“The Renaissance”: A Watershed Moment in Human Civilization

The content on the Renaissance has officially concluded. Today, I will provide a recap of all the content related to the Renaissance, organizing it from an overall perspective, and I hope it will help with your understanding.

“The Renaissance”: A Watershed Moment in Human Civilization

1. The “Renaissance” was a great period in the history of human civilization. It first emerged in various Italian cities and later spread to other European countries. It was a cultural phenomenon that developed along multiple lines, blossoming in different forms across Europe. For visual arts such as painting and sculpture, the Renaissance marked the completion and establishment of the classical system. In terms of human civilization, it serves as a clear dividing line between the ancient and modern worlds.
2. The development of the Renaissance was a process of gradual accumulation. The artistic accumulation during this period laid the foundation for later “qualitative changes” in art. This transition from quantitative accumulation to qualitative change is a rule that applies universally across different fields. Architecturally, Renaissance buildings were all made of pure stone structures. Compared to modern glass curtain wall buildings, this represented a fundamental shift in architectural form. In the field of painting, the works of the three masters of the Renaissance were renowned for their lifelike quality. Artists pursued the reflection of reality in their works, but modernist paintings no longer used resemblance as a standard. Therefore, every field goes through a process of accumulation before a breakthrough.
3. The Renaissance can be said to have fully established the classical system for visual arts like painting and sculpture. Throughout the long development of the Renaissance, from Masaccio to the three great masters, artists gradually established the artistic style of correct perspective and realistic creation. During the Baroque and Rococo periods, although there were specific changes in the arts, the overall development still followed the tone set during the Renaissance, within the framework established by the classical school. The innovations made during these later periods were micro-innovations based on classical techniques.
4. In visual arts, the Renaissance can be compared to the invention of the camera, providing us with a “photograph” in a highly realistic manner. Subsequent artistic styles and artists then processed this photograph in various ways. Baroque style intensified the contrast of the photograph, Rococo added skin-smoothing effects to the characters, and Romanticism increased the saturation of the photo, etc. Therefore, the significance of the Renaissance in visual arts lies in the completion of the classical system.
5. The Renaissance was of great significance to human civilization as a whole, acting as a watershed between the ancient and modern worlds. From an ideological perspective, the greatest difference between ancient and modern times lies in the worldview. Ancient people had an extremely strong belief in gods, while modern people are dominated by scientific thinking. This remarkable shift began with the Renaissance. The Renaissance changed people’s scientific concepts and initiated the exploration of science.
6. Politically, the Renaissance period also marked a watershed, forming the embryonic shape of modern politics. Florence during the Renaissance had already adopted a republican system, and Venice was also a republic. The bourgeoisie was gaining strength, and politics was gradually maturing, laying the foundation for modern political systems.
7. The Renaissance had a profound influence on people’s thoughts, bringing about freedom, liberation, and a modern spirit filled with skepticism. The two most important ideas in modern society—science and democracy—did not exist in the ancient world, which is one of the major reasons why the Renaissance was so great, important, and influential.

In summary, the Renaissance was a process in which artists across Europe suddenly “leveled up.” Regarding this glorious period, remember the following key points:

• 1 family: The Medici family – without this family, there would have been no financial support for the arts.
• 3 representatives: The “Three Great Masters of the Renaissance,” Titian from Venice, and Jan van Eyck from the North.
• 4 major battlegrounds: Florence, Rome, the Netherlands, and Venice.