concerned about the natural world and became more humanitarian in mythological subjects. The goddess Venus is associated with love and feminine beauty. The nude female is highly unusual, especially for the 15th century. Birth of Venus is an innovation that gave a new idea for people’s openness, one of the first almost life-size representations of a female nude that is fully mythological in its subject matter.

Works Cited

1. Dempsey, Charles. ‘Botticelli, Sandro.’ Grove Art Online. 2003. Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000010385. Accessed 27 Jan. 2020,
2. ‘Early Renaissance.’ theartstory.org, https://www.theartstory.org/movement/early-renaissance/. Accessed 25 Jan. 2020.
3. ‘Early Renaissance Artworks’ theartstory.org, https://www.theartstory.org/movement/early-renaissance/artworks/#pnt_11. Accessed 25 Jan. 2020.
4. Kleiner, Fred S., Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Concise Global History, (4th Edition) Wadsworth Cengage Learning, USA: 2017
5. Lightbown, Ronald. ‘Sandro Botticelli.’ Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 6 Sep. 2019. academic-eb-com.libaccess.senecacollege.ca/levels/collegiate/article/Sandro-Botticelli/15873. Accessed 27 Jan. 2020.
6. ‘Sandro Botticelli.’ Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 6 Sep. 2019. academic-eb com.libaccess.senecacollege.ca/levels/collegiate/article/Sandro-Botticelli/15873. Accessed 25 Jan. 2020.
7. ‘Tempera painting.’ Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 27 Nov. 2014. academic-eb-com.libaccess.senecacollege.ca/levels/collegiate/article/tempera-painting/71629. Accessed 26 Jan. 2020.
8. ‘Western painting.’ Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 12 Jan. 2019. academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/Western-painting/108651. Accessed 26 Jan. 2020.

Though only nine works of art are signed to be his, the most famous of which he is even secretly drawn into, Jan van Eyck captures the hearts of his audiences with his creation of superb pieces of art that inspire all. Jan van Eyck, a prominent artist in the Renaissance, altered the course of art, by paving the way for future artists who copied his unique use of oil painting, perspective, and realism in their works. Van Eyck’s works, such as The Arnolfini Portrait and Madonna and Chancellor Rolin, are examples of van Eyck’s ability to apply mood and meaning to his paintings. He portrays his expertise and mastery in applying light, intricate facial details and structure, and humanism in his scenes. Van Eyck’s works show his astute ability in emerging Renaissance themes such as light and shadowing, realism, attention to human anatomy, and perspective.

Jan van Eyck was a prominent member of the Renaissance, creating pieces of work that revolutionized the whole of art, though much of his early life is unknown. Jan van Eyck was born in the city of Maaseyck near Maastricht in c. 1390, in the southern Netherlands. Much of his art reflected his connection to his country, as he incorporated much of his Flemish culture into his art. Van Eyck had two brothers, Hubert and Lambert, who similarly were both esteemed painters whom Jan van Eyck was taught by and later even worked with, influencing his works. According to Northern European and Flemish traditions, it was typical for family members to share their art techniques with others in the family. For instance, both Jan and Hubert van Eyck collaborated on the Ghent Altarpiece, created in c. 1432. This masterpiece displayed both brothers’ unique ability to incorporate minimalism and perspective into their art. It is assumed that the altarpiece itself was painted by Jan while the overall idea of the altarpiece and the figures in the central top panels in the interior were created by Hubert (Hickson). Van Eyck was later employed by John of Bavaria, the Bishop of Liege, in the year 1422, to help decorate John’s castle. At the death of John in 1425, van Eyck proceeded to work as a court painter for Duke Philip of Burgundy, an immensely powerful and rich ruler, for a period of sixteen years. He was then able to establish a prominent workshop in Bruges by 1430, where the Duke would pay personal visits to van Eyck and grant extra payments, gifts, and privileges. Their friendship blossomed to the point that van Eyck named Duke Philip his daughter’s godfather in 1435 at her baptism (“Jan van Eyck”). Van Eyck’s workshop in Bruges also elevated his position as an esteemed painter in the Renaissance. Because van Eyck, unlike many artists of the time, was employed, his salary increased by large sums every year.

Van Eyck’s works display his unique ability to incorporate major Renaissance themes to create greatly influential pieces of artwork, such as The Arnolfini Portrait, which is arguably Van Eyck’s most famous work. The Arnolfini Portrait was finished in 1434 in the town of Bruges. To create this painting, van Eyck used oil as his medium on wood support, applying the wet-in-wet technique. The painting is 2′ 8″ x 2′ 0″. This painting exhibits Giovanni di Arrigo Arnolfini and his wife Giovanna Cenami in communion after becoming recently wed, but it is now thought that this portrait shows the couple married 13 years after the painting was painted. The painting depicts the couple as rich, as the pair are expensively dressed though humbly, their hands also joined. If in fact, the painting shows the marriage of the pair, his painting would have been proof of the marriage agreement and would have been legally binding (Harris and Zucker). “Probably van Eyck’s most discussed work, The Arnolfini Portrait is rich in iconography and gives the viewer an insight into Flemish culture” (“The Arnolfini Portrait”). This painting shows van Eyck’s ability to use light to make both the clothes of the subjects and their faces more realistic. The brass of the chandelier above the couple reflects the light from the window, showing van Eyck’s ability to carefully mix oil paints in order to increase the realism in his paintings. Similarly, van Eyck uses light to make Giovanni and Giovanna seem more three-dimensional which introduces another one of van Eyck’s many abilities, which is to include humanism in his paintings. Van Eyck was able to make Giovanni and Giovanna look almost alive by using his skillful techniques. Lastly, he uses perspective that allows the audience to see the couple as the main two figures in the middle of the portrait. Because of the iconography and the Flemish culture portrayed in The Arnolfini Portrait, the work is still seen as one of van Eyck’s most rich and beautiful pieces of art (“The Arnolfini Portrait”).

