The Renaissance caused profound changes in all areas of culture - philosophy, science and art. One of them is. which is becoming more and more independent of religion, ceases to be the "handmaid of theology", although it is still far from complete independence. As in other areas of culture, the teachings of ancient thinkers are being revived in philosophy, primarily Plato and Aristotle. Marsilio Ficino founded the Platonic Academy in Florence, translated the works of the great Greek into Latin. Aristotle's ideas returned to Europe even earlier, before the Renaissance. During the Renaissance, according to Luther, it is he, and not Christ, who "rules in the European universities."

Along with the ancient teachings, the natural philosophy, or the philosophy of nature. It is preached by such philosophers as B. Telesio, T. Campanella, D. Bruno. In their works, thoughts are developed that philosophy should not study a supernatural God, but nature itself, that nature obeys its own internal laws, that the basis of knowledge is experience and observation, and not divine revelation, that man is a part of nature.

The spread of natural philosophical views was facilitated by scientific discoveries. Chief among them was heliocentric theory N. Copernicus, which made a real revolution in ideas about the world.

It should, however, be noted that the scientific and philosophical views of that time are still under a noticeable influence from religion and theology. Such views often take the form pantheism in which the existence of God is not denied, but He is dissolved in nature, identified with it. To this we must also add the influence of the so-called occult sciences - astrology, alchemy, mysticism, magic, etc. All this takes place even in such a philosopher as D. Bruno.

The Renaissance brought about the most significant changes in artistic culture, art. It was in this area that the break with the Middle Ages turned out to be the deepest and most radical.

In the Middle Ages, art was largely applied in nature, it was woven into life itself and was supposed to decorate it. In the Renaissance, art for the first time acquires intrinsic value, it becomes an independent area of ​​beauty. At the same time, for the first time, a purely artistic, aesthetic feeling is formed in the perceiving viewer, for the first time a love for art is awakened for its own sake, and not for the sake of the purpose it serves.

Never before has art enjoyed such high honor and respect. Even in ancient Greece the work of an artist in its social significance was noticeably inferior to the activities of a politician and a citizen. An even more modest place was occupied by the artist in ancient Rome.

Now place and role of the artist in society are growing immeasurably. For the first time he is considered as an independent and respected professional, scientist and thinker, a unique individuality. In the Renaissance, art is perceived as one of the most powerful means of knowledge and in this capacity is equated with science. Leonardo da Vinci considers science and art as two completely equal ways of studying nature. He writes: "Painting is a science and the legitimate daughter of nature."

Still more highly valued art as creativity. In terms of his creative abilities, the Renaissance artist is equated with God the Creator. This explains why Raphael received the addition "Divine" to his name. For the same reasons, Dante's Comedy was also called "Divine".

Art itself is undergoing profound changes. It makes a decisive turn from a medieval symbol and sign to a realistic image and a reliable image. Means become new artistic expressiveness. They are now based on linear and aerial perspective, the three-dimensionality of volume, and the doctrine of proportions. Art in everything strives to be true to reality, to achieve objectivity, authenticity and vitality.

The Renaissance was primarily Italian. Therefore, it is not surprising that it was in Italy that art during this period reached its highest rise and flourishing. It is here that there are dozens of names of titans, geniuses, great and simply talented artists. There are also great names in other countries, but Italy is beyond competition.

In the Italian Renaissance, several stages are usually distinguished:

• Proto-Renaissance: second half of the 13th century. - XIV century.
• Early Renaissance: almost the entire XV century.
• High Renaissance: late 15th century - first third of the 16th century
• Late Renaissance: the last two thirds of the 16th century.

The main figures of the Proto-Renaissance are the poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) and the painter Giotto (1266/67-1337).

Fate presented Dante with many trials. He was persecuted for participating in the political struggle, he wandered, died in a foreign land, in Ravenna. His contribution to culture goes beyond poetry. He wrote not only love lyrics, but also philosophical and political treatises. Dante is the creator of the Italian literary language. Sometimes he is called the last poet of the Middle Ages and the first poet of the Modern Age. These two beginnings - the old and the new - are really closely intertwined in his work.

The first works of Dante - "New Life" and "Feast" - are lyrical poems of love content dedicated to his beloved Beatrice, whom he met once in Florence and who died seven years after their meeting. The poet kept his love for life. In terms of its genre, Dante's lyrics are in line with medieval courtly poetry, where the object of chanting is the image of the "Beautiful Lady". However, the feelings expressed by the poet already belong to the Renaissance. They are caused by real meetings and events, filled with sincere warmth, marked by a unique individuality.

The pinnacle of Dante's work was "The Divine Comedy”, which has taken a special place in the history of world culture. In its construction, this poem is also in line with medieval traditions. It tells about the adventures of a man who got into the underworld. The poem has three parts - Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, each of which has 33 songs written in three-line stanzas.

The repeated number "three" directly echoes the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. In the course of the story, Dante strictly follows many of the requirements of Christianity. In particular, he does not allow his companion in the nine circles of hell and purgatory - the Roman poet Virgil - into paradise, for the pagan is deprived of such a right. Here the poet is accompanied by his deceased beloved Beatrice.

However, in his thoughts and judgments, in his attitude to the characters portrayed and their sins. Dante often and very significantly disagrees with Christian teaching. So. instead of the Christian condemnation of sensual love as a sin, he speaks of the "law of love", according to which sensual love is included in the nature of life itself. Dante treats the love of Francesca and Paolo with understanding and sympathy. although their love is linked to Francesca's betrayal of her husband. The Renaissance spirit triumphs in Dante on other occasions as well.

Among the outstanding Italian poets is also Francesco Petrarch. In world culture, he is known primarily for his sonnets. At the same time, he was a broad-based thinker, philosopher and historian. He is rightfully considered the founder of the entire Renaissance culture.

The work of Petrarch is also partly within the framework of medieval courtly lyrics. Like Dante, he had a lover named Laura, to whom he dedicated his "Book of Songs". At the same time, Petrarch more decisively breaks ties with medieval culture. In his works, the expressed feelings - love, pain, despair, longing - appear much sharper and more naked. They have a stronger personal touch.

Another prominent representative literature has become Giovanni Boccaccio(1313-1375). world famous author Decameron". Boccaccio borrows the principle of constructing his collection of short stories and the plot outline from the Middle Ages. Everything else is imbued with the spirit of the Renaissance.

The main characters of the novels are ordinary and simple people. They are written in surprisingly bright, lively, colloquial language. They do not contain boring moralizing, on the contrary, many short stories literally sparkle with love of life and fun. The plots of some of them have a love and erotic character. In addition to the Decameron, Boccaccio also wrote the story Fiametta, which is considered the first psychological novel in Western literature.

Giotto di Bondone is the most prominent representative of the Italian Proto-Renaissance in fine arts. His main genre was fresco paintings. All of them are written in biblical and mythological subjects, depict scenes from the life of the Holy Family, evangelists, saints. However, the interpretation of these plots is clearly dominated by the Renaissance beginning. In his work, Giotto abandons medieval conventions and turns to realism and plausibility. It is for him that the merit of the revival of painting as an artistic value in itself is recognized.

In his works, the natural landscape is quite realistically depicted, on which trees, rocks, and temples are clearly visible. All participating characters, including the saints themselves, appear as living people, endowed with physical flesh, human feelings and passions. Their clothes outline the natural forms of their bodies. Giotto's works are characterized by bright coloring and picturesqueness, fine plasticity.

The main creation of Giotto is the painting of the Chapel del Arena in Padua, which tells about events from the life of the Holy Family. The strongest impression is made by the wall cycle, which includes the scenes "Flight into Egypt", "Kiss of Judas", "Lamentation of Christ".

All the characters depicted in the paintings look natural and authentic. The position of their bodies, gestures, emotional condition, looks, faces - all this is shown with rare psychological persuasiveness. At the same time, the behavior of each strictly corresponds to the role assigned to him. Each scene has a unique atmosphere.

So, in the scene "Flight to Egypt" a restrained and generally calm emotional tone prevails. "Kiss of Judas" is filled with stormy dynamism, sharp and decisive actions of characters who literally grappled with each other. And only the two main participants - Judas and Christ - froze without moving and fight with their eyes.

The scene "Lamentation of Christ" is marked by special drama. It is filled with tragic despair, unbearable pain and suffering, inconsolable grief and sorrow.

The early Renaissance finally approved new aesthetic and artistic principles art. At the same time, biblical stories are still very popular. However, their interpretation becomes completely different, there is little left of the Middle Ages in it.

Motherland Early Renaissance became Florence, and the "fathers of the Renaissance" are the architect Philippe Brunelleschi(1377-1446), sculptor Donatello(1386-1466). painter Masaccio (1401 -1428).

Brunelleschi made a huge contribution to the development of architecture. He laid the foundations of Renaissance architecture, discovered new forms that existed for centuries. He did much to develop the laws of perspective.

Brunelleschi's most significant work was the erection of a dome over the finished structure of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. He faced an exceptionally difficult task, since the required dome had to be of enormous size - about 50 m in diameter. With the help of the original design, he brilliantly gets out of a difficult situation. Thanks to the solution found, not only the dome itself turned out to be surprisingly light and, as it were, hovering over the city, but the entire building of the cathedral acquired harmony and majesty.

No less beautiful work of Brunelleschi was the famous Pazzi Chapel, erected in the courtyard of the Church of Santa Croce in Florence. It is a small, rectangular building, covered in the center with a dome. Inside it is lined with white marble. Like other buildings of Brunelleschi, the chapel is distinguished by simplicity and clarity, elegance and grace.

Brunelleschi's work is notable for the fact that he goes beyond places of worship and creates magnificent buildings of secular architecture. a fine example Such architecture is an educational home-shelter, built in the shape of the letter "P", with a covered gallery-loggia.

The Florentine sculptor Donatello is one of the most prominent creators of the Early Renaissance. He worked in a variety of genres, everywhere showing genuine innovation. In his work, Donatello uses the ancient heritage, relying on a deep study of nature, boldly updating the means of artistic expression.

He participates in the development of the theory of linear perspective, revives the sculptural portrait and the image of a naked body, and casts the first bronze monument. The images he created are the embodiment of the humanistic ideal of a harmoniously developed personality. With his work, Donatello had a great influence on the subsequent development of European sculpture.

