Humanism and it's Effects on Art in the Middle Ages and Art in the Renaissance
Art in the Middle AgesIn the Middle Ages, art, and just about everything else was influenced by religion. Paintings often included saints or angels with bright golden halos. Backgrounds in paintings were often times church scenes, or heaven. Jesus Christ and God were displayed in many paintings. Middle Ages art was also sad and dreary to emphasize the fact that life was unpleasant and there wasn’t really anything to live for. People thought you couldn’t have a fun life and please god at the same time. Therefore, painting in your free time was discouraged, and you could have gotten a serious punishment if you did it. Because of that, artists didn’t sign their names on paintings. As a result, we don’t know the artist of many paintings from the Middle Ages. During this period of time, everything was based on religion; even art. Paintings were sad, religious, and also anonymous. Later, in the Renaissance, the opposite happened.
|
HumanismHumanism is the idea that humans can, and should, achieve all that they possibly can in life. This philosophy started during the renaissance. People who survived the Middle Ages and the many years of plague and war wanted a way to celebrate life. Slowly, the beginning of a new period of time called the Renaissance brought new attitudes to Europe. This was the start of humanism. In the Renaissance, humanism was very popular, but people didn’t entirely forget about religion. Secular humanism is a modern-day non-religious form of humanism, so it doesn’t have anything to do with god. It is very common today. Humanists focus on human interests, values, and achievements. They stress the importance of the individual. They study things like literature, history, anatomy, the universe, math and grammar. Humanists want to achieve all they can in life, and they think people can still be faithful to god and enjoy life at the same time.
|
Art in the RenaissanceIn the renaissance people became less concerned about religion and more interested in themselves, art, poetry, literature, etc. This was an outcome of humanism. Art in the Renaissance was greatly impacted by humanism. Artists began to sign their work, ordinary people in paintings became the same size as a saint, and holy figures’ halos became fainter over time. The landscape in paintings was no longer heaven or church; it was natural settings on the Earth, such as a garden. Art in the renaissance looked very realistic because artist used perspective in their work. Artist also gave the impression that you were staring through a window frame instead of just a picture frame. Although humanism inspired artist to create art that did not pertain to Christianity, many artist still made religious artwork, such as Michelangelo's mural in the Sistine Chapel. Humanism says religion should not be so significant in peoples lives - it still believes that people should practice a religion - but not to such an extent that your life becomes miserable. As a result, Renaissance art was very bright and happy, unlike dark, dreary art from the Middle Ages.
|
"Art is never finished, only abandoned.” Leonardo Da Vinci
Differences in Middle Ages Art and Renaissance ArtThe picture on the left is from the Middle Ages, and the picture on the right is from the Renaissance. People in the scene on the right have big bright halos and are surrounding a cross. On the other hand, people on the picture in the left have very faint halos. The baby is still holding a cross but it is much smaller. Notice how one painting looks like you're looking through a window and the other looks like you're looking through a picture frame. |
Agony in the Garden depicts the 12 apostles and Jesus Christ. You can only see 11 because one apostle abandoned the others. They are about to see the death of Jesus. In the Middle Ages, art showing church scenes was very popular. On the other hand, artists in the Renaissance painted a wide variety of things, and focused on everyday life. Boy with Basket of Fruit shows a closeup of a boy holding a basket of fruit. This is a great example of the types of things that were painted in the Renaissance.
|
Another difference in art was size. Even though it's hard to see, the angel on the left is holding a scale with humans. (Click on the picture to see it clearer). In the Middle Ages, angels, saints and religious figures were much bigger than regular humans. Then, in the Renaissance, all creatures became the same size. Most times, paintings didn't include religious figures at the end of the renaissance. As you can see, on the picture on the right, everyone is the same size.
|
Another painting showing the differences between art is these two. In the Middle Ages, art was usually about religion. In the Renaissance, art had a wide range of topics. A picture of Vitaliano on the left shows Middle Ages art. Notice how the picture is of an important religious figure whereas the painting on the left shows boats on a river. Also, the background is a river which is an example of nature. Renaissance art depicted many different things, but Middle Ages art was solely focused on religion.
|
How is Art in the Middle Ages different from Art in the Renaissance?
Art in the Middle Ages was different than art in the Renaissance because in the Middle Ages, people did not care about anything other than the church, so the painting that were made were greatly influenced by the church. Artist would draw saints with halos over their heads, and make them giant compared to common people. The landscape was always either heaven or the church. Artist rarely signed their work because it was considered unimportant to be an artist. In the Renaissance, people became more interested in themselves/their surroundings. Their world did not revolve around religion anymore, and Renaissance art clearly portrays that. Unlike medieval art, saints no longer stood out from the rest of the picture because they became the same size as ordinary people, and their halos grew fainter over time. Landscapes became more of Earth, such as a town or garden, instead of divine places like heaven. Renaissance art also looked a lot more realistic than Middle Ages art because artists used mathematical perspective to make their paintings look three-dimensional, and to represent space in the painting. However, medieval art looked the opposite of this because artists made their art look two-dimensional. Renaissance art liked to give the impression that the picture frame that was on the painting was a window frame, so it seemed like you were looking through a window. There was also a difference in the paint that was used; Middle Ages painters used egg tempera which created a flat, rough surface, and Renaissance painters used oil paints that gave the picture a translucent look. Changes occurred quite drastically in the time between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance due to humanism, so art was very different.
How does Humanism Affect us Today?
Humanism is still existent today. In the Renaissance, when people studied humanism, they didn't entirely forget about religion. However, today, there is a new form of humanism called secular humanism. People who study secular humanism believe that they can be happy without god. They still want to achieve all they can in life just like renaissance humanists. Unlike Renaissance humanists though, they focus on man alone. Also, without humanism, we would probably not have the I-phone, I-pod, or I-pad today. Humanism helped us think about man, not god. Therefore, we have invented new things to help us live a happier life, like video games, makeup, TV's, and more. Without humanism, we would not be as an advanced of a civilization as we are today. In fact if humanism wasn't invented, you probably wouldn't even be reading this right now on a computer! So, humanism is an extremely important part of our lives. It stresses the fact that religion is important, but it shouldn't be all you focus on.