25. La Renaissance

[Music] The Artistic Renaissance [Music] Hello everyone. From the 15th century, the European art becomes deep. Donatello, Botticelli, Yann van Heck, Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo Vinci. Rarely in history, so many geniuses expressed their talents in such a short period of time. This is the Renaissance. First appeared in Italy and in Flanders, this artistic movement will gradually gain Europe. So it's a period of rediscovery of antiquity, after a Middle Ages that we judge now obscure and without interest. In fact, as the motto of Laurent the Magnificent in Florence indicates, time comes back. This is why this period is called Renaissance. That is to say a new birth of antiquity, a word that comes from the Italian term "Rinacitta" and which is used for the first time in the 16th century. How does the European art transform itself in the 15th and 16th centuries? The first painter to open the Renaissance period is actually a man of the Middle Ages. It is Giotto who painted at the end of the 13th century. His style is very modern for the time and it will greatly influence all his successors. Imagine that to qualify his genius, the poet Dante will even invent the word "artist". So Giotto is a precursor, he announces what happens. In this end of the Middle Ages, we rediscover in Italy the ancient one, those of the Greeks and Romans. The Roman monuments are rediscovered, archaological gaps take place and antiquities passion the most rich and instrued places. The ancient writings are also rediscovered because more and more people are able to read them. Technically, because they now know the ancient languages with a better circulation of knowledge but also because with printing, in the middle of the 15th century, books become more accessible. All these readings radically change the vision of man. If in the Middle Ages, man is considered by the Church as a weak creature and subject to God, from the 15th century, he is placed in the center of creation and reflection art. It is a new ideal of man and this new ideal will be found in the works of art of Renaissance and in all forms of expression, painting, sculpture, architecture. Logically, portraits are generalized. More broadly, since the 15th century, a time called Quattrocento in Italy, artists will be interested in new subjects which are no longer exclusively religious, which could be the case in the Middle Ages, the Middle Ages which place religion in the center of art. Religion remains the same, attention to the Renaissance in the works. But there are now new subjects. The artists will be interested in mythology, in nudity, in the body and in the ancient. Sandro Botticelli paints, therefore, the birth of Venus, an art that has no Christian element. The artists who are part of these subjects also use new techniques. First, the perspective. The perspective is the art of representing on a flat surface objects in three dimensions, as they are seen by humans. So the perspective was already known in the Middle Ages, but we did not master it. From the Renaissance, we will master this technique. Second technique, proportions. That is to say, the aesthetically satisfying relationship between elements of an ensemble. The proportions will be the object of an intense reflection to try to determine the most perfect and the most realistic. Leonhard de Vinci established, so I say that the size of a man is equal to five times the measure of the elbow at the end of his fingers. Third science, anatomy. The artists do not hesitate to tell the morgues, even to tie the interdicts of the church by preventing the dissection of the bodies. The goal is to know better and to better understand the bodies, the muscles, the veins or the nerves. All this is only for one reason. To approach the most possible of reality, tend towards an ideal beauty, a perfect human being, which is the image of divine perfection. And this quest for beauty and perfection is obviously also found in architecture. Architecture also takes advantage of another science that sculptors and painters use, that is to say mathematics. Plans generalize with geometric traces, simple lines and there also calculations of proportionality to achieve a harmony of constructions. If all these artists can thus create renaissance, it benefits from the support of Rich Messen. This term designe the rich families or individuals who protect and finance artists. The name Messen comes from Messen, who was a friend of the Roman emperor Augustus and who had helped the poet Horace and Virgil in his time. So Messen are people cultivated, but also powerful people. We will have princes, priests, merchants or bankers like the Medicis in Florence. And these Messen are made up of aesthetic taste, which in the aim of cultivating their glory and prestige. By the way, a real competition exists between Messen to attract the most appreciated artists. So it is a consequence that the artists become more and more considered. They sign their works, they no longer hesitate to represent themselves in self-portraits. And other characteristics of the artists of their renaissance, they are very often complete, that is to say that they master several forms of art. They are painters, sculptors, architects, poets, etc. Giorgio Vasari, who is a painter of the 16th century and also the very first art historian, describes us in 1550 the sculptor and painter Michelangelo. In his infinite goodness, the master of the sky turns his eyes clearly on the earth. And he resolves to send on earth a spirit also apt to all arts and all disciplines, demonstrating to him where the perfection of art for the lines, the contours, the shadows and the lights, the effect of the relief in painting, the judicial operations in sculpture, and the production in architecture of comical and solid, hygienic, pleasant and enriched in all kinds of ornaments. He gives it to him as a patron of Florence, as the most dignified of the cities. His genius was recognized as living beings. It comes from men of a grand merit like yours, where the conjugation of the three arts creates the state of perfection that God has granted during the centuries of antiquity as in the moderns, none other than Him. These artists of their renaissance generally work in workshops, and help many teachers. Raphael, a great painter of the renaissance, will have up to 50 teachers. And some of them are particularly sought for, and more advantageous proposals are made for them to attract their talent. Le Pape Jules II will be shown a very generous and patient site with the shadow of Michelangelo, to whom he entrusted the realization of his mausoleum and the paintings of the Voutes de la Chapelle Sixtine. As for François I, he invites Léonard de Vinci in France, promising him a pension and a comfortable stay, the Claus Luce, which is near the royal castle of Amboise. Long live my friends, long live Amboise! Long live my friends, long live Amboise! In summary, the renaissance was born in Italy, where we will find antique dresses, we will find numerous famous rivals and rich messaines, and all of them contribute to its eclosion. Florence is the cradle of this movement, but it will be quickly joined by other prosperous cities like Milan, Venice and Rome. In the rich cities of La Flandre, in Bruges, in Gaen, in Anvers, great artists also appear at the same time for the same reasons, that is to say that there are messaines, there are people who can encourage their talent, and they will develop a particular style, these flamboyant artists, like Jan van Eck, for example, who perfects oil painting, a technique that will happen in Italy only in a second time. During the war in Italy, the kings of France will be very impressed by all the works of art they discover. They do not hesitate, by the way, to take part in a number of works, and they will even go down frescoes in churches to bring them back to France. The travel of the artists also contributes to spreading the new style. The German artist, Albrecht Dürer, will thus be at several reprisings in Italy, and when he returns to Nuremberg, his style is very marked by Italian influences. Overall, after Italy, it must be understood that this artistic movement will spread in Europe. We will find many messaines, French, English, Polish or even Spanish, who will make Italian artists come. And the local artists, influenced by this artistic revolution, will also end up in his own way to develop an original style. Thus, in the Val de Loire, where these days the kings of France, appear to be a French Renaissance, and this is the case in the Chateau de Chambord. The last fires of the Renaissance took place at the beginning of the 17th century. At that time, it was supplied by the Baroque. A new art, which is essentially a propaganda impulsed by the Catholic Church. But it's another story. If you have seen this podcast, do not hesitate to talk about it around you. To share the links to the broadcasts, to subscribe, to leave me a note also on your podcast platform, so Apple Podcast, but also Spotify, which allows it now. And a comment, it's always a pleasure. 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