Donatello's desire to idealize the depicted person was clearly manifested in statue of young David. In this work, David appears as a young, beautiful, full of mental and physical strength young men. The beauty of his naked body is emphasized by a gracefully curved torso. The young face expresses thoughtfulness and sadness. This statue was followed by a whole series of nude figures in Renaissance sculpture.

The heroic principle is strong and distinct in the statue of St. George, which became one of the pinnacles of Donatello's work. Here he fully managed to embody the idea of ​​a strong personality. Before us is a tall, slender, courageous, calm and self-confident warrior. In this work, the master creatively develops the best traditions of ancient sculpture.

A classic work of Donatello is the bronze statue of the commander Gattamelatta - the first equestrian monument in the art of the Renaissance. Here the great sculptor reaches the ultimate level of artistic and philosophical generalization, which brings this work closer to antiquity.

At the same time, Donatello created a portrait of a specific and unique personality. The commander appears as a real Renaissance hero, a courageous, calm, self-confident person. The statue is distinguished by laconic forms, clear and precise plasticity, natural posture of the rider and horse. Thanks to this, the monument has become a real masterpiece of monumental sculpture.

In the last period of creativity, Donatello creates a bronze group "Judith and Holofernes". This work is filled with dynamics and drama: Judith is depicted at the moment when she raises her sword over the already wounded Holofernes. to finish him off.

Masaccio rightfully considered one of the main figures of the Early Renaissance. He continues and develops the trends coming from Giotto. Masaccio lived only 27 years and managed to do little. However, the frescoes he created became a real school of painting for subsequent Italian artists. According to Vasari, a contemporary of the High Renaissance and an authoritative critic, "no master came so close to modern masters as Masaccio."

The main creation of Masaccio are the frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel of the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, which tell about episodes from the legends of St.

Although the frescoes tell of the miracles performed by St. Peter, there is nothing supernatural and mystical in them. The depicted Christ, Peter, the apostles and other participants in the events appear to be quite earthly people. They are endowed with individual traits and behave quite naturally and humanly. In particular, in the scene of "Baptism" a naked young man shivering from the cold is surprisingly authentically shown. Masaccio builds his composition using not only linear, but also aerial perspective.

Of the whole cycle, special mention deserves fresco "Expulsion from Paradise". She is a true masterpiece of painting. The fresco is extremely laconic, there is nothing superfluous in it. Against the background of a vague landscape, the figures of Adam and Eve who left the gates of Paradise are clearly visible, above which an angel with a sword hovers. All attention is focused on Mom and Eve.

Masaccio was the first in the history of painting to be able to paint a naked body so convincingly and reliably, to convey its natural proportions, to give it stability and movement. Equally convincing and eloquent internal state heroes. Adam, who was striding broadly, lowered his head in shame and covered his face with his hands. Sobbing, Eve threw back her head in despair with her mouth open. This fresco opens a new era in art.

What Masaccio did was continued by such artists as Andrea Mantegna(1431 -1506) and Sandro Botticelli(1455-1510). The first became famous primarily for its murals, among which a special place is occupied by frescoes telling about the last episodes of the life of St. James - the procession to the execution and the execution itself. Botticelli preferred easel painting. His most famous paintings are Spring and The Birth of Venus.

From the end of the 15th century, when Italian art reaches its highest peak, High Renaissance. For Italy, this period was extremely difficult. Fragmented and therefore defenseless, it was literally devastated, plundered and bled dry by invasions from France, Spain, Germany and Turkey. However, art during this period, oddly enough, is experiencing an unprecedented flowering. It was at this time that such titans as Leonardo da Vinci were creating. Raphael. Michelangelo, Titian.

In architecture, the beginning of the High Renaissance is associated with creativity Donato Bramante(1444-1514). It was he who created the style that determined the development of architecture of this period.

One of his early works was the church of the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan, in the refectory of which Leonardo da Vinci would paint his famous fresco " The Last Supper". Its glory begins with a small chapel called Tempetto(1502), built in Rome and became a kind of "manifesto" of the High Renaissance. The chapel has the shape of a rotunda, it is distinguished by the simplicity of architectural means, the harmony of parts and rare expressiveness. This is a real little masterpiece.

The pinnacle of Bramante's work is the reconstruction of the Vatican and the transformation of its buildings into a single ensemble. He also owns the design of the Cathedral of St. Peter, in which Michelangelo will make changes and begin to implement.

See also: Michelangelo Buonarroti

In the art of the Italian Renaissance, a special place is occupied by Venice. The school that developed here differed significantly from the schools of Florence, Rome, Milan or Bologna. The latter gravitated towards stable traditions and continuity, they were not inclined towards radical renewal. It was on these schools that the classicism of the 17th century relied. and neoclassicism of later centuries.

The Venetian school acted as their original counterbalance and antipode. The spirit of innovation and radical, revolutionary renewal reigned here. Of the representatives of other Italian schools, Leonardo was closest to Venice. Perhaps it was here that his passion for research and experiment could find proper understanding and recognition. In the famous dispute between "old and new" artists, the latter relied on the example of Venice. This is where the trends that led to the Baroque and Romanticism began. And although the Romantics honored Raphael, their real gods were Titian and Veronese. In Venice, El Greco received his creative charge, which allowed him to shock Spanish painting. Velazquez passed through Venice. The same can be said about the Flemish artists Rubens and Van Dyck.

Being a port city, Venice found itself at the crossroads of economic and trade routes. She experienced the influence of Northern Germany, Byzantium and the East. Venice has become a place of pilgrimage for many artists. A. Dürer was here twice - at the end of the 15th century. and the beginning of the 16th century. She was visited by Goethe (1790). Wagner here listened to the singing of the gondoliers (1857), under whose inspiration he wrote the second act of Tristan and Isolde. Nietzsche also listened to the singing of the gondoliers, calling it the singing of the soul.

The proximity of the sea evoked fluid and mobile forms, rather than clear geometric structures. Venice gravitated not so much to reason with its strict rules, but to feelings, from which the amazing poetry of Venetian art was born. The focus of this poetry was nature - its visible and felt materiality, a woman - the exciting beauty of her flesh, music - born from the play of colors and light and from the enchanting sounds of spiritualized nature.

Artists Venetian school preferred not form and pattern, but color, the play of light and shadow. Depicting nature, they sought to convey its impulses and movement, variability and fluidity. They saw the beauty of the female body not so much in the harmony of forms and proportions, but in the most living and feeling flesh.

They were not enough realistic plausibility and reliability. They sought to reveal the riches inherent in painting itself. It is Venice that deserves the merit of discovering a pure picturesque principle, or picturesqueness in its purest form. The Venetian artists were the first to show the possibility of separating picturesqueness from objects and form, the possibility of solving the problems of painting with the help of one color, purely pictorial means, the possibility of considering the picturesque as an end in itself. All subsequent painting, based on expression and expressiveness, will follow this path. According to some experts, one can go from Titian to Rubens and Rembrandt, then to Delacroix, and from him to Gauguin, Van Gogh, Cezanne, etc.

The founder of the Venetian school is Giorgione(1476-1510). In his work, he acted as a true innovator. The secular principle finally wins for him, and instead of biblical subjects, he prefers to write on mythological and literary themes. In his work, the establishment of an easel painting takes place, which no longer resembles an icon or an altar image.

Giorgione opens new era in painting, being the first to paint from nature. Depicting nature, for the first time he shifts the focus to mobility, variability and fluidity. An excellent example of this is his painting "Thunderstorm". It was Giorgione who began to search for the secret of painting in light and its transitions, in the play of light and shadow, acting as the forerunner of Caravaggio and Caravaggism.

Giorgione created works of different genres and themes - "Country Concert" and "Judith". His most famous work was "Sleeping Venus"". This picture is devoid of any plot. She sings of the beauty and charm of the naked female body, representing "nudity for the sake of nakedness itself."

The head of the Venetian school is Titian(c. 1489-1576). His work - along with the work of Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo - is the pinnacle of Renaissance art. Most of his long life falls on the Late Renaissance.

In the work of Titian, the art of the Renaissance reaches its highest rise and flourishing. His works combine the creative search and innovation of Leonardo, the beauty and perfection of Raphael, the spiritual depth, drama and tragedy of Michelangelo. They have an extraordinary sensuality, thanks to which they have a powerful effect on the viewer. Titian's works are surprisingly musical and melodic.

As Rubens notes, together with Titian, painting acquired its flavor, and, according to Delacroix and Van Gogh, music. His canvases are painted with an open brushstroke that is both light, free and transparent. It is in his works that color, as it were, dissolves and absorbs form, and the pictorial principle for the first time acquires autonomy, appears in its pure form. Realism in his creations turns into a charming and subtle lyricism.

In the works of the first period, Titian glorifies the carefree joy of life, the enjoyment of earthly goods. He sings of the sensual principle, human flesh bursting with health, the eternal beauty of the body, the physical perfection of man. This is the subject of his canvases such as "Love on Earth and Heaven", "Feast of Venus", "Bacchus and Ariadne", "Danae", "Venus and Adonis".

Sensual beginning prevails in the picture "Penitent Magdalene”, although it is dedicated to the dramatic situation. But here, too, the penitent sinner has sensual flesh, a captivating, radiant body, full and sensual lips, ruddy cheeks, and golden hair. The canvas “Boy with Dogs” is filled with penetrating lyricism.

In the works of the second period, the sensual principle is preserved, but it is supplemented by growing psychologism and drama. In general, Titian makes a gradual transition from the physical and sensual to the spiritual and dramatic. The ongoing changes in the work of Titian are clearly visible in the embodiment of themes and plots to which great artist contacted twice. A typical example in this regard is the painting "Saint Sebastian". In the first version, the fate of a lonely sufferer abandoned by people does not seem too sad. On the contrary, the depicted saint is endowed with vitality and physical beauty. In a later version of the picture, located in the Hermitage, the same image acquires the features of tragedy.

An even more striking example is the variants of the painting “The Crowning with Thorns”, dedicated to an episode from the life of Christ. In the first of them, stored in the Louvre. Christ appears as a physically handsome and strong athlete, able to repulse his rapists. In the Munich version, created twenty years later, the same episode is conveyed much deeper, more complex and more meaningful. Christ is depicted in a white cloak, his eyes are closed, he calmly endures the beating and humiliation. Now the main thing is not crowning and beating, not a physical phenomenon, but a psychological and spiritual one. The picture is filled with deep tragedy, it expresses the triumph of the spirit, spiritual nobility over physical strength.

