Integrating humanism (An approach)

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Integrating humanism(An approach)
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The study design

• The term Renaissance is linked with the revival
  of classical learning
• To investigate the concept of the Renaissance and
  its impact on the visual arts, learning and
  education
• The wealth of the newly formed city-states
  resulted from trade and industry
• The need to travel to other European markets, and
  the sharing of goods over the Italian peninsula
  led to new ideas in art, culture and learning
• Cultural and artistic changes which developed
  across the Italian peninsula in predominantly
  urban centres were closely linked to the
  financial success and the political character of
  these communities

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The study design

• The Renaissance rebirth of many of the ideas and
  values of classical Greece and Rome were also
  integral to the humanist movement as scholars
  collected, edited, studied and wrote commentaries
  on ancient manuscripts.
• It was the interest and financial investment of
  patrons such as leading families, the Church, the
  State and corporations like guilds and private
  patrons such as the Medici which contributed to
  the flowering of Renaissance culture

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The study design

• Key knowledge
• The concept of the Renaissance and the growth and
  importance of humanist studies
• Changes and developments in the Renaissance art
  in the development of Renaissance culture
• Key skills
• Analyse written and visual material relating to
  the Renaissance from a variety of sources

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A static world?the traditional view of the
Medieval world

• Chronology c. 8th to 13th centuries
• According to Burckhardt consciousness lay
  dreaming or half awake
• (Robert Hole Renaissance Italy)
• What are characteristics of this world?
• Europe dominated by the Roman Catholic Church
  faith, education and politics
• Feudalism firmly in place societies comprised
  of mainly villages and few towns of any size
  existed
• Fixed geographical places little movement of
  population (excepting aristocracies and armies)
• Fixed places in society and identities
• Largely illiterate population, from aristocracy
  to commoners

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A changing world?an alternative view of the
Medieval world

• Alison Brown Burckhardts view is embarrassing
  and out of date
• (Alison Brown, The Renaissance)
• Lauro Martines two stages to the Renaissance
• Stage one social energies economics,
  politics, a vibrant demography produced the
  shaping, long-term values rise of towns (12th
  and 13th centuries)
• Stage two the lead went into cultural
  energies rise of culture (14th to 16th
  centuries)
• Quattrocento humanism would have been impossible
  without the civic ideals that rose out of the
  thirteenth century
• (Lauro Martines, Power and Imagination)

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Martines stage onemodelling a changing world

• c. 1100 1250 A brave new world
• Break up of the feudal system
• Rise of towns
• Specialisation of trades
• Growth of industries
• Rise of new class - middle classes/new men
• Political ambitions of the new social group
• Overthrowing of authority of traditional rulers -
  nobility
• Rise of communes autonomous rule by towns
  landowners (middle classes tradesmen)
• Development of internationalism (trade between
  towns/countries)
• A more complex system of mercantile exchange

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Lorenzettis good and bad government1338-40
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Martines stage twoA changing system

• New society and progression to cultural changes
• Changing needs to be met
• Educational
• Political
• Traditional ideas are no longer useful or
  sufficient
• Complexities of trade required greater
  intellectualism for a broader spectrum of the
  community
• Rise of internationalism a new concept of
  identity and personal/family ambition
• Political changes new dominant group and new
  style of government
• New educational needs resulted advancement in
  trade and politics

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Their sources of inspiration

• Ancient Rome
• Cicero Ovid Tacitus

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Ancient Romans

• Cicero
• Roman orator, studied jurisprudence, rhetoric and
  philosophy
• As a writer/orator he possessed a clear, fluent
  and persuasive style that influenced humanists of
  the Renaissance
• Was strongly involved in Roman politics
• Ovid
• Roman poet and story teller
• Wrote Metamorphoses, 15 books about legends
  concerning supernatural changes
• Tacitus
• Roman historian who wrote the Histories and the
  Annals (covering Roman history between 69 86
  and 14- 68 AD)
• Believed thought was the first and overwhelming
  consideration and regarded brevity as essential
  to making a strong point
• conspicuous by his absence is attributed to him

