Renaissance Synthesis

Wylie Period 5 Team 7

Throughout the ages, people learned how religion was not as important anymore so they binded religious asceticism together with secular asceticism to have it relate to daily lives. Thus, Michelangelo was able to paint “The Creation of Adam,” which religiously shows God but yet since he has not given Adam “the touch” yet so it separates the religiousness with the secular aspect. Despite all of the revolutionary beliefs that arose during this era, paintings were considered somewhat sacred. In response, the artists decided to change the definition to appeal to the common man and also fit into the defined word. Thus, Leonardo Da Vinci is able to create Annunciation and keep the holiness with the angel. However the difference from earlier paintings to this one rests in the background. In the 2-D canvas, Leonardo da Vinci is able to create a 3-D image to show the realistic contents of the painting. The secular aesthetics of the painting is pictured in the in the beauty of nature and light as seen in the painting. Another example of a 3-D creation would be Michelangelo’s sculpture, David. In context of the Bible, David is a biblical hero. However, the focus is on all features of the statue. Michelangelo creates David posing differently from all other sculptures that portrayed him before battle. However, the face of David is calm yet fierce as if in a pre battle stance. To separate his sculpture, Michelangelo makes him naked to fit the Greek art syle.

With the changing religions and philosophies, people are beginning to no longer fully rely on godly figures. Instead of depending on Gods for better crop seasons, good fortune, and happiness, these evolved people are beginning to accept the fact that people are able to think for themselves. Thus starts the rise of Secularism, Neo-Platonism, Humanism, and Hermeticism. In addition to that, education and exploration also advances with study of physics, astronomy, and chemistry and the discovery of the Americas.

Dan Qi
Samudra Thio
Kevyn Fox

Renaissance Era Synthesis

Ever since the Renaissance Era, most paintings had always been associated with the life and origin of the Church. Religious arts were considered to be the only form of living art in the old Christian world. According to recent researches, the art of profane painting in Europe dates only back to the past five centuries and took the lead in the early nineteenth century. Researchers concluded that the history of painting linked up to religious paintings. One of the major works by the great artist Michelangelo, the ceiling of Sistine Chapel, consists of over 300 figures, the nine episodes from the Book of Genesis, and the state of Humanity presented by Noah and his family. In addition, Michelangelo also completed arts on ceilings of buildings such as “The Creation of Adam” and “Adam and Eve,” all representing the religion and events of Christianity. Another famous painter from the Renaissance Era, Leonardo da Vinci, painted “The Last Supper.” The painting represented Jesus’ last meal and his shares of disciples before his death and capture. Furthermore, Leonardo da Vinci also painted the “Mona Lisa” in the 1500s. The painting was famous for its amazing drawing of the woman’s smile, which was drawn in a way that people could not determine the exact nature of her smile. By contrast, Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings were magnificent for his style of drawing and his way of dealing with realistic body. Michelangelo expressed his paintings in a form of good body looks and muscles, as opposed to Leonardo da Vinci’s expression of body with realism.

P3 Team2 Synthesis

Artists of the time period, specifically, Da Vinci and Michelangelo, could not overtly include secular ideologies into their art, but subverted pure religious ideology by creating their paintings with incredible realism and a more characteristically “human” approach. Michelangelo, for example, in his work, “The Creation of Adam”, which depicts God giving life to Adam through a touch, would seem to be exclusively religious, but is fact very secular, not only from the humanist style of the painting, but also the subject matter. The style of the painting is more natural is the sense that color and line were no longer exclusively used separately: color was now used to represent line and contour, and gave the painting a much more secular feel. While the creation of Adam is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Bible, and Michelangelo presents it in a very anthropomorphic way, as both God and Adam are outstretched to each other, perhaps symbolizing closeness between man and God that goes beyond mere fear and respect, as the church would have it. Another Michelangelo painting, “The Fall From Grace”, depicts Adam and Eve succumbing to temptation and consequently being banished from the Garden of Eden. The subject matter of the painting is representative of the changing view on religion; “The Fall From Grace” explores one of the most deeply human parts of religion: Adam and Eve made an ethical decision without God’s knowledge, that is to say that God had no effect on their choice, only the consequence. This is very different from the jealous and vengeful God of the Catholic Church, and reflects the changing ideologies of the time period.

Renaissance synthesis ash.p3.t4.

During the Renaissance and Middle ages religion played a big part in the way society viewed the world. For example, many people believed that God made the Earth and men the middle of the universe. The way society viewed religion was highly reflected in artwork during the Renaissance. Some of the most famous artists during this time were Michelagnelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. Though each of these artists had a distinct art style, there were common ideas and themes that were reflected in their art pieces—the strongest theme being religion.