A similarly well-known piece of art by Jan van Eyck is Madonna and Chancellor Rolin, which is filled with Biblical references and a striking use of humanism. Madonna and Chancellor Rolin was created in c. 1435 and produced specially for Nicolas Rolin who was, at the time, the chancellor of the Duchy of Burgundy. This portrait hung in his parish church, Notre-Dame-du-Chastel in Autun. This piece displays, unlike earlier Medieval pieces of art, baby Jesus as a proportional baby. This differs from the many previous Biblical paintings where baby Jesus is shown to be upright, muscular, and standing attentively to show that he is unlike any child. Both Madonna and baby Jesus sit facing Chancellor Rolin, focusing on him intently. Above Rolin’s head lie the Seven Deadly Sins, while the triple archway is a reference to the Trinity (“Madonna and Chancellor Rolin”). Van Eyck used oil as his medium on wood support, applying the wet-in-wet technique in his work, similar to The Arnolfini Portrait. “This painting is layered not just in paint but in meaning and dimensions. In the foreground, middle ground, and the landscape we get a sense of story or an inter-working between all the levels, each with an infinite amount of detail” (“Madonna and Chancellor Rolin”). Madonna and Chancellor Rolin is a spectacular example of van Eyck’s ability to use light and shadowing to make his scenes more realistic. The characters sit bathed in light coming from the right-hand side of the painting. This is similar to the painting’s position as it sat bathed in the light from the church window in the Autun Cathedral. Van Eyck also displays his capacity to use perspective, a major theme in the Renaissance, to enhance the realism of the scene. For example, the background is painted specifically to make the audience look more at the main characters. This creates a soft light inside while the horizon gives the landscape depth and stronger light. The light also gives Mary’s cloak a rich red color which, because of van Eyck’s use of oil paint, is still a vibrant red to this day (Kren and Marx). The painting also demonstrates humanism as Rolin, Mary, and baby Jesus seem almost three-dimensional, differing from art in the Middle Ages. This also represents van Eyck’s use of realism which goes hand-in-hand which the humanism in this painting, as the use of perspective enhances the feeling and mood of the painting.

Jan van Eyck was able to incorporate in his work, at the time, radical art techniques that differed from art in the Renaissance. His use of optical perspective enhances his artwork, touching the hearts of his viewers. His unique use of oil paint, in comparison to the egg tempera used at that time, created vibrant colors that contributed to his signature use of perspective. Often misinterpreted as the creator of oil painting, van Eyck is known for the way he is able to use this lighting and shadowing, such as in the Ghent Altarpiece, to enhance the vibrant colors of the light, making his art unique to others in the Renaissance. In the Ghent Altarpiece, van Eyck carefully pays close attention to the lighting and shading of the figures, creating a newfound concept of humanism in his work (Hickson). Van Eyck also uses his superb sense of human anatomy and perspective to heighten the feeling in his paintings. Considered a master of light shown on fabrics, faces, and through windows, van Eyck perfects this art in pieces such as The Madonna with Canon van der Paele (‘The Madonna with Canon Van der Paele’). Van Eyck also specialized in portraits and landscapes that were hung in homes and used as legal documents, such as The Arnolfini Portrait, thought to be a legal document binding Giovanni di Arrigo Arnolfini and his wife Giovanna Cenami (“The Arnolfini Portrait”). Perspective was another essential theme used in many of van Eyck’s works, adding a new reality to paintings, such as van Eyck’s Madonna and Chancellor Rolin (“Madonna and Chancellor Rolin”). Inspiring artists in the future such as Rogier van der Weyden, Robert Campin, Petrus Christus, Hans Memling, and even Albrecht Dürer, Jan van Eyck mastered the ideas of the Renaissance, creating art that used the newfound art techniques such as realism, working with oil paint, humanism, and perspective (“Van Buskirk”).

Jan van Eyck showed his immense capacity to create detailed pieces of work ranging from marriage agreements such as The Arnolfini Portrait to important Biblically insightful scenes such as Madonna and Chancellor Rolin which represented surfacing Renaissance themes such as humanism, light and shadowing, realism, attention to human anatomy, and perspective. The Renaissance displayed many influential artists, one of which was the distinguished Jan van Eyck who was one of the first to use the technique of oil painting, and the art of perspective and realism in his works. Jan van Eyck pioneered such an innovative style that he altered the course of Flemish painting and is often known as the ‘Father of Oil Painting’, for displaying such an entirely new way of painting which was used by artists from centuries ago to artists now (“Jan van Eyck”).

In the early modern period, poets William Shakespeare and Richard Barnfield utilized erotic and homoerotic language to subvert English Petrarchan conventions and explore the transformative effects of love and desire on the mind and body. Coppelia Kahn confirms as such by suggesting that by means of echoing Ovid’s tales of Metamorphoses, Shakespeare’s poetry captures the “overwhelming psychological changes wrought by desire, as well as its often-grotesque physical mutations.” Less drastically, Bruce Smith proposes Barnfield’s poetry as focusing on the internal transformations of the individual caused by love and desire, moving from expressed desire towards self-control within Elizabethan social boundaries: “Barnfield makes sure we experience things in chronological order: first desire, then constraint.” Thus, I would concur with both Kahn and Smith and extend upon their arguments by suggesting that through language devices such as imagery and metaphor, Shakespeare and Barnfield’s authorship reflects the propensity of early modern poetry to illustrate the transformative effects of love and desire on the individual in the sixteenth century. In his Epyllion Venus and Adonis, Shakespeare destabilizes English Petrarchan rhetoric by placing Venus in the role of masculine suitor, and Adonis, as her object of desire. Using hypersexualized metaphors and animalistic imagery, Shakespeare focuses on the erotic, queer nature of Venus’s love to highlight the all-consuming role of desire in changing both her and Adonis’s bodies and minds. Likewise, in his lyrical verse The Affectionate Shepherd, Barnfield undermines traditional Petrarchan convention by exploring the homoerotic relationship between Daphnis and Ganymede, wherein Daphnis pursues the resistant Ganymede. Barnfield utilizes queer rhetoric and youthful imagery to articulate the role of desire in driving Daphnis’s sexual fantasies and also, in limiting him to the confines of Elizabethan tradition. By doing so, Barnfield allegorically captures the internal transformations individuals undergo to confirm. Ultimately, through symbolic language, both texts depict the overt, often forceful transformations, love, and desire can cause.

Shakespeare and Barnfield’s explorations of the transformative effects of love and desire are inextricably linked to the social context of the Elizabethan era. Jonathan Bate suggests that throughout the early modern period, “Elizabethan Ovidanism often seems to be that however you behave, whether you rein in your passion or not, love will make you suffer.” As such, poetic rhetoric in the era was often recognized by audiences as capturing the “transformative action,” of love and desire because of the pain and sorrow it caused. Bate writes: “Lessons may be learned from this world of desire and metamorphosis, but they are lessons about the games and anguish of love.” For Shakespeare, whom Kahn argues appropriates and draws inspiration from Ovid’s explorations of tortured love; Elizabethan ideas of love and desire and marriage are considered incongruent. Mary Beth Rose articulates this sentiment by proposing that marriage, throughout the sixteenth century, was positioned as an ideal that worked towards upholding “the basis of an ordered society.” Rather, than a union that reflected erotic feelings or desire. By focusing on love and desire outside of marriage in Venus and Adonis, Shakespeare investigates the amalgamation of love and desire onto the mind and body, “and the changes it wreaks on human beings, driving them to the heights and depths of human feeling and conduct.” Similarly, Barnfield’s engagement with homoerotic themes and attitudes outside of Elizabethan social order and expectations in The Affectionate Shepherd also explores relationships driven by love and desire beyond marriage. Rebecca Yearling suggests that in the Renaissance period, “[homosexuality] was considered as a more general symptom of moral decay and degeneration.” Thus, Barnfield echoes Shakespeare by illustrating the painful realization and transformation love and desire have on the individual. Therefore, I would posit the role of Shakespeare and Barnfield in exploring the impact of love and desire outside of traditional institutions to further emphasize its transformative effects.