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Their sources of inspiration

• Classical Greece
• Plato Aristotle Socrates

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Classical Greeks

• Socrates
• Athenian philosopher
• Concerned with human nature and behaviour
• Attempted to base right conduct on, and equate it
  with, knowledge
• Used the technique of pretending ignorance then
  bombarding opponents with questions to disprove
  their ideas
• Accused of neglecting the gods, introducing new
  divinities and corrupting the morals of the young
• Plato
• Greek philosopher, influenced and taught by
  Socrates
• Political ideas were influenced by poor
  experiences with the democratic and oligarchic
  parties of his time
• Established a school where philosophy, political
  theory, mathematics and natural science were
  studied and discussed
• Wrote the Republic and many dialogues
• Aristotle
• Studied under Plato
• Based his ideas on concrete facts rather than
  just theories
• Used analysis as a method of studying all
  subjects
• In his Ethics he propounds the idea that virtue
  is the middle way between excess and deficiency
• His work Politics, based on the study of Greek
  constitutions, was studied by later scholars and
  influenced the rise of modern political theories.

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Why Rome before Greece?

• Geography
• Roman ruins surrounding Italian cities
• Medieval education
• Church conducted religious rituals in Latin
• Theological education was in Latin
• Ancient Romans used Latin as lingua franca
• Accessibility of texts
• Monasteries and town archives held predominantly
  Ancient Roman books/scrolls
• Relevance
• Ancient Rome was the last democracy (Republic)
  and could be used as an example for new
  governments

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Why the rise of humanism?

• Justification of wealth
• Justification of power
• Religious entity role of man
• Civic duty
• Location surrounded by ancient ruins

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Florence cradle of humanism
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The 3 types of humanism

• Literary Civic Neo-Platonic
• (Petrarch) (Bruni)
  (Ficino)

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The advent of literary humanism

• When is literary humanism?
• c. 1370 - 1450
• What was its role in society?
• To provide a secular education (as opposed to
  traditional theological education), to broaden
  knowledge, to improve social standing and
  business expertise
• Studias humanitatis a secular education
  programme devised for the needs of this new
  society.
• Subjects studied
• Poetry, Grammar, Rhetoric, History, Moral
  philosophy (ethics)
• Languages Latin and Greek
• Who were leaders in literary humanism?
• Petrarch, Dante, Boccaccio

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Literary humanists

• Petrarch Dante
  Boccaccio

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Key literary humanists

• Dante (1265 1321) -
• Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso)
  describing men and institutions of his time and
  passing political and moral judgements, pointing
  the way to a truly Christian society.
• Petrarch (1304 74) -
• Found copies of works by Cicero and Livy
• Consummate operator who kept out of politics when
  political life was very unstable yet formed close
  associations with all political leaders
• Saw Italy as a whole, not actually a collection
  of city-states
• Man of letters with no commitment to place or
  cause
• Believed in the idea of loyalty to yourself, but
  also believed in the public dimension of what the
  individual owes to society
• Was always concerned about his interest with
  pagan antiquity and whether he was a good enough
  Christian
• Boccaccio (1313 75) -
• Wrote the Decameron collection of stories about
  people in a country house expecting to die from
  the plague (eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow
  we die)
• Wrote a commentary on the Inferno and biography
  of Dante
• Drew attention to the writings of Tacitus

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The needs of governmentCivic Humanism

• When is Civic Humanism?
• c. 1370 1450
• What is its role in society?
• Political emphasis
• Education international trade required better
  business practices, better negotiation skills
  (rhetoric/persuasion),
• Models for communes and republics how to
  govern?
• break down of the feudal system, expelling of
  aristocracy
• new ruling middle class had no knowledge of
  self-government
• Ancient Rome last working Republic
• Civic pride and patriotism sense of belonging
  in a changing world, unity, belief that your city
  was the most culturally advanced, wealthiest and
  best governed.

