The Renaissance: Art and Education
The Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" in French, was the time period from the 14th to the 17th century remembered for its rediscovery of culture, art, literature, politics, and economics (History). This historical period is significant because it gave rise to some of the most influential authors, artists, scientists, thinkers, and statesmen whose contributions are still valued and studied today (History). This blog post will look at two important sources from the Renaissance that specifically focus on art and liberal education.
The first source is a biography titled "Life of Leonardo da Vinci", written by Giorgio Vasari, an Italian painter and architect. In this biography, Vasari gives us a glimpse into the life of Leonardo da Vinci, one of the most famous artists of the Renaissance, acknowledging him as a brilliant painter, draftsman, musician, sculptor, thinker, scientist, engineer, and architect.
Vasari praised Leonardo's physical beauty and intellectual genius, writing “Truly marvelous and celestial was Leonardo” and “there was infused in that brain such grace from God, and a power of expression in such sublime accord with the intellect and memory that served it.” While Vasari's descriptions may seem exaggerated, Leonardo's genius is remembered in his artworks that are so famous and well-loved today, such as the Mona Lisa. Vasari also mentions Leonardo's tendency to leave his artworks unfinished if he couldn’t achieve perfection; for example, the head of Christ in his mural "The Last Supper" was never completed. Although Leonardo believed that “men of lofty genius sometimes accomplish the most when they work the least”, he expressed his guilt to God and man on his deathbed for not creating more art, which exemplified his perfectionism and the serious mindset he had towards his work. Leonardo da Vinci’s legacy lives on today, and he is the most well-known artist from the Renaissance time period.
The second source is a treatise on education titled "The New Education," written by Petrus Paulus Vergerius, an Italian humanist, statesman, and teacher. This treatise advocated for a new education focused on liberal studies such as history, philosophy, rhetoric, and literature. Vergerius reasoned that studying the liberal arts was crucial for finding wisdom, unlocking the knowledge contained in books, and developing skills in reading, debating, speaking, writing with elegance, and negotiating. He was worried about the loss of valuable knowledge due to human ignorance and a reluctance to read, so he emphasized the power of books to preserve the knowledge of the past and unlock the future.
Vergerius went on to describe the specific subjects that he considered liberal arts which included History, Moral Philosophy, Eloquence, Art of Letters, Literature, Disputation/Logical Argument, Logic, Rhetoric, Oratory, Poetry, Music, and Perspective. He knew it wasn’t practical for students to study all of these subjects to their full extent, so he encouraged students to select the one most suited to them and their intelligence.
As a student enrolled in a Liberal Arts college, I find this treatise interesting compared to what liberal arts studies still look like today. Liberal Arts institutions worldwide continue to provide a wide range of subjects like history, art, music, communication, philosophy, etc. that Vergerius originally proposed. The liberal arts education has endured today because it allows students to prepare not just for a specific major or career path, but for all of the challenges and opportunities that come with everyday life.
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