24/7 Customer support here

 Italian Renaissance from the Perspective of Art and Reason

   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 nave, flat church paintings and with reason a new intellectual and innovative approach to art was explored.

   Although the renaissance symbolized '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'.

   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. Direct observation and study of the natural world were also encouraged as opposed to the conceptual art of the middle ages. Iconography drew on classical sources as well as biblical. Ancient ruins of buildings and art works inspired new artistic techniques and ambitious architectural projects, such as the florentine Duomo.  However, Plato's philosophy meets a contradiction with art. According to Plato art was of lesser importance as it was a copy form a copy and therefore below humanitas. The renaissance reasoned nevertheless against Plato's view since they argued that through art one could achieve the concept of ideal beauty and if the artist had reflected intelligently on the subject then surely it was just a form of interpretation of the 'higher reality'. The Italian's were also encouraged by the ancient Egyptian use of Art to express their wisdom. According to Plotinus the Egyptians 'carved one picture for each thing in their temples thus each picture was a kind of understanding and wisdom and substance, given all at once, and not discursive reasoning and deliberation'. Therefore, Plotinus valued the Egyptian depictions of art almost above reason.

   In spite of this, Plato's ideas concerning art inspired a competition known as paragone amongst artists whether painting or sculpture were superior since reason would imply sculpture is superior given that it is closer to an ideal in its three-dimensionality form. Painters' responded by including sculptures within a painting attempting to show their intellectual superiority by including both at the same time orabstracting a sculpture. This  can be seen in Titian's La Schiavona (c. 1510). Since reason is personal thought, definitions vary, for example Descartes attempted to link faith and reason claiming he had proof of God's existence. His reasoning for God's existence is explained in his meditations, which claim a subject will find God when they reach self-actualization. Leibniz defined three functions of reason: to comprehend, to prove and to answer doubt.  Marsilio Ficino, an influential Florentine Philosopher of the Medici camp, defined reason as an abstract notion. 'The nether parts of our soul link us with the world of the body and its senses; the exalted region of the mind partakes of the Divine; and human reason, which is man's own prerogative, stands in between.'[2] Yet reason takes many forms and according to Montaigne, 'Reason hath so many shapes that we know not which to take hold of.'[3] Plato valued reason highly and believed it was the highest mode of knowledge available to man, thus coming above experience from our senses since this is just opinion.  Central to Italian renaissance 'reason' was the encouragement of individual intellectual thought. However, reason implies personal interpretation since its foundations lie in personal thought. Reason states that in order to uncover the truth one must question everything, (apart from one's existence since one's existence is through one's thought). Therefore, Reason highlights the potential ambiguity of religion through evidence of science, hence the establishment of tension between faith and reason. Religion took a back seat against a backdrop of reason, which created thoughts of practicality. Thus, Art was allowed to explore new iconographies without being criticized for impiety.

   The inclusion of moral philosophy or 'reason' and rhetoric & poetry, referred together as the 'Liberal Arts', to the Florentine Stadium proved the importance of reason. Bruni stated that 'The liberal arts owe their name to the fact that they liberate man and make him master of himself in a free world of free spirit.'[4] Therefore, liberating the Art of Italian renaissance.

1 2

BACK TO ART