In the later works of Titian, the tragic sound is more and more intensified. This is evidenced by the painting “Lamentation of Christ”.

The content of the article

REVIVAL LITERATURE, literature of the countries of Europe during the period of affirmation and dominance of the ideology of the Renaissance, reflecting the typological features of this culture. Covers the period from the 16th to the first quarter of the 17th century in different countries. Literature is one of the most important achievements of the culture of the Renaissance, it was in it, as in the fine arts, that new ideas about man and the world inherent in this culture manifested themselves with the greatest force. The object of literature was earthly life in all its diversity, dynamics and authenticity, which fundamentally distinguishes Renaissance literature from medieval literature. A feature of the literature of the Renaissance, as well as of all culture, was the deepest interest in the individual and her experiences, the problem of the individual and society, the glorification of the beauty of man, the heightened perception of the poetry of the earthly world. Like the humanism-ideology of the Renaissance, the literature of the Renaissance was characterized by the desire to respond to all topical issues of human existence, as well as an appeal to the national historical and legendary past. Hence the flourishing of lyric poetry, unprecedented since antiquity, and the creation of new poetic forms, and subsequently the rise of dramaturgy.

It was the culture of the Renaissance that placed literature, more precisely poetry and studies of language and literature, above other types. human activity. The very fact of the proclamation at the dawn of the Renaissance of poetry as one of the ways of knowing and understanding the world determined the place of literature in the culture of the Renaissance. The development of Renaissance literature is associated with the formation of national languages ​​in European countries, humanists in Italy, France, England act as defenders of the national language, and in many cases as its creators. A feature of Renaissance literature was that it was created both in national languages ​​and in Latin, but almost all of its highest achievements were associated with the former. The cult of the word and the acute awareness by humanists of their own personality for the first time raised the question of originality and originality literary creativity, which may have led to the search for new artistic, at least poetic forms. It is no coincidence that the Renaissance is associated with the emergence of a number of poetic forms associated with the names of the artists who created them - Dante's tercina, Ariosto's octave, Spencer's stanza, Sidney's sonnet, etc. The question of the artist's originality raised the question of style. Gradually, instead of the dominant of style, the dominant of the genre is being established. It is no coincidence that the theorists of Renaissance literature devoted a special study to almost every genre.

Renaissance literature fundamentally changed the genre system. A new system of literary genres was created, some of them, known since antiquity, were revived and rethought from humanistic positions, others were created anew. The greatest changes affected the sphere of dramaturgy. Instead of the medieval genres, the Renaissance revived tragedy and comedy, genres that had literally left the stage in the days of the Roman Empire. In comparison with medieval literature, the plots of the works change - first mythological ones are approved, then historical or modern ones. The scenography is changing, it is based on the principle of plausibility. First, comedy returns, then tragedy, which, due to the peculiarities of the genre, is affirmed during the period when the new culture realizes the inevitability of the conflict between the ideal and reality. The pastoral is quite widespread in literature.

The epic in the literature of the Renaissance is presented in different forms. It should be noted, first of all, the wide distribution of the epic poem, the medieval chivalric novel acquires a new life, and new content is poured into it. At the end of the Renaissance, a picaresque novel is established. The true creation of the Renaissance is the genre of the short story, the typological foundations of which were laid by Boccaccio.

Dialogue became a specific Renaissance genre. It was originally a favorite form of writing by humanists, whose goal was to force the reader, after weighing the pros and cons in disputes, to draw a conclusion for himself.

Renaissance poetry was also associated with the emergence and revival of a number of genres. It is characterized by the dominance of lyric poetry. Of the ancient genres of epic poetry, the ode and hymn are being revived, lyric poetry is closely connected with the emergence, development and improvement of the sonnet, which has become the leading form of lyrics, as well as the madrigal. An epigram, an elegy, and less often a ballad also receive development. It should be noted that in different countries of Europe both the problems of style and the problems of genre acquired different meanings.

The literature of the Renaissance, like the entire culture of the Renaissance, relied on ancient achievements and repelled them. Hence, for example, the emergence of "learned drama" as an imitation of ancient drama. At the same time, she creatively developed the folk traditions of medieval literature. These features were, to one degree or another, inherent in every national literature.

Italian literature

The history of Renaissance literature, like the entire culture of the Renaissance, begins in Italy. At the beginning of the 16th century it was heralded by the great poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321). In their philosophical writings (Feast And Monarchy) and the greatest poem The Divine Comedy he reflected all the complexities of the worldview of a person in transition, who already clearly sees the future new culture.

The true initiator of the Renaissance is Francesco Petrarca (1304–1374), in whose work a turn to a new culture and other spiritual values ​​was determined. It was with his activity that the reconstruction of ancient culture, the study of literary monuments, the search for ancient manuscripts began. Petrarch was not only a scientist, but also a prominent philosopher, political figure, in fact, the first intellectual in the history of Europe. He raised knowledge to such a height that in 1349 he was solemnly crowned with a laurel wreath on the Capitol in Rome, like ancient heroes.

For contemporaries, Petrarch became both a symbol and an ideal personality of a new culture. He proclaimed the principle of the need to master the cultural heritage of antiquity, but this task involved the formation of a morally perfect, spiritually enriched and intellectually developed person. A person had to base his choice on the experience of the past.

Petrarch created a new system of thinking, defined all ideas about the Renaissance man, was a prominent philologist, improved the Latin language. In his Latin works, he relied on the ancient tradition, in the spirit of Virgil he wrote eclogues, in the spirit of Horace - Poetic messages. He considered his best creation Africa(1339–1341), a poem in Latin after a model Aeneid where he is on behalf of ancient heroes prophesies of the great coming glory of Italy and the revival of an even greater Italian culture. He remained in the history of literature, primarily as the creator of a collection of poems. song book, written by him in Italian and dedicated to glorifying the beauty of human feelings, love that ennobles and improves a person. The name of his beloved Laura since the time of Petrarch has become a household name, and the book itself has become a model for most Renaissance poets, so that the verb “petrarchize” even appeared in France.

For the first time in literature, Petrarch not only justified love experiences, but also revealed their extraordinary versatility, the complexity of the feelings of a person in love. Even more unusual for contemporaries was the closeness with which he described the spiritual world of his beloved.

Petrarch's younger contemporary and friend, Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375), was his successor. His literary heritage is quite diverse: the writer also turned to traditional genre courtly romance ( filocolo And Philostrato) and classical epic ( Tezeid). Boccaccio created a number of works in new genres: he owns a novel in prose and verse Comedy of the Florentine Nymphs that marked the beginning of the pastoral genre. Peru Boccaccio also owns an unusually lyrical pastoral poem Fiesolan nymphs. He created the first psychological novel in Europe Elegy of Madonna Fiametta. In the history of literature, he remained, first of all, the creator of the genre of the Renaissance short story, the famous collection Decameron. IN Decameron a new society (narrators of short stories) has been bred - educated, sensitive, poetizing the world, beautiful. This world is based on a common culture and is opposed scary pictures death and decay of society during the plague epidemic.

In the short stories, the author gives the widest panorama of life situations and phenomena. The heroes represent all layers of European society, and they all highly value earthly life. The new hero is a person who is active, able to fight fate and enjoy life in all its manifestations. Boccaccio's man is fearless, he strives to conquer and change the world, he insists on his freedom of feelings and actions and the right to choose.

Boccaccio at the same time proclaims the equality of all people by birth, denying the class partitions of medieval society. The value of a person is determined only by his personal qualities, and not by origin, the will and mind of a person triumph over the random circumstances of his fate. His writings contributed to the development of the Italian literary language.

Literature of the 15th century was associated with the development of lyrics in the work of Angelo Poliziano (1454–1494) and Lorenzo de Medici (1449–1492), whose work is characterized by carnival songs singing the joy of life (). Poliziano owns the first humanistic poem written for the theatre, The legend of Orpheus. In the 15th century the first pastoral novel was created Arcadia Jacopo Sanadzaro, who influenced the further development of the genre.

The genre of the short story received in the 15th century. further development. Poggio Bracciolini (1380–1459) left a collection of facetia (jokes, similar in genre to short stories). At the end of the century, the genre of the short story (already in the Neapolitan dialect) was associated with the work of Tommaso (Masuccio) Guardato (c. 1420–1476), who left the book Novellino.

A significant place in the literature of the Italian Renaissance is occupied by epic poetry, which fed on plots drawn from chivalric romances, and, above all, the Carolingian cycle. The best examples of this poetry were Big Morgante Luigi Pulci (1432–1484) and Orlando in love(1483-1494) Matteo Boiardo (1441-1494).

The High Renaissance in the literature of Italy was characterized by the predominance of the classical Renaissance style, monumental and sublime, embodying the humanistic ideals of beauty and harmony, from which the idealization of reality followed. It is connected, first of all, with the name of Ludovico Ariosto (1474–1533), who left a grandiose poem Furious Roland, which became one of the greatest peaks of the Italian Renaissance. Like his predecessor Matteo Boiardo ( Roland in love). Ariosto turned to the plots of chivalric novels dedicated to the paladins of Charlemagne and the knights of the Round Table. Medieval images and situations take on a new look and receive a new interpretation: the heroes are endowed with Renaissance personality traits, strong feelings, strong will and the ability to enjoy life. The ingenuity and freedom of the author in the compositional construction of the novel is striking, with the overall harmonic balance of the entire text. Heroic episodes could be combined with purely comic episodes. The poem was written in a special stanza, often called the "golden octave". The lyrical stream in the era of the High Renaissance is associated with the poetry of Pietro Bembo, who became the founder of the poetry of Petrarchism, who cultivated the poetic heritage of Petrarch. Bembo, in addition, proved the advantages of the Tuscan dialect, in which he saw the basis of the literary Italian language ( Reasoning in prose about the folk language).