In Venus and Adonis, Shakespeare utilizes sexualized imagery and innuendo to position the transformative effects of love and desire as both irresistible and destructive, and capable of evoking extreme changes to the mind and body. This notion is explored in Shakespeare’s characterization of Venus and the masculine qualities he prescribes to her:

‘like a bold-faced suit ‘gins to woo him.’

By establishing her role as the pursuer, and Adonis as the object of desire, Shakespeare engages with English Petrarchan rhetoric through gender reversal and works towards inaugurating the male attributes which shape Venus’s desire throughout the poem. Employing strong, emotive language, Shakespeare presents Venus’s masculine desire as both overpowering and maddening,

‘And, trembling in her passion, calls it balm –

Earth’s sovereign salve does a goddess good.

Being so enraged, desire doth lend force

Courageously to pluck him from his horse.’

Through stimulating imagery such as ‘trembling in her passion,’ and ‘being so enraged, desire doth lend force,’ Shakespeare reflects the internal transformation love and desire inflicts on the mind and body, wherein it evokes inflamed, uninhibited emotions. Thus, establishing the lack of control Venus possesses over such change. By extension, the sexual connotations associated with ‘trembling’ allude to the bestial instinct which is attempting to escape and transform Venus’s body as she is overcome with lust. In this vein, Coppelia Kahn suggests that “Venus embodies desire in the Ovidian sense as a blind impersonal force that overwhelms man or woman, god or human, obliterating normal consciousness, and in mind if not body-transforming the [individual].” The transformative impact of love and desire is further depicted in Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis through his metaphorical, hypersexualized portrayal of Venus’s body as a park.

‘I’ll be a park, and thou shalt be my deer:

Feed where thou wilt, on the mountain or in dale,

Graze on my lips, and if those hills be dry,

Stray lower, where the pleasant fountains lie.’

In this stanza, Shakespeare symbolically highlights desire as changing the body into an object used purely for erotic fantasy and sexual indulgence. By outlining the structure of the female body, and alluding to the use of sexual acts to persuade and seduce, Valerie Billing argues that Shakespeare’s “description of Venus’s body plays into a common Renaissance poetic trope of describing the female body as an erotic landscape that encourages male conquest and colonization.”

‘The strong-necked steed being tied unto a tree,

Breaketh his rein, and to her straight goes he.

Imperiously he leaps, he neighs, he bounds,

And now his woven girths he breaks asunder.’

By employing animalistic imagery, Shakespeare utilizes the love and desire between two horses, reflective of Venus’s hopes for herself and Adonis, to further reveal the unrestrained state humans can enter when in pursuit of their object of desire. In doing so, he solidifies the role of love and desire in morphing and transforming the individual into an animal, embodying their inhuman instincts, and moving the individual – almost painfully – beyond ‘human feeling and conduct.’

Shakespeare’s treatment of the effects of love and desire in Venus and Adonis is also explored through the literal and symbolic transformation of Adonis. Whereby, through Venus’s all-consuming, animalistic desire, and her attempts to control him, he emblematically transforms into her submissive through death.

‘He now obeys, and now no more resisteth,

While she takes all she can, and not at all listeth.”

In these lines, Shakespeare’s conclusive, authoritative tone alludes to Venus’s pleasure at being able to overcome Adonis’s resistance towards her, forcing him to kiss her against his will, ‘her lips are conquerors,’ and ‘his lips obey.’ Recognizing the Petrarchan qualities shaping the inverted relationship of Elizabethan tradition between Venus and Adonis, Richard Rambuss suggests that “the fervor of the lover’s desire for the beloved is matched only by the icy disdain for her rebuff. Shakespeare, […] represents both the wooer and her wooed as enflamed.” In this sense, Venus is the raging, masculine ‘wooer’ and Adonis is the impervious, feminine ‘wooed’. This uneasy dynamic between Venus and Adonis reaches its climax in the symbolic depiction of the boar murdering Adonis. Wherein, Kahn proposes that the boar is representative of “the destructive aspects of [Venus’s] desire,” and Billing, argues that the boar is “an explicit figure of […] penetration.”

‘And, nuzzling in his flank, the loving swine

Sheathed unaware of the tusk of his soft groin.’

Utilizing extremely vivid imagery, Shakespeare simultaneously illustrates the sexual innuendo associated with the penetration and murder of Adonis, and Venus’s desire as transforming him into the reciprocal, obedient lover she has always wished him to be. Demonstrating the pain and suffering associated with such transformation, Adonis’s metamorphosis is captured through Shakespeare’s use of blood spurring the growth of a metaphorical flower: ‘A purple flower sprung up, chequered with white, Resembling well his pale cheeks.’ Which, serves to represent the rebirth of Adonis’s non-existent figure as having become an extension of Venus’s love and desire – he has become a part of her and is at the center of her universe. Kahn writes: “[Venus] possesses him totally. […] Withering in her bosom, he seems to have surrendered to her all-embracing love…He has been consumed and achieved as the Petrarchan object of desire.”

‘My throbbing heart shall rock thee day and night.

There shall not be one minute in an hour

Wherein I will not kiss my sweet love’s flower.’

In the final lines of the poem, Shakespeare captures resolutely, the capability of love and desire, whether it be one’s own or that of another, to transform and change the individual. For Adonis, his physical transformation is a demonstration of the impact of insatiable desire, one that Venus will dedicate her life to nurturing.

In The Affectionate Shepherd, Barnfield uses homoerotic language to capture the transformative, but simultaneously limiting, the effect of love and desire on the individual. Like Shakespeare’s masculine characterization of Venus, Barnfield echoes English Petrarchan tradition by positioning Daphnis’s admiration and desire for Ganymede as driving their interaction. For Daphnis, his desire to be with Ganymede lies outside of Elizabethan heterosexual social boundaries. Whilst his desire does not move him into an uninhibited, animal-like state, as it does for Venus, it guides him towards an appreciation and love for Ganymede’s youth and ‘virtue.’. This is established in the second stanza of the first eclogue through Barnfield’s use of descriptive language to illustrate Ganymede’s appearance:

‘If it is a sin to love a sweet-faced boy,

(Whose amber locks trust up in golden trammels

Dangle adown his lovely cheeks with joy,

When pearle and flower his faire haire enamels)

If it be sinne to love a lovely lad;

Oh then sinne I, for whom my soul is sad.’