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Civic humanists

• Salutati Bruni

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Key civic humanists

• Salutati (1331 1406) -
• Chancellor of Florence (1376 1406)
• Strong supporter of the republic
• Saw a political purpose in history writing,
  observing that a knowledge of the past inspired
  princes and taught all men how to act in the
  present
• (Hole, Renaissance Italy)
• Bruni (1370 1444)
• Chancellor of Florence (1427 - )
• Fervent Republican and patriot
• Wrote Panegyric to the City of Florence, a
  History of the Florentine People, and many other
  works
• Wrote the careful study of the past enlarges our
  foresight in contemporary affairs and affords to
  citizens and monarchs lessons of incitement or
  warning in the ordering of public policy. From
  history we draw our share of examples of moral
  precepts.
• De Studias et Literati, c. 1405

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The development of Neo-Platonic Humanism

• When is Neo-Platonic humanism?
• c.1450 1530
• Why the change from civic humanism?
• Related to changes in the political structures
  (from increased importance of patrician hegemony
  since its increasing dominance between 1380 and
  1434)
• Medicean regime (initiated by Cosimo in 1434)
  consolidating its hold on Florentine politics
• Medicean hold non-elective
• Contrary to concepts of civic humanism of
  republicanism and democracy
• Rise of princely family dominance (ie Medici)
• No further need to learn how to govern/be a
  republic (role of civic humanism and study of
  ancient Romans such as Cicero)
• Predominant emphases?
• Greek philosophical sources predominate (ie
  Plato)
• More aesthetic
• Identity of man self control and how to be a
  better Christian
• Not ideologically political

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Neo-Platonic Humanists

• Ficino della Chrysoloras
• Mirandola

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Key Neo-Platonic humanists

• Chrysoloras (not strictly a Neo-Platonist, but
  not a civic humanist either)
• Pre-eminent scholar of Greek philosophy and
  learning
• Invited to Florence from Constantinople by
  Salutati to train humanists (the study of Greek
  is original, therefore promotes Florence as
  advanced culturally)
• Ficino
• Set up the Platonic Academy under the directive
  from Cosimo de Medici (1462)
• Translated all known works of Plato for Cosimo
  de Medici (finally published 1484)
• Wrote On the Soul of Man and many other works
• Pico della Mirandola
• Published 900 theses at the age of 23
• Precocious genius
• Some of his ideas were considered by the Church
  to be heretical, but according to Hole managed
  to stay on the right side of the Church

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Common characteristics of the forms of humanism

• Time
• ideas are contemporaneous
• Belief in antiquity
• Nature of elite
• Active and reflective go together
• Only through reflection can you act virtuously
  and respectfully
• By mastering classical culture you can do
  anything (adaptable)
• Look more critically at sources
• Interchange of ideas
• Universality of ideas
• Education in some sense becomes pan-elite (elite
  circle is expanded anyone can join)
• Relationship of things and ideas

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Influences of Humanism in Art

• Rise of the new mercantile men
• new views and interests
• The desire for realism and naturalism
• beauty
• This led to a mix of old and new genres of art
• Religious art (traditional)
• Portraiture
• Narrative (both religious and political)
• Mythological
• Landscape
• And new styles and methods
• Proportion
• Perspective
• Harmony/balance
• Naturalism/realism
• Use of space

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Art and HumanismReligion

• Giotto
• Madonna and child
• 1326 il Bronzino, Eleanor of Toledo and
  her son Giovanni
  dei Medici 1545

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Art and HumanismPortraiture

• Domenico Ghirlandaio,
• Giovanna Tornabuoni, 1493

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Art and HumanismPortraiture

• Raphael,
• School of Athens, 1510-11

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Art and HumanismLandscape (naturalism)

• Giorgione
• Sleeping Venus, 1510
• Giorgione
• Tempest, 1505

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Art and HumanismMythology

• Sandro Botticelli
• Primavera, 1477-78

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Art and HumanismSculpture

• Michelangelo
• David, 1501-4
• Michelangelo,
• Pieta, 1501

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Art and HumanismPolitical narrative

• Gozzoli,
• Procession of the Magi, 1459-60

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Conclusion

• Da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1498