Art and reason in renaissance Italy.

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Camilla Nancy Duncan

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ART AND REASON in RENAISSANCE ITALY.

Renaissance Italy was at the centre of what can be determined as a period of ‘rebirth’ between the early 14th and late 16th Centuries. Essentially, the renaissance was ‘the age of reason and enlightenment’ and this was reflected in the emergence of art as an intellectual pursuit. The Italian Renaissance was a budding period, unveiling the notion of reason and thus producing some of the most intellectually advanced artwork in the world. The output in Renaissance Italy was monumental, whether it was philosophy, mathematics, art or science; some of the most important discoveries were made enabling Europe to move out of the middle Ages and into modern times. Voltaire stated the Italian Renaissance was a great age of cultural achievement in the arts, philosophy and politics, possibly matched by no other.

The new availability of ancient Greek and Roman texts is often attributed entirely to the renaissance’s ‘rebirth’ in art, philosophy and science. The re-introduction of ancient scriptures and opening of libraries spread ancient philosophy, literature and science.  With this came a realisation of what had been achieved by the Greek and Classical past, creating a great ambition to develop ancient theories. ‘The classical ideal became a stimulus, a challenge, a model.’ 

It wasn’t long before the Italian Renaissance surpassed a mere revival of antiquity and developed past ideals to suit modern standards.  Reason enabled the emergence of some of the most important discoveries in history: Philosophy moved away from its previous formal methods of thought. Science had disoveries of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton. Art had the revival of classical architecture and development  of new painting styles. However, ultimately reason can also be held responsible for the reformation under Martin Luther, marking the end of the Renaissance.

Renaissance values embraced the rise of the individual, scientific enquiry and diminishment of church and feudal systems of the middle Ages. The concept of reason was central to renaissance values and the rise of Art, as it was responsible for the ‘rebirth’ of the individual in society. The most important achievement of art in renaissance Italy was the materialization of the artist as a ‘creator’, often famous for their work as opposed to an anonymous craftsman. This encouraged the development of their own styles - Leonardo tried many!

Another factor was the rise of powerful independent city-states and the new merchant class in competition with each other over wealth, beauty and intelligence, since all three could be appropriately shown off in the visual arts a perfect foundation was laid for the artists to work as ‘creators’. Wealth was expressed through expensive materials and ambitious projects. Beauty was shown in new techniques, naturalism, humanism and the Platonic conception of truth equals wisdom equals beauty. Intelligence was explored in artistic interpretations of ancient philosophies and mythological allegories to Christianity, for example Botticelli’s ‘Primavera’ whose subject matter is still disputed today.  Florence, Venice and Rome were among the most influential city-states and supplied much of the economic support and competitive climate for renaissance artists. With art rapidly becoming an expression of Italy’s newly found freedom, a new era in the history of art was started: Abolished were naïve, flat church paintings and with reason a new intellectual and innovative approach to art was explored.

Although the renaissance symbolised ‘rebirth’ of the individual it must not be overlooked that it was in no way the age of the common man, and its ways were designed for wealthy individuals.  Reality contradicts reason since the true renaissance was an elitist society founded upon one’s education, stature and wealth; therefore, the Neo-Platonist movement was neither widespread nor popular.  Humanism created self-importance and the belief that one’s soul was a reflection of God therefore all individuals were equal. Humanists were deeply critical of the ‘dark side of the renaissance’, which was corrupted by greed, warfare and violence hidden behind the facade of wealth and art.  They strived for a classless, communal society without the dominance of the church, as described in Sir Thomas Moore’s ‘Utopia’.

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At the forefront of rediscovery were the philosophies of Aristotle and Plato, which for the first time after a period of ‘darkness’ offered a period of ‘enlightenment’, Plato enabled the Italians to discover the notion of beauty alongside wisdom and truth – an idea shunned by the middle Ages. Thus, a rebellion against intellectual sterility and scholasticism of the medieval ages and a lust for intellectual freedom was underway.  With such unleashed freedom, the renaissance grew a passion for cultural greatness and the pagan world, which were best expressed through art, evident in works from Giotto to Leonardo to Michealangelo. ...

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