Leonardo Da Vinci is famous for many pieces of art, but one in particular reflects how he viewed society—the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Many view the ceiling as a work by the Gods, but in fact Da Vinci painted the ceiling to reflect the disorder among humans. During the Renaissance humanitarianism was becoming important to the people of the time, but Da Vinci went against this common view held by people. His artwork, though incorporating the need for Jesus and God, reflected the opposite of humanitarianism. This shifting in the messages conveyed by artists during the Renaissances is directly related with the scientific break throughs that were occurring during the era. During this time science was disproving claims made by the church. For example, Galileo and his telescope proved that the Earth was not the center of the universe. As people began the question the authority of the church the views of the people changed, and so did the messages that the artists communicated within their art, such as in the case of Da Vinci.
Though Da Vinci went against the common view of the world in some of his artworks, the theme of religion was strong in his work as well as in the work of Michelangelo. Both of these artists created art that reflected humans; a bit of humanitarianism is seen through this strong theme of human life captured in art. The humans reflected in the art were usually naked—a symbol of purity. Humans in the art were often times seen wearing angel wings creating a strong bond between humans on earth and those who have passed on to heaven.
Much of the beauty reflected in both Da Vinci and Michelangelo’s work was in the detail put into drawing the human body. Michelangelo specifically took a great interest in the aesthetics of the human body. He would take dead bodies and dissect them as to perfect the structure of specific muscles he was drawing in his artwork.
Artwork during the Renaissances was highly influenced by religion and discoveries. Religion was the theme most commonly seen in artwork. Religion was incorporated in the message of the artwork as well as the appearance of the humans in the artwork. Art, along with new philosophical ideas, helped progress the evolution of knowledge and thoughts during the Renaissances period.

Renaissance synthesis ash.p2.t2.

During Renaissance, religion and science often came into conflict. The clash initiated with the corrupt within Catholic Church that significantly weakened the trust people had in their religion. Newly developed scientific method encouraged people to think logically with their own senses rather than blindly agreeing with dishonest authority for unreasonable reasons. At the same time, the invention of printing press gave easier access to this new knowledge to all. As more were educated to be able to express their thoughts eloquently, new scientific philosophical ideologies became prevalent in the society: constantly growing and improving humanism and sensibility. With these, society at large gradually evolved and change was reflected in the paintings of artists during the time period. Although majority accepted this transition, Catholic Church still believed that the subjects of paintings had to be sacred. This led artists to secretly embed their aesthetic sensibilities and synthesize religious and secular aestheticism in their art work. One famous painting that exemplified the sensibility of the era is ‘The Mona Lisa’ by Leonardo da Vinci. A remarkably realistic painting of a woman with warm smile, ‘The Mona Lisa’ symbolizes the sensibility through its careful understanding of human proportions. Not only does the painting reflect profound mystery, but it also emphasizes its religious values. Another worldly renowned artist Michelangelo depicted sensibility through sculpture ‘David’, who is a biblical character. Through portrayal of courageous David before the battle with goliath, Michelangelo shares his view towards past and religion and reveals the Renaissance era’s emphasis on moral values.

Renaissance Synthesis, Period 3, Team 3

The Renaissance was an imperative era in human history which brought about the revival of science and the return of logic and reasoning. It marked the end of the Medieval era, the end to the suppression of science, an end to the strict limitation on art, and the beginning of a period which flourished in advent-garde ideas, philosophies, and techniques. It brought about the revolution of religion and its practice. It was an era of rebirth, specifically the rebirth of classical Greek and Roman influences. The sensibilities of the era could be seen through the works of the famed Michelangelo and the innovative Leonardo Da Vinci. Perhaps the most famous painting in the world today, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa embodies the attitude of the Renaissance era. The most respected forms of Greek art were panel paintings that “depicted figural scenes, including portraits”. Mona Lisa is exactly that: a portrait panel painting. This piece by Leonardo Da Vinci portrays the return of humanism by reintroducing the motif that art doesn’t have to strictly be of religion. During the Medieval era, art was strictly limited by religion, and were mostly created for religious purposes. This reintroduction of humanism opened up the gateway for artists and craftsmen to freely express themselves with their skills. Then there was Michelangelo’s David, a depiction of the Biblical hero David standing nude, a rebirth of a very common Greek style: the young, nude male. This sculpture, along with his paintings such as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the Creation of Adam, and his Last Supper painting, signified the return of religion from the stars down to the earth. It was the repatriation of the old ways and ideas, when the heavens were one with earth. This eliminated the fear of God and the unknown from society, allowing for a great deal of social change and growth. Their work from this era also reflected scientific rediscovery and growth, such as Leonardo Da Vinci’s Anatomy of Man. The Renaissance era brought about the return of classic humanism, a radical change on the view of religion, and new advancements in science, progressing the human civilization forward into the Enlightenment Era; an era of insight and visions.

Jimmy Don, Haseeb Khan, Yerin Kong, Erik Seetao, Christina Yang

Asher Period 3 Team 6

The Early Renaissance period was a period of blossoming for art works, especially the elevated style of painting that reflected the society's fervent attachment to the religious ideals of the time. As the church gradually ascended to power, their influence towards the Renaissance painters became more evident. However, the actual philosophies of the time reflected quite the opposite type of sentiments, the thinkers of the time dealt with discovering the value of the individual, the more personal approach towards god, and his connections with rest of the society: humanity. The church was no longer on the highest part of the “social pyramid,” and the connection towards God became much of an unique experience, different among ever individual.

