The Renaissance was a period of European history from 1350-1550 with roots in Italy and is perceived to be a high point in cultural Europe following the Middle Ages. Political, social, and economic life was centered in the cities because, unlike Northern Europe, the Italian peninsula was divided into city-states. The advanced urbanization of Italy allowed the Renaissance to develop there first and shaped the major features of the Renaissance. The features of the Renaissance include humanism, classicism, and statecraft, all of which grew out of the aftermath of the Black Death in these urban regions. Due to the destructiveness of the plague, values from the classical age such as the civic-mindedness of Rome and the art and philosophy of Ancient Greece resurfaced during the Renaissance.
The cities in Italy were amongst the most developed in Europe, which also meant they were hit the hardest by the plague. The plague came to Europe from the ports of Messina in Sicily and since the Italian peninsula contained major sea trade routes, the plague spread immediately. Florence, Milan, and Venice had over 50,000 inhabitants who were nearly wiped out (Textbook, 375). Boccaccio describes the plague’s effect on Florentine society: “The cruelty of heaven was so terrible that between March and June of that year, by the fierceness of the plague and the fact that so many of the sick were poorly cared for or flat-out abandoned at their neediest moment because the healthy were too frightened to approach them, more than one hundred thousand people died within the walls of Florence.” (Sourcebook, 168) The plague had a significant psychological and demographical impact on Europe, so the ideas of the Renaissance, such as classicism and humanism, evolved in the cities hit hardest by the Black Death.
Humanism was the belief in appreciating the individual and finding beauty in humanity and the world. The plague did not spare anyone, whether rich or poor, young or old. Artists portrayed humans and nature in their most beautiful form in search of beauty after a time of ugliness. In Vasari’s Lives of Artists: “the most beautiful style comes from constantly copying the most beautiful things, combining the most beautiful hands, heads, bodies, or legs together to create from all these beautiful qualities the most perfect figure possible,” (203). Noting the emphasis on beauty, conveying beauty in art was the ultimate goal. Vasari’s commentary gives insight into the Renaissance’s focus on portraying humanity and the natural world in a positive light by attempting to achieve a perfect piece of architecture, sculpture, or painting.
Classical Roman and Greek artistic tendencies heavily inspired Renaissance art. Vasari described Donatello’s skills, “his works possessed so much grace and excellence and such a fine sense of design that they were considered to be more like the distinguished works of the ancient Greeks and Romans than those of any artist who has ever existed.” The artists, in this case, Donatello, were “attempting to rediscover the beauty of the ancients which had already remained hidden for so many years.” (201) Classical art was highly regarded during this era. Artists were inspired by the figures and techniques used in antiquity. Vasari praises Donatello solely based on his ability to mimic the aesthetic of classical art. During the Renaissance, the techniques of shadowing, perspective, and detail were developed to match classical aesthetics and humanist values.
Although classical texts were known to Europe during the Middle Ages, classicism in literature truly flourished during the Renaissance. Much can be accredited to the invention of the printing press in 1440 by Guttenberg, which accelerated the dissemination of classical knowledge. Additionally, the Renaissance marked the rise of vernacular literature, such as Orlando Furioso by Ariosto. Classical scholars such as Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero were revived amongst Renaissance scholars. For example, humanists Petrarch and Machiavelli produced commentaries on the works of Cicero and Livy, respectively. In Letter to Posterity, humanist Petrarch notes: “Out of all the subjects that intrigued me, I fixed especially upon antiquity-for the truth is that our own age repels me and has always done so.” (176) Renaissance scholars had a greater appreciation for the classical era than in the Middle Ages and actively searched for and applied classical knowledge.
The origins of the Renaissance can also be traced to the rise of power of the merchant and trading classes in Italy. Since city-states relied on trade, merchant and trading families like the Sforza and Medici grew increasingly powerful and influential. The Renaissance coincided with the growth in armament production and construction, which increased merchant wealth after a decline in demand for consumer goods during the plague. Power was concentrated in the city and the urban elite’s increasing prosperity, despite the urban economic inequality, led to demand for elaborate private residences and public buildings like chapels in the beautifying Renaissance style. Since the rulers of the city-states were from wealthy mercantile or banking families, such as the Medicis of Florence, they had the funds to act as patrons of the arts. In Vasari’s account of Donatello’s life, Cosimo and Piero de Medici provided Donatello with financial support (203). It could be argued that without the patronage of the urban rulers, many artistic and building achievements would not have been possible during the Renaissance.
The political landscape of Italy during the Renaissance was heavily influenced by Ancient Rome. In Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy, the Roman tradition of republicanism is presented as the best system of government, “Among the Spartans and, in our own time, among the Venetians, it was placed in the hands of the nobles, but among the Romans it was placed in the hands of the plebeians.” (181) Classical ideals shape political thinking amongst the statesmen of the Italian city-states. There is a deep appreciation of the political organization of the ancient world. It seems the goal was to replicate the best political system from the ancient world for maintaining liberty, prosperity, and stability.
However, oligarchical politics became commonplace during the Renaissance, akin to Ancient Rome. On Lorenzo de Medici’s life, Francesco Guicciardini said: “Lorenzo controlled and ran Florence as completely as if he were a Greek tyrannos.” (195) Guiccardini praised Lorenzo not for his military success but for his civic-mindedness, a prized quality in Roman governance. Guicciardini’s critical analysis of Lorenzo is a reflection of Renaissance statecraft, which differs from medieval views of governance. Despite his vices, Lorenzo represents the ideal Renaissance leader who is politically savvy and calculating enough to maintain power and stability in Florence. Lorenzo was also a patron of the arts and promoted classical knowledge, facilitating the cultural achievements of the Renaissance.
The Renaissance marked a shift from medieval thinking in the aftermath of the Black Death. The cultural and intellectual achievements of the Renaissance were possible through the developments in the urban centers of the Italian city-states. The wealthy families who ruled the city-states held firm control of power, often under the guise of republicanism, by perfecting the art of statecraft, which led to increasing stability and patronage of humanist arts and literature. The decimation of the urban populations during the end of the medieval era led to a revival in humanist ideals and a greater appreciation of universal beauty. The arts, architecture, and literature produced during the Renaissance aimed to progress that of the classical world.