Artistic culture of the Renaissance in Italy. Italian Renaissance. Italian Renaissance Art

The Renaissance replaced the European culture of the Middle Ages. This phenomenon originates in Italy, and it was here that its first signs were noticed. The Italian Renaissance took place from the 13th to the second half of the 17th centuries. It is based on the principle of humanism, that is, the affirmation of human dignity and beauty. At this time, a secular culture began to form, liberation from church scholasticism and religious dogma occurred. Culture becomes anthropocentric. The term "Renaissance" was introduced. He characterized this time as a period of revival of antiquity. Otherwise, the era is called the Renaissance.

The Renaissance was accompanied by some contradictions, this is due to the fact that its peak occurred during wars, and after they ended, values ​​changed dramatically. The priority became not moral, but material, the development of philistinism took place, and the influence of the church increased.

Literature

Dante Alighieri is considered to be the founder of the Renaissance in Italy; it was he who managed to reveal this period in the literary work “The Divine Comedy”. The works of Renaissance authors expressed humanistic ideals and glorified the freedom of individual creativity. Petrarch revealed man in all his emotional diversity. It is impossible not to mention the short stories of Boccaccio, the treatises of Machiavelli, the poems of Ariosto and Tasso. Literature was based on the traditions of antiquity and folk poetry. It combined rationality and poetic fantasy. Comic genres became increasingly popular. It was during this period that such world-famous works as “The Decameron” and “Don Quixote” were written.

Architecture

The Italian Renaissance in architecture for a long time followed medieval traditions, this was expressed in the use of Gothic elements. Italian Gothic was significantly different from the Gothic of other European countries. The buildings had large, calm forms, wide walls with horizontal divisions. One of the most famous churches of that time is the Church of Santa Croce, its construction began by Arnolfo di Cambio in the 13th century. Diamond rustication finishing, wooden ceilings, unity of internal space - all these are the distinctive features of the temple.

Sculpture

The art of the Renaissance is characterized not only by the introduction of innovations in architecture, but also by changes in sculpture, which at this time was flourishing. Government and merchant orders are becoming increasingly popular. The most famous sculptors of that time were Lorenzo Ghiberti, Luca della Robbia and others. Robbia, for example, became famous for the fact that he began to use the glaze technique in sculpture and relief. He created majolica busts of saints, the Madonna and Christ. The art of this sculptor deservedly received recognition from his contemporaries.

Painting

The Italian Renaissance cannot be imagined without painting. It was made using fresco technique. Plaster artists painted with paints on water. In the middle of the 15th century, cardboard drawings made on paper or fabric became widespread. In Venice, buildings were decorated not with frescoes, but with picturesque drawings made in oil paint. Also, the Italian Renaissance gave the world such as engraving. They also did it in wood. It is also worth noting that Renaissance artists paid attention to landscape, human anatomy, and light. The landscape becomes not just a background, but an element of the plot in the picture.

The great masters of the era in the art of the Renaissance include Brunelleschi, Verrocchio, Mantegna, Donatello, Masaccio, Botticelli and others. Giotto is considered to be the first artist to depict three-dimensionality.

Philosophers of this era include Nicolaus Copernicus, Jean Bodin, Nikolas Cusanus,

F. Lippe Madonna

The early 15th century saw huge changes in life and culture in Italy. The townspeople, merchants and artisans of Italy have waged a heroic struggle against feudal dependence since the 12th century. By developing trade and production, the townspeople gradually became richer, overthrew the power of the feudal lords and organized free city-states. These free Italian cities became very powerful. Their citizens were proud of their conquests. The enormous wealth of independent Italian cities was the reason for their vibrant prosperity. The Italian bourgeoisie looked at the world with different eyes, they firmly believed in themselves, in their strength. They were alien to the desire for suffering, humility, and the renunciation of all earthly joys that had been preached to them until now. Respect for earthly man who enjoys the joys of life grew. People began to take an active approach to life, eagerly study the world, and admire its beauty. During this period, various sciences were born and art developed.

In Italy, many monuments of the art of Ancient Rome have been preserved, so the ancient era again began to be revered as a model, ancient art became an object of worship. Imitation of antiquity gave rise to calling this period in art the Renaissance, which translated from French means “Renaissance.” Of course, this was not a blind, exact repetition of ancient art, it was already new art, but based on ancient examples. The Italian Renaissance is divided into 3 stages: VIII - XIV centuries - Pre-Renaissance (Proto-Renaissance or Trecento - from It.); XV century - early Renaissance (Quattrocento); end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century - High Renaissance.

Archaeological excavations were carried out throughout Italy, looking for ancient monuments. Newly discovered statues, coins, dishes, and weapons were carefully preserved and collected in museums specially created for this purpose. Artists learned from these examples of antiquity and painted them from life.

Flight into Egypt (Giotto)

Trecento (Pre-Renaissance)

The true beginning of the Renaissance is associated with the name Giotto di Bondone(1266? - 1337). He is considered the founder of Renaissance painting. The Florentine Giotto has great services to the history of art. He was a renovator, the ancestor of all European painting after the Middle Ages. Giotto breathed life into the gospel scenes, created images of real people, spiritualized but earthly.

Return of Joachim to the Shepherds (Giotto)

Giotto first creates volumes using chiaroscuro. He loves clean, light colors in cool shades: pink, pearl gray, pale purple and light lilac. The people in Giotto's frescoes are stocky and walk heavily. They have large facial features, wide cheekbones, narrow eyes. His person is kind, attentive, and serious.

Fresco by Giotto in the Temple of Padua

Of Giotto's works, the frescoes in the temples of Padua are the best preserved. He presented the Gospel stories here as existing, earthly, real. In these works, he talks about problems that concern people at all times: about kindness and mutual understanding, deceit and betrayal, about depth, sorrow, meekness, humility and the eternal all-consuming maternal love.

Fresco by Giotto

Instead of disparate individual figures, as in medieval painting, Giotto was able to create a coherent story, a whole narrative about the complex inner life of the heroes. Instead of the conventional golden background of Byzantine mosaics, Giotto introduces a landscape background. And if in Byzantine painting the figures seemed to float and hang in space, then the heroes of Giotto’s frescoes found solid ground under their feet. Giotto's quest to convey space, the plasticity of figures, and the expressiveness of movement made his art a whole stage in the Renaissance.

Fresco by S. Martini

One of the famous masters of the Pre-Renaissance is Simone Martini (1284 - 1344).

His paintings retained the features of Northern Gothic: Martini's figures are elongated, and, as a rule, on a golden background. But Martini creates images using chiaroscuro, gives them natural movement, and tries to convey a certain psychological state.

Fragment of a fresco. Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 - 1494)

Quattrocento (early Renaissance)

Antiquity played a huge role in the formation of the secular culture of the early Renaissance. The Platonic Academy opens in Florence, the Laurentian Library contains a rich collection of ancient manuscripts. The first art museums appeared, filled with statues, fragments of ancient architecture, marbles, coins, and ceramics.

During the Renaissance, the main centers of artistic life in Italy emerged - Florence, Rome, Venice. Florence was one of the largest centers, the birthplace of new, realistic art. In the 15th century, many famous Renaissance masters lived, studied and worked there.

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence Cathedral)

Early Renaissance architecture

Residents of Florence had a high artistic culture, they actively participated in the creation of city monuments, and discussed options for the construction of beautiful buildings. Architects abandoned everything that resembled Gothic. Under the influence of antiquity, buildings topped with a dome began to be considered the most perfect. The model here was the Roman Pantheon.

Florence is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, a city-museum. It has preserved its architecture from antiquity almost intact, its most beautiful buildings being mainly built during the Renaissance. Rising above the red brick roofs of Florence's ancient buildings is the huge building of the city's Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, which is often simply called the Florence Cathedral. Its height reaches 107 meters. A magnificent dome, the slenderness of which is emphasized by white stone ribs, crowns the cathedral. The dome is amazing in size (its diameter is 43 m), it crowns the entire panorama of the city. The cathedral is visible from almost every street in Florence, clearly silhouetted against the sky. This magnificent structure was built by the architect Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 - 1446).

St. Peter's Basilica (architects Brunelleschi and Bramante)

The most magnificent and famous domed building of the Renaissance was St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It took more than 100 years to build. The creators of the original project were architects Bramante and Michelangelo.

Renaissance buildings are decorated with columns, pilasters, lion heads and “putti” (naked babies), plaster wreaths of flowers and fruits, leaves and many details, examples of which were found in the ruins of ancient Roman buildings. The semicircular arch has come back into fashion. Wealthy people began to build more beautiful and more comfortable houses. Instead of houses closely pressed together, luxurious palaces - palazzos - appeared.

