Thursday, 19 September 2013

The Renaissance Era & the Characteristics (14th - 15th Century)

From the Renaissance, came great losses but also benefits. Certain characteristics became bigger and wider, the most notable being Humanism, Art, Science, Religion and Self-Awareness. There is also the spread of the printing press and how it became well known to so many places during this era and how it was beneficial to all of the artists, poets and religious individuals, these places included Northern Europe, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Spain.




Humanism

Scholars of the Renaissance adopted the humanist method in study and focused on realism and emotion in art. Humanism was not a philosophy as it was seen as by many, it was more a method of learning. Unlike the medieval scholastic method, which focused on sorting contradictions between authors, humanists would study ancient texts in the original, typically written in none other than Latin, or ancient Greek, and appraise them through a combination of reasoning and evidence. A hunt, by Poggio Bracciolini, who was credited with the discovery of the complete works of fifteen different authors, turned up Vitruvius' work on art and architecture, allowing for the completion of the Duomo of Florence by Filippo Brunelleschi. Artists such as Masaccio strove to show the human form realistically, developing techniques to render perspective and light more naturally. Political philosophers, most famously Niccolo Machiavelli, tried to describe political life as it really was and to improve government on the basis of reason.

Art


One feature of renaissance art that stood out was its development of highly realistic linear perspective. Giotto di Bondone is was the first person who treated a painting as a window into space, but it was not until architect Filippo Brunelleschi and the later writings of Leon Battista Alberti that perspective was made an artistic technique. Painters of this time also found out about other techniques, studying light and shadow, as well as Leonard da Vinci finding human anatomy to be a form of art. Notable artists include Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Sandro Botticelli, who worked for Medici in Florence, Donatello also a Florentine and Titian of Venice.

Science

Science and art were very much the same in the early in early renaissance, with artists like Leonardo da Vinci making observational drawings of anatomy and nature. A new way of learning was found during this era, the use of empirical evidence, the importance of mathematics and throwing away the final cause in favour of mechanical philosophy. This method led to great and fortunate alliances in the fields of astronomy, physics, biology and anatomy.

Wednesday, 18 September 2013

Johannes Gutenberg & Mechanical Movable Type Printing

Johannes Gutenberg

Gutenberg.jpgJohannes Gutenberg was a German with many professions, including being a goldsmith and blacksmith, although his most notable creation was the invention of the mechanical movable type print which started the Printing Revolution, this meant he was the first European to actually use movable type printing. This is known to be the most important event in his time. With this feat he laid the basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and spread of learning to the masses, while also playing a key role in the Renaissance, Reformation, Age of Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution.


The Gutenberg Press

The Gutenberg Press with its metal (once was wooden) movable type printing brought down the price of materials which had been printed and made such materials available for the masses. It remained this way until the 20th century. The printing press was developed from the the same technology of screw-type wine presses of the Rhine Valley. It was here, in 1440, that Gutenberg created his printing press, a hand press, where ink is rolled over raised surfaces of hand set block letters held within a wooden form. The form is then pressed against a blank piece of paper.



The Gutenberg Bible

gutenberg-bibleThe most influential book published by Johannes Gutenberg was his own take on the bible, the Gutenberg Bible, which was out during the mid 1400s. His printing presses were later used to mass produce Bibles - helping to spread the most influential book of the era. This Bible is also well known for its high quality of design. Nearly 200 hundred of the originals were made mainly on paper and others on vellum. Despite the genius of this invention, Gutenberg was never really able to financially capitalise on his invention, although his printing press soon got famous, mainly across Europe and especially to Venice and Italy, where printing took a big part in the renaissance.

Friday, 13 September 2013

15th Century Timeline


Radcliffe Manor





15th Century Art Moodboard

This project is on the art and history of the 15th Century. With this, I will be researching the events that happened, paintings and artists, and ancient monuments that have been around for over 6000 years.



Paintings made during the
15h Century