Outstanding figures of the Renaissance history. Renaissance people

The chronology of the Italian Renaissance is connected with the definition of the main features - renaissance . The time in which the features mentioned above barely appear is characterized as the Pre-Renaissance (Proto-Renaissance), or in the designation by the names of the centuries - ducento (XIII century) and trecento (XIV century). The period of time when the cultural tradition that meets these features can be clearly traced was called the early Renaissance (Quattrocento (XV century). The time that became the heyday of the ideas and principles of Italian Renaissance culture, as well as the eve of its crisis, is commonly called the High Renaissance (Cinquecento (XVI century) The culture of the Italian Renaissance gave the world the poet Dante Alighieri, the painter Giotto di Bondone, the poet, humanist Francesco Petrarch, the poet, writer, humanist Giovanni Boccaccio, the architect Philip Bruneleschi, the sculptor Donatello, the painter Masaccio, the humanist, writer Lorenzo Valla, humanist, writer Pico della Mirandola, philosopher, humanist Marsilio Ficino, painter Sandro Botticelli, painter, scientist Leonardo da Vinci, painter, sculptor, architect Michelangelo Buonarotti, painter Rafael Santi and many other prominent personalities.

The cities of Italy were famous for their various crafts, in addition, they actively participated in transit trade. Obviously, the development of Italian cities was based on reasons of a different nature, but exactly urban culture created new people. However, the self-affirmation of the individual in the Renaissance was not distinguished by a vulgar materialistic content, but was of a spiritual nature. The Christian tradition had a decisive influence here. The time in which the revivalists lived really made them realize their significance, their responsibility for themselves. But they have not yet ceased to be people of the Middle Ages. Without losing God and faith, they only looked at themselves in a new way. And the modification of medieval consciousness was superimposed on a close interest in antiquity, which created a unique and inimitable culture, which, of course, was the prerogative of the tops of society.

Early humanists: the poet philosopher F. Petrarch (1304-1374), the writer G. Boccaccio (1313-1375) - wanted to create a beautiful human personality, free from the prejudices of the Middle Ages, and therefore, first of all, they tried to change the education system: to introduce into it humanitarian sciences, focusing on the study of ancient literature and philosophy. At the same time, the humanists by no means overthrew religion, although the church itself and its ministers were objects of ridicule. Rather, they sought to combine two scales of values.

Artists began to see the world differently: flat, as if incorporeal images of medieval art gave way to three-dimensional, relief, convex space. Raphael Santi (1483-1520), Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) sang with their creativity the perfect personality, in which physical and spiritual beauty merge together in accordance with the requirements of ancient aesthetics.

A man with his earthly passions and desires also appeared in literature. The previously forbidden topic of carnal love, its naturalistic descriptions have gained the right to exist. However, the carnal did not suppress the spiritual. Like philosophers, writers tried to create a harmony of two principles, or at least to balance them. In Boccaccio's famous Decameron, mischievous frivolous stories about voluptuaries alternate with tragic stories about unrequited or selfless love. In the sonnets of Petrarch, dedicated to the beautiful Laura, earthly features are given to heavenly love, but earthly feelings are elevated to heavenly harmony.

Drawing the ideal of the human personality, the figures of the Renaissance emphasized its kindness, strength, heroism, the ability to create and create a new world around itself. The Italian humanists Lorenzo Valla (1407-1457) and L. Alberti (1404-1472) considered the accumulated knowledge that helps a person to make a choice between good and evil as an indispensable condition for this. The high idea of ​​a person was inextricably linked with the idea of ​​his free will: a person chooses his own life path and is responsible for his own destiny. The value of a person began to be determined by his personal merits, and not by his position in society: “Nobility is like a kind of radiance emanating from virtue and illuminating its owners, no matter what origin they are.” The era of spontaneous and violent self-affirmation of the human personality was coming, freeing itself from medieval corporatism and morality, subordinating the individual to the whole. It was the time of titanism, which manifested itself both in art and in life. Enough to remember heroic images, created by Michelangelo, and their creator himself - a poet, artist, sculptor. People like Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci were real examples of the limitless possibilities of man.

Details Category: Fine arts and architecture of the Renaissance (Renaissance) Posted on 12/19/2016 16:20 Views: 9111

The Renaissance is a time of cultural flourishing, the heyday of all the arts, but the fine arts were the most fully expressing the spirit of their time.

Renaissance, or Renaissance(French "newly" + "born") was of world importance in the history of European culture. The Renaissance replaced the Middle Ages and preceded the Enlightenment.
The main features of the Renaissance- the secular nature of culture, humanism and anthropocentrism (interest in a person and his activities). During the Renaissance period, interest in ancient culture flourished and, as it were, its “revival” took place.
The revival arose in Italy - its first signs appeared as early as the 13th-14th centuries. (Tony Paramoni, Pisano, Giotto, Orcagna and others). But it was firmly established from the 20s of the 15th century, and by the end of the 15th century. reached its highest peak.
In other countries, the Renaissance began much later. In the XVI century. the crisis of the ideas of the Renaissance begins, the consequence of this crisis is the emergence of mannerism and baroque.

Renaissance periods

The Renaissance is divided into 4 periods:

1. Proto-Renaissance (2nd half of the XIII century - XIV century)
2. Early Renaissance (beginning of the XV-end of the XV century)
3. High Renaissance (late 15th - first 20 years of the 16th century)
4. Late Renaissance (mid-16th-90s of the 16th century)

The fall of the Byzantine Empire played a role in the formation of the Renaissance. The Byzantines who moved to Europe brought with them their libraries and works of art, unknown to medieval Europe. In Byzantium, they never broke with ancient culture either.
Appearance humanism(of the socio-philosophical movement, which considered man as the highest value) was associated with the absence of feudal relations in the Italian city-republics.
Secular centers of science and art began to appear in the cities, which were not controlled by the church. whose activities were outside the control of the church. In the middle of the XV century. typography was invented, which played an important role in spreading new views throughout Europe.

Brief characteristics of the Renaissance periods

Proto-Renaissance

Proto-Renaissance is the forerunner of the Renaissance. It is still closely connected with the Middle Ages, with Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic traditions. It is associated with the names of Giotto, Arnolfo di Cambio, the Pisano brothers, Andrea Pisano.

Andrea Pisano. Bas-relief "Creation of Adam". Opera del Duomo (Florence)

The painting of the Proto-Renaissance is represented by two art schools: Florence (Cimabue, Giotto) and Siena (Duccio, Simone Martini). The central figure of painting was Giotto. He was considered a reformer of painting: he filled religious forms with secular content, made a gradual transition from planar images to three-dimensional and relief images, turned to realism, introduced the plastic volume of figures into painting, depicted the interior in painting.

Early Renaissance

This is the period from 1420 to 1500. The artists of the Early Renaissance of Italy drew motives from life, filled traditional religious subjects with earthly content. In sculpture, these were L. Ghiberti, Donatello, Jacopo della Quercia, the della Robbia family, A. Rossellino, Desiderio da Settignano, B. da Maiano, A. Verrocchio. Free-standing statues, picturesque reliefs, portrait busts, and equestrian monuments begin to develop in their work.
In Italian painting of the XV century. (Masaccio, Filippo Lippi, A. del Castagno, P. Uccello, Fra Angelico, D. Ghirlandaio, A. Pollaiolo, Verrocchio, Piero della Francesca, A. Mantegna, P. Perugino, etc.) are characterized by a sense of the harmonious ordering of the world, conversion to the ethical and civic ideals of humanism, joyful perception of the beauty and diversity of the real world.
The ancestor of Italian Renaissance architecture was Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), an architect, sculptor and scientist, one of the creators of the scientific theory of perspective.

A special place in the history of Italian architecture is occupied by Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472). This Italian scholar, architect, writer and musician of the Early Renaissance was educated in Padua, studied law in Bologna, and later lived in Florence and Rome. He created theoretical treatises On the Statue (1435), On Painting (1435–1436), On Architecture (published in 1485). He defended the "folk" (Italian) language as a literary language, in the ethical treatise "On the Family" (1737-1441) he developed the ideal of a harmoniously developed personality. In architectural work, Alberti gravitated towards bold experimental solutions. He was one of the pioneers of the new European architecture.

