The terms "Renaissance" and "reformation" characterize a certain period in the history of Western Europe. This period is referred to as a transitional era from Medieval to modern times. The revival of a broader concept, it is used to refer to this era as a whole.

The Term "Revival" (FR. "Renaissance", nasi. "Rnent") it was introduced into use in the XVI century. Italian painter and art historian Giorgio Vasari. Predecessors and contemporaries of Vasari in the content of this notion sometimes put a double value: first, it was interpreted as a return to the ideals and values of antiquity; secondly, identified with Christ's Resurrection — Easter (rebirth to a new life after suffering and death). In the XVIII century. a prominent French philosopher Voltaire and other thinkers opposed this period the Middle ages, which is considered backward culturally, and the period of XIV— XVI centuries. was, according to them, an era of genuine revival of science and art. With the light hand of the French enlightenment of the eighteenth century. in science was entrenched anti-historical scheme: ancient culture — Middle ages (stop in the cultural development)— the revival of ancient culture and culture in General (beginning of a new history). But the Revival is indeed a new era. And knowing, I was born a new era, in their defining traits opposite of the previous era.

 Art

The origins of the artistic greatness of Italy date back from the XIV century., from the achievements of painting of the Florentine school, the largest representative of which was Giotto di Bondone. Giotto broke with the Byzantine style of painting, that dominated medieval Italian art, and added a natural warmth and emotion of the figures, depicted on his great frescoes in Florence, Assisi and Ravenna. Naturalistic principles of Giotto and his followers continued by Masaccio, who made the realistic frescoes with the skillful creation of chiaroscuro.. Other prominent representatives of the Florentine school of the early Renaissance - the painter fra Angelico and the sculptor and goldsmith Lorenzo Ghiberti.

In the early FIFTEENTH century. Florence became a major center of Italian art. Paolo Uccello reached a high level of skill in the transfer of linear perspective. Donatello, the pupil of Ghiberti, created for the first time since Ancient Rome naked sculpture and equestrian statue. Filippo Brunellschi moved the Renaissance style in architecture, Fra Filippo Lippi and his son Filippino wrote a graceful paintings of religious subjects. Graphic skill of the Florentine school of painting was developed by such artists of the FIFTEENTH century., as Domenico Ghirlandaio and Sandro Botticelli.

At the end of the FIFTEENTH - in the early sixteenth century. in Italian art was distinguished by three outstanding masters. This Michelangelo Buonarroti, the greatest figures of the Renaissance, became famous as a sculptor (P’this, David, Moses); painter, who painted the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, and architect, who designed the dome of the Cathedral. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Paintings of Leonardo da Vinci “The last supper” and “Mona Lisa” are among the masterpieces of world art. Raphael in his paintings (“The Sistine Madonna”, “Saint George and the dragon” etc.) embodied life-affirming ideals of the Renaissance.

The flourishing of art in Venice came later, than in Florence, and lasted much longer. Venetian artists, compared with less Florentine stand’associated with a specific direction, but on their canvases felt the boil of life, the emotional intensity and the riot of colors, which ensured them everlasting glory. Titian, the greatest of Venetian artists, greatly enriched the painting, using free open letter brushstroke and subtle colorful chromatism. In the XVI St. together with Titian, Venetian painting was dominated by Giorgione, Palma Vecchio, Tintoretto and Paolo Veronese.

A leading Italian artist of the XVII century. was the sculptor and architect Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, created the design of the colonnade in the square before the Cathedral. Peter, as well as many monumental sculptures in Rome. Caravaggio and Carracci have established important new direction in painting. Venetian painting experienced a short period of expansion in the eighteenth century., when operated landscape painter Canaletto and the Creator of decorative murals and frescos by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

Among Italian artists of the XVIII-XIX centuries. St. distinguished engraver Giovanni Battista Piranesi, who gained fame with paintings of the ruins of ancient Rome; the sculptor Antonio Canova, who worked in the neoclassical style; a group of Florentine painters, representatives of the democratic trend in Italian painting 1860-1880-ies - MACC’aiol.

Italy gave the world many talented artists, and twentieth St. Amedeo Modigliani was famous for his melancholie Nude with a characteristic elongated oval faces and almond-shaped eyes. Giorgio de Chirico and Filippo de PSS developed metaphysical and surrealistic trends in painting, they became famous after the First world war. Many Italian artists, including Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carr, Luigi Russolo, Giacomo Balla and Gino Servers, belonged to futuristic flow, fashionable in 1910-1930-ies. Representatives of this trend partly inherited technique of the Cubists and making extensive use of regular geometric shape.