David (sk. Donatello)

Early Renaissance sculpture

In the 15th century in Florence they created two famous sculptors - Donatello and Verrocchio. Donatello (1386? - 1466)- one of the first sculptors in Italy who used the experience of ancient art. He created one of the beautiful works of the early Renaissance - the statue of David.

According to the biblical legend, a simple shepherd, the young man David defeated the giant Goliath, and thereby saved the inhabitants of Judea from enslavement and later became king. David was one of the favorite images of the Renaissance. He is depicted by the sculptor not as a humble saint from the Bible, but as a young hero, winner, defender of his hometown. In his sculpture, Donatello glorifies man as the ideal of a beautiful heroic personality that arose during the Renaissance. David is crowned with the laurel wreath of the winner. Donatello was not afraid to introduce such a detail as a shepherd's hat - a sign of his simple origin. In the Middle Ages, the church forbade depicting the naked body, considering it a vessel of evil. Donatello was the first master to bravely violate this prohibition. He asserts by this that the human body is beautiful. The statue of David is the first round sculpture of that era.

Statue of the commander Gattamelata (Sc. Donatello)

Another beautiful sculpture by Donatello is also known - the statue of the warrior, commander Gattamelata. It was the first equestrian monument of the Renaissance. Created 500 years ago, this monument still stands on a high pedestal, decorating a square in the city of Padua. For the first time, not a god, not a saint, not a noble and rich person was immortalized in sculpture, but a noble, brave and formidable warrior with a great soul, who earned fame through great deeds. Dressed in antique armor, Gattemelata (this is his nickname, meaning “spotted cat”) sits on a powerful horse in a calm, majestic pose. The warrior’s facial features emphasize a decisive, firm character.

Equestrian monument to the condottiere Colleoni (Verocchio)

Andrea Verrocchio (1436 -1488)

The most famous student of Donatello, who created the famous equestrian monument to the condottiere Colleoni, which was erected in Venice in the square near the Church of San Giovanni. The main thing that is striking about the monument is the joint energetic movement of horse and rider. The horse seems to rush beyond the marble pedestal on which the monument is installed.

Colleoni, standing up in his stirrups, stretched out, holding his head high, peers into the distance. A grimace of anger and tension was frozen on his face. There is a sense of great will in his posture, his face resembles a bird of prey. The image is filled with indestructible strength, energy, and stern authority.

Fresco by Masaccio

Early Renaissance painting

The Renaissance also renewed the art of painting. Painters have learned to accurately convey space, light and shadow, natural poses, and various human feelings. It was the early Renaissance that was the time of accumulation of this knowledge and skills. The paintings of that time are imbued with a bright and upbeat mood. The background is often painted in light colors, and buildings and natural motifs are outlined with sharp lines, pure colors predominate. All the details of the event are depicted with naive diligence; the characters are most often lined up and separated from the background by clear contours.

The painting of the early Renaissance only strived for perfection, however, thanks to its sincerity, it touches the soul of the viewer.

Tommaso di Giovanni di Simone Cassai Guidi, Known as Masaccio (1401 - 1428)

He is considered a follower of Giotto and the first master of painting of the early Renaissance. Masaccio lived only 28 years, but during his short life he left a mark on art that is difficult to overestimate. He managed to complete the revolutionary transformations begun by Giotto in painting. His paintings are distinguished by dark and deep colors. The people in Masaccio's frescoes are much denser and more powerful than in the paintings of the Gothic era.

Fresco by Masaccio

Masaccio was the first to correctly arrange objects in space, taking into account the perspective; He began to depict people according to the laws of anatomy.

He knew how to connect figures and landscape into a single action, dramatically and at the same time quite naturally conveying the life of nature and people - and this is the great merit of the painter.

Adoration of the Magi (Masaccio)

Madonna and Child with Four Angels (Masaccio)

This is one of the few easel works by Masaccio, commissioned from him in 1426 for the chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Pisa.

The Madonna sits on a throne built strictly according to Giotto's laws of perspective. Her figure is painted with confident and clear strokes, which creates the impression of sculptural volume. Her face is calm and sad, her detached gaze is directed into nowhere. Wrapped in a dark blue cloak, the Virgin Mary holds in her arms the Child, whose golden figure stands out sharply against a dark background. The deep folds of the cloak allow the artist to play with chiaroscuro, which also creates a special visual effect. The baby eats black grapes - a symbol of communion. Flawlessly drawn angels (the artist knew human anatomy very well) surrounding the Madonna give the picture an additional emotional resonance.

Masaccio.Fresco from the library of the Cathedral in Siena, dedicated to the biography of the humanist and poet Enea Silvio Piccolomini (1405-1464)

Here is the solemn departure of Cardinal Capranica for the Council of Basel, which lasted almost 18 years, from 1431 to 1449, first in Basel and then in Lausanne. The young Piccolomini was also in the cardinal's retinue.

A group of horsemen accompanied by pages and servants is presented in an elegant frame of a semicircular arch. The event is not so real and reliable as it is chivalrously refined, almost fantastic.

In the foreground, a handsome rider on a white horse, in a luxurious dress and hat, turns his head and looks at the viewer - this is Aeneas Silvio. The artist takes pleasure in painting rich clothes and beautiful horses in velvet blankets. The elongated proportions of the figures, slightly mannered movements, slight tilts of the head are close to the court ideal.

The life of Pope Pius II was full of bright events, and Pinturicchio spoke about the meetings of the pope with the King of Scotland, with Emperor Frederick III.

Saints Jerome and John the Baptist (Masaccio)

The only panel painted by Masaccio for a double-sided triptych. After the early death of the painter, the rest of the work, commissioned by Pope Martin V for the Church of Santa Maria in Rome, was completed by the artist Masolino.

Here are depicted two austere, monumentally executed figures of saints, dressed all in red. Jerome holds an open book and a model of the basilica, with a lion lying at his feet. John the Baptist is depicted in his usual form: he is barefoot and holds a cross in his hand. Both figures amaze with their anatomical precision and almost sculptural sense of volume.

Portrait of a Boy (1480) (Pinturicchio)

Interest in man and admiration for his beauty were so great during the Renaissance that this led to the emergence a new genre in painting - the portrait genre.

Pinturicchio (version of Pinturicchio) (1454 - 1513) (Bernardino di Betto di Biagio)

Native of Perugia in Italy. For some time he painted miniatures and helped Pietro Perugino decorate the Sistine Chapel in Rome with frescoes. Gained experience in the most complex form of decorative and monumental wall painting. Within a few years, Pinturicchio became an independent muralist. He worked on frescoes in the Borgia apartments in the Vatican. He did wall paintings in the library of the Cathedral in Siena.

The artist not only conveys portrait likeness, but strives to reveal the inner state of a person. Before us is a teenage boy, dressed in a formal pink city dweller’s dress, with a small blue cap on his head. Brown hair goes down to the shoulders, framing a gentle face, the attentive gaze of brown eyes is thoughtful, a little anxious.

Behind the boy is an Umbrian landscape with thin trees, a silvery river, and a pinkish sky on the horizon. The spring tenderness of nature, as an echo of the character of the hero, is in harmony with the poetry and charm of the hero.

The image of the boy is given in the foreground, large and occupies almost the entire plane of the picture, and the landscape is painted in the background and very small.

This creates the impression of the importance of man, his dominance over the surrounding nature, and affirms that man is the most beautiful creation on earth.

Madonna and Child with Two Angels (F. Lippi)

Filippo Lippi (1406 - 1469)

Legends arose about Lippi's life. He himself was a monk, but left the monastery, became a wandering artist, kidnapped a nun from the monastery and died, poisoned by the relatives of a young woman with whom he fell in love in old age. He painted images of the Madonna and Child, filled with living human feelings and experiences. In his paintings he depicted many details: everyday objects, surroundings, so his religious subjects were similar to secular paintings.

Annunciation (1443) (F. Lippi)

Coronation of Mary (1441-1447) (F. Lippi)

Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni (1488) (Ghirlandaio)

He painted not only religious subjects, but also scenes from the life of the Florentine nobility, their wealth and luxury, and portraits of noble people.

Before us is the wife of a rich Florentine, a friend of the artist. In this not very beautiful, luxuriously dressed young woman, the artist expressed calm, a moment of stillness and silence. The expression on the woman’s face is cold, indifferent to everything, it seems that she foresees her imminent death: soon after painting the portrait she will die. The woman is depicted in profile, which is typical for many portraits of that time.

Epiphany (1458-1460) (P.della Francesca)

Piero della Francesca (1415/1416 - 1492)

One of the most significant names in Italian painting of the 15th century. He completed numerous transformations in the methods of constructing the perspective of pictorial space.

The painting was painted on a poplar board with egg tempera - obviously, by this time the artist had not yet mastered the secrets of oil painting, the technique in which his later works would be painted.

The artist captured the appearance of the mystery of the Holy Trinity at the moment of the Baptism of Christ. The white dove spreading its wings over the head of Christ symbolizes the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the Savior. The figures of Christ, John the Baptist and the angels standing next to them are painted in restrained colors.