Through soft, delicate language, Barnfield positions the relenting nature of Daphnis’s love and desire, it drives him towards a higher order of feeling – but, is weak in the face of Renaissance tradition. It does not consume, but values. By extension, Barnfield’s specific naming and gendering of Ganymede, a sweet-faced boy,’ directly engages with homoerotic language and themes. Which, Rebecca Yearling recognizes as ‘polarising’: “On the one hand was homosexuality (or rather, sodomy): a crime against nature, God and society. On the other hand, was homosociality: a healthy, natural way for men to strengthen social bonds and assert their masculinity.” In this vein, it is precisely Barnfield’s diverging exploration of the relationship between a boy and a man that champions the transformation of Daphnis, as isolated by a desire to be subdued by age and society. Initially, Daphnis’s desire for Ganymede is explicitly portrayed through a lovesick tone and sexual innuendo:

‘Oh would God he would but pitty mee,

That love him more than any mortal wight;’

and,

‘My lips were honey, and thy mouth a bee.

Then shouldst thou sucke my sweetie and my faire flower

That now is ripe, and full of honey-berries.’

Bruce Smith argues that Ganymede is fulfilling “a precisely imagined sexual fantasy.” In referring to his ‘sweet’ and ‘faire flower’, Barnfield invokes phallic imagery to position audiences within his pastoral landscape and force them to imagine the sexual acts which occur in homosexual relationships. However, upon realizing the brief and fleeting possibilities of his homoerotic desires in the early modern period, Daphnis predicts that ‘when age draws on, thy love will soon forsake.’ Thus, resigning himself to social tradition and time through vivid imagery,

‘Behold my gray head, full of silver haires,

My wrinkled skin, and deeper furrows on my face:

Cares bring old-age, old-age increaseth cares;

My time comes, and I have run my race.’

I would argue that Daphnis’s sense of his perceived unnatural desire forces him to transform into an individual whose demonstrations of love and desire are within the social boundaries of the Elizabethan era. Confirming as such, Smith writes: “[Daphnis] accommodates himself and his desires to the conventional structures of power in Elizabethan society.” By means of Barnfield’s purposeful word choice, emphasizing time and how it is lacking in Daphnis’s older age, he captures the capability of love and desire to transform mind and body, even if it is to restrict or encourage the individual to conform.

Ultimately, both texts chart the role of love and desire in transforming the individual’s mind or body through language devices such as imagery, metaphor, and innuendo. For Shakespeare, he chooses to utilize sexualized imagery and eroticized metaphors to focus on the role of love and desire in arousing the animal and basic instincts from within Venus, and metamorphosing Adonis into an obedient form, which can be unequivocally enjoyed and adored by Venus. For Barnfield, he employs homoerotic rhetoric and specific word choice to emphasize the role of love and desire in transforming the homosexual thoughts and feelings of Daphnis for Ganymede, into more traditional, reserved ways of thinking which align with the early modern era. Thus, capturing the transformative effects of love and desire through language in Renaissance poetry.

1. Nature and character of the Renaissance era.

Nature

Renaissance which means ‘rebirth’ in the French language took place in Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries. It started in Italy whereby statues, buildings, and works of art from the Roman Empire survived. It started in Italian cities such as Florence. The Renaissance promoted the reclaim of classical philosophy, literature, and art. Artists and writers in Italy started to study law, literature, art, architecture, and philosophy. While studying, they researched information in the libraries of monasteries for handwritten copies of ancient books and also uncovered the remains of ancient buildings. This made them have an interest in the ideas and culture of ancient Greece and Rome and used these influences in their own art.

Character

• Humanism
• Art

Painters started to utilize methods of realism by improving skills in three-dimensional perspective. They also started to focus more on people and landscapes and veer away from religious themes. There were some of the most prominent Renaissance painters such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti.

• Literature, Science, and Technology
• Secularism

2. Definition of Humanism

Humanism is the cultural movement that began to gain momentum in Italy. Italy was made a natural place for launching the humanist movement this was because it had a connection to ancient Rome. Humanism can be explained as the study of different antiquities which took place during the Renaissance era from the 14th century and came to maturity in the 15th century. It was also based on the study of the classics both Greek and Romans. Humanism promoted the idea that people should embrace human achievements in education, science, literature, and classical arts and the idea that man was the center of his universe. During the 15th century, Humanism’s ideas had spread to allow speeches and other orations to become classicized. Humanism started to become admitted, this made the upper classes send their sons to study for their career prospects. Humanism education was in upper-class Italy by the mid-15th century. By the 1500s it became the dominant form of education. Humanism was enforced on a variety of Western beliefs, and methods and it later spread across continental Europe and England while it split in Italy. During the 16th century, humanism became the dominant intellectual movement in Europe. Humanism had lost its power by the mid-16th century. Europe was engaged in a war of words and ideas. The humanist culture was overtaken by rival creeds, becoming semi-independent.

3. Effects and impact of the Renaissance on modern life.

Effects

• Printing press

People began to learn things from books and papers and they also started to get jobs. People read because of written work such as comics, newspapers, and books, therefore, the written word was spread through the printing press. More universities, libraries, and other places of learning opened up to the masses.

• Trade

Many lands were discovered and colonized. Valuable objects or resources were brought back such as gold, spices, ivory, and exotic clothes.

• Humanism

People started to care about each other when they started caring about Humanism they realized that everyone is important. They also began to believe human life and accomplishment had inherent value.

• Church

Less money was given to churches. This was because people began to see that churches were not doing things in the correct way, they demanded money and generally got what they wanted.

• The Plague

A new class of bankers, merchants, and trade people emerged as the middle class. This in turn caused people to become rich and a new way of life took over. This included larger homes, more luxuries, and more free time to be devoted to learning and developing hobbies.

Impacts

• Political impact

This impact came through the exploration of the New World because of this, we begin to develop colonies and new markets for trade. This, therefore, led to the development of powerful nation-states in Western Europe such as France, Portugal, England, and Spain.

• Intellectual Impact

This impact came in three different forms namely: Humanism, Secularism, and Printing Press.

Humanism focuses on human potential and achievements. People began to move away from the church and started to celebrate human achievements. People were less interested in God and more interested in themselves.

Secularism focuses on less religion and more focus on here and now. This means that man is perfect or can be made perfect in this world.

Printing Press made new ideas easily spread faster, they could be printed out, make copies, and distributed.

• Artistic impact

More drawings were made clear this was because the new techniques in perspective made art and sculpture more 3-dimensional. The paintings were made more lifelike (realism).