After the Second world war the younger generation of artists in search of new ways turned to abstract art. Lucio Fontana, Alberto Burri and Emilio Vedova played a key role in the postwar revival of Italian painting. They laid the Foundation of, what later became known as “the art of poverty” (arte povere). Recently, the international recognition was won by Sandro Chia, Mimmo Paladino, Enzo * and Francesco Clemente.

Prominent among modern Italian sculptors distinguished native of Switzerland, Alberto Giacometti, known for finely crafted bronzes and terracottas, Mirko Basaldella, which creates monumental abstract compositions made of metal, Giacomo Manzu and Marino Marini. In the architecture of the most famous P’courier Luigi Nervi, using new engineering principles in the construction of stadiums, for aircraft hangars and factories.— one of the typical features of culture of the XV—XVI centuries. The Renaissance covers fully two centuries XV and XVI. However, the "prelude" begins with the XIV century. The first "people Renaissance" consider the Italian philosopher and poet of Cola di Rienzi and the poet Francesco Petrarch. From them originated European Renaissance. It is considered also, "on the threshold" of this era was outstanding Italian poet Dante Aligheri, which is called the last poet of the middle Ages and the first poet of the New time.

"Epilogue" of the day comes at the beginning. XVII article. — the last representative of the Renaissance is an Italian writer, humanist Tommaso Campanella. In Italy, the Renaissance lasted for about three centuries, while in other countries several decades, last period late or high Renaissance and Early reformation may only be considered based on the conditions of pan-European development, although the specifics of each individual country must be taken into account.

20-50 pp. XVI St. in the cultural life not only of Italy, but also other countries of Europe begins a new era, that is called the "age of mannerism". Accordingly, a new style. In Italian literature the style of "mannerism" was formed at the beginning of the counter-Reformation. It has emerged as one of the logical consequences of the internal contradictions of the Renaissance. Before the era of mannerism or contrariness in the literature of the Northern Renaissance is owned by a number of writers in France and England. This is the poets of the Pleiades, Montaigne and Shakespeare.

 

The Italian Renaissance

In the XV century.. the championship of Italy in Europe was undeniable. The art was surprisingly close nature of this nation. The ability to draw and understand the painting has become a necessary quality in the Italian society. Changed the look on a woman. From it was no longer needed unquestioning obedience, her right to education and intellectual pursuits are not questioned. The belief, what a woman should keep the Golden mean, led to the desire for harmony between the outer appearance and the spiritual world. In the era of the Medici in Italy there are a lot of well educated women, who had exquisite taste and mind, that it took the noble Bembo theory about comprehensive pure love.

This view of woman was reflected in the works of art. Nowhere nobly sophisticated types of Madonnas and saints were not implemented with such taste and skill, in Italy. Quiet meekness, pure radiance beauty, sometimes not devoid of coquetry — that is characteristic of the Italian school, that was, first of all, in the works of Raphael Santi (14831520см).

All life of Italy of that time — an exhibition, great parade, one big, brilliant celebration. When the Duke obejas country, behind him rode a few thousand people, dressed in velvet and silk. He traveled with all the hunting retinue, with hundreds of dogs and falcons.

The Duchess Lucrezia Borgia Vigala to Rome with his entourage 200 Amazon, each of which was followed by the Chevalier. The cult of pleasure, which clearly manifested itself in everyday life, and in art, caused resistance from the leaders of the Church. According to Luther, the Italians or acuracy, or fanatics. And when Savonarola spoke, the life of Rome mainly animal, he was not far from the truth.

Theatrical plays were often quite frivolous in content, Palace view on mythological subjects were depicted hunting and love Affairs of the gods. Even Pope Leo X, a man of good education and fine taste, paid tribute to the cult of pleasure. He would joke with his guests, feeding them food from monkeys or crows. Wearing boots with spurs, Leo X was running on horseback through the hills for deer and boar. Jester X Lion, monk Marano, to please the guests, swallowed a whole pigeon or 20 chickens and 4 eggs.

The love of spectacles, characteristic of Ancient Rome, not gone into oblivion: competitions and races were, as before, popular.

 Two main trends in the development of public consciousness of the Renaissance, the power of thought and interest in the human body, first of all are reflected in literature and painting.

 

Architecture

Not to the Romanesque era Italian artists intuitively looking for clear forms, strong, rationally ordered and dissected?

