The Stage Of The Renaissance Period

By: Annabelle Wong

The Renaissance was an important period in time for human development. It began in Italy, where the Renaissance spread through Europe, literally meaning "rebirth", and it was a time of rebirth of Ancient Greek and Roman knowledge and culture.

The Renaissance started around 500 years ago, which was only 15 generations, that's 15 babies! And for about 1000 years, humans were focused on religion, and anything scientific was forbidden. 1000 years of missing knowledge was a long time, but then, the Renaissance came.

The Renaissance sparked a change in the way of life of the people. Secularism blossomed in the Renaissance, and inventions, art, literature, and philosophy were based more and more on humanism instead of religion. This is partly because the plague had such a devastating effect on the population, that people became aware of the how finite the human life is (when half the population of a city is dead, this lends perspective to life), the people wanted to enjoy life more, and thereby set aside religion and it's preaches of sacrifice. The humanist ideals became more prominent, exemplified by a painting of a women called Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa was by Leonardo DaVinci, he also made other discoveries and paintings, such as The Last Supper. The Mona Lisa was based on humanism, where god and other religious motifs were not featured, but more importantly focused on the person and its mysterious. Other prominent artworks of the Renaissance include Donatello's sculpture of David, Michelangelo's fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and Donatello's sculpture of Christian figure Saint George.

Literature was also a large part of the Renaissance movement. Many great authors created poems, and some such as William Shakespeare, created plays with tragedy, romance, and comedy in them, in reference to Ancient Greek and Roman traditions. Another great author was Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca), who was a poet whose sonnets (sonnets are a type poetry that has 14 verses in them, and has particular structures with rhymes - think ABAB CDDC etc.) were based on love of nature in the tradition of Roman writers. Petrarch is considered the father of Italian Renaissance humanism.

Architecture was an important part of Renaissance as well, and many architects made outstanding buildings during the period. One example of this was an architect named Filippo Brunelleschi, who studied the buildings of classical Rome, and built the extension of the Pazzi Chapel in 1451. The Pazzi Chapel was a church recognisable by the red dome, and not only did he extend the Pazzi Chapel, he also invented the first crane to lift heavy building materials to high levels.

Not only did these arts and philosophies evolved, but money, too. The Medici family was a wealthy family in Italy, and became patrons of the arts. They promoted the study of classical (and ancient) literature. They handled banking, and signed off check that could ensure people getting money from overseas. They, like many wealthy Italian leaders, borrowed and loaned money, despite the church's regulations against usury.

There were also religious humanists in the Renaissance as well. Erasmus was a Roman Catholic priest, and wanted to understand Christianity. He thought that the church needed some changes and in 1509, he wrote "In praise of folly", mocking the church practices. Much of what Erasmus wrote was considered controversial, but he only wanted to make certain changes and leave the rest unchanged. This eventually inspired Martin Luther to call for reform within the church, and wrote a list of changes that were nailed to the church's door.

Having learnt a bit about the Renaissance, the thing that makes me most curious is how artists make their artwork so realistic, and what kind of techniques they used back then? DaVinci's Mona Lisa and Michelangelo's Sisten Chapel are some prominent examples. All these are just curiosities I have. But the reality is, without the Renaissance, humans may still be too absorbed in religion, and our society may not be what it is today. We owe an awful lot to the Renaissance movement.