The Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance has similarities and differences in art, literature, and philosophy. Through their art, they both incorporated nature and emotions through religious scenery. The Northern Renaissance art movement focused on detailed observation and accuracy of the reality of the work. During the Italian Renaissance, artists put forth mainly mythology, in contrast to Northern artists who illustrated portraits and architecture in their art. Within the realm of literature, both had instilled beliefs of religion, namely that one must respect and have faith in God. Christian humanists had the concept of Christianity as a philosophy to be read daily and followed instead of the apparent corrupt in church papacy;
The Protestant Reformation is the period of transitioning from medieval to modern times. During the Protestant Reformation, technology made a huge impact. Warfare such as cannons and gunpowder, printing technology such as the printing press enhanced Europe. The influence of Italian Renaissance artist spread throughout Northern Europe. Northern Renaissance consisted of literature figure Shakespeare and visual figures from Flemish and German.
One way paintings demonstrate this is the difference between the Mona Lisa and Madonna Enthroned Between Two Angels. The older painting, Madonna Enthroned Between Two Angles, is unrealistic and has rather depressing dark colors. While the Renaissance painting, the Mona Lisa, is not only much more realistic, but also a lot more cheerful, brighter feel, and became a true masterpiece (Doc A). In the paintings, the fact the Renaissance painting is brighter, more realistic and a famous masterpiece, shows that the Renaissance changed the art style into a unique, amazing representation that changed the entire future of art. The paintings from the Renaissance showed that people saw each other differently than before( Doc A).
Artists started to take pride in their artwork and began exploring new humanist themes in their art rather than focusing on the traditional biblical subject matter that was popular during the middle ages. Italian scholars and artists saw themselves as reawakening to the ideals and achievements of classical Roman culture. Renaissance art gave philosophers a different perspective on reality and this affected their writings from then on. Artists used the idea of symmetry and linear perspective which also led to people developing interests in math and science. Scientists and Mathematicians became inspired by the work of art being created just like how artists became inspired by philosophies and new theories coming into the time period.
In the time of the Middle Ages, they focused on the religious value of art, “The [clearest] evidence of the break with medieval culture comes from the visual arts.” (DocA) a popular painting of this time by Duccio Di Bouninsegna’s shows The Mother Mary with the baby Jesus on her lap. This painting was two-dimensional and had very little creativity, the painting mostly didn’t make people feel anything only had religious value. While during the Renaissance they focused on making you feel stronger feelings “[It] was the essence of the Renaissance .... One begins to know the names of the artists ... feel stronger emotions in the subjects ... ... see well-defined landscapes, natural folds in drapery, and three-dimensional figures” (Doc A).
When you first heard about the Renaissance in Northern Europe and the Italian Renaissance, you probably thought them to be very similar. This is only partially true in that the two Renaissances were inspired by the same ideas. While each had a profound impact on Europe, they had key differences that made them unique. Some factors that made them different included art, literature and authors, and the people’s way of thinking. The works of writers and artists like Erasmus, van Eyck, More, and Shakespeare displayed these themes.
Art reached new heights during the Renaissance. Many new techniques and styles emerged such as perspective, chiaroscuro, and sfumato. Before the Renaissance, artists focused primarily on religious scenes and Gothic art. During the Renaissance, artists began to focus more on realism and human qualities. Renaissance artists also began to lean towards Roman and Greek styles/ideas for inspiration.
Humanism also played a part in the arts, since most art was influenced by the art of the Greeks and Romans. Artists wanted to revive the techniques and styles from those cultures. You can also see the difference between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in artwork. In Leonardo Da’ Vinci’s 1490 painting The Vitruvian Man he depicts a sketch like picture of the male anatomy in motion. (Document 6)
The artwork amount the Northern and Southern Renaissance differed in significant ways. The Southern Renaissance art began in the 1300s while the North began in the 1500s. The Northern art during the Renaissance focused on religious teachings through their artwork. Whereas, the Southern during the Renaissance concentrated on displaying Greek and Roman mythology through their art. Consequently, the art of the Southern during the Renaissance period established balance, perspective and symmetry in their fine art.
The first perspective was held by the “Renaissance artists” (HIST 101 Western Civilization I, Section 6: Humanism). These humanists “rarely challenged the truth of Christianity” (Section 6: Humanism). In fact, they did not even challenge the “Bible” (Section 6). However, humanism “did not emphasize human sin” (Section 6).
People think mainly about the Italian Renaissance since the artists of that time became more popular. Such artists are Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, and many more. However, the Northern Renaissance also embodied many great artists such as Pieter Bruegel The Elder, Jan Van Eyck, and Hieronymus Bosch. Many of these artists, though not known all that well, have works that are each intricately detailed in itself.
Austin Lowery 3/28/2023 ENG-122 English Composition 1 Comparisons and Contrasts of the Renaissance and Enlightenment Eras Two major historical eras that influenced the development of human history are the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. We shall look at the similarities and differences between these two eras in this article. Concentrating on things like art, literature, science, and philosophy and the people who helped shape their respective eras. Each subject will have brief overviews of the comparisons and contrasts for each area along with major points and achievements made during those eras.
During the Renaissance in Italy, art practices were focused on proportion, perspective and artists paid significant detail to the human anatomy. In addition, art practices during the Italian Renaissance were heavily influenced by wealth. On the other hand, art practices during the Renaissance in Northern Europe focused on society and everyday life. The Protestant Reformation greatly impacted the direction behind art practices during the Renaissance in Northern Europe.
Besides the High Renaissance, Northern art was influencing art in Italy at the time, especially artists like Durer. Printmaking and engraving from the North were also rising in popularity. This was a big change in the artistic world. Art was able to be mass produced with printmaking, making art also more available to different classes. However, certain types of art had blocks placed on them by the government in an attempt to manage the art trade
Most pieces of music in these two periods, consist of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody. A difference between the two eras would be in rhythm and melody. In the Renaissance period, music was composed of a gentle flow of beats instead of one beat. However, in the
Scenic Traditions from the Past Theatrical and scenic traditions during the medieval European era and through the Italian Renaissance helped immensely in the development of theatre as we know it today. These time periods are characterized by different traditions in theatrical entertainment. The European Middle Ages introduced emblematic tradition as a way to portray ideas and concepts in stage scenery. However, during the Renaissance the idea of illusionistic tradition was used on stages in Italy. These two traditions have several goals in common.