Renaissance Comparison

Renaissance Comparison

The Italian Renaissance was a period rich in artistic talent and triumphs. This time period spanned several decades dating from the beginning of the fifteenth century into the middle of the sixteenth. Renaissance, a French word meaning new birth, symbolized for the people a new life based on classical humanism. They embraced individuality and classical Greek and Roman philosophical writing. The early renaissance focused on embracing the individual and classical Greek and Roman philosophical writing, while the high renaissance focused more on creating the definitive artist. It was commonplace for artists to be multi-talented having mastered many forms of artistry including painting, sculpting, poetry, and so on. Finally mannerism was a break from realistic perspectives to achieve exaggerated forms of beauty.

The Northern European Renaissance occurred a while behind the Italians, the new ideas traveled on trade routes and eventually influenced art and commerce. Northern Europeans were interested in living a much more refined life similar to that of French courtiers. They were very interested in chivalrous entertainments. They dressed in fine clothes, commissioned fine tapestries, and often enjoyed the company of poets, painters, musicians, and scholars. During this time they also went through a religious reformation. Many people broke off from the Catholic Church and became Protestants.

The social and cultural similarities between the Italian and Northern European Renaissance were many. Both embraced a new mindset that strayed somewhat from their previous religious beliefs and opened the door to secularism and individual expression. Both cultures embraced the arts, commissioned many fine works to be completed, and considered artists to be valuable members of the upper class. Times were changing, and both the Italians and the Northern Europeans accepted women as artists, and in many cases it was even encouraged.

While there were quite a few similarities between the two cultures, there were some differences as well. In Italy the most notable works of art were paintings and sculptures created by famed artists such as Donatello, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. In Northern Europe the most notable works of art were the plays written by the famous playwright William Shakespeare. The Italians remained Catholic although they moved towards the secular world, while many Northern Europeans branched off into other religions, mostly Protestants. The Northern Europeans valued personal wealth while the Italians valued independent thought and tireless intellectual stimulation.

The Italians were more focused on scientific principles of composition such as linear perspective, anatomy and proportion. Nature was very important so there were many depictions of plants, lakes, and rivers, trees, the sky and the earth. Oil paints were introduced