• Economic impact

The merchant class developed power through trade and banking. The free-trade system was used throughout the industrialized world. Italian city-states dominated by Merchants.

• Religious impact

Corruption took place in the Catholic Church which also included the sale of indulgences and the worldly lifestyles of clergy (priests and church leaders). This later led to reformation.

Leonardo da Vinci Influenced by the Renaissance

Born in the Renaissance period, which spanned the fourteenth to the seventeenth century, Leonardo da Vinci became one of the smartest men ever to live (Renaissance). He was trained through primary education and went on to many accomplishments with his knowledge of math, science, and art. The Renaissance period influenced inventors and painters on the human aspect and led to many new areas of thought. Although da Vinci had many talents, the intellectual opportunity of the Renaissance of realism thru emotions, geometry, and anatomy most contributed to his emergence as a great figure.

Realism emerged during the Renaissance as painters started to notice and paint the natural world. Prior to this, painters painted portraits that did not resemble the figure in their paintings. However, when the Renaissance era started, painters no longer painted to make their figures perfect, but they wanted to show how something or someone looked in real life. Therefore, artists began to place depth within their paintings, and they painted realistic figures that were shown in a realistic setting (Realism in the Renaissance). The Renaissance produced realism as a by-product of art letting artists create many new types of realistic emotional paintings which led da Vinci to create the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

The Mona Lisa was a famous painting by da Vinci that featured a portrait of a Florentine merchant’s wife, Lisa Gherardini. Mona Lisa is pictured in a sitting position, looking forward with her right arm placed on her left wrist. Mona Lisa confuses many viewers with her half smile or maybe no smile at all. Her expression is caught mid-emotion in a very realistic way, which shows a change of emotion. The smile brings on a feeling of wonder; what must she be thinking about, or what is the meaning of her smile? Leonardo da Vinci uses the style of chiaroscuro (Sethi) which is light and dark contrasts in a painting to create depth and a three-dimensional outlook to a picture. (Chiaroscuro). The Mona Lisa also uses the sfumato technique, which is the blending of oil paints to create a calming effect (Sfumato). With the many methods and emotions of the Mona Lisa, da Vinci painted Mona Lisa and showed her realistic and correct side of a person in mid-thought. By using Sfumato and Chiaroscuro, da Vinci completely changed portrait painting, and allowed artists including Raphael to create many new types of portraits. This new type of painting spread da Vinci’s influence through many different artists and allowed for his status as a great figure to emerge (Britannica).

Furthermore, The Last Supper, another painting by da Vinci, also used realism to depict many realistic emotions. The elegant art depicts Jesus’s last meal where Jesus sits with his apostles (Sethi). Jesus is very calm and is relatively more central than the other apostles, showing his importance within the painting (Isaacson 284). This painting is crucial as it shows the moment Jesus tells his apostles that one of them will betray him (Sethi). One of the apostles, Judas, is represented as a repulsive figure (Isaacson 283). He stands alone in the shadows where he held a purse that contained the money he obtained for his betrayal of Jesus. Each apostle carries a different expression on his face; expressions of skepticism, fear, and shock roam their appearances (Sethi). Da Vinci quoted in his notebook that “a picture of human figures ought to be done in such a way that the viewer may easily recognize by means of their attitudes, the intentions of their minds” (Isaacson 282). Clearly, da Vinci wanted to realistically depict emotions within his paintings and he followed this rule with The Last Supper. The magnificent realistic masterpiece by da Vinci led to his emergence as a great figure because he was one of the first to portray the breathtaking realism of the Last Supper, which was later copied by many great painters including Michelangelo and Raphael (Sethi).

The Renaissance influence of realism inspired Leonardo da Vinci to use light and shadow to increasingly make his artwork into realistic designs. The Virgin of the Rocks was a very significant painting that da Vinci completed which focused on the light and shadows of pictures. As there were two versions created, the first version includes many examples of da Vinci’s use of light and shadow (Isaacson 228). In the Virgin of the Rocks, da Vinci juxtaposes light and shade to create a sense of flow. He applies multiple layers of translucent color, and forms shadings with a little blurring of the outlines which uses the sfumato and chiaroscuro styles of art (Isaacson 228). This use of sfumato allows the painting to become more natural and have a three-dimensional feel to it (Sethi). The light passes through the layers of the paint and bounces back up and creates illuminated figures and objects (Isaacson 228). The environment of rock, water, and pictures of Jesus and John the Baptist creates a human-like quality to the whole painting. The figures within the canvas move with a sense of motion (Sethi). These two pieces of artwork showed how da Vinci was able to use light and shadow to advance his work with realism and stray away from non-genuine paintings. This painting was very influential as it was an earlier example of an oil painting that can be used to create more humanistic and realistic art. Furthermore, many artists including Joos van Cleve in his painting “Oly Infants Embracing” were influenced by da Vinci’s “Virgin of the Rocks” further contributing to da Vinci’s greatness (Sethi).

In the Renaissance, when many artists and mathematicians had questions about many aspects of math including perspective, and geometry. Leonardo da Vinci created notable works and observations which contributed to his realistic artwork(Folkerts, Menso, and Craig G. Fraser). The Vitruvian Man was a draft in his notebook that da Vinci devised to show how shapes and geometry were used to create a perfect realistic man because it held the measurements of an ideal body to show human body symmetry (Richman-Abdou). The Vitruvian Man has perfect portions of a man, with two different sets of arms and legs. One set of the man’s arms and legs are apart to show the circumference of a circle. His other set of arms and legs show the legs together and the arms straight out, which shows the volume of a square. Throughout the masterpiece, there are indications of balance, symmetry, and proportion for the ideal human body. With this drawing, da Vinci reveals how Renaissance realism connected man with science to create a very realistic drawing. His intellectual sketch influenced many other works of art that spread his credibility and notability including prompting artist Nat Krate to create the “Vitruvian Women” (Sethi).

Leonardo da Vinci also used geometry as a gateway to perspective. Da Vinci was interested in shapes and how shapes transformed (Isaacson 206). He created designs with two overlapping half circles and created many circular shapes with the same area as triangles and rectangles (Isaacson 207). Even though da Vinci was never good at square roots or cube roots, he found he could visually cube a square by drawing a cubed square, and then he did not have to do any cubing mathematically (Isaacson 208; Isaacson 209). Da Vinci drew one hundred eighty diagrams of different shapes overlapping to create the perspective of a pattern (Isaacson 208). The perspective of these shapes being cubed and squared led da Vinci to produce new realistic shapes. Using complex perspective, da Vinci made it so the viewer saw a different perspective of the art depending on the angle of sight. In the painting, the painted cornice hides the fact that the ceiling does not reach the table. The room with Jesus and the apostles gets smaller towards a vanishing point in the back wall until it appeared that the back is so tiny that it only held three windows. This vanishing point method was influenced by Renaissance plays and their layout because a Renaissance play had a stage that was not a square box, but a bit narrow and short thus giving off the perspective and illusion of the scene being stretched far back (Isaacson 289). The Last Supper reveals a clever use of scientific perspective and a theatrical look to create a very realistic painting that was influenced by the Renaissance ways and added to his development as a great figure.

