Recipe for the Renaissance
The dictionary defines Renaissance as the revival, rebirth, or vigorous rediscovery of ideals. The Italian Renaissance spans over two-hundred years, from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries, is better known for it 's artwork more than any other period in history. It is also known for it 's luxurious and opulent tastes, a hunger for the resurgence of ancient knowledge, and an understanding of the natural world. Humanism, or the view of primary concern on the human condition, rather than the Divine; would set a youthful and secular stage for the development and innovation of the Renaissance. Florence, Italy would prove to be the perfect home for these Humanist notions. As a city-state center, Florence belonged …show more content…
Patronage would be the conveyance for the awakening of artistic, intellectual, and literary means. In Florence, this supporting hand was often found in the Medici, an elite Tuscan family, which would produce four Popes and marry into the royal bloodlines of Europe. Their immense wealth would become their determining factor in their control over Florence. Any other patronage, would often be made by the Church, whose religious overtones would determine the outcome of the commisioned works. In the whole of their city-state economy, ten percent of the elite was holding ninty percent of the wealth. Majority of the population were wage laborers or impoverished, left to take the miniscule amounts of charity or starve. An intermediate class of guild organized artisans and manufacturers would also help to make the economy successful by offering an answer to the ever growing human problem of supply and demand. Agriculture was king, and nearly a whopping seventy to ninety percent of the population participated in subsistence farming, meaning that often individuals would grow at least some of their own food. Overproduction of these goods would help revive the population and, eventually, breathe new life into the economy of …show more content…
Patrons would often pay for projects to solve the problems of their lives, or to bring the achievements of man to new and greater heights. Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 - 1446) would solve one of Florentine society 's greatest challenges; building a free-standing dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, or the Duomo. By building upon the architecture of ancient Rome, Brunelleschi was able to use the pattern of individual bricks and masonry to construct this 37,000 ton puzzle, using more than 4,000,000 bricks. Beginning the addition to the Cathedral in 1420, by 1436 the Pope himself would come to sanctify this Western feat for God, fittingly, on Easter Sunday. Not only did this architectural attainment extend to new elevations for man, the Patronage responsible would come from no place other than that of the Medici. Supporting such artists as Botticelli, Donatello, Verrochio, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, and Vasari. Without the money and interest of these elite rulers, the spirit and daring of the Renaissance would not have been possible. By 1527, Rome would be sacked again by the troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emporer, and the secular view of life brought about by the rebirth of classical ideals in the Renaissance would take a toll on Europe, the heavy weight of the church influencing art, literature, and scientific and medical knowledge. Although the period of reenlightenment would change the world, even the Renaissance
The dictionary defines Renaissance as the revival, rebirth, or vigorous rediscovery of ideals. The Italian Renaissance spans over two-hundred years, from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries, is better known for it 's artwork more than any other period in history. It is also known for it 's luxurious and opulent tastes, a hunger for the resurgence of ancient knowledge, and an understanding of the natural world. Humanism, or the view of primary concern on the human condition, rather than the Divine; would set a youthful and secular stage for the development and innovation of the Renaissance. Florence, Italy would prove to be the perfect home for these Humanist notions. As a city-state center, Florence belonged …show more content…
Patronage would be the conveyance for the awakening of artistic, intellectual, and literary means. In Florence, this supporting hand was often found in the Medici, an elite Tuscan family, which would produce four Popes and marry into the royal bloodlines of Europe. Their immense wealth would become their determining factor in their control over Florence. Any other patronage, would often be made by the Church, whose religious overtones would determine the outcome of the commisioned works. In the whole of their city-state economy, ten percent of the elite was holding ninty percent of the wealth. Majority of the population were wage laborers or impoverished, left to take the miniscule amounts of charity or starve. An intermediate class of guild organized artisans and manufacturers would also help to make the economy successful by offering an answer to the ever growing human problem of supply and demand. Agriculture was king, and nearly a whopping seventy to ninety percent of the population participated in subsistence farming, meaning that often individuals would grow at least some of their own food. Overproduction of these goods would help revive the population and, eventually, breathe new life into the economy of …show more content…
Patrons would often pay for projects to solve the problems of their lives, or to bring the achievements of man to new and greater heights. Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 - 1446) would solve one of Florentine society 's greatest challenges; building a free-standing dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, or the Duomo. By building upon the architecture of ancient Rome, Brunelleschi was able to use the pattern of individual bricks and masonry to construct this 37,000 ton puzzle, using more than 4,000,000 bricks. Beginning the addition to the Cathedral in 1420, by 1436 the Pope himself would come to sanctify this Western feat for God, fittingly, on Easter Sunday. Not only did this architectural attainment extend to new elevations for man, the Patronage responsible would come from no place other than that of the Medici. Supporting such artists as Botticelli, Donatello, Verrochio, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, and Vasari. Without the money and interest of these elite rulers, the spirit and daring of the Renaissance would not have been possible. By 1527, Rome would be sacked again by the troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emporer, and the secular view of life brought about by the rebirth of classical ideals in the Renaissance would take a toll on Europe, the heavy weight of the church influencing art, literature, and scientific and medical knowledge. Although the period of reenlightenment would change the world, even the Renaissance