Humanism

Something that I find quite interesting is the development of humanism during the Renaissance. During the start of the Renaissance humanism was the scholarly study of the Latin and Greek classics and the improvement of the individual as a whole. By asserting an interest and value in the potential of human beings, the idea of the Renaissance Man was born. With new fascinations of literature, poetry, philosophy, sciences, history, and art, one was able to completely reinvent himself without fear of contradicting what the Catholic Church had to say. This focus on the individual is evident in the art and sculpture of the time. Take for instance Michelangelo's sculptures Pieta and David. Both of these sculptures focus on the idealized human body. Mary as seen in Pieta is not weak, she is strong! Her facial expression invokes so many sentiments within the viewer. Fear, anguish, love, suffering, and hope of what is to come, to name a few. Mary and David are saying that they are not afraid to be human, they are glorified, dignified. The drastic changes between art of the Middle Ages and that of the Renaissance shows the vast differences between the two and the explansion of the expression of humanism.