Fresco della Francesca

His frescoes are solemn, sublime and majestic. Francesca believed in the high destiny of man and in his works people always do wonderful things. He used subtle, gentle transitions of colors. Francesca was the first to paint en plein air (in the open air).

Dead Christ (Mantegna)

Andrea Mantegna (1431 - 1506)

A major artist from Padua. He admired the harsh grandeur of the works of ancient artists. His images are reminiscent of Greek sculptures - strict and beautiful. In his frescoes, Mantegna glorified the heroic personality. Nature in his paintings is deserted and inhospitable.

Mantegna. Madonna and Child, John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene (1500)

The Madonna sits on a scarlet chair under a canopy and holds the naked Child Christ in her arms. There is nothing regal in the appearance of the Virgin Mary; rather, it is the image of a young peasant woman. The naked body of the Child seems surprisingly alive. On either side of the Madonna are John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene. In the hands of Magdalene is a vessel with incense for anointing; in the hands of John, a ribbon with text about a lamb atonement for the sins of the world is wrapped around the cross. The figures are drawn in the usual manner for the artist and appear to be carved from stone, every fold of their clothing is sharply defined. The background is an image of a garden with dark foliage. In its tone, this greenery contrasts with the soft green, light sky. The work evokes a feeling of deep sadness and a certain doom.

Parnassus (Mantegna)

Prayer for the Cup (Mantegna)

This small painting depicts the moment when, after the Last Supper, Jesus retires with Saint Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to the Garden of Gethsemane, where, leaving the apostles accompanying him, he goes to pray, turning to God the Father: “My Father! If it is possible, let the cup pass from Me this."

The kneeling figure of Christ in a prayerful pose is the compositional center of the picture. His gaze is turned to the sky, where a group of angels is visible on a cloud. At the foot of the mountain the apostles accompanying Christ sleep.

Along the road leading to the garden, precisely illustrating the words of the Gospel: “Behold, he who betrayed Me has drawn near,” a group of guards is visible, led by Judas.

There is a lot of symbolism in the picture: a dry tree with a vulture foreshadows death, and a branch with a green shoot indicates an imminent resurrection; humble rabbits sitting on the road along which a detachment of Roman soldiers will pass to take Christ into custody speak of the meekness of man in the face of inevitable death. Three stumps left from freshly cut down trees are reminiscent of the impending crucifixion.

Sacred Conversation (Bellini)

Giovanni Bellini (1427/1430 - 1516)

The Bellini brothers showed themselves clearly in the early Renaissance. Especially famous is Giovanni Bellini, who was often called Gianbellino. He grew up in the family of a major Venetian painter. Together with my brother, from my youth I helped my father carry out artistic orders. Worked on decorating the Venetian Doge's Palace.

His paintings are distinguished by their soft picturesqueness and rich golden coloring. Gianbellino's Madonnas seem to dissolve in the landscape, always organic with it.

Madonna of the Meadow (1500-1505) Bellini.

In the center of the picture is the image of a young Mary sitting in a meadow, on whose lap is a sleeping naked baby. Her thoughtful face is lovely, her hands folded in a prayer gesture are beautiful. The figurine of the divine baby seems to be a sculpture, this indicates a close acquaintance with the work of Mantegna. However, the softness of the chiaroscuro and the overall richness of the color scheme indicate that Bellini found his way in painting.

There is a beautiful landscape in the background. The painting was painted in mixed media, which allowed the artist to make the contours softer and the colors more saturated.

Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan. Bellini

This portrait was commissioned by Bellini as an artist of the Venetian Republic. The Doge is depicted here almost frontally - contrary to the then existing tradition of depicting faces in profile, including on medals and coins.

Clear chiaroscuro perfectly depicts the high cheekbones, nose and stubborn chin of the intelligent and strong-willed face of an elderly man. A white, gold and silver brocade mantle stands out in contrast against a bright blue-green background. The Doge wore it on the feast of the Presentation - the day when he became engaged to the sea, taking power over Venice for a year. Working in oils helped the artist fill the space of the painting with air and thereby make the image of the Doge surprisingly alive.

One of the first buildings of the Renaissance is the Dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence (1420-1436). Architect Brunelleschi Phillipi (1377-1446)

The 15th and 16th centuries, thanks to geographical discoveries, became a turning point in the history of European civilization. World trade grew, crafts developed, the urban population increased, and construction volumes increased. Science, literature, and art developed. Italian Renaissance architecture was also driven by economic growth, as well as the weakening influence of the church. The name of the style was given by the artist, a researcher of Italian art, who wrote the book “Lives of the most famous painters, sculptors and architects” (1568) by Giordano Vasari. From his point of view, which was supported by the majority of architects of that time, the Middle Ages were a period of decline, characterized by the barbarism of the tribes that destroyed The Roman Empire, and with it ancient art. It was he who wrote about the revival of Italian art, viewing the Middle Ages as a period of ignorance that followed the collapse of ancient art. Later, the term came to be used to designate the era of the emergence of a new style of art that arose in Italy in the 16th century, and then became fashionable in other European countries. The aesthetics of the Renaissance turned man's gaze to nature. The art of Ancient Rome formed the basis of the artistic culture of that period. It should be noted that certain elements of ancient architecture were also used in the Middle Ages. For example, individual fragments of antiquity are found in buildings from the Carolingian Renaissance period; They also exist in the so-called “Ottonian period” at the end of the 10th century. (this was a time of cultural upsurge in Germany under the Ottonian emperors of the Saxon dynasty). Elements of antiquity can also be seen in the Gothic architecture of Germany. Unlike medieval architects, the masters of architecture of the Italian Renaissance tried to reflect in their architecture the very ancient philosophy characteristic of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome: admiration for the beauty of nature and man, a realistic worldview. Renaissance architecture in Italy is characterized by symmetry, proportionality, and strict order systems. Not only churches, but also public buildings are built in this style: educational institutions, town halls, houses of merchant guilds, markets. In the 16th century, new types of urban and country palaces appeared in Italy - palazzo and villa. The composition of customers also changed: in the Middle Ages, the main customers were the church and feudal lords; now orders come from guild associations, guilds, city authorities, and the nobility.

Founder of Italian Renaissance architecture

The architect and sculptor Filippo Brunelleschi is considered the founding father of Renaissance architecture.

The first building of Italian Renaissance architecture was the dome of the Florence Cathedral (1420-1436). In the design of this dome, Brunelleschi embodied new construction ideas that would have been difficult to implement without specially developed mechanisms. During the same period, in 1419-1444, Brunelleschi was engaged in the construction of an educational home for orphans - the “Shelter for the Innocents”.

Orphanage (1419-1444) Architect Brunelleschi

The law of linear perspective means the peculiarity of human perception of distant objects, their proportions and shapes.

It was one of the first buildings in Italy whose design resembled the buildings of antiquity. It is Brunelleschi who is credited with the discovery of the law of linear perspective, the revival of ancient orders in the architecture of the Italian Renaissance. Thanks to his work, proportions again became the basis of new architecture; he was responsible for the revival of the use of the “golden ratio” in architecture, which made it possible to achieve harmony in architectural structures. Thus, Brunelleschi revived ancient traditions in Renaissance architecture in Italy, taking them as a basis when creating a new type of architecture. Brunelleschi's ideas coincided with new directions in the philosophy of society: in this period, medieval prohibitions and contempt for everything earthly were replaced by an interest in reality and man.

The golden ratio is a mathematical concept, in architecture it means the relationship between two quantities (one larger in size, the other smaller) contained in a common value. In this case, the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller corresponds to the ratio of the general quantity to the larger of the two related quantities. Such a ratio was first discovered by Euclid (300 BC). During the Renaissance, the ratio was called the “divine proportion”, the modern name appeared in 1835. The ratio between quantities in the golden ratio is a constant number 1.6180339887.

Periods in Italian Renaissance architecture

There are several stages in the development of the Renaissance in Italian architecture: early - 15th century, mature - 16th century and late. In the early period, elements of Gothic were still present in architecture, combined with ancient forms, and in the mature period, elements of the Gothic style are no longer found, preference is given to architectural orders and proportional forms; in the late period of the Renaissance, the spirit of the new Baroque style is already felt. Early period. The main principle of the Italian Renaissance was the symmetry of the structure in plan, the uniform distribution of architectural elements: portals, columns, doors, windows, sculptural compositions and decor along the perimeter of the facade. Renaissance architecture in Italy in the early period of its development is mainly associated with Florence. It was here that palaces for the nobility, temple buildings, and public buildings were built in the 15th century. In Florence, in 1420, the architect Filippo Brunelleschi began erecting the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore; in 1421, he rebuilt San Lorenzo and worked on the construction of a chapel - the Old Sacristy. In 1444 Brunelleschi completed the construction of the Orphanage. The Pazzi Chapel in Florence, also the work of Brunelleschi, is considered one of the most elegant buildings of the early Renaissance. The chapel is crowned with a dome on a drum; the building is decorated with a Corinthian portico with a wide arch.