Palazzo Rucellai

Leon Battista Alberti designed new type a palazzo with a facade treated with rustication to its full height and dissected by three tiers of pilasters, which look like the structural basis of the building (Palazzo Rucellai in Florence, built by B. Rossellino according to Alberti's plans).
Opposite the Palazzo stands the Rucellai Loggia, where receptions and banquets for trading partners were held, weddings were celebrated.

Loggia Rucellai

High Renaissance

This is the time of the most magnificent development of the Renaissance style. In Italy, it lasted from about 1500 to 1527. Now the center of Italian art is moving from Florence to Rome, thanks to the accession to the papal throne. Julia II, an ambitious, courageous, enterprising person who attracted to his court best artists Italy.

Raphael Santi "Portrait of Pope Julius II"

Many monumental buildings are being built in Rome, magnificent sculptures are being created, frescoes and paintings are being painted, which are still considered masterpieces of painting. Antiquity is still highly valued and carefully studied. But imitation of the ancients does not stifle the independence of artists.
The pinnacle of the Renaissance is the work of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) and Raphael Santi (1483-1520).

Late Renaissance

In Italy, this is the period from the 1530s to the 1590s-1620s. The art and culture of this time is very diverse. Some believe (for example, British scholars) that "The Renaissance as an integral historical period ended with the fall of Rome in 1527." The art of the late Renaissance is a very complex picture of the struggle of various currents. Many artists did not seek to study nature and its laws, but only outwardly tried to assimilate the "manner" of the great masters: Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo. On this occasion, the aged Michelangelo once said, looking at how artists copy his "Last Judgment": "My art will make many fools."
IN Southern Europe the Counter-Reformation triumphed, which did not welcome any free thought, including the chanting human body and the resurrection of the ideals of antiquity.
Famous artists of this period were Giorgione (1477/1478-1510), Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), Caravaggio (1571-1610) and others. Caravaggio considered the founder of the Baroque style.

The word "Renaissance" evokes the image of the fabulous bird Phoenix, which has always personified the process of eternal unchanging resurrection. And the phrase "Renaissance" is not enough even for who knows history of a person is associated with a bright and original period of history. These associations are generally correct. The Renaissance - the time from the 14th to the 16th centuries in Italy (the transitional era from the Middle Ages to the New Age) is full of extraordinary events and is represented by brilliant creators.

The term "Renissance" (Renaissance) was introduced by G. Vasari, a famous painter, architect and art historian, to designate the period of Italian art from 1250 to 1550, as the time of the revival of antiquity, although the concept of rebirth has been part of the everyday historical and philosophical thinking since antiquity. The idea of ​​turning to antiquity was formed in the late Middle Ages. The figures of that era did not think about blind imitation of the era of antiquity, but considered themselves the successors of the artificially interrupted ancient history. By the 16th century the content of the concept was narrowed and embodied in the term proposed by Vasari. Since then, the Renaissance meant the rebirth of antiquity as an ideal model.

In the future, the content of the term Renaissance evolved. The Renaissance was understood as the emancipation of science and art from theology, a gradual cooling towards Christian ethics, the birth of national literatures, the human desire for freedom from the restrictions of the Catholic Church. The Renaissance era was actually identified with the beginning of the era of humanism.

Research objectives:

- to consider the features of the concept of culture in the Renaissance;

- to analyze the main features of the Renaissance culture;

the concept of "culture" in the Renaissance - the beginning of a cultural upheaval in Europe

The concept of "culture of the new time" covers the historical period from the XIV century to the present. Internal periodization includes the following steps:

formation (XIV-XV centuries);

crystallization, decoration (XVI - early XVII);

classical period (XVII - XVIII centuries);

descending stage of development (XIX century).

The border of the Middle Ages is the XIII century. At this time, there is a single Europe, it has one cultural language - Latin, three emperors, a single religion. Europe is experiencing the heyday of Gothic architecture. The process of formation of nationally independent states begins. National identity begins to prevail over religious.

By the 13th century, production began to play an increasingly strong role. This is the first step towards overcoming the disintegration of Europe. Europe is getting richer. In the XIII century. the peasants of Northern and Central Italy become personally free, but they lose their land and join the ranks of the poor. A significant part of them is supplied to the cities.

XII-XIII centuries - the heyday of cities, especially in southern Europe. This period is characterized by the beginning of proto-bourgeois development. By the XIII century. many of the cities become independent states. The beginning of the culture of the new time is directly connected with the transition from rural culture to urban culture.

The crisis of medieval culture most profoundly affected its foundation - the sphere of religion and the church. The Church begins to lose moral, financial, military authority. Various currents begin to crystallize in the church as an expression of spiritual protest against the secularization of the church, its "drawing" into the economy. The form of this protest is the birth of orders. This phenomenon is largely associated with the name of Francis of Assisi (1182-1226). Coming from a merchant family, he led a very free lifestyle in his youth. Then he moved away from frivolous behavior, began to preach exceptional asceticism and became the head of the Franciscan order of the mendicant brethren. The religiosity of Francis was peculiar. Two features characterize his religiosity: the preaching of poverty and a special Christian pantheism. Francis taught that the grace of God lives in every earthly creature; he called animals brothers of man. The pantheism of Francis already included something new, remotely echoing the pantheism of the ancient Greeks. Francis does not condemn the world for its sinfulness, but admires its harmony. In an era of intense drama late medieval Franciscanism carried a calmer and brighter outlook on the world, which could not but attract the forerunners of the Renaissance culture. Many people followed the Franciscans with their preaching of poverty, sacrificing their property. The second order of mendicants is the Order of the Dominicans (1215), named after St. Dominic, a Spanish monk. In 1232, the Inquisition was transferred to this order.

The 14th century turned out to be a difficult test for Europe: a terrible plague epidemic destroyed 3/4 of its population and created a background against which the old Europe was disintegrating, new cultural regions were emerging. The wave of cultural change begins in the more prosperous south of Europe, in Italy. Here they take the form of the Renaissance (Renaissance). The term "Renaissance" in the exact sense refers only to Italy XIII - XVI centuries. He acts as special case culture of the new age. The second stage in the formation of the culture of the new time unfolds later on the territory of transalpine Europe - primarily in Germany, France and other countries.

In a broad sense, “Renaissance is not the past period of our history, but its essence. Every discovery of meaning is a step towards the Renaissance, which in its task is one now and in past centuries. 1

Considering the Renaissance, it is very difficult to maintain objectivity and impartiality due to the fact that the Renaissance itself constantly pulsates in any historical era of the New Age, including ours.

In modern science, there are several points of view on the term " rebirth» . In a broad sense, this term defines an ethno-cultural take-off, an explosion of national consciousness, an intensification of the development of national culture. In a narrow sense, we are talking about a certain period in the development of world, primarily European, culture from the end of the 12th century (Italy) to the beginning of the 17th century (in some European countries, for example, in England, Portugal, Poland, Ukraine - a little later) and pursues the goal of determining a set of features that make it possible to topologically attribute a specific national culture to the Renaissance type. This is the meaning of the term rebirth» (« Renaissance”) is adopted in this work.

Particular attention should be paid to the fact that the culture of the Renaissance is by no means a necessary stage of development for any national culture (in contrast to the mythological - ancient-primitive or theocentric-medieval stages). Some characteristic features of the Renaissance were experienced by individual cultures at later stages of development. That is why among historians and culturologists, disputes do not subside regarding not only the role and place, but also the patterns of the period

Renaissance in cultural process. These points of view can be summarized as follows:

The Renaissance is a completely independent new stage in the history of European culture, inheriting the Middle Ages, but at the same time being the mental opposite of the latter as a cultural phenomenon akin to Greco-Roman antiquity.


The Renaissance represents the last stage in the development of the Middle Ages, the quintessence of everything worked out and realized by culture in ten years. medieval ages Europe (the outstanding Dutch culturologist J. Huizinga calls the Renaissance "the autumn of the Middle Ages");


• The Renaissance is a transitional era from the Middle Ages to the New Age with all the contradictions, inconsistencies, and regressions inherent in such a “bridge” (for example, the phenomena of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, secularization and the Inquisition, etc.).
  

