Dr. Pratt
HU141
February 10, 2015
The Revival of Classicism and Rise to Humanism
The Renaissance was a period that lasted from the fourteenth century to the seventeenth century, and was hallmarked with its advancements in Art, Music, Science, and the introduction of Secularism and Humanism. The period can trace its roots back to Italy, which was made up of several city states, from these city states, the Renaissance expanded into northern Europe, where the ideas flourished and the period of Feudalism and the medieval times soon came to an end. With the Renaissance being a time of diversification and exploration into new ways of thinking, what had emerged were masterful artworks to decorate churches, paintings that incorporate …show more content…
Painted by Michelangelo from 1508 to 1512, the Ceiling’s scenes incorporates extravagant theological ideals with the greatness of man and the power of his abilities. The Center scene is known as the Creation of Adam which depicts Adam, a man, who lays in an almost paralyzed state, receiving what appears to be life from God in the form of their fingers touching. This symbolizes man’s need for guidance from God and not the Church. The Chapel’s ceiling is a large array of several different scenes with God interacting with man in different forms. Scenes in this array come from the Book of Genesis where God creates man and places us into a perfect world, where humanity falls into disgrace, which results in man’s separation from God. This ties into the main point where as Michelangelo’s point was that Man needed God for guidance and should not stray away from that sole purpose, such as the church as an …show more content…
Published in 1532 by Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince was a ground breaking book for its day. It was written in Italian rather than the traditional written language for the time; Latin. The book itself explores for the first time modern philosophy and how to be a proper aristocrat (Cunningham). The book was written for, and dedicated to Lorenzo Medici, who at the time was the ruler of Florence. The book focuses on Politics, Warcraft, and how to maintain an image as a ruler. Many scholars have debated whether or not this book is either satire, with its deliberate feel to ridicule tyrannical rule, or just advice for the upper class gentleman. Johnston argues that within the book, “the satire has a firm moral purpose – to expose tyranny and promote republican government."(Johnston). This book is a prime example of written evidence of humanism during the Renaissance not only because of the way it is written and distributed under Niccolò Machiavelli’s name, but it also shows a strong essence of criticizing the upper class and mistakes made by rulers of the past and present. This book allows readers of all classes to see the satire and irony of the