What do we mean when we say "the Renaissance"? A time and place, a state of mind, a group of artists and writers,a cultural construct, or...? Of course, it's all of these and more. As much as anything, the Renaissance is an idea and an ideal, much like Athens in the fifth century BC. Scholars have disagreed for centuries on its definition, meaning, and importance to Western Civilization, and literally thousands of books have been written on the subject. I'll be talking about it in greater depth on the tours, but for now, I just wanted jot down a few thoughts and ideas for you to consider.
As you know, the Renaissance is named for the French word meaning "rebirth; the Italians call it il rinascimento. But, what exactly was reborn? This is a trick question. The standard answer we were taught in high school goes something like this: the Renaissance was a bursting forth of new thought, art, literature, and ideas following the terrible dark times of the Middle Ages, fostered by a revival of Greek and Roman writings and art that had previously been unknown. This is not quite what happened. In fact, as graduate student in Medieval Studies, my friends and I used to refer to "the so-called Renaissance," whenever we spoke of it. A more accurate way of thinking about this time that clearly did see great changes and innovations, especially in art and thought, is to think of Classical culture as the roots, Medieval culture as the stems and leaves, and the Renaissance itself as the flowers(early) and fruits (later). If you want to extend the metaphor a little bit, you can think of the seeds contained in the fruits as spreading and growing across Europe and the New World throughout the following centuries.
For our trip to Florence, the focus will be on the art of the Italian Renaissance, and I think it makes sense to use parameters first set forth by the sixteenth century writer, Giorgio Vasari, in his famous book of biographies, Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, first published in 1550. Vasari begins with Cimabue (1272-1302) and ends with his contemporary, Tintoretto (1518-1594). Over the next several months, I will try and give you a bit of background on the artists and a sampling of the paintings you'll see in Florence. I'm working on finding the best links for you to see an image of the paintings, although a digitized image, like a picture in a book, is a far cry from the real thing. I'll also provide links to some of my favorite books on the Renaissance for those who want to read more.
