Renaissance and Humanism

• The Renaissance period followed the Middle Ages
• Erasmus was a master of humanism

15th Century Changes

• Economic and demographic recovery, along with the rise of the bourgeoisie, led to city growth in the second half of the 15th century
• The expanding society proposed a new way of understanding the world

Humanism

• Humanism was a cultural movement from the early modern period
• Humanism rejected the medieval mindset centered on God
• Humanism puts human beings at the center of the world (anthropocentrism)
• Humanism believed in the importance of humans, created by God with free will
• Humanism believed people could understand the world and contribute to its progress with confidence and optimism
• Humanism appreciated ancient Greek and Latin cultures
• Humanists studied Greek and translated Classical texts by authors like Plato and Aristotle
• Humanism was interested in scientific and technological progress based on observation and experimentation
• Humanism used vernacular languages (Spanish, French, Italian, etc.) as cultural vehicles instead of Latin and Greek
• Humanism began in Italy in the 15th century
• Humanism spread throughout Europe in the first half of the 16th century
• Petrarch is considered the first humanist
• Erasmus of Rotterdam is the most famous humanist, due to his widespread ideas
• Thomas More and Machiavelli were interested in political organization
• Andreas Vesalius and Nicolaus Copernicus studied human anatomy and the heliocentric theory

Main Humanists

• Erasmus of Rotterdam wrote Praise of the Folly in 1511
• Erasmus criticized customs of the time and Church corruption
• Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513 and gave political advice to rulers, regardless of moral implications
• Thomas More wrote Utopia in 1516, which contained a defense of a political system based on justice and equality

Erasmus of Rotterdam and His Influence

• Erasmus (1466-1536) was a deeply Christian intellectual who defended freedom of thought
• Erasmus, in his book In Praise of Folly, discussed the struggle between medieval tradition and new humanistic values of education and tolerance
• Erasmus' teachings spread in Spain at the University of Alcalá de Henares
• Antonio de Nebrija, an Andalusian philologist, taught at the University of Alcalá de Henares
• De Nebrija wrote Grammar of the Castilian Language in 1492, the first grammar of any vernacular language
• The Valencian Juan Luis Vives and the brothers Juan y Alfonso de Valdés were disciples of Erasmus

The Printing Press

• Until the mid-15th century, books were copied by hand by monks in monasteries
• Johannes Gutenberg invented a new printing technique with movable type
• Mechanically printed books could be made faster and cost less
• The printing press played an important role in spreading humanist ideas and Classical texts
• Printing presses appeared in major European cities
• The first book was printed in Spain in 1472: Sinodal de Aguilafuente, Segovia
• Valencia, Seville, Barcelona and Zaragoza installed printing presses in the years following
• Alcalá de Henares and Salamanca became large centers of book production in the 16th century
• The widely circulated Complutensian Polyglot Bible was printed in Hebrew, Latin, Greek and Aramaic

Luther's Reformation

• People questioned the direction of the Church by the end of the Middle Ages
• People questioned the luxurious lifestyles of the high clergy, the lack of education and moral standing of clergy, and the buying/selling of positions for profit
• People questioned the sale of papal bulls and indulgences for pardoning sins
• Humanists like Erasmus criticized these abusive practices
• Humanists promoted a more intimate form of worship based on reading the Bible
• Martin Luther was a German Augustinian priest and monk
• Luther saw the moral decline of the Church on a trip to Rome
• Luther became convinced of the need for reforms
• The sale of new indulgences by Pope Leo X to pay for St. Peter's Basilica was the event that led to his break with Rome
• In 1517, Luther put a list of 95 theses against Catholic doctrine and the ecclesiastical hierarchy on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany
• Luther criticized the Church's wealth, rejected indulgences and advocated a new form of worship

Luther's Reformation Principles

• Salvation through faith: only faith in God ensures eternal salvation, no matter what acts are performed
• The authority of the Bible: believers have a direct relationship with God, and can interpret the Bible alone without Church intervention
• The Bible should be translated into vernacular languages
• Universal priesthood: all believers are their own priests
• Ministers are chosen by the community of the faithful and can marry and work for a wage
• The Lutheran doctrine denies the sovereignty of the Pope
• The Lutheran doctrine eliminates religious orders and the cult of images
• The Lutheran doctrine reduces the number of sacraments to two: baptism and the Eucharist

Expansion of the Reformation

• Luther's Reformation led to the founding of other Protestant denominations
• Despite differences in doctrine and practices, the Reformation believed in individual interpretation of the Bible and rejected Church authority
• German princes and nobles, who wanted to strengthen their authority against Emperor Carlos V and the Pope of Rome, supported Luther's ideas
• Lutheranism spread through Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Norway

Calvinist Church

• Calvinism began in Switzerland with John Calvin
• Calvinism spread throughout France (Huguenots) and England (Puritans)
• John Knox founded the Presbyterian Church in Scotland
• Calvinism is based on predestination, saying God has already decided who will attain salvation and who will be condemned
• Calvinism says work dignifies people and success in business is a sign of divine grace and predestination

