One of the greatest movements of the Renaissance is summed up in the words of William Shakespeare. "What a piece of work is man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and in moving, how express and admirable, in action, how like an angel, in apprehension, how like a God.” This idea encompasses the idea of humanism that sprung up during the early Italian Renaissance. The worth of individuals and their accomplishments became of a greater value than they had ever been before. In addition to this new idea, the focus of these accomplishments shifted to this life, rather than focusing on the next life.
The idea of individualization is something that sets this time period apart from any other time. Rather than accrediting accomplishments, talents, and gifts elsewhere, individuals began to take credit. A very good example of this is when artists began to sign their works. This was a way in which others were able to recognize and celebrate not only the work, but the individual as well. Signing artistic works moved away from the “communal mentality of the middle ages” which Drogin recognizes in “Spare Me the Details.” In short, this new focus on the individual is recognized today as a defining characteristic for the Renaissance, which did allow individuals to be liberated from dogma.
You say that a big part of individualization in this era was learning to take credit for people's own work, but isn't self-improvement also a major part of it? Focusing on the individual does nothing if the individual themselves do not accomplish much.
ReplyDeleteThis is so interesting that something that is so common for us (signing art) was not for them. That really gives such a strong sense of how drastic of a change this really was.
ReplyDelete