Sprezzatura in Women

The idea of the “ideal” man made me wonder what the evolution of the “ideal” woman was. Being a woman myself, I have tried to be something that society wanted me to be for much of my life.  Women in the renaissance had their “ideal” roles just as the men did. The roles of women were not as prominent as men, in fact they were supposed to be seen and not heard. Women in the renaissance were supposed to always dress a certain way that was dictated by their class. This way of life for women has evolved in history.

The Renaissance Woman

Trying to Not Be Like Da Vinci

Seeing as my middle name is Aldous, I find myself all but obligated to write about the Brave New Worlds of the renaissance and how they relate to my life. However, “all but obligated” does not constitute full obligation, and so I’ve chosen to write about the Sprezzatura of the renaissance and how it relates to my own struggle with self-direction.

Letting go of my renaissance man perfectionism lets me enjoy the beauty of life, even if there are some errors along the way.

Ideal Talk

Renaissance art is characterized by a previously-unknown level of realism. Artists like Leonardo daVinci even broke cultural norms to study the anatomy of the human body so as to paint it as correctly as possible. This led to mathematical proportions describing the perfect or ideal body.

Paintings like daVinci's Mona Lisa and Raphael's Madonna and Child make use of artistic advances.

I am amazed by the difference between the body shapes portrayed 500 years ago and those portrayed today on billboards, magazine covers, social media, and a variety of other sources.

One of many examples of the modern ideal.

It could hardly be more different.

Yet one thing is the same - these are ideals.

Poor Moe Q. McGlutch Loved Control Too Much

Tyrants since the beginning of time have attempted to limit people’s knowledge. From Mao Zedong’s book burnings to Caligula banning The Odyssey for its themes of freedom, restriction of knowledge in the form of restricting books and reading has always been an important tool for those who have power and want to keep it as it is.

In Renaissance-era Europe, the Catholic Church played the role of that kind of organization. It’s difficult for us to comprehend the sort of system of religion that encompassed Europe during the Renaissance. But imagine, for a minute, being unable to read the scriptures for yourself. You aren’t one of the lucky ones who have been educated. If you want to know what God says, the way He wants you to live your life, you have to rely on your bishop to tell you. And you haven’t got any way to check for yourself, you just have to trust that what he says is right. In addition, everyone around you believes exactly what you do-- including the leaders of your country.

Enthusiasm: The Age of Discovery Catalyst

Growing up, I was constantly around theatre, both in my community, church, and childhood. I began to appreciate it more when I participated in my first musical, The Music Man, as a ten-year-old boy. I loved being a part of a show, but never really did much to pursue it until I was nearing the end of high school. I quickly realized that I really loved the acting events in speech and debate, and thought to myself, “Why not? I love theatre and have some talent in it, why not join?”, and so I auditioned for some drama and improv groups and the rest is history. I loved my senior year more than any other year of school I ever had up until that point, thanks to my involvement in theatre.

Reflecting on this experience, I realize now that despite my nervousness about pursuing theatre when I was younger, I ended up participating and loving what I did. I was not the most talented person to ever grace the stage, but I felt the joy of performing rush through my soul and contributed enthusiasm into every show I did. One does not need to be the greatest in something to enjoy and contribute to a pursuit. Such is the lesson of life we learned from Prince Henry the Navigator.

The Answer You're Looking For

Perhaps the most underlying theme throughout the Renaissance was humanism - the focus on the beauty and majesty of mankind rather than divinity. Many may misunderstood this movement as a renouncement of God. In actuality, it was really just a change in the way people were glorifying deity. Instead of focusing on the depravity of humans and the nothingness of them when compared to God, humanists focused on how incredible mankind - God's greatest creation - was.

Little did you know, Renaissance humanism contains the key to solving all the worlds problems. This is it. 

Consider the Veggies

     Most people who (like me) love bananas are also (like me until recently) unaware of their long and rather sordid history.  Banana cultivation is spectacularly complex and has impacted the fate of entire nations (Banana Republic isn’t just a brand).  And that’s just one fruit.  Were we to examine history through the lense of our Zupa’s salad, we would be surprised by the way mere plants have influenced the destiny of civilization. 

