Renaissance Humanism

During the time of the Renaissance, there were many new and unique ideas, and the most prominent of these was humanism. Humanism was basically the idea that man was enough by himself without divine grace. These humanistic ideas are mainly manifested in Renaissance art, therefore, one can see the direction a culture is moving by observing it’s art. 

            The Renaissance began with the life of Petrarch who is regarded as the father of the renaissance for his writings and foreshadowing ideas. He was born on July 20, 1304 in Arezzo, modern day Tuscany, Italy. During his early life, Petrarch studied law, to honour the desire of his father, but after his father’s death he studied poetry. He is remembered for his vast collection of writings, the lifestyle he led, as well as the humanistic thinking that was reflected through his poems. Following Petrarch, the movement of humanism was set in motion. When we think of the Renaissance, we usually think about art, and it is in Renaissance art where humanism is found in it’s deepest form, and the first thing that jumps out at me is the individualism of the Renaissance, as almost all the sculptures and paintings are individualized, meaning that they are not idealized into the perfect man, they have unique and individual features to recognize them by. Some of these early Renaissance painters were Giotto di Bondone, Sandro Botticelli, and several less known artists. At this point, the Renaissance was still getting started, however, as we see in some of Giotto’s works, no two faces are the same, also we see the use of new vibrant colors, as well as some depth and perspective. Moving forward, we see Botticelli’s work showing individualism at its finest, the people in his works are very distinct, also we see him portraying secular subjects, such as ancient Greek mythology. There is also much emphasis on sculpture in the early Renaissance, and the statues began to bear much of the same ideas as the paintings, and the best place to see this is in Donatello’s bronze statue of David, as we see much of the individual characteristics in his features. In conclusion, both painting and sculpture during the early Renaissance reflect the humanism that was in the minds of their creators, and in the society as a whole. 

This idea of portraying the current ideas through art goes back thousands of years, in the ancient world there was much emphasis on the perfect man, and that is why the sculpture and painting from that time period was both stylized and idealized. Therefore, one can tell the social condition of a community by observing the current art.