The literature of the Late Renaissance is characterized by the preservation of the existing system of genres, but much changes in it (plots, images, etc.), including the ideological orientation. M. Bandello (1485–1565) and J. Cinthio (1504–1573) became the greatest masters of the short story of this period. AND Novellam Bandello and One hundred stories Cintio is characterized by extreme drama of situations, increased dynamism, an unadorned image of the underside of life and fatal passions. The novel takes on a pessimistic and tragic character. The third of the novelists of the Late Renaissance, Giovanni Francesco Straparola (1500-1557), is also characterized by a departure from the harmony and clarity of the Renaissance, his language is intertwined with the common folk, and the author relies on folklore. A special place in this period is occupied by the autobiographical work of the famous sculptor and chaser Benvenuto Cellini.

Lyric poetry late Renaissance in Italy is largely associated with the creativity of women. The poems of V. Colonna (1490–1547) and G. Stampa (c. 1520–1554) reflected dramatic experiences and passion. A very special place in the literature of Italy of the Late Renaissance is occupied by the poetic works of the great artist Michelangelo, whose poetry is permeated with extremely tragic motifs. The literature of the Late Renaissance is crowned with the artistic legacy of Torquato Tasso (1544–1595). His early work, Aminta(1573), was created in the genre of dramatic highly poetic pastoral. He is best known for his epic poem Liberated Jerusalem(1580). The plot was drawn from the era of the Crusades, but the glorification of the exploits of its heroes is organically combined with new trends, the influence of the ideas of the Counter-Reformation. The poem combined the ideas of the Renaissance, the trends of the late Renaissance and the fabulous elements of chivalric novels (bewitched forest, magical gardens and castles). The heroic poem was permeated with religious motifs, it is characterized by an extraordinary richness of language and sound writing.

To a lesser extent, dramaturgy developed in Italy. In the 16th century mainly comedies and pastorals were written. Comedies were written by such great authors as Machiavelli (1469-1527) ( Mandrake) and Ariosto (1474–1533), and the play of the great scientist and thinker Giordano Bruno (1548–1600) completes the development of the comedy of the Italian Renaissance. Along with the "scientific comedy", created according to ancient models, the folk comedy of masks also develops, tragedy is born. By the end of the century, the pastoral (due to the development of the court theater and music) was becoming more widespread ( faithful shepherd D. Guarini). ( biography).

A characteristic feature of the literature of the 16th century. is the emergence and activity of literary associations, primarily academies.

French literature

The literature of the Renaissance in France developed predominantly already in the 16th century, although its forerunner is usually considered to be the great poet François Villon (1431–1469), the first truly tragic poet in France who turned to the theme of deprivation and loneliness. The beginning of the Renaissance poetry itself comes from the school of the so-called. "great rhetors" who did a lot for the formation of a literary form. The first Renaissance poet is the last of them, Jean Lemaire de Belge (1473-1525), who brought the secular beginning and the Renaissance joy of life into literature, relying on ancient poetry and the great masters of the Italian Renaissance (Dante and Petrarch). The Lyon school of poets also repelled from the ancient tradition, the largest representatives of which were Maurice Seve (c. 1510 - c. 1564) and the “beautiful ropemaker” Louise Labe (1525/26–1565), whose poetry is associated primarily with the development love theme. Grace, naturalness and strength of feeling of an abandoned woman are combined in her poetic heritage with the sophistication of style. Labe's love lyrics were distinguished by deep humanity, with the accuracy of the image and the chasing of the form of the sonnet.

The first rise of Renaissance poetry in France is associated with the name of Clément Marot. The nature of it literary heritage Maro justifiably allows us to consider him the founder of Renaissance poetry in France: he completely broke with the medieval poetic tradition and introduced a number of new forms (including the sonnet). From ancient poets, he borrowed a number of poetic forms (eclogue, epigram, satire). As a court poet, Maro left mainly elegant works written in non-large genres (slogans, epigrams, "gifts"), which are characterized by secularity and even playfulness. Maro's work as a whole was characterized by a more sublime harmonic character, a Renaissance vision of the world and man. He carried out a gigantic work of translating the biblical psalms into French.

It was from the first half of the 16th century. there was a struggle for the approval of the national French language, which was greatly facilitated by the activities of philologists and poets.

The heyday of French poetry was associated with the activities of the Pleiades literary group, which created a national poetic school. The first serious work of this group was its literary manifesto Defense and glorification of the French language(1549), traditionally attributed to Joashen du Bellay (1522-1560), where new ideas about national culture and literature were clearly declared. The author associated the rise and flourishing of culture with a nationwide rise and prosperity; the level of development of culture, thus, was determined by the level of development of the state and the people. At the same time, the cult of antiquity, characteristic of the Renaissance, is traced in the manifesto and the slogan of imitation of ancient authors is declared. The artistic program of the Pleiades affirmed the priority of the French language and its equality with Latin and Italian, and proclaimed the high appointment of the poet-creator. Language was proclaimed a kind of art, and poetry its highest form. They considered the ancient heritage as an incentive for the development of national literature. The composition of the group changed, but the leaders in it were Pierre Ronsard (1524-1585), Joashen du Bellay and Jean Antoine Baif. To the greatest extent, the spirit of the Renaissance culture and its ideals were expressed in the work of the leader of the Pleiades, Ronsard. A humanist, he sang the joy of life, man and human love as the pinnacle of his life. The cult of nature, the feeling and perception of the beauty of the world, characteristic of the poet's worldview, were reflected in the affirmation of the idea of ​​the organic unity of man and nature. The legacy of Ronsard also manifested his critical perception of society ( Hymn to gold, poems protesting civil wars) and philosophical reflections about the fate of mankind. At the same time, he sought to glorify his homeland ( Anthem of France). A special place in his work was occupied by the themes of love and nature, he left several books dedicated to love ( Love for Cassandra, Love for Mary and etc.). He owns an epic poem franciade. He was rightfully considered by his contemporaries to be the “Prince of Poets”.

Second in importance in the Pleiades was Joashen du Bellay, a poet and literary theorist. The provincial nobleman went under the influence of Ronsard to Paris, where he became an active member of the Pleiades. He owns several collections of poems (including Olive, Regrets, Various rural fun, Roman antiquities). Regrets And Roman antiquities put forward Du Bellay to a place of honor in French literature. The author was not inherent in the grandiosity of ideas and images and the scope of fantasy, he gravitated towards simplicity, his poetry is rather intimate. It is characterized by an elegiac mood, reflections on life's hardships and suffering, sincerity and melancholy, softness and light sadness. In the early period of his work, Du Bellay largely shared the general attitudes of the Pleiades and its leader Ronsard, especially in the interpretation of the problem of love, although even during this period his poetry was characterized by a personal, individual sound, an expression of a special spiritual mood. This collection clearly shows the influence of the mannerist examples of the Italian Petrarchists. In his most mature writings, Du Bellay went far beyond his first collection. Roman antiquities(included 33 sonnets) - a collection of philosophical lyrics, in which the historical theme was combined with an understanding of past eras and one's personal experience. The tragic beginning, the understanding of the frailty of human deeds and the omnipotence of time found their expression in Roman antiquities. At the same time, high spiritual thoughts and beautiful creations are preserved, according to the poet, in the memory of people. Thus, he emphasized faith in the enduring character cultural heritage and literature in particular. The pinnacle of Du Bellay's work is considered to be his Regrets, in essence, the poet's lyrical diary during his stay in Rome. In the sonnets, the Renaissance idea of ​​the triumph and flourishing of the personality disappears, instead of it there appears a tragic awareness of the inevitability of the triumph of terrible circumstances independent of the will and actions of a person. IN Regrets condemnation of wars, meanness and venality of the court, the policy of sovereigns, an understanding of national values ​​was expressed. IN Regrets reflected the crisis that had already begun both in the worldview of the poet himself and in all French humanism, the beginning of a spiritual tragedy and the collapse of Renaissance ideals during the civil wars of the second half of the century. Found an expression in the collection central problem late Renaissance - a contradiction between the Renaissance humanistic ideal of the individual and society and the reality that really surrounds humanists.

Among other members of the Pleiades, we should mention the talented Remy Bellot (c. 1528–1577) and the scientist J. Baif (1532–1589), as well as Etienne Jodel (1532–1573), who created the first classical French tragedy Captured Cleopatra(1553). He also tried his hand at comedy in verse ( Eugene, 1552). The play was characterized by patriotic pathos and sharp criticism of churchmen.

Jodel was the first French playwright to break completely with the medieval theatrical tradition, his plays were antiquity oriented and written according to the rules. Jodel's dramaturgy in many respects anticipates the tragedy of French classicism of the 17th century. In his later work the influence of mannerism and even baroque is felt.

Religious wars contributed to the decline of the Pleiades and determined the specifics of the work of the last of the major poets of the French Renaissance. Theodore Agrippa D "Aubigne (1552–1630), a convinced Calvinist, nobleman, as a child, swore an oath to devote himself to the cause of the Christian faith and kept it. The firmness and stamina of his character were combined with exceptional fidelity to faith, honor and the king. At the end of his life he was forced leave his homeland and retire to Geneva.His first literary experiments ( Spring) were associated with the poetic tradition that came from Ronsard and even from Petrarch. Glory to him brought a unique poetic epic Tragic Poems(1577–1589). The idea, structure and artistic images poems have no analogues not only in French, but also European literature Renaissance. According to the tragic worldview of the author, and in terms of pictorial power, and in terms of emotional intensity Tragic Poems represent an exceptional monument of the late Renaissance, already anticipating the Baroque, "the century, having changed mores, asks for a different style." And yet the poem clearly shows the spirit of the Renaissance, Tragic Poems- the cry of trampled humanity. Her language is replete with extraordinary expressive images, sublime pathos is combined with caustic sarcasm and extreme drama, the presentation takes on a grandiose, almost cosmic scale. Creativity (he left Memoirs and a major historical work) completes the development of French Renaissance poetry.

