Hallmarks of the
Renaissance
The “Isms”
What are the characteristics of the Renaissance?
The “isms”:

humanism (and classicism)

individualism

secularism

scientific naturalism
Humanism

intellectual movement based on study of the classics (classicism)


renewed interest in man and new view of humankind



humanities (liberal arts): grammar, rhetoric, poetry, ethics, history
believed in human potential and glorified man’s dignity
man depicted in art as the center of the world
civic humanism: application of humanist education to civil
service
vs. Middle Ages – learning confined largely to Christian monasteries; subordination of
humans to God; human body should be covered up, not glorified (Christian worldview)
Humanism (Classicism)
Bramante,
Tempietto,
San Pietro in Montorio,
Rome, 1508
Humanism
Pico della Mirandola, Oration on the Dignity of Man:
“O supreme generosity of God the Father, O
highest and most marvelous felicity of man! To
him it is granted to have whatever he chooses, to
be whatever he wills.”
Humanism (Classicism)
Michelangelo,
David, 1504
(marble statue)
Individualism

new emphasis on individual achievement

belief that the individual ought to be free to
think, speak, and act for himself
vs. Middle Ages – cooperation within small communities; individual
achievement subordinate to religious faith/piety (Christian worldview)
Individualism
Titian,
Portrait of Emperor Charles V at
Muhlberg, 1548
(oil on canvas)

Renaissance portraiture
Individualism
Titian,
Portrait of Empress Isabel of
Portugal, 1548
(oil on canvas)

Renaissance portraiture
Individualism
Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1498 (fresco)

each of the 12 apostles has a different, individual expression
Secularism

increasing concern with the material rather
than spiritual world

material values: money/wealth, material goods,
leisure time/activities
vs. Middle Ages – focus on the spiritual world/Kingdom of Heaven
(Christian worldview)
Secularism
Pieter Bruegel, Peasant Dance, 1568 (oak on panel)
Secularism
Boccaccio (1313-1375), The Decameron:
“Niccolò’s son, Filippo, being a young man and a bachelor,
was wont sometimes to bring thither a woman for his
pleasure, and after keeping her there for a few days to escort
her thence again. Now on one of these occasions it befell
that he brought thither one Niccolosa, whom a vile fellow,
named Mangione, kept in a house at Camaldoli as a common
prostitute. And a fine piece of flesh she was, and wore fine
clothes, and, for one of her sort, knew how to comport
herself becomingly and talk agreeably.”
Secularism
Hans Holbein,
The Ambassadors, 1533
(oil on wood)
Scientific Naturalism

close observation and study of the natural world



geometry / proportions / space / laws of perspective
anatomy
realistic portrayal of natural world
vs. Middle Ages – less realistic and more stylized; focus is on
representation of God rather than representation of God (Christian
worldview)
Scientific Naturalism
Raphael, School of Athens, 1510 (fresco)

laws of perspective
Scientific Naturalism
Leonardo da Vinci,
Study of a woman’s hands,
date unknown (drawing)
Leonardo da Vinci,
Larynx and legs, 1510
(drawing)
Scientific Naturalism
Leonardo da Vinci,
Vitruvian Man, 1492
(pen and ink)

study of ideal proportions
Scientific Naturalism
Fra Angelico,
The Annunciation, 1432
(tempera on wood)