  Each of the selected points of view has weighty arguments, and our task in this case is to use their example to show the discrepancy between the content of the term in different cultural approaches. Let us also pay attention to the fact that when studying not economic or social history, but specifically culturology, perceiving culture not discretely, but as a continuous process of development, we see no contradictions between different positions in the study of this cultural era as special, but at the same time typical. , largely transitional, and therefore culturally related to such eras as Hellenism, Baroque culture, later - the nineteenth century, and possibly the second half of the twentieth.
  

  The very term "revival" to characterize the era of the XIV-XVI centuries was introduced by her contemporaries - Italian humanists. Genetically associated with the religious and ethical concept of "renewal", this term acquires a fundamentally different meaning in this period: the renewal of culture, the rise of literature, art, science after their long decline in the Middle Ages - by the way, the last term was also a creation of the Renaissance humanists: "" the era in the middle "(between antiquity and the Renaissance). Thus, already in the assessments of the figures of this era, the Renaissance was dominated by “medieval barbarism” (which, as you know, was at least unfair in relation to their own cultural origins). However, the Italian poet Francesco Petrarch builds the concept of "dark ages", seeing only deep differences between the culture of antiquity and the following era of the Middle Ages and, conversely, a close hereditary connection between antiquity and modern period(Renaissance period). The humanists of the next generations did not hide their contempt for the "ignorance and barbarism" of the Middle Ages and energetically "revived ancient traditions", believing themselves to be their direct successors.
  

  It is clear that in the history of culture there have not been and cannot be "more outstanding" or "less outstanding" epochs. Each stage of the existence of mankind solves its own issues that were not problematic or did not face the society of a different era at all. Therefore, the Renaissance should not be perceived in the very vein in which the people of this, in many respects, innovative, cultural era perceived it. As for their ethical and especially aesthetic ideals, they are certainly more consonant with a person of the twentieth century than, say, the ideals of the Middle Ages.
  

  Indeed, the Renaissance became a kind of magnet for subsequent eras. Perhaps because for the first time in the history of culture a secular culture appeared, in the modern sense of the word, inviting a person not to theatrical performances, not to Gladiator fights, not in a cell, but for small talk somewhere in a villa, from where a beautiful view of renewed city. A man of the New Age, finding himself, for example, on the streets of Florence, among palaces, statues and paintings, feels himself involved in a confidential, calm conversation. He, an adult, seems to enter his children's room, which he has not been in for a long time, but in which, it seems, he can navigate with his eyes closed, he can name all the objects, and knows where and how they should lie.
  

  The figures of the Renaissance themselves contrasted the new era with the Middle Ages as a period of darkness and ignorance. But the originality of this time is rather not the movement of civilization against savagery, culture against barbarism, knowledge against ignorance, but the manifestation of another civilization, another culture, another knowledge.
  

  The Renaissance is a revolution, first of all, in the system of values, in the assessment of everything that exists and in relation to it. There is a conviction that a person is the highest value. Such a view of a person determined the most important feature of the culture of the Renaissance - the development of individualism in the sphere of worldview and the comprehensive manifestation of individuality in public life.
  

  One of the characteristic features of the spiritual atmosphere of this time was a noticeable revival of secular moods. Cosimo Medici, the uncrowned ruler of Florence, said that he who seeks support in heaven for the ladder of his life will fall, and that he personally always strengthened it on earth.
  

  The secular character is also inherent in such a bright phenomenon of Renaissance culture as humanism. In the broad sense of the word, humanism is a way of thinking that proclaims the idea of ​​the good of man as the main goal of social and cultural development and defends the value of man as a person. In this interpretation, this term is used in our time. But as an integral system of views and a broad current of social thought, humanism arose in the Renaissance.
  

  The ancient cultural heritage played a huge role in the formation of Renaissance thinking. The result of the increased interest in classical culture was the study of ancient texts and the use of pagan prototypes to embody Christian images, the collection of cameos, sculptures and other antiquities, as well as the restoration of the Roman tradition of portrait busts. The revival of antiquity, in fact, gave the name to the whole era (after all, the Renaissance is translated as rebirth). Philosophy occupies a special place in the spiritual culture of this time, and it has all the features that were mentioned above. The most important feature philosophy of the Renaissance - the anti-scholastic orientation of the views and writings of the thinkers of this time. Its other characteristic feature is the creation of a new pantheistic picture of the world, identifying God and nature.
  

  So, by the Renaissance we mean the period in the history of European culture, primarily from the 14th to the 16th century inclusive, characterized by the transfer of cultural interests from the sphere of the higher (heavenly) world, from the sacred to the material manifestations of life, that is, into the sphere profane- up to the creation of culture anthropocentrism(from the Greek "anthropos" - man). The Renaissance is characterized by a surge of artistic creativity, primarily in the field of plastic arts (painting, sculpture), the emergence of national languages ​​based on church Latin and local folk dialects, the formation of nation-states based on feudal possessions, economic development, and on its basis the development of cities and towns. civilization associated with them, spiritual secularization("secularization") and the growth of individualistic tendencies in public life and everyday life.
  

  Of course, not every European country has carried out such a development during this period, so to speak, "in full". However, spiritual emancipation, the spirit of individualism, the secularization of spiritual values, the appeal to man as the central figure of being are necessary and sufficient signs of a revivalist type for any national culture.
  

  2. FEATURES OF THE RENAISSANCE. THE CHARACTER OF RENAISSANCE CULTURE
  

  When the European spirit ceased striving for death and turned to life, it found a new source of strength for itself at the very beginning of its journey - in antiquity. For almost a thousand years, medieval Europe developed on the ruins of ancient culture abandoned by the barbarians. The Middle Ages is the same antiquity, but in a barbaric perception and execution. However, one should not think that medieval culture is somehow inferior because it has become a combination of the ruins of antiquity and barbarism. The energy of the barbarians was able to destroy one of the most powerful cultures in history, and then revived what could not be destroyed - the creative spirit of antiquity. A new impetus for the development of European culture was expressed in the era, which is usually called the Renaissance (Renaissance). In various countries of Western Europe, it covers the period from the XIV century. to the beginning of the 17th century. The culture of the Renaissance inherited pre-Christian ideas and images, but Christianity could not but leave an imprint on it. Pagan vitality and Christian humility complemented each other in the culture of the Renaissance, their combination gave birth to the ideals of harmony and balance. This can be illustrated by the lines of one of the greatest figures of the Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519):
  

  Love is sublime when in the union of two
  

  Before the height of the soul, she reveres.
  

  Love is low when the spirit is insignificant,
  

  And low is the world of him who is chosen by her.
  

  Give peace and drive away fear
  

  Love clock. But you're marked if
  

  Nature wisely keeps on the scales
  

  Love and spirit are in perfect balance.
  

  The culture of the Renaissance was created by the burghers, from which the early bourgeoisie originated, the nobility, the basis of which was medieval chivalry, and the urban intelligentsia. The cooperation of these social strata gave culture a universal character.
  

  The revival was self-determined, first of all, in the sphere of artistic creativity. As an epoch of European history, it was marked by many significant milestones, including the strengthening of the economic and social liberties of cities, spiritual fermentation, which eventually led to the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, the Peasant War in Germany, the formation of an absolutist monarchy (the largest in France), the beginning of the era of the Great geographical discoveries, the invention of European book printing, the discovery of the heliocentric system in cosmology, etc. However, its first sign, as it seemed to contemporaries, was the “flourishing of the arts” after long centuries of medieval “decline”, a flourishing that “revived” ancient artistic wisdom, precisely in In this sense, the word rinascita (from which the French Renaissance and all its European analogues come) is used for the first time by J. Vasari.
  

  At the same time, artistic creativity and especially fine arts are now understood as a universal language that allows one to know the secrets of "divine Nature". By imitating nature, by reproducing it not conventionally, but naturally, in a medieval way, the artist enters into competition with the Supreme Creator. Art appears in equal measure as a laboratory and a temple, where the paths of natural science and God-knowledge (as well as the aesthetic feeling, the “sense of beauty”, which is first formed in its ultimate self-worth) constantly intersect.
  

