Rebirth of the Self?
The Renaissance was a cultural movement in late medieval and early modern Europe. Most historians agree that it started in the Italian city-state of Florence in the fourteenth century. Some historians think it reached its peak in the late sixteenth century, but these dates vary. From the Italian city-states, the Renaissance spread across Europe.
The Renaissance produced dramatic changes in European art, architecture, and culture. It reshaped artistic, societal, and religious norms as medieval Europe’s connections with the rest of Afro-Eurasia increased. Artists like Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci embraced realism and individualism in styles that moved away from the religious focus of medieval art. Humanist scholars like Francesco Petrarch combined ideas from Christianity with the philosophy of the Greeks and Romans. Humanists believed that human achievements were as important as religious theory. Architects imitated the style of Roman and Greek ruins to create new architectural marvels in wealthy Italian city-states. The artists and writers of the Italian Renaissance believed they were creating something totally new by reviving the teachings of the ancient world.
But were they? Did Italian Renaissance artists and thinkers create something new and uniquely European?
The term Renaissance (French for “rebirth”) was coined by European historians in the nineteenth century. These historians began portraying the Renaissance as something uniquely European, supporting narratives about the “rise of the West.” In these narratives, the Renaissance’s return to ancient Greek and Roman culture is presented as the beginning of Europe’s rise to global power. Narratives of European cultural superiority were then used to justify the expansion of European empires.
But as a student of history, you know that challenging narratives is central to the work of historians. So let’s evaluate the narratives of the Renaissance. To do that, we need to answer some questions: Who participated in the Renaissance? Where did it take place? And why did it start?
