The+Italian+Renaissance+(582-585)

= = =**The Italian Renaissance (582-585)**= Recovery in Western Europe: The Renaissance

Renaissance – French word meaning “rebirth.” 14th to 16th century period of artistic and intellectual creativity. Renaissance artists and thinkers looked to Greek and Roman minds instead of medieval ones.

Italian Renaissance Art included painters like Masaccio (1401 – 1428) and Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) and sculptors like Donarello (1386 – 1466) and Michaelangelo Buonarotti (1475 – 1564) sought to depict real natural human emotions and poses through emotion and actual muscle positions. Linear perspective was developed, and the first three dimensional life like poses were put on two dimensional mediums. Renaissance architecture used a simple, elegant style similar to Greek and Roman styles, and Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 – 1446) reintroduced the dome as a popular style, inspired by the Roman temple, the Pantheon (built 2nd century). He built the Florence cathedral using this reinvented technique, became a symbol of the city's prosperity.

Humanist – scholars interested in humanities (literature, history, and moral philosophy). Many Renaissance humanists, including Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466 – 1536), worked to translate important Christian texts. Humanists preferred the elegant language of the Greeks, Romans, and early church fathers so they traveled throughout Europe searching for classical works, and soon found Latin writings as well. Some, such as Petrarch, searched Europe for old Latin writings, and became acquainted with Byzanitne and Islamic scholars. Humanists drew inspiration from Cicero’s belief, that one could live a religious and virtuous life while still being active in society – reconciled religion with increasingly commercial Renaissance society. Europe experienced prosperity as trade connected them with the rest of the hemisphere and wealthy patrons commissioned paintings of exotic creatures etc. Italian Humanist Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463 – 1494) wrote Oration on the Dignity of Man, a work harmonizing the teachings of Plato, Aristotle, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, and various other spiritual traditions, demonstrating the desire of many European scholars to understand the larger world beyond Christianity's influence. (NB) [Additions, DN] [Photos-TS] [Additions, HD]