  The universal claims of art, which ideally should be "accessible to everything", are very close to the principles of the new Renaissance philosophy. Its largest representatives - Nicholas of Cusa, Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola, Paracelsus, Giordano Bruno - make the focus of their thoughts on the problem of spiritual creativity, which, covering all spheres of being, thereby, with its infinite energy, proves the right of man to be called "the second god" or "like would be a god." Such an intellectual and creative aspiration can include - along with the ancient and biblical-evangelical tradition - purely unorthodox elements of gnosticism and magic (the so-called "natural magic", combining natural philosophy with astrology, alchemy and other occult disciplines, in these centuries is closely intertwined with the beginnings of a new, experimental natural science). However, the problem of man (or human consciousness) and his rootedness in God still remains common to all, although the conclusions from it can be of the most varied, and compromise-moderate, and impudent "heretical" character.
  

  Consciousness is in a state of choice - both the meditations of philosophers and the speeches of religious figures of all confessions are devoted to it: from the leaders of the Reformation M. Luther and J. Calvin, or Erasmus of Rotterdam (preaching the "third way" of Christian-humanistic religious tolerance) to Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the order Jesuits, one of the inspirers of the Counter-Reformation. Moreover, the very concept of "Renaissance" has - in the context of church reforms - a second meaning, marking not only the "renewal of the arts", but the "renewal of man", his moral composition.
  

  The task of educating the "new man" is recognized as the main task of the era. The Greek word ("education") is the clearest analogue of the Latin humanitas (where "humanism" originates). Humanitas in the Renaissance conception implies not only the mastery of ancient wisdom, which was of great importance, but also self-knowledge and self-improvement. Humanitarian and scientific and human, scholarship and worldly experience must be combined in a state of ideal virtu (in Italian, both “virtue” and “valor” - due to which the word carries a medieval chivalrous connotation). Reflecting these ideals in a nature-like way, the art of the Renaissance gives the educational aspirations of the era a convincingly sensual clarity.
  

  Antiquity (that is, the ancient heritage), the Middle Ages (with their religiosity, as well as the secular code of honor) and the New Age (which put the human mind, its creative energy at the center of its interests) are here in a state of sensitive and continuous dialogue.
  

  The periodization of the Renaissance is determined by the supreme role of fine art in its culture. Stages in the history of art in Italy - the birthplace of the Renaissance - for a long time served as the main starting point. They are specially distinguished: the introductory period, the Proto-Renaissance, “the era of Dante and Giotto”, about 1260-1320, partially coinciding with the Ducento period (13th century), as well as the Trecento (14th century), Quattrocento (15th century) and Cinquecento (16th century). More common periods are the Early Renaissance (14th-15th centuries), when new trends actively interact with the Gothic, overcoming and creatively transforming it; as well as the Middle (or High) and Late Renaissance, of which Mannerism became a special phase. The new culture of the countries located to the north and west of the Alps (France, the Netherlands, the Germanic-speaking lands) is collectively referred to as the Northern Renaissance; here the role of late Gothic (including such an important, “medieval-Renaissance” stage as “international Gothic” or “soft style” of the late 14-15th centuries) was especially significant. The characteristic features of the Renaissance were also clearly manifested in the countries of Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, etc.), and affected Scandinavia. An original Renaissance culture developed in Spain, Portugal and England.
  

  Of great practical importance is the theory of linear and aerial perspective, proportions, problems of anatomy and light and shade modeling. The center of Renaissance innovations, the artistic "mirror of the era" was an illusory-natural-like painting, in religious art it supplants the icon, and in secular art it gives rise to independent genres of landscape, everyday painting, portrait (the latter played a primary role in the visual affirmation of the ideals of the humanistic virtu).
  

  The art of printed engraving on wood and metal, which became truly massive during the Reformation, receives its final value. Drawing from a working sketch turns into a separate type of creativity; the individual manner of the brushstroke, stroke, as well as the texture and the effect of incompleteness (non-finito) are beginning to be valued as independent artistic effects.
  

  Monumental painting also becomes picturesque, illusory-three-dimensional, gaining more and more visual independence from the massif of the wall. All types of fine arts now, one way or another, violate the monolithic medieval synthesis (where architecture dominated), gaining comparative independence. Types of an absolutely round statue requiring a special detour, an equestrian monument, a portrait bust are being formed (in many respects reviving the ancient tradition), a completely new type of solemn sculptural and architectural tombstone is being formed.
  

  The ancient order system predetermines the new architecture, the main types of which are the harmoniously clear in proportions and at the same time plastically eloquent palace and temple (the idea of ​​a temple building that is centric in plan is especially captivating for architects). The utopian dreams characteristic of the Renaissance do not find full-scale embodiment in urban planning, but implicitly spiritualize new ones. architectural ensembles, whose scope accentuates the "earthly", centric-perspectively organized horizontals, and not the gothic vertical aspiration upwards.
  

  Various types of decorative art, as well as fashions, acquire a special, in their own way “pictorial” picturesqueness. Among the ornaments, the grotesque plays a particularly important semantic role.
  

  In literature, the love for Latin as the universal language of humanistic learning (which they seek to restore in its ancient expressive richness) coexists with the stylistic improvement of national, folk languages. The urban short story and the picaresque novel most vividly express the lively and provocative universalism of the Renaissance personality, who, as it were, is everywhere in his place. Characteristic of the era are also the novel as such and the heroic poem (closely associated with the medieval adventurous chivalric tradition), satirical poetry and prose (the image of the wise jester now acquires central importance), various love lyrics, pastoral as a popular cross-species theme. In the theater, against the background of the rapid development of various forms of drama, magnificent court extravaganzas and city festivals stand out, giving rise to colorful synthesis of the arts.
  

  Already in the period of the Early Renaissance, the musical polyphony of a strict style reached its peak (see the Dutch school). Compositional techniques become more complex, giving rise to early forms of opera, oratorios, overtures, suites, and sonatas. Professional secular musical culture - closely related to folklore - plays an increasing role along with religious.
  

  The baroque that inherited the Renaissance is closely connected with its later phases: a number of key figures of European culture, including Cervantes and Shakespeare, belong in this respect to both the Renaissance and the Baroque.
  

  Humanism, an appeal to the cultural heritage of antiquity, as if its “revival” (hence the name). The revival arose and most clearly manifested itself in Italy, where already at the turn of the 13th-14th centuries. (see Proto-Renaissance) its forerunners were the poet Dante, the artist Giotto and others. The work of the Renaissance figures is imbued with faith in endless possibilities man, his will and reason, the denial of scholasticism and asceticism (the humanistic ethics of the Italians Lorenzo Valla, Pico della Mirandola, etc.). The pathos of affirming the ideal of a harmonious, liberated creative personality, the beauty and harmony of reality, the appeal to man as the highest principle of being, the feeling of wholeness and harmonious laws of the universe give the art of the Renaissance great ideological significance, a majestic heroic scale. In architecture, secular structures began to play a leading role - public buildings, palaces, city houses. Using the order division of the wall, arched galleries, colonnades, vaults, domes, architects (Brunelleschi, Alberti, Bramante, Palladio in Italy, Lescaut, Delorme in France) gave their buildings majestic clarity, harmony and proportionality to man. Artists (Donatello, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, Mantegna, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto in Italy; Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Brueghel in the Netherlands; Dürer, Niethardt, Holbein in Germany; Fouquet , Goujon, Clouet in France) consistently mastered the artistic reflection of all the richness of reality - the transfer of volume, space, light, the image of a human figure (including a naked one) and the real environment - an interior, a landscape. Renaissance literature created such monuments of enduring value as Gargantua and Pantagruel (1533-52) by Rabelais, Shakespeare's dramas, the novel Don Quixote (1605-15) by Cervantes, etc., which organically combined interest in antiquity with an appeal to folk culture, the pathos of the comic with the tragedy of being. Petrarch's sonnets, Boccaccio's short stories, Ariosto's heroic poem, the philosophical grotesque (Erasmus of Rotterdam's treatise Praise of Stupidity, 1511), Montaigne's essays in various genres, individual forms and national variants embodied the ideas of the Renaissance. In music imbued with a humanistic worldview, vocal and instrumental polyphony develops, new genres of secular vocal (frottola and villanella in Italy, villancico in Spain, ballad in England, madrigal) and instrumental music appear; the era ends with the emergence of such musical genres as solo song, cantata, oratorio and opera, which contributed to the establishment of homophony.
  

