PMA: POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE
It was during this time that there was a major change in the Italian culture. Throughout much of the middle ages, the individual was unimportant, not to be celebrated or generally appreciated. The Renaissance changed this attitude, people were becoming more humanist. Humanism entails a celebration of the individual and the appreciation and the valuing of self expression. Basically the ideal is that humans can do anything, they are important. This has a major impact on the art of this time, and that is why the theme is Positive Mental Attitude.
Historical Context
The word Renaissance literally means "rebirth". It is a casting off of the ideals of the middle ages, and a return to the humanistic ideals of the Roman and Greek times. It was primarily a time of reformation for the elite of Italy, the peasants life changed little from the middle ages to the Renaissance. The Renaissance marked a time in which intellectual were celebrated and art patronage thrived, artists were now considered thinkers, not just simple crafts people like they were in the middle ages.
During the Renaissance there was a massive rediscovery and appreciation for the classical artworks of Rome and Greece. Some intellectuals of the Renaissance even called the time before when they were not appreciated as much the "Dark Ages". A time of reflectively little cultural output compared to the boom of art, literature, and intellectual developments of the Renaissance. There was much development going on, people were finally getting more education, people were exploring other areas and bringing back tales of what those areas were like.
The Renaissance was when several guilds gained power. These guilds were groups of people that usually worked in a single trade, and were formed to help protect their trade from people who would seek to compete with them. These guilds gained a large amount of wealth and wished to show this wealth off, and so they were responsible for the commissioning of many statues which dot cities that were intended to represent their guild.
Compared to earlier times there was a large amount of artistic output. There were many people of this time that were highly prized artists, that often had many commissions thanks to the wealth of the bankers of Italy, with the primary amount of the works going into the religious subjects. This was mostly because of the want of the wealthy to flaunt their wealth, but not to commit sin by bragging openly about their wealth and prowess.
Also during this time, when artists were considered thinkers, there was much development in the art field, like Linear Perspective & Atmospheric Perspective, Pyramidal Composition, as new element such as Chiaroscuro. Artists worked doggedly to improve their craft, attempting to become more renowned and gain more commissions for works, as well as outdo their competitors. One of the more noteworthy artists was Brunelleschi, an artist who came up with Linear Perspective, which many other artists after him copied.
Italy was still divided up into many warring city states. Florence was one of the more noteworthy city states, one where much of the artwork we know today from the Renaissance come from. Like for example, the two Davids by Verricchio and Donatelo. Florence is considered by historians to be the beginning place for the Italian Renaissance, and is the place where its ideals spread from.
During the Renaissance there was a massive rediscovery and appreciation for the classical artworks of Rome and Greece. Some intellectuals of the Renaissance even called the time before when they were not appreciated as much the "Dark Ages". A time of reflectively little cultural output compared to the boom of art, literature, and intellectual developments of the Renaissance. There was much development going on, people were finally getting more education, people were exploring other areas and bringing back tales of what those areas were like.
The Renaissance was when several guilds gained power. These guilds were groups of people that usually worked in a single trade, and were formed to help protect their trade from people who would seek to compete with them. These guilds gained a large amount of wealth and wished to show this wealth off, and so they were responsible for the commissioning of many statues which dot cities that were intended to represent their guild.
Compared to earlier times there was a large amount of artistic output. There were many people of this time that were highly prized artists, that often had many commissions thanks to the wealth of the bankers of Italy, with the primary amount of the works going into the religious subjects. This was mostly because of the want of the wealthy to flaunt their wealth, but not to commit sin by bragging openly about their wealth and prowess.
Also during this time, when artists were considered thinkers, there was much development in the art field, like Linear Perspective & Atmospheric Perspective, Pyramidal Composition, as new element such as Chiaroscuro. Artists worked doggedly to improve their craft, attempting to become more renowned and gain more commissions for works, as well as outdo their competitors. One of the more noteworthy artists was Brunelleschi, an artist who came up with Linear Perspective, which many other artists after him copied.
Italy was still divided up into many warring city states. Florence was one of the more noteworthy city states, one where much of the artwork we know today from the Renaissance come from. Like for example, the two Davids by Verricchio and Donatelo. Florence is considered by historians to be the beginning place for the Italian Renaissance, and is the place where its ideals spread from.