The development of the French prose of the Renaissance is largely connected with the short story, the history of which is opened by One hundred new novels(1486). Among the numerous collections, stand out New fun and fun conversations famous freethinker and author of satire Peace cymbal Bonaventure Deperrier (1510–1544), which gives a broad panorama of everyday life in contemporary French author and displays colorful individualized images. The legacy of the crowned humanist writer Marguerite of Angouleme (1592–1549) is considered to be the pinnacle of French short stories. The sister of the French King Francis I was at the center of a brilliant court, the entire intellectual and refined court society. Having become the Queen of Navarre, she broke away from the usual cultural environment of the French court, but managed to create a new major center of culture in a remote province, attracting more and more new figures of the French Renaissance. She entered the history of literature as a writer and poetess. The Platonic beginning, characteristic of her circle, found its maximum expression in the poetry of the Queen of Navarre herself. She owns allegorical poems and poems. The true glory of Margarita as a writer was compiled by a collection of short stories Heptameron. The collection remained unfinished, it was supposed to contain 100 short stories, but the writer managed to write only 72. Its second edition (1559), where the short stories with sharp anti-church attacks were replaced by more neutral texts, was called Heptameron. A feature of the collection was the author's refusal to use wandering traditional plots of short stories, their plots are connected with the personal experience of the narrators or other real events. The participants in the events were people from the immediate environment of the writer, and even her relatives. Hence the special autobiographical flavor of the book and the depth of the characters of the storytellers, bringing to the fore not so much the stories themselves, but the discussion. Compared to other collections of Renaissance short stories Heptameron represents a narrower social circle, in the book we are talking rather about feelings, moral situations and wealth inner peace of people. It is characteristic that there is no jubilant optimism in the collection - many stories are sad, and their interpretation shows a discrepancy between the high ideal of man and the reality of the surrounding world. The work of Margaret of Angouleme and in particular the collection Heptameron reflected the beginning of the crisis of the ideals of the French Renaissance.

The highest achievement of French Renaissance literature in prose is the work of François Rabelais (1483-1553). The search for a humanist (a famous doctor) led him to literature, from 1532 he began to publish individual books of his famous novel “from the life of giants”, each of which was condemned in turn by the Sorbonne, and the fourth (1552) was sentenced to be burned by Parliament. In the novel Rabelais Gargantua and Pantagruel the inseparable connection between the French culture of the Renaissance and the medieval folk tradition of laughter is expressed. In the novel, there is undoubtedly a parody with the help of hyperbolization of medieval genres, traditions and values. At the same time, humanistic ideals and values ​​are affirmed. Rabelais, a doctor and scientist, promoted the cult of knowledge and the study of science as a means of educating a harmonious person, he insisted on the right of a person to think and feel freely, and opposed religious fanaticism. The novel depicts a kind of social utopia - the Thelema monastery, where a person can realize his right to freedom, the joy of life and the desire for knowledge. At the same time, optimism and faith in the limitless possibilities of man are inherent in this book: "man was created for peace, not for war, born for joy, for enjoying all the fruits and plants."

Humanistic ideals persist in French literature well into the late 16th century; generalized and expressed them in a new created literary genre- essay - Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). For the first time in the history of literature, the author stated his own experiences and experiences, "the content of my book is myself." The personality of Montaigne became the subject of analysis of his work Experiences. He proclaims a humanistic understanding of the destiny of man - the goal human life is the pursuit of happiness and enjoyment. It was he who connected this idea with the idea of ​​natural life and the natural freedom of man. The presence of freedom determines the nature of the social order, and all people are equal by nature. Montaigne summed up the development of humanism, and rather skeptically assessed the results of the development of sciences and even art, insisting on simplicity and clarity, anticipating the principles of the coming classicism.

German literature

In Germany, the fate of the literature of the Renaissance was closely connected with the Reformation. In many ways, the work of the great Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466/9–1536) adjoins the cultural area of ​​Germany. Erasmus is the leading thinker of Europe, he left a great legacy, but two satires received the greatest popularity - Praise of stupidity And Talking is easy. This tradition also includes the famous ship of fools Sebastian Brant (a satire that was a huge success), and the famous satire of Erasmus of Rotterdam Praise of stupidity(1511) and Talking is easy, which provides a sharp critique of modern society. German literature assumes a special polemical character on the eve of the Reformation. In a tense atmosphere of ideological struggle, famous Letters from dark people, a hoax of humanists, a satire written in Latin by humanists K. Rubian, G. Bush and U. von Hutten in the form of letters on behalf of fictional clerics. Satire dominates the German literature of the era and is most clearly manifested in the writings of the humanist Ulrich von Hutten, who ridiculed the Catholic Church in his dialogues.

The formation of the German literary language was connected with the Renaissance and the Reformation. Translation of the prominent figure of the Reformation Martin Luther of the Bible into German meant the approval of the norms of the common German language. Poetry acquires less importance in Germany, the work of Hans Sachs (1494-1576) came from the German tradition and reproduces the urban life of Germany. Of particular importance in German literature are the so-called. folk books, anonymous writings designed for mass reading. In terms of their content, they are extremely colorful, they combined fairy tale motifs, plots of chivalric novels, anecdotes, and even historical narrative. They were also different in character: if Beautiful Magellone was inherent in poetry, then in The Tales of Thiel Ulenspiegel And Schildburgers there is a sharp satirical jet. Finally, the Renaissance ideal of the thirst for knowledge and glory, the cult of the limitless possibilities of man are present in Stories about Dr. Johann Faust, the famous sorcerer and warlock(1587), the first treatment of this story in world literature.

English literature

The emergence of new trends in literature has been observed since the emergence of humanist circles in universities, which were influenced by Italian humanism. The largest figure of humanism in England was Thomas More (1478–1535), who left one of the program works of the Renaissance Utopia where an ideal society is drawn, built on equality and justice, where the principle of collective property and community of labor prevails, there is no poverty, and the goal is to achieve the common good. As a true humanist More insists on the harmonious development of the personality in this society, most of the time of each person is given to intellectual pursuits. It is characteristic that in an era when Europe was torn apart by religious strife, Mor draws in his ideal state the triumph of religious tolerance, and mercilessly mockingly describes the lot of gold in Utopia.

English poetry of the Renaissance was born at the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII, when literary leisure became widely popular at court. The first humanist poet was John Scalton, educator of the future Henry VIII, famous for his scholarship. Scalton left a number of satirical poems ( Why don't you come to court). In the first half of the century there was an assimilation of new literary forms and genres, as well as of the ancient heritage. The popularity in England of Petrarch's poetry led to the establishment of the sonnet as the leading poetic form, although slightly modified from classical Italian. The first English Petrarchist poet Thomas Wyeth (1503-1542) introduced a sonnet of three quatrains and a final couplet, love lyrics were further developed by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (Surrey) (1517-1547), who left a cycle dedicated to "Geraldine" and also perfected the form of the sonnet. The flowering of English literature, and above all, poetry, was associated with the "golden age" of the reign of Elizabeth Tudor. During this period, philanthropy in relation to art and literature especially develops. The emphasized interest in language led to the creation of a special court language, refined and overloaded with comparisons. Literature developed primarily in the field of poetry and drama. The dominance of lyric poetry was due in the middle of the century with the advent of the lyrics of T. Wyeth and G. Surry, but the true flowering of lyric poetry was associated with the name of Philip Sidney (1554-1586), a true innovator in poetry and literary theory. Turning to the sonnet form already established in England, he created a cycle of 108 sonnets. Astrophile and Stella, where poetic miniatures were united by a common idea into a single whole and a “love story” was created with a complex range of experiences. The ending is sad, the hero (Astrophil) had no response to his feelings and devotion. Sidney's sonnets included dialogue, the first time an ironic theme appears in the genre. The sonnet becomes the dominant form in the English poetry of the Renaissance, but other poets of this time (the so-called Elizabethans) also worked in the genres of odes, elegies, ballads, epigrams, satires, etc. Sidney also acted as a literary theorist, defending the high purpose of poetry, its educational impact on the individual, leading to the moral improvement of people (treatise Protection of poetry). He also became the first person in England to turn to the pastoral genre in his unfinished novel Arcadia(published in 1590).

The greatest English poet of the Renaissance was Edmund Spenser (c. 1552–1599). Unlike the aristocrat Sidney, Spencer lived hard life; he left a significant legacy in lyric poetry, worked in the traditional Renaissance genres of sonnets and hymns. He developed the English pastoral in his "shepherd's calendar", where the usual for the pastoral shepherd's idyll against the backdrop of nature was combined with the proclamation of civic ideals. Spencer is best known for his poem fairy queen, the most important work of the poet. Spencer turned to the plot, drawn from a medieval chivalric romance, to a cycle of legends about King Arthur. The adventures of the knights, each of which is the embodiment of one of the 12 virtues, made up the plot, but the disclosure of characters, interest in the heroic principle. The thirst for glory, the desire for moral perfection in the spirit of humanistic ideals, all this filled the Arthurian plot with Renaissance content. In addition, the appeal to Arthurian legends was also determined by the general interest in national history. Later, looseness, a free depiction of human passions, was introduced into English poetry. At the same time, the glorification of the joy of life and love was preserved. Its peculiarity was the search for new forms of verse. Sidney introduced the "masculine rhyme", Spencer became the inventor of a special "Spencer" stanza. Prose developed mainly in the genre of the short story, and often there was an element of satire and glorification of bourgeois virtues (labor, thrift, modesty of morals) in them. A number of diverse novels emerge (utopian, pastoral, even close to picaresque).

Biggest breakthrough English literature Renaissance has committed in dramaturgy, where, of course, the British were ahead of all of Europe. The English theater reaches its highest development in the 1580s-1590s. Initially, English dramaturgy was associated with imitation of ancient, and plays were written on subjects from ancient history. By 1580, English dramaturgy was already characterized by a particular variety of genres and produced a number of brilliant playwrights. The plays of John Lily, filled with lush rhetoric, were addressed to the court audience, but in them, like Robert Green, one can notice a clearly expressed patriotic orientation and proximity to folk tales ( A comedy about George Green, a Weckfield field watchman). Since Spanish tragedy Thomas Kidd came into use "bloody drama". In general, dramaturgy was characterized by a variety of genres (tragedy, comedy, historical play, even pastoral) and playwrights were unusually prolific (due to the needs of the stage and the contingent of the audience). The specificity of English dramaturgy was also the continued mixing of high and low genres in one play, which provided the effect of contrast and subsequently deeply resented the theorists of classicism.

The peculiarity of this theater was that, relying on the national past, the ancient heritage and the achievements of the Renaissance culture, he was able, in a language accessible to the widest masses, using grandiose images, to raise the eternal questions of human existence, the meaning of his life, purpose, time and eternity, the relationship individual and society.