  During the Renaissance, spread philosophical ideas neoplatonism (Ficino) and pantheism (Patrici, Bruno, etc.), outstanding scientific discoveries were made in the field of geography (Geographical discoveries), astronomy (development of the heliocentric system of the world by Copernicus), anatomy (Vesalius).
  

  3. OUTSTANDING PERSONS OF THE RENAISSANCE
  

  It is natural that the time, which attached central importance to the "divine" human creativity, put forward in the art of personalities who - with all the abundance of talents of that time - became the personification of entire eras of national culture (personalities - "titans", as they were romantically called later). Giotto became the personification of the Proto-Renaissance, the opposite aspects of the Quattrocento - constructive rigor and sincere lyricism - were respectively expressed by Masaccio and Fra Angelico with Botticelli. The "Titans" of the Middle (or "High") Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo are artists - symbols of the great milestone of the New Age as such. Milestones Italian Renaissance architecture - early, middle and late - is monumentally embodied in the work of F. Brunelleschi, D. Bramante and A. Palladio. J. Van Eyck, J. Bosch and P. Brueghel the Elder personify with their work the early, middle and late stages of painting of the Netherlandish Renaissance. A. Durer, Grunewald (M. Nithardt), L. Cranach the Elder, H. Holbein the Younger approved the principles of the new fine arts in Germany. In literature, F. Petrarch, F. Rabelais, Cervantes and W. Shakespeare - to name only the largest names - not only made an exceptional, truly epoch-making contribution to the process of formation of national literary languages, but became the founders of modern lyrics, novel and drama as such.
  

  The original epic of the High Renaissance, a comprehensive picture of society and its heroic ideals in folk fairy-tale and philosophical-comic form was the work F. Rabelais "Gargantua and Pantagruel". In the late Renaissance, characterized by a crisis in the concept of humanism and the creation of a prosaic emerging bourgeois society, the pastoral genres of the novel and drama developed. The highest rise of the late Renaissance - the dramas of Shakespeare and the novels of Cervantes, based on tragic or tragicomic conflicts between a heroic personality and a system of social life unworthy of a person.
  

  The progressive humanistic content of the culture of the Renaissance was vividly expressed in theatrical art, which was significantly influenced by ancient drama. He is characterized by an interest in the inner world of a person endowed with features of a powerful individuality. Distinctive features Theatrical art of the Renaissance was the development of the traditions of folk art, life-affirming pathos, a bold combination of tragic and comic, poetic and buffoonish-areal elements. Such is the theater of Italy, Spain, England. highest achievement Italian theater was the improvisational commedia dell'arte (XVI century). The greatest flourishing theater of the Renaissance reached in the works of Shakespeare.
  

  In the Renaissance, professional music loses the character of a purely church art and is influenced by folk music, imbued with a new humanistic worldview. Various genres of secular musical art appear: frottola and villanella in Italy, villancico in Spain, ballad in England, madrigal, which originated in Italy, but became widespread. Secular humanistic aspirations also penetrate cult music. New genres of instrumental music are being formed, national schools performances on the lute, organ. The Renaissance ends with the emergence of new musical genres - solo songs, oratorios, operas.
  

  However, the aesthetic and artistic ideal of the Renaissance was most fully expressed by architecture, sculpture, and painting. Note that in the system of arts during this period there is a shift of emphasis. Architecture has ceased to be the "conductor" of the orchestra and the arts. Painting comes to the fore. And this is no coincidence: the art of the Renaissance sought to know and display the real world, its beauty, wealth, diversity. And painting in this there were no more opportunities compared to other arts.
  

  Our compatriot, a remarkable connoisseur of the Italian Renaissance P. Muratov wrote about it this way: “Humanity has never been so carefree in relation to the cause of things, and never has it been so sensitive to their phenomena. The world is given to man, and since it is a small world, everything in it is precious, every movement of our body, every curl of a grape leaf, every pearl in a woman's dress. For the artist's eye, there was nothing small and insignificant in the spectacle of life. Everything was an object of knowledge for him. 1 .
  

  Renaissance artists develop principles, discover the laws of direct linear perspective. The creators of the theory of perspective were Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Alberta, Leonardo da Vinci. With a perspective construction, the whole picture turns into a kind of window through which we look at the world. The space develops in depth smoothly, imperceptibly flowing from one plane to another. The discovery of perspective was of great importance: it helped to expand the range of depicted phenomena, to include space, landscape, and architecture in painting.
  

  The combination of a scientist and an artist in one person, in one creative personality was possible in the Renaissance and will become impossible later. Renaissance masters are often referred to as titans, referring to their versatility. “It was an era that needed titans and gave birth to them in terms of the power of thought, passion and character, in terms of versatility and learning,” wrote F. Engels 2 . Leonardo da Vinci(1452-1519) was a painter, sculptor, architect, writer, musician, art theorist, military engineer, inventor, mathematician, anatomist, botanist. He explored almost all areas of natural science, foresaw many things that were not yet thought of at that time.
  

  When they began to analyze his manuscripts and countless drawings, they discovered the discoveries of the mechanics of the XIX century. Vasari wrote with admiration about Leonardo da Vinci:
  

  “... There was so much talent in him, and this talent was such that, no matter what difficulties his spirit turned to, he resolved them with ease ... His thoughts and daring were always regal and generous, and the glory of his name grew so much that he was appreciated not only in his time, but also after his death.
  

  Michelangelo Buonarroti(1475-1564) - other Great master of the Renaissance, a versatile, versatile person: sculptor, architect, artist, poet. Poetry was the youngest of Michelangelo's muses. More than 200 of his poems have come down to us.
  

  Rafael Santi(1483-1520) - not only a talented, but also a versatile artist: an architect and muralist, a portrait master and a decorator.
  

  Albrecht Dürer(1471-1528) - the founder and largest representative of the German Renaissance, "northern Leonardo da Vinci", created several dozen paintings, more than a hundred engravings, about 250 woodcuts, many hundreds of drawings, watercolors. Dürer was also an art theorist, the first in Germany to create a work on perspective and write "Four Books on Human Proportions".
  

  These examples could be continued. Thus, universality, versatility, creative talent were characteristic features of the masters of the Renaissance.
  

  Conclusion
  

  So,
  revival, or Renaissance - an era in the life of mankind, marked by a colossal rise in art and science. The art of the Renaissance, which arose on the basis of humanism - a trend of social thought that proclaimed a person the highest value of life. In art, the main theme has become a beautiful, harmoniously developed person with unlimited spiritual and creative possibilities. The art of the Renaissance laid the foundations of the European culture of the New Age, radically changed all the main types of art. Creatively revised principles of the ancient order system were established in architecture, and new types of public buildings were formed. Painting was enriched by linear and aerial perspective knowledge of the anatomy and proportions of the human body. Earthly content penetrated the traditional religious themes of works of art. Increased interest in ancient mythology, history, everyday scenes, landscape, portrait. Along with the monumental wall paintings that adorn architectural structures, a picture appeared, oil painting arose. Ranked first in art creative individuality The artist is usually a universally gifted individual.
  

  In the art of the Renaissance, the paths of scientific and artistic comprehension of the world and man were closely intertwined. Its cognitive meaning was inextricably linked with sublime poetic beauty; in its striving for naturalness, it did not descend to petty everyday life. Art has become a universal spiritual need.
  

  The Renaissance is a time of great economic and social transformations in the life of many European states, an era of radical changes in ideology and culture, an era of humanism and enlightenment. During this period, a person's knowledge of the world around him significantly expands and changes. Science, literature, and art reach a high flowering. A crushing blow is dealt to the old church dogmas and scholastic teachings. Favorable conditions are emerging in various areas of the life of human society for an unprecedented rise in culture. The development of science and technology, the great geographical discoveries, the movement of trade routes and the emergence of new commercial and industrial centers, the inclusion of new sources of raw materials and new markets in the production sphere significantly expanded and changed man's ideas about the world around him.
  Bruno Santi. Leonardo da Vinci. M., 1977. REVIVAL AESTHETICS AS INDIVIDUALISTIC AESTHETICSPHENOMENON OF ARTISTIC CULTURE AND FACTORS AFFECTING ITS DEVELOPMENT

  2014-12-09

Content 12+

At the end of the XIV - beginning of the XV centuries. in Europe, and more specifically in Italy, the culture of the early bourgeoisie begins to emerge, which will be called the Renaissance (Renaissance). At this time, society shows a lively interest in the cultural heritage of antiquity, Ancient Greece and Rome. The very term "Renaissance" speaks of the connection of the new culture with the bygone Golden Ages. Searches and restoration of manuscripts and works of art of the ancient "titans" of antiquity begin everywhere and everywhere.