When tomatoes first arrived in Italy from South America, they were used as decorative plants, not for food.  It took decades for them to be integrated into the local cuisine, but today we can't imagine Italian food without them. 

     The Renaissance and the Age of Exploration initiated a spectacular shake-up of global cultures (including agriculture) called the Columbian Exchange.  Before the 16th century, humans mostly made do with the crops native to their particular patch of Earth.  But as explorers sailed up and down coasts and across oceans, trading food and seeds and even live plants, Europeans realized they’d been missing out on chocolate, Africans found that infertile tropical soils could miraculously produce bumper crops of South American manioc, the native peoples of America discovered the wonders of wheat, and so on. 
     What’s most interesting, though, is the consequences of adopting a new crop or agricultural technique.  The transition to new, non-native staple crops fundamentally altered entire populations and ecosystems: facilitating unprecedented population growth and economic rise, but also setting the stage for future catastrophes, such as the Irish Potato Famine and malnutrition in Africa. 
     We ought to pay attention to this story, and to the motivations and methods of Renaissance explorers (which were dubious at best), because with modern transportation and cold-chain technology, as well as highly-advanced farming techniques, a global exchange of crops and produce is once again altering the course of humanity.  My mom had never even heard of cilantro or quinoa until she was an adult; I’ve eaten both for as long as I can remember.  We’re in the middle of the Columbian exchange part 2, but this time it’s even bigger and more complex, and who knows where it will take us. 

Sources

Levrier-Jones, George. “Changing Our View of History? The Columbian Exchange and the Ecological Mindset - History Is Now Magazine, Podcasts, Blog and Books: Modern International and American History.” 24 May 2018, http://www.historyisnowmagazine.com/blog/2018/5/20/changing-our-view-of-history-the-columbian-exchange-and-the-ecological-mindset#.XXqIK2jYqb4=.

“Columbian Exchange.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Sept. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_exchange.

Image Credit: "Heirloom Tomatoes" by Indiana Public Media is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 

The Pitfalls of Beachy Waves: Sprezzatura May be Harming Our Value System

Curling my hair is a common occurrence in my morning routine. Every day, I carefully section off each strand and deftly wrap it around the curling iron, a process that can easily take up to thirty minutes. When finished, I apply a generous (maybe too generous) amount of hairspray to ensure quality curls throughout my day.

My hair on any given morning. 

Sounds pretty normal, doesn't it? I should be able to walk out the door at that point, but each time I run into a problem:

My hair looks perfect, almost too perfect.

What a Piece of Work is College

College is hard. That’s not to say that it’s not enjoyable at times. But it is hard. BYU is a wonderful university that most people should be very proud to get accepted into. Like it is stated in the Oration of the Dignity of Man, we are born with infinite possibilities to accomplish great things and be somebody great, depending on your moral and intellectual stamina. Similarly, we are metaphorically born into university life with infinite possibilities that all depend on, well, us. 

Coming to college, it felt a little scary leaving all of my success entirely up to myself. Classes are more difficult and there are the added stresses of making new friends, work and basically just having to be a responsible adult without your parents looking over your shoulder a lot of the time. However, during my first year, I sometimes found myself blaming the results I was seeing in my college life on the circumstances surrounding me. Humanism says otherwise. We are completely and solely responsible for our individual successes and failures and if we fail we just need to get back up and try harder or differently.  

        

It’s also important to remember that striving for greatness doesn’t mean that you need to always get a 4.0 grade average. Striving for greatness, for me, meant getting into BYU Women’s chorus and getting to sing in general conference, it meant taking my roommate out to dinner after she failed a test, it meant setting a goal to be fit and exercising almost every weekday, it meant studying as hard as I could so I could finish each semester knowing that I tried my very best. It was those things that made me greater. Not necessarily academic things, but life things. College gives you every opportunity to be a great person. As put in the words of Mirandola “Oh wondrous and unsurpassable felicity of man, to whom it is granted to have what he chooses, to be what he wills to be!” So let’s go out and make ourselves better through every opportunity given to us.    

