Humanism was a movement during the Renaissance period in Western Europe. Humanists believed they could better understand the world and human nature by returning to the study of the classics of ancient Greece and Rome. Humanists transformed Western Europe during the Renaissance by creating ultra-realistic artwork, began to use science and new inventions to replace church superstation and spread new ideas, and questioned political and religious institutions leading to increase of literacy and an ‘explosion of knowledge.’
New values of creating realistic art lead to the use of 3D perspective (replacing the simple hierarchal 2D church based subject matter of the middle ages,) creating more realistic church based art while at the same time expanding beyond church subject matter to include classical gods and wealthy merchants. An example of art reflecting classical values can be seen in document two “The Birth of Venus”. The artist represents Venus standing in a clam shell. She is surrounded by Angels blowing wind in her direction. This art would not be allowed during the medieval period as Pagan subject differed with church dogma. An example of the value of realism can be seen in document three The Marriage. Here the artist uses 3D perspective to illustrate the value of realism. The subjects are a rich merchant and his pregnant wife. The realism is breathtaking. There is a mirror concave in shape showing a mirror image of the painting in the background. This shows the artist was not just going for realism but perfection. The inclusion of the pregnant wife reflects the value of humanism by showing a true image of the individual. This art of realism and subject matter transformed Western Europe by creating new art for a new time that influenced Western art to this day.
Science and Inventions were huge back in the Renaissance and it had a ton to do to push forward with technology and modern day society. One celestial discovery prevailed that help us find where we are in the universe is Nicholas Copernicus findings in document one. In this document it states “those who keep the earth at the centre of the world are force to do” This quote is explaining gravity and what holds us in place in space. Also in this document it states “infinite multitude of spheres” in this quote it means that he is finding out about the planets, stars, asteroids, meteoroids and more as he looks in space. Another big finding in science is the human anatomy. Andreas Vesalius looked inside dead bodies to find out more about the body and its anatomy. In this document it states “it might at least reach such a point that one could with confidence assert that our modern science of anatomy was equal to old.” This statement from the passage is saying that out anatomy doesn’t change and its stayed the same since old times all the way up to modern day society. After that document comes another great invention called The Gutenberg press. This invention made lives easier for copying books and writings. This printing press could make copies of bibles, books, information and more cheaper so the poor could afford to buy some. Also this invention is one big step in technology created suck a huge footprint in society. That’s how science and inventions were important back then in the Renaissance time period.
Questioning of the political and religious institutions was done by all humanists, and it lead to an increase of literacy and a ‘explosion of