What Is The Renaissance?

The Renaissance, a cultural movement that emerged in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries, marked the "rebirth" of classical values ​​and ideals after the Middle Ages.

The Middle Ages is a historical period between the fall of the Roman Empire in the year 476 and the fall of the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople in 1453.

This period is also known as the "dark years" or the"dark ages" as it coincides with a period of darkness, violence, and irrationality.

ADAN CREATION 

Where does this movement begin?

The city of Florence, in Italy, was the birthplace and development of this movement, which spread after all of Europe.

This video can help you understand a little more about the beginning of the rebirth.

Origin of the word "Renaissance"

The term «Renaissance» comes from the Italian Rinascita and was coined by the artist and historian Giorgio Vasari, alluding to the revival of classical culture after medieval obscurantism. As such, it was a social, political and cultural phenomenon that spread throughout the European continent during the 15th and 16th centuries.

History 

The Renaissance was the result of the spread of the ideas of humanism, which determined a new conception of man and the world. The term "rebirth" was used to claim certain elements of classical Greek and Roman culture, and was originally applied as a return to the values ​​of Greco-Latin culture and to the free contemplation of nature after centuries of a more rigid type of prevailing and dogmatic mentality established in medieval Europe

Characteristics of the Renaissance 

• During this period there is a renewed interest and inclination to:
• The Greco-Latin world, its aesthetics and its themes
• Secular life
• The importance of artists to society 
• Optimism
• Living the present and enjoying life (carpe diem)
• Ethics and new social values
• Scientific curiosity 
• The simple life (beatus ille)
• Trust in reason over faith
• Anthropocentrism in contrast to the theocentrism of the middle Ages.

The rebirth is a logical consequence of a process that had been going on since the 12th century, and this process brings with it not only economic, political and social changes, but also a new conception of man. But the break-up of the old feudal regime its truly evident in Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance.

The representatives of the renaissance movement

The most famous who dominated the Renaissance included Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Thomas Hobbes, etc.

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance artist and engineer, know for paintings like "" and "Mona Lisa", and for inventions like a flying machine.

Who was Leonardo da Vinci?

Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, military engieneer and draftsman the epitome of a true Renaissance man.

Gifted with a curious mind and a brilliant intellect, da Vinci studied the laws of science and nature, which greatly informed his work. His drawings, paintings and other works have 

influenced countless artists and engineers over the centuries.

Michelangelo

Italian Renassaice artist Michelangelo created the ''David'' and ''Pieta'' sculptures and the Sistine Chapel and ''Last Judment'' paintings.

Who was Michelangelo?

Michelangelo Buonarroti was a painter, sculptor, architect and poet widely considered one of the most brilliant artists of the Renaissace.

Michelangelo was an apprentice to a painter before studying in the sculpture gardens of the powerful Medici Family.

What followed was a remarkable career as an artist, famed in his own time for his artistic virtuosity. Although he always considered himself a Florentine, Michelangelo lived most of his life in Rome, where he died at age 88.

Raphael

One of the biggest figure of Italian High Renaissance classicism, Raphael is best know for his ''Madonnas'', including the Sistine Madonna, and for his large figure compositions in the Palace of the Vatican in Rome.

Who was Raphael?

He was a Italian Renaissance painter and architect Raphael became Perugino's apprentice in 1504.

Living in Florence from 1504 to 1507, he began painting a series of ''Madonnas''. In Rome from 1509 to 1511, he painted the Stanza della Segnatura (''The room of the signature'') frescoes located in the Palace of the Vatican. He later painted another fresco cycle for the Vatican, in the Stanza d'Eliodoro (''Room of Heliodorus''). In 1514, Pope Julius II hired Raphael as his chief architect. Around at the same time, he completed his last work in his series of the ''Madonnas'', an oil painting called the Sistine Madonna. Raphael died in Rome on April 6, 1520.

Biggest example of the Renaissance

Mona Lisa of da Vinci

David of Michelangelo

The last dinner of da Vinci

Madonnas of Raphael

CURIOSITIES OF THE RENAISSANCE

1.In the Renaissance kisses on the mouth were a very frequent form of greeting. In England it was most normal for any guest to arrive at someone's house, to tip one of them not only to the host but also to his wife, all his children and even pets like dogs and cats.

2.The important epoch in the history of mathematics is included in the Renaissance period: It is worth noting the work of Leonardo de Pissa, entitled Liber Abaci, where the use of the abacus and the positional numbering system were clearly explained. Also highlighting the introduction of fractional exponents and the concept of radical numbers, in addition, a unique system of algebraic numbers was established, making it possible to express equations in general.

3. Pietro Aretino was an Italian writer, poet, and playwright, known for his art critiques of Titian's style. It seems that Aretino died of laughter while his sister told him a rather risque story. Prisoner of a strong attack of laughter, he fell to the ground on his back, victim of a stroke, which ended his life at 64 years old.