Italian Renaissance”How was the Italian Renaissance an age in which life was a work of art?”The Renaissance was an important time. It was a time when new ideas were formed,worldly places became more important, and great people became known. All ofwhich paved the way to future inventions, philosophies, and life as we know it. During the Renaissance, new possibilities were explored. One of which was agroup of people who called themselves Humanists. Humanism was a movement basedon the literature and ideas of ancient Greece and Rome.
Humanists focused onsecular themes, rather than those that were religious. They also believed thatindividualism, human improvement and that people should develop their talentsthrough many activities. Humanism was influential in that more attention waspaid to literature, the arts and education. Because education was becoming moreimportant, more schools were opened. Students were taught all that was taught inclassical Greek schools such as Greek, Latin, history and philosophy.
Thehumanists strongly believed that education could help people to improvethemselves. Humanism also inspired literature to become more universal. Manyauthors were discovered. Also, a form of poetry, called a sonnet, was developed. The humanists were very important to the Renaissance, without their teachingsmuch would have been left undiscovered. The city stated of Florence, Rome andVenice were also important parts of the Renaissance.
Florence was ruled by aline of successful and wealthy rulers. Florence produced many great things. Great rulers, great architects, great sculptors and great painters. Thus leadingthe way through art. Rome was the leading renaissance city during the 1500’s.
Many artists and scholars went to Rome to be taught by master craftsmen. Romealso became a site of great religious increases. Venice was a city of greattrading. It linked Asia and Western Europe in trade routes, also drawing tradersfrom the rest of the world. Venice was also known for it’s artisticachievements. Florence, Rome and Venice were three of the most influentialpowers during the Renaissance.
The arts were extremely important to theRenaissance, and very influential. Architecture was modeled after classicalGreek and Roman stylings. The greatest Italian architect was FilippoBrunelleschi, who was best known for his completion of a cathedral in 1436. Sculpture, as did architecture, reflected ancient Greek and Roman ideas. Thebest known sculptors were Donatello, Michelangelo and Ghiberti.
Donatello wasthe first sculptor to cast free standing figures. Michelangelo was best knownfor his free standing figure of David, and Ghiberti for his ten biblical sceneson Florence cathedral’s walls. During the Renaissance, painting acquired amore realistic style. Some famous painters of the time are Giotto, Michelangelo,and probably the most famous of all, Leonardo Da Vinci. Da Vinci is best knownfor his works of The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.
During the Renaissance,boundaries were explored, new heights were discovered and a whole new way oflife was found. The renaissance truly was an age in which life was a work of artnot only because art was so important to that time period, but becauseeverything was original and new. Without the renaissance, and the people wholived during it, such as Da Vinci, modern life may not have been so modern.