During the Renaissance, artists, and inventors including da Vinci studied anatomy and performed dissections to create lifelike works. Da Vinci studied human anatomy through dissection (Bambach), to assist with his art and many other interests. He wrote in his notebook, “It is necessary for a painter to be a good anatomist, so that he may be able to design the naked parts of the human frame and know the anatomy of the sinews, nerves, bones, and muscles” (Isaacson 212). He also described in his notes how tissues, veins, muscles, and nerves were displayed from many different angles (Isaacson 215). His dissection led to many other important findings, as he stated in his notebook, “When a man kneels down he will diminish by the fourth part of his height.” These different findings helped da Vinci paint humans and animals in multiple poses and movements (Isaacson 221). Da Vinci also drew numerous skulls in his notebook, where he focused on how the different inner cavities are connected within the face (Isaacson 216). The skulls that he drew were split in half with a line down the middle that signified the two parts of the skull being put together. The skull is very realistic but with only one-half of the teeth (Isaacson 217) to show the dental layout of a human. This was the first occurrence of a drawing showing the dental layout of a human (Isaacson 216). The Renaissance influence on anatomical studies displayed in da Vinci’s notebooks allowed da Vinci to create models and write books on anatomy including the Codex on the Flight of the Birds, and create the mechanical wings.

The anatomical studies of da Vinci through animals and human dissection led him to design inventions based on bird flight and author the book Codex on the Flight of the Birds. This book was one of the most significant documents ever written by da Vinci as it showed the inner workings of his great mind. Throughout the book, da Vinci discovered the thrust in birds and wrote about the physics of bird flight. The whole book was about the mechanics of bird flight and bird anatomy so it would ultimately lead him to design inventions based on bird flight (Codex on the Flight of Birds). Da Vinci’s anatomical study under the Renaissance influence led to his understanding of bird flight and his attempt to make bird flight machines possible. Additionally, with his knowledge of bird flight, da Vinci used his anatomical knowledge of the human body, to illustrate mechanical wings within his notebook which tested the potential strength of the human body. To work the mechanical wings, the pilot jumped from a great height with his feet attached to the metal boards in the mechanical wings to keep afloat. Not only that, but the pilot had to move the two metal bars by bending and straightening his wings (Laurenza 66). The mechanical wings showed the Renaissance influence on da Vinci through an anatomical study about the potential strength of the human body, while the Codex of the Flight of the Birds showed how da Vinci’s great mind was shown to create an intricate book and design and display his intelligence in his emergence as a celebrated figure in history.

Leonardo da Vinci was greatly influenced by the Renaissance views on realism, and anatomy. By using these influences, da Vinci painted famous paintings and designed inventions, and wrote a book that would impact society for many years afterward. If da Vinci were not born during a tremendous historical period like the Renaissance, he would not have been able to rise to fame using the influences that came along with him being alive at the right place and right time.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, is one of the most important and influential landmarks in Florence, being the third-largest church in the world (after St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London) its influence on not only Italian architecture but western Europe cannot be denied. Taking nearly 150 years to complete, it built the bridge between the 13th-century Gothic norm and the new humanistic reality of the early Renaissance.

In this study, I aim to discover how this remarkable church catalyzed the start of the Renaissance period. To understand how 14th century Florence shaped its construction, design, and function but also how the Cathedral itself influenced Florentine society and advanced the future great minds of the Renaissance. I will discuss topics such as the economy and power of the Medici Family, the curious and poetic nature of Francesco Petrarca’s writings, the marvel that is Brunelleschi’s dome, and the gravity of religion that bonded Renaissance society and its rituals.

To understand how the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore achieved its legacy we first have to explore its history. At the end of the 13th century, a new church was to be designed to replace the previous Cathedral of Florence, the ancient and dilapidated Santa Reparata. With Arnolfo di Cambio’s plans approved by the city council in 1294 construction began on 8th September 1296 (1). Figure 1 shows the plans for the extension of the original Cathedral throughout its changing construction.

Described by the Commune of Florence, once completed it was to be a more beautiful and honorable temple than any in any other part of Tuscany’ (2). Symbolizing the Cathedral’s imagined importance not only as a place of worship but as a building that portrayed civic pride as much as it did religious faith. I believe Florence’s vision for the utter beauty and perfection of the Cathedral echoes that of early Renaissance discourse: a new, heightened strive for excellence that surpassed the norm of its earlier centuries’ gothic style.

Florence, within the early 14th century, was entering a time of great power – with that came affluence. Its wealth came from the wool industry and trade soon spread throughout the Western world; quickly being known as ‘the most expensive and most sought-after cloth in Europe’ (3). This resulted in a shift of power from the aristocracy to the merchant elite. The shift allowed powerful bankers like the Albizzia and Medici families to gain power over the independent city-state; influencing the priorities of the Florence republic significantly.

One of the pinnacle emphases of the Medici reign was their fondness for art and philosophy. ‘Cosimo de’ Medici used his vast fortune to control the Florentine political system and to sponsor orators, poets, and philosophers’ (4), as well as a series of artistic accomplishments.’ (5). Francesco Petrarca, one of the earliest humanists, was a law scholar who spent most of his life composing speeches for kings, popes, and princes. Although his passion did not lie there, he found his fascination in the ancient writings of Greek and Roman Philosophy. Petrarch rediscovered the importance of liberal studies, by examining Cicero’s letters, “The Studia Humanities” (6), he found a new appreciation for nature and physical beauty.

Humanist writing catalyzed the start of Renaissance thinking, it led to a new esteem for man and nature, giving glory back to God’s creation. The philosophy of the early humanist thinkers brought not just society a rediscovered perspective but an experimental and realized the change in architectural styles. With the cathedral being designed surrounded by these ideologies, I believe its form, facades, structure, and decoration were all reflections of this rebirthed appreciation for man as the ‘center and measure of all things’ (7).

The new Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore was intended to and does in fact reflect many statements of its time: the influence of political dynasties and their interest and funding of humanist writings, the growing awareness of man’s new-found truth and beauty of God’s creation and the prosperity of the city’s mercantile power.