Love the Fear

If you were a leader, would you rather be feared or loved? Until just recently, I supported the opinion that it was better to be loved. I think most of us agree we would prefer a kind leader rather than one who uses fear to control others. Machiavelli, author of The Prince argued that leaders must be feared. At first, I thought his words provided justification for tyrants and dictators. Surprisingly, when I researched his essay further, I started to agree with Machiavelli. You can also learn about Machiavelli's intentions in this video. By understanding Machiavelli's background and the reality of leadership, let me explain why Machiavelli is right:

Humanism and the Repair of the World

To a medieval man or woman, society was ordered, hierarchical: if you live in the Middle Ages, someone else is always in charge. One of the most fundamental ideas born during the Renaissance is humanism: a philosophy that hinges on the then-radical concepts of self-determination and free will. Where do the laws come from? Who takes care of problems? Humanism puts that responsibility on us as individuals rather than trusting to the established hierarchy.

To me, this rings the same bells that rang when I learned about the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, often translated as 'the repair of the world'. Tikkun olam is a way of describing a sense of social responsibility. The world is broken, in need of perfecting. But God is not snapping Their fingers and fixing it, because They want us to aid in repairing it. This is our duty, obligation, and privilege.

“The phrase 'Someone ought to do something' was not, by itself, a helpful one. People who used it never added the rider 'and that someone is me'.”

― Terry Pratchett, Hogfather

The concept of tikkun olam as well as Pratchett's works have deeply informed my own practice as a hearthcrafter: I believe that I am helping to perfect the world by perfecting my own home. I hold on tightly to what is mine, and do everything in my power to protect it and the people that depend on me. Pratchett might describe my approach to the sacred duty of hospitality as weaponized selfishness.

One of the ways I keep my home feeling safe and welcoming: a ruchnik, or embroidered ritual towel-- a gift from a dear friend.


Perhaps Niccolò Machiavelli would approve of this, or perhaps he would scoff at me as naive. Of course, he is only one side in the Renaissance debates about how this newly individual responsibility is to be accomplished.

Another side, one that resonates much more deeply for me, is the various artistic movements celebrating the beauty of the world and the beauty of humans, our place in the world as something inherently valuable. Because inherent value means it's worth putting effort into. The world, say Giotto and Petrarch and Botticelli, is worth fixing. And so why would we not do everything in our power to fix it?

The Ideal Society

Since the Renaissance, humans have contemplated on what the ideal society is. The first, and perhaps most popular, book studying these ideals is Utopia. Written in 1516, this book lists many characteristics that the ideal society in the time of the Renaissance would possess. Our world today is vastly different then 500 years ago, and I maintain that our ideal society would be vastly different as well.

The Prologue and The Promise, an image often associated with the term "Utopia"

Utopia by Sir Thomas More

Sir Thomas More wrote about what he deemed as the perfect society. In this story he discussed the different features of this hypothetical island with fifty-four cities. Some of the features of this society included:

·       Geography that was ideal for both trade and defense/protection from possible attackers

·       Homogeneity, the idea that everything and everyone is as similar as possible

·       The ideal balance between rural and urban communities

·       People who specialize in their work and don’t overwork themselves

·       Thorough education for all citizens

·       Special care for the sick

·       A limited government

·       The avoidance of war

·       The presence of religion but freedom to choose how and what to worship

Modern Day Utopia

Taking the current climate of the United States and the world into consideration, the two main factors that I think would create an ideal society are the quality of the people and the freedoms they have. I believe that if people respect each other and treat each other with understanding and love, the rest of the qualities and attributes of an ideal society will naturally fall into place. I also believe that people should possess the freedom to choose how they want to live: where their home is located, what religion they practice, their occupation, etc. With mutual respect and personal freedoms, the greatest happiness can be achieved.

New Utopia vs. Old Utopia*

The main difference between More’s version of Utopia and my own is the focus on tangible attributes as opposed to attitudes. For example, the ideal society today would not have a population of homogeneous individuals, but would be one where differences and talents are shared and equally celebrated. The strength of a modern day society would be much more dependent on kindness, respect, and freedom.

*While comparing modern and past versions of the ideal society, we must take into account the vast differences between time periods in politics, social status, economics, etc.

Credits:

Supporting Information from Spark Notes

Image courtesy of McCall Studios