Despite all this revolutionary beliefs, the Catholic church of the era demanded that each painting be sacred, to portray the unreachable divinity of the church and god. The artists, in return, decided to break new grounds regarding the word “sacred.” Although the paintings themselves would portray holy and symbolic scenes – referenced usually from the Bible – the “sacredness” would lie within the innovative and creative techniques and approaches they applied to the art itself. The contrast of light and shade, the depth of facial expressions, or the magical proportion between people and the background were some of the key characteristics found within these paintings. One of the more famous , to say the least, artist of the era, Leonardo Da Vinci expresses his “sacred” and innovative approach in the painting Annunciation. The painting portrays an angel delivering an evangelical message to the fair lady of the scripture, thus the painting can rightfully be defined as being sacred. However, when taken a look at from the perspective of the art itself, the contrast of light to emphasize the holiness of the lady and the Bible, the scenery that effectively distorts the proportion of the objects to represent distance within a two-dimensional painting is remarkable. Also Michelangelo's paintings of The Last Judgment: Saint Bartholomew shows the intricate details of the human body, while at the same time featuring a sacred topic to please the church, while demonstrating a scared technique to please the social and aesthetic perspective of the time.

The paintings, though they featured divine characters and beings, were starting to cave in on the necessity and the importance of humanity in society. The connection of a single human towards his or her god, and the effects he or she can have on the society were often the topic of discussion to the philosophers of the time period. The details outlined within the human body, and the attention they received is something beyond what the history has seen up to that point. Thus the evolving society reflected the “rebirth of the human kind and his values” thus giving the era a title of “Renaissance.”

Oh, to Synthesize the Renaissance!

The Renaissance Era was a time of conflicted artistic endeavors. The artist's soul craved intensity, reality, and often sensuality; yet the church's influence on culture called for a much more reserved form of art, wherein beloved saints and heroes were the inspiration as well as the centerpiece for the artwork. There was a resulting and notable struggle for balance between what an artist truly wished to create, and what would be socially accepted at that time.

The revered artist Michelangelo was a prime example of such artistic conflict. Many of his paintings captured raw intensity. This intensity was often shown through epic paintings (in which characters were often nude). Even on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel one can find many characters who are less than saintlike. Several are rather plain and even vulgar. Even when hired to do a job for the church, he found a way to let his artistic personality show. He toed the line between genius and relativity.

Another such artist was Leonardo Da Vinci. He is renowned for such paintings as Mona Lisa or The Last Supper. Da Vinci was also a great inventor and innovator. He studied science extensively. However, many of his scientific practices as well as art were looked down upon. He often drew abstract paintings of humans which did not fit into the narrow requirements for great art of that day. He also experimented and studied with corpses to better understand human anatomy. Da Vinci embodies the ideals of the Renaissance in that he believed in progress and refinement of humanity before he believed in rules already established by humans.

So what was the Renaissance Era? What is its significance?

It was a time when the artist began to break away from God, society, and relative art to further explore the boundaries of his own humanity, and in so doing produce a piece of art which reflects his own ideologies. Whether this subtle rebellion against such highly esteemed aspects of humanity was a good choice or simply selfish ignorance, is up to the viewer of Renaissance art to decide. The greatest artists of this time were not influenced by the pressure to create controversial art, nor the pressure to create acceptable art, but those simply created art with strings attached and no angles. This is what powered the Renaissance.

Period 1, team 8

Renaissance art, which is known as the “rebirth” of art from its many ancient traditions, occurred parallel to changes in philosophy, literature, music and science. However, despite the changes that were affecting everyday society, one constant remained: the Catholic Church. Churches were major buyers of art: they often called upon artists to paint something religious and biblical, despite whatever the artist may have believed. Although the artists were limited thematically, they still found ways to pervade their artwork with fragments of their beliefs and ideals.

One of Michelangelo’s most famous works, the Sistine Chapel ceiling represents how Michelangelo inputted his own personal likes into a Church sponsored piece of art. Originally, the Pope who commissioned this artwork requested that the ceiling simple be filled with twelve large figures of the Apostles. However, Michelangelo was adamant about drawing a huge, large-scale project that would take years to complete simple because he found that the drawing he had schemed up was much more aesthetically pleasing. It is evident that there was a major difference in priority when it came to Michelangelo and the Pope – the Pope wanted something representative of the Church, whereas Michelangelo wanted an artwork that he could be proud to call his own. Eventually, the Pope agreed on using Michelangelo’s large scale project – however, he wanted the theme of the artwork to describe humankind’s need to have a relationship with God. The artwork Michelangelo drew became made up of nine scenes from the Book of Genesis, five of which were framed and supposed by four naked youths. The narrative of the ceiling illustrated that God made the world and all humans; even when humanity became disgraceful; it was God who sent his son to save humankind. The message that the Church tried to send across through this painting was that humanity needed God. Humanity was disgusting, sinful, and heavily flawed – without God, humanity became even dirtier, and therefore, even more useless. However, Michelangelo believed in what he called “Humanism,” which means that he believed humans were born potentially noble and beautiful. In order to show this, he inserted “non-biblical” figures such as the Sibyls; he cited his reason for adding them to be “aesthetic purposes” when in actuality, he inserted the characters in order to stress his own personal belief. Michelangelo’s adding of non-biblical figures reflects the change that the society outside Church felt – many people were drawing away from the Church’s beliefs and forming their own opinions and beliefs. However, the fact that most of the drawing remained pertinent to the Catholic Church proves that, although they were losing supporters, the Catholic Church remained a very strong entity in terms of political and social standing.