The Church of San Lorenzo (Basilica di San Lorenzo) was consecrated by St. Ambrosius in 393. In 1060 it was rebuilt in the Romanesque style. In 1423 it was rebuilt by Brunelleschi in the early Renaissance style.

In 1452, the architect Michelozzi completed the construction of the Medici Palace (Palazzo Medici Riccardi) in Florence. Alberti designs the Rucellai Palace (Palazzo Rucellai, designed in 1446 and 1451), Benedetto de Maiano and Simon Polayola complete the Strozzi Palace (Palazzo Strozzi, 1489-1539).

Michelozzi - (Michelozzo, Michelozzi, 1391 (1396) - 1472) - Florentine architect and sculptor, student of Brunelleschi.

Alberti Leon Battista - (Alberti, 1404-1472), Italian scientist, architect, writer, musician. In his creations he made extensive use of the ancient heritage, using volutes and the order system.

Benedetto da Maiano - real name: Benedetto da Leonardo d'Antonio (Benedetto da Maiano), 1442 - 1497) - Italian sculptor. Simone del Pollaiolo (1457 - 1508) - Florentine architect. High Renaissance.

Medici Palace. Architect Michelozzi. Built for Cosimo de' Medici il Vecchio between 1444 and 1464.

Rucellai Palace - commissioned by philanthropist Giovanni Rucellai. Project by Leon Baptiste Alberti 1446-1451. Erected by Bernardo Rossellino

Strozzi Palace. The building was built by Benedetto de Maiano commissioned by Filippo Strozzi in 1489-1539. The model was the Medici Palace (Palazzo Medici-Riccardi) Michelozzi

These buildings have a general spatial solution scheme. Each of them has three floors and a courtyard with arched galleries. The walls have floor divisions, are rusticated or decorated with an order. The façade is lined with brickwork.

Michelozzi - (Michelozzo, Michelozzi, 1391 (1396) - 1472) - Florentine architect and sculptor, student of Brunelleschi. Alberti Leon Battista - (Alberti, 1404-1472), Italian scientist, architect, writer, musician. In his creations he made extensive use of the ancient heritage, using volutes and the order system. Benedetto da Maiano - real name: Benedetto da Leonardo d'Antonio (Benedetto da Maiano), 1442 - 1497) - Italian sculptor. Simone del Pollaiolo (1457 - 1508) - Florentine architect. High Renaissance.

Italy's trade with the East was interrupted at the end of the 15th century due to the Turkish conquest of Constantinople. As trade died out, the country's economy declined. And it was during this period that High Renaissance architecture began to develop. This style reaches particular heights in Rome, where great architects formed a general approach to the construction of buildings based on the use of architectural orders. High Renaissance architecture is characterized by cubic shapes of houses and an internal closed courtyard. On the facades, relief window frames were made, decorated with half-columns and having triangular and bow pediments. Donato de Angelo Bramante (Bramante, 1444-1514) is one of the most famous masters of Italian High Renaissance architecture. His work was developed in Milan, which was considered a conservative city, where the traditions of brick construction and terracotta decoration were preserved. During the same period, Leonardo da Vinci worked in Milan, and his work undoubtedly influenced the works of Bramante. The architect managed to combine national traditions with elements of the Renaissance. Bramante's first work was in 1479 the restoration of the church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro in Milan.

Church of Santa Maria presso San Satino in Milan (1479-1483) Architect Donato de' Angelo Bramante

He also rebuilt the chapel of San Satino: the architect made a round building from a cruciform structure, decorated with decorative elements. After moving to Rome, Bramante built the Temple of Tempietto (monastery of San Pietro in Mantorio) in 1502, and designed the courtyard of the church of Santa Maria della Paci.

Temple of Tempietto. Architect Bramante

In 1505, Bramante, who held the position of chief architect, began working on the papal palace complex Belvedere, a residence next to the Vatican. His works include the Palazzo Caprini - the House of Raphael - designed around 1510, in 1517 it was purchased by Raphael. The house has not survived to this day.

Palazzo Caprini in an engraving by Antoine Lafrerie. Architect Bramante

Rafael Santi (Raffaello Santi, Raffaello Sanzio, Rafael, Raffael da Urbino, Rafaelo, 1483 -1520) - Italian painter and architect.

In the last years of his life, the architect was designing St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The architectural elements and techniques used by the architect were used by the masters of the Italian Renaissance in the construction of villas and city buildings. After Bramante, Raphael enjoyed enormous fame during the development of High Renaissance architecture.

Raphael's first project was the Church of Sant'Eligio degli Orefici (Chiesa di S. Eligio degli Orefici, early 16th century. Subsequently, the church was rebuilt. The dome was created by B. Peruzzi, the current facade is by F. Ponzio (17th century)).

Church of Sant'Eligio degli Orifici

By order of the papal banker Chigi, he added a chapel to the church of Santa Maria Del Popolo. In the Palazzo del Aquila, he created a new type of facade: at the bottom there was an order arcade, the mezzanine was framed by windows, niches with sculptures, and stucco.

In the Palazzo Landolfini in Florence, the architect came up with another type of facade design: widely spaced, richly decorated windows, combined with smoothly plastered walls, complemented by a cornice with a wide frieze, rusticated corners and a portal. Raphael designed the Villa Madama for Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, who later became Pope Clement VII. The villa was built on the slope of Monte Mario on the west bank of the Tiber River north of the Vatican. Work began in 1518, and Raphael died in 1520. The villa remained unfinished: by this time only one U-shaped wing had been completed. The villa was left unfinished and only the completed part was used. The building received its current name in honor of Margatha of Parma, the wife of Pope Clement the Seventh’s nephew, Alexander de’ Medici, the first Duke of Tuscany.

Villa Madama - country villa of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici (Pope Clement the Seventh)

Since 1514, Raphael led the project for the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral. Then the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral, the construction of which resumed in 1534, was led by Antonio da Sagallo the Younger, after whom the leadership passed to Michelangelo, whose arrival served as an impetus for the development of the later stage in the architecture of the Italian Renaissance. This stage was marked by various architectural experiments with shapes, the frequency of columns and other architectural elements on the facade, the complication of details, and the appearance of complex lines. Since 1530, after the sack of Rome, the process of development of Italian Renaissance architecture took other directions. Some architects tried to restore the lost grandeur of the Eternal City: for example, Peruzzi, Antonio da Sangallo Jr. - representatives of the older generation of Renaissance architects, returned to Rome after its fall and tried to find a compromise between ancient principles and new trends.

Peruzzi - Peruzzi Baldassare (1481-1536) Italian artist and architect. Worked with Donato Bramante and Raphael. Peruzzi in his work combined the traditions of the High Renaissance with the ideas of mannerism. Antonio da Sangallo Jr. - (Antonio da Sangallo il Giovane; 1484 -1546 real name Antonio Cordini (Italian Antonio Cordini)) - Florentine architect of the Renaissance. Researchers also attribute him to the founders of the Baroque style due to the creation of unusual structures: for example, the façade with a forward slope in the Zecca Vecchia (Banco di Spirito), the arched plinth of the Palazzo Farnese.

Other masters began to look for other ways in their work. In the mid-16th century, a group appeared in Tuscany, uniting masters whose work belongs to the movement of mannerism. Many representatives of this group were students of Michelangelo, however, having borrowed some artistic techniques from him, they exaggerated and exaggerated them, while the violation of some canons of the ancient style, which was an expression of the plans of the great master, became an end in itself for them. Italian architects of the Renaissance borrowed in their projects characteristic techniques and elements of Roman classical architecture, applying them not only in churches, but also in city and country houses of wealthy citizens, and public buildings. The plan of the buildings was determined by rectangular shapes, symmetry, proportionality, the facade was symmetrical about the vertical axis, decorated with pilasters, cornice, arches, and topped with a pediment. The development of Italian Renaissance architecture was characterized by the emergence of building materials and technologies, and architects developed a personal, recognizable style that made them famous. Renaissance architecture in Italy went through a full stage of development - from early to late, which created the preconditions for the emergence of a new style - Baroque. Thanks to the art of Italian architects, Renaissance architecture conquered all of Europe.

His homeland was Italy, which at the end of the Middle Ages gave rise to the most developed culture in Europe.

By its location, Italy was a direct heir to ancient Roman culture, the impact of which was felt throughout its history. Since Antiquity, its spiritual life was also influenced by Greek culture, especially after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when a large number of Byzantine scholars moved to Italy.