In Italy the search was stimulated by the, that has preserved many ancient Roman monuments. After several centuries, during which they beheld with indifference, until they suddenly increased interest. Much earlier, than in the fine arts, in architecture began to appear on the building protorenessansa type. It, for example, the Church of San Miniato in Florence or the Florence baptistery (the baptistery). By design, these structures are even devotion, pure romance. However, they have distinctive features. First, in decoration of facades used parts of the ancient orders — the columns and pilasters with Corinthian capitals. Secondly, the walls are entirely faced with marble tiles (therefore, the style of these structures is called incrustation). Marble inlay gives them a very peculiar appearance: the whole façade is clearly divided into rectangles of different sizes, combined with the circles and the arcs of the arches. The ratio of these tiles not related to the tectonics of the building. There is only a graphic symbol of usefulness, ruggedness, proportionality. Incrostazioni style determines the order in clear and spumoni to human forms (this is typical of the Renaissance). Therefore, this Romanesque architecture Italy protorenessansa believe in spirit.

Protorenessansa the Gothic architecture had objected the idea of boundless space, that grows in all directions. Space Clinica expressive, completed zone.

The pioneer of Early Renaissance architecture traditionally considered Filippo Brunelleschi, worked in Florence in the first half of the XV century.. He was the Creator of the secular spirit of architecture. Elements of the ancient order of this master reinterpreted in a new way, transformed into attractive decorations. The most characteristic of its construction — the Pazzi chapel with a light portico and foundling hospital in Florence. In the foster home the entire lower floor is designed in the form of a welcoming open loggia gallery. Type loggia with semicircular arches and the widely spaced slender columns subsequently spread in the architecture of the courtyards of the Renaissance Palazzo. These Palazzo, predominantly three storey, built of rough otesanek (rusticated) stone squares, from the facade look pretty harsh. Though their courtyards were very fine.

In the late 60's-early 70 pp. XV in. architect Filippo Brunelleschi, was built the famous dome of the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore. This dome, solemnly towering over the city, defined the silhouette of Florence. Architect is considered the author of a new style, since he first brought order to the facade structure. With antique slip, he behaved quite freely, found it new opportunities for expression of new content. Brunelleschi extremely deep into the essence of the ancient order of architecture and its artistic possibilities.

The next important stage in the development of a new language of Renaissance architecture associated with the name of Leon Battista Alberti. This artist was a passionate admirer of antiquity, sought not only to revive the antique style, but to surpass the ancient. Each building is a bold experiment in the field of typology of the building, and in the creative interpretation of the architectural language of antiquity, in the creation on its basis new methods of artistic expression. The most striking novelty in his work, which has had huge consequences, — the use of warrants in all three tiers of the traditional façade of the Florentine Palazzo, that time lost medieval unavailability.

Alberti was first proposed for a Church facade (in two versions) antique triumphal arch motif, which was subsequently used in a variety of contexts. In the Church of Sant'andrea in Mantua, with its pilasters of the great order and high arch niche arch motif is a classic character, and in the Church of San Francesco in Rimini, he became the secular basis of the image, which easily came out the local tyrant Malatesta. The side walls of this latter building — wonderful, purely on the monumental Roman arcade — expresses its Renaissance origin except in fine details. Alberti believed, that order is beautiful decoration for walls. The comprehension of communication of the order with the wall, Alberti devoted his theoretical works.

At the beginning of the XVI century. the center of architecture shifted to Rome, the capital of the papal States. Here he worked as an architect of the High Renaissance Donato Bramante. In Rome, the order and its various combinations with the wall and arches masterfully used this architect for the characteristics of the space. This was evident in the composition of the vast courtyard of the Belvedere, that comes three terraces to the Vatican courtyard. Striving to achieve purely Roman greatness, Bramante joined here the features of the ancient Villa, theater and forum. The Belvedere became an example of an exceptionally creative combination wall, orders and arcades.

Another software Bramante build his own Palace in Borgo, near the Vatican (it was subsequently demolished, known only from drawings and engravings). Solemnly, as fanfares, sounded paired pilasters at its mighty base, creating an image of an open and luxurious dwelling of a nobleman of the era CNC-Vicente.

Construction of palaces to the old and the new aristocracy — one of the priorities in the development of Renaissance architecture. City palaces, first had the appearance of fortresses, as he performed the defensive functions. their sign is the simplicity of the composition, the floors were sequentially dissected cornices. The upper part was the end of a particularly strong cornice, sometimes noticeably acted (Palazzo Pitti in Florence, 1458; Palazzo Strozzi, 1489; Palazzo Gondy, 1490).

Gradually place the plastic enrichment of the facades. Absorption order system in triherousa the type of the Renaissance Palazzo was completed in Palazzo Cancelleria is the first Roman building Sahalinsk value. The construction of this building, the architect Bramante joined, when two floors were built. He gave the songs a finished appearance, added the third tier, which define the rhythmic pattern Palazzo. This structure strikes an unusual space, wall of the upper tier if growing from the lungs of arcade games. Complex plastic and spatial composition linked together the variety of using orders, which freely interacts with the wall.