Leonardo Da Vinci’s artwork not only represented the themes that the Catholic Church wanted him to express, but also his personal interests and affinities. For example, although the Church had “The Last Supper” commissioned in order to depict the reactions of the apostles to Jesus’ method that soon, one of his apostles would betray him; Leonardo Da Vinci inserts a more humane side of Jesus within his painting – one not often seen by the Catholic Church. In his painting, instead of Jesus hovering at a height above his apostles and his human followers in order to represent his superiority in terms of power and ethics, Da Vinci places Jesus at a height level to his apostles. Furthermore, instead of creating “The Last Supper” on a dry wall instead of wet plaster, Da Vinci created an artwork that was not considered to be a true fresco like the one the Church had asked him to create. Da Vinci created his artwork this way because he simply believed that it would look better – once he sealed it, he thought, the dark spots of his painting would look darker and the bright spots would look brighter. Da Vinci took a large creative step in painting the artwork on dry wall, simply because he thought it would look better – this heavily reflects the synthesis of religious asceticism and secular aestheticism because, ultimately, the painting was one of religious asceticism that was adjusted in order to benefit the appeal of aesthetics. Da Vinci took many creative liberties with his artwork, reflecting a paradigm shift of Churches having nearly complete control over a piece of art to artists having control in inserting pieces of their style within their creation. Another one of Da Vinci’s artwork, “The Vitruvian Man,” depicts a male figure in two positions, superimposed onto a circle and a square. This image exemplifies the blending and synthesis of art and science and reflects the movement of a heavy following in religious beliefs to a stronger following in science. “The Vitruvian Man” also played heavily on the idea of human proportions, therefore promoting an interest in math as well as science, both of which were topics unexplored by the Catholic Church. “The Vitruvian Man” reflected what the world outside the Catholic Church was doing - slowly moving away from a heavily religious based mindset to a mindset that considered the merits of math and science.

Although Leonardo Da Vinci and Michaelangelo both existed many centuries ago, the concepts that they introduced to art remain evident, even to this day: art is a reflection of the world that the creator lives in. To look at art is to look at a society.

ash.p1.t3.Renaissance

Artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci made many works of art that embody the progressive sensibility of the Renaissance. The artists of the Renaissance showed the appreciation for the human form people had during that time by painting it in its most realistic form. In Michelangelo’s painting “The Creation of Adam” he sought to display the body’s physical realism and an accurate perspective. Another perspective that artists showed in their works included placing humans in natural backgrounds. Leonardo Da Vinci showed this technique in his painting “The Mona Lisa.” Both Michelangelo and Da Vinci’s paintings show the synthesis of religious asceticism and secular aestheticism. Martin Luther, a very influential religious leader during the Renaissance, argued against reason and focused on the importance of faith that cannot be explained by reasoning. In addition to the changes in religious ideologies, there was a change in philosophical ideologies. The unique elements that make up Renaissance philosophy include the “rebirth” of classical civilization and learning which includes the renewal of ideas put forth by Plato. Both the change in religious practice and the change in philosophical ideas contributed to the shift from religious asceticism to secular aestheticism. Art works, such as those done by Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, and many other artists of the time period emphasized these changes. The paintings of the realism of human bodies showed the movement from traditional paintings to those of freedom, power, uniqueness, and individuality. Those things all play a part in the sensibility of the Renaissance, which is humanism.

Team 3:

Lauren Broder

Laura Lussier

Justine Turrietta

Renaissance synthesis question

The Renaissance occurred between the 1300’s and the 1600’s and was a time of great change. This era began an alternate perspective toward the arts. While the medieval period consisted mostly of religious artworks that were drawn in basic 2D with disproportionate figures, the early renaissance, while still heeding toward religion, drew detailed 3D with a more proportional view. The artists of this time were more educated, drawing accurate proportions of the human anatomy and using advanced artistic methods like shadowing.
Educated artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci helped shape church and society ideology. The primary concern they had with Michelangelo’s and Leonardo Da Vinci’s art pieces were the “inappropriate” amount of detail they put into their paintings. Both artists would study dead bodies, observing the muscle structure in order to get an expert perspective on what the human anatomy looks like. They would use this newly acquired information to paint and sculpt naked human bodies. Portraying naked bodies as art was frowned upon by the church and was considered extremely inappropriate. However, as the renaissance period continued the church began to accept the new art form. The pope even hired Michelangelo to paint on church ceilings where he created some of his most famous paintings, such as, "The Separation of Sky and Water," “The Last Judgment” and his unfinished work on the Sistine Chapel. All have nude men in them and even show their genitalia. The renaissance period was not only the beginning of a new style of art, but the beginning of a new appreciation.