However, the Renaissance was not reduced to simple copying of ancient traditions; it was a more complex and deeper phenomenon of world history, new in its scale and worldview. The refined and complex culture of the Middle Ages played no less a role in its origin than the culture of the ancient era, therefore, in many respects, the Renaissance was a direct continuation of the Middle Ages.

Italy remained politically fragmented into several competing states, but economically many of them were the most developed countries in Europe. For a long time, Italian states occupied leading positions in trade between East and West. It was in the cities of Northern Italy that new forms of industrial production and banking, political activity and diplomatic art arose. A high level of economic development, on the one hand, and a rich intellectual life, on the other, turned these cities into centers of formation of a new European culture. Italian urban culture became the breeding ground in which the preconditions of the Renaissance could become a reality.

The first capital of the Italian Renaissance was the main city of Tuscany Florence, where a unique combination of circumstances developed that contributed to the rapid rise of culture. At the height of the Renaissance, the center of Renaissance art moved to Rome. Popes Julius II and Leo X then made enormous efforts to revive the former glory of the Eternal City, thanks to which it truly turned into a center of world art. The third largest center of the Italian Renaissance was Venice, where Renaissance art acquired a unique coloring, determined by local characteristics.

art

One of the most prominent figures of the Italian Renaissance was Leonardo da Vinci(1452-1519). He combined many talents - painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, original thinker. His painting represents one of the peaks in the development of world art. With his experimental observations, the great Leonardo enriched almost all areas of science of his time.

An equally great artist competed with the genius of Leonardo da Vinci Michelangelo(1475-1564), who was also distinguished by his diversity of talents. Michelangelo became famous as a sculptor and architect, painter and poet. The frescoes of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, where Michelangelo painted 600 square meters, brought him eternal fame. m scenes from the Old Testament. According to his design, the grandiose dome of St. Peter's Cathedral was built, which to this day has not been surpassed in either size or grandeur. The architectural appearance of the entire historical center of Rome is still inextricably linked with the name of Michelangelo.

A special role in the development of Renaissance painting belonged to Sandro Botticelli(1445-1510). He entered the history of world culture as the creator of subtle, spiritualized images, combining the sublimity of late medieval painting with close attention to the human personality, which characterized modern times.

The pinnacle of Italian art of that era is creativity Raphael(1483-1520). In his works the pictorial canons of the High Renaissance reached their apogee.

The Venetian school of painting also occupies an honorable place in the history of Renaissance art, the most outstanding representative of which is Titian(1470/80s - 1576). Titian brought everything he learned from his predecessors to perfection, and the free style of painting he created had a great influence on the subsequent development of world painting. Material from the site

Architecture

Architecture also experienced a genuine revolution during the Renaissance. The improvement of construction technology allowed the masters of the Renaissance to solve architectural problems that were inaccessible to the architects of previous times. The founders of the new architectural style were the outstanding masters of Florence, primarily F. Brunelleschi, who created the monumental dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. But the main type of architectural structure in this period was no longer a church building, but a secular building - palazzo(castle). The Renaissance style in architecture is characterized by monumentality and emphasized simplicity of facades and the convenience of spacious interiors.

A series of revivals

We begin our conversations about the Renaissance, about the Renaissance - about a significant time for European culture. But there is a lot of controversy about this era. Most scientists assess this era as an outstanding rise of European culture. But there were thinkers who had a negative attitude. For example, we know that Alexey Fedorovich Losev, or Fr. Pavel Florensky viewed this era as the collapse of Christian ideals, as the triumph of anthropocentrism and the practical rejection of God. Who is right? Let's consider.

So, the Renaissance. What did the Italians revive in this era? It received its name from the light hand of, as you know, Giorgio Vasari - artist, architect, art historian. In his book “Biographies of the Most Famous Painters, Sculptors and Architects,” he used this term to designate the period of Italian art from 1250 to 1550, that is, from the 13th to the 16th centuries, 300 years of great growth. We will talk about time boundaries later, and we will see how they can shift in an earlier era, and, conversely, some researchers believed that this was just the 15th century. – the very beginning of the 16th century. (quattrocento and cinquecento). But there is some debate about this. This is all part of the issues about which debates continue today.

What did Vasari mean? He meant, first of all, the revival of the culture of antiquity. He proclaimed that the era of the Middle Ages had ended, that is, the gap that, as it seemed to him, constituted a cultural failure between the rise of culture in antiquity and a new rise during the Renaissance - primarily in Italy. But, however, Vasari was not very right. Firstly, because antiquity had been revived before. This was not the first European Renaissance.

In general, if you look, European culture developed through such leaps, renaissances, revivals. There was, for example, the Carolingian Renaissance, the Ottonian Revival. For Europe, the moment of revival was always at the forefront, it was relevant, and something was being revived all the time.

Having destroyed the Roman Empire, the barbarians immediately began to imitate Rome. Let us remember, for example, the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy, where Theodoric imitated Rome, and crowned himself, and made mausoleums, and made a Roman pallazo, and so on. And Theodoric’s court was such a revival, as it seemed to him, of ancient Roman culture.

But, of course, the greatest revival after the barbarian era of destruction was the Carolingian Revival. This also needs to be said before we move on to the Renaissance itself. The Carolingians are a special period. It really was, to some extent, a Renaissance. This is a period of intellectual and cultural growth. Its frame dates back to the end of the 8th century. – mid-9th century, the era of the reign of Charlemagne, Louis the Pious, and Charles the Bald. This is the Carolingian dynasty. This is the flowering of literature, art, law, and theology. The development of medieval Latin received a powerful impetus.

Indeed, it was a renaissance - a small one, perhaps not of a pan-European scale, but still a precisely Christian renaissance, but associated with the revival of the ancient tradition, the Latin tradition, the tradition of Roman law, etc. For example, the Aachen Chapel suggests that it was indeed a powerful takeoff - perhaps more local. Although the Italian Renaissance, as we will see, is also a local phenomenon. It influenced European culture, but nevertheless it was also not on a very large scale.

The Ottonian revival continued the Carolingian one. And the next period, which is associated with Romanesque art, can also be called, to some extent, a revival, because the Roman arch, the Roman vault, and Roman construction technology are being revived. Finally, the barbarians reached such a scale in construction that could be compared in part with Roman architecture, and in some ways this is also a revival.

Not to mention Gothic, because the very word “Gothic”, the barbaric style, is also imported from the Renaissance, because it seemed to everyone that Gothic, with its edges, with its contrasts of light and with this powerful mass of cathedrals that suppress a person, ¾ all this is barbarism. In fact, if you look, Gothic is a great art that combines engineering, theology, and scholasticism. But the leaders of the Renaissance treated scholasticism as something undeveloped, although it was a very interesting movement of thought. Therefore, Gothic is also a revival of its kind - a revival of high construction technology, theological thought, and so on. And here, too, there was a lot connected with antiquity.

In general, European development, if we compare it with the development of the Eastern Christian world, has always followed the path of looking back to antiquity, trying to revive. The barbarians destroyed it, and throughout the Middle Ages they tried to revive this antiquity. And finally, as it seemed to them, they were revived. And they called the era when antiquity was raised to a pedestal in a broader sense, it was revived, and Vasari proclaimed the Renaissance period.

The development in the Eastern Christian world was completely different. Nobody really destroyed anything there, and Christianity grew through this ancient soil. Byzantium was a continuation of the Roman Empire - it was a part, a fragment of the Roman Empire. The Greeks called themselves Romans, and considered themselves the legitimate heirs of antiquity. Not like these barbarians who destroyed it and then tried to revive it.

A typically Italian cultural product

We have reached the Renaissance, in which antiquity is placed on a pedestal. But antiquity here is rather a romantic idea. After all, they were reviving European culture of the post-medieval type. And this can be seen in everything that the representatives of the Renaissance did - artists, architects, thinkers.

This is a completely original culture that does not repeat antiquity, although it refers to it, which creates its own (modern at that time) special style of culture. And in this sense, the role of Italy is very great. In fact, just as Gothic is mainly an invention of France (then Gothic influences went to other countries), so the Renaissance is a typically Italian “cultural product”. It is no coincidence that they coincide in many respects in dates. While the Gothic style is flourishing in France, the Renaissance culture is blooming in Italy (we will talk about this without going through the Gothic style). Therefore, they did not like Gothic as a barbaric, Gothic, Germanic style. But they themselves revived noble antiquity, which was not touched by barbarism.

Let's look at the premises. Indeed, Italy had ancient roots. The Italians suddenly remembered that they were living on the soil of antiquity. These include preserved buildings, manuscripts in libraries, and sculpture. At this time, the catacombs began to be opened. That is, they suddenly felt that, unlike the rest of Europe, everything here is much more rooted in antiquity, although before they also referred their culture to antiquity, they did not always forget about it. There were barbarians here - the Lombards in Northern Italy, the Ostrogoths in Eastern Italy. But, nevertheless, this Roman heritage has always been remembered and revered here.

