humanism during Renaissance

Topic for Essay #1
Choose one of the following major themes of the Renaissance (see the list below). In your essay, explain its importance to the formation of the period known as the Renaissance, and choose one example from the each of the disciplines of art, literature, and music of the Renaissance to support your thesis. Your thesis will answer the question why the theme is important to the formation of the Renaissance. To support your thesis, use the information in Chapters 12 and 13 of your textbooks, as well as the materials posted in Modules 1 and 2.
Major Themes of the Renaissance
Humanism–a movement toward a more human-centered world view and away from a Church centered view world
Major Tenants of Humanism
During the Renaissance, humanism was an ideal that emphasized human abilities and accomplishments. Humanism focused more on human achievements and less on the values and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, which had been the case during the Medieval period.
Humanism was based on a renewed interest in ancient Greek & Roman history, philosophy, and art
In antiquity, the humanities or liberal arts were believed to contain the skills and knowledge necessary for a human being to be truly free
The Renaissance humanists focused on disseminating the knowledge gleaned from the the writers and artists of antiquity through formal education.
Renaissance humanists saw humankind as a source of infinite possibilities, ideally developing a balance of physical, spiritual, moral, and intellectual abilities.
The goal of Renaissance humanists was to live a rich, noble, and productive life within a framework of Christianity.
While Humanism emphasized humanity, Christianity did not just disappear. Christianity was by far the strongest religion and institution in the Western world during the Renaissance. However, the Roman Catholic Church as an institution was suspicious of the turn toward Humanism during the Renaissance.
Example Using Humanism as the Key to Understanding the Renaissance
Thesis: Humanism was an important to the development of the arts during Renaissance because ??? (one reason is that as a philosophy it focused more on the individual and on human achievements, and less on the values and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, which had been the case during the Medieval period.)
Literature: To support your thesis, choose one example from the literature covered in Culture and Values: For example, Petrarchs sonnets, or Machiavellis The Prince or Erasamus The Praise of Folly or Castigliones The Book of the Courtier
Art: Choose one example from art or choose the work of one artist: Jan van Eyck, or the Limbourg Brothers paintings from Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, or Campins Merode Altarpiece, or Donatellos David and Mary Magdalene (sculptures), or Masaccios The Holy Trinity, or Leonardo da Vincis The Last Suppper, or Michelangelo, or Raphael, etc.
Music: Choose one example from music and reference the specific work and how it expresses Humanism.
Elements of Humanism and Realism in Music
“Human” duple rhythms of heartbeat, respiration and walking were more prominent during the Renaissance.
The acapella ideal in which the range of human voices was the ideal for all instruments, and the grouping of instruments by kind (recorder, string, brass) and range (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) represented the acapella ideal of the human voice.
Rather than the symbolic dominance of one voice (the chant) during the Middle Ages, composers of the High Renaissance sought to create often independent, but equal voiceslike in painting where realism, proportion and perspective replaced the symbolic representation of people as higher or larger regardless of their true position in space. (This excerpt is from the Interactive File in Module 1)
Josquins (p. 448) use of polyphony (many soundstexture is complex and is often imitative where one voice or part imitates another) in the Mass as well in the motet (a short piece of sacred choral music) illustrates the tenants of humanism. The development of polyphony in music is similar to the ground-breaking development of the use of linear perspective in the visual arts.

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