The playwrights, who had actors at hand (they usually worked with the troupe and wrote based on its capabilities), not only brought titanic characters to the stage, but also raised the question of the moral responsibility of the individual to society, of what the unlimited freedom of the extraordinary brings with it. a person for other, albeit not so great, people, what is the fate of the people in "fateful minutes." At the turn of the 16th-17th centuries. the theater was able to generalize all the experience accumulated by the Renaissance, and express it, deepening the ideas put forward earlier.

These doubts and contradictions were expressed in the work of the first great tragic playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593). Marlo created the image of Faust, who sought to rebuild the world. Through the mouths of his other character, the cruel conqueror, the illiterate shepherd Tamerlane, the playwright sets out his understanding of the destiny of man, "an anxious and indomitable spirit" draws him to action and knowledge. The heroes of Marlowe for the first time showed the reverse side of the ideal of the Renaissance man - they are extraordinary and oppose society, violating not only its laws, but also the generally accepted norms of humanity. Because of their immoralism, they aroused both horror and admiration. With the work of Marlo, a new stage in the development of the dramaturgy of the English Renaissance begins, which turned out to be associated with an analysis of internal spiritual contradictions, with the image of a grandiose personality, inevitably drawn to death.

The pinnacle of the development of the Renaissance (and European theater) is the work of William Shakespeare (1564-1616). The exact number of his plays and the time of their creation is unknown, based on the analysis of the first posthumous edition, the researchers identified 37 plays (the so-called canon) and suggested dates. IN Lately some scholars are inclined to add to him individual works traditionally attributed to Shakespeare, and the dispute about the authorship of the entire heritage has resumed again. Creativity is divided into three periods. The first period (1590–1600) is dominated by comedies; most of them are lyrical, some are everyday, others include elements romantic fairy tale or pastorals. All of them expressed the ideals of the Renaissance, are imbued with the joy of life, glorify human feelings and active human activity, are deeply humanistic ( A dream in a summer night. Much ado about nothing, twelfth Night, Merry Wives of Windsor). His first tragedies based on subjects from ancient history belong to the same period ( Julius Caesar), as well as a cycle of historical plays dedicated to national history (chronicles), in which the historical and political concept of the playwright was expressed ( Richard II, Henry IV,Henry V, Richard III and etc.). It was in them that he first considered the problem of power, ruler, tyranny, the role of the people in political life country and the legitimacy of power. At the turn of the first and second periods, the most poetic of Shakespeare's tragedies was created - a true hymn to love, dying due to the inertia of society ( Romeo and Juliet). The second period (1601–1602) was characterized by a crisis in the humanistic worldview and the playwright's turn to the genre of tragedy. Tragedies had the deepest philosophical content. In them, the Renaissance hero opposes not only the hostile world, but also the new time, the Renaissance harmony of the individual and society is destroyed. It is in tragedy Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Roman tragedies Anthony and Cleopatra And Coriolanus) Shakespeare showed the most complex psychological struggle and the dialectic of passions in the souls of his characters, revealed the depth of the conflict. The third period (1608–1612) was characterized by the appearance of romantic, almost fairy tale plays ( Cymbeline, winter fairy tale, especially Storm), imbued with nostalgia for the ideals of the Renaissance, Shakespeare remained faithful to the ideals of the Renaissance in them - a harmoniously developed person is “the crown of all things”, but he is given to decide the fate of the world only outside the familiar world, in a fairy tale (utopia, pastoral).

Shakespeare in his work so deeply revealed the contradictions of human nature and comprehended the fate of the individual and society that not only deepened the ideas of Renaissance humanism, but his understanding of man, reflections and experiences were perceived by later eras, and plays entered the golden fund of eternal works, and without them and to this day, the activity of a drama theater is unthinkable.

The name of Shakespeare is associated with the concept of "tragic humanism": awareness of the tragedy of the individual, forced to fight with society. Almost always this struggle is doomed, but necessary and inevitable. Shakespeare fully shared the ideals of the Renaissance, but the central conflict of his plays was determined by the discrepancy between the Renaissance ideal of man and reality. Society is hostile to this ideal.

A critical attitude towards an imperfect society is connected with its attitude towards time, a powerful force, which, however, does not correspond to the principles of the world order, according to the figurative expression of the playwright: "Time has dislocated the joint." This dooms most of Shakespeare's characters to inevitable death, and even in comedies with a happy ending, the characters go through severe trials. Most of his heroes strive to comprehend not only themselves, but also their time, and the place of man in the world and eternity, and the confrontation between good and evil. Reflection, understanding by them of their destiny, fate, mistakes leads them to enlightenment.

The greatness of Shakespeare lies in the fact that he was able to raise questions that concern people at all times, make the ideals of the Renaissance close to posterity and create unusually complex, versatile, psychologically deep images. Shakespeare inherited the ideal of man from the Renaissance, but a note of bitterness already anticipates another time. Shakespeare's successors ("the younger Elizabethans") already expressed not only the crisis of Renaissance ideals, but also the tragic perception of the world, characteristic of Mannerism and Baroque.

Spanish literature

Spanish literature was predominantly associated with the 16th century; by the end of it, crisis phenomena were noticeable in it, in many respects anticipating the appearance of the baroque (). From the beginning of the 16th century leading Renaissance genres are formed in literature. The specifics of the situation in the country determined an unusually early awareness of the inconsistency of the Renaissance ideals with the surrounding reality, which left an imprint on the nature of literature.

Spanish literature at the same time developed on a national basis. It is characteristic that the genre of the chivalric novel is developing in it, which reflects new ideas about the world and man: the joy of mastering the world, secular character, a new ideal of man and the norms of his behavior in society. The best of many of this "mass literature" was the famous Amadis of Gaul Garcia Montalvo (1508), which was completed by various authors and eventually grew to 12 books (instead of 4), withstood more than 300 editions and gained pan-European popularity. Roman-drama also belongs to the Spanish prose of the Renaissance. Celestina F. De Rojas, where the bright love of the main characters is opposed by the surrounding vicious and base world of the city. Elements of the picaresque novel were already formed in the chivalric romance; the first complete example of this genre appears in the middle of the 16th century. Anonymous romance Life of Lazarillo of Tormez was a novel in short stories, in which all plot threads are resolved, on the contrary, in comparison with morality. Realism, even naturalism of the image, sharp satire determined the success of the novel.

The pinnacle of Spanish Renaissance literature is considered to be the creative heritage of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547–1616). The difficult fate of the author, his vast experience (up to a debt prison and Algerian captivity) are also reflected in his work. Cervantes remained faithful to the ideals of the Renaissance, which was clearly manifested in his early works. The first of these was a pastoral novel Galatea in which the heroes were endowed with nobility and moral stamina. Its characters Instructive short stories endowed with the same properties in any test. His tragedy is fanned with heroic and patriotic pathos Numancia. The writer's humanistic worldview was most fully embodied in his famous novel Don Quixote of La Mancha. The story of a poor knight who had read chivalric novels and embarked on a journey was conceived as a mockery of obsolete ideals. The first readers perceived the novel in this way. But in the novel there is also high humanity, genuine humanism: the Knight of the Sad Image, remained true to humanistic ideals and became a symbol of humanity in a world of cruelty and deceit.

The noble chivalry worshiped by the great hero of Cervantes meant in its essence main idea humanism - a genuine and selfless service to the common good of mankind and justice, a person is obliged to "protect the disadvantaged and oppressed by the powerful of this world." The hero literally rushes into battle in defense of high ideals and believes in the triumph of virtue. In fact, Cervantes paints the image of the ideal Renaissance man, but endows him with madness. The madness of Don Quixote only emphasizes the absurdity of a cynical and pragmatic society. Peculiarity Don Quixote as a novel consisted of ambiguity, the possibility of different perceptions and interpretations of characters and situations, it is full of contradictions. And each subsequent era perceived it in a different perspective.

The poetry of the Spanish Renaissance reflected the desire for sophistication and emphasized exaltation, while it could also contain the most subtle analysis of human experiences, a description of the beauty of nature, and the glorification of love for God.

The Spanish dramaturgy of the Renaissance was associated with the process of secularization of the theatre. The beginning of the heyday of the Spanish theater coincides with the Renaissance, and in many respects this heyday was due to the work of Lope de Vega Carpio (1562-1635). Coming from an urban environment, Lope de Vega lived an adventurous life and, in fact, created a new Spanish theater. Lope probably set a record for the size of his artistic heritage: more than 2,000 plays were attributed to him, of which 468 have come down to us, including 426 comedies. It was he who determined the nature of the Spanish drama, combining elements of the comic and the tragic in the plays. Lope abandoned the principle of the unity of place and time, retaining the unity of action. Lope de Vega, like Cervantes, retains faith in the triumph of the humanistic ideal of a perfect and free individual. Only high personal qualities and talents of a person have value. The rest is unimportant for a humanist, including class affiliation. This line is carried out in his best comedies of the "cloak and sword" genre ( Dog in the manger, Dance teacher, Girl with a jug). In his other comedies, the playwright reveals the power of human feelings that overcome all obstacles.

In a number of plays, the playwright poses serious moral and even political problems ( Star of Seville, Silly to others, smart to yourself, Punishment without revenge), they often intensify the tragic beginning, in many respects anticipate the development of the theater of the Baroque era.

The play occupies a special place in his work. Sheep source, where Lope de Vega brought the peasants to the stage, depicted a peasant uprising against the feudal lord and showed the peasants morally steadfast, courageous, heroic, surpassing not only their masters, but also the king and queen in their strength of mind. Thanks to their brilliant plot and linguistic merits, the depth of interpretation of the characters of his plays, they entered the golden fund of European literature.

The literature of the Renaissance fully expressed all the features of this culture, its secular character, aspiration for a person and his feelings, interest in the earthly world. Her works (along with the art of the Renaissance) acquire special significance, reaching the “status of the highest artistic perfection” (M. Andreev). Renaissance literature became fully classical, expressed the cultural values ​​of the Renaissance, created new genres and determined the paths for its further development.

Irina Elfond

Literature:

Empson W. Essays on Renaissance literature. Cambridge, 1995
Foreign Literature of the Renaissance, Baroque, Classicism. M., 1998
Lewis C.S. Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature. Cambridge, 1998
Shaitanov I.O. Story foreign literature , vol. 1. M., 2001. vol. 2, 2002



For Europeans, the period of the dark Middle Ages ended, followed by the Renaissance. It allowed to revive the almost disappeared heritage of Antiquity and create great works of art. An important role in the development of mankind was played by the scientists of the Renaissance.