Early Christian traditions have always been strong here too. We still see early Christian icons in many churches in Rome. They are called early Byzantine, but they are not always painted by Byzantine masters - they are painted by local masters. Again, the discovery of the catacombs, which I already mentioned.

Of course, Rome is a church. This is a strong, rich church. At different times, of course, there were declines. There was also the “Avignon Captivity of the Popes” (we’ll talk about that), but still Rome has always been the center. In contrast to Eastern Christian culture, a very interesting situation has developed here. If Constantinople is an emperor who commands, among other things, the church, then here the church often commanded emperors. Rome is the only Christian center, and there are many barbarian kingdoms. Therefore, no king could prevail. Although many tried to dictate to Rome, and sometimes they succeeded, Rome was still in charge. And this also greatly influenced the worldview of the Renaissance.

The church kept treasures. Where did humanists get these ancient manuscripts from? They took them from the monastery libraries. It didn't have to be dug into the ground. They were stored. Another thing is that in the Middle Ages they were not widely read. We remember the wonderful novel by Umberto Eco, which is based on the fact that ancient manuscripts are hidden, and someone is looking for them. That is, who revived it? Monks. Very often, researchers write about the anti-clerical attitude of humanists. This is not entirely true. We will see that most of the humanists themselves belonged to the church. These were ministers of the church - monks, canons, priests, even popes. Although the secular element in humanism was very large.

The absence of central authority strengthened the peripheral centers. The attempt to unite Italy failed all the time. We know that, after all, Italy was only united at the end of the 19th century. And these peripheral centers sought to create their own culture, and the role of such city-communes here was very important. In these independent cities, production is growing, crafts are developing, and money is accumulating. Economic growth promotes philanthropy and patronage of the arts. This is also an important point. If in the same France or Germany, money was accumulated by monarchs, and they already dictated to artists, then here money was closer to artists, because people of the third estate had it.

Third Estate Culture

In general, the third estate makes this culture, which is also very interesting. In the Middle Ages, the world seemed harmoniously composed. As one chronicler writes: “God’s house is threefold, it consists of oratores, laboratores and bellatores,” that is, some pray, others work, and others fight. And this is very important, because it was the class structure that held this world. And suddenly this third estate - laboratores - which has always been assigned a third role, suddenly comes to the fore in Italy, and this greatly changes the culture. The third estate becomes leading, financially independent, reaches out to education and culture, and dictates this new style.

The economic factor, which is very important, contributes to the emergence of leisure. In the Middle Ages there was no leisure time - then everyone was busy with their own business. In the late Middle Ages - again, we will look at how the late Middle Ages - the so-called International Gothic - are combined with the Renaissance. A court culture appears there, where there is leisure, etc., but still for most people, especially the third estate, there was no such leisure - people either prayed or worked. Rest, the 7th day, Sunday, was given to God, and it was not rest, but prayer. And suddenly this leisure appears. And how do people use this leisure time? They start reading books, writing books. They begin to study humanitas, that is, the humanities. This is all quite interesting, and all this forms a completely new worldview, a new culture.

The Myth of Renaissance Anthropocentrism

It is believed that the culture of the Renaissance arises thanks to philosophy and humanism, which combined interest in ancient culture, art, and literature with attention to the spiritual essence of man. In general, the problem of man comes to the fore - hence humanitas. Homo is a person who becomes at the center of the Universe as the crown of creation, the focus of attention of researchers, poets, writers, scientists, etc. Hence the myth of anthropocentrism.

Why do I say "myth"? – Because yes, man becomes the center of the Universe, but God is not excluded from this Universe. Rather, the Universe is thought of as an ellipse with two centers that are in their interaction. And the fact that man is the crown of creation was not said by humanists at all. This was also proclaimed by the Middle Ages, this can be deduced from the Holy Scriptures (from the 6th day of creation), when God gives man enormous power and the command to be king and priest in nature. Another thing is that the person himself did not preserve it. And this original dignity given to man is also being revived by humanists. It is very important.

If in the Middle Ages faith was the basis of culture, then during the Renaissance knowledge became the basis of everything. Faith, again, is not excluded. Some emphasis is being placed on knowledge. But Anselm of Canterbury also said that: “I believe in order to know.” And this knowledge becomes the main thing for humanists, for figures of the Renaissance. And art itself becomes the path of knowledge - nature, man, God in the end. I repeat that the myth of anthropocentrism is one-sided - it excludes the fact that man wanted to know God.

Universities, sciences, printing

Universities are developing. Museums are being created. Schools begin to teach Greek and Hebrew; interest in humanitarian subjects. And to natural ones too. If in the Middle Ages science and culture were the prerogative of the church, which was not always willing to share its knowledge and achievements, then humanism opened up the possibility of knowledge for everyone. And we see that people of any class could join this knowledge.

Universities appear, as we know, in the Middle Ages. This is a medieval invention. But in the Renaissance they acquire special weight, because they become not only schools of theological sciences, but also natural ones. Even in antiquity, a list of academic disciplines, already called “liberal arts,” began to be developed, and in ancient Rome they were called that. This is a free occupation for a worthy, free person, in contrast to occupations that require physical labor.

But the word “art” itself (from Latin ars) in this case should be understood not as an artistic craft (now we understand art as an artistic craft), but as a science, as knowledge, that is, a systematic view developed in the course of practical observations of nature. Back in the Middle Ages, the number of “liberal arts” was reduced to seven. These were the so-called trivium and quadrivium. The trivium is, first of all, the art of words, grammar and rhetoric, and dialectics. And the quadrivium is arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music. In fact, these liberal arts are beginning to expand, and they are now being joined by research in the field of astronomy, chemistry is developing, emerging from alchemy, etc., that is, this medieval spectrum of arts, the spectrum of sciences is beginning to expand.

But a very important invention, which made it possible to disseminate knowledge more widely, was the invention of printing. This leap in civilization is impossible not to notice. Probably, it can only be compared with the invention of the computer in our time. Indeed, a book that was previously handwritten, of course, could rarely be distributed beyond monastery libraries. But a printed book could already be distributed quite widely, and this is very important.

New spaces and perspective

The Renaissance is the time of great geographical discoveries. This is also very important. The world has expanded. The medieval world was closed, limited - rather, it opened up into the Kingdom of God, into that space where there are no boundaries; at a time where eternity reigns. And since humanism paid attention to man living on the earth, the earth began to be of great interest to both artists and scientists. And therefore, the time of Great Geographical Discoveries is a time of expansion of space.

Hence the interest in perspective, because people were interested in the land. People became interested in the space in which they live. And this opening of space also turned a person’s gaze on himself, on the world, on God, on creation, on the Universe. In addition, astronomical discoveries and a paradigm shift from the geocentric to the heliocentric Universe also greatly changed the human worldview. We can't even imagine how much of an explosion this was in people's minds. The fact that the Earth is round, or that the Sun does not revolve around us - people in antiquity also knew, guessed, or had such hypotheses. But at this time, during the Renaissance, it becomes decisive.

Man as a co-worker with the Creator

And humanism gives rise to a new view of the relationship between man - God - the world. And here, of course, from theocentrism there is a gravitation towards anthropocentrism, but man does not overshadow God - man begins to be thought of as an equal interlocutor with God. If God is the Creator, and man is created in the “image and likeness” of the Creator, then he is also creative. This creativity comes to the fore. If this creativity is commanded to a person, then the person begins to create, that is, he fulfills the will of God. If a person is given the ability to understand the world (Adam called animals - this is also an image of understanding the world in paradise), then a person begins to understand this world. He does not go against God at all - he follows God, but only differently than it was in the Middle Ages.

If in the Middle Ages the weakness of man, his incommensurability with God, his sinfulness above all, the depravity of his nature were emphasized, now the emphasis is on man's Godlikeness. Yes, it is difficult for a person to always remain at some kind of peak, and for many humanists this went off scale. This godlikeness, the godlikeness of man, was sometimes extolled, perhaps more than necessary, but we will also talk about this. Rise and fall, and this also needs to be seen in this era. But the power of man, endowed with reason, destined to command nature, to cognize, and therefore to truly realize himself in this world, was emphasized. This is, perhaps, the first time a person has asked himself this question - how can a person become fulfilled in this world. It’s not how he can live to be saved, just so as not to stain his clothes, but how he can already in this world win for him what has been given to him by God. This is also a very important point.

It is interesting that new things in the interpretation of man appear not only in relation to the Middle Ages, but also in relation to antiquity. In antiquity, in general, the ideal of a contemplative person, a sage, penetrating with his mental gaze into the secrets of the world, comprehending the secrets of existence, is maintained. But in the Renaissance, another type of person is valued - the type of active person who builds himself, creates himself. The type of person who has a very active character. It is very important. Man creates this world. He doesn’t just pass through it, doesn’t just look at it with his outer gaze, but he multiplies its beauty, he makes it more beautiful and beautiful. He creates himself. He realizes the riches that God invested in him. Therefore, a new relationship between man and nature arises.

