Tag: renaissance

The First Person to Publish an Encyclopedia

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Naturalis Historia was the first compiled collection of writing, which during the modern day would be referred to as an “encyclopedia.” Written by Pliny the Elder in the 1st century A.D., Naturalis Historia was divided into 37 unique books and contained more than 20,000 individual facts. Naturalis Historia was comprised of a vast array of subjects including astronomy, geography, zoology, botany, medicine, and even artwork, making it one of the most ambitious attempts in history to catalog and consolidate the entirety of human knowledge. Unlike earlier publications which often focused upon a singular discipline (e.g. medicine but not science or law but not ethics etc.), Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis Historia compilation sought to collect and streamline the entirety of the natural world and the human understanding of it into a single reference point. Pliny the Elder’s encyclopedic vision influenced scholars for centuries after his death, and his work served as one of the main pillars of Medieval and Renaissance education in the centuries which followed. Shortly after completing this compendium in 77 A.D., Pliny the Elder died during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. at age 55 whilst attempting to rescue those who could not escape from the volcano’s clutch. Fortunately, the entirety of his Naturalis Historia work survived this natural disaster

The Role of Jewish Financiers Within Venice, Italy During the Renaissance and the Reason Christians Became Capable of Charging Interest Upon Loans

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During the Renaissance, Jews were tolerated in Venice, Italy because they could provide an invaluable service which Christian financiers and merchants were forbidden to do which was to charge interest upon a loan, a concept referred to as “usury”, derived from the Latin term “usura” which means “use” or “interest”. Christians considered charging interest to be a sin and therefore could not partake in this economic exchange. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church’s Medieval laws against usury acted as a major obstacle for the development of finance within Europe during this period. Jews were not technically permitted to lend capital with interest, but those who did relied upon a convenient clause found within the 23rd chapter of Deuteronomy of the Christian Bible which states that lending to a brother at interest was forbidden but that a stranger was a different matter all together. These Jewish lenders interpreted this scripture as a means to provide the ability to lend to Christians, as Christian’s were not considered brothers of the Jews in a religious context during this period, but they would still not be capable of lending finance to other fellow Jews, as these members of society were viewed as brothers regardless of familial ties. Eventually Christian’s were able to circumvent the prohibition of charging interest, primarily because of Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs within Italy during the Renaissance. Medici was able to evade Christian usury legislation as Jewish bankers did because of a clever device of trade which made profit upon exchanging multiple currencies rather than interest rates alone. No “interest” paid to Medici meant no sin had been committed. Medici’s business model took a small commission for each currency conversion rendered, with the size of the loan directly impacting the commission of the person who lent it

The First Female Sculptor Within Italy During the Renaissance

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Properzia de Rossi, who was born in Bologna, Italy in 1490, aspired to become a sculptor and was the first female marble sculptor within Italy during the Renaissance of the 16th century. Although de Rossi left no diaries, fragments of her early work are still available during the modern day. Despite marble sculpting being viewed as a masculine art form during the Renaissance in that it required muscle to perform and an intelligent mind to create, both of which women were not thought to possess during this period. Because of this, de Rossi found her medium in other art forms, most notably her “Madonna of Mercy” within the Grassi Family Crest work which was a silver crest with 11 nectarine buttons which were carved intricately with small images of religious piety. By 1525, aged 35, de Rossi entered a contest for the main cathedral basilica of Bologna, San Petronio, of which she won. The piece was named “Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife” which depicts a fallen women who’s breasts are exposed, rising off of her bed to try and claim her husband as he leaves. It was believed during the period that it was unthinkable for a woman to study the male nude form through nudity. Because de Rossi’s sculptures were so accurate, it was assumed she knew too much of the male form and therefore she was dammed for her talent. In 1530, de Rossi died penniless and alone, a retched end for a great artist who was pushed out of society due to the sheer beauty and creativity of her work. Had de Rossi not been a victim of her time, she would have been celebrated with the most revered male Renaissance artists

The Period When Classical Artwork Transitioned From 2 Dimensions (2D) to 3 Dimensions (3D)

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Art broke away from being two dimensional caricatures with the invention of the camera obscura which had the painter sit in a dark room, with the window blocked out with a small hole in it. Doing so would cause the image outside the window to be projected into the room of the painter and onto the canvas, which could then be traced. The image, as with cameras and the human brain is brought in upside down, so the painter would be forced to trace upside down. During the Tudor period, lenses were developed for the first time which allowed artists to learn to paint with realism because after tracing and creating the minute details of each face correctly, they could focus on light and shadow. The camera obscura acted as a starting point to stencil a face. Boards were put down the back of the person sitting so that they would sit perfectly still allowing the painter to sketch them in perfect render. This technology acted effectively the first camera and in that, the first glimmer of Renaissance artwork

The Etymology of the Term “Baroque” and “Rococo”

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The term “Baroque” is derived from the Portuguese term “barroco” which means a “misshapen pearl” as it was thought that the baroque period was similar to the Renaissance, but not as perfect as the Renaissance, a sort of wonky replica of sorts. The term “Rococo” is derived from the French term “rocaille” (pronounced “rock-eye”) which means “shell work” and typically refers to the late Baroque period. Rococo implies an art form which is shapeless and overloaded with detail, and the term was originally meant as an insult towards the Baroque and Rococo artform, as is the case with many forms of artwork when they first emerge (e.g. graffiti etc.)

Giorgio Vasari; The Person Accredited with Creating the Term “Renaissance”

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The person who is accredited with creating the term “renaissance” is Giorgio Vasari. Vasari published a book entitled “Le Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori” which means “The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects” in Italian. The book is often shortened in its title and called “The Lives of Artists”. This book has over the centuries become the most influential art book of all time. Within the preface of the book, Vasari uses the term “rinascita” which means “rebirth” in Italian, to describe what was going on around him. Vasari stated that under the ancient Greeks and ancient Roman’s, art and civilization reached it’s highest levels of perfection, and that when the barbarians which are modern day Germans, arrived in Italy, the arts as a whole fell to ruins. The Renaissance is considered to have occurred between 1400 A.D. – 1600, with the beginning and end dates being slightly vague on each end

Women’s Rights During the Renaissance

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During the Renaissance, rape was not recognized in the contextual mindscape that it is today. Rape was seen as a dishonorable stamp upon the family and the family’s name of the victim. If rape occurred, it was not uncommon for the offender to marry the victim, therefore making the act acceptable within the eyes of the family, the court, and as was thought at the time, in the eyes of God. Rape of a woman who was no longer a virgin was essentially considered not to be a crime, however rape of a woman who was a virgin, was considered to be very serious until sorted out. It was not uncommon for an aggressor to pay a dowry to the victim and her family so that she could marry another man, if the offender had no interest in marrying said victim. Dowries were considered unideal but an acceptable practice during this period. A daughters virginity being intact was viewed as a significant financial gain towards the women’s family as it was customary to receive a sizeable dowry when she became married. A notable historical example of this ideology is directly correlated to the incredibly talented Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi, who was raped by a painter her father Orazio who was also a famous painter, commissioned to teach his daughter the art of sketching using proper perspective and dimension