Examining the process behind the design and structure of the Cathedral reveals the conflicting views and beliefs at the beginning of the 14th century. Cambio’s original design, envisioning a dome measuring 62 braccia, was both spectacular but sum what too ambitious. The model showing his proposal subsequently collapsed under its own weight – an ominous sign of the future struggles with the development of the cupola, or ‘dome’. (8) Despite this, with no clear answer to how the dome would be built, construction commenced. This perceivable, reckless optimism I think reflects faith at the time: that God will provide a solution, so construction must not stop but persevere.

Looking at Santa Maria del Fiore in the plan, figure 2, shows the consideration given to the spatial arrangement. The octagonal form surrounding the dome reflects the shape of a flower, alluding to the Cathedral’s name ‘Fiore’ and also to the symbol of Florence – a giaggiolo lily. This decision, again emphasizes the pride, prosperity, and civic importance of Florence as an independent city-state: in my opinion, the Cathedral is a result of Florence’s vast opulence.

With construction progressing steadily competition arose between the capo maestro or ‘master builder’, Giovanni di Lapo Ghini, and another skilled mason, Neri di Fioravanti: for a model of the Cathedral’s dome. Giovanni’s design was fairly traditional, it followed the 13th-century Gothic style. It comprised of ‘thin walls, tall windows and to support the dome, external buttresses’ (9). Buttresses were one of the much-established and tested structural norms at the time. They allowed architects to reach great heights, filling the facades with spectacular vertical windows – flooding the church with immense heavenly light.

However, Neri’s model was much more ambitious, it moved away from the tradition of gothic style and suggested something unheard of since Antiquity. He didn’t want to visibly show how the dome was supported, instead, he proposed a ‘series of stone and wooden chains that would run the circumference… all of the lines of stress would therefore be absorbed by the structure itself.’ (10) Figures 3 and 4 shows the cupola and how it is supported.

Buttresses showed the stability and strength of a church however Neri’s proposal was meant to reflect the mystery and miracle nature of God. The choice of this invisible structure for the dome shows man’s improved precision and capability to create and design such mystery, as well as simultaneously pointing towards the heavens.

That man was not meant to just merely observe God’s greatness, but creation should be examined, realized, and mastered. These were ideologies common to the start of Renaissance thinking and were explored vigorously throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. I believe Neri’s accepted proposal encompassed lots of the early humanist discourse, it set an exemplar for Renaissance progression in both art and architecture and it remains one of the most remarkable structures to this day.

The problem of executing the dome’s construction belonged to only one man: Filippo Brunelleschi. Born in 1377, he grew up observing the Cathedral progress, from his family home in San Giovanni – a district just west of the growing building. It was here that his fascination with machines began. (11)

Brunelleschi grew ever fascinated in understanding how the great ancient structures were built. This drove him and a young Donatello to Rome, where he studied Roman ruins in the hope to discover his predecessors’ secrets.

Studying and understanding the rules and orders of Greek and Roman infrastructure was vital to the start of Renaissance thinking, it gave new life to classical culture and allowed artists to experiment with this rediscovered freedom. Thus, giving Brunelleschi the means to create a cupola I believe that founded and stood for the ideologies of the early Renaissance.

One particular building presented Filippo with proof that it was possible to span a space as vast as Santa Maria del Fiore – the Pantheon. Using this immense structure as a reference, Brunelleschi designed a multitude of machines to turn his vision into reality.

The ox-hoist, as seen in Figure 5, was designed to replace the old rota magna or ‘great wheel’ that had previously been used to raise heavy stones used in the facades of the Cathedral. (12) Brunelleschi’s design features an ox, making circular rings that turn a series of gears, raising heavy building materials such as sandstone beams and slabs of marble. This machine was destined to become one of the most celebrated creations of the Renaissance. A device that was sketched and examined by many architects and engineers, including Leonardo da Vinci.

Another marvel of the cupola is its unprecedented span without the use of external supports, figure 6 shows how the dome is self-supported. The form of the octagonal dome was known as a quinto acuto, “pointed fifth”. (13) Even though this fashion was familiar to traditional Gothic arches, the brickwork used to form the shape was uniquely complex. Filippo settled on a herringbone pattern of the brick’s arrangement, figure 7, this to act like ‘book ends, keying the new layer to the completed, self-sustaining the ones beneath.’ (14)

The technological advancements that are seen within the dome’s construction are revolutionary. Brunelleschi invented devices that would shape not only the future of Italy but the rest of Western Europe as well. The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, I believe is precedent for the start of Renaissance ambition, precision, and skill.

Three different types of marble were used: white Carrara, Prato green, and Siena red to exquisitely decorate the external cladding of the Cathedral; a fitting choice to reflect the city’s opulence and power. The carvings within the marble reveal subtle changes in the style of art at the time. Figure 8, shows the detail of the Porta della Mandorla, decorated by Nanni di Banco, Donatello, and Jacopo dela Quercia, the sculptures reflect the transition between the 13th-century established gothic art to the first examples of new order and perfection of the Renaissance – which shortly thereafter became predominant. The cathedral allowed artists to develop these new ideas, I believe without these experiments Renaissance thought would not have progressed as rapidly.

Santa Maria del Fiore was consecrated in 1436, the year of the Cathedral’s long-awaited competition. Florentine society, even though finding freedom in the new individualist outlook, was still predominantly ruled by the Catholic faith. Studying the service books of the Cathedral, the importance of public declarations of these beliefs was evident. Processions were frequent, usually following feast days, and ‘new boundaries of the city were marked by a ritual act that involved the populace at large.’ (15) Without the tax contributions of ordinary Florentine citizens, it wouldn’t have been possible to create such an impressive building. The public emphasis here reflects the Cathedral’s vision, that it was a place for celebrating the city’s wealth and prestige, a place for its citizens to take pride in, and a place for everyone to gather and worship.

From all areas of the city, the Duomo could be seen, sneaking into sight between the narrow streets and soaring high above with the birds in the sky. The silhouette of the dome seems to reflect the quarters and streets of the town that radiate from it. Almost as if the dome crowns the city; ‘Florentines must confidently have felt themselves to be a civilized community’ (17). This change in society, one of sophistication, was a result of Renaissance thinking: humanist writers gave ordinary people freedom. The Cathedral and its public presence catalyzed these ideologies, becoming both an exemplar and an avant-garde ideal of its time.

The Renaissance value of humanism greatly influences The Prince because Machiavelli, a humanist himself, targets human nature in portraying the ideal monarchy. Humanists of the Renaissance were devout proponents of human potential; throughout The Prince, Machiavelli articulately examines the dynamics of humanity. He understands that while a good ruler should possess some admirable qualities, it is impossible for any authentic being to be entirely good. Therefore, Machiavelli introduces the concept that characteristics like cruelty and dishonesty are necessary to effectively hold power over a state.