Anglican Church

• Anglicanism began in England when the Pope refused to give Henry VIII an annulment from his marriage to Catalina of Aragón
• Henry VIII separated from Rome in 1534 and proclaimed himself the supreme head of the Church of England
• The ecclesiastical hierarchy was subject to the state, but some Catholic dogmas and rites were maintained

Catholic Response to the Reformation

• Catholic authorities wanted to stop the spread of the Lutheran Reformation in Europe
• Catholic authorities initiated internal reform of the Church
• Catholic authorities spread a new form of worship among the faithful
• Catholic authorities persecuted Protestants, who were considered heretics
• The ecclesiastical hierarchy called for the renewal of the Church as the Counter-Reformation
• The Counter-Reformation's objective was to eliminate some abuses of the Church and defend the dogmas of the Catholic faith
• Pope Paul III convened the Council of Trent (1545-1563), which reaffirmed the main dogmas of Catholic doctrine
• The Council of Trent proclaimed that faith was important, but that salvation must be achieved through good acts
• The Council of Trent reaffirmed the seven sacraments, the sanctity of mass and the worship of the Virgin and saints
• The Council of Trent said that the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible by Saint Jerome, was the only valid interpretation of the Holy Scriptures
• The Council of Trent wanted to reform ecclesiastical administration and discipline
• The Council of Trent prohibited the sale of indulgences
• The Council of Trent required bishops to live in their dioceses
• The Council of Trent required priests to live in their parishes
• The Council of Trent insisted on celibacy and high moral standing among the clergy
• Reforms were carried out in many Catholic religious orders
• New orders were founded
• The Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, was founded by Ignatius de Loyola in 1540
• The Jesuits were very disciplined and depended directly on the Pope
• The Jesuits played an important role in the Counter-Reformation around the world
• The Jesuits devoted themselves to preaching, confession and teaching
• The Jesuits founded numerous colleges and universities in various countries
• The Jesuits extended their missionary work outside of Europe.

The Renaissance

• The Renaissance was an artistic movement linked to the humanist cultural revolution
• The Renaissance began in Italy in the 15th century (Quattrocento, in Florence) and reached its peak in the 16th century (Cinquecento, in Rome)

A New Art Concept

• Renaissance artists considered themselves the successors of the Greek and Roman masters
• Renaissance artists were inspired by works from classical antiquity and wanted to reproduce nature and the human body with a scientific and rational spirit
• Renaissance artists tried to portray ideal beauty and considered the human figure to be God’s creation
• Renaissance artists studied nature and anatomy and were interested in depicting human figures and portraits
• Art became secularized and lost its primarily religious function
• Renaissance artists depicted religious content, secular themes from Greek and Roman mythology
• Architects, painters and sculptors were no longer anonymous
• Renaissance artists signed their work to assert originality and enjoyed prestige and social recognition
• Nobles abandoned feudal traditions and became courtiers; moved to cities and developed an interest in art and culture
• Nobles and members of the bourgeoisie became patrons of their favorite artists
• Patrons commissioned works of art and welcomed artists into their palaces
• Art became a commodity and the first art collectors appeared

Architecture

• Renaissance architects created harmonious spaces with simple and orderly characteristics
• Renaissance architects achieved symmetry, applied proportions, and were inspired by Greek and Roman characteristics (civic and religous)
• Brunelleschi and Alberti were important architects in the Quattrocento
• Bramante and Michelangelo in the Cinquecento worked under the patronage of the popes and spaces acquired a monumental character

Sculpture

• Sculptors were interested in representing the human body
• Sculptors created free-standing sculptures, reliefs to decorate buildings, and busts of figures
• Sculptors, the first time since antiquity, made equestrian statues
• Donatello focused on balance and represented volumes with proportionality and harmony in the Quattrocento
• Michelangelo began to abandon balance and sculptors focused on the expression of movement and feelings in the Cinquecento

Painting

• Renaissance painting depicted themes from classical mythology and religious scenes
• Renaissance painting developed the portrait
• Renaissance compositions represented human beings and nature, in harmony
• The important Quarttrocento painters were Masaccio, Piero della Francesca and Sandro Botticelli
• The important Cinquecento painters were Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo, who painted frescoes in the Sistine Chapel

Renaissance Painting Techniques

• In the Quattrocento, painters created a third dimension by using an imaginary ‘hole’ to create the vanishing point which creates an optical illusion and reinforces
• Renaissance painters completed this through geometric perspective, with gradually reducing size as they move away
• Leonardo da Vinci began painting the air, using the sfumato technique

The European Renaissance

• the use of oil paintings began in 15th and 16th century Flanders, which gave the option of slowly drying corrections and meticulous detail -Jan Van Eyck was the first to use this -Religious and portraiture was a common theme and well created buildings were in the background
• Peter Brueghel the Elder produced landscapes and realistic scenes with every day customs
• Hieronymus Bosch El Bosco developed all allegories and strange beings
• Painters were Jan Van Eyck (portrait), Joachim Patinir (landscapes), and Rogier Van Der Weyden (religious themes)

French Architecture:

• Architecture was very important in France, and large castles were built
• The castles turned were used as luxury residencies with Renaissance features and matched the natural environment.