Compare and Contrast the Northern with the Italian Renaissance.
A sharp break with medieval values and institutions, a new awareness of the individual, an awakened interest in the material world and nature, and a recovery of the cultural heritage of ancient Greece and Rome are the major achievements of the Renaissance. The term Renaissance refers to the period between the heyday of medieval universalism, as embodied in the Papacy and Holy Roman Empire, and the convulsions and transformations of the 17th century. Although the Renaissance was born in Italy, it came to have a northern counterpart in the mid-fifteenth century, thanks to the invention of the printing press. Although the Northern and the Italian Renaissance are similar under general aspects, they do differ in their timing, Humanism and the themes for their Art.
The Italian Renaissance, (literally “rebirth”, from the Italian word “rinascita”), was born in the city state of Florence, famous for its commerce and its banks. The flourishing economy of the Medici’s city state favored the advances in literature, and the arts which took place here during the Early Renaissance. Later, when the money shifted to Rome, and the Papacy, the High Renaissance started. One of the important elements of the Italian Renaissance was Humanism. Humanism is basically the study of classical texts and ideas. Two of the most important Humanists were Petrarch, whom recuperated texts of great authors such as Cicero, in Latin, or Pico della Mirandola, whom inspired by Greek philosopher Plato’s positive view of human potential, wrote his Oration on the Dignity of Man. Another important aspect of the Renaissance was the great progress in art. Renaissance artists were considered important individuals in their own right, and it is at this point that names like those of Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo appear. Their painting styles were much more naturalistic than those of the Middle Ages. Perhaps the most important discovery in art was that of single point perspective, permitting a realistic setting in the works of art. In Italy, artistic themes mixed Christian legend with pagan beliefs in order to result in a new mix, unfamiliar to the orthodox Christian world of the Middle Ages. Overall, the Italian Renaissance established the foundations for our contemporaneous Western Culture. It blended the Christian religion of the declining Papacy, with Roman law and Greek philosophy recuperated from the ancient classical writings thanks to the Italian Humanism.