Yes, man is a natural being, but he is endowed with reason. He can comprehend the secrets of the world, but he also comprehends the secrets of the world himself, the secrets of man himself. In the Middle Ages, God knows about man, but here man begins to know himself. This “know thyself,” which was only proclaimed in antiquity, is actually carried out precisely during the Renaissance.

And this is also a myth - that humanists neglected religion. No, they studied not only ancient texts - they also studied Scripture. The critical study of scriptures (“critical” is still in quotation marks) nevertheless began precisely with humanism. Not only is man as such rehabilitated, as equal to God, godlike, but his flesh is also rehabilitated. We remember that in the Middle Ages the flesh was still a weak and sinful vessel. Of course, there were treatises that personified the dispute between soul and body. It is not known what was more sinful - the soul or the body. The body, as Francis said, is “just a donkey that carries us.”

However, the body is being rehabilitated. The body was created by God, it is beautiful, and a person can be beautiful mentally, spiritually, and physically. And this is very important. The ban on depicting flesh is lifted. We remember that in the Middle Ages, it was mainly sinners who were depicted naked, whose clothes had been torn off - nothing could cover them from God. Or martyrs who voluntarily gave up their bodies for sacrifice. And here the beauty of the human body is depicted. Nature is beautiful, including human nature. This rehabilitation is very important. The ban on studying human anatomy is lifted. The ban on studying not only a person as such, but also his bodily composition is lifted. This is also very important.

The intrinsic value of art

In the Middle Ages, art was of an applied nature. It was supposed to either decorate life, or reflect another world, leading a person beyond the limits of this created thing and beyond the limits of his existence, showing a different existence. During the Renaissance, art for the first time acquired intrinsic value; it became an independent area of ​​beauty. An artistic and aesthetic attitude towards works appears. It cannot be said that in the Middle Ages artistic works of art were not appreciated, but this artistry was always applied, the other side of the theological attitude.

Beauty is one of the names of God, and any beauty either reflects God or leads away from him. As Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky would later formulate, there is the beauty of the Madonna, and there is the beauty of Sodom. Here beauty appears as an intrinsic quality - the beauty of a person, the beauty of nature, the beauty of the human body, the beauty of words - this also appears right now. Medieval rhetoric can also be beautiful - weaving words, but this always leads to understanding what leads to the meaning of the words. And here is the beauty of the word, the beauty of the image, the beauty of lines, the beauty of color, etc. That is, self-worth. Everything is a little different. The universe is not falling apart yet—it will fall apart later. So far this is taking off.

The fall consists in the fact that man failed to stay at this peak, and he will then collect this world piece by piece. While he still strives for the integrity of this world, he nevertheless already highlights the aesthetic feeling, the feeling of beauty as special, as separate. The place and role of the artist, of course, is increasing; for the first time he is considered as an independent respected professional, be he an artist, a poet, a philosopher. Corporate ties are destroyed and individuals are singled out. And art also continues to be applied in the sense of science, that is, it is good in itself, but it also leads to knowledge. Leonardo will say: “Painting is a science and the legitimate daughter of nature.”

The verbal creativity of individual poets begins. We will talk to you about Dante and Petrarch. It all starts from here, because they are no longer exalted simply as people who have served God or a holy life.

In the Middle Ages, holiness was still higher than creativity. And here a person, even if he lives his difficult, sometimes very sinful life, is exalted as a poet, as a creator or as an artist. This is the main thing for him, that is, a creative opportunity that equates him to God the Creator. Hence it is clear why Raphael receives the epithet “divine”. Dante's main work, “Comedy,” as he called it, was called the “Divine Comedy.” He himself did not call her “divine.”

If Thomas Aquinas considered it possible to interpret the world only through Scripture (and Thomas was the indisputable authority at that time), then the humanists believed that poetry already interprets the world. Not only the Holy Scriptures, but also the writings of individual poets are also such an interpretation and mirror of this world.

Summarizing all that has been said, we can determine that a special type of person is being created. And this is the task of the era - raising a new person. Another Greek word “paideia” (education), which is precisely an analogue of the Latin word “humanitas” (humanity), is extolled by humanists as the goal - the education of a new person. Person:

• who is gifted with all the gifts that God has given him, has revealed those gifts;
• who has acquired all the knowledge that gives him the opportunity to be at a high intellectual level;
• who showed himself in creativity;
• who did not just live his life, reaching only to death, and just not to sin.

Even if he risks something, he becomes a person in all its manifestations. A person with all the pros and cons, but realized. Not some semi-finished product, but a realized person.

At this time, sculptors and scientists are praised and crowned with a laurel wreath. And here is a man - then, perhaps, Gorky exaggerates this too much when he said: “A man - this sounds proud!” But this pride becomes, perhaps, the most important thing at this time. Not pride, that is, what the Middle Ages condemned, but pride and dignity. A very interesting Italian word is “virtus” - valor, honor, dignity. This, by the way, is close to the word “truth”. The truth of a person is that he manifests himself this way.

Marsilio Ficino

Here you can remember Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. But I wanted to talk about two thinkers of the Renaissance who, in my opinion, most of all reflected a new worldview, a new view of the world and of man. This is Marsilio Ficino, here is his sculptural portrait, and Pico della Mirandola. These two thinkers perhaps most reflected this new view of the world.

A little about Marsilio Ficino. He was born in Florence. He was educated at the University of Florence. He studied medicine, philosophy, the works of ancient philosophers, knew Greek, and was engaged in translations. For some time he was the secretary of Cosimo Medici, the head of the Florentine Republic. We will talk about the role of the Medici later, because the Renaissance period is a period of philanthropy. This is a very interesting phenomenon.

At the age of 40, Marsilio Ficino accepted the priesthood. But he remains a fan of ancient philosophy - he even devotes several sermons to the “divine” Plato, as he says. He became famous primarily as a translator. By the way, he was the first to translate Plato into Latin. He published almost all of Plato's dialogues translated into Latin, the works of Plotinus, and the works of late ancient philosophers. And “Areopagitica”, which is also very important, because the Areopagitic corpus, although it was already partially translated in the Middle Ages (during the Carolingian Renaissance), was still completely translated by Marsilio Ficino.

This also suggests that they were not only interested in pagan antiquity, but also in Christian antiquity, because the Neoplatonic author of early Christianity, hiding behind the name Dionysius the Areopagite, is a special phenomenon that largely shaped the worldview of Byzantium. Therefore, I would also call this bias towards paganism the Renaissance as a mythological concept. So they were interested in Plato, and Plotinus, and early Christian authors.

Cosimo de' Medici gave Marsilio Ficino a villa in the Careggi hills. And there he set up Plato's Academy. It was, rather, not an educational institution, but a free meeting of like-minded people and interlocutors, admirers of Plato. They even said that in the red corner or in some niche Marsilio Ficino had a bust of Plato, and he lit a lamp, incense, etc. in front of it. But, in any case, he was an admirer not only of Plato. He translated the corpus of Hermes Trismegistus and other ancient authors.

But the main thing is that he also wrote his own works: “Plato’s theology on the immortality of the soul”, “On the Christian religion”. And in all this, Marsilio Ficino extolled human dignity, and a person for whom knowledge is important - knowledge of the world. And since knowledge of the world is based on the divine Logos, that is, by knowing the world, we come to know God - this is also very important to remember about humanists. It’s not that they forgot about God and rushed to Plato, or began to dissect nature - no! They also studied the Holy Scriptures. And the comments of the same Marsilio Ficino in the Holy Scriptures are also all interesting.

He said that the teachings of Plato must be combined with the ancient mysticism of the Holy Scriptures. And he deduced from this what he called universal religion, that is, that divine Logos, which was revealed both to antiquity (to Christians before Christ) and to Christians who were already followers of Christ. In this he is very close to early Christian authors and apologists, who in their time - both Cyril of Alexandria and Justin the Philosopher - had already expressed this idea, but in a slightly different context.

Pico della Mirandola

Another humanist is Pico della Mirandola - he is also a native of Florence. He was also very often called “divine” by his contemporaries. He left an interesting treatise “Speech on the Dignity of Man.” This is a very interesting thinker. He lived very little - only 31 years. Died from arsenic poisoning. It was an era not only of sunny knowledge and joy, but also of the dark side of humanity, because the freedom that man gained went into different channels. A lot of evil happened in these eras: people were poisoned, there were wars, clashes, conspiracies, etc. We also should not reject this lower level of the era, but for now we are talking about the height and takeoff.