Renaissance Synthesis Asher Period 1 Team 6

Renaissance Synthesis Question

      Michaelangelo, a world renowned painter and sculptor, was commissioned by the church to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The chapel is now decorated with religious affirmations and biblical meanings that interlude Michaelangelo’s asceticism of the Roman Catholic affiliation and his self asceticism. The Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, though it is mainly biblical, also holds a self portrait of Michaelangelo, where his head lay above a disk held by a woman. This shows Michaelangelo’s true feelings towards the church, for he never wanted to paint the Sistine Chapel, but obliged by the church who threatened otherwise. His self portrait, is a severed head, with the eyes closed and mouth slightly gazed open to show his numbness in his reflection towards the church. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was patronized by the Medicis of Italy. The Medicis wanted Leonardo to paint themselves as god like depictions. In the paintings, the Medicis seem to be glistening with a halo and yet the skin is dark and emotions very sinister. Leonardo did the same for religious paintings, where he would paint the requirements given by the church who leashed expansion of imagination to religious. The painted Christ and mother were shown in the front, but show Leonardo’s interest in nature and the surrounding, with the backgrounds depicting specific detail almost luring the rear as a main focus rather than the figures. The artists secular asceticism is being brought out in plain sight, and yet hidden to the simple thoughts as paintings show a religious affiliation at first, but with attention show the artists’ true intentions. The era of Catholicism was being studies, where the Renaissance, an age of rebirth of the arts began to emerge, people studies deeper into the ideas of religion and nature, where realism and fantasy collided to form new thoughts in artists. The society was questioning the church as the Renaissance slowly ended during the 1600’s, after the Black Plague had destroyed the hopes of the people. The artists began to evolve out of their society of Christian affiliation and began to wonder into the evolving society that soon formed a new belief that artists viewed critical in their paintings.

Renaissance Synthesis - Ash. Per. 3 Tm. 7

Leonardo Da Vinci was famous in part for his mathematical approach to painting, such as his use of the center of gravity and laws he studied about equilibrium. Especially in “The Last Supper,” in which the center of gravity lies in Jesus and his disciples are positioned in a very centered, focused way on the canvas. This piece illustrates a biblical, religious scene, but is changed in that Judas is not present. Da Vinci made this judgment, as well as choosing to paint this in a very nontraditional way. He paints this on dry wall, not plaster, making it not a true fresco, inventing his own techniques of painting. Michelangelo’s famous painting, or mural, centered around the Book of Genesis, of the Sistine Chapel, was commissioned by Pope Julius II. Originally, Michelangelo was only commissioned to paint the twelve apostles against a starry sky, but wanting something more challenging, the painting eventually contained more than 300 figures and included different parts of Bible, including Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, and The Great Flood. Like much of the thinking of the Renaissance, Christianity and religion play a dominant role in the subject choice of artworks, but both painters incorporated individual artistic opinions and aesthetic judgment to their pieces. These two artists created a marriage of traditional religious thought and creative standpoints that resonates very clearly in the entire Renaissance period.

Asher Period 3 Team 5

The Renaissance was a time period when both religion and innovation started to emerge greatly. For example, Leonardo Da Vinci made a famous masterpiece that lies in the Sistine Chapel. During that time, it was Michelangelo’s crowning achievement, “The Last Judgment.” This alone depicted the popularity of Christianity signaling the second coming of Christ. Religious asceticism was heavily practiced because there was a belief that if worldly pleasures were restrained, the soul may united with the divine or heaven in the afterlife. However, religion was not the only dominate force at the time. Others heavily practiced secularism such as Italian humanists. Humanism became another big part of the Renaissance era. Humanism focuses on human concerns and values and that humans can live a happy life with morals and ethics with the belief of God or any other religion. This movement differed to the art and literature created during the medieval era, which was religious, motivated. Humanists were those who sought to base their writings on nature or other worldly, secular themes. To name a few would be wealth, respect and love for the human body and the enjoyment of life.

Renaissance (1450-1650) Ash.p1.t4

‘Renaissance’ is literally defined as ‘rebirth,’ as the era reclassified literature, painting, architecture, and even religion. Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo reveal the synthesis of religious asceticism and secular aestheticism through their light-intensified paintings. Leonardo da Vinci saw life in various lights and reproduce them in his paintings; using different contrasts in light and creating emphasis on what was physically light and dark. The painting of the “Virgin on the Rocks” (or “Madonna of the Rocks”), for instance, illustrates the concept of light perfectly (Michelangelo). He also introduces ties with religious asceticism as it showcases faces of Madonna and baby Jesus, both of which are accented with a glow while the two different pathways behind them are either extremely bright or extremely dark. These pathways are painted with the unique coloring to symbolize heaven and hell. Another form of art that was reborn was sculpting, especially nude sculptures because of the confidence and pride of the body. Michelangelo created many statues that are quite famous today; the “Statue of David,” the biblical hero in David and Goliath, for example, symbolizes freedom and is completely nude (Michelangelo). “The Last Judgment” is a fresco painting by Michelangelo that illustrated the second coming of Jesus Christ and the apocalypse. In the painting, Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary were naked, and though the Renaissance Era celebrated the nude, it was considered sacrilegious and was later censored (Michelangelo). The synthesis between the contradictory asceticism’s reflect the changing religious and philosophical ideologies by rebirthing emphasizing classical antiquity, which resembles God-like qualities from Greek culture.

Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_of_the_Rocks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo#Statue_of_David

Renaissance Synthesis Question Ash.P4.T5

In the Renaissance Period, most artists created art pertaining to the prevalent religion. The Catholic Church gave the most funding to the artists, for it was the richest institution in its time. Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinchi were of the many artists that painted biblical events or pictures that referenced Christianity on grand scales. Despite that Da Vinci held steady to scientific and skeptic beliefs, his paintings were primarily based on religion. In his art, the central focus was on the humans depicted. The secular asceticism is synthesized with religious asceticism by appealing to the Catholic church by painting artwork that was relevant to Christianity, but drawing attention and focus to the humanism of the art, not the otherworldly concepts that would emphasize what lies beyond life on Earth, faith, and religion. In “The Last Supper” painting, Di Vinci paints a scene of the dinner before Jesus is betrayed by Judas, but he does not allude to the future resurrection or ascension of Jesus. Many paintings of Jesus also depict him with a halo around his head, but Da Vinci leaves this out, keeping the painting strictly of human nature. Likewise, Michelangelo created paintings that stood in opposition to the counter-Reformation movement of the Catholic Church. In his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the story of creation, prophets, and the downfall of man were depicted with nude persons. This led to conflict between Michelangelo and the church authorities that prohibited nudity in religious art. This reflects the changing philosophical and religious conceptual theories within Michelangelo pertaining to humanism, for he did not settle into the Catholic or Christian culture, but rather pushed his boundaries to focus on the humanistic aspects of his art by creating masterpieces that depicted nudity. Both he and Di Vinci reflected the evolving society in the Renaissance as the personal, spiritual relationship with God during the Medieval Era was being pushed away and human nature without religion gained popularity. 

Renaissance Synthesis Period 1 Team 1

The Renaissance was a time period where humanism can to be. This idea focused on human nature and bolsters the ideas of reason and logic, but this was against the Catholic Church, and so prominent artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci had to find ways around this, creating works of art that portrayed both secular aesthetics and religious doctrines. One of the most famous examples of this synthesis is Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. The Pope had asked him to create a work of art on the ceiling and Michelangelo despised the job, but he did it anyway. The painting portrays many religious ascetics such as the Creation of Adam and The Last Judgment, but looking at the Creation of Adam closely, God and his angels look like a brain. There are also various pictures where God’s neck looks similar to a brain stem. The Sistine Chapel reveals that there was a synthesis of religious and secular aspects. There were pictures of God and the heavens, and yet there are scientific images scattered throughout. This synthesis reflects the changing views because the artists of the Renaissance were becoming more humanist, and desired to explore humanity more than religion. The fact that there are pictures of brains and brain stems show how there was a shift in sensibility from religion to science. Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has been debated many times whether there are scientific mysteries behind it, such as bone structure and how it was even Da Vinci himself. He had paintings of inventions and studied the human anatomy and he reveals how there was a shift from religion to the desire for knowledge.

Renaissance Period 2 Team 8

Michelangelo started painting scenes from the Bible. He then designed the Laurentian Library that’s attached to the San Lorenzo church and then created the painting of the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. However, it contained offensive nude figures that bothered church officials. Therefore, he began to design works for the Palazzo Farnese, which enabled him to be the head architect for the redesigning of St. Peter’s Cathedral. Michelangelo revealed secular aestheticism with his sculpture, David. The statue’s hands and feet are disproportionately large and he has an overpowering stance. David does not refer to the biblical character because the statue is uncircumcised. By having this sculpture nude, Michelangelo exposes the realistic characteristics. However, the church didn’t approve of nude paintings or sculptures.
Leonardo Da Vinci’s creation of the Last Supper revealed the religious asceticism. He depicted this main part of Christ’s resurrection with great detail. Leonardo Da Vinci and his painting of Mona Lisa revealed secular aestheticism. Mona Lisa has that whimsical smile and devilish side glance in her eye and doesn’t represent Christ’s mother. It is rather Leonardo’s portrait of an individual woman.
In this movement, men were inspired to develop new enthusiastic ideas. This mindset turned their strict religious views into individualistic ideas. Artists depicted people realistically, which offended and brought change in the church. The society built new ideas and was eager to use them to grow out of preceding conditions. The Renaissance era set up new viewpoint and therefore, society began to think for themselves.

Renaissance Era Synthesis Answer Period 2 Team 7

Religion has always played a key part in art. How could it not? Religion takes and gives the purest of emotions and deals with the weakness and strengths of all humans, its bound to draw on an artists emotions, thus creating art. However, the position religion held in the medieval period through the metamorphosis to the renaissance period, is quite substantial.

Michelangelo, arguably the most influential artist of the Renaissance period is a prime example of religion effecting his work. He had many works that depicted religion all of them bringing along a certain baggage. The creation of Adam, depicts God and Adam’s fingers reaching out to one another, though never touching. This has been said to show the imperfections of Adam, proving that man can never be God’s perfect creation. Then there is “Last Judgment” a piece which the pope publicly scorned for its use of nudity. The pope had recently decided that nudity would no longer be portrayed in religious art work, and although Michelangelo accepted the popes criticism, it is known that in his private life he grew depressed because of the popes words.