Compared with the period of the Early Middle Ages, the people of the Renaissance are undergoing very significant changes in worldview. Secular, civic motives are intensifying, various areas the life of society - philosophy, education, science, literature and art - become self-sufficient and free from church dogmas.

The continuity of the great ancient culture, the affirmation of the ideals of humanism - this is what is usually called the Renaissance. The human right to freedom, happiness, the recognition of the good of man as the basis of the social order, the assertion of the principles of equality, justice, humanity in relations between people, liberation from religious fetters - this is what true humanism proclaims. Representatives of the Renaissance believed that the boundaries of human knowledge do not exist, because the human mind is identical to the mind of a deity, and the individual himself exists as a mortal god.

Personal qualities, such as intelligence, creative energy, enterprise, self-esteem, will, education, are much more important than the origin or social position of the individual. The man of the Renaissance creates himself, and, consequently, the world around him. He is an active being, all spheres of being intersect in him. Sung by the humanists of the Renaissance, man is a free, Universal personality. Creator, creator of the new world.

The main point of application of spiritual forces at that time was art, as it made it possible to most fully liberate. Self-expression, the ability to create, create and reflect in your work a really existing world. The predominant areas of art that aroused keen interest were literature, music, theater. But the most vivid, memorable and deep way of expression human ideal become architecture, sculpture and of course painting. Nevertheless, all types of art were equally valuable and important for the brilliant creators of the Renaissance.

I prefer death to weariness.

I never tire of serving others.

L. da Vinci

One of the finest examples of the "universal man", the owner of a multifaceted talent, is undoubtedly Leonardo da Vinci - the largest figure of the Italian High Renaissance. He was not only a great representative of art - a writer, sculptor, painter, musician, but also a scientist, technician, inventor, engineer. In Italy, he was called a sorcerer, a magician, a man who can do anything!

The world-renowned genius was born on April 15, 1452, not far from Florence, in the small town of Vinci (hence his name). His father was a wealthy notary, Ser Piero di Antonio da Vinci, and his mother was a simple peasant woman named Catarina. Although little Leonardo was an illegitimate child, he lived and was brought up in his father's house. Antonio da Vinci hoped that the growing son would follow in his footsteps, but social life seemed uninteresting to the boy. Although it is likely that the professions of a lawyer and a doctor were not available to illegitimate children, and therefore the craft of the artist was chosen.

After the family moved to Florence, in 1469, Leonardo got a job as an apprentice in a workshop famous master Andrea del Verrocchio. For six years, da Vinci studied the secrets of art and sculpture. The mentor quickly recognized the outstanding talent in his student and prophesied a great future for him.

Acquaintance with the famous astronomer Paolo Toscanelli was an important step in awakening young Leonardo's interest in various sciences. At the age of twenty, he began to work independently. Tall, slender, attractive young man, possessed considerable physical force, bent horseshoes with his hands, he had no equal in fencing, women admired him. In 1472, da Vinci was already a member of the Florentine Guild of Artists, and by 1473 his first independent artistic work is attributed. A few years later (in 1476) Leonardo has his own workshop. From the very first works ("Annunciation", "Madonna Benois", "Adoration of the Magi"), it became clear that the world was great painter, and further work only increased his fame.

In 1482, Leonardo da Vinci moved from Florence to Milan. The reason for this move was that the head of Florence, Lorenzo Medici the Magnificent, patronized another famous artist of that time Botticelli. Leonardo did not want to be in the second role and left for Milan. There he entered the service of Duke Ludovico Sforza. The list of his official duties was very extensive: da Vinci was engaged in painting, sculpture, military engineering.


At the same time, he was the organizer of festivities, the inventor of various mechanical "miracles". In addition, Leonardo is actively working on his own projects in various fields (for example, on an underwater bell, an aircraft, etc.). Then he began work on his next masterpiece - the fresco "The Last Supper" in the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazia. It depicted the final period of the life of Christ. As contemporaries noted, in this work Leonardo da Vinci showed himself to be a subtle psychologist, he managed to convey the tension of the situation and the different feelings with which the disciples of Jesus were overwhelmed after His sacramental phrase: “One of you will betray Me.”

In 1499, the troops of Louis XII captured Milan and Leonardo moved to Venice, where he entered the service of a military engineer and architect to Cesare Borgia.

In 1503 the artist returns to Florence. It is customary to attribute the writing of, perhaps, his most famous painting, “Mona Lisa” (“Gioconda”), to these years. This work marked the beginning of the genre psychological portrait in everything European art. When creating it, the great master brilliantly used the entire arsenal of means of artistic expression: sharp contrasts and soft undertones, frozen immobility and general fluidity and variability. The whole genius of Leonardo lies in the amazing lively look of Mona Lisa, her mysterious and enigmatic smile. This work is one of the rarest masterpieces of art.

In 1513, at the invitation of the Pope, da Vinci came to Rome to participate in the painting of the Belvedere Palace.

In 1516, the great artist accepted the invitation of the French King Francis I and lived the rest of his days in the royal castle of Cloux near the city of Amboise. During this period of his life, he painted the picture "John the Baptist", prepared a series of drawings on biblical themes, invented a device for measuring the strength of the wind and the speed of the ship. Among his works were projects of earth-moving machines, a submarine. Officially, he received the title of the first royal painter, architect and engineer. Working on the plan of the royal apartments, he acted as an adviser and sage.

Two years after his arrival in France, da Vinci became seriously ill, it was difficult for him to move alone, his right hand became numb, and in next year he completely collapsed. On May 2, 1519, the great "universal man", surrounded by his disciples, died. He was buried in the nearby royal castle of Amboise.

An outstanding artist, a brilliant painter, the author of such masterpieces as "The Adoration of the Magi", "The Last Supper", "Holy Family", "Madonna Liti". "Mona Lisa", belongs to the merit of numerous discoveries in the field of art theory, mechanics, natural sciences, mathematics. Leonardo da Vinci became the embodiment of the ideal of the Italian Renaissance and was perceived by subsequent generations as a kind of symbol of creative aspirations.

At the end of the XIII - beginning of the XIV centuries. in Europe, namely Italy, an early bourgeois culture began to take shape, called " Renaissance culture"(Renaissance). The term "Renaissance" indicated the connection of the new culture with antiquity. At this time, the Italian society began to take an active interest in the culture of Ancient Greece and Rome, the manuscripts of ancient writers were searched for, so the writings of Cicero and Titus Livius were found. The Renaissance was characterized by many very significant changes in people's mindsets compared to the Middle Ages... Secular motives are intensifying in European culture, various spheres of society - art, philosophy, literature, education, science - are becoming more and more independent and independent of the church. the worldview of the carriers of this culture is denoted by the term " humanistic"(from lat. humanus - human).

Renaissance humanists believed that what matters in a person is not his origin or social status, but personal qualities, such as intelligence, creative energy, enterprise, self-esteem, will, education, beauty. A strong, talented and comprehensively developed personality, a person who is the creator of himself and his destiny, was recognized as the "ideal person". During the Renaissance human personality acquires unprecedented value, individualism becomes the most important feature of the humanistic approach to life, which contributes to the spread of the ideas of liberalism and the general increase in the level of freedom of people in society. It is no coincidence that humanists, who in general do not oppose religion and do not dispute the basic provisions of Christianity, assigned God the role of the creator who set the world in motion and does not interfere further in people's lives.