Shortly before his death, Pico della Mirandola became a monk. Became a member of the Dominican Order. He was buried in the monastery of San Marco in Florence. The abbot of this monastery was Girolamo Savonarola, who was himself a humanist and closely associated with humanist philosophers. But a lot of things were also attributed to him that, perhaps, are myths. He fought for the purity of humanism, for biblical humanism. We will talk about this figure later, especially in connection with the fate of Botticelli.

Pico della Mirandola came from a family of senior counts. Was associated with many influential houses. At the age of 14 he already entered the University of Bologna. Then he studied in Ferrara, Padua, Pavia, and Paris. He received the most brilliant education that could only be obtained at that time. Knew many languages. In addition to Latin and Greek, which was simply necessary and a minimum for humanists, because there was interest in Latin back in the Middle Ages, and it was the humanists who taught Greek as mandatory, since many ancient manuscripts were in Greek. But Pico della Mirandola knew Chaldean, Hebrew, and Arabic.

His main work, as I already said, was his “Speech on the Dignity of Man.” It is very interesting that it is in this “Speech” that the main core of a person’s attitude at this time is determined. I'll quote him a little. He writes an appeal to God on behalf of Adam, defining man as the center of the world:

“We do not give you, O Adam, either a specific place, or your own image, or a special duty, so that you have a place, a person, and duties of your own free will, according to your will and your decision. The image of other creations is determined within the limits of the laws we have established. You, not constrained by any limits, will determine your image according to your decision, in the power of which I leave you.”

I mean, what does it say here? This says that man is not programmed. He enters this world, and he himself can choose whether to rise to the top or fall; whether he should be closer to the angelic world or to the devilish; choose heaven or hell. Man is free, he is a free and glorious master. He can determine his fate, including posthumous; be who he wants. No one has ever raised a person to such a height before.

This treatise by Pico della Mirandola, of course, caused bewilderment among many - not everyone was ready for such breadth and height. This treatise caused bewilderment, including among Pope Innocent VIII. Firstly, he doubted that a young man (and he was only 23 years old when he wrote this “Speech...”) could even think so broadly, be daring, and who was this boy who declared so daringly. Secondly, who gave him the right to judge a person when this is the priority of the Church. But the priority of the Church was already greatly shaken at this time. The Pope appointed a special commission that was supposed to check the work of Pico della Mirandola for the presence of heresy. We must not forget that the church at this time was not only composed of humanists, but also of those who explore heresies.

I remembered the novel by Umberto Eco. But I want to remember once again that this wonderful Italian medievalist understood this very well. There we are talking about the 14th century. - about how the almost medieval schools of nominalists and realists fought among themselves, but there is also the beginning of this revivalist desire to strive for thought from the dictates of the church.

So in Rome they doubted and appointed a commission. As we know, many commissions handed down very harsh sentences. Pico della Mirandole pointed out some inconsistencies with the teachings of the Church, although this was also very vague. He was arrested, but managed to escape to France. Then he returned, he was warmed by Lorenzo Medici. He joined the circle of Marsilio Ficino. Everything seemed to work out thanks to the high patrons.

But still, this boldness of thoughts has already been subjected to such condemnation. By the way, contemporaries called Pico della Mirandola the “Prince of Concord,” because he did not want to quarrel either with the church or with his opponents in the circle of humanists. There were also various disagreements. And he probably would have done a lot by combining these different forces, but he died at a fairly early age. The fact that he was poisoned just means that there were opponents to his point of view, and probably quite strong ones.

Poetry of the life of Francis of Assisi

At the end of our conversation, I would like to remember one more figure - Francis of Assisi. And it is this figure that makes us move the border of the Renaissance towards expansion, because Francis of Assisi lived at the end of the 12th century. - the beginning of the 13th century, and determined this turn to a new worldview, perhaps more than anyone else. Although he was not a humanist, but a saint of the medieval type, his attitude towards the world was already full of everything that would later blossom in humanism.

He was the first to proclaim that the world does not lie only in evil. That the world, as God’s creation, is beautiful and given to man for joy. Not only for repentance, atonement for sins, suffering, struggle, but that you can live in this world, rejoicing and glorifying the Creator for his creations.

This is how the hymns of Francis came into being. By the way, these are the first poetic works written not in Latin, but in Italian. The humanists were still writing in Latin, and Francis, several decades before them, had already written his hymns in the vernacular Italian. So even as a poet he can be considered the first poet of the Renaissance.

Francis was the first to resolve the tragedy of the world. In the Middle Ages, this was truly a tragedy, because this religious primary problem (the Fall, the break with God) was solved by theologians and philosophers of the Middle Ages. How to connect with God? Man is cut off from God - and what to do about it? Francis was the first to solve this problem without sacrificing any of the richness of life. That is, he understands his sinfulness, futility, corruption, futility of efforts, but he also understands the mercy of God, the beauty of God’s creation, the beauty of God himself. And that joy of Being, which is prepared for a person not only there somewhere beyond the boundaries of existence, but already here on earth. And love can be pure, strong, bright, not necessarily sinful, not necessarily associated with lust, etc. It is Francis who proclaims all this. Francis is new and original.

I would like to read this quote from the work of a remarkable researcher who is little known among us, ¾ Peter Bicilli. This is a Russian researcher who was in exile, and his works began to be published here only in the 90s. And he wrote this: “The entire culture of the Middle Ages can be understood as a grandiose and painful effort to comprehend and express this tragic religious fundamental problem. Hence the medieval asceticism, terrible for its kind of inhumanity, with its attraction to everything that speaks objectively about death, corruption, and decomposition.

Francis was the first to resolve the tragedy without sacrificing any of the richness of life. After him, it will be resolved by others - in an act of artistic or philosophical creativity. But Francis was neither an artist nor a philosopher by profession. He resolved it in his own way and in a way that only he could do it: with his life. “Blessed and ignorant,” who wanted to be on his own and lower than everyone else, in his approach to Christ he chose the most unexpected, but the simplest and most humble path: non-judgmental, literal following of Christ in His earthly life.

With the gift of plastic embodiment of ideas characteristic of the Italian people, he acted out, so to speak, parables and beatitudes. With reverent horror and delight, contemporaries guessed that it was as if Christ had become incarnate in Francis. Francis reveals a number of great “artists of his life”, with whom the Renaissance is so rich.”

This idea of ​​making one’s own life into objects of art, which many Renaissance artists will talk about, began with Francis. It was he who made his life the subject of divine play and divine art.

“It is impossible to understand the Renaissance,” writes Peter Bicilli, “without grasping its special mood. Optimism, faith and revival are also characteristic of the Middle Ages. The day is coming, and the world will be cleansed, sanctified, there will be a new earth and a new sky. What is characteristic of the Renaissance is that the world is experienced as already transformed and enlightened. The dominant mood of the era is joy, delight, that delight that filled Francis’s soul and forced it to pour out in improvised hymns.”

Here, by the way, is an image of Francis from the Subiaco monastery, which is considered to be a possibly close real portrait of him. This was done very closely to his life by contemporaries who knew him well.

Indeed, Peter Bicilli says that the Renaissance is “an era when it is already believed that the world can be transformed, that a person can be transformed, that a person can achieve the joy of being. This joy of being was suddenly revealed to people - both in great creations, and in nature, and in man himself, and in the enjoyment of the world. It was absolutely selfless. It is often said that it was from here that man began to conquer this world and subjugate it to himself. No, that was later. This was the consequence of the fall from this great peak.

Flight of Icarus

Thus, the Renaissance is the great rise of European culture. This is, if you like, gaining wings. This is an opportunity to see the earth in perspective, from a bird's eye view. Although in the Middle Ages many looked at her with an angelic flight, it was not accessible to everyone. But from a bird's eye view, or from the top of a mountain, from which a great view opens, many saw this during the Renaissance. There was, of course, a lot of adrenaline in this joy of flight. The man wanted to experience more and more of his capabilities. He flew higher and higher. But the flight of Icarus, as we know, ended in disaster - the sun scorched the wings, and the fall was inevitable.”

It was exactly the same during the Renaissance. The man rose very high, but then, unable to stay on this peak, he fell. Some people may not call this fall a fall. Many extol this - and call it a consequence of the Renaissance, a great march of human culture, etc. Then there was New Time. This new turn in worldview also yielded great results. Some people see a good prospect, but others will not even see a fall, because for many this is also a big question.

For some, the question is takeoff. Losev and O. Pavel Florensky considered this, on the contrary, a retreat, a fall - the Renaissance itself. And some do the opposite. Someone will neither see the flight nor the fall, just as the hero of Bruegel’s famous painting did not see the fall of Icarus. It seems to me that this is very symbolic when a man plows his furrow, continuing his historical path, and Icarus (he is not even immediately visible in the picture) is already floundering in the sea. It seems to me that the Renaissance is the rise and fall of Icarus. We'll see how right I am in our next conversations.