Paradigm

The crisis and the destruction of Byzantium led to the appearance in Europe of thousands of Christian emigrants who brought books with them. In these manuscripts were collected knowledge of the ancient period, half-forgotten in the west of the continent. They became the basis of humanism, which put man, his ideas and the desire for freedom at the forefront. Over time, in cities where the role of bankers, artisans, merchants and artisans increased, secular centers of science and education began to emerge, which not only were not under the rule of the Catholic Church, but often fought against its dictates.

Painting by Giotto (Renaissance)

Artists in the Middle Ages created works of predominantly religious content. In particular, for a long time the main genre of painting was icon painting. The first who decided to bring ordinary people to his canvases, as well as to abandon the canonical manner of writing inherent in the Byzantine school, was Giotto di Bondone, who is considered the pioneer of the Proto-Renaissance. On the frescoes of the church of San Francesco, located in the city of Assisi, he used the play of chiaroscuro and moved away from the generally accepted compositional structure. However, Giotto's main masterpiece was the painting of the Arena Chapel in Padua. Interestingly, immediately after this order, the artist was called to decorate the city hall. In working on one of the paintings, in order to achieve the greatest reliability in the image of the "heavenly sign", Giotto consulted with the astronomer Pietro d'Abano. Thus, thanks to this artist, painting ceased to depict people, objects and natural phenomena according to certain canons and became more realistic.

Leonardo da Vinci

Many figures of the Renaissance had a versatile talent. However, none of them can be compared in its versatility with Leonardo da Vinci. He distinguished himself as an outstanding painter, architect, sculptor, anatomist, naturalist and engineer.

In 1466, Leonardo da Vinci went to study in Florence, where, in addition to painting, he studied chemistry and drawing, and also acquired skills in working with metal, leather and plaster.

Already the first picturesque canvases of the artist singled him out among his comrades in the shop. During his long, at that time, 68-year life, Leonardo da Vinci created such masterpieces as Mona Lisa, John the Baptist, Lady with an Ermine, The Last Supper, etc.

Like other prominent figures of the Renaissance, the artist was interested in science and engineering. In particular, it is known that the wheeled pistol lock invented by him was used until the 19th century. In addition, Leonardo da Vinci created drawings of a parachute, an aircraft, a searchlight, a spotting scope with two lenses, etc.

Michelangelo

When the question of what the Renaissance figures gave to the world is discussed, the list of their achievements necessarily contains the works of this outstanding architect, artist and sculptor.

Among the most famous creations of Michelangelo Buonarroti are the frescoes of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the statue of David, the sculpture of Bacchus, the marble statue of the Madonna of Bruges, the painting "The Torment of St. Anthony" and many other masterpieces of world art.

Rafael Santi

The artist was born in 1483 and lived only 37 years. However, the great legacy of Rafael Santi puts him in the first lines of any symbolic rating of "Outstanding Figures of the Renaissance."

Among the artist's masterpieces are "The Coronation of Mary" for the Oddi altar, "Portrait of Pietro Bembo", "Lady with a Unicorn", numerous frescoes commissioned for Stanza della Senyatura, etc.

The pinnacle of Raphael's work is the "Sistine Madonna", created for the altar of the temple of the monastery of St. Sixtus in Piacenza. This picture makes an unforgettable impression on anyone who sees it, since Mary depicted in it in an incomprehensible way combines the earthly and heavenly essences of the Mother of God.

Albrecht Dürer

Famous figures of the Renaissance were not only Italians. Among them is the German painter and engraver Albrecht Dürer, who was born in Nuremberg in 1471. His most significant works are the "Landauer Altarpiece", a self-portrait (1500), the painting "Feast of the Rose Wreaths", three "Master Engravings". The latter are considered masterpieces of graphic art of all times and peoples.

Titian

The great figures of the Renaissance in the field of painting have left us images of their most famous contemporaries. One of the outstanding portrait painters of this period of European art was Titian, who came from the well-known family of Vecellio. He immortalized on canvas Federico Gonzaga, Charles V, Clarissa Strozzi, Pietro Aretino, architect Giulio Romano and many others. In addition, his brushes belong to canvases on subjects from ancient mythology. How highly the artist was valued by contemporaries is evidenced by the fact that once the brush that fell from the hands of Titian was hurried to pick up the emperor Charles V. The monarch explained his act by saying that serving such a master is an honor for anyone.

Sandro Botticelli

The artist was born in 1445. Initially, he was going to become a jeweler, but then he got into the workshop of Andrea Verrocchio, from whom Leonardo da Vinci once studied. Along with works of religious themes, the artist created several paintings of secular content. The masterpieces of Botticelli include the paintings "The Birth of Venus", "Spring", "Pallas and the Centaur" and many others.

Dante Alighieri

The great figures of the Renaissance left their indelible mark on world literature. One of the most prominent poets of this period is Dante Alighieri, who was born in 1265 in Florence. At the age of 37, he was expelled from his hometown because of his political views and wandered until the last years of his life.

As a child, Dante fell in love with his peer Beatrice Portinari. Growing up, the girl married another and died at the age of 24. Beatrice became the poet's muse, and it was to her that he dedicated his works, including the story "New Life". In 1306, Dante begins to create his "Divine Comedy", on which he has been working for almost 15 years. In it, he exposes the vices of Italian society, the crimes of popes and cardinals, and places his Beatrice in "paradise".

William Shakespeare

Although the ideas of the Renaissance reached the British Isles with some delay, outstanding works of art were also created there.

In particular, one of the most famous playwrights in the history of mankind, William Shakespeare, worked in England. For more than 500 years, his plays have not left the theater stage in all corners of the planet. His pen belongs to the tragedy "Othello", "Romeo and Juliet", "Hamlet", "Macbeth", as well as the comedy "Twelfth Night", "Much Ado About Nothing" and many others. In addition, Shakespeare is known for his sonnets dedicated to the mysterious Swarthy Lady.

Leon Battista Alberti

The Renaissance also contributed to a change in the appearance of European cities. During this period, great architectural masterpieces were created, including the Roman Cathedral of St. Peter, the Laurentian stairs, Florence Cathedral, etc. Along with Michelangelo, the well-known scientist Leon Battista Alberti is among the famous architects of the Renaissance. He made a huge contribution to architecture, the theory of art and literature. The sphere of his interests also included the problems of pedagogy and ethics, mathematics and cartography. He created one of the first scientific works on architecture, entitled "Ten Books on Architecture". This work had a huge impact on subsequent generations of his colleagues.

Now you know the most famous cultural figures of the Renaissance, thanks to whom human civilization entered a new round of its development.

Profound changes in the socio-economic and spiritual life of Italy at the end of the XIV century. played a decisive role in the emergence and development of a pan-European culture, called the Renaissance.

The main feature of the revivalist movement is anthropocentrism (Greek anthropos - man), an orientation towards a comprehensive understanding of the existence of a particular person, the justification of his intrinsic value. Humanistic views are reflected in works of literature and art, philosophical and scientific treatises.

Philosophy, considering the problems of the universe (ontology, natural philosophy), socio-historical development, the process of cognition, gradually overcomes the former theological form. The spiritual life of society begins to acquire a secular character. The first political theories and social utopias emerge. Significant development receives natural science knowledge.

The main features of the Renaissance

The era of the Renaissance (or Renaissance), having arisen in Italy (the end of the 14th century), then (the 15th-16th centuries) turns into a phenomenon of pan-European culture. The radical change in the spiritual life of the European peoples had deep roots in the socio-economic changes caused by the formation of early bourgeois relations. The revival movement begins in Venice, Florence, Genoa (northern Italy), where trade developed intensively, processes of initial accumulation of capital took place, and republican political regimes dominated. In a narrow sense, the term "revival" meant the active use by writers, philosophers, and scientists of the rich traditions of the ancient heritage. In a broad sense, it has become synonymous with the new European culture. Anthropocentrism becomes its essential feature - an intense interest in a particular person, his activities, place in the world, purpose, internal and external appearance, needs and aspirations. Individualism as a fundamental setting when considering a person becomes a means of substantiating his self-worth, the need for liberation from the socio-political and spiritual shackles of the Middle Ages. The growth of the personal factor also finds its expression in social psychology, which, for example, manifests itself in relation to the time factor. It was during this period that the first mechanical clocks appeared on the towers of the Italian city-states. The most prominent humanist G. Manetti argued that the almighty God, like a banker, distributes time to people like money, and then strictly asks everyone about the advisability of using it. Time becomes an active factor in personal, individual activity.

In the Renaissance, the demand for mental, intellectual labor increases, the number of so-called "free professions" is growing rapidly, and a secular intelligentsia is being formed. In the spread and development of the new culture, "humanistic circles" played a major role - communities of progressively thinking representatives of art, science, religion, who actively opposed the dominance of scholasticism.

The emergence of a humanistic worldview

Philological science was the main activity of the humanists. Humanists began to look for rewriting, to study first literary and then artistic monuments of antiquity, primarily statues. Moreover, in Florence - the ancient city founded by Yeshe in antiquity, and in Rome, and in Ravenna, and in Naples, most of all Greek and Roman statues, painted vessels, rakonets, and buildings have been preserved. For the first time in a thousand years of Christianity, ancient statues were treated not as pagan idols, but as works of art. The same can be said about ancient books. Of course, ancient thinkers were not irrevocably forgotten - in the era of the so-called Carolingian renaissance, that is, in the K century, and a century later, during the reign of Emperor Otto, and indeed throughout the entire Middle Ages, ancient manuscripts were copied in monasteries - otherwise they simply would not even reached the time of the Renaissance, because the originals have not been preserved. And on the philosophy of Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, the creator of the theological system of Catholicism, built a picture of the world, which the church took for dogma. The ancient applied art, inherited by the Byzantine artistic craft, did not die either.