Leonardo Da Vinci another extremely influential artist of the time period was also known for his work with religious paintings. ‘The Last Supper” painted in 1498 is a prime example of his work. This pointing is arguably truly religious due to the fact that he himself was an atheist it is hard to portray the exact passion it takes to reveal such a passion. His use of light in the painting and the way it all seems to illuminate the center, and his color scheme, also his idea to be sure to portray all of the religious keystones as normal people all together show an overall internal battle between religious asceticism and secular aestheticism.

Both artists represent the societies new found questioning of religion and the less overall passion that was held for the the Catholic church as science and new ideas were introduced into the Renaissance period. Both artists are great examples of change.

Asher.P4.T8.Renaissance

Team Dragon
Clair Fuller
Yee-Lum Mak
Jodi Shou
Alex Tranquada
Laurel Kitada

Asher Per 4, Team 8

Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, two artists famous both in their time and ours, worked during one of the most artistically explosive time periods in history: the Renaissance. Considered the “rebirth” of culture, the Renaissance begat a burgeoning sense of secular aestheticism and scientific and philosophical curiosity that, in some cases, strayed from the will of the church. This subtle tension is evident in the paintings of da Vinci and Michelangelo, who’s most famous works are largely of religious subjects—for example, da Vinci’s Last Supper and Michelangelo’s work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Working with religious subjects and in some cases on church commission, these men managed to infuse their own sense of Renaissance philosophy, placing a high value on aestheticism and Humanism.

In da Vinci’s early painting The Baptism of Christ, for example, he depicts the Virgin Mary not as submissive, but as confident and calm, depicting her according to Renaissance Humanism. Similarly, The Virgin on the Rocks depicts an overtly religious scene, yet the background demonstrates Leonardo’s keen interest in nature. All of his pieces demonstrate bold and masterful use of lighting and technical painting techniques, as well as a heightened knowledge of human anatomy. Da Vinci’s fascination with the human form is documented in his notebooks, which reveal his scientific as well as artistic genius, reflecting the shift away from the scientific ‘dark ages’ of the past.

The Pope himself commissioned Michelangelo’s most famous work, the ornate ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The elaborate ceiling features some 300 figures depicting Biblical scenes and events, and took years to complete. The scheme of the chapel itself represents much of the doctrine of the Catholic Church, the ceiling included. While the symbolism and imagery used on the ceiling are largely accordant with the Church, Michelangelo infused Renaissance thinking and philosophy in a way that perfectly captures the period’s struggle to reconcile progressive humanist philosophy, emphasizing human interaction with each other and with God directly, with organized religion. Michelangelo, who had studied both the Bible and early philosophers that influenced Renaissance thinking, combines both in his work on the ceiling. The insertion of non-Biblical figures in to the work (Sybil and Ignudi, for example) demonstrates the artist’s work to rationalize both competing philosophies.

T1 P4 Renaissance Synthesis Response

In the Renaissance era, religious asceticism and secular aestheticism had a synergistic effect on artists’ paintings. The practice of religious asceticism means to abstain from worldly pleasures, while secular aestheticism at the time focused in on the realistic and beauteous qualities of things. Specifically, the combination of these two aspects had influence on the works of Leonardo Da Vinci, and Michelangelo.

In Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Benois Madonna,” it depicts the Virgin Mary with a baby Jesus in her lap. The depiction of the Virgin Mary, one who has abstained, yet given birth, is a key example. The combination of a very lifelike depiction and two highly regarded religious symbols is a prime example of the blending of asceticism and aestheticism.

Furthermore, in Michelangelo’s ceiling of the Sistine chapel, it only expands upon this concept. Michelangelo depicts nine different scenes in his mural. Specifically in his depiction of the creation of Adam and Eve, he shows their expulsion from the garden because they succumbed to the temptation of eating an apple from the forbidden tree. In this painting, it shows the consequences from giving in to worldly pleasures. Yet, the aesthetic values of the time played a key role into the style of the painting. Upon looking at the depiction of Adam and Eve, one can tell that it is particularly realistic even though there were no living witnesses at the event.

During the renaissance period, philosophical ideologies began to change and emerge. At the same time, science began to flourish. Galileo, for example, presented the idea of heliocentrism, where the earth rotated around the sun. It is accurate to describe this era as a period of time in which people sought to discover truths. Like Galileo sought to discover the secrets of astronomy, artists depicted age-old religious characters with strong and vivid details. Rather than leaving religious symbols vague and open to interpretation, artists reflected the philosophical ideologies of the time by depicting people like the Virgin Mary, and Adam with a great deal of specificity.

Synthesis question P2 T4

Art compositions during this period revealed the synthesis of religious asceticism and secular aestheticism. During the Renaissance, the focus of the subject of the painting was on everyday life with the prospective view of the future. One of the greatest artists, Leonardo da Vinci accomplished a degree of realistic aestheticism in art by expressing human emotion through his work. The unique qualities of Leonardo's work include the reflection of his detailed knowledge of anatomy, light, geology, physiognomy, and his ingenious use of the human forms in figurative work of art. For instance, Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper shows a high level of harmony and is more humanistic than religious—Jesus is part of the group and others in the painting are portrayed as equally human as opposed to saintly. Moreover, art soared to unsurpassed heights with Michelangelo’s painting on the Sistine ceiling: he displayed his skillful understanding of the structure of body and movement, and he created the painting without the dominate influence of the church. Michelangelo depicted some scenes from the Book of Genesis, mainly from the Creation to the Downfall of Man, and the chapel shows the doctrine of the Catholic Church. However, Michelangelo gave all the characters emotions and energy shown on their faces. The classical humanistic ideas not only explored the cultural forms of art, but also pervaded the ideas regarding society and politics. People started to question some old ideas inherited from Middle Ages and to value humanity rather than blaming people about the world which was fraught with temptations. The outstanding works of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti represented the unique, revolutionary perspectives in art, science, religion, and politics that were developed during the Renaissance and influenced the world.

