Eventually people woke up and took interest in the world around them. Society across Europe was changing, advances in mathematics and geometry inspired people with experimentation.
Artists began to use perspective points and proportions to put a new twist on the classic Roman artwork. Pictures of landscapes and buildings began to show up in art. More and more paintings started to look like every day real life.
The establishment of the Medici bank brought a lot of wealth to the cities. Members of society like the Medici family, started a new standard and encouraged artists to refine the arts, putting value in the economy to attract more people instead of the church or a monarchy. This caused the High Renaissance to create a new way of commerce and during the rise of humanism, people began to do more things that they enjoyed instead of devoting any free time in a Church praying to God.
Humanist philosophy meant that a man’s relationship was with the universe as well as with God; however reaching God was no longer exclusive only through the Church. Patrons that pushed for Humanist wanted commoners to gather knowledge through classical writings which became available for the public. Some of these texts included poetry, drama, philosophy, science and Early Christian Theology. Artist of both music and art started a new pursuit for improvement. Yearning for individuality, many artists used a mathematical technique called ‘linear perspective’ in their art work giving the piece, a more natural realistic view.
Artists such as Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo mastered techniques in new aspects of painting like using light and shadow and anatomy in their newly developed perspectives. Even though religious paintings were still popular, new trends such as landscapes and daily life scenes became the trend.
The reasoning behind all the changes is that patrons of the arts were not the majority of the church any longer. Patrons of the arts were now the humanist leaders of society.
Some of the most interesting and well-known pieces of this era are the paintings done by Michelangelo and Raphael in the Vatican. These pieces of work are very complex in composition. The human figures are closely observed and are detailed with decorative iconographic that refers to classical antiquity.
Michelangelo painted ‘The Last Judgment’. The massive painting covers the entire wall behind the alter of the Sistine chapel. It is a painting of Jesus judging the people on earth and sending them to either Heaven or Hell by the saints.
This was a painting that caused much dispute. Michelangelo was accused of intolerable obscenity as well as immorality because most of the figures are naked. Due to the excessiveness of genitalia and the amount human anatomy detail, twenty four years later priest paid another painter to clothed figures such as the Virgin Mary.
The Last Judgment also steered away from traditional depictions of the painting. Michelangelo depicts Christ very muscular and beardless. He is surrounded by light and the picture seems to focus around him instead of a classical heaven and hell. Linear perspective is also noticeable in this painting replacing the traditional horizontal layers. It is said that Michelangelo uses the science of cosmology with the depiction of Christ because he resembles the Greek Sun God, Apollo and is in the center symbolizing the center of the universe.
At the same time music began to become an essential part of daily life during the High Renaissance. The new ideas that were spreading across Europe reformed the way political, economic, and religious views were valued. This led to major changes in the style of composing methods used in music.New musical genres and instruments developed splitting the patronage into groups. The Catholic Church and Protestant churches were sources for music printing not to mention a source of income for composers of this era.
Composers during the middle Ages and Early Renaissance worked with cantus-firmus but it was not really until the Protestant Reformation that important changes began to occur starting with the church. Hymns began to be sung by a group rather than an individual. This brought a monographic vocal into a harmony. This was also a time when psalms of the Bible started to be translated into French and set to music.
Instrumental music advanced during the High Renaissance and music started to be written without words to give the opportunity for instruments to shine. More musicians came together creating a polyphonic form ranging from different consorts. A consort was how instruments were grouped from high to lows. The high to lows consisted of treble, alto, bass and contrabass. Polyphonic music during the High Renaissance gave instruments a chance to individually shine.
In example, one instrument would start with a melody, a few measures later a second would join causing a huge difference in sound from one era to another. Dance also became popular during the Late Renaissance and music started to be written for that purpose. One place someone might visit to see musicians entertain would be the Globe Theater. A well-known love song that was performed there is called ‘Green sleeves’.
However it is Josquin des Pres who was one of the most important composers of the High Renaissance. He is thought to be the first to master the polyphonic vocal style of High Renaissance music. During his lifetime, Josquin led the choir of the Sistine Chapel. His reputation quickly grew and he became quite famous. Pierre Bonniffet, who is both a musicologist and a singer at the time, said that Josquin de Pres is an evolution of European music.
The Music Josquin wrote were both secular and sacred. His music carried a wide variety of vocals forms consisting of chansons, masses and motets. Here are a few pieces Josquin composed; Nune Dimittis, De profundis clamavi a late composition of his and El Grillo.
The advances in art and music during the High Renaissance were influenced by an overall increase of awareness to nature not to mention a need to learn the classics but in an individualist view of life. These ideas mentioned is what the Greeks, Romans and the Middle ages were not producing.
A new passion for life and beauty developed and love became a trend in the arts giving artists an opportunity to create masterpieces that the world would be forever thankful for.
It was the days of mystery, a time where man’s attitudes changed and the fearless generation studied nature and explored the mysteries of the cosmos and the world around them. The High Renaissance was an era that thrived in advancements and encouraged people to make the most of their civic lives.
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