But it is with the humanists that the inclusion of the ancient heritage in the education system begins, acquaintance with ancient literature, sculpture, philosophy (that is, what is best preserved) of wide educated circles. Poets and artists strive to imitate ancient authors, to revive ancient art in general. But, as often happens in history, especially the history of art, the revival of some old principles and forms (unless, of course, highly gifted people revive) leads to the creation of a completely new one. Florence was the recognized capital of the Italian Renaissance. Here the great poet Dante Alighieri (1225-1321) was born and received universal recognition. His pen belongs to: "The Divine Comedy", "Feast", "On the Monarchy". It was these works that had a great influence on the minds and hearts of people, inspired humanists. Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374), another great lyric poet of Italy, is considered to be the founder of the revivalist movement. In the cycle of poems (canzoniere) dedicated to Laura, the asceticism of medieval consciousness is opposed by natural feelings for the beloved and nature. A deeply religious man, he resolutely rejected scholasticism, which he considered the embodiment of stupidity and nonsense.

The progressive philosophy of the Renaissance was an integral part of humanistic culture. One of the most profound and original thinkers of the early Renaissance was Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464), a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. His main works are: "On Scientific Ignorance", "On Assumptions", "Simple Man" (four dialogues), "On the Search for God", "On the Hunt for Wisdom" and others. He was an active member of the humanist circle. He gained the greatest influence when his childhood friend became Pope Pius II, and he actually took second place in the church hierarchy. The work of N. Kuzansky is anti-scholastic in nature, which is manifested in the pantheistic trend of his philosophy, an increased interest in ancient philosophy. Numerous works use the ideas of Pythagoras, Democritus, Anaxagoras, Aristotle, Boethius, especially Plato and the Neoplatonists. Of course, he does not and cannot deny the creationist provisions of the Christian doctrine, but, on the contrary, being one of the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, he sought to defend its dogmas. But, nevertheless, the identification in one way or another of God and nature (pantheism) actually undermined the postulate of creation.

In the theory of knowledge, he considered the main goal not to achieve an unchanging, forever given "divine truth", but the infinite expansion of human knowledge about the world around him. He singles out as stages of cognition: sensations that give rise to vague images of things; reason designates things by names, operates with figures, reveals opposites and opposes them; reason carries out dialectical thinking and, through the ability to think the infinite, overcomes all opposition; intuition realizes the comprehension of truth through the complete coincidence of opposites. The mind is independent of sensations and reason and is a reflection of the absolute intellect - God. Consistently developing the doctrine of the "coincidence of opposites" in the infinite, Kuzanets considers the problems of the identity of "maximum" and "minimum" (ontology), absolute and relative in cognition ("Scientific ignorance"), "microcosm" (man) and "macrocosm" (world ). The consideration of these and other problems, the content of which is directed against the prevailing dogmatism, makes N. Kuzansky one of the founders of the New European. The development of the humanistic worldview is closely connected with the active development of the doctrine of man. An example of this is the work of Pico Dela Mirandola (1463-1494), who develops the idea of ​​Platonism about the "middle" position of man between the earthly, animal and divine. With free will, he can descend to a beast or rise to a god-like being. Here the main concept of the anthropology of the Renaissance is expressed: a person creates his own destiny, is "his own sculptor and creator", is capable of unlimited self-improvement and a happy life on earth, not in heaven.

Political Doctrines and Social Utopias

Deep socio-economic changes contribute to the manifestation of new ideas about the political structure of society, social ideals, ways and means to achieve them. One of the first bourgeois political ideologists was Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) - statesman, writer, historian. In his most famous work, "The Sovereign" ("Prince") reveals the motives for people's activities - material interest, selfishness. The egoistic nature of man makes necessary the state structure of society. The state is the highest manifestation of the human spirit, and serving the state is the meaning and happiness of human life. Machiavelli believes that the best form of state is a republic, where everyone is responsible for its fate. But if the people do not have developed democratic traditions, then the sovereign can use any means to achieve political goals. As a private person, the sovereign cannot neglect moral norms, but for the sake of the prosperity of the state, he may not take them into account. In the future, Machiavellianism began to be understood as unscrupulousness, cynicism in achieving political goals /See. Machiavelli N. Sovereign. Moscow: Planeta, 1990/.

The English humanist and politician Thomas More (1478-1535) in his book "Utopia" tried to solve the specific problems of social reorganization. The book consists of two sections. The first analyzes the concrete historical conditions of English society in the 16th century. The second describes the ideal social structure that exists on a fictional island - Utopia (gr. U - no; topos - a place. A place that does not exist). The main principles of this society are the absence of private property and compulsory labor for all. According to T. More VUtopias:

There is no private property;

all citizens participate in productive labor;

Labor is carried out on the basis of universal labor service;

All produced products (results of labor) become the property of society (public warehouses) and then are evenly distributed among all the inhabitants of Utopia:

Due to the fact that everyone is busy with work, a short working day of six hours is enough to ensure Utopia;

People who have shown special abilities in the sciences are exempted from labor activity;

The dirtiest work is done by slaves - prisoners of war and convicted criminals;

The primary cell of society is not a consanguineous family, but a "working family" (in fact, a work collective);

All officers are elected - directly or indirectly;

Men and women have equal rights (as well as equal responsibilities);

Residents believe in God, there is complete religious tolerance.

Another, the most famous project of social reconstruction is associated with the name of Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639). His interest in natural science was combined with an even greater interest in the socio-political problems of his time. For participation in the struggle against the Spanish yoke, he spent about thirty years in prison, where he wrote his main work - "The City of the Sun". The action takes place in the fantastic City of the Sun, where its inhabitants - solariums - have built an ideal society based on social justice, and enjoy life and work. By Campanelle, in the City of the Sun:

There is no private property;

All citizens participate in productive labor;

The results of labor become the property of the whole society, and then are evenly distributed among its members;

Labor is combined with simultaneous training;

The life of solariums is regulated to the smallest detail, from getting up to going to bed;

Solariums do everything together: they go from work to work, work, eat, rest, sing songs;

Much attention is paid to education - from birth, the child is taken away from his parents and brought up in special schools, where he learns the sciences and is accustomed to collective life, other rules of behavior of the City of the Sun;

At the head of the City of the Sun is a lifelong ruler (elected by solariums) - Metaphysician, who owns all the knowledge of his era and all professions.

The ideas of the utopian socialists put forward during the Renaissance were a response to the social injustice that had taken place and had many supporters among those who wanted to change the world both in the Renaissance and in the future.

Natural science views of the Renaissance, natural philosophy

Italian humanists of the XIV-XV centuries. relatively little interest in the natural sciences. But the development of production, the complication of practical activity revealed the need for an ever deeper study of nature, to identify the patterns of the processes occurring in it. One of the features of Renaissance science is that it arises in close connection with art. Moreover, this unity is sometimes manifested in the activities of one person. An example of this is the work of a brilliant artist, engineer, scientist - naturalist, philosopher - Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). Having been educated in art workshops, he quickly becomes a first-class master of painting. His paintings "La Gioconda", "The Last Supper" and others represent the main masterpieces of the Renaissance. The scope of his engineering interests is boundless. He was the first to express the ideas of a loom, a parachute, a helicopter, a submarine, hydraulic locks and others. Being an irreconcilable opponent of scholastic scholarship, he saw the basis of scientific activity in practice, developed a method of purposeful experience - experiment. He deeply comprehended the meaning and role of science in cognition ("Science is the commander, and practice is the soldiers"). Rightfully entered the history of science as a pioneer of modern natural science

The most important scientific discovery of the period under review is the heliocentric system of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), which laid the foundations of scientific astronomy. The "Copernican coup" undermined the centuries-old dominance of the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic cosmology, which asserted the central place of the Earth and its immobility, led to far-reaching conclusions about the failure of religious ideas, contributed to the formation of a scientific worldview, and had a decisive influence on the further development of natural science /See. there. c.117-128/.

The ideas of N. Copernicus received their comprehensive development in the natural philosophy of the great Italian thinker Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), who embodied in his work most fully and deeply such important features of humanistic philosophy as pantheism, dialectics, a keen sense of the harmony of nature, its infinity. The radical pantheism of the thinker, i.e. the absolute identification of God and nature, which denied the postulate of the doctrine of the creation of the world - the reason for his irreconcilable conflict with the church, which played a tragic role in his fate. Fundamental in his teaching is the concept of the One, which is both the cause of being and the very existence of things. God, as it were, "moves" into nature, which perceives such of his qualities as infinity in space and time, creative nature, and others. Based on the inseparability of God and nature, he gave the latter an active role, argued that matter "creates everything from its womb." The Nolan gave physical homogeneity to all the infinite of the world, adhered to hylozoism (universal animation of nature), thereby explaining the reason for the movement of cosmic bodies: the law of universal gravitation had not yet been discovered. He actively uses the provisions of the dialectic of N. Cusa, frees it from theological content and formulates it as a doctrine of nature. For example, J. Bruno refuses to recognize the absolute center of the Universe: the infinity of the One excludes the very possibility of such a center. Thus, various theological and scholastic restrictions on the infinity of the Universe and the surrounding world are removed. The naturalistic pantheism of G. Bruno played an important role and found its continuation in the European freethinking of the 18th-19th centuries. /Cm. there. c.154-176/.

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) - the great natural scientist completes the development of science of the Renaissance period and opens the page of European experimental and mathematical natural science. Opponent of scholastic scholarship, Galileo, founded a mechanistic interpretation of the world, adhered to the views of deism. As a result of the evidence formulated by him, the heliocentric system of N. Copernicus and J. Bruno turns from a hypothesis into a demonstrative theory. Revising the previous physical views, which were under the strong influence of scholasticism, the scientist creates dynamics - the doctrine of the movement of bodies. The discovery of the laws of mechanics, as well as the laws of planetary motion around the Sun (I. Kepler), the knowledge of which was based on mathematical methods, leads to the final rejection of the elements of anthropomorphism. The concept of the law of nature acquires a strictly scientific content. Galileo formulated his main ideas in the "Dialogue on the two main systems of the world - Ptolemaic and Copernican". The Inquisition, under the threat of burning, forced the scientist to formally renounce his "delusions", but nothing could stop the progressive development of science

The era ... of new prerequisites for the formation of humanistic culture era Renaissance was the emergence of a humanistic intelligentsia. ... about the social elitism of bourgeois culture. IN era Renaissance for the first time there was an idea of ​​​​intellectual ...

Epoch Renaissance (10)

Abstract >> Philosophy

IV. PHILOSOPHY AGES REVIVAL Sometimes the term Renaissance" is understood in a broad sense ... to nature, what happened in era Renaissance, can be illustrated with a catchphrase ... mystery. And only in era Renaissance it is an earthly woman, beloved, ...