T4.P4 Renaissance Synthesis

The Renaissance Period marked a transitional time from a complete loyalty in religion, seen in the Medieval Era, to a ‘rebirth’ from the dark ages sparked by experimentation with new ideals in all fields from science to cultural analysis. One work of art, coming to be renowned in its use of symbolism and imagery at the time, seemed to express this transitional period wonderfully. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa portrays a glowing face in contrast with a dark veil and clothing being worn. The contrast of the lighting and color shows how the Renaissance era was removed from the dark and strictness of the Medieval Age with the glorification of man. The succession of new advancements in culture and education, being known as the humanities, gave each citizen of the newly formed era a profound duty as a member of society. Another essential art piece which gives insight on the mentality of the era is Michelangelo’s David. The work of art glorifies the sheer beauty of the bare man. The theme of nudity is a common one in Renaissance art as it connects to the sensibility of the ancient Greeks and its emphasis on the heroic male figure. To a society that has learned to respect history as a necessary and proper staple as one of the five humanities, this painting truly shows the society’s dedication to this new study. These two examples are only few of the many works of art that articulate the newly developed ideologies of the time through creative forms of expression.

Ashp4t3 Renaissance Synthesis #2

Throughout the course of history, paintings, especially those during the Middle Ages, were required to be sacred. However, as the Renaissance Era slowly eased into play, great minds such as Michelangelo and da Vinci began to delve into the realms of science, art, and religion as well as synthesizing all these aspects together to become the archetypical Renaissance Man. Although they challenged the popular beliefs of their time, they did so subtly by using their art to appeal to both religious asceticism and secular aestheticism. For example, in Michelangelo’s painting The Last Judgement, Michelangelo depicts the second coming of Christ, a Christian concept widely accepted in the Church. However, his painting represents nudity which caused controversy in the Catholic Church. Although some paintings challenged beliefs and pushed the limits of art, others simply incorporated both aspects of asceticism and aestheticism. In da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper, the essential event before Jesus’ crucifixion is depicted to satisfy the religious aspect. However, the secular aestheticism is also achieved through ingenious portrayals of emotion, lighting, and focus toward the center of the painting: Jesus’ head. The integration of religious and secular views in art encapsulates the most prevalent idea during the Renaissance and the rapidly changing society at the time: the spirit of discovery and insatiable curiosity. Michelangelo and da Vinci proved these were possible not only with their art, but with their exceptional skills in sciences and mathematics as well.

Asher.p2.t6 Renaissance Synthesis

Renaissance artists were no longer held back by the rules and regulations of the Church because the artists were now able to become independent through their occupation. Artists were able to be funded by private patrons to create works of art, which are now giving them more freedom to explore different art styles and themes.
The creation of the “Renaissance Man” by Leonardo Da Vinci, along with other works of art became extremely popular and grew in fame because of Da Vinci’s forte in detail and accuracy. Da Vinci was able to transcend history not only as an artist but a genius from his attention to detail and accuracy; ranging from the human body structure to the detail works of the bible and other religious pieces of literature.
Perhaps the most famous work of religious art would the famous “Last Supper” where Da Vinci recreates the supposed last supper that Jesus Christ had. Being religious, the Church highly approved of this work of art even though the art style was not necessarily demanded by the Church. Leonardo Da Vinci was able to incorporate the visual aesthetics of an artist, and the knowledge of a religious enthusiast.
Da Vinci was a genius of art and knowledge from his extensive study of the human mind and body. His knowledge came not from hypothesis, but hands on research and observation which was displayed through his dissection of cadavers which resulted in his supreme and unequal knowledge of the human body. This knowledge was able to be configured into aesthetic genius, because by knowing the human body to his extent, Da Vinci was able to recreate portraits and sculptures to amazing greatness. One of these examples of knowledge would be the “Mona Lisa”, where Da Vinci was able to use his knowledge to create the supposed most beautiful woman alive even with the major flaw of having no eye brows.
Where Da Vinci incorporated science into art, Michelangelo Buonarroti incorporated the sexual and bold aspects of the human body. Explicitly displaying the normally shunned upon display of nude private parts, Michelangelo has created one of the most famous sculptures of all time, the sculpture of the nude David. Instead of being disgraced and hated for this work of art, the church openly accepted and went in awe for this master piece. This displays the themes that artists were able to create without influence from the church. The two artist named used their secular aestheticism to express themselves in an odd but unique perspective, separating them from the church restrictions but becoming the greatest artists of their time era.

Kevin Cheung, Raymond Yonami, Alex Park, Bryce Cheng, Steven Li