Unlike other humanists of his time, Machiavelli was perhaps the first to creatively explore relatively unethical methods of the rule while roaming within the intellectual bounds of humanism. This is why The Prince is considered to be such a great work from the Renaissance period: Machiavelli attempts to summarize human nature from a disturbingly accurate and realistic standpoint.

The Renaissance virtue of individualism is also represented in Machiavelli’s work, The Prince. Individualists of the Renaissance believed in a self-reliant and independent mind, one that worked towards the promotion of self-interest. Machiavelli highlights these virtues when he advises rulers on how to achieve absolute power. He even takes the time to point out specific characteristics that would contribute to the individualistic well-being of a prince: courage, cruelty, craftiness, confidence, and intelligence.

Machiavelli’s individualistic and perhaps psychological approach to identifying human characteristics helps contribute to The Prince’s overall fame and legacy. This is because he was among the first to tackle an in-depth analysis of the relationship between a person and his quest for personal glory.

Scientific naturalism plays a significant role in the philosophy behind The Prince. This doctrine goes hand in hand with humanism as Machiavelli takes a realistic approach to summarize the average qualities that compose human nature. Scientific naturalists of the Renaissance focused prominently on viewing the world from the most realistic perspective humanly possible. In this way, Machiavelli examines human traits with natural assumptions and tries to stray as far as possible from supernatural or religious affiliations.

Part of The Prince’s literary significance can be attributed to its recurring themes of realism and naturalism. It is widely recognized for its brutal honesty; for example, Machiavelli argues that a prince should force his people to depend on him, whether it entails supplying limited resources or freedoms. While they may be unethical, Machiavelli’s tactics are truly authentic.

Secularism is the fourth and final Renaissance doctrine that heavily influences Machiavelli’s The Prince. Secularists of the Renaissance promoted the full separation of Church and government. Similarly, Machiavelli never uses religious reasoning to back his claims in his book. While he mentions that common people have strong ties to religion, it is evident that he believes spiritual argument is futile. Instead of being bound by supernatural or religious forces imposed by the Church, Machiavelli argues that man himself holds the ability to control his own destiny, which is why scientific logic reigns superior in the assertions of The Prince.

The Prince is considered a great work of its time because of its ability to move with the secularist movement of the Renaissance and break away from prevailing religious themes. Machiavelli even pushes readers to a further level of secularism, advising them to take his political strategies and challenge the Church as an institution of power.

• Using the prevailing sentiments of his revolutionary time, Machiavelli builds off of the virtues of humanism, individualism, scientific naturalism, and secularism to create a “how-to” guide for the successful monarchial rule. Every aspect of his work moves away from the medieval reliance on religion and uncertainty. Out of science and logic immersed obscure political strategies that were unknown to rulers of the medieval era. No longer were people merely defined by groups; Machiavelli urged his readers to use their individual traits to their advantage. In essence, The Prince radiates the Spirit of the Renaissance: the confidence and perseverance to own the present, to deviate from the norm, and to become legendary and powerful.

The Renaissance had an influence on many famous works of art and literature. Modernity and the Renaissance caused a rebirth and increase of individualism alongside an intellectual movement. Two literature pieces that were influenced include the work of Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince and Martin Luther’s, Address to The Nobility of the German Nation; as well as the following works of art: Pieter Bruege’s, Massacre of the Innocents.

First off, Machiavelli’s The Prince was considered one of the first works of modern political philosophy. Machiavelli himself had an informal education and a middle-class background. During the Italian Renaissance is when he wrote The Prince, in order to regain political prestige. He made this text like a handbook for new princes taking power. As stated, “for even whilst you exercise it you lose the power to do so, and so become either poor or despised or else, in avoiding poverty, rapacious and hated. And a prince should guard himself, above all things … Therefore, it is wiser to have a reputation for meanness which brings reproach without hatred,” (Machiavelli). The focus for princes, such as survival and glory, can justify the use of immoral means to achieve such ends. Reputation is important for a prince. The spark of the Renaissance allowed Machiavelli to put out a piece of literature that may have been seen as controversial to people; as well as Martin Luther’s work.

As a further matter, also during the Renaissance, Luther realized the many illegitimate acts of the church and began work on his 95 theses as to why the religious ideology was corrupt. A goal of his was to shed light to the public on what was really happening behind the church’s doors, which added to this movement. According to section B, The Second Wall, “No one may interpret the Scriptures but the Pope. The second wall is even more tottering and weak: they alone pretend to be considered masters of the Scriptures; although they learn nothing of them all their life. They assume authority,” (Luther). He believed the Popes didn’t have as much power as they wanted everyone to think. Additionally, Luther’s protests started creating spin-offs of what those specific people thought was the one true way to worship God. For example, Anabaptists, Methodists, and Quakers. In Short, he who didn’t follow that religion was thought to go to hell. This of course led to fighting and years of religious mayhem followed. What started as a doctrinal dispute, turned into a social revolt. This same concept can be seen in many different artworks.

In Pieter Bruege’s, Massacre of the Innocents, the painting looks exactly what the title entails. A group of townspeople is invaded and threatened by an army of soldiers. Looking at the church in the background of the painting there is a soldier guarding a bridge, and he is most likely there to kill anyone who tries to escape from the massacre. To the middle left, there is another soldier casually urinating on the wall of that building. This shows that he is humble and confident about what his group has been sent there to do. In the foreground, there are two soldiers sitting on their horses and looking to be having a pleasant conversation. Meanwhile, there is a local man pleading and bowing down alongside the horse. In the middle, there is a tight group of soldiers and it shows several of them are killing what looks to be animals. There are a number of innocent townspeople shown in the middle of the painting who are praying while the madness continues around them. This piece also contributes to the Renaissance movement which may have been seen as contentious.

In conclusion, the Renaissance gave freedom to challenge the social norms in this period of time. Religion and religious views can be seen in all three examples of how the Renaissance was an influence. The increase in individualism can be read and shown through many different pieces of literature and artwork. These include Niccolò Machiavelli’s, The Prince, Martin Luther’s, Address to The Nobility of the German Nation and Pieter Bruege’s, Massacre of the Innocents.

Works Cited

1. Bruegel, Pieter. Massacre of the Innocents (1565–67) file:///C:/Users/MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/ch202_wk1_CR 2_image2_fa15 (1).pdf.
2. Luther, Martin. Address to The Nobility of the German Nation, 1520. https://ares.library.unr.edu/ares/ares.dll?Action=10&Type=10&Value=129946.
3. Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince, pp. Chapter IX-Chapter IX, file:///C:/Users/MicrosoftEdge_ 8wekyb3d8bbwe /TempState/Downloads/wk1_machiavelli (1).pdf.