The ideal person, according to humanists, is " universal man", man-creator, encyclopedist. The humanists of the Renaissance believed that the possibilities of human knowledge are endless, because the human mind is like the divine mind, and the man himself is like a mortal god, and in the end people will enter the territory of the heavenly bodies and settle there and become like gods.Educated and gifted people in this period were surrounded by an atmosphere of universal admiration, worship, they were honored, as in the Middle Ages, saints.Enjoyment of earthly existence is an indispensable part of the culture of the Renaissance.

Dante, Francesco Petrarch(1304-1374) and Giovanni Boccaccio(1313-1375) - famous poets of the Renaissance, were the creators of the Italian literary language. During their lifetime, their works became widely known not only in Italy, but also far beyond its borders, and entered the treasury of world literature. worldwide fame received Petrarch's sonnets on the life and death of Madonna Laura.

The Renaissance is characterized by the cult of beauty, especially the beauty of man. Italian painting, which for a time becomes the leading art form, depicts beautiful, perfect people. The first was Giotto(1266-1337), who freed Italian fresco painting from the influence of the Byzantines. realistic manner image inherent in Giotto, at the beginning of the 15th century. continued and developed Masaccio(1401-1428). Using the laws of perspective, he managed to make images of figures voluminous.

One of the most famous sculptors of that time was Donatello (1386-1466), the author of a number of realistic works of the portrait type, for the first time after antiquity, he again presented a naked body in sculpture. The largest architect of the Early Renaissance - Brunelleschi(1377-1446). He sought to combine elements of ancient Roman and Gothic styles, built temples, palaces, chapels. Renaissance painting is represented by creativity Botticelli(1445-1510), who created works on religious and mythological subjects, including the paintings "Spring" and "The Birth of Venus".

Epoch Early Renaissance ended by the end of the XIV century, it was replaced by the High Renaissance - the time of the highest flowering of the humanistic culture of Italy. It was then that ideas about the honor and dignity of man, his high destiny on Earth were expressed with the greatest fullness and force. Titan of the High Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci(1456-1519), one of the most wonderful people in the history of mankind, possessing versatile abilities and talents. Leonardo was at the same time an artist, art theorist, sculptor, architect, mathematician, physicist, astronomer, physiologist, anatomist, and this is not a complete list of the main areas of his activity; he enriched almost all areas of science with brilliant conjectures. His most important artistic works are The Last Supper, a fresco in the Milanese monastery of Site Maria della Grazie, which depicts the moment of the supper after the words of Christ: "One of you will betray me", as well as the world-famous portrait of the young Florentine Mona Lisa, which has another name - "La Gioconda", by the name of her husband.

The great painter was also a titan of the high Renaissance Rafael Santi(1483-1520), creator of the "Sistine Madonna", greatest work world painting: the young Madonna, lightly stepping barefoot on the clouds, carries her tiny son, the Infant Christ, to people, anticipating his death, grieving about it and understanding the need to make this sacrifice in the name of atonement for the sins of mankind.

The last great representative of the culture of the High Renaissance was Michelangelo Buonarroti(1475-1564) - sculptor, painter, architect and poet, creator famous statue David, sculptural figures "Morning", "Evening", "Day", "Night", made for the tombs in the Medici Chapel. Michelangelo painted the ceiling and walls of the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican Palace; one of the most impressive frescoes is the scene of the Last Judgment. In Michelangelo's work, more clearly than his predecessors - Leonardo da Vinci and Rafael Santi, tragic notes sound, caused by the realization of the limit that is set for man, the understanding of the limitations of human capabilities, the impossibility of "surpassing nature."

Great artists Venetian Renaissance were Giorgione(1477-1510), who created the famous paintings "Judith" and "Sleeping Venus", and Titian(1477-1576), who sang the beauty of the surrounding world and man. He also created a gallery of magnificent portraits of powerful and wealthy contemporaries.

By the end of the XV - the first third of the XVI centuries. refers to the flourishing of creativity Ariosto(1474-1537), a remarkable Italian poet, author of the fabulous in form and optimistic in spirit poem "Furious Roland", whose heroes were Roland, the beautiful princess Angelica, wizards, fairies, winged horses, monsters experiencing extraordinary adventures.

The next stage in the culture of the Renaissance - Late Renaissance, which, as is commonly believed, lasted from the 40s. 16th century to the end of the XVI - the first years of the XVII centuries.

Italy, the birthplace of the Renaissance, was also the first country where the catholic reaction. In the 40s. 16th century here the Inquisition was reorganized and strengthened, persecuting the figures of the humanist movement. In the middle of the XVI century. Pope Paul IV compiled the "Index of Forbidden Books", subsequently replenished many times with new works. The "Index" also includes the works of some Italian humanists, in particular, Giovanni Boccaccio. Banned books were burned, the same fate could well have befallen their authors, and all dissidents who actively defend their views and do not want to compromise with the Catholic Church. Many advanced thinkers and scientists died at the stake. So, in 1600 in Rome, on the Square of Flowers, the great Giordano Bruno(1548-1600), author of the famous essay "On Infinity, the Universe and the Worlds".

Many painters, poets, sculptors, architects abandoned the ideas of humanism, trying to learn only the "manner" of the great figures of the Renaissance. The most important artists working in the style of Mannerism were Pontormo (1494-1557), Bronzino(1503-1572), sculptor Cellini(1500-1573). Their works were distinguished by their complexity and intensity of images. At the same time, some artists continue to develop the realistic tradition in painting: Veronese (1528-1588), Tintoretto (1518-1594), Caravaggio(1573-1610), Caracci brothers. The work of some of them, such as Caravaggio, had a great influence on the development of painting not only in Italy, but also in France, Spain, Flanders, and Holland. The interpenetration of cultures became deeper and deeper, thus forming a pan-European culture, a pan-European civilization.

The humanist movement was a pan-European phenomenon: in the 15th century. humanism goes beyond the borders of Italy and is rapidly spreading throughout all Western European countries. Each country had its own characteristics in the formation of the Renaissance culture, its national achievements, its leaders.

In Germany, the ideas of humanism become known in the middle of the 15th century, exerting a strong influence on university circles and progressive intelligentsia.

A prominent representative of German humanistic literature was Johann Reuchlin(1455-1522), who sought to show the divine in man himself. He is the author of the famous satirical work"Letters of dark people", in which a string of ignorant, dark people is displayed - masters and bachelors, who, by the way, have academic degrees.

The revival in Germany is inextricably linked with the phenomenon of the Reformation - the movement for the reform (from the Latin reformatio - transformation) of the Catholic Church, for the creation of a "cheap church" without extortions and fees for rituals, for the purification of Christian doctrine from all kinds of incorrect provisions that are inevitable in the centuries-old history of Christianity . Led the Reformation movement in Germany Martin Luther(1483-1546), doctor of theology and monk of an Augustinian monastery. He believed that faith is an internal state of a person, that salvation is given to a person directly from God, and that it is possible to come to God without the mediation of the Catholic clergy. Luther and his supporters refused to return to the bosom of the Catholic Church and protested the demand to renounce their views, marking the beginning of the Protestant trend in Christianity. Martin Luther was the first to translate German Bible, which greatly contributed to the success of the Reformation.

The victory of the Reformation in the middle of the XVI century. caused a public upsurge and the growth of national culture. Fine arts flourished remarkably. The famous painter and engraver worked in this area. Albrecht Dürer(1471-1528), painters Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543), Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553).

There has been a significant rise German literature. The most important German poets of the Reformation were Hans Sachs(1494-1576), who wrote many edifying fables, songs, schwanks, dramatic works, and Johann Fishart(1546-1590) - author of witty satirical works, the last representative of the German Renaissance.

The founder of the Reformation in Switzerland was Ulrich Zwingli(1484-1531). In 1523, he carried out a church reform in Zurich, during which church rites and services were simplified, a number of church holidays were canceled, some monasteries were closed, and church lands were secularized. Subsequently, the center of the Swiss Reformation moved to Geneva, and the reform movement was headed by Calvin (1509-1562), the creator of the most consistent reform movement.

The Reformation won in Switzerland in the 16th century, and this victory largely determined the general cultural atmosphere in society: excessive luxury, magnificent festivities, amusements were condemned, honesty, diligence, dedication, and strict morals were approved. These ideas are especially widespread in the Nordic countries.

The largest representative of the Renaissance culture in the Netherlands was Erasmus of Rotterdam(1496-1536). The value of the works of the great humanist and educator, including his famous "Praise of Stupidity", for the education of free-thinking, a critical attitude towards scholasticism, superstition is truly invaluable.

One of the forerunners and founders of liberalism can be considered Dirk Koornhert, a spokesman for the ideas of freedom, religious tolerance and cosmopolitanism. Creativity belongs to the same period. Philippa Aldejonde, author of the national anthem of the Netherlands, artists Pieter Brueghel (1525-1569), Frans Hals (1580-1660).

In England, the center of humanistic ideas was Oxford University, where the leading scientists of that time worked.

The development of humanistic views in the field of social philosophy is associated with the name of Thomas More (1478-1535), the author of Utopia, who presented to the reader the ideal, in his opinion, human society: everyone is equal in it, there is no private property, and gold is not a value - it is used to make chains for criminals. The most famous authors were Philip Cindy (1554-1586), Edmund Spencer (1552-1599).

The greatest figure of the English Renaissance was William Shakespeare(1564-1616), creator of the world famous tragedies"Hamlet", "King Lear", "Othello", historical plays "Henry VI", "Richard III", sonnets. Shakespeare was a playwright at the London Globe Theatre, which was very popular with the population.

The rise of theatrical art, its public and democratic nature, contributed to the development of democratic structures in English society.

The revival in Spain was more controversial than in other European countries: many humanists here did not oppose Catholicism and the Catholic Church. Widespread chivalric romances , and picaresque novels. First performed in this genre Fernando de Rojas, author of the famous tragicomedy Celestina (written c. 1492-1497). This line was continued and developed by the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes(1547-1616), author of the immortal Don Quixote, satirical writer Francisco de Quevedo(1580-1645), who created the famous novel "The Story of the Life of a Rogue".

The founder of the Spanish national drama is the great Lope de Vega(1562-1635), author of more than 1800 literary works, including such as "Dog in the Manger", "Dance Teacher".

Spanish painting achieved significant success. It occupies a special place El Greco(1541-1614) and Diego Velazquez(1599-1660), whose work had a huge impact on the development of painting not only in Spain, but also in other countries.

In France, the humanist movement begins to spread only at the beginning of the 16th century. An outstanding representative of French humanism was Francois Rabelais(1494-1553), who wrote the satirical novel Gargantua and Pantagruel. In the 40s of the XVI century. arises in France literary direction, which went down in history under the name " Pleiades". This direction was headed by famous poets Pierre de Ronsard(1524-1585) and Joaquin Du Bellay(1522-1566). Others famous poets French Renaissance were Agrippa d'Aubigne(1552-1630) and Louise Labe (1525-1565).

The most important theme in poetry was the chanting of love. Indicative in this regard are the sonnets of Pierre Ronsard, nicknamed the "prince of poets", who had a very strong influence on the development of French poetry as a whole.

The largest representative of the culture of France of the XVI century. was Michel de Montaigne(1533-1592). His main work - "Experiments" - was a reflection on philosophical, historical, ethical topics. Montaigne proved the importance of experimental knowledge, glorified nature as a mentor of man. "Experiments" Montaigne were directed against scholasticism and dogmatism, argued the ideas of rationalism; this work had a significant impact on the subsequent development of Western European thought.

The Renaissance is over. Western Europe has entered a new period in its history. However, the ideas and view of the world characteristic of her did not lose their significance and attractiveness in the 17th century. In line with its inherent ideals, two great representatives of the once unified art school of the Netherlands created their marvelous works - Peter Paul Rubens(1577-1640), representing the art of Flanders, and Rembrandt van Rijn(1606-1669), chief painter of the Dutch school. (As you know, after the bourgeois revolution that took place at the end of the 16th century, the Netherlands split into two parts - royal Flanders and bourgeois Holland). These artists, who were brought together by the power and originality of their talent, managed to embody and biblical stories, and images of contemporaries.

It is also impossible not to remember classicism, style and direction in literature and art that arose in the 17th century. and turned to the ancient heritage as a norm and an ideal model. Classicism appealed not to antiquity in general, but directly to the ancient Greek classics - the most harmonious, proportionate and calm period in history. ancient Greek culture. Having acquired strict, unshakable forms in the era of the reign of the "Sun King" Louis XIV, classicism was intended to serve to strengthen the idea of ​​​​the inviolability of the social order, the duty of a person to the state.

Classicism was most of all adopted by the absolutist states; they could not but be impressed by the idea of ​​stately order, strict subordination, impressive unity; the state claimed to be "reasonable", wanted to be seen in it as a balancing, unifying and heroically sublime principle. There is a lot of false and flattering in official, courtly classicism, and, of course, there is nothing in common with ancient ideals, to which he wants to artificially approach. The idea of ​​"duty", "service", which runs like a red thread through the aesthetics of classicism, is completely alien to antiquity with its cult of natural and unconstrained manifestation of normal human aspirations and feelings. Classicism developed the other side of humanistic ideals - the desire for a reasonable harmonious order of life.

It is natural that in the era of national unity, overcoming feudal fragmentation, this idea lived in the very depths of the people's consciousness. It was close to the people of France: clear rationality and sobriety of spirit, harmonious simplicity of the structure of feelings is not without reason considered a feature of the French national genius. Vigorous Corneille, sublime racin, democratic Molière and dreamy Poussin embody it in their own way. In general, in this era, there is a process of crystallization of national features of the aesthetic consciousness of peoples, leaving a clear imprint on the entire subsequent history of art.

In classicism XVII century Perhaps the most truthful thing was that the ideal of rational being was portrayed as a dream. After all, it is the dream of a golden age that appears before us paintings by Poussin And landscapes by Claude Lorrain. And, on the contrary, the canvases were false, allegorically depicting the modern French monarchy and its leaders, as an already embodied ideal of classical virtues.

What characterizes the interpretation of antiquity by the French classicists? The main thing is that they rethought the ancient measure, which the aesthetics of the Renaissance interpreted in the spirit inner harmony supposedly inherent in man by nature. Classicists are also looking for harmony between the personal and the public. But they are looking for it in the ways of subordinating the individual to an abstract state principle.

Most famous as a theorist of classicism received Nicolo Boileau(1636-1711). He outlined his theory in the poetic treatise "Poetic Art" (1674).

In his judgments, Boileau relies on Cartesian philosophy (Descartes), as well as on the already established artistic practice (Cornel, Racine, Molière). One of the main principles of Boileau's aesthetics is the requirement to follow antiquity in everything. In their work, Corneille and Racine indeed very often turn to ancient subjects, although they give them a modern interpretation. Boileau believed that only one type of epic, tragedy or comedy, can be perfect. Any other type was declared a deviation from perfection. He considered a sample of this or that kind and genre pleasing to him corresponding to reason itself.

Based on the a priori laws of reason, Boileau formulates a number of indisputable rules of poetic creativity. Takovo rule of three unities- the unity of place, time and action - which he considers as the law of the mind itself.

But with all the shortcomings and historical limitations, the aesthetics of classicism contained rational moments. The main merit of the classicists is cult of reason. Putting the mind on the pedestal of the supreme judge in the field of artistic creativity, they thereby dealt a crushing blow to feudal anarchy, feudal-religious authoritarianism in the theory and practice of art. Raising the mind, outside the principles of classicism eliminated the authority of "holy scripture", church tradition in artistic creativity. Boileau's demand to exclude from art Christian mythology with its miracles and mysticism was undoubtedly progressive.

No matter how dogmatic the norms formulated by the classicists, many of them have not lost their significance to this day. Such, for example, are their requirements for a clear characterization of the type, the harmony of the composition of the work, the clarity and accuracy of the language, the plausibility and reliability of what is depicted. All these demands, stripped of their dogmatic coloration, have a rational meaning and deserve careful study. Even the demand for three unities, against which the Romantics were especially vehemently opposed, is not devoid of rational content. In a dogmatic form, the idea is expressed here about the need to depict phenomena in their objective spatio-temporal connection.

French classicism had a great influence on the theory and practice of art in other countries. The French classicists had followers in England (Dryden and others), in Germany (Gotsched and others), and in Russia (Trediakovsky, Sumarokov and others). In each country, the theory